When film producer Mike Marsdale was tasked with scouting a location for his feature about a community college professor, he remembered Brooke Mailhiot. Marsdale and Mailhiot, both Drexel University graduates, ran in the same circles (unbeknownst to each other) and eventually met years later while working at the Virtua Health television studio. 

So why Mailhiot? As Rowan College at Burlington County’s Entertainment Technologies Program Coordinator, she served as the perfect bridge between access and action. And her openness and interest in providing real-world experiences to her students motivated her to make RCBC the set for Marsdale’s film “The Life of Peter Gottlieb.” 

“Helping community members aligns with one of the core pillars of RCBC’s mission, so why not a local filmmaker? I thought it could provide an experiential learning experience to our students while also fulfilling our commitment to serving the community,” Mailhiot shared.

With the pandemic limiting on-campus classes and finals just wrapping up, RCBC became the ideal location to shoot a film. 

“We were fortunate that we were allowed the run of Laurel Hall,” Marsdale, Founder/Producer at Strange Dream Films, said. “It was great having access because we got so many different looks out of all of those rooms -- the mail nook, the classroom, the stairwell, the hallway. Some of it we didn’t plan to use, but we thought we could make it look interesting.”

“The Life of Peter Gottlieb,” set to release in late summer/early fall, crosses action with dark comedy and a touch of romance. It chronicles the story of a man down on his luck. After a failed marriage, he moves to a fictional town and takes a job teaching economics at a community college. In an unlikely turn of events, this position serves as the vehicle for his becoming the prime suspect in a missing person’s case.

Throughout filming, RCBC student Alyssa Morgen, who aims to become a documentary filmmaker, gained firsthand experience as a production assistant and an extra. 

“It was a lot different from what I expected. It was nice working with a smaller crew rather than a huge production because I felt like they really wanted me to learn something,” Morgen shared. “I managed equipment, observed all of the scenes and learned about the different roles behind the camera. I was also picking up on industry terms which I found really cool.”

Want to learn more about the film? Marsdale, Mailhiot and Morgen will join RCBC President Dr. Michael A. Cioce during an evening Facebook Town Hall at 6 pm, on January 27. They’ll discuss what it was like filming on campus, other interesting projects Morgen was tasked with as a film student (including an opportunity to interview the woman who oversaw the adoption of President Joseph R. Biden’s dog at the Delaware Humane Association) and a sneak peek of “The Life of Peter Gottlieb” trailer. 

As always, we welcome viewer questions and comments throughout the livestream.