Student Stories

A Girl Named Clyde

"A Girl Named Clyde" stars Sydney Slotkin as Clyde Jenks, a college dropout struggling to get over her ex-boyfriend Emile (Augie Praley, '09). When Clyde decides to follow her ne'er-do-well boyfriend Maurice (Simon Trouilloud) to Texas, Emile and Clyde's best friend Regina (Rebecca Dorff, '09) chase after her, setting off a series of strange and unexpected adventures.

"'A Girl Named Clyde' in a way was an experiment on my part to see whether my life and the lives of my friends could be fodder for a good movie," Mayer said of the film, which was shot in the summer of 2009 in Atlanta, GA, Austin, TX, and Galveston, TX. 

Mayer was supported by a crew of fellow University of Chicago students, including director of photography and editor Justin Staple ('11), producer Rebecca Kilberg ('10), and assistant producer Anju Muthia ('11). "A Girl Named Clyde" is the first feature-length film from Fire Escape Films, the University's student film organization, to be shot in high definition, according to Staple.

"A Girl Named Clyde" premieres Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 9:00 p.m. at Doc Films.

-Susie Allen