FIRST THEY CAME FOR MY COLLEGE to Launch Fall Theatrical Release
Patrick Bresnan directed the documentary, which won an audience award at The Florida Film Festival.
Fourth Act Film has announced theatrical release plans for FIRST THEY CAME FOR MY COLLEGE, a documentary examining Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's takeover of New College of Florida and its implications for academic freedom nationwide. The release, spanning more than 30 markets, is set to begin with a Florida tour at the Hippodrome in Gainesville before continuing to DCTV Firehouse Cinema in New York City for a week-long run.
When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stages a coup at New College, the state's beloved public honors college, students and professors confront a new reality: their campus is ground zero in an unprecedented nationwide assault on academic freedom and diversity.
The theatrical release, in over 30 markets, kicks off September 17th at the Hippodrome in Gainesville, Florida and will continue up the coast with a run at DCTV in New York City starting September 25th. Additional cities include but are not limited to: Austin, TX, St. Petersburg, FL, Los Angeles, CA, Lawrence, KS, Houston, TX, Columbus, OH, Springfield, MO, San Francisco, CA and Sarasota, FL.
The director and producers developed the release plan with a group of seasoned distribution professionals including Mia Bruno of Fourth Act Film.
FIRST THEY CAME FOR MY COLLEGE tells the inside story of the right-wing campaign to 'reconquer' higher education in America. New College of Florida was the first public college to be transformed by a political coup—a blueprint for a new era of unprecedented censorship and political interference in academia. By embedding with the student newspaper, an outspoken professor, and students from all sides of the political spectrum, this vérité feature reveals a microcosm of America's culture wars and serves as an essential document for students today grappling with their moment in history.
'For me, we will hopefully look back on First They Came For My College like we do on civil rights-era films or Vietnam-era films and we say, 'I can't believe that's who we were,'' said Director and Producer Patrick Bresnan. ''I can't believe that's what we did to our greatest professors. I can't believe that's what we did to college students.' What kept me going is the need to finish this document so that we can remember this period and so it doesn't happen again.'
Through the eyes of students, the documentary opens with the shocking 'hostile takeover' of New College, which begins on January 6, 2023, in the run-up to Ron DeSantis's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. DeSantis appoints six ultraconservatives to the school's Board of Trustees, including Christopher Rufo, the right-wing activist behind attacks on Critical Race Theory, and Matthew Spalding, who would go on to play a leading role in Project 2025.
But conquering a school is not the same as running it. The college community mounts a fierce resistance, exposing what they see as the new administration's cruelty, incompetence, and corruption. Meanwhile, the administration enacts policies meant to transform the culture and the campus, and the college begins to change before their eyes. As the tension mounts, students and faculty battle to preserve the school's unique character and the integrity of the academic program - all the while warning the rest of the nation, 'Your school is next.'
'As alumni of New College, we couldn't look away when we heard about the state of Florida's plans for an ideological remaking of the school,' said Producers Holly Herrick, Harry William Hanbury. 'New College's academic environment changed our lives, and we wanted to understand what it would mean for students experiencing that same transformation to have their education interrupted by a staged battle in America's culture wars: one that targeted LGBTQ+ students and the ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and tried—unsuccessfully—to silence dissent. In sharing this story around the country, we hope to inspire others to defend and support the freedom to learn and the freedom to be who you are.'
'At New College, we had a culture of radical acceptance, where people could live authentically,' said New College student Gabriella Batista. 'And that's what the people who took over the school tried to stamp out. But we doubled down, resisted relentlessly, took care of each other, and found joy in community. Now it's up to all of us who lived through that ordeal to warn other schools of what's coming and show how to stand up to right-wing bullies.'
Credits
Executive Producers: Ross Boucher, Steve Phillips, Margaret Brown & Kim A. Snyder. Bresnan also serves as the Director of Photography along with Sara Kinney. Editors: Leah Marino and Ivete Lucas, with Music by Michael Montes. Steven Bognar, Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine serve as Consulting Producers along with Co-Producers Monique Walton, Heather Courtney and Daniel Raphael Potthast.
Student Filmmakers include: Ellie Jalbuena Cook, Calypso Camacho, Gabriella Batista, Sam Worthington, Chole Rusek, Natalia Benavides and Joshua Janniere.
Featuring: Gabriella Batista, Chole Rusek, Tracy Fero, Libby Harrity, Isaac Tellechea, Maria Vesperi, Dylan Niner, Lindsey Jennings, Joshua Janniere, Amy Reid, Devyn Rolls and Denicia Finney.
Directed and produced by Patrick Bresnan, with additional producers Holly Herrick, Harry William Hanbury and Zackary Drucker, the film had its world premiere at True/False and has since screened at SXSW, DC/DOX, IFF Boston, SFFILM, and The Florida Film Festival, where it won the Feature Documentary Audience Award. Additional theatrical engagements are planned in cities including Austin, St. Petersburg, Los Angeles, Lawrence, Houston, Columbus, Springfield, San Francisco, and Sarasota.
