Brenton Schwartz: On Both Sides of the Camera

Working on the set of “Kennedy Hill”

Brenton Schwartz just received his bachelor’s degree in media and communications and the outstanding student award from the department. Not only did Brenton do well in his film classes, but he volunteered for several projects directed by the David Lynch MA film students.

Brenton was born near Washington, D.C., and learned the Transcendental Meditation technique as a child. When he was 12, his family moved to Fairfield so he and his brother could attend Maharishi School. Brenton has always loved acting and took acting and dancing lessons as a child. He performed in school plays as well as numerous professional musical productions at the Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts in Fairfield.

After graduating from Maharishi School, Brenton was accepted into a BFA program in theater at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Although he enjoyed his experience at CU, he wanted to get more involved with film acting and film-making. He returned to Fairfield. Soon after returning, he volunteered as crew for a student film project and discovered he loved film-making. He signed up for a class in screenwriting, which inspired him to apply for the media and communications program.

Brenton at the 2016 graduation awards ceremony (photo by Ken West)

“One of the best things about MIU is the teachers,” said Brenton. “They are very passionate about what they do. Teaching is not the only thing they do. They have their own projects, and it’s motivating to see that they are doing what they like to do – it shows in their teaching.”

During his two years at MIU, Brenton was on the cast and crew of several master’s student films. In 2015, he had a part in Kennedy Hill and also worked on the crew. In addition, he edited the rough cut for the short film and created several promotional videos from behind-the-scenes footage. One of his shorts won an Award of Achievement from the Iowa Motion Picture Association.

This summer, Brenton is joining Kennedy Hill writer/director Jennifer Kachler in New York City to continue post-production. Brenton is sill passionate about acting, and hopes to pursue it in the future.