As you make your way out of school meeting, you see a tripod with a video camera perched on top, capturing glimpses of student life. More often than not, the man behind the camera is Alcides Soares ’12, or, as he is more commonly known, Al.

A post-graduate from Mozambique, Soares is a prominent figure on campus who sings, dances, draws, plays guitar and piano, plays sports, writes songs, and makes videos.

“It is amazing that Deerfield has given me the opportunity to practice all my talents. I am grateful to be able to do everything that makes me happy,” Soares said.

“To be creative and explore my mind, I try to make things that nobody else has done before. That’s what motivates me to wake up everyday,” he added.

Soares has filmed the winter play, Medea, made a video for Relay for Life, and created a Deerfield admissions video. “I was honored and overwhelmed when Mrs. Dohrmann asked me to help film the admissions video,” said Soares.

Adding to his list of projects, Under the Surface, his first documentary filmed and edited entirely by himself, was inspired by the loneliness Soares experienced upon first arriving on campus.

Soares’ next project is called Deerfield Memories, which he hopes to complete over the summer and upload onto YouTube for the community.

“I really pray that I will be able to transmit the message of lasting friendships and memories even after we all graduate,” he said.

Soares has dedicated countless hours of his time, pursuing his passion for cinematography. “I really can’t complain; I’m having an amazing experience at Deerfield,” he said.

While Soares’ main focus right now is on his schoolwork, he plans on gaining more film experience in the United States in hopes of developing a cinematography market back home in Mozambique. Soares said that in the future, “anywhere that filmmaking will take me, I will really go for it.”