Film based on student suicide raises concerns

An Ivy League student leaves school without telling anyone and drives a rented car to California less than two weeks before his senior thesis is due.

That's the ripped-from-the-headlines premise of "gamefish," a controversial new short film written, directed and produced by aspiring actor and noted self-promoter Casey Ford Alexander '09.

The film, which stars Alexander and first-time actor Alexander Krueger-Wyman '09, was inspired by the death last spring of Manzili Davis '06, a 21-year-old senior from Chicago who disappeared from campus and was found dead April 18 in a public storage facility in East Palo Alto, Calif.

Investigators determined that Davis had rented a car in New York before driving to California and killing himself.

Alexander said he felt compelled to make the film after reading an article in The Daily Princetonian about Davis' death.

"I had so many feelings, emotions, and questions trapped inside of me after reading the 'Prince' article," said Alexander, who insists people call him by his initials, CFA. "Making this film was a way of releasing them."

Friends of Davis expressed shock and disappointment upon hearing of the film, which will air today through Sunday at 9, 10 and 11 p.m. on the Princeton Student Television Network.

Megan Summers '06, who saw the original trailer for the film posted online (see revised trailer), said in an email that she was "shocked that this CFA character decided to do such a project." Summers called Davis her "first friend at Princeton."

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"A project like this — inspired by Manzili's death — is hard for me as one of his close friends," Summers said. "It's difficult to not be negative, to resist feeling like just another Princeton student is trying to make his mark at any cost."

Chris Aguilar '06, Davis' friend and freshman-year roommate, was more blunt in his criticism.

"I think that care should be ... taken in how the film carries out given the short amount of time that has elapsed since Manzili's passing," he said in an email.

"To mix fact with fiction and not consult those closest to Manzili as to his true character I think would be disrespectful to Manzili's memory, inconsiderate to Manzili's family and friends, and characteristically egocentric as only Casey Ford Alexander can be."

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Davis' mother Roella declined to comment for this article.

The controversy surrounding the film comes on the heels of a similar incident involving author and creative writing professor Joyce Carol Oates, who came under fire recently from professors and students at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) after her short story "Landfill" was published in the Oct. 9 issue of The New Yorker.

Oates' story involves a Michigan State student who is found dead in a landfill after having gone missing for weeks. The story mirrors the case of TCNJ freshman John Fiocco, Jr., whose body was found in a landfill in Bucks County, Pa., last spring.

Students, professors and administrators at TCNJ criticized Oates for using the tragedy for her story, which they said could only cause pain and sadness for Fiocco's friends and family.

Alexander (read an earlier profile) said he wants his film to spark discussion within the University community and plans to have question-and-answer sessions after future screenings.

He added that he hopes to screen the film at other Ivy League schools and for a general audience this winter, and that Ivy Council president Jennifer Mickel '07 has approached him about showing it at the group's next meeting.

The teaser trailer for "gamefish," which appeared online earlier this month but has since been removed from the Internet, made clear the film's connection to campus events. The new trailer opens with the written sentences, "In early Spring, an Ivy League student went missing. Less than two weeks before his senior thesis was due."

Alexander said he made changes to the trailer, replacing "Princeton student" with "Ivy League student," because his film is meant for a wider audience.

Some facts surrounding Davis' death still appear in the current trailer, however, including brief shots of a computer screen displaying Hertz Rent A Car and ezStorage webpages.

In response to anger expressed by Davis' friends, Alexander said that it was "necessary" for him to make this film.

"That could have been a friend of mine. It could have been me," he said. "It's just a feeling that the event itself has moved me. I think the film itself, it has life, it gives life ... There is no death in this film. It is in support of life and living to the fullest."

Though initial reactions seem to be to the contrary, Alexander said he expects those close to Davis to embrace "gamefish" and not see it as exploitative.

"I think the film would be welcomed [by Davis' family and friends], because ultimately it's about a friend concerned for another friend," he said.

Unanswered questions

In the film, Mark — played by Alexander — calls his missing friend Jerome, played by Krueger-Wyman, to find out where he's gone.

"Any sort of desire by an individual to keep in touch, to keep tabs on another soul or individual, is welcomed in our society, it's a great thing," Alexander said. "That's the basis of being a good friend. Manzili's friends were keeping tabs on him through his Facebook wall. That's Mark's purpose."

Mark learns of his friend's disappearance when a reporter calls asking for information.

"You know it's hard sometimes in such a small campus community, especially with so many brilliant minds," Mark tells the reporter in the film`. "And unless you're a trust fund baby, or you're surely going to figure out the cure to cancer, you're essentially ensnared in a collective rush process. And you become absorbed in your work and your talents and that's probably what happened to Jerome. But what can you do?"

Alexander said he doesn't claim to understand the reason behind Davis' suicide.

"The fact that it happened two weeks before his senior thesis is intriguing," Alexander said. "At the same time, I'm not making the film to answer any questions about Davis' death. However, I'm comfortable posing questions, displaying emotions, the kinds of sentiments I felt after reading about this particular event."

Krueger-Wyman also said he had "no idea why [Davis] did it," adding, though, that he himself has felt the pressure of being at Princeton.

"It's so difficult in every respect, academically and socially," Krueger-Wyman said. "I definitely connected with [Davis] on that level. I sort of understand why he was not satisfied."

Summers said she wasn't sure how Davis himself would have reacted to the film. She said she could see two different responses, noting that Manzili was an avid film fan, having written thousands of movie reviews online.

"Judging from the short clips of the film, I can imagine Manzili sitting in a coffee shop in Princeton or New York, frowning slightly at the idea of such a project, disheartened by the potential motives," she said. "But I can also see him smirking and saying, 'Hey, he better let me pick who plays me.' "