Jason Croft
Alumnus Produces Lauded ‘Brotherhood’
Summer 2011 · Comment ·
A meager $19.10 is the amount Adam must steal from a convenience store because the fraternity he’s pledging was founded in 1910. It’s the final step of his initiation into Sigma Zeta Chi. He plunges into the store, and minutes later a fellow pledge is shot and gravely injured. Frank, the fraternity brother in charge of the ritual gone awry, gets the injured pledge out of the store alive. As the evening spirals out of control, Adam, a freshman, must find the courage to go against Frank, a senior, and his new brothers to save his friend’s life. It’s all part of the 2010 film Brotherhood, which alumnus Jason Croft, above, helped produce and several UT Arlington alumni worked on. Much of the movie was filmed at UT Arlington. In fact, the former Delta Upsilon house on Abram Street served as the home of the fictional Sigma Zeta Chi fraternity. Croft, who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1999, began his film career with a strong interest in being a photography director. Then out of necessity he produced as well as shot on several features and shorts. “It’s a strange combination, but I really enjoy both aspects of the business,” he says. “I’m concentrating almost completely now on producing, and I’m having a ball doing it.” It’s serving him well. Brotherhood has garnered widespread acclaim, receiving the audience award from both the 2010 SXSW Film Festival and the Dallas International Film Festival. The New York Times named Brotherhood a critic’s pick in 2011. Want to watch it? The DVD is now widely available. To see the trailer and for more information on the film, visit brotherhoodthemovie.com.
