A documentary about government influence at New College of Florida is garnering national attention.
It's called "First They Came for My College." A synopsis says it gives an inside look into a "right-wing campaign to reconquer higher education in America."
"New College of Florida was the first public college to be transformed by a political coup — a blueprint for our new era of unprecedented censorship and political interference in academia," the synopsis reads in part. "By embedding with the student newspaper, an outspoken professor and students from all sides of the political spectrum, this verité feature reveals a microcosm of America's culture wars, and serves as an essential document for students today grappling with their moment in history."
New College of Florida President and former Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran calls the movie "sensationalized" and "disconnected from reality." Filmmakers say he was invited to contribute his perspective, but canceled.
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In a recent op-ed, Corcoran said he's often asked "why so many attacks" and scrutiny about the institution.
Corcoran believes it's because conservative leadership in higher education "frightens those who have enjoyed a decades-long ideological monopoly over America's campuses." He added that he believes the institution is succeeding by rejecting "failed orthodoxies."
"New College champions free speech and mandates civil discourse. We expose students to a genuine marketplace of ideas. We teach them how to think, not what to think. And remarkably, when you do that, students from all backgrounds are drawn to it," Corcoran wrote. "That is the irony the critics refuse to confront. When quotas mandate diversity, they cheapen it. When merit, freedom, and excellence lead, diversity follows naturally."
On "Florida Matters Live & Local," we spoke with the documentarians behind the film: Producer Harry Hanbury, director Patrick Bresnan and former student Gaby Batista. They talked about what prompted the film and more.
The film will be showcased at the 2026 Florida Film Festival in Maitland. One showing is Saturday, April 11, at 5:30 p.m. at the Enzian Theater. The other is Thurs, April 16 at 4 p.m. at Regal Winter Park Village (Theater A).
The interview below is edited for clarity and brevity.
Harry is an alum of New College. When did you know that things were changing?
HARRY HANBURY: I think the first thing was the fact that DeSantis announced six new trustees on Jan. 6, 2023, as if to signal to the MAGA right that they didn't succeed in taking over the nation with the insurrection and the storming of the Capitol, but they could take over this little college in Florida.
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And when I read the backgrounds of the trustees who had connections with the Heritage Foundation and a variety of right-wing think tanks. One of them is closely aligned with Project 2025. I saw pretty quickly that this was kind of far-right education reformers and that their ambitions were great.
Gaby, you graduated a couple of years ago. What was it like being a student at New College while all this was happening?
GABY BATISTA: I think it was a life-changing experience. New College is such a special institution. My alternative was FSU — a completely different student experience, especially the relationship you have with faculty.
And while half of my experience at New College was sort of free of political turmoil, I think being there on campus — as this stuff was happening — it was a big learning moment for myself, for my peers.
We learned what a board of trustees was, how universities are governed, and we never expected for that to be a part of our education. Usually, you just go and get your degree. It was definitely an interesting time.
I learned a lot about myself. About organizing — about people and how difficult they can be sometimes. But all in all, I learned a lot about how resilient humans can be when they get together against a common enemy.
Patrick, I was reading you worked with the student paper to give current students iPhones to document their experience, so some of that footage made it into the movie as well.
PATRICK BRESNAN: Yes, a lot of student footage made it into the movie.
We wanted to make a film that college students would watch, that high school students would watch, and we wanted it to be in their voice.
And because they're on campus all the time and they're going through this, we wanted them to have agency in the storytelling process.
I feel their footage is some of the strongest footage in our entire film. So we really focused on investing money — not in big crews — but in the students.
Richard Corcoran writes, "New College champions free speech and mandates civil discourse." Gaby, I wonder what you make of that.
GABY BATISTA: I've had the thought of this new administration being full of hypocrites for a long time. That was sort of my sentiment at the beginning of the takeover, when it was initially in its early days.
I can't help but giggle a little bit at it, because what they've shown the student body, what they've shown the faculty and staff that have been at New College for X amount of years, is that they are the pure antithesis of free speech and diverse ideologies.
If anything, they have worked actively and very tirelessly to impede student speech and expression and art and all of these things that people express themselves through. Entire fields of study as well.
So it ranges from the small things, from putting up flyers for a cool club night that you might be doing, to larger things, as in entire areas of study, like our gender studies department.
Harry, it's obviously generating some buzz at the festival circuit. Was this kind of what you were expecting when you put it together?
HARRY HANBURY: It's been so amazing. We premiered at True/False Film Festival, which is one of the most prestigious documentary film festivals in the world, and it's in Columbia, Missouri.
We got standing ovations from crowds of nearly 2,000 people, packed houses. Gaby and her fellow students were like celebrities on the street there, and very warm response.
Also, we've had Oscar winners come to our screenings, and people have just done nothing but rave about the film.
If I could address the claim that it's sensationalized, this film is really close to the experience of people who lived through this hostile takeover.
And we tried to get Richard Corcoran on camera. We invited him. We had plans to sit down with him twice, and at the last minute, after we'd gone to great trouble and expense to bring crews in from all over the country, he canceled.
We also have a conservative student in the film, so we did our best to hear the other side. But I've just become increasingly convinced that this administration is just a bunch of authoritarian grifters.
You can listen to the full interview in the media player above. This story was compiled from interviews by Matthew Peddie for "Florida Matters Live & Local." You can listen to the full episode here.
