9500 Liberty documents the first and possibly only time in U.S. history that an Arizona-style immigration law was actually implemented — then captures the grassroots opposition that led to its repeal.

Racial tension and threats of violence erupt when
Prince William County, Virginia adopts a law requiring the police to question people who appear to be undocumented immigrants. Supporters of the law ride a wave of hysteria to an election victory. But many reconsider when the local economy feels the impact of a sudden exodus of workers, consumers, and business owners. Despite fears of reprisal, a group of concerned citizens launches a “virtual resistance” using social media, setting up a final showdown with the law’s ferocious advocates.

The film will be shown on Monday November 14, 4-6:30pm at the University Hall Amphitheater.

Thy Will Be Done; Oct. 12th 2011

THY WILL BE DONE follows Male-to-Female Transsexual Sara Herwig in her path to ordination in the Presbyterian Church. Efforts have been made to block her ordination by the evangelical conservative groups who don't recognize her as female and question her fitness to be a Pastor..... but who also challenge her candidacy because she is in a same-sex relationship, with a woman. At issue is the organized Christian Church, with all its political and financial power, as one of the fiercest battlegrounds for LGBT rights and gender recognition. Sara's journey highlights the tensions that exist at the point where faith and gender intersect.

View From A Grain Of Sand - The Plight of Afghan Women

Please join us for our next very special film event, “View From A Grain Of Sand” on Wednesday, March 23, 2011, from 1:00 to 3:30PM in the University Hall Amphitheater.

“View From A Grain Of Sand” is a documentary that looks at the plight of Afghan women over the last 30 years—from the rule of King Zahir Shah to the current Hamid Karzai government. Women’s rights in Afghanistan received much international interest under the rule and then fall of the Taliban. But what has happened since 2001 when a “new era” of peace for women was declared and attention to these issues subsided?

Through the eyes of a doctor, a teacher and a rights activist, “View From A Grain Of Sand” examines issues around the current situation women face in Afghanistan. These three women use their personal stories to lead viewers through the country’s complex history and provide context for the ongoing battle women still face for their basic human rights. This film was shot over a four-year period in Pakistani refugee camps and war-torn Kabul and includes footage, interviews and archival materials.

This film’s timely questions include: What are lives of Afghan women really like now? Have they gained any real rights? How has the reign of a new government affected them? It also portrays women that continue to define strength and resilience in the face of war and oppression.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion. It is free and open to the public.

http://viewgrainofsand.com
Duration: 58 minutes
Wednesday, March 23, 2011, from 1:00 to 3:30PM
University Hall Amphitheater

Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North

Please join us for our next very special film event, ”Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North” on Tuesday, February 15, 2011, from 4:00 to 6:30 pm in the University Hall Amphitheater.

Traces of the Trade is a documentary based on the discovery by filmmaker Katrina Browne that her New England ancestors, the DeWolfs, were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. Contrary to popular belief, viewers learn that Northern slavery existed for over 200 years.

This film retraces the DeWolf trade route. The Triangle Trade brought rum from the family’s distillery in Bristol, Rhode Island to buy African people from coastal Ghana slave forts to be sold in Havana and Charleston, and purchased Cuban sugar and molasses to be brought back to Bristol. While the DeWolfs made their fortune trading slaves, this film also looks at the financial gain by many Northerners through a network of commercial activities.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion that includes one the film’s directors. It is free and open to the public.

Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North
Film Duration: 86 minutes
Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 4:00 - 6:30 pm
University hall, Amphitheater

For More information, check out: http://www.tracesofthetrade.org/

OUTSIDER: The Life and Art of Judith Scott

This film tells the story of Judith Scott (1943-2005), who became a fiber artist in 1987, and was recognized during her lifetime for the unique creativity of her abstract masses of found (and sometimes stolen) objects transformed by their wrappings. Scott’s sculptures have appeared around the world and are housed permanently at museums including The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in Chicago, and the Musee D Art Brut in Lausanne, Switzerland. Astonishingly, Scott blossomed as an artist just few years after she spent 35 years in a stale institution for the mentally retarded.

Born with Down syndrome, Scott was sent away when she was only seven. As if such isolation were not enough to endure, Scott also had undiagnosed deafness and little verbal ability. Yet, while many with similar disabilities are separated, oppressed and disempowered, Judith Scott’s story had a happy ending.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion. It is free and open to the public.

OUTSIDER: The Life and Art of Judith Scott
Film Duration: 26 minutes
Photo presentation: 7 minutes
Monday, December 13th, 4:00 – 6:00 PM
University Hall Amphitheater

Chasing the Dream: The Plight of Immigrant Youth

Listen to the silenced stories of undocumented youth who struggle to be legally and personally recognized and learn about how the Dream Act could affect their lives.

Presented by the University Diversity Council

Chasing the Dream: The Plight of Immigrant Youth

When: Monday, November 15, 2010
Time: 4-6:30 pm, reception following panel discussion
Where: University Hall Amphitheatre

Panelists: Leigh Patel, author of book in progress regarding her experiences in urban schools with undocumented youth Student Representatives from SIM (Student Immigrant Movement) Immigrant youth from the Boston area.

Support Native Action! Honor the Earth!

Please join us for our next very special film event, “Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action” on Monday, October 18, 2010, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm in the University Hall Amphitheater.

“Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action” sheds light on one of the least known American human rights stories, the environmental hazards that threaten to ruin Native American lands and their impact upon Native peoples. The film focuses on the stories of five Native American activists from the Cheyenne, Gwich’in, Navajo and Penobscot communities who have fought for protection of their lands and survival of their peoples and cultures. These leaders have battled multi-national energy companies and government entities on issues including the growing toxicity of Maine’s Penobscot River, proposed coal bed methane gas wells on Cheyenne homelands, oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and uranium mining that would contaminate the sole source of drinking water for 15,000 people on the Navajo reservation.

“Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action” reveals the state of indigenous nations as a result of relaxed environmental regulations that favor the powerful energy industry. It also shows the resolve of Native activists to save their way of life and the power of grassroots organizing.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion. It is free and open to the public.

Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action
Film Duration: 57 minutes Monday, October 18th, 4:00 - 6:00 pm, University Hall Amphitheater