Six students and young alumni are racing to finish a new documentary about conservative direct-mail innovator Richard Viguerie.

“Funding Father: The Man Who Delivered Democracy to America’s Mailbox” will premiere Sept. 23 at the celebration of Viguerie’s 90th birthday. Guests will receive copies of the film, according to junior Lindsey Larkin, a member of the film-making crew. The film’s release on YouTube will follow the celebration.

Adjunct Professor of Documentary Journalism Buddy Moorehouse, who is supervising the project, said Viguerie is responsible for the popularization of reaching voters through the mailbox. 

“He figured out before anyone how to go around the media and reach voters directly with conservative mailings,” Moorehouse said. “That sort of behind-the-scenes work led to the election of Ronald Reagan as president, among other things.”

Viguerie and some of his friends visited Hillsdale last year and attended a showing of a student documentary on codebreaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman, according to Moorehouse.

“They were extremely impressed with the quality of the film and the fact that it was produced by Hillsdale College students,” Moorehouse said.

Moorehouse said Viguerie’s friends contacted him a few weeks after the visit and hired a crew of his former students to produce the documentary. 

Stefan Kleinhenz ’21 is leading the project, assisted by Christian Peck-Dimit ’23, seniors Maddy Welsh and Lauren Scott, and juniors Jack Cote and Larkin. All six have taken Moorehouse’s documentary filmmaking course.

“It truly is an all-star documentary filmmaking team,” Moorehouse said. “The students have spent hundreds of hours doing research, collecting historical information and photos and most importantly, interviewing Richard Viguerie and the people who know his story best.”

Larkin said part of the group flew to Washington, D.C., over the summer to conduct interviews for the documentary.

“Our first day of interviews were held at the American Target Advertising office and at the Leadership Institute in Virginia, day two interviews occurred at the Washington, D.C., Hilton during the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference where Viguerie received an award, and day three interviews were held at Viguerie’s farm in Virginia,” Larkin said. 

Cote said this third day of interviews was a highlight of the filmmaking process for him.

“My favorite highlight was visiting Richard Viguerie’s farm,” Cote said. “We were able to conduct more personal interviews and capture beautiful footage of the area. I was in charge of videography for the documentary. I was behind the camera for each interview and working to capture B-roll throughout our time, both on foot and in the air with my drone.”

Moorehouse said students should keep an eye out for a showing of the film on campus later this fall, which will include a panel discussion by the film makers.

“Every Hillsdale College student will want to see this film,” Moorehouse said. “It’s a fascinating look at a relatively unknown conservative icon — a truly inspirational story — and the fact that the entire film was made by current and former Hillsdale students makes it all the better.”