Tolchinsky and siblings donate parents’ collection of 2,400+ VHS and DVDs to IULMIA
David Tolchinsky, Dean of The Media School in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University, along with his siblings Jon Edelson, MD, and Rebecca Edelson, have made a remarkable donation to the Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive. Their parents’ extensive film collection, boasting over 2,400 VHS and DVD tapes from the 1930s to the 1980s, now enriches the archive with its significant and memorable contributions.
Though not a film industry insider, Tolchinsky’s father, Marshall, was a Yale University psychiatrist and professor with an unwavering passion for cinema. His love for film was so profound that he transformed his home office into a family movie theater, showcasing his impressive film collection. This unique setup became a cherished space where the family bonded over movies, fostering a deep appreciation for the medium that influenced Tolchinsky’s career as a screenwriter and professor.
“You can tell from my work that I must have been influenced, because not only did I become a screenwriter, but I also started a program in psychology and film, focusing on how mental health is depicted and teaching students to think about it in a more nuanced way,” said Tolchinsky.
Additionally, Tolchinsky’s nephew, Eli Edelson (Jon Edelson’s son), and niece, Dylan Gee (Rebecca Edelson’s daughter), have both gone on to work in Hollywood with prominent production companies, where their career paths were also heavily inspired by Tolchinsky’s father’s admiration for film.
To Eli, his whole relationship with his grandfather centered around watching and discussing movies.
“I couldn’t have asked for better training for a career in Hollywood than those lunchtime chats with Marshall in Woodbridge, especially for my work as a writer,” he explained.
“He taught me how to watch movies, how to discuss them, and how to process what the story truly was about. That fluency has been everything for my career.”
On the other hand, Dylan, a creative producer at Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s production company, HitRecord, credits her career path to her grandmother, Zelda, the head of publications for the Yale Peabody Museum, and a painter and poet, who, like Marshall, had a deep yet more reserved love for film.
“Although everyone referred to it as Marshall’s ‘movie room,’ it was Zelda’s too – she was just quieter about it,” Dylan said. “She loved to watch old films like ‘Ninotchka’ and ‘I Know Where I’m Going.’”
“My first major film, ‘The Hostess,’ is about a restaurant hostess and is the launching point of what you could call my ‘filmmaking career.’ I remember when I sent it to Zelda, I had no expectations of her even watching it given how old she was. I thought perhaps she would forget. Or, that it would be hard for her to watch because of her hearing problems. But, Zelda responded not with just casual comments, but with a
four-page critique. I had never felt more understood and gratified as a filmmaker before.”
Tolchinsky jokes affectionately, “An obsession with movies and moviemaking really is the family disease.”
But on a serious note, the Marshall and Zelda Edelson film collection stands as more than just a hobby; it is an everlasting reminder of how deeply cinema has impacted the family through their noteworthy careers.
By gathering together to watch and discuss the films from this extensive collection, the family has passed down a creative and intellectual legacy and donating it to the IULMIA ensures their legacy will continue to inspire future filmmakers and lovers.