Education
FSU Film alumni help power summer movie season
Alumni of FSU’s College of Motion Picture Arts have left their mark on some of this summer’s most prominent movies.
Nat Sanders (BFA ’02) served as an editor on “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” David Robert Mitchell (MFA ’02) wrote, directed and produced “The End of Oak Street,” and Alex Ullom (BFA ’22) wrote, directed and edited the independent thriller “It Ends.”
“To see our alumni contributing at this level is an incredible point of pride for FSU Film,” said Reb Braddock, dean of the College of Motion Picture Arts. “Nat and David have each built remarkable careers, while Alex is part of an exciting new generation of FSU filmmakers. Together, their success shows our students just how many paths there are to making an impact in this industry.”
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” starring Tom Holland and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, has become one of the year’s biggest box-office successes.
The film continues Sanders’ collaboration with Cretton, which includes “Short Term 12,” “The Glass Castle,” “Just Mercy” and Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
Sanders also was part of the FSU Film alumni team behind the Academy Award-winning “Moonlight.” He and fellow FSU graduate Joi McMillon edited the film and earned Academy Award nominations for Best Film Editing. Sanders has worked extensively with “Moonlight” writer-director and fellow FSU alumnus Barry Jenkins, including editing Jenkins’ first feature, “Medicine for Melancholy,” and “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
“It was at the FSU Film School where I discovered my love for editing and also formed the friendships and relationships that made my career possible,” Sanders said. “I’m so grateful for my time at FSU Film.”
Mitchell returned to theaters this summer with “The End of Oak Street,” a science-fiction adventure starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor. The film follows the Platt family after a mysterious cosmic event transports their suburban neighborhood to an unknown place, forcing them to navigate unfamiliar surroundings to survive.
Mitchell made his feature directorial debut with “The Myth of the American Sleepover” and gained international attention with the 2014 horror film “It Follows.” He later wrote and directed “Under the Silver Lake.”
“My time at FSU, and the lifelong friendships I made there have been key factors in my ability to make films,” Mitchell said. “It’s a super important place for me.”
Ullom’s feature directorial debut, “It Ends,” opened in select theaters Aug. 21 after strong critical attention and is set to expand nationwide Friday. The film premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival.
“It Ends” follows four recent college graduates who set out on a late-night drive and find themselves trapped on a seemingly endless road. The film has drawn national attention for Ullom, whose debut comes just four years after earning his BFA from FSU.
Ullom credited his experience at FSU with helping make the film possible and connecting him with collaborators who remain part of his life and work.
“It gave me the friends and collaborators that supported me and are now my lifelong friends. I also couldn’t have made the film without the school supporting us,” Ullom said.
The work of Sanders, Mitchell and Ullom adds to a long record of FSU Film alumni working across the motion picture industry as directors, producers, writers, editors, cinematographers and other filmmaking professionals.
