Gaston’s Fugue Overtakes Bridgewater College

On 27 January, high school teacher Mr. Sean Gaston spoke at Bridgewater College for a screening of his film Misa’s Fugue and gave a follow-up speaking presentation. Gaston has taught classes on the holocaust for eleven years now, and he is very passionate about the subject.

“My passion and interest for Holocaust history comes from my uncle, Lawrence D. ‘Rusty’ Gaston, Jr.  When I was in middle school, he would talk to me about the Holocaust because I would ask him questions about the WWII books he was always reading.  It wasn’t until my sophomore year of high school, when Schindler’s List was released, that I really got a sense of the magnitude of the history, and I was hooked ever since,” Gaston said.

           This is far from Gaston’s first speaking event for his film.  He’s been doing screenings, Q-and-A’s, and presentations since 2012.  Gaston’s film has been used in educational ways since it first came out.  It has also been recognized and praised around the world. Production started in June of 2010 upon meeting Holocaust survivor Frank Grunwald.

            “I still look back on that project and can’t believe that we did that.  It’s surreal. When we started the project, we thought we were going to make a documentary film that would be used as an educational resource in just Pennsylvania.  Little did we know, almost 6 years later, the film has been seen in over forty countries all over the world.  It was nominated for, and won, many awards, including two Emmy Awards in the documentary and writing categories.  If you would have told me when we started the project that we’d have to do five pressings of our DVDs and we’d end up sending out over 5,000 DVD’s all of the world, I would have told you that you were crazy. It’s a testament to what 21st Century education can be,” Gaston said.