The Georgetown community had reason to smile last Sunday night as Georgetown alum Megan Mylan (SFS ’92) ascended the stage at the Kodak Theatre to accept an Academy Award.
Amid Hollywood’s elite, Mylan was honored in the category of Best Documentary Short Subject. Her film, “Smile Pinki,” chronicles the experience of Pinki Kumari Sonkar and Ghutara Chauhan, two young patients who received cleft-lip surgery in rural India.
ylan thanked her film team of Pinki and Ghutara with a smile. She also expressed gratitude to The Smile Train, the charity organization that funds the hospital in her documentary.
“Smile Pinki” follows in the success of Mylan’s previous feature-length documentary, “Lost Boys of Sudan.” An Emmy-nominated film, “Lost Boys” depicts the journey from Africa to America of two Sudanese refugees. Bernard Cook, an associate dean in the College and an assistant professor in the American Studies department specializing in film and media studies, spoke of Mylan’s work.
“She is a documentary filmmaker who prioritizes making films about the human dimensions of broad social crises,” he said.
According to a university press release, Cook was instrumental in bringing Mylan back to Georgetown in 2007 to speak on an alumni panel at her 15th reunion. He said that he was motivated to do so not only by the success of “Lost Boys” but also by the film’s unique, stylistic approach.
“The majority of the film focuses on the journey [of the Lost Boys] and their experience in the U.S. It is shot from their perspective, from the inside out. . `Lost Boys’ ultimately is as much about America as about Sudan,” Cook said.
ylan graduated from Georgetown with a bachelor’s degree in humanities and international affairs. She then acquired a masters in journalism and Latin American studies from the University of California, Berkeley, according to the press release. Mylan said in the press release that she credits Georgetown with sparking her interest in humanitarian subjects.
“[Georgetown] was without a doubt a life-defining experience. It opened up my curiosity in the world, my interest in people making a positive impact on the world and a sense of how broad your life options are,” she said in a press release.
Cook also said that there is a connection between Mylan’s studies at Georgetown and her passion for social justice documentaries.
“Her interest in global subjects and big global situations, like health in `Smile Pinki’ . probably developed in the SFS,” Cook said. “She was able to learn about documentaries in particular as a tool at Berkeley.”
University spokesperson Julie Bataille acknowledged the university’s pride for Mylan’s win.
“It’s always exciting to hear this kind of good news about the successful endeavors of one of Georgetown’s alumni,” she said. “[Mylan’s] honor is a well-deserved credit to her talent and hard work, and we wish her every continued success.”
ylan has become part of a growing tradition of Oscar recognition for Georgetown alumni. According to University Archivist Lynn Conway, William Peter Blatty (CAS ’50) won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1973 for “The Exorcist.” John Guare (CAS ’60) was nominated in 1981 for Best Original Screenplay for his work on “Atlantic City” and Jonathan Nolan (COL ’99) was credited with the story of “Memento,” nominated in 2001 for Best Original Screenplay and for Best Film Editing.
Cook said that the award is beneficial for both Mylan’s career and for Georgetown students as a whole.
“The Academy Award is exciting because it recognizes her achievement and because it will hopefully give her a broader platform for her future work. She’s got most of her mature work ahead of her,” Cook said. “So it’s enormously exciting for [Mylan], and it will hopefully inspire the rising generation of Hoyas to enter into the areas of media studies and social change. It proves you can get there from here.”
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