alumni films

Director and Producer Stephen Talbot ’70 was an early adopter of the anti-Vietnam War movement. He first began to turn against the war as a member of the mandatory Junior ROTC at Harvard High School, now Harvard-Westlake, in California in the mid-1960s. Talbot and his fellow high school classmates were given required trainings about the war. One of their JROTC instructors was called into active duty overseas in Vietnam and was severely injured. The news shook Talbot and he slowly began to question the war. Now nearly 60 years later, Talbot has produced and directed a documentary on the anti-war…

A new film by Aaron Matthews '93 and Jennifer Mittelstadt ’92 will be released March 2 on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, and other digital streaming platforms. The film, titled The War and Peace of Tim O’Brien, follows the renowned author of The Things They Carried and Vietnam veteran Tim O’Brien, as he struggles to write one last book. The documentary dives deep into the meaning and impact of war, as well as the effect of America’s forever wars on civilians and soldiers. It also gives an in-depth look into the creative process from the perspective of one of America’s…

A film featuring the works of eight Wesleyan alumni was presented at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Titled Bruiser, the film focuses on a boy named Darious who begins to investigate the limitations of his own manhood after his father gets into a fight at a bowling alley. Bruiser was presented in Sundance's Short Films category. The film was directed by Miles Warren '19; assistant directed by Eliza McKenna '20; written by Warren and Ben Medina '19; produced by Gustavo René '19, Albert Tholen '15, and Lauren Goetzman '19; and designed by Emma Cantor '19. Costumes were designed by…

A four-part documentary film series directed by Tony Zosherafatain '10 will stream on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Topic starting Feb. 25. Titled Trans in Trumpland, the series investigates the impact of anti-trans policies on the lives of four transgender Americans during the Trump administration era. The series was featured in Variety, NBC News, Deadline, and The Daily Beast. "We're at a crucial moment in our country, and Trans in Trumpland encapsulates the past four years, not just for trans people, but for a wide variety of groups," Zosherafatain said. "There is a lot of intersectionality in the series, including race, immigration, income inequality,…

A film directed by Joel Gershon '94 will make its world premiere on Oct. 21. The documentary, titled "Cirque du Cambodia," is about two teenagers from Cambodia who learned how to become circus performers at a special school for the arts near their home village. They became determined to become the first Cambodians to take the stage with Cirque du Soleil after seeing one of their videos. The two of them moved across the world to Montreal, where Cirque du Soleil is headquartered, in order to attend the world’s most elite circus school after getting full scholarships there. The film…

A film directed by Leon Ristov '21 was selected to be screened on demand during the Sarajevo Film Festival Aug. 14–21. The 12-minute piece, titled I'm Calling Your Father, is among only 10 films selected for the festival's TeenArena program. The film tells the story of Damjan, a 16-year-old who gets jumped by neighborhood hooligans. Damjan's hard-headed mother comes up with a plan to protect him. Ristov's film was supported through a Gordon Career Center Summer Grant. Rent the film online here. A film directed by Thérèse Heliczer '93 will make its world debut at the New Haven Documentary Film…

Wesleyan in the News Inside Higher Ed: "Contagious Civic Engagement" In this essay, Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth ’78 calls for a "virtuous contagion" to stimulate voting and other forms of civic engagement among young people, and writes about how this can still be possible at a time of social distancing. "The best way to attack cynicism, apathy or voter suppression is through authentic civic engagement between elections," he writes. "One of the great things about this kind of engagement is that it is contagious. As we replicate efforts to bring people into the political process, we create habits of engagement…

A new film produced and edited by Joel Viertel '97 centers on revolutionary entrepreneurs Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie) and Joe Morris (Samuel L. Jackson), who devise a risky plan to purchase buildings in "white only" neighborhoods during the 1960s, to help black families pursue the American dream. Inspired by true events, The Banker premiered at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., on March 2, and is now available for viewing on on Apple TV Plus. The New York Times featured The Banker in a March 20 article. Viertel, a film studies major at Wesleyan, also produced Birth of the…

This April, PBS will premiere Broken Places, a documentary that explores why some children are severely damaged by early adversity while others are able to thrive. Broken Places is written, produced, and directed by veteran documentary filmmaker Roger Weisberg ’75, P'05, whose previous PBS documentaries have won over 150 awards, including Emmy, DuPont-Columbia, and Peabody awards, as well as two Academy Award nominations. Broken Places revisits abused and neglected children that Weisberg and his team profiled decades ago. The film interweaves longitudinal narratives with commentary from a few internationally renowned experts to help viewers better understand the devastating impact of…

Clinical psychologist and YA novelist Becky Albertalli ’05 is the author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, an award winning coming-of-age story published by Harper Collins in 2015. It follows Simon Spier, a junior in high school struggling to come to terms with his sexual identity without coming out, before a leaked email threatens to compromise his secret and his comfort zone. This past October, Fox 2000 Pictures and Temple Hill Entertainment began developing a movie adaptation of the book. The major motion picture will feature a star-studded cast––including Nick Robinson, Katherine Langford and Jennifer Garner––and is set to…

(By K Alshanetsky '17) Suki Hawley ’91, director and editor for the award-winning independent film studio RUMUR, is debuting the collaborative’s latest film in New York this week. The documentary, titled All the Rage, chronicles the work of renowned physician Dr. John Sarno and his radical methods for treating chronic pain. It will debut at Cinema Village in New York on Friday, June 23. A Q&A with directors and special guests will follow after every screening Friday (June 23), Saturday (June 24) and Sunday (June 25). All the Rage comes at a critical time, when the epidemic of chronic pain is afflicting over…

(By K Alshanetsky '17) Oscar-nominated filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer '91 is the producer and director of Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, a new documentary about author and activist Jane Jacobs. Most famous for her influence on urban studies and urban planning, Jacobs’s legacy will be playing out on screens in nearly 20 cities across the country. The documentary film chronicles her rise as a critical voice and visionary during the urbanization movement of the 1960s. Fighting to preserve urban communities against the threat of destructive redevelopment projects, Jacobs did much to influence modern understandings of urban environments and the American city.…

Wesleyan Alumnus to Release PBS Documentary on Anti-War Protests

Film on Author Tim O’Brien by Matthews ’93, Mittelstadt ’92 to be Released March 2

Films Created by 9 Alumni Screened at 2021 Sundance Film Festival

Trans in Trumpland by Zosherafatain ’10 to Stream Feb. 25 on Major Networks

“Cirque du Cambodia” by Gershon ’94 to Make World Premier Oct. 21

Films, Shows by Ristov ’21, Heliczer ’93, Stone ’05 and Stone ’05, Okun ’22, Zosherafatain ’10 Released, Screened at Festivals

Wesleyan in the News

Viertel ’97 Produces The Banker, Featuring Samuel L. Jackson

PBS Documentary by Weisberg ’75, P’05 Set to Premiere on April 6

Albertalli ’05 Prepares for Big Screen Release of Debut Novel

Hawley ’91 Debuts Documentary Film

Tyrnauer ’91 Creates Film About Urban Activist Jane Jacobs