Film starring GVSU faculty premiering to West Michigan audiences

A new feature film involving cast and crewmembers with Grand Valley State University ties is set to premiere November 12 in Grand Rapids.

“Pilot Error,” inspired by the true story of a French jetliner missing in the Atlantic Ocean for nearly two years, stars Kate Thomsen, adjunct professor of theater at Grand Valley. Thomsen plays Nicola Wilson, a woman determined to find out how and why a jet on route from South America to Paris disappeared in the Atlantic, taking her close friend and more than 200 other passengers with it. As Nicola dives into the mystery, she puts her job, friends and livelihood at risk.

The film is set to premiere Wednesday, November 12, at 6:45 p.m. at Celebration Cinemas North in Grand Rapids and at Cinema Carousel in Muskegon at 8 p.m.

Other members of the Grand Valley community were also involved in “Pilot Error,” including Shelley Irwin, host and producer of “The WGVU Morning Show with Shelley Irwin,” who plays a television reporter, and alumna Jacqui Bernhardt, ’14, who filled the roles of marketing director and extras coordinator.

“Pilot Error” filmed in various locations across Michigan, including Grand Valley’s Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute, Saugatuck, Grand Rapids, Grand Haven, Ann Arbor, Muskegon and Ypsilanti, among others.

Based on five years of research and interviews with more than 100 pilots, producer Roger Rapoport’s script showcases the fate of pilots kept in the dark about failed automation. Rapoport said the goal of the film is to encourage more hands-on training for pilots as opposed to relying on automation.

“Pilot Error” is also set for multiple showings at various movie theaters across Michigan.  

For more information, contact Roger Rapoport at (231) 730-0930 or [email protected].