Visiting Filmmakers Series

Alum advocates for authentic storytelling in the film industry

Shayla Brown — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 15:01:28 +0000

Alum advocates for authentic storytelling in the film industry Shayla Brown Mon, 11/18/2024 - 10:01

Since graduating from ��AV, alum Alex Plank, BA Film and Video Studies ’10, has worked professionally on films and television series as an associate producer and actor. Plank is also an autism activist who works toward more authentic neurodiverse representation in media.

“I want my work to show audiences that autistic people have our own stories to tell, which I think general audiences will relate to and benefit from learning from,” said Plank, who founded WrongPlanet.net, the largest online community for autism, while still in high school.

Alex Plank being interviewed by student Madison Koren. Photo by Samantha Sinagra.

Plank recently worked as an associate producer and actor on the film Ezra. The film follows the parents of an autistic son, Ezra, played by actor Willian A. Fitzgerald, as they go through a divorce. Ezra’s father, played by Bobby Cannavale, takes him on an adventurous road trip where they encounter old friends and new places. Plank plays a doctor assisting the family after the titular character has an accident.

Also appearing in the film are Rose Bryne, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert De Niro, and Tony Goldwyn, the director of the film. Getting to know Robert de Niro was a highlight, Plank said.

On October 22, Ezra was screened at the Johnson Center Cinema as part of George Mason’s Visiting Filmmakers Series. Plank did a post-screening Q&A where fans and fellow George Mason students heard about his experience on set, during which he acted as a consultant, guiding the cast and crew throughout the filming process.

“William is such a great person and actor, and I wanted to make sure to give him space and freedom while we were filming,” said Plank. “I remember for one scene, he was wearing a dinosaur costume and in between takes he kept turning back and forth, swinging his tail around.”

“He would stop while filming, but it was so natural. I showed it to Tony [Goldwyn] and he loved it so we kept that movement in the film,” he explained.

Other works of Plank’s include acting and/or producing on ABC’s The Good Doctor and FX’s The Bridge.

Plank says his courses with College of Visual and Performing Arts professors Cynthia Fuchs and Ed Gero were essential in preparing him to take on jobs such as these.

A still from the film Ezra featuring actors, from left to right, Robert de Niro, Bobby Cannavale, and William A. Fitzgerald. Photo by Bleeker Street Media LLC.

“Alex is very self-aware, and he knows how he operates. He's managed to turn that into a remarkable career,” said Gero. “He's also a terrific role model for so many people. I'm so proud and grateful that I was able to have an impact on him.”

Gero said that the importance of social and physical cues in acting is something he and Plank worked on a lot during their time together in his courses.

“Responding to physicality or facial gestures is a different experience for Alex, so how do we navigate that?” said Gero, who taught Plank in an Acting I course. “Together, we developed a physical vocabulary where we would look for a gesture or change of voice perhaps; some kind of cue that would give you the information for us to ask ‘how do I interpret that?’ and communicate to an audience that you've received it.”

Gero and Plank have kept in touch since Plank graduated from George Mason, which included Plank traveling to Pasadena to see Gero portray Antonin Scalia in The Originalist.

“I was just so delighted that he was even aware that I was doing this,” said Gero.

Plank is also a public speaker who has attended international conferences and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, on the Committee for Disability.

“I think it’s important to also look at diversity in disability and make sure we’re representing autistic people who don’t necessarily look like me,” said Plank.

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Alex Plank

Edward Gero

Cynthia Fuchs

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College of Visual and Performing Arts Film and Video Studies

Visiting Filmmakers Series

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'Parkland Rising' producers discuss documentary as part of Mason’s Visiting Filmmakers Series

Colleen Rich — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 09:00:32 +0000

'Parkland Rising' producers discuss documentary as part of Mason’s Visiting Filmmakers Series Colleen Rich Fri, 09/18/2020 - 05:00

On Valentine’s Day in 2018, a school shooter massacred 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. In the aftermath, student survivors spoke out about the prevalence of guns in U.S. society.

The documentary “Parkland Rising” tracks the grassroots movement that emerged and grew from the tragic school shooting into a shift in the national conversation on guns in the United States. The feature-length film is being showcased as part of ��AV’s Visiting Filmmakers Series Online: Black Lives Matter.

In addition, director and producer Cheryl McDonough and Mason alumna Sara Ramaker, executive producer and chief operating officer of will.i.am's I.Am.Media, along with film subject and gun control advocate Cameron Kasky, will discuss the film on Monday, Sept. 21, between 1:30 and 3 p.m.

The Mason community can also register to watch the film for free between Saturday, Sept. 19 and Monday, Sept. 21.

“This documentary is about hope and change,” said Ramaker, who graduated from Mason in 1993. “These kids are making change, and we wanted to support them and help elevate their voices.”

The Visiting Filmmakers Series is sponsored by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Visual and Performing Arts. In addition to featuring “Parkland Rising,” the series featured cinematographer Dominic J. Jones and will feature filmmakers Elegance Bratton and Chico Colvard.

Since 1995, the series has helped connect the Mason community with visiting filmmakers from all over the world and traditionally features two to three filmmakers each semester who visit the campus to share their work and answer audience questions.

This past spring, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the series was forced to go online. Cynthia Fuchs, director of the Visiting Filmmakers Series and interim director of Mason’s Film and Video Studies program, noted that the online format allows more people to attend the series in a less formal atmosphere.

“’Parkland Rising’ documents the making of an ongoing movement,” said Fuchs. “In assembling this history, the film also looks ahead. Reaching across communities and causes, March For Our Lives—like and with Black Lives Matter—invites all of us to understand our intersectional experiences and relationships in order to work toward a more just future.”

McDonough said she’s glad to have the opportunity to showcase the film and the student survivors of the Parkland shooting. The film depicts a lie-in at a grocery store in Florida, the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., and efforts to register voters throughout the country, including a scene in Fairfax.

“It may seem like this is a film about one tragic incident, but it’s really about the power of people to change their world through action and protest,” said McDonough. “Ultimately, while it is about a difficult and painful subject, the movie itself is quite inspiring, hopeful and rousing.”

Ramaker hopes that featuring the documentary and participating in Mason’s Visiting Filmmakers Series will inspire young people, especially artists.

“Our history really is taught through art,” Ramaker said. “We are living in an important time, and there are creative ways to tell our history as it is happening. If we inspire other young filmmakers and other artists to tell their stories, then we’ve done something right.”

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Visiting Filmmakers Series

Mason Alumni

Film at Mason

Campus News

Visiting Filmmakers Series at Mason goes online with more speakers and a wider potential audience

Colleen Rich — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 15:48:56 +0000

Visiting Filmmakers Series at Mason goes online with more speakers and a wider potential audience Colleen Rich Mon, 04/13/2020 - 11:48

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College of Visual and Performing Arts Film and Video Studies

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Visiting Filmmakers Series

coronavirus; COVID-19; News; Editorial

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Visiting Filmmakers Series

Alum advocates for authentic storytelling in the film industry

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'Parkland Rising' producers discuss documentary as part of Mason’s Visiting Filmmakers Series

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Visiting Filmmakers Series at Mason goes online with more speakers and a wider potential audience

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