First Sight: 2025 Award-Winning Shorts from the Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism

Introduced by filmmaker Robert Greene, with filmmakers Tessa Jagger-Wells, Matthew Pehl, and Michael Coleman in person

For the eighth consecutive year, First Look presents Jury award–winning graduate and undergraduate student films from the Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism. All were originally presented at the Stronger Than Fiction Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri. This year’s jurors were Isabel Castro, Chloe Gbai, and Eric Hynes. Total running time: 85 mins. New York premieres 

Victim 
Dir. Tessa Jagger-Wells. 2024, 13 mins. U.S. In 1950, Janett Christman was murdered while babysitting in Columbia, Missouri. Almost 75 years later, a filmmaker investigates the unsolved case and its surprising connection to pop culture while she confronts her obsession with true crime. Winner, Special Jury Award for Editing. 

Cowboy Strike 
Dir. Matthew Pehl. 2024, 22 mins. U.S. In 1883, cowboys in the Texas Panhandle responded to the rise of the first mega-ranches in dramatic fashion: they launched a strike. In investigating the story of this long-forgotten historical anecdote, a contemporary songwriter seeks to pay tribute to the cowboys’ search for economic justice. In doing so, he must rethink the meaning of the mythic legacy of the American frontier. Winner, Stacy Woelfel Award for Innovative Journalism. 

Satan’s Greatest Lies (pictured above)
Dir. Michael Coleman. 2024, 35 mins. U.S. George Russell, a maverick environmental activist with a God complex, mourns the unexpected loss of his youngest daughter, causing him to question his lifelong crusade to preserve the piney woods of East Texas. Winner, Best Director. 

I Will Take the Blame 
Dir. Elena Fu. 2024, 15 mins. U.S. A young Chinese woman endeavors to mend her parents’ fractured marriage, only to encounter the painful realization of her own limitations. Through candid moments and heartfelt reflections, it delves into the intricate web of family dynamics and the resilience required to navigate the pain of loss and the challenge of change. Winner, Best Film. 

Tickets: $17.50 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership. 

Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. 

About the filmmakers:

Michael Coleman is a documentary filmmaker, editor, and educator. He is a prolific film-viewer and lifelong student of the craft and history of cinema. His short film DV Footage Log 2014-2020 premiered at the second annual Film Diary NYC series in 2022 at the Millennium Film Workshop. He produced the feature documentary To Love the Void, which premiered at the Brooklyn International Film Festival in 2023. When not watching or making movies, he is an Assistant Teaching Professor of film and digital media at the University of Missouri.

Elena Fu is a visual storyteller and was a graduate student at University of Missouri, majoring in Documentary and Photojournalism. Originally from China, Elena enjoys immersing in different cultures and capturing raw human experiences through the lens of a camera. With a passion for cultures, Elena hopes to transcend borders and share stories of the world in the future.

Tessa Jagger-Wells is a documentary journalist, filmmaker, and writer from the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently based in Kansas City, Missouri, where she works as a researcher for the Law&Crime Network. In her free time, she can be found frequenting coffee shops and bookstores, or watching Frasier with her cat, Daphne.

Matthew Pehl is an American historian who teaches at Texas Tech University. “Cowboy Strike” is his first film.