Festival Season:
April 2026
FLASHPOINT
Directors:
Writers:
Van Spaulding
Producers:
Van Spaulding, Cevin Cathell, Carol Polisner
Run Time:
0:28:33
Awarded for the following Category(s):
Awarded Category(s)
FLASHPOINT takes an unflinching look into the challenges professors and students face in navigating ideological divides, administrative pressures, and the shifting boundaries of what can and can’t be said in academic spaces.
The film’s relevance is underscored by the tragic shooting of controversial speaker Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University and other highly charged events that are increasing on campuses nationwide.
FLASHPOINT examines these events within a broader conversation about academic freedom, political polarization, and the fragile state of civil discourse in higher education.
“We began filming before some of the most shocking recent events took place,” said one of the film’s producers. “But what’s happened in the last few months has only reinforced how urgent this conversation really is.”
Submitter Statement
College was always the ideal place to seek new experiences and be exposed to a variety of viewpoints. In the past couple of years, I started seeing articles about troubling developments on college campuses. Many students and professors are being targeted, or worse, for expressing views considered politically incorrect.
Flashpoint provides a deeper look at the current environment on US Campuses through interviews with professors, constitutional experts, authors and students from all over the country. Many have had their lives changed forever for expressing opinions that differ from the prevailing sentiment on campus. Are colleges no longer safe spaces? What does that mean for higher education in the US?
We wanted to make a film that encouraged people to freely explore these difficult topics.
Thank you for watching.
Sincerely,
Van Spaulding.
Before founding Endogenous Pictures, Van headed Great Falls Moving Pictures as a producer and director developing independent features and shorts including NICKELS which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.
He worked with 20th Century Fox developing LITTLE SISTER, a feature film project, and with Embassy Row on the TV series, PD Marks. His theatre production credits include, THE NORMAL HEART by Larry Kramer and staring Richard Dreyfuss, and ISN'T IT ROMANTIC by Wendy Wasserstein. In addition, he was Story Editor at Tony Bill Productions and worked in a producing capacity on Horror House on Highway 5 and The Flute Player. He also worked on Academy Award Documentary Nominee, Generation on the Wind, Galaxina, Don't Answer the Phone, Falling in Love Again, End of August and Alligator in various capacities.
Key Cast
Other Credits