01/19/2026
If truth is stranger than fiction, then documentary filmmaker Brian Mulvey ’11 relishes seeing it up close and firsthand.
Telling untold stories first led him cross country in “American Highway,” a documentary about a long-held road trip ambition that was picked up for release by streaming sites.
The Red Dragon alum more recently traveled to South America for a documentary, “Welcome to the Belize Zoo,” on the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center — an institute that itself has longtime ties to SUNY Cortland.
“The challenge is more so just an interesting opportunity,” Mulvey said. “It was a totally different genre. You can’t interview the animals, even though you’re making a story about them, so you’re talking to people and learning the stories of the people who work with the zoo and look after the animals.”
Sandy True, treasurer for the Belize Zoo Neotropical Conservancy — a foundation that provides support and resources for the zoo, first contacted Mulvey after learning of his previous work. SUNY Cortland Professor Emeritus of Political Science Tom Pasquarello learned that Mulvey would be making the documentary shortly after that. Pasquarello first built ties with the zoo in 1999 while working at Cortland and now serves as the BZNC’s vice president.
That partnership with the Belize Zoo, which lists itself as caring for more than 150 animals that represent 43 native species, has created international opportunities for the university. SUNY Cortland faculty have since led many courses there, with students also pursuing internships and volunteer work abroad.
In 2013, Cortland finished a voluntary project to make the zoo accessible to more visitors. The partnership also led to guest speakers and a Summer Teachers’ Institute that allows graduate students to visit Belize in a learning and cultural exchange.
“(The) fact that Brian is a Cortland alum certainly piqued my interest, but it was the quality of the documentary he made about his trip that led us to hire him,” said Pasquarello.
Creating a documentary means filming a lot more footage than ends up in the final product. But those long hours of recording are only a start, according to Mulvey. During the editing process, he looks for threads of stories within his interviews that can be brought together into an overall theme.
While “American Highway” was created with hopes of distribution, “Welcome to the Belize Zoo” was made specifically for use by the zoo in promotion and fundraising. The reception for Mulvey’s short film was very positive.
“The Belize Zoo and Neotropical Conservancy is ecstatic about the content and visual impact of the documentary Brian produced for us,” said Pasquarello, who noted that the institute’s social media followers have increased 50% since its release.
Film wasn’t always the plan for Mulvey, who graduated with a business economics degree from Cortland before working as operations manager for Treleaven Winery in the Finger Lakes. But even as a senior, he recalled beginning to think about an alternative career that would eventually become a reality.
“I always had the interest, but never had the courage to do it,” Mulvey said.
In 2021, he decided to set out with friend, Seth Tucker, to record a world slowly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I learned just by doing it,” Mulvey said. “That's what was great, learning how to make film and leading to new opportunities. So, we’re very grateful about that.”
Having found success in the industry, he’s already been hired for another documentary, “I Hear You, Gen Z.” He’s working with podcast host Raquel Booras, who traveled across the country to hear what young people from diverse backgrounds had to say about topics such as mental health and social change. The production is expected to be released later this year.
“And then I want to keep doing stuff like that,” Mulvey said. “I do a lot of freelance videography and editing gigs, but film has definitely sparked a passion for me.”