Hezekiah L. Lewis III, MFA
Assistant Professor of Communication | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Villanova University
- Villanova PA
Hezekiah Lewis, MFA, is an expert on film, from both thematic and technical standpoints, and has directed and produced short films.
Media
Social
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Education
University of California, Los Angeles
MFA
Villanova University
MA
Villanova University
BA
Select Accomplishments
Dr. Terry Nance Award for Inclusive Excellence (2024)
Awarded to honor alumni for their efforts and accomplishments in advancing the mission of Villanova University and the Villanova University Alumni Association.
Links
Select Media Appearances
Villanova University Filmmakers Focus on Water Crisis in Tanzania in New Documentary
The Philadelphia Inquirer
2020-05-13
Villanova University assistant professor Hezekiah Lewis was in Tanzania last summer, working out the logistics for an upcoming trip for a documentary film class, when he saw something that nearly brought him to his knees. "These women and kids were digging water out of the ground," said Lewis. "In 2019, this is still happening in the world." That scene inspired the students in his class to focus on the global water crisis and highlight the fact that 26 million Tanzanians do not have access to clean drinking water.
Villanova Students Win National Award for "Sankofa," Documentary Shot in Philly, Ghana
WHYY's Morning Edition
2019-11-08
With all the political news going on lately, you may have missed this story: A group of communications students from Villanova University received a gold medal for their documentary at this year's Student Academy Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills... To learn more about this project, filmed in Philly and Ghana, "Morning Edition" host Jennifer Lynn spoke with filmmaker and Villanova student Caleb Lucky and communications professor Hezekiah Lewis. In the making of the documentary, Lewis prompted his students to "Go back and fetch it," which is the meaning of the word "Sankofa."
Student Academy Award Honors Villanova Film on Stereotypes and Misconceptions of Black Men
The Philadelphia Inquirer
2019-09-18
Black-and-white footage of violence during the Jim Crow era is woven with scenes of modern-day police brutality... These are the opening scenes of "Sankofa," a documentary made by 21 Villanova University students that examines how stereotypes and misconceptions have a profoundly negative effect on Black men in Philadelphia and Ghana... The students made the film through a social justice documentary course taught by Villanova communications professor Hezekiah Lewis.
Villanova Filmmaker Focuses on Unsung Successes of Area African Americans
The Philadelphia Inquirer
2016-02-27
Filmmaker and Villanova University educator Hezekiah Lewis III was looking for a way to take the textbook feel out of Black History Month and imbue it with lessons about African American lives here-and-now, unremarked but hardly unremarkable. In late January, Lewis and a small team of communications students and media professionals began summoning area residents—29 in all—to the college TV studio, sat them down under the lights, and let the cameras roll on their little-heard achievements.
Villanova Students Document Plight of African Immigrants
The Philadelphia Tribune
2016-05-16
Last October, a group of Villanova University students traveled to Italy to document the trials and experiences of African immigrants... Last month, in the Perelman Theater of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the students premiered their final product, a riveting, thought-provoking and timely film, "Limbo"... Under the auspices of Crosscurrent Pictures, the name the documentary class adopted for their working group, "Limbo" is an entirely student-run production guided by Villanova professor and executive producer Hezekiah Lewis.
Two Films From Villanova University Students Selected as 2015 Student Academy Award Finalists
CBS 3
2015-08-05
Lightning struck twice for students at Villanova University who can now add Academy Award finalist to their resumes... "Out of 16,000 films that were submitted," said Hezekiah Lewis, an assistant professor at Villanova University, "I would have never in my wildest dreams believe that that would come out of Villanova University."
Scientists Say "San Andreas" Is Not Accurate: Will Moviegoers Care?
The Christian Science Monitor
2015-05-27
The coming release of Dwayne Johnson's movie "San Andreas" this weekend is reopening the debate about how much creative license Hollywood should take in disaster movies... But for Hezekiah Lewis, a film professor at Villanova University near Philadelphia who grew up living on the San Andreas Fault in San Bernardino, realistic safety protocols do not make up for what he sees as irresponsible scientific discrepancies. "I think it's dangerous to mislead the audience to think that buildings shake and explode like that, even though it's fiction and everyone knows," says Professor Lewis.
The Black Heritage Network
KUT's In Black America Podcast
2015-01-20
On this edition of "In Black America," host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Hezekiah Lewis, President and CEO with the Black Heritage Network (BHN.TV). Founded in 2010, BHN.TV brings its viewers quality, relevant programming that reflects the African American experience. The founders believe that it was time to step up and create one TV channel whose single mission is to be the first and only full-time television destination for the real stories of African American life in America.
For Hollywood, 2013 Was the Year of the Franchise
The Christian Science Monitor
2013-12-30
In the golden era of Hollywood—the 1920s and '30s—the major studios could constantly produce profitable movies... But times have changed radically... What is a sign of health, counters Hezekiah Lewis, professor of film studies at Villanova University near Philadelphia, is 2013's high number of smaller, character-driven movies with a diverse roster of directors. These include "12 Years a Slave"—whose director, Steve McQueen, could be the first Black to win an Oscar in that category—and "Gravity," which was directed by Mexican Alfonso Cuarón Orozco.
