Alumni-produced documentary to screen at film festival in Durham

“Win or Lose,” a short documentary by Elon University School of Communications alumni Dan Koehler ’12 and Liv Dubendorf ’12, will be screened Aug. 10 and 15 at the North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in Durham, N.C. The film will be shown first as part of a two-documentary screening, and the scheduled showtimes are 2:10 p.m. Aug. 10 and 7:15 p.m. Aug. 15.

“Win or Lose” centers on Raleigh-based photographer Curtis Brown and his quest to activate North Carolina citizens to vote against Amendment One and bring marriage equality to North Carolina. The documentary was selected as the bronze winner in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Student Academy Awards Documentary competition in June.

“Win or Lose” got its first major play at the Seattle International Film Festival, where it was screened May 26. Koehler directed, edited and shot and Dubendorf produced the film for Communications assistant professor Nicole Triche’s “Producing the Documentary” class last spring.

Koehler, a Media Arts & Entertainment major at Elon, now works at Marshall Curry Productions in Brooklyn, N.Y. Curry is a renowned documentarian whose film “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” was nominated for an Academy Award in 2011.

Dubendorf, also a Media Arts & Entertainment major at Elon, works as a story AP and field AP at Original Productions in Burbank, Calif. Original Productions produces reality television shows, such as “Storage Wars,” “Ice Road Truckers” and “Deadliest Catch.”

Both Koehler and Dubendorf were members of elondocs, Elon’s documentary production program, while students.

The official synopsis for “Win or Lose” reads: “When a proposed constitutional amendment threatens the legitimacy of many North Carolina families, Brown takes up his camera to make a stand. He and a handful of friends set up photo shoots across the state to capture a portrait of unity in this inspiring story from the struggle for marriage equality. As he encourages change, Brown battles politicians, ignorance, and his own doubt. The day of the vote approaches, and Brown cannot help but fear he has not done enough to convince North Carolina to vote against Amendment One. Yet, win or lose, Brown takes comfort in the knowledge that, through his project, thousands have banded together in love and support.”