UA Student Films to Premiere at International Documenting Justice Screening

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility, department of telecommunication and film and Capstone International will host the inaugural International Documenting Justice film screening on Monday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Ferguson Theater.

The film screening will be the culmination of the International Documenting Justice course in which students devote two on-campus semesters and a study abroad term to telling stories of international justice and injustice through film.  The inaugural screening will feature four short documentaries filmed by four undergraduate students in South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina and Kenya.

Topics of the films to be screened include:

• An exploration of the tension in the air as a generation of South African freedom fighters watches young South Africans experience a childhood free from struggle.
• A story of mankind’s noxious relationship with nature and the unforeseen negative consequences in the efforts to save New Zealand’s endangered national icon, the kiwi.
• A look at the implications of large-scale hydroelectric dam construction for an indigenous community in northern Argentina.
• A portrait of friendship between two young Kenyan girls who live in a home for children orphaned or displaced by AIDS.

“Ethical citizenship requires a strong sense of empathy and compassion,” said Stephen Black, director of the UA Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility.

“Developing such qualities requires the ability to imagine what others see, feel and experience.  A central focus of CESR, therefore, is the development of courses such as International Documenting Justice in which students learn the personal stories of people outside their immediate sphere and begin to explore the ever-expanding dimensions of cultural and social experience,” Black noted.

International Documenting Justice is a signature initiative of the Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility, which began in fall 2005 with the goal of supporting the study of ethics and developing projects to nurture social responsibility and reflective, thoughtful citizenship.

Admission for this event is free and it is open to the public.

For more information about International Documenting Justice, contact the UA Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility at 205/348-6490 or visit http://cesr.ua.edu.