FTVM Honors Concentrators 2025-2026

Jonah Hart is a senior Film, Television, & Media student from Chicago, Illinois. His passion for filmmaking began in the summer of 2022, after working as a production assistant on NBCUniversal’s Chicago P.D. Since then, Jonah has fully immersed himself in the medium through work on and off campus. While his ultimate goal is to write and direct his own stories, Jonah has taken great strides to learn about all areas of the industry, including corporate production for companies such as United Airlines, where he interned and directed/produced the company’s first intern highlight video. Additionally, he has worked in sports and advertising production with small-team guerrilla-style filmmaking at Banner Studios in Chicago. Currently, Jonah is working for Wavelength Productions in their New York office, learning how larger production studios help filmmakers’ visions become a reality. On campus, Jonah has directed, produced, and helped out on various student films, most recently directing a 12-minute narrative adapted short film titled Ghost Knife. On the side, Jonah has channeled his passion for music into creative projects that explore the intersection of sound and video production, filming various concerts and music videos on campus. With one year left, Jonah looks to tell a deeply personal story through his production thesis, Dream with Me.

Production Thesis: Dream with Me

Primary Advisor: David Marek; Secondary Advisor: Victor Fanucchi

When Liam, a lost art student, finds himself in the dream world with the love of his life, he embarks on a subconscious journey that reminds him what life is truly about. Dream with Me is a 25-minute narrative coming-of-age film that explores a transformative relationship between Liam and an older girl at his school.

Production Thesis: 'Malaya' A black girl coming of age film

Primary Advisor: Padrick Ritch; Secondary Advisor: Dan Shere 

Logline:  A black girl coming of age film about the test of will and determination that one must have to achieve their dreams. 

Synopsis: “If you want to do this, promise yourself that you will never give up” are the words that Malaya’s grandma tells her when applying to college. Malaya says that she is prepared for all the challenges of leaving her hometown in Flint, Michigan, to attend college for film in California. The day comes for her to open her college admission letters, and she is denied from all of the colleges except USC, but with hardly any financial aid to cover the full cost, this seems like an impossible feat. This is just the start of her whole world falling apart. Suddenly, she’s now looked at as one of the family’s failures. Through all of this, Malaya keeps hope alive and tries to find a way through the darkness—that is, until the worst moment of all happens when her grandma passes away. She’s lost, as there doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel as Malaya struggles to make truth of the words she once promised. At the end of the journey, will Malaya be able to notice the light within herself?

Mena Nasiri is a senior with a double major in Film, Television, and Media and Mechanical Engineering. She wanted to be a visual artist from a young age and transitioned into filmmaking when she fell in love with movies in high school. She has always been a passionate advocate for better representation of marginalized groups in the media, with a focus on Arab and Muslim identities. At Michigan, she enjoys extracurriculars in both film and engineering, such as working on documentaries with professors, founding a film production group for BIPOC students, and conducting research in animal robotics and transportation. She recently earned the Dr. Jack G. Shaheen media scholarship for her advocacy for better Arab representation in film, and she is steadfast in continuing this mission throughout her filmmaking career. Fun fact: Mena is pictured here filming in the marshes of southern Iraq for her honors thesis! She is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to pursue this project and is looking forward to developing it throughout the year.

Production Thesis:  Along the Water's Edge

Primary Advisor: Christopher McNamara; Secondary Advisor: Swapnil Rai

Along the Water's Edge is a documentary that connects the ancient marshes of southern Iraq with the freshwater wetlands of Michigan, exposing how industrialism and climate change threaten Indigenous cultures and unique biodiversity, and highlighting the shared fight for survival, preservation, and restoration in a fragile world. At its heart are two environmental activists who face immense forces endangering the wetlands they call home, and whose devotion is a testament to the enduring power of hope.

I grew up in Livonia, MI, not too far from Ann Arbor, and was drawn to films from a young age. Though I began my time at Michigan with the intention to go into film production, I came to realize that writing about them was where I really found a true challenge and creative satisfaction. I now hope to go to graduate school after my time here is complete and keep doing just that. My interests in film span far and wide, and I enjoy everything from the MGM musicals of the 1940s to the grindhouse exploitation films of the 1970s. Academically, I’m interested in the formation of taste cultures, youth subcultures, camp, paracinema, viewed through the lens of queer and psychoanalytic film theory. When I’m not watching movies or posting about them on Letterboxd, I can usually be found running in the Arb, lifting weights at the IM Building, or at one of the record stores downtown. It has been so much fun already working with my advisors on this project, and I’m so glad to be a part of Honors this year!

Academic Thesis:   “Authenticity is a Must: Re-Examining the Queer Legacy of Danny Kaye”

Primary Advisor: Matthew Noble-Olson; Secondary Advisor: Daniel Herbert 

Despite his being one of the biggest stars of the 1940s and 1950s, little popular or scholarly attention has been given to what I argue is a markedly campy, queer sensibility in Danny Kaye’s film performances. My thesis aims to investigate how his queerness evolved and reconciled with the heteronormative culture of the era, particularly after his pivot toward becoming a children’s entertainer. Namely, I argue that Kaye’s progression from his more overtly campy 1940s persona to a ‘childish’ one during the 1950s did not erase his queerness; rather, it queered him even further by revealing the many contradictions that underlie our conceptions of the signifying relations between queers, children, and childhood.

Porter Selfridge (he/him) was born in Reed City, Michigan and is currently pursuing a BA in FTVM with the Screenwriting sub-concentration. Porter is driven by a passion for storytelling, having written, produced, and directed over half a dozen short-film scripts on Umich’s campus. Porter’s work seeks to highlight his passion, which is bringing loveable odd-ball stories to life. Porter is currently working as a Development Intern with Untitled Entertainment in Los Angeles. Prior to that, he has worked as a Development Intern for Rain Management, founded by Umich alum Johnathon Baruch. At the University of Michigan, Porter has operated as the Production Director for NOiR Runway Fashion, serving the philanthropic org for over two seasons. He has also Co-Founded the Student Film Festival Project – a 10 day film-challenge on Umich’s campus –, worked alongside SHEI magazine’s digital fashion team, and will be serving as a Co-Showrunner for The Umich Writers Room’s ‘25-26 season. Beyond school, Porter likes to write for himself – whether that be short scripts or poetry – and practice being active by himself or with friends.   

Screenwriting Thesis:  21st Century Cowboy  

Primary Advisor: Cindy Davis; Secondary Advisor: Matthew Solomon 

21st Century Cowboy is the story of an impoverished dairy farmer’s journey into NYC, on a quest to avenge his murdered lover. Using the conventions of a traditional western, the work seeks to subvert the genre by building upon the ways in which the Western still exists within our world today, replacing the violence of a traditional Western with empathetic interactions, and creating a dialogue through which we can understand how masculinity impacts the genre. A feature-length Western, the script will deal with themes of loss, forgiveness, and our society’s incessant drive towards perpetuating cycles of violence.