Seeking Mavis Beacon

directed by Jazmin Jones, produced by Guetty Felin

Who was Mavis Beacon, the eponymous software course that taught millions of people to type in the ‘80s? Seeking Mavis Beacon is a hybrid documentary blending myth and memory to uncover the story of Mavis Beacon. We follow director Jazmin Jones and co-collaborator Olivia McKayla Ross as “e-girl detectives” in search of Renee L’Esperance, the Haitian woman who modeled as the in-game typing instructor in 1987. “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing” sold 10 million copies worldwide and L’Esperance became the face of the educational software.  Though Mavis Beacon became a household name for millennials, Renee was paid $500 for the use of her image and would soon fade into obscurity. The film highlights ethical questions about representation and education while investigating, “What ever happened to Mavis Beacon?”

Guetty Felin is an award-winning independent filmmaker, teacher, and film curator. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and raised in New York, she holds an MFA from the University of Paris School of Cinema.  Throughout her career, Felin has worked on factual and narrative films for European and American television.