West Essex Alum Asks West Essex Students for Input on New Documentary

About 20 West Essex High School juniors and seniors with political aspirations were invited to watch a new film by West Essex alum Jonathan Goodman Levitt titled "Follow the Leader," a documentary on three high school class presidents and discuss the film in a program with Art Teacher Eileen Dormer, Levitt's former teacher. Levitt, who studied at Stanford and earned a Fullbright Scholarship to the UK's National Film School, has spent seven years working on this film and wanted to gain input from West Essex students.Over three years, the three students in the film split into Republican, Democratic and Independent camps as they reconsider their ambitions and discovered what they believed and wanted to do as adults."We're thrilled to be getting the film finished and released at this critical moment in American politics," Levitt said. He plans for "Follow the Leader" to provide a unique cross-platform social change initiative that combines interactive voting technologies through Reality Check Interactive. It will be a live event and then be translated for simultaneous online participation and will eventually become an on-demand experience for participants on their computers and Apple devices."The goal is to spark a national conversation about American political realities, the millennial generation, and leadership generally," Levitt said.The West Essex students were very responsive to the film, which they found funny and thought-provoking.