305 S. Campbell, Suite 101
Springfield, MO 65806
(417) 429-0800
info@moxiecinema.com
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. (NR, 105 min.)
(TBD)
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 our 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 verité feature reveals a microcosm of America's culture wars and serves as an essential document for students today grappling with their moment in history.
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 our 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.”
At a raucous performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, students sing “Don’t dream it, be it,” but we fear they are doing the Time Warp on the deck of the Titanic. New College has withstood hurricanes, but none like the culture warriors now seeking to take over higher education. [https://www.firsttheycameformy...]
Director: Patrick Bresnan
Genre: Documentary
"A poignant call to action."
— Screen Anarchy
"A blueprint of resistance."
— Texas Standard
"A warning and a call to arms."
— Cinapse
"Voices of rage and resistance give the documentary a vital sense of purpose."
— rogerebert.com
"Harrowingly relevant First They Came for My College waves a flag against fascism."
— The Maneater
"The film shows how resistance under authoritarian rule takes shape in everyday life."
— Ms. Magazine
"Friendship in the face of fascism is the antidote in First They Came for My College."
— Vox Magazine
"A compelling chronicle of the dispiriting conservative takeover of Florida's cherished liberal arts school the New College offers some hope."
— Stephen Saito, Moveable Fest
"The film offers a rare insider’s look into the right-wing campaign to conquer higher education, which ignited in Florida, and is all the more timely now as the same tactics spread like wildfire across the country."
— BOMB
"The gripping new documentary First They Came For My College documents how this tiny school of just 700 students became a battleground in the Trump administration’s assault on higher education."
— The Guardian
"New College might try to change its curriculum and student body, but First They Came for My College demonstrates that doesn’t squash those curious and open enough to find ways to connect with each other."
— Valerie Kalfrin, AWFJ.org
