She has rubbed elbows with Tom Cruise, kissed Paul Walker and taken pictures with Johnny Knoxville, among many others. On campus, most students would remember her roles as the cadaver Spenalzo in Arsenic and Old Lace, a Nubian slave in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, assistant director for The Crucible, and the supernatural tour guide for Urban Legends, this year’s Haunted House. But Ailin Pedrossian’s (’07) true passion is directing and making her own collection of homemade skits and commercials.

Pedrossian creates a variety of film snippets ranging from Mission Impossible mini-movie series to diet pill commercials and Spice Girls music videos.
Pedrossian loves the entire process: coming up with ideas, finding the right camera angle, filming, and editing. Her love of filmmaking started early; she had already made her first movie, “The Granny’s Ex-husband,” in the third grade at age eight. The movie was about two girls trying to find the ex-husband of one of the girls’ grandmother. It starred Pedrossian and her friends while Pedrossian’s older brother Arbi, now a UCLA student, was behind the camera.
Besides her brother, Pedrossian’s parents are also supportive of her interest.
Pedrossian’s mother, Anahid, was impressed by her daughter’s video gift of a montage of all of Anahid’s accomplishments and roles in life on her birthday.
“It wasn’t [so much] the movie,” said Anahid, “but the idea behind it.”
The Pedrossians also support their daughter in pragmatic ways. They have bought her a Sony CamCorder and a Powershot A75 Canon Digicam to film her work.
Pedrossian is more interested in the conceptual ideas and styles of filmmaking than the actual logistics of creating a film.
Many things, particularly other film media, inspire Pedrossian. For instance, she observes a commercial or a film snippet and tries to replicate it. Her creative process involves dealing with storyline, improvising the acting, filming, uploading the film and editing (i.e. adding music in the background) using Windows Movie Maker.
Meeting celebrities and acting in plays, on the other hand, allows Pedrossian to see actors’ and directors’ perspectives and lifestyles. It also encourages her to strive harder in filmmaking.
Supporting Pedrossian is long-time friend Narineh Tahmasebian (’07), who stars in Pedrossian’s productions.
“It’s always been ‘Ailin wants to be the famous Oscar-winning director and Narineh wants to be the famous Oscar-winning actress,’” said Tahmasebian. “I’m always in front of the camera, and she’s always behind it.”
Tahmasebian reports that despite being initially reserved, Pedrossian is actually a “wacky, fun” friend with an “incredible sense of humor and wit.”
Once, Pedrossian, Tahmasebian, and Tahmasebian’s younger sister met Tom Cruise along with a crowd of screaming fans. Pedrossian told Cruise, “Tom, we’re not psycho like these people,” making the actor laugh.
According to Drama teacher Ruby Boparai, Pedrossian has a flair for humor and unexpected outcomes. Pedrossian would randomly burst into Backstreet Boys songs in class, recalled Boparai with a smile. She also helped with the Haunted House everyday, showing the same determination and dedication that supports her interest in film.

by staff writer: Vanessa Villavicencio