Filmmaker speaks to class about success, career

From working as a filmmaker on a worldwide tour with U2 to creating a Sundance Film Festival award-winning movie about Somali pirates, 26-year-old Cutter Hodierne has had a diverse career thus far.

The creator of the Grand Jury Prize-winning short film, “Fishing Without Nets,” had an open discussion with director of journalism Dawn Fallik’s Topics in Journalism class, which is focused on Critical Writing. Fallik, who writes about TV for The Wall Street Journal, asked Cutter to share his experiences with the class via Skype on Tuesday.           

Hodierne’s career has expanded since his work with U2, and the discussion in Fallik’s class was focused on “Fishing Without Nets,” the film Hodierne directed in Kenya. This fictional movie tells the story of a Somalian man who reluctantly becomes involved with a pirate group in order to earn enough money to purchase medicine for his infant daughter.

            Hodierne found his passion for filmmaking in high school, long before he had acclaimed success in the industry, he says. He joined programs that were funded and driven by student interest. As a result, Hodierne says he had a great amount of authority in terms of what he could study outside of the typical, pre-outlined curriculum.

          “In high school, we were a unique group of people who were really interested in filmmaking,” Hodierne says. “Our teacher was our meter. We got kind of obsessed with making movies.”

           Jonathan Cohen, a senior and student in the class, says he does short film work for fun with friends and keeps up-to-date with current short films through YouTube and Vice Magazine’s website. He says although he had not heard of Hodierne before the presentation, he was impressed to hear Hodierne had found success at the Sundance Film Festival.