Irvington: The Files premiered on Friday, March 13th, 2026. The documentary-film was a major success in box office, but only secured a 67% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, likely due to “bringing back high school stress in the big twenty-six,” as noted by a reviewer. Others noted that “it hit too close to home,” with the eerily accurate descriptions of having back-to-back tests (See BigBack2Back Test Conspiracy of 2024).
Although the documentary’s premise was primarily Irvington, as was its first showing, the documentary viewing was gatekept in true Irvington fashion. The attendance had prominent, influential figures, such as the top six hardest teachers in the school; the “low cortisol” teachers were not invited. Student attendees had to meet the criteria: (1) had to have a 4.0 unweighted GPA, (2) an officer of DECA, and (3) sleep nine hours consistently. Since no one met this criteria, the opening screening proceeded as exclusive.
Voice reporters Idontca Re and Getmeo Ut managed to gain access to the screening by staying in Valhalla all day after calling in absent (unexcused) and surviving on boba and fries for well over twelve hours.
The documentary opens with an ominous walk through the hallways on a rainy day, with hundreds of students making their way to classes, dodging backpacks and trash cans. It is seen through the perspective of the filmmakers, who went undercover as students and took the students through a day in the life, then another day in the life, then another day in the life, with vision tunneling with each day.
The paradox of having monotony with constant cortisol risers was an intended choice by the filmmakers, who wanted to convey how they felt as students in Irvington.
The docufilm exposed several previously unknown facts regarding Irvington, such as the golf cart “actually being a transformer,” and the “AP Biology Zombie Virus,” which stemmed from a mysterious mold that is being kept under wraps – simply being addressed as “modernization,” and a made-up “construction.”*
Filmmakers & journalist duo Sup Ersnitch and Criti Cal arrived at Irvington High School on December 18, determined to investigate Fremont’s status as “the happiest city” in the United States.*
“We come from the happiest country, Finland. We wanted to see what Fremont’s schools have to offer to make the city the happiest one,” explained Ersnitch.
Cal elaborates: “It’s crazy to think about now, but we wanted to learn from you guys.”
To prepare for their investigation, Ersnitch and Cal took an intensive course on the behavior and general character of the average Irvington student.
“[Sup] found it very difficult to get very attached to his Aeries app, at first,” stated Cal.
Both Ersnitch and Cal found it difficult to adjust to Irvington standards of gatekeeping, silently crashing out and surviving on five hours of sleep (on average).
“We didn’t let this stop us. We continued to film.”
Currently, the docufilm and its “concerning” content is being investigated under Fremont Unified School District.
*See Features for more insight
**Idontca Re was able to obtain an interview with the filmmakers themselves, by bribing them with a trip to Tapioca Express.
