ABOUT DON SCHECHTER
Don Schechter is the Founder and CEO of Charles River Media, Inc., Creator of Ascendants, Director for TEDxCambridge (one of the world’s largest independently organized TED events) and STEM conference TEDxNewEngland, Co-Host of the sci-fi podcast, “No Win Scenario,” and a part-time Professor of the Practice at Tufts University in Film and Media Studies.
At Charles River Media, Don oversees all projects and works as a director, producer, and editor of television, film, corporate, political, and non-profit communications. He is a producer of the horror feature The Arborist (expected release early 2025). One of his earliest projects was working on the documentary Transcendent Man, about inventor Ray Kurzweil and The Singularity, which influenced his work on Ascendants.
The Ascendants is a multi-platform project that includes a series of short films (The Ascendants Anthology), a series pilot script, and a novel seeking representation. Episodes of The Ascendants Anthology have screened at Hollyshorts (Finalist), The Independent Television and Film Festival, The Boston International Film Festival (Winner, Best Sci-Fi), Hot Springs International Film Festival, The Philip K. Dick Film Festival, The Tri-Cities Film Festival, the Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival (Honorable Mention), and Boston Comic Con.
At Tufts University, he has taught classes including “Making Movies,” “From Script to Screen,” “The Art and Business of Crafting Compelling Media Campaigns,” “Producing Films for Social Change,” and “The History of Documentary: From Nanook the Real World.”
Follow Don
Charles River Media
The Ascendants Anthology
Charles River Media, Inc. is a Boston-based production studio and filmmaking collaborative.
The Ascendants is a science fiction multi-platform endeavor that includes a novel, anthology of short films, and pilot script.
Tune in as your hosts, Don and Trevor, engage with sci-fi industry experts to explore the day-to-day realities of production and the increasing prominence of mental health concerns in the film and television industry.
WATCH – About Charles River Media
THE ASCENDANTS
In the near future, proof of the afterlife creates a corrupt dystopia.
Ascendants is a multi-format project. We are garnering interest in selling a script as a pilot for a scripted series or trilogy of films by both creating an anthology of short films set in that world and a novelization of that script. Each short in the Ascendants Anthology explores a different aspect of the life created by the discovery of Ascension – and each film takes place at different key historical points.
Click on the press kit to see inside. –>
To learn more about The Ascendants, visit the official website here.
TEACHING
Since 2003. Don has been involved as a consultant, lecturer, and Part-Time Professor of the Practice for Tufts University , teaching classes and workshops for the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, the Experimental College, and the Film and Media Studies program.
Prior to Tufts, Don taught at the Conservatory Lab Charter School and was an instructor for the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and assistant conductor for the Metrowest Youth Symphony Orchestra. He is often teaching “For Script to Screen” and “The Art and Business of Crafting Compelling Media Campaigns” at Tufts University.
LISTEN
Don scored the feature film Marranos. Listen to his favorite track from the score.