A new documentary, First They Came for My College, is drawing national attention for its powerful portrayal of the transformation of New College of Florida. As it premieres at major film festivals across the country, the film invites us to reflect on a pressing question: What happens when political forces reshape the mission, governance, and everyday life of a public university?
-Angela Valenzuela
Dear friend,First They Came for My College, our feature-length documentary about the “hostile takeover” of New College of Florida, just had its world premiere at the True/False Film Festival, followed by SXSW. And it’s getting rave reviews. The Guardian calls it “gripping” and “a cautionary tale.” This week, the film will have its Florida premiere in competition at the Florida Film Festival, before playing six more festivals, including the San Francisco International Film Festival (see below for more festivals and screening info). We’re constantly updating our website, NewCollegeFilm.com, where you can find details about our upcoming screenings, request a screening near you, see recent media coverage, and donate to help us bring this important film to campuses and communities around the U.S.
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out our three-minute trailer:
For this inaugural issue of our newsletter to supporters—and as neat trick to outwit spam blockers—we’d be grateful if you’d take just one minute to write us back with what you think is the biggest threat facing higher education today OR, if you’ve seen the film, one scene that stuck with you. We’d love to hear from our audience!
At True/False, we sold out theaters as large as 1,200 seats and got standing ovations at every screening—sometimes two standing ovations. Dr. Pat Okker, the first woman president of New College, who was ignominiously fired by the junta appointed by Ron DeSantis, graciously introduced the documentary, saying,
This is a film that documents the history that could have easily been lost. Back in January 2023, there were a lot of people telling us things like, well, that could never happen on our campus. Is anybody saying that these days? Nobody's saying that anymore.
At the film’s premiere at SXSW in Austin, Texas, a leader of the American Association of University Professors praised the film as “a master class in organizing.” Check out the photos of Dr. Okker, our team, our protagonists, and some of our student filmmakers on stage!
We hope you’ll join us at a screening at one of five major festivals in April (with more festival announcements coming soon):
-the San Francisco International Film Festival (April 27);
-the Independent Film Festival in Boston (April 23), where we’ll be screening in the 840-seat Sommerville Theater;
-the Florida Film Festival near Orlando (April 11 (sold out) and 16);
-the River Run Film Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (April 23); and
-the Ashland Independent Film Festival in Oregon (April 23, 25, 26).
Professors, students, and regular folks from around the country have written to ask for screenings near them using our “request a screening” form on the “screenings” page of our website. All of this information, and more, can be found on our website or socials linked in the footer of this email.
Todd Wolfson, the president of the American Association of University Professors, recently told the Citations Needed podcast, “As goes higher education, so goes democracy.” And in a recent report, America’s Censored Campuses, former New College professor Amy Reid and her colleagues at PEN America described what’s happening in colleges and universities as “a catastrophe.” These publications and more media coverage of the film can be found on our “Press” tab on our website.
But the enthusiastic reception to First They Came for My College has convinced us that Americans understand the stakes and are ready to build a powerful movement to defend the freedom to teach and learn free of government censorship, a movement to defend universities as bastions of truth-telling and inclusion.
If you can help us in this urgent work, we hope you’ll support this project and spread the word. We look forward to seeing you at a screening soon!
Sincerely,
Holly, Patrick, Harry, and the whole film team
P.S. If you’re getting this email, it’s because you’ve signed up on our website, NewCollegeFilm.com, or because we know you’re a supporter of this important film. We’ll only send these newsletters occasionally.
Check us out onVisit our website for more.
-the Ashland Independent Film Festival in Oregon (April 23, 25, 26).
Professors, students, and regular folks from around the country have written to ask for screenings near them using our “request a screening” form on the “screenings” page of our website. All of this information, and more, can be found on our website or socials linked in the footer of this email.
Todd Wolfson, the president of the American Association of University Professors, recently told the Citations Needed podcast, “As goes higher education, so goes democracy.” And in a recent report, America’s Censored Campuses, former New College professor Amy Reid and her colleagues at PEN America described what’s happening in colleges and universities as “a catastrophe.” These publications and more media coverage of the film can be found on our “Press” tab on our website.
But the enthusiastic reception to First They Came for My College has convinced us that Americans understand the stakes and are ready to build a powerful movement to defend the freedom to teach and learn free of government censorship, a movement to defend universities as bastions of truth-telling and inclusion.
If you can help us in this urgent work, we hope you’ll support this project and spread the word. We look forward to seeing you at a screening soon!
Sincerely,
Holly, Patrick, Harry, and the whole film team
P.S. If you’re getting this email, it’s because you’ve signed up on our website, NewCollegeFilm.com, or because we know you’re a supporter of this important film. We’ll only send these newsletters occasionally.
Check us out onVisit our website for more.
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