DFS 75th Panel
Film
DFS 75th Alumni Fest

Panel: Storytelling, Form & Content

Through Film, Television & New Media
November 09, 2024

Alumni working in physical production, producing, directing for television and new media explore the relationship between form and content and new modes of storytelling.

DFS 75th Alumni Fest (Nov 7-10)

Now that everyone has a television in their pocket, how does that change what sort of stories get told? What can film do that television can't, and vice versa? These are some of the questions our panelists, whose careers range from physical production and producing indie films to directing for television, will seek to answer.

Guests include producer Alix Madigan '84, Michelle Brattson Majors '96 (Amblin Entertainment), Mac Simonson '16 (A24), Bailey Magrann-Wells '08 (Creative Artists Agency), Alexi Pappas '11 and Alice Mathias '07 (comedy TV director).

Michelle Brattson Majors '96 is executive vice president of physical production at Amblin Partners since 2022, where she oversees early prep on the film development slate through to prep and production of the films, including most recently Carry-On and The Thursday Murder Club. Michelle was a director of production for Netflix Original Studio Films from 2017-2022 where she managed productions including Hustle, Marriage Story, Dolemite is My Name and more. Prior to Netflix, Michelle was senior vice president of physical production at Amblin Partners. Before her in-house studio career Michelle spent 15 years freelancing in production management on major studio films including Interstellar, Star Trek Into Darkness, Neighbors, Angels & Demons, Frost/Nixon and Charlie Wilson's War. Michelle is a member of the Producers Guild of America and a Women in Film mentor. Michelle holds a Masters in Producing from the USC School of Cinematic Arts' Peter Stark Program and a BA in English from Dartmouth College. She is originally from New York, and resides in Los Angeles with her husband, son and dog.

Alix Madigan '84 is an independent producer whose films have brought together high-caliber actors to tell poignant human stories in a variety of genres. She produced Winter's Bone, directed by Debra Granik and starring Jennifer Lawrence, which received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Alix is currently in post-production on HORSEGIRLS, an independent film shooting in Portland. Other recent credits include Hold Your Breath, The Lie directed by Veena Sud and 1982 directed by Oualid Mouaness, which was the official entry from Lebanon for Best International Film for the Academy Awards. Alix's first produced movie was Sunday which won The Grand Jury Prize for best dramatic feature in the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. Alix was a staff producer for Anonymous Content and has worked at various companies including Propaganda Films and Avenue Entertainment. She serves on the board of Film Independent and is a member of AMPAS. 

Bailey (née Massey) Magrann-Wells '08 is the Head of Story at CAA, the world's leading entertainment and sports agency. After beginning her career as an assistant and later an English teacher, Bailey found her niche as a story analyst, a position for which she has evaluated hundreds of screenplays, pilots and manuscripts. After reading professionally for five years, Bailey was promoted to head of the CAA Story Department in 2020. As Story Editor, Bailey manages the agency's in-house readers, administers the script library, and scouts promising intellectual property for clients. A former Film and Television Studies major and Film Society director, Bailey looks forward to returning to Hanover to discuss the connection between story and screen.

Alice Mathias '07 is an Emmy-winning director and producer who has been nominated 9 times as an Executive Producer of I Think You Should Leave (Netflix), Portlandia (IFC), and Documentary Now! (IFC). Alice's directing credits include I Think You Should Leave (Netflix),  Schmigadoon (Apple), History of the World: Part II (Hulu), That Damn Michael Che (HBO Max), and Portlandia (IFC). She is an Executive Producer of Los Espookys (HBO), for which she won a Peabody Award, and also produced Julio Torres' standup special My Favorite Shapes (HBO) and Fred Armisen's Grammy-nominated Netflix standup special Standup for Drummers. Originally from Chicago, Alice is a graduate of Dartmouth College and USC film school. 

​Alexi Pappas '11 previously co-wrote and starred in the feature film Olympic Dreams alongside Nick Kroll, premiering at SXSW 2019. In 2016 Alexi co-wrote, co-directed and starred in the feature film Tracktown with a cast including Rachel Dratch '88. Alexi's writing has been published in the New York Times, her critically acclaimed memoir Bravey (2021) was included in multiple "best books of the year" lists. ​A Greek American, Alexi is the Greek national record holder in the 10,000 meters with a personal best of 31:36 set at the Rio Olympics. Alexi graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College and now lives in Los Angeles, California. 

Mac Simonson '16 has been at A24 since 2016, working on releases including Stop Making Sense (Jonathan Demme), Showing Up and First Cow (Kelly Reichardt), First Reformed (Paul Schrader), The Souvenir (Joanna Hogg), High Life and Stars at Noon (Claire Denis), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells), Janet Planet (Annie Baker), and I Saw the TV Glow (Jane Schoenbrun). At Dartmouth he majored in English and minored in Philosophy, and worked for the late Hop Film director Bill Pence on the Telluride Film Festival's shorts programs in 2014 and 2015. He lives and works in New York.

 

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Black Family Visual Arts Center
22 Lebanon Street
Hanover, NH

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