On Tuesday, October 8, at 7 p.m., the DiMenna-Nyselius Library will host the premiere of a feature-length documentary film, Dear Willy: World War II Through the Eyes of One of Hollywood’s Most Prominent Couples. 

Recent Fairfield graduate and now director Taylor Alexander and Executive Producer/Co-Writer and Vice Provost/Faculty member Jay Rozgonyi bring to life a unique look at World War II as told through the lives of famous Hollywood director William Wyler and his wife, Margaret Tallichet. A never-before-published series of letters spanning four years offers insights into Wyler’s work filming thrilling and dangerous war documentaries across Europe, while Tallichet was supporting the war effort back home and attending high-profile events in her husband’s absence—even accepting an Academy Award on his behalf. Made in collaboration with the Wyler family, Dear Willy provides a moving story of love triumphing over hardships, with Hollywood and the Blitz as its backdrops. 

Accompanying the screening will be an exhibit on the lower level of the Library, Master Filmmaker, Man of Courage: William Wyler in World War II, on view Sept. 17 - Dec. 9,  which will feature some of the letters and other archival material from the Wyler family’s collection that have never been publicly displayed before. Tracing the years 1941 through 1946, when three of the four films he made won Academy Awards, the exhibit will be accompanied by a website that features discussions of Wyler’s wartime films (Mrs. Miniver, Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, Thunderbolt, and The Best Years of Our Lives) as well as additional photos and artifacts from the filmmaker’s military career.