First published in the Carolina Alumni Review
(UNC-Chapel Hill)

Five Wives, Three Secretaries and Me is a $300,000 open letter from first-time filmmaker Tessa Blake ’91.

Blake wanted to explore the dynamics of her relationship with her father Texas lawyer, billionaire oilman, Hollywood socialite and marrying machine Thomas Blake Jr.
 
“Being a personal film, it’s a microcosm of my family,” said Blake, 35, who has an English and Classics degree.
 
The film scored a rave review in the Village Voice. In March, viewers at the noted independent South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas (a three-hour drive west of Blake’s childhood home of Houston) were able to see the two-hour documentary that addresses personal issues. Those include Blake confronting her father’s racism and more universal themes such as “bridging the gap between who you are and who your parents want you to be,” she said.
 
The documentary will be shipped to other film festivals later this year and has Tar Heel prints all over. Jason Lyon ‘90 produced the film and is vice president of Asset Pictures, a New York-based media group created by Blake. Michele White Lawler ‘90 is the media coordinator for the company, and all three UNC alumni served a tour of duty with Student Television.
 
“They’re the best people available,” Blake said. “A lot of friendships started while working on General College, and now they’re working up here in New York.”