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Peter Glenn is a filmmaker born and raised in Portland, Oregon. In 1998, Glenn graduated with honors from Jesuit High School in Portland and went on to study at Loyola Marymount University. At Loyola, Peter earned a degree in Film Production while minoring in Theological Studies. While in college, he explored his passion for social justice through work with the Human Rights Coalition at Loyola Marymount and also directed fictional student films which addressed his own social concerns.
In his first film, Before My Time, a young grandfather struggles with depression after suffering a de-habilitating stroke but finds a new reason for living through painting with his estranged young granddaughter. The title of Glenn's first film also inspired the creation of Before My Time Productions—a non-profit company dedicated to telling stories that dare to change the hearts and minds of people who can become the change we want to see in the world.
In the Fall of 2000, Peter was sent by the University's School of Communication & Fine Arts as the sole student representative to participate in the annual CINETHICS Conference at North Carolina School of the Arts along with the School's Dean.
In Glenn's student thesis film Reunion, a middle-aged mother struggles to overcome the pain of a teenage abortion on the birthday of her daughter. Taking a non-judgmental view on abortion, the film went on to be utilized by abortion post-healing groups across the United States.
After completing his degree, Glenn moved to East Africa to teach TV Production for two years at St. Augustine University of Tanzania with Jesuit Volunteers International. During his time in Tanzania, Peter learned how to speak Swahili fluently, came to love East African people and culture, and also made a number of short promotional documentaries for non-governmental organizations in the region. In one project, Glenn teamed up with former student Anthony Muteru to direct and produce Serving the Displaced, a 30-minute documentary about the work of the Jesuit Refugee Service to ease the plight of refugees. The project gave Glenn the opportunity to travel extensively throughout East Africa and meet refugees from the war torn countries of Rwanda, the Sudan, Somalia, and Burundi.
After completing two years teaching in Tanzania, Peter returned to the U.S. where he co-directed the feature documentary On The Line. In the film, one young protestor takes audiences inside America's longest running non-violent protest to examine the decline of civil liberties since September 11th, 2001. The film also features interviews with Susan Sarandon, Martin Sheen, author John Perkins, and many others.
In June, 2004, Peter returned to Tanzania with brother Tim to begin work on Into the Light. The film reunited Peter with close friend and colleague Mama Wilhelmina Lyimo Saria—the star of Into the Light—whom Glenn taught with at St. Augustine University. Behind the scenes, Peter also hired his former TV Production students from East Africa to serve as members of the production crew. |
