In Edinburgh, only a short walk from Waverly Station, lies the Scotsman Picturehouse. The Art Deco boutique cinema seats 48 in red leather armchairs, and it was here, 3,000 miles away from Brunswick, that Bowdoin appeared onscreen.

Oliver Hermanus’ film “The History of Sound,” released in September 2025, is based on a short story of the same name by Ben Shattuck. The film follows Paul Mescal’s Lionel Worthing, a synesthetic vocalist whose prodigious talents lift him out of his family’s farm in Kentucky and land him at the New England Conservatory, and Josh O’Connor’s David White, a music historian with an affinity and near-perfect memory for American folk songs. After a chance meeting in a Boston bar, where Lionel hears David playing a song from Lionel’s hometown, the two engage in a love affair that spans World War I and beyond.

Janelle Powell ’27 and her fellow Bowdoin students studying abroad in Edinburgh were initially drawn to “The History of Sound” for its discussions of 20th-century queer culture and American folk music.

“Though I selected the film, we did not know that Bowdoin was a setting for it until we were in the theater watching it,” Powell wrote in an email to the Orient.

Bowdoin isn’t mentioned in the film for the first half hour until David writes in a letter to Lionel that he has recently taken a position at the College. Though shots of New Jersey stand in for those of Maine, with additional production in Italy and England, Powell noted that they nonetheless evoked a sense of Bowdoin’s campus and atmosphere.

“I think being so far from campus really made it feel intimate and like we had a special connection with the film,” Powell wrote. “Even though it stars A-list actors, seeing them literally so close to home made me feel like the film was very personal. It was also really exciting to see the audience watch something set in a faraway land for them but somewhere that is home for us.”

It seems impossible that scenes from New Jersey could so successfully evoke the familiarity of Maine, and yet Powell noted that she could not ignore the similarities once Bowdoin was introduced as a setting.

“Though the interior shots weren’t set at Bowdoin, they still had a very Bowdoin feel to them,” Powell said. “I could see the classroom that they filmed in being a part of Gibson, and I think the filmmakers did a really good job of creating the liberal arts feel.”

Lionel travels to Bowdoin in search of David, leading to a scene in which Mescal stands before a bulletin board tacked with a Bowdoin banner, a scene Powell noted stood out to her.

“I’ve taken a lot of classes in Searles, and even just the chalkboard and wood paneling made me feel like I was back at Bowdoin,” Powell said.

Powell notes that the choice to set part of the story at Bowdoin could have been tied to Lionel and David’s outdoor travels in pursuit of songs.

“Lionel and David travel to Maine for the summer in part to collect music steeped in Maine tradition and to live in the Maine wilderness,” Powell said. “I came to Bowdoin not only for a host of academic reasons but also to continue to integrate myself within the beauty and atmosphere of Maine. I think this contributed to the film’s setting similarly.”

Beyond its coastal setting, “The History of Sound” is grounded in connection. Lionel and David’s love story is not a loud one; it is rooted in the subtle intimacy of their shared interests, where some of their most meaningful exchanges occur in hushed conversations, shared glances or moments of stillness. Powell noted this additional purpose to the couple’s time in rural Maine and its surrounding communities.

“Lionel and David trek throughout Maine, taking in its sounds and culture, but it is also where they get to know one another best. That really resonated with me as a Bowdoin student and Mainer,” Powell said.

In both the film and Powell’s experience, Maine is a place of attachment. One with bonds so strong that Bowdoin, even as a cinematic facsimile in a Scottish cinema, can still feel like home, an ocean away.

“It felt really special to be sitting in the theater while our small liberal arts college was discussed on the big screen, especially to watch alongside my fellow Bowdoin students and friends,” Powell said. “As a Mainer, I felt really connected to both the Bowdoin community and to home as I watched, even though I am so far away.”