Directors Show Hemingway Film Starring Senior Lucy Tittmann (’26)

In the summer before her junior year, Lucy Tittmann (CA’26) traveled to Spain to star in a short film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants, produced by Movie to Movement. Now, a year and some months later, director Jennifer Cadena Rueda and producer Jason Jones showcased their finished creation in a private screening at Thomas Aquinas College, California, for Lucy’s friends and peers. 

A word-for-word portrayal of Hemingway’s impactful short story, the Hills Like White Elephants film depicts a man and a woman at a Spanish bar, in a tense conversation about an “operation” — implied to be an abortion. The couple disagree on the course of action, and the story comes to an inconclusive end, while quietly emphasizing the pro-life undertones. 

The audience applauded the film and Lucy for her simple and striking performance, which perfectly encapsulated the spirit of Hemingway’s subtle heroine. Afterward, at a brief question-and-answer session, Ms. Cadena Rueda, Mr. Jones, and Lucy engaged with the audience, responding to inquiries and sharing their thoughts. 

Movie to Movement, a program headed by Mr. Jones, is dedicated to promoting the dignity of the individual human person and advocating for the vulnerable through the power of art and film. The last line of Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants, delivered by the female lead, reads, “I feel fine. There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.” As Lucy studied her character, she was deeply moved by this line, explaining, “I interpreted that line to mean, ‘Being pregnant is not something wrong with me. It’s not an issue or a health problem. I’m going to follow through with this, and I’m going to bear this child.’”