Brett Levner’s journey through the world of film and television is nothing short of inspiring. A graduate with honors from NYU and recipient of the prestigious Founders’ Day Award, Brett began her career at MTV, rising from intern to producer on hit series such as True Life, Diary, My Super Sweet Sixteen, and Made.
She went on to earn her MFA in Directing from Columbia University, where she became the first woman to win the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker Award for her short film Being Reel—a project that screened on over 21,000 movie screens nationwide and now resides in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art.
From award-winning music videos to socially impactful feature films like The Track and the upcoming Riot in Bloom, premiering at this year's Nevada Women's Film Festival, Brett leverages her experience and training to guide future filmmakers at ÐÔÊӽ紫ý Film. She advises Cinefemmes, a student organization empowering women in film.Under her tutelage, her students have gone on to win numerous awards including Pacific Southwest Student Emmy Awards, an Addy Award, a Best Nevada Filmmaker Award and a Spirit of Activism Award.
We asked Brett about where she's been, where she is, and where she's going.
Reflecting on your extensive career, which projects or milestones do you consider the most pivotal, and how have those experiences shaped your approach to teaching and mentoring emerging filmmakers?
To me the most impactful part of teaching is when we can use our skills as filmmakers to help others in need especially within our community. Before teaching here at ÐÔÊӽ紫ý Film, I worked in non-fiction television production for ten years as a producer and camera operator for shows including MTV's True Life, A&E's The First 48, TLC’s The Shift, TLC’s Sister Wives and Animal Planet’s Law on the Border, amongst others.
Since coming to ÐÔÊӽ紫ý Film, I have had the pleasure of teaching documentary classes including Documentary Production (FILM 447) and the History of Documentary Film (FILM 444). As well as creating our documentary program, ÐÔÊӽ紫ý Film Docs. SincÂÂÂÂe its inception, we have produced a dozen short documentaries for local nonprofits and organizations including Gender Justice Nevada, Broadway in the Hood and the Holocaust Survivors of Southern Nevada. These films have gone on to play festivals, win awards and secure numerous regional student Emmys.
One film in particular, Windsor Park:The Sinking Streets, which was commissioned by Nevada Senator Dina Neal and the William S. Boyd School of Law, went on to be used as testimony at the Nevada State Legislature. Windsor Park tells the story of the residents of a North Las Vegas housing community that had been literally sinking for decades due to being built on a fault line. The city of North Las Vegas had ignored the residents’ calls for help for years until Nevada Senator Neal took on the issue.
The film was used to help pass a bill which provided new housing for the residents of Windsor Park. It also went on to screen at numerous film festivals nationally and internationally. It won the Best Nevada Filmmaker Award at the Dam Short Film Festival 2022, the Pacific Southwest Student Emmy Award Winner for Long Form and Editing 2022 and the NWFFest Spirit of Activism Award 2022.
I feel like the students who worked on the project felt a sense of pride for being able to help people within our own community in need by doing what they love – making films.
Can you share some insights into your current work outside the classroom—be it film production, consulting, or creative collaborations—and how these endeavors continue to inform your academic practice?
Currently, I’m developing a new documentary project about my mother’s lifelong battle with mental illness. I hope to dispel the stigma still associated with mental health issues in this country and document the challenges caretakers of mentally ill loved ones face while navigating a challenging health care system. This is something very important to me and I want to be able to help others who are going through the same experience.
How do you see your industry experience enriching the film department’s curriculum, and are there specific initiatives or interdisciplinary projects you’re excited to develop with our students?
I really enjoy working on co-curricular projects with my students. Co-curricular projects were first created by the late ÐÔÊӽ紫ý FILM Chair and Professor Francisco Menendez who directed Medio Tiempo (2001), Primo (2008) and Stealing Las Vegas (2012) starring Eric Roberts. Retired ÐÔÊӽ紫ý Film Professor David Schmoeller also took part in the co-curricular program when he directed Two Little Monsters (2012).
The ÐÔÊӽ紫ý Film Co-Curricular program is an opportunity for students and faculty to collaborate on a feature film project together. For the faculty to mentor the students and for the students to get hands-on experience. I love being on set and I love teaching so for me this is a win-win. I also believe that the best way to learn is by doing and this program allows our students to do just that while at the same time encouraging our faculty to keep making films.
Since I’ve been at ÐÔÊӽ紫ý Film, I’ve directed two such projects including The Track (2015) and Riot In Bloom (2025). The Track which deals with the weighty issue of underage sex trafficking in Las Vegas stars Sam Trammell (True Blood), Mike Doyle (Law & Order: SVU, OZ and New Amsterdam), and Missy Yager (Manchester by the Sea and Mad Men). It premiered at Dances with Films 2016 and won Best Local Feature and Best First Time Feature Director at the Las Vegas Film Festival 2016. The Track is currently being distributed by Indie Rights Movies and can be viewed on Amazon Prime.
Riot in Bloom is a romantic comedy about a woman navigating a difficult divorce who quits her corporate job to work at a coffee shop and reconnect with her grunge rock roots. This film was created during a three-semester long class and is currently in post-production. We plan to premiere this Spring 2025.
Looking ahead, what are your professional and academic aspirations, and how do you envision bridging your past accomplishments with future opportunities to influence the next generation of filmmakers?
I am big on sharing my experiences and resources with my students. For example, as a graduate student at Columbia University Film Program, I was fortunate enough to be the first woman to win the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker Award for the 30 second short film I wrote and directed entitled Being Reel. The film went on to screen on 21,000 screens across the country, was an Honoree for Excellence in Student Filmmaking at the Association of Independent Commercial Producers Show and is currently included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. It led to my first paid directing job. It was such a rewarding experience that I wanted our students to have the same opportunity.
I was determined to bring the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker program to ÐÔÊӽ紫ý Film, and I was able to do so in 2018. Since then, I have been the advisor for the contest and in 2019, two of our students, Nicolle Peterson and Lily Campisi, made it to the finals. Their short film, The Big Wish, played in Regal Cinemas across the country. This was definitely a full circle moment and I was so happy for them to share the same experience.
When I first came to ÐÔÊӽ紫ý Film in 2011, I was able to help create a student organization for women filmmakers called Cinefemmes. At the time, there was a need for women mentors for our students and being the first full time woman professor in the film department I was able to fill that need. Since then, Cinefemmes has gone through lots of changes like widening its scope from being a group supporting women filmmakers to being a group supporting all minority filmmakers. It is the oldest registered student organization in our department. As advisor to Cinefemmes, I have brought in numerous guest speakers over the years including some of my friends and colleagues from school and work including filmmakers Rebecca Thomas (Electrik Children, Wardriver), James Ponsodlt (The End of the Tour, Shrinking), Phil Johnston (Wreck It Ralph) and Cherien Dabis (Amreeka, All That's Left of You).