Oscar-nominated filmmaker returns to College of Wooster

College of Wooster alumnus J.C. Chandor (’96), filmmaker, director and Oscar-nominated screenwriter, will host a limited-seating screening of his first film, “Margin Call,” at 8 p.m. May 30 at The Lyric Theater, 116 E. South St., as part of The College of Wooster’s Reunion Weekend celebration.

Chandor, who is returning to campus for his 30th reunion, will introduce the film and hold a Q-and-A session after the showing. Presale tickets are available online for $10 on The Lyric’s website and at the door on a first come, first served basis.

Chandor, who crafted a student-designed major in cultural film studies at Wooster, received an Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay for his 2011 directorial debut, “Margin Call.” Featuring an ensemble cast including Zachary Quinto, Demi Moore and Stanley Tucci, the film follows a group of traders and executives at a Wall Street investment bank through 24 hours during the 2008 financial crisis as they struggle to come to grips with a crisis that threatens to sweep them, their clients and the entire firm away.

The film also earned recognition from the Independent Spirit Awards, Berlin International Film Festival, Nantucket Film Festival, National Board of Review and New York Film Critics Circle.

The New York Times’ A.O. Scott called Chandor’s work on “Margin Call” an extraordinary feat of filmmaking when it debuted in 2011.

“His formal command — his ability to imply far more than he shows or says and to orchestrate a large, complex drama out of whispers, glances and snippets of jargon — is downright awe-inspiring,” Scott said.

The director met the star of his next film, Robert Redford, when “Margin Call” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and developed “All Is Lost,” starring Redford solo as a sailor battling the wind and sea. Also known for “A Most Violent Year” and “Triple Frontier,” Chandor began his film career at Wooster.

“Wooster saw something in me, and I really flourished there. I got into theater, took photography and painting classes,” Chandor said.

For his Independent Study, the college’s nationally recognized senior capstone project, Chandor wrote, shot and edited a film. "I got jobs right away after graduation based on it," he said.

The production of “The Table” for I.S. was not a small feat in 1996 before the prominence of digital filmmaking.

One of his faculty advisers, Richard Figge, professor emeritus of German, noted Chandor’s problem-solving skills and acuity with the film production process in an article in Wooster magazine in 2014.

“He wrote the script, enlisted actors and technicians, and stuck to an ambitious production schedule,” Figge said. “The art department gave him a small office, which became his editing room. Somehow, he secured a Steenbeck professional editing table and holed up with it until the project was finished. He found himself minus a supporting actor, but always prepared to find a solution, he played the part himself. I was astonished at his easy screen presence in the part.”

The showing of “Margin Call” at The Lyric is part of a collection of events during Wooster’s Reunion Weekend May 28-31 when alumni will reconnect with classmates and the college.