Over the course of the 2025-26 school year, 64 of Saint Ignatius High School's Honors English IV seniors captured the stories of 8 pairs of mothers & sons. Together, they explored the challenges, changes, fractures and rebirth in their relationships over the course of their entire lives. "Mothers of Summer" features officially sanctioned/licensed music from Father John Misty.

Director Biographies

Each serving as their small production team's "point guard," Saint Ignatius High School students James Bartlett, Jake Boker, David Cristea, Cameron Kallay, Chase Matusky, Ceno Mouzaya, Jack McGuire, Adam Noga, Charlie Shmelter and David Takacs (Class of 2026) interviewed the 8 mothers featured in "Mothers of Summer". Their attentiveness, rigor in formulating appropriate, poignant questions, and sensitivity to the highly personal subject matter positions them as exceptional first-time student-directors.

Artists' Statement

We see documentaries as a vehicle for forging relationships vis-a-vis our Listening skills. 

Communication is an essential academic and personal skill, and yet the deliberate building of listening skills--a crucial element of good communication--is all too often overlooked. 

We often focus on helping students to hone their ability to speak publicly, to argue convincingly, to craft presentations, etc.; this is a conscious attempt to design a classroom experience that ensures their listening skills evolve as well.

As members of a Jesuit school, we recognize that the Gospels celebrate the women who accompanied Jesus through his life and--most importantly--through his suffering and Passion. 

They did not abandon one another even in their most harrowing moments of darkness. 

In our own small way, this short documentary is our attempt to accompany one another in that same spirit.

"Mothers of Summer"