Towson University alumni earns Capital Emmy for student film

By Theresa Pratt, Staff Writer

Towson University alumni James Carline won a Capital Emmy award in the Fiction-Long Form category for his student film “Solus Country.” The director and producer made the film in his senior year at Towson.

“During January of last year, I had submitted to a bunch of festivals and kind of forgot as I was focusing on other projects and getting a job,” Carline said. “It was kind of a shock and felt really cool. It was a really neat feeling to know that I was recognized.” 

Made for Carline’s directed study, “Solus Country” focuses on a young man, Heath, trying to prevent a car from being sold at his late father’s failing auto shop by his uncle. 

Carline was born in New Jersey and primarily grew up in Washington, D.C. His interest in film started in elementary school after seeing a behind the scenes segment on a DVD for an Indiana Jones movie. It sparked an interest in film that continued throughout his middle and high school years. 

Carline wasn’t initially planning on attending college, but decided to because he wanted to be in a space where he could meet other creatives his age. He started attending Towson University in the fall of 2019 and graduated in Dec. of 2023. 

Many people helped Carline make “Solus Country” a reality. 

Professor Ross Angelella gave the team advice, and then students now Towson alumni Eric Cienfuegos and Dylan Powers helped co-write the film.

Powers and Carline met through the Electronic Media and Film program at Towson, became friends, and then became roommates. 

“My favorite part about working with James is how much trust there is between us,” Powers said. “James is someone that knows his stuff. He is extremely talented behind the camera and, if he tells me that something needs to be a certain way, I’ll hear him out and then trust him because I know he has an eye for it.”  

Towson professor Mathew Bainbridge served as an adviser for Carline’s directed study. Bainbridge met Carline while he was teaching EMF 222, an introductory film course.

“My favorite part about having James as a student was that he gets stuff done,” Bainbridge said. “What’s difficult about film production is its lack of structure. At the end of the day, I’m still asking students to go out into the world and make things happen without a blueprint necessarily.” 

Carline shared his advice for aspiring filmmakers.

“Film is a very collaborative art form,” Carline said. “While you can do projects by yourself, ninety-nine percent of the time it is with other people. If you don’t have people that you can work with, you kind of don’t have a project.”

A former version of this article incorrectly stated that Ross Angelella was a student. The article has been updated to say that he is a professor. The Towerlight regrets this error.