H.D. Motyl | SIU

Radio, Television, and Digital Media

H.D. Motyl is an Associate Professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he teaches media production and writing for TV. His feature-length documentary about professional rodeo cowboys called Cowboy Christmas was honored as Best Feature Documentary at the Madrid International Film Festival and as Best of the Fest for Faculty Documentary at the Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts.

His short experimental video, Nudes Descending a Staircase #2, has screened at the 8th Berlin International Directors Lounge Festival and Madatac04 in Madrid. This video is one part of a three-part video installation called Nudes Descending a Staircase; the installation was featured in a solo show at Surplus Gallery in Carbondale, IL. Other award-winning work, including Oh Michael/Oh Jesus, Memorial and Messages from Jeanne, has also screened in festivals worldwide.

During his career in Chicago, he has produced, directed and written episodes for non-fiction series on The History Channel (Conspiracy?), National Geographic Channel (The Final Report) and A&E (American Justice.) For the home video and educational markets, he produced, wrote and directed such diverse work as the best-selling Image of an Assassination: A New Look at the Zapruder Film, The Journey of Amistad, John Glenn: An American Legend and the award-winning Show & Tell series of children’s videos.

Currently, Motyl is pre-production on a short film, Saturn Return, about a kind of reconciliation between a mother who is about to turn 60 and her daughter who is returning home after a failed relationship. He is also writing a feature script titled Three Rivers, about a woman, time travel and the consequences of choices which he will complete on his sabbatical in Fall 2014.

Originally from Pittsburgh, he was graduated from Penn State University with a B.A. in English and holds an M.F.A from Northwestern University in Film/Video Production and Screenwriting.