Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker to Lecture at MCCC

A&E award-winning documentary film maker Molly Thompson, a 1984 television production alumnus of Mercer County Community College (MCCC), will discuss her career path and views on the current state of the media as part of the college's Distinguished Lecture Series on March 9.

Fresh from attending the 2016 Academy Awards ceremony - where a film she executive produced, Cartel Land, was nominated for Best Documentary - Thompson will deliver the lecture "The World of Documentary Film and How I Found My Way There." Her presentation is at noon on Wednesday, March 9 in the Communications Building, Room 109, on the MCCC West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. The lecture is free and open to the public.

As part of her presentation, Thompson will talk about her journey into the world of documentary film, starting with her first internship with New Jersey Network, to her current position at A+E Studios. She will discuss her views on the changing media landscape, and her thoughts for students interested in careers in media.

Thompson is senior vice president for feature films at A+E Studios. In 2005 she launched and has since run A&E IndieFilms, the network's feature documentary film division. A&E IndieFilms' productions include the Oscar-nominated Murderball and Jesus Camp, and the Emmy Award-winning The Tillman Story, Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, and Under African Skies.

Thompson executive produces all of the division's original productions. A&E IndieFilms' recent productions include Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon directed by Mike Myers, and Happy Valley, directed by Amir Bar-Lev. In addition to the Academy Award nomination, Cartel Land won the Best Directing award and a Special Jury Prize for Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival, and was the subject of a feature in The Wall Street Journal. Thompson also executive produced two scripted Lifetime Films features: Last of Robin Hood and Lila and Eve, starring Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez.

For more information on MCCC's Distinguished Lecture Series, call (609) 570-3324 or visit www.mccc.edu/events.

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