Student Films to Debut in UA’s 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 second annual International Documenting Justice film screening on Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. at the Bama Theatre.

The film screening will be the culmination of the International Documenting Justice course, in which students devote two semesters and a study abroad term to telling the stories of international justice and injustice through film. The screening will take place during International Education week and will feature four short documentaries filmed by four undergraduate students in Uruguay, Rwanda, Cuba and the border town of El Paso, Texas.

The films are:

• “What Is Left,” which explores the work of Uruguay’s “clasificadores,” those who make a living by collecting recyclable materials from around Montevideo.  The film was created by Grant Luiken.
• “You Must Be Something,” which follows Sunny Ntayombya as he grapples with his identity growing up as a refugee and returning to Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. The film was created by Linn Groft.
• “The Garden and the City,” which gives a unique portrait of Havana, Cuba, that juxtaposes scenes of city life with the stories of a farmer who tends a small urban garden. The film was created by Wilson Boardman.
• “Beyond the Border,” which examines the unique relationship between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The film seeks to understand how El Pasoans see their relationship with their violence-torn sister city. The film was created by Drew Hoover and Marshall Houston.

“Developing a sense of empathy and compassion requires the ability to imagine what others see, feel and experience,” said Stephen Black, CESR director. “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.”

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

For more information about International Documenting Justice, contact CESR at 205/348-6490 or www.cesr.ua.edu