Randolph presents ‘Documentaries Change the World’
By Casey Gillis on Mar. 16, 2010
(434) 385-5525
All of the films in Randolph College’s upcoming weekend festival focus on how individuals can create change.
The topics range from students who set out to investigate what it means to be Muslim in a post-9/11 America to a community that pulled together to make their part of the world a beautiful place to live to a dying lesbian who fought for the right to transfer her pension to her partner.
“We chose documentaries that are dealing with social issues that our students are passionate about,” says communication studies professor Jennifer Gauthier, who organized the festival with students from her film class and other campus groups.
“Spring Into Action: Documentaries to Change the World,” sponsored by the Driver Lecture Series, will kick off with a screening of 2009’s “Journey Into America” at 7 p.m. Friday.
The film follows Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, a renowned Islamic scholar and author, and a team of young American students as they visit cities big and small — from Birmingham, Nashville and Salt Lake City to Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles — to find out how Muslims fit into contemporary American society and what exactly American identity is in a post-9/11 world.
The festival continues with 2008’s “The Garden,” an Oscar-nominated film about a 14-acre community garden in South Central Los Angeles, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. A group of citizens planted the garden, the largest of its kind in the United States, as a form of healing after the 1992 L.A. riots.
Scott Hamilton Kennedy, director of “The Garden,” will also conduct a filmmaking workshop at 2 p.m. Saturday in Martin 415.
2007’s “FreeHeld,” an Oscar-winning film that follows the landmark legal battle of Lt. Laurel Hester, a dying lesbian police officer who went to court to transfer her pension to her partner, concludes the festival at 2 p.m. Sunday.
“Not everyone is going to agree with the points of view (in these films),” Gauthier says. “But that’s the point: To get dialogue going.”
She says they hope that showing these films will encourage people to advocate for issues important to them.
“The filmmakers themselves were passionate about an issue and took action,” she says. “Then, (we’re) suggesting to students they can do the same thing.”
All the screenings are free and will be held in Martin 315. Filmmakers for each of the three films will also be on hand for a discussion after their respective screenings. Call (434) 947-8501 for more information.
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