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Directed by Patrick Bresnan
A grounded, ensemble documentary.
When the Governor of Florida transforms a beloved public honors college in a political coup, students and professors confront a new reality: their campus is ground zero in a growing nation-wide assault on academic freedom.
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People fighting losing battles never fails to make me cry.Josh's character development was so pronounced I can’t believe it was nonfiction. At one point he tells a story about why he stopped drawing that's so ludicrously on the nose it feels like it was written by Wes Anderson; from that moment forward I was rooting for him.But really every student is vital to this doc. They prove that although conservative fuckleknucks may win some battles, they are fighting a losing war.
So is now the time for me to mention that last fall when I went to program Feminist Fright Fest with the Emily Taylor Center at KU, I found out it didn’t even exist anymore? The entire department. The loss I felt upon realizing the school that I pumped money into, founded as a bastion of progressivism in the Midwest, SNOB HILL (as my father refers to it) had just gotten rid of their Women and Gender Equity department, and no one had even bothered to mention it to me. I still live in the town I went to school in!! But I also just got let go from a job for talking about how they were misogynistic so 🤙 okay Kansas Sorry to make it about me but I felt this movie HARD. I love that Josh was thereeeee at the screening and I really appreciate him being able to show his arch. I truly think it’s a blessing he ended up at that college, regardless of his initial intentions, because I’m sorry pal but no fucking way would a state school conservative crew GET you. Total theater kid vibes. I mean, the cigarette case? (I made this joke to my friend afterwards as I pulled out my own vintage cigarette case) I was so happy to see him at the end, belonging. Loving others. Drawing again. That school and those weirdos were good for him!! At the Q and A they said go unionize tomorrow, make friends with other organizations, protect your schools. They’re coming. They’ve already come.
Truly a horror film. I actually can't express how frustrating and and scary this was to watch because unlike other films about higher ed institutions and the students and faculty fighting for what they believe in, it's not archival. That this is the world we live in is fucking insane.
It documents the conservative takeover of New College of Florida and the student-led resistance against the political restructuring of the public honors college.
It was directed by filmmaker Patrick Bresnan in 2026, capturing frontline battles over higher education in America.
