Alexandra Byer ’07: Producing Movie Magic

Byer does practically everything necessary to make a movie happen: She matches scripts with the perfect director, oversees casting, secures funding, books locations, schedules shoots, and negotiates with distributors. The behind-the-scenes work combines her knack for management with her love for telling stories—and for the art form itself.

“The first time I saw a producer at work, and I saw them communicating with lots of different people, I knew that was what I wanted to do,” Byer says. 

Byer took risks and explored novel pursuits at Rivers, encouraged by her friends and mentors. In her junior year, friends convinced her to try out for the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, reviving a childhood love of acting that had been sidelined by stage fright. “I got a tiny role in the chorus, but I found the confidence to dip back into that world,” she says. “I think allowing myself back into that world opened up a door for where I am now.” 

She was editor-in-chief of The Rivers Edge, the student-run newspaper, for two years, and considered a career as a journalist. But a voice inside her asked her to also consider colleges with a film program.

It’s a good thing she listened. By her sophomore year at Johns Hopkins University, she had changed her major to film and media studies.

Byer’s career has been on a fast track since graduating from college. She started working as a freelance producer right away, and just as quickly, she found a mentor who helped her get established in the industry. To date, Byer has co-founded the boutique production company Rathaus Films, produced 10 feature films, and produced numerous commercials for such brands as Apple, Dunkin’, and Land Rover. 

With two of her films hitting theaters in 2025, it is shaping up to be a big year. Ex-Husbands, released  in February, is about marriages ending and beginning in three generations of a family. Familiar Touch, which Byer has been involved with for seven years, will begin its theatrical run in June. The story of an octogenarian woman who is transitioning into assisted living, the film won three major awards, more than any other, when it premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2024.

“Between the pandemic and the strikes, our industry has had a rough few years,” she says. “I am thrilled that two of my films will be released widely in theaters this year, an honor that many independent films don’t get anymore. It is special to share my work with audiences across the country.”

A version of this story originally appeared in the spring 2025 issue of the Riparian, Rivers’ alumni magazine.