AthDocs: This Is Not Financial Advice
David Bjerk, discussant
Chris Temple ‘12 and Zach Ingrasci ‘12 are film directors and the founders of Optimist, a production studio in Los Angeles. They are best known for directing the feature documentaries Living On One Dollar, Salam Neighbor, Five Years North, and This Is Not Financial Advice. Their films have been released by Netflix, HBO, Hulu, National Geographic, and The Atlantic, and have screened at major film festivals including Tribeca, DOC NYC, Full Frame, AFI Docs, CPH:DOX, Mountainfilm, and many others.
Chris and Zach have been honored as a finalist for the duPont-Columbia award for outstanding journalism; awarded the Muslim Public Affairs Council Annual Media Award; and recognized alongside Bill Gates and Angelina Jolie as one of the top 100 visionary leaders by YPO's Real Leaders Magazine. His work has won 1 Gold Telly Award, 1 Imagen Award, 4 Shorty Awards, 2 ADDY Awards, 1 Webby Award, and 2 AVA Digital Awards. In 2022, they were honored by DOCNYC and HBO as 40 under 40 filmmakers to watch.
Every film they make at Optimist is structured with a social impact campaign to change minds, lives, and policies. Their work has been featured in The New York Times, Variety, and The Atlantic, and has helped raise over $92.5 million dollars for poverty alleviation and refugee support efforts.
David Bjerk is the Russell S. Bock Professor of Public Economics and Taxation, and Chair of the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance at Claremont McKenna College. His research areas include public economics, labor economics, and the law, primarily focusing on crime and the criminal justice system, as well as issues of race, gender, and poverty in the labor market. Prior to arriving at Claremont McKenna, he was an Assistant Professor of Economics at McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario and an NICHD Research Fellow in Population Studies at the RAND Corporation. He received his B.A. from Carleton College and my M.S. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This exclusive screening is co-sponsored by the Financial Economics Institute and the Student Investment Fund at CMC. This program is also part of the Athenaeum's 40th Anniversary Series, which celebrates the achievements of CMC alumni from across the years and invites them to return home to Claremont.