The Elon University alumnus oversaw the production of a full-length film titled “Virginia 12th,” which follows the story of Chris Hurst, a one-time news anchor who was thrust into national headlines when his girlfriend and colleague were murdered during a live news broadcast. The 64-minute documentary charts Hurst’s journey as he campaigns for political office.
With Election Day fast approaching, it is no coincidence that NowThis decided to host an Oct. 30 live premiere of “Virginia 12th,” a full-length documentary directed by Elon alumnus Tim Johnson ’09.
The documentary takes audiences on Hurst’s journey from journalism to campaigning ahead of Election Day 2017, where he rode a wave of support – much of it from young voters – to unseat a NRA-backed career politician.
Click here for a trailer of “Virginia 12th.”
In addition to premiering online, “Virginia 12th” will be screened at the 2018 Virginia Film Festival on Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, Virginia. The event will feature a discussion with Hurst, Johnson, Athan Stephanopoulos of NowThis and U.S. House of Representatives candidate Leslie Cockburn.
Johnson said he hopes his new documentary is a call to action, and that Hurst’s journey into politics motivates others to engage in the political process – and, ultimately, vote. These objectives were a large reason Johnson decided to pursue the documentary.
“Initially, I just really respected Chris’ decision to run,” said Johnson, explaining his decision to make the film. “After losing Alison in such a public way, he chose to remain in the spotlight rather than retreat from it, because he believed he had something to offer to the folks in his district, and I thought that took courage.”
Additionally, Johnson said he was inspired by Hurst’s unifying message to people on all sides of the political spectrum. During his campaign, the Democratic candidate worked to rally support and regularly engaged young first-time voters on the two college campuses within the district, Virginia Tech and Radford.
“As the story unfolded, I realized there were parallels between his divided district in southwest Virginia and the polarization we see nationally, and I thought it was an important story to tell,” Johnson added.
Johnson said he felt honored that his film is NowThis’ first feature-length documentary premiere, understanding the prominent venue the platform provides his project.
“NowThis has become known as a premier publisher of short content for young audiences, so for them to be expanding their offerings through this film has been exciting,” he said. “It’s an ideal home because NowThis can get the film in front of young people, who are the main audience and hopefully in a position to act on it.”
Johnson is not the only Elon connection to the new documentary. The director enlisted the help of Peyton Lea ’10 who assisted with cinematography on Election Day 2017. “He brought an important skill set to that day, and we ended up capturing every moment we could’ve asked for,” Johnson said. “It was fun to film together again just like we had on many occasions while at Elon.”