Before September 17’s season opener for Community Cinema, Women, War & Peace: Peace Unveiled, a diverse group of women gathered for lunch at the downtown library to learn about Women and Girls Lead, a multi-year initiative from ITVS to use media to bring attention to issues facing girls and women worldwide, and discuss how make Nashville a better place for girls and women.
The group got an overview of the initiative from Nashville Public Television (NPT) president and CEO Beth Curley, and watched clips from this season’s Community Cinema season films that are part of Women and Girls Lead. Together with NPT, I invited those assembled to get involved by partnering on Women and Girls Lead films, taking advantage of free educational tools, tuning into Independent Lens this season, and hosting community discussions. I invite you to the same, and ask that you join our Facebook community page, Women and Girls Lead Nashville, for updates.
In an informal engagement session during the lunch, NPT’s director of education, Jo Ann Scalf, asked the group to envision how a city can be most hospitable to girls and women. Ideas ranged from introducing them to better heroines (not princesses) to celebrating their math and science skills to creating a hub for all girl-related programs and services in Nashville. Two teachers from the group expressed interest in hosting documentary screenings for students, a service we’re excited to provide in select schools this season as part of the Belcourt Theatre’s education program.
After the luncheon, we officially opened our Community Cinema season with Peace Unveiled, an unsettling but ultimately inspiring documentary about Afghan women fighting for a seat at the negotiating table between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Instead of a panel discussion, we heard from Elizabeth Barger, cofounder of CODEPINK, a women-led grassroots peace and social justice movement, and Judy Meeker, another CODEPINK cofounder and founder or More Than Warmth, a quilt project that promotes friendship with nations at war and provides opportunities for cultural understanding among children worldwide.
On October 15, we’ll screen the fabulous Deaf Jam, another great film that focuses on a powerful young woman. It follows New York City’s Aeta Brodski as she prepares to be one of the first deaf poets to compete in a youth slam, leading to an unexpected collaboration. Following the film, we’ll be treated to an ASL poetry performance from local deaf poets, thanks to a partnership with Hearing Bridges. And thanks to our new partnership with the Belcourt Theatre, we’re able to bring Deaf Jam to Hume-Fogg High School for its Food For Thought series and to Martha O’Bryan Center’s middle school afterschool program—another chance to promote cultural understanding through film!
And don’t forget our September 28 screening another part of Women, War and Peace, the award-winning Pray the Devil Back to Hell, at Lipscomb University. The film is screening as part of the university’s excellent HumanDOCS series and starts at 8:30 p.m. in Ward Hall. See you there!
Allison Inman is a national engagement coordinator for ITVS and the Community Cinema coordinator in Nashville. She is also the education and engagement coordinator for the Belcourt.
