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 Oscar award-winning director and Masters School parent Jonathan Demme P'08,'13 led a spirited discussion among alumnae/i, parents, grandparents and friends of The Masters School at a cocktail reception at the Union League Club of New York on April 16. The event was another in the Dobbs Alumnae/i Association’s series of Educational Evenings.
The cocktail reception with special guest Jonathan Demme was hosted by Amy Keeffe Peckham ’76 and John Peckham P’07, ’09, ’14.
 “Jonathan Demme made a brilliant presentation, and, amazingly, was able to turn the main dining room of the Union League Club into the biggest Harkness experience ever,” enthused Head of School Maureen Fonseca. “He engaged parents as well as alums from the 1940s through 2002, who readily shared their views on the evening’s thought-provoking topic, ‘The free press as a vital component of American democracy—has anyone seen it lately?’”
Mr. Demme has been producing and directing documentaries, musical performance films and theatrical features since 1971. His current endeavor, r2r -- Right to Return, is a self-produced documentary project begun in January 2006 as an ongoing examination of the impact of the 2005 floods in New Orleans on the lives of people still trying to regain their homes in some of the hardest hit neighborhoods.
 Mr. Demme is also in the final editing stages of Here Today, a drama with music and humor starring Anne Hathaway, Bill Irwin, Anna Deveare Smith, Rosemary Dewitt and Debra Winger, which will be released later this year by Sony Pictures Classics. He is also in post-production on his second performance film featuring the music of Neil Young, Neil Young Trunk Show, also intended for release later this year.
His company, Cinica Estetico, is based in Rockland County where he and his wife, Joanne Howard, currently live with their three children.
“I loved meeting some Dobbs alumnae/i, as well as seeing old friends; I loved the civility and grace of cocktails and dinner at the Union League; and I thought Jonathan Demme was great fun—provocative, thoughtful, winsome, and vastly entertaining,” commented parent Melinda Marshall P'09. “My thanks to the Peckhams, whose generosity has made possible so many memorable Masters School events. It was a great evening, and I feel lucky to be part of this ever-vibrant community.”
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