Film and Digital Media program transformed by gift

July 27, 2015
Over the past decade, Baylor’s film and digital media (FDM) program has established a growing reputation as a place where students with drive and talent can find their artistic voice and develop skills as storytellers. The FDM program’s graduates have gone on to careers as noted writers, directors, cinematographers and producers across the country, creating a strong link between the Baylor name and industry success.

Now, the FDM program is positioned to achieve even greater prominence through a gift of $2 million from Matthew B. Lindner and his father Carl H. Lindner III of Cincinnati to create the Matthew B. Lindner Endowment for Excellence in Film and Digital Media. Through the support of this gift, the FDM program became the Department of Film and Digital Media, a freestanding academic unit in the College of Arts and Sciences, effective June 1.

“The faculty members in Baylor’s Film and Digital Media program provided me with the kind of well-rounded education I needed to turn a love for film into the reality of a professional career in movies,” said Matthew Lindner, who earned a BA in Film and Digital Media from Baylor in 2012 and is a producer and investor in the independent film industry. “Words can’t describe the impact Baylor had on me, and I’m very happy to give back in some way. My hope is for Baylor to one day be known as one of the best film departments in the nation.”

Funds distributed in the coming years from the Matthew B. Lindner Endowment for Excellence in Film and Digital Media will make possible activities including the production of feature-length films under the direction of FDM faculty members and with the collaboration of industry professionals who mentor and engage undergraduate and graduate students.

“Baylor University is deeply grateful to Matthew Lindner and his father, Carl, for their remarkable generosity that will enable the University to transform our wonderful Film and Digital Media program into a full academic department,” said Baylor President and Chancellor Ken Starr. “This powerful demonstration of Matthew’s deep love and respect for the education he received at Baylor will help strengthen Baylor’s ability to produce industry leaders who bring a faith-informed approach to the artistry of film-based storytelling.”

Leading the department as its inaugural chair will be Chris Hansen, MFA. Having joined Baylor’s faculty in 2004, Hansen has served as director of the FDM program since 2009. He is an award-winning writer and director of such films as The Proper Care & Feeding of an American Messiah, Where We Started and Blur Circle. His feature films have screened at festivals throughout the United States and Canada and have been released theatrically in Los Angeles and New York.

“During the last decade, we’ve been developing a dynamic film and digital media program built around storytelling in all its forms, training students to be filmmakers and professionals in other areas of media production who are proficient with the latest technology and discerning with the power they have as creators of compelling narratives,” Hansen said.

After completing his degree at Baylor, Matthew Lindner earned an MFA from the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, California. He serves as an independent contractor for the Cincinnati Film Commission and as a movie producer, with current projects based in locations ranging from New York to Miami. He recently was involved as a producer of the feature-length film Jacqueline (Argentine), which was filmed in October 2014 in Argentina and stars Camille Rutherford under the direction of Bernardo Britto.

Carl H. Lindner III is co-CEO of American Financial Group Inc., a Fortune 500 Company. Carl and his wife, Martha, are graduates of the University of Cincinnati, where they met. In 2011, Carl and Martha Lindner made a $3.6 million gift to support the Global Mission Leadership Initiative in Baylor’s School of Social Work — a program dedicated to identifying and educating global Christian leaders who are God-called and mission-driven to become catalysts for holistic change in international communities.