By Keira Faddis
3-31-2026

Faculty from the University of Miami’s Department of Cinematic Arts are celebrating the streaming debut of their documentary ‘Naked Ambition,’ which premiered on Netflix in the United States and Canada this past February.

The feature length documentary explores the life and legacy of Bunny Yeager, a model-turned-photographer who helped redefine femininity, beauty and power in mid-20th century America. She is known for her work with Playboy, for discovering Bettie Page and popularizing the bikini.

Several University of Miami faculty members played key roles in bringing the film to life, including Professor Konstantia “Dia” Kontaxis, Professor Edmund Talavera and Adjunct Professor Dennis Scholl.

Scholl, the director of the film, initially began pursuing Yeager’s story more than a decade ago.

“Naked Ambition is a documentary feature film about a woman named Bunny Yeager,” Scholl said. “Bunny was a pinup model in the 1950s who became the world’s most famous pinup photographer.”

He initially approached Yeager in the 2010s, but she declined. When she later agreed to participate, production took an unexpected turn.

“The day of the shoot, they called and said she was in the hospital,” Scholl said. “And then Bunny passed, and I never got to interview her.”

The loss forced the filmmakers to rethink the structure of the documentary. Without its central subject, the team had to reconstruct Yeager’s life through archival footage and interviews.

After years of delays, including a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was completed in 2023, premiering at DOC NYC.

Professor Kontaxis, who teaches editing in the Department of Cinematic Arts, served as an editor and producer. She has worked in the film industry since the 1990s and has collaborated with Scholl for around a decade on other projects.

“The film is about Miami photographer Bunny Yeager… a legend,” Kontaxis said. “She started as a model herself and then decided early on to turn the camera on herself and other women.”

Kontaxis described her role in the documentary as shaping the story from thousands of pieces of material.

“Editing in documentaries is like writing the story,” she said. “You have an idea… but until you have your material, you are not 100% sure how you’re going to say it.”

The film relied heavily on archival content, from photographs to historical footage, which had to be carefully combed through, organized and assembled over the course of several years.

She also emphasized the importance of telling a story rooted in Miami.

“I’m really proud that this is a true Miami story,” she said. “About a woman that a lot of people have been exposed to… but not necessarily know it’s hers.”

Two University of Miami Motion Pictures alumni, Ellie Konn, B.A. ‘19, M.F.A ‘22, and Rodrigo Arauz, B.S.C ‘18, M.F.A ‘22, worked on the film as assistant editors, gaining hands-on experience on a professional production.

Arauz, who completed both his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the university, said his connection with Kontaxis began in the classroom.

“She encouraged me to keep pursuing editing as a career,” Arauz said. “I’ve always looked up to her.”

He later joined the project during post-production, working on the technical process of preparing the film for final release.

“It was the largest scale project I’ve worked on,” Arauz said. “A whole feature film is a lot more to work on [than a typical school project].”

Now, he works at a post-production house in Miami after getting recommended by another UM professor. He credits the university with helping to launch his career.

“Really, I owe everything to the University of Miami,” Arauz said.

Konn worked earlier in the editing process, helping organize and build the foundation of the film from the massive archive.

“With a documentary, you’re going to have thousands and thousands of files,” Konn said. “Photos, video, music…especially with Bunny, there was all this material.”

She spent a few years working on and off on the film, describing the process as both technical and exploratory.

“It feels like an internet wormhole,” Konn said. “You become the absolute expert on this topic because you’ve seen everything.”

For Scholl, who has taught documentary filmmaking at the University of Miami, projects like ‘Naked Ambition’ highlight the value of connecting students with real-world productions.

“If you’re a film student, you’ve got to find your way onto real sets,” he said. “It’s a pretty good résumé line… that you worked on a film that’s now on Netflix.”

Now streaming to audiences across the U.S. and Canada, ‘Naked Ambition’ represents not only a tribute to Bunny Yeager’s legacy, but also a testament to the collaborative work happening at the School of Communication’s film program.