Private Project

Maxwell's Movie Night

Armed with a webcam and a love of cinema, Professor Maxwell tries to bridge the gap in his asynchronous online class, turning an empty digital room into a poignant meditation on modern loneliness.

  • Alexis Duran
    Director
    Bye Luna, Forgetting Caroline
  • Alexis Duran
    Producer
  • Alexis Duran
    Cinematography
  • Peter Maxwell
    Key Cast
  • Alexis Duran
    Editor
  • Abigail Alonzo
    Co-Editor
  • Eddie Ocampo
    Assitant Editor
  • Marjan Hazegh
    Closed Captioning
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Biographical, Observational, Film & Cinema
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 8, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    800 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital/1080P
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Alexis Duran

Alexis Duran is a Southern California–based filmmaker, educator, and award-winning storyteller working across explainers, video journalism, and short- and feature-length documentaries.

Alexis has a strong foundation in television news broadcasting, having worked as a studio camera operator at NBC San Diego 7, an experience that informed his interest in reporting on impactful stories and supported his transition into freelance filmmaking.

As a freelance filmmaker and founder of Oxford&Claire Productions, he has directed and shot documentaries and episodic nonfiction content for a wide range of international and national outlets, including BBC Three, USA Today, Bloomberg, NowThis, The Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera (AJ+), The Weather Channel’s The Earth Unlocked, Business Insider, More Perfect Union, Facebook, LinkedIn, Voice of America (VOA), HubSpot’s The Hustle, The New York Times’ The Athletic, PBS, and TED, among others. His work often focuses on human-centered stories that intersect with culture, media, and contemporary social systems.

Alexis is currently in the festival circuit with Maxwell’s Movie Night, an observational, reflexive short documentary about a film professor attempting to connect with his online students, exploring pedagogy, performance, and presence in virtual learning environments.

In addition to his filmmaking practice, Alexis is an adjunct professor in the Film, Television & Media Arts department at Southwestern College and teaches Film Studies at Miramar College.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Film and Digital Media from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an MFA in Film and Television Production from San Diego State University.

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Director Statement

This documentary began quietly, during a voiceover session with Professor Maxwell on one of his projects, when he mentioned his weekly attempts to connect with his online students through virtual movie nights. The gesture stayed with me — modest, hopeful, and deeply human. I asked to follow him through the final weeks of his semester, not knowing whether anyone would show up.

What unfolds is less about instruction than about presence. As screens replace classrooms, the film observes one educator’s gentle persistence and the unanswered question of what community looks like when learning happens at a distance. The absence of response becomes its own form of dialogue.

The film resists spectacle, allowing meaning to emerge through repetition, silence, and waiting. In this small ritual, the story finds humor, vulnerability, and a shared longing — a reflection on teaching, attention, and the fragile hope of being seen in a digital world.