On April 11, Monica Hoenig’s film classroom was filled with students eager to hear Academy Award-winning filmmaker Luke Methany share his journey from film student to OSCAR winner to television showrunner. Mr. Methany very generously offered his personal insights to Viewpoint’s budding filmmakers and gave them the critical advice “to always work as hard on other people’s films as you do on your own.” He then added, “The most important things that you can do in this business are work hard and be nice.”

Each year, Ms. Hoenig teaches Luke Methany’s film, God of Love, which he made while he was in graduate school at NYU, so the students were excited to have him come to class to hear about making the film from his perspective. Ms. Hoenig said, “We study Luke’s Oscar-winning short film in my Film III classes and it was important for me to invite him to meet our students for several reasons. First of all, a personal visit by a successful filmmaker provides inspiration and motivation for students to pursue their dreams. The in-depth conversation with Luke also offered practical insights into the creative and professional side of the film industry. Sharing his personal experiences as a former film student and successful showrunner of children’s television programs gave students a better understanding of what it takes to succeed in the film industry.”