Chicago Journal

Golden Boy

Fire Escape Films’s latest large-scale project, The Pursuit of Happiness, written and produced by Benjamin Kolak, ‘06, and directed by Will Slocombe, ‘06, involved 70 students, 20 actors (including Tim Krieger, above), and 25 locations or sets. The plot, Kolak says, “revolves around the tragic downfalls of a senator and a lobbying group, both of whom attempt to legitimize uncommon routes to sexual gratification—bestiality and urination.” Besides Greek and Shakespearean inspirations, Kolak says, the film relies on Common Core philosophies, “particularly those of Tocqueville, Nietzsche, Freud, and Weber.” The film will screen at Max Palevsky Cinema this fall.

Photo by Amber Lee Mason