MOVING PICTURE

and filmmaker Corbin Doyle passes on to students a hometown legacy of fostering creativity.

BY SARA HIGNITE

Corbin Doyle loves Dallas. The artist, filmmaker, and founder of Greenhill School’s acclaimed filmmaking program is quick to express gratitude toward his hometown, which he credits with much of his professional success. From the Dallas Public Library to the DMA, from collectors to gallerists, and from Jesuit to SMU to Greenhill, “Dallas said ‘yes’ more than it said ‘no,’” says Doyle. “Over and over, opportunities were made available.”

As a teenager in the early ’80s, Doyle discovered what would become a lifelong passion for film, devouring old scripts at the Central Library downtown and curating movie nights for school friends featuring obscure genres like Brazilian horror. Doyle sought rare VHS tapes at local stores like Forbidden Books in Deep Ellum, where staff often shared recommendations that sent Doyle down other rabbit holes. Doyle also cleverly managed to incorporate film into his studies at Jesuit, convincing the priests to let him make Super 8 movies instead of writing essays.

While his Jesuit teachers recognized Doyle’s creative talent— the school librarian even applied on his behalf to film programs at UCLA and USC—Doyle ultimately attended Southern Methodist University’s premed program, following in his grandfather’s footsteps. His sophomore year, overworked and under-inspired, he signed up for an art elective. The bustling excitement and possibility inside the art building were a revelation. Doyle had always been an obsessive doodler, covering his class notes with drawings, but he received formal affirmation of his artistic talent in 1989, when professors nominated him for the prestigious Yale Norfolk residency.

He attended Norfolk that summer and earned a coveted spot in Yale University’s 1993 MFA program, where it was not uncommon to find oneself embroiled in a heated studio critique with Clement Greenberg. To blow off steam, Doyle would take the train to New York City. One day at a Manhattan diner he met legendary filmmaker Robert Benton, who, as it turned out, was from Waxahachie.

Benton opened Doyle’s mind to the possibility of a career in film.

In 1994, after completing his first year at Yale, Doyle left New Haven and moved back to Texas, where Benton connected him with jobs on film sets. Doyle even freelanced on the legendary Dallas film Bottle Rocket (1996), written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson.

Doyle’s success as an artist continued. He was accepted to Skowhegan. He won the Dallas Museum of Art Kimbrough Award. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, acquired his work. A 2002 show at Mulcahy Modern was reviewed in Art in America by Dallas legend Dee Mitchell. In the midst of all this, Greenhill School offered him a teaching position in the art department. The school agreed to let him pilot a filmmaking course, so Doyle took the job.

It’s been 25 years since Doyle started teaching at Greenhill, shooting films on his Sony Handycam with middle schoolers. Today, the upper school Advanced Video Production classroom (full disclosure: my child is a current AVP student) rivals top collegiate facilities. Fifty-five Greenhill student films have screened at South by Southwest, among other festivals. Doyle has guided hundreds of students into film schools and industry careers. Cat Hobbs is working with renowned director Darren Aronofsky. Cooper Raiff’s Cha Cha Real Smooth premiered at Sundance in 2022 and is streaming on Apple TV.

When asked what he loves most about film, Doyle doesn’t hesitate: “Film is every single art form rolled into one. A film can be anything.” His students’ work—ranging from Hollywood-style action flicks and quirky animations to non-narrative experimental films—proves his point. August Jaeggli, a freshman at the University of Oregon, says of their former teacher: “Mr. Doyle gives space to young people who have amazing visions. He really tries to reach all of the people in the room.”

“I’m trying to build students’ confidence and occasionally give them little pushes in the right direction when they need it,” explains Doyle. Much like his beloved SMU professor Roger Winter, Corbin Doyle has become a teacher who guides artists to “unlock their own doors.” P