Alumni
Performing and Fine Arts
January 23, 2026
Since leaving The Bluff in 2009, UP alum Walter Thompson-Hernandez has spent much of his time traveling the world. As a filmmaker and global subculture writer for The New York Times, his work has taken him everywhere from Rio de Janiero to Barcelona. But this spring, the LA-based writer and filmmaker is returning to University of Portland—this time, as an instructor.
Thompson-Hernandez’s course, a joint Communications and Ethnic Studies class called “Da Art of Storytellin’,” will invite students to create narratives via short film, photo essays, writing, and photo essays that explore themes of identity, race, migration, gender, family, and community. The course asks students to think about how storytelling “helps us understand ourselves and the contemporary world.”
An accomplished director and writer, Thompson-Hernandez’s film “Pipas,” was a special jury mention at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2025. His next film, “If I Go Will They Miss Me,” based on his award-winning short film of the same name, is premiering at Sundance Film Festival in the coming weeks.
Ahead of the premiere and the start of the new semester at UP, we caught up with Thompson-Hernandez to talk about his class, being back on The Bluff, and his upcoming projects.
In your own words, how would you describe your course at UP?
I’ve been describing “Da Art of Storytellin’” as a class I wish I would have had when I was a student here. It’s a class that helps students think about multimedia storytelling. I’m excited to guide students through the semester as they produce an on-campus writing-observational exercise followed by a documentary sound exercise, a photography essay, and a short film. I think they’re already experts in their own stories, and I intend to softly guide them when needed. I believe our experiences and our world is so incredibly layered, so each section of the course asks students to think about story through the lens of self, identity, race, gender, sexuality, and migration. I’m excited for my students, and am just as excited to learn from them as they maybe can learn from me.
What are the most important elements of effective storytelling, in your opinion?
I think a compelling story invites a reader or viewer or audience into a world that feels rich, unique, and complex. Perhaps it reminds someone of an experience they can relate to. Or maybe something unheard of—a story that creates a world that feels new and honest.
What do you hope students take away from the class?
I hope students walk away with the reminder that telling your story is an essential act for human survival.
As an alum, what are you most looking forward to in returning to UP as an instructor?
It’s such an interesting exercise for me to be back on The Bluff. So many new buildings. Correction: So many cool new buildings! The commons has been updated, too! (Though I really miss the old all-you-can-eat setup.) Being here feels like such an interesting meditation on memory and the act of return. I’ve had to ask myself: Am I a version of that older, weird guy who returns to his college campus because he couldn’t get enough of college? (Laughs). The answer is clearly no. (I think?) But, all jokes aside, if everything in life is cyclical, how lucky am I to get to go back to a place I once loved so much? I feel so much gratitude for that.
It was slightly melancholic to not see so many of the familiar faces. My suitemates. My old teammates. My friends. But some of those people are still here. Particularly, Dr. Christin Hancock (who is now a colleague—and who I can no longer call Dr. Hancock!). She’s still here and spearheaded this teaching opportunity for me. (Thank you, Christi.) Dan McGinty, Director of the Dundon-Berchtold Institute, was once my athletic academic advisor. He’s no longer in Chiles and has now moved into one of the cool new buildings I mentioned earlier. It’s been wonderful to reconnect with them both.
Do you have any additional creative goals you hope to accomplish while in Portland?
I have a few different creative projects to finish while I’m here: a memoir, the next screenplay, a new documentary, teaching Da Art of Storytellin’! I’ll be very busy. But I also want to do some of the quieter things I didn’t have time to do when I was a student-athlete here. I want to take public transportation as much as possible. And walk, and sit in cafes, and observe, and write and take photographs in a city that once welcomed me with open arms. I’ve already begun to see old college friends who continue to live in the area, and that’s been fantastic.
Finally, congratulations on your film’s upcoming premiere at Sundance! Any reflections on the filmmaking process or hopes for the festival?
“If I Go Will They Miss Me” is a feature film that will be premiering at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. The short film version of the movie won Sundance in 2022. (I screened it on campus a couple of years ago). I’m excited for the world to watch this longer version. The feature is about a curious and hopeful boy named Anthony who lives in Watts, California, and sees his father and the world around him through the lens of Greek mythology. The movie asks: What does it look like to love and care for the people in our lives who don’t have the tools to love us the way we need to be loved? How do we hold space for them? Hope is a guiding theme in the film (and in my life). And I hope people find something in the movie that speaks to them and reminds them that there’s always a crack—that the light always gets in.
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