For beloved mentor, Peter Russell's funeral

Myself and many other grateful students, lost an amazing mentor this weekend. 

Peter Russell wasn’t just a brilliant screenwriter and teacher, he was an even more brilliant friend. His loss will be felt profoundly by everyone that knew him. None more so than his lovely wife, Suzy.

Peter met the love of his life in South Africa. It was a whirlwind romance, and Suzy gave up her thriving career and her whole world there, to move to California with Peter, where the two of them settled into a simple life in the country. 

Peter was Suzy’s sole source of support in America. Unfortunately, because of Covid, Peter lost most of speaking engagements and earnings throughout 2020 and the two had to live off savings.

All of which, while a struggle, would have been fine, until of course, Peter’s tragic and unexpected passing.

Now Suzy, unable to work in this country and struggling with the devastating loss of her husband, finds herself in an incredibly difficult position. 

So, we, Peter’s students, would love to honor his life and legacy by helping his wonderful wife in this difficult and challenging time. We are trying to raise some money towards funeral expenses, and— hopefully—a small stipend to assist Suzy Russell through this transition.

If you’ve ever had a mentor or a teacher that profoundly affected your life, or a friend who lost a spouse unexpectedly and found themselves in financial difficulty, please, take a moment to donate a few dollars. Every cent is appreciated. And I know Peter would have appreciated it too.

Thank you,

-- Hal Ozsan and Ryan Gavan