On May 13th 2011, Northwestern University graduate Tyler Lorenzi died when his boat capsized in James River. A beloved member of both PWild and the Northwestern Sailing Team, Ty’s death was a tragic accident that shook the Northwestern community. However, two current Northwestern students are making a documentary to showcase how Ty lived his life – this documentary is known as Ty’s List.
The two students are Jesse Swedlund, an RTVF and philosophy junior, and Benjamin Prawer, a communication studies senior. Swedlund met Ty through PWild and Prawer knew him from the sailing team. The documentary focuses on a list, written by Ty himself, of activities to do when visiting his hometown of San Francisco.
“This list kind of fell into my lap. Somebody had emailed the PWild listserv and said ‘Hey I’m going to San Francisco, what are some cool things I could do there?’ and Ty emailed back with this really awesome, cool insider list of San Francisco,” said Swedlund. “The night after Ty’s Chicago memorial service, Victor, who had originally got that email from Ty sent it over the listserv just saying this is the kind of guy Ty was. You can really see Ty’s spirit alive in this list. “
Swedlund had wanted to immediately complete the list himself, but he thought the list would make a perfect documentary. He told his friends, including Prawer, who signed on as producer and his partner for the project.
“I felt like I started appreciating things more after Ty died and after I got the chance to look at how he lived his life,” said Prawer. “And I thought that this movie would be the perfect opportunity to spread this message to people who don’t know me or don’t know Ty.”
The documentary will feature four of Ty’s best friends traveling to San Francisco and completing his list. The group includes of Becky Chan, Ty’s best friend from high school; Steve Roscher, a 51-year–old paramedic who Ty was close with when he lived in Virginia; Doug Hosking, one of Ty’s best friends from Northwestern; and Cornelia Altenbuchner, the friend who was with Ty the night of his death.
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After a plan was established, Swedlund and Prawer started putting a team together and thinking of a way to raise the necessary funds. They started a Kickstarter.com campaign with an original goal of 12,000 dollars. The kickstarter soon went viral in the Northwestern community, and their first goal was met quickly.
“The kickstarter goal is 12,000, that’s only part of our budget,” said Swedlund. “The reason we picked 12,000 was after to talking to a lot of people who had successful kickstarter campaigns most of them did like 2,000 or below. We wanted a big number, and we decided at 15,000. Then the morning before we kind of got scared, because if you don’t hit your goal on kickstarter you get none of the money.”
Both Swedlund and Prawer said they were amazed after the first day of the kickstarter. The response was overwhelming, and 5,000 dollars was donated in the first 12 hours. However, the duo still hopes that people keep donating to the film, because there is still so much they need before they can finally share Ty’s adventure. They need to finalize travel plans, expand their team, and purchase the necessary equipment. But they still have a plan – besides applying for grants and finalizing a non-profit contract, they are planning a letter writing campaign and hosting a fundraiser benefit concert this Saturday.
They cannot wait to start checking things off Ty’s list and have a trip planned later this quarter to prepare before filming.
“There’s some really cool stuff on the list,” said Swedlund. “Like climbing Mount Tam at Sunset, walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, and visiting a bunch of burrito shops to go and find the best burrito.”
Swedlund and Prawer have devoted a lot of time to the project, but for Ty, it’s all worth it. They want to share Ty’s life philosophy so others may adopt his positive attitude.
“ I know I speak on behalf of both of us that this has been the most educational and transformative experience ever,” said Prawer. “Obviously you go through a lot of cool experiences in your life, but his is definitely one of the coolest. I feel like I learn more about myself, Jesse, Ty, the project, and everything all the time.”