What began as a shared interest in filmmaking among Denison students has grown into more than a decade of creative collaboration.
Denison alums Noah Dixon ’14 and Ori Segev ’14, co-directors of The Bulldogs, worked alongside fellow alums Drew Johnson ’14, producer, and Logan Floyd ’16, cinematographer, to bring the documentary to life. Their creative connections trace back to Denison and Loose Films, the Columbus-based production company whose work has reached film festivals and audiences around the world.
“Almost every project that we’ve worked on has some kind of connection to Denison in some way,” Dixon said.
Now, the close-knit team is returning to The Hill for a special screening of their latest documentary, The Bulldogs, during Big Red Weekend, Nov. 6-8.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, attendees at Denison’s homecoming celebration can watch The Bulldogs, followed by a conversation with alumni directors Dixon and Segev and producer Johnson.
The feature-length documentary follows residents of East Palestine, Ohio, as they navigate life after the catastrophic 2023 train derailment that thrust their small community into the national spotlight. Rather than focusing solely on the disaster and its immediate aftermath, The Bulldogs picks up as the news cameras leave East Palestine behind, capturing the everyday lives of those navigating an uncertain path to recovery.
For the filmmakers, sharing this story with an Ohio audience, and especially the Denison community, makes the screening particularly meaningful.
“The film is so much a portrait of Ohio, and it’s really exciting to be able to screen it in Ohio,” Dixon said. It first premiered at the 2026 Slamdance Film Festival in Los Angeles and has since continued making its way through the festival circuit.
For Dixon and Segev, the creative partnership that helped make it all possible started during their senior year at Denison.
“We started working on our senior project together, and that’s kind of the first project where we realized that we collaborate really well together,” Dixon recalled.
“I think we just sort of matched each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Segev said.
For Dixon and Segev, who have spent much of their careers working in narrative filmmaking, The Bulldogs presented an opportunity to approach documentary storytelling through a different creative lens. That approach is reflected in the film’s attention to the rhythms of everyday life in East Palestine, even as residents grapple with questions about safety, identity, and the future of their community.
As Ohio-based filmmakers, Dixon and Segev felt a personal connection to the story. In their director’s statement, they describe wanting to challenge familiar stereotypes about rural communities while recognizing the complexity of the people and experiences within them.
And while their work has taken them far beyond campus, Denison has remained a constant part of their creative journey. Over the years, Loose Films has welcomed Denison students as interns, collaborated with fellow alums, and returned to campus to share projects and experiences with current cinema students.
For Segev, those experiences bring back memories of his own early days in Denison’s cinema program, when he was learning by working alongside older students.
“It’s one of the best feelings to have a project where students are working on it,” Segev said.
The connections extend well beyond campus. Dixon said the close-knit network of Denison cinema alums continues to be a valuable part of their lives. That community has helped shape the way Dixon and Segev approach their careers, particularly their willingness to try something new without knowing exactly where it might lead.
“Sometimes you just gotta jump in and start,” Segev said. “We just wanted to continue working together and with our friends to build something great.”
More than 10 years later, that willingness to take a chance has turned a college collaboration into a lasting creative partnership.
The Bulldogs will screen on Nov. 7 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., followed by a discussion with the filmmakers from 8:30 to 9 p.m.
Explore the entire Big Red Weekend schedule!