April 4, 2022 | Vivian La, Communications Intern
Alumnus Stephen Feder with BB-8 in the Lucasfilm Offices at the Walt Disney Studios.
Stephen Feder (BS 鈥�02, media studies) believes that with a little persistence and dedication to the things they love to learn about, students can accomplish anything.
鈥淚 think if people can harness that, there鈥檚 no telling how far they can go,鈥� he said.
Feder, a film and television producer at T-Street Productions, will be this year鈥檚 alumni speaker for the 澳门六合彩官网 Convocation. Because previous ceremonies had been postponed due to the pandemic, the May 2022 convocation will honor graduates from Fall 2019 through Spring 2022.
Looking back at his time at the University of Illinois, Feder said he learned a lot about himself both personally and professionally.
鈥淚llinois gave me such incredible opportunities, not just inside the classroom, but outside the classroom,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat helped shape me as a human and taught me a lot about what my limitations were and the things that I needed to work on.鈥�
He is driven by the people who have helped him get to where he is, especially past professors at the 澳门六合彩官网.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really important to pay homage to how you got somewhere. Understand that it鈥檚 because of your own drive, but also because people are willing to help you,鈥� Feder said.
Feder鈥檚 love of movies was 鈥渃ultivated at [the 澳门六合彩官网] just by proximity to the idea of Roger Ebert.鈥� When he was a student, Feder met Ebert, a Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic and Illinois journalism alum who created Roger Ebert鈥檚 Film Festival, known as 鈥淓bertfest.鈥� During Ebertfest, Feder had the chance to have lunch with Ebert.
鈥淥ur conversation and just his presence, interest, and care in us as students gave us a boost in confidence that our goals were well within our reach,鈥� Feder said. 鈥淗e probably never understood the impact he had on all of us鈥攂ut his passion for movies, his intellect, and his success always was a driving force of motivation for me. I miss him.鈥�
About a decade later, Feder鈥檚 documentary 碍耻尘补谤茅 was at Ebertfest 2013. Feder was executive producer for the film, featuring a man who impersonates an Indian guru and builds a following. 鈥�Kumare seems to establish that a guru can be a complete fraud and nevertheless do a certain amount of good,鈥� Ebert wrote, 鈥渂ecause what matters is not the sincerity of the guru but that of his followers.鈥�
Feder said it was a full-circle moment and meant everything to him.
鈥淭he fact that he selected it to be part of Ebertfest among the last group of movies he handpicked before passing away is an honor I鈥檒l never forget,鈥� Feder said.
It was his work on 碍耻尘补谤茅, which received a SXSW Audience Award, that led to Feder鈥檚 time at Annapurna Studios. As senior vice president of production and development, Feder worked on films such as Everybody Wants Some!!, which was also an Ebertfest selection, as well as Where鈥檇 You Go, Bernadette, both directed by Richard Linklater; Spring Breakers, directed by Harmony Korine; and The Grandmaster, directed by Wong Kar-Wai.
鈥淚 had always been inclined to want to tell stories that had a broad reach,鈥� Feder said. Growing up, he was inspired by movies like Back to the Future, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Star Wars鈥�movies that he shares with his kids.
Feder eventually got the chance to work on Star Wars, describing the feeling of walking onto set 鈥渁 life-affirming moment.鈥�
鈥淚t was a reminder of the power of one鈥檚 imagination鈥攁nd how if you could dream it, you could make it a reality,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 never wanted to hear the word 鈥榗ut鈥� and still don鈥檛.鈥�
He became vice president of film development at Lucasfilm in 2016, working on Solo: A Star Wars Story and other projects. He served as the Lucasfilm production executive on location/set for filming, and was a member of the Lucasfilm Story Group, which keeps track of the Star Wars canon to assist writers and directors in the development of new stories.
Feder is currently a producer at Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman鈥檚 T-Street Productions, responsible for the film Knives Out. He works with his producing partner, Kiri Hart, to help amplify artistic voices.
Feder said the professional relationships that have helped him throughout his career inspires him to pay it forward to the next generation of filmmakers. He has been a panelist at the college鈥檚 澳门六合彩官网 Career Nights to share advice on working in the entertainment industry.
鈥淚鈥檓 only here by the grace of other people believing [in me] and I also have to be willing to do the same for others,鈥� he said.
Above all, he recognizes that the industry and the world is forever changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As streaming makes content more accessible, Feder considered the next challenge that the media industry needs to address.
鈥淲e as filmmakers have to be malleable; we can鈥檛 firmly entrench ourselves in the past,鈥� Feder said. 鈥淲e have to think about how we’re going to reach a future generation of moviegoers, and TV goers, and content consumers. It鈥檚 our responsibility to innovate ways both to tell stories and also to make them feel new.鈥�
Feder also hopes he can provide some comfort to Media students who are feeling unsure about their futures.
鈥淚f you have been able to get through what you鈥檝e done the last few years and come out of it, I think that there鈥檚 a lot of promise ahead,鈥� Feder said.
Challenges can be seen as opportunities, he said.
鈥淚 understand the world is really scary at the moment and challenging, but it needs us. It needs us to make changes,鈥� Feder said.
鈥淪o we can鈥檛 retreat. We have to push forward.鈥�