TAMU-CC Professor Receives International Praise for Documentary Film Work

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Dr. Dorothy McClellan, Regents Professor of Criminal Justice at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, is accustomed to talking to an audience of students who aspire to make a difference in the world through the judicial system. However, the classroom isn’t the only place McClellan is making an Islander Impact. She and international filmmaker Nikola Knez are shining a light on injustice around the world through award-winning documentary filmmaking.

“Our documentary films bring the material to life and touch students in a special way,” McClellan said. “I include documentary film in all of my courses and students welcome it. It helps them grasp the lessons I’m teaching.”

McClellan’s career as a documentarian began in 2002 when she met Knez in Croatia while on a Fulbright Scholarship fellowship. At the time, Knez founded the Croatian Society for Children’s Human Rights. Their working relationship blossomed, and the two would eventually marry.

Their documentary films and TV/Web interview productions focus on international justice issues and war crimes, among other topics. They have interviewed renowned political figures including former U.S. Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith, British-Russian Count Nikolai Tolstoy, and current political and human rights activists in South-Central Europe.

The work of McClellan and Knez has been recognized at various international film festivals, including most recently in spring 2024 at the 57th WorldFest International Film Festival in Houston, the oldest independent film festival in the world, where they won nine Remi awards including two Gold Remis for films “Industrial Production in the Transition from Communism to Capitalism: A Croatian Case Study” and “Croatian Defenders from Legrad.” In all, the McClellan-Knez film partnership has won over 80 awards over the last two decades.

“Having a scholarly article or book accepted for publication is exciting,” McClellan said. “But being internationally recognized for our films is thrilling, especially when they positively influence public policy and international relations. Our film ‘Operation Storm’ documenting Croatia’s successful struggle for independence has had over half a million views.”

Though their documentary work takes them all over the world, the Island University has proven to be a critical part of their success. For many of their films, McClellan and Knez have collaborated closely with the TAMU-CC theatre faculty and students.

“We used students in acting roles in a number of our films including ‘Sunny’s Story’ and ‘The Doctor’s Prison Cell,’” McClellan recalled. “And Professor Emeritus of Theatre Don Luna played a major role as a priest in our film ‘The Airman and The Baroness’ while Associate Dean of Nursing, Dr. Christina Murphey, played the role of the baroness.”

As the fall semester begins and McClellan starts her 37th year as a professor at the Island University, she brings a world of experience to her students. McClellan hopes the stories she has helped document inspire her students to leave their mark in the criminal justice field.  

“My students are often surprised that their professor has explored justice issues first-hand in distant and often troubled parts of the world,” McClellan said. “My hope is that it gives them a new perspective of the responsibilities involved in a criminal justice career.”