WSIU to kick off new season of film screenings

<p class="p1"><span class="s1"> WSIU Public Broadcasting, a public media service of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and the Carbondale Public Library, have joined forces with the award-winning PBS series Independent Lens and the Independent Television Service, ITVS, to launch Indie Lens Pop-Up, a neighborhood screening series that brings people together for community-driven conversations around Independent Lens films.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"> Formerly known as Community Cinema, the long-running screening series has been renamed Indie Lens Pop-Up to strengthen the bond between the Independent Lens television series and local communities, and to bring new energy and new audiences to the in-person events, online, and in broadcasts on WSIU-TV. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The Indie Lens Pop-Up lineup will include a diverse selection of new documentaries that explore issues from autism to veterans’ issues, from race to gun violence. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"> Indie Lens Pop-Up will premiere locally on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 2:30 p.m. at the Carbondale Public Library with a free screening and discussion of Autism in Love by Matt Fuller. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">In the film, four adults at different places on the autism spectrum open up their personal lives as they navigate dating and romantic relationships. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Eye-opening, first-person portrayals show that despite many challenges faced by those with autism, love can find a way.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“WSIU is thrilled to partner on Indie Lens Pop-Up,” said Beth Spezia, WSIU’s educational outreach coordinator, in a news release. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">"The community’s participation in past seasons has been incredible. People who may not know each other are building bonds and creating new partnerships. Our local screenings highlight the importance of civil conversation and social responsibility and motivate people to get involved.”</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“The Carbondale Public Library is proud to once again serve as host of this important community engagement series,” said Diana Brawley-Sussman in a news release. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Indie Lens Pop-Up creates a warm, welcoming, and enjoyable space for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together in a time where these opportunities seem to be dwindling. We learn and grow together as a community through the conversations that follow each film.”</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Local facilitators for the screening of Autism in Love on Nov. 21 are Diana Sarko, assistant professor in the department of anatomy at the SIU School of Medicine, and Kirsten Schaper, clinical instructor at the SIU Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Sarko’s research focuses on sensory processing and social aspects of autism, and working with teens. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Schaper’s specializations include Autism, communication disorders and therapy, and alternative and augmentative communication. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">WSIU will provide special resources for families with young children and educators of children, including free copies of the “Thomas and Friends Autism Educator Toolkit,” while supplies last. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Additional local film screenings are scheduled as follows:</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"> In Football We Trust by Tony Vainuku and Erika Cohn on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 2:30 p.m. at the Carbondale Public Library.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">In Football We Trust intimately follows four Polynesian high school football players in Utah struggling to overcome gang violence, family pressures, and poverty as they enter the high stakes world of college recruiting and the promise of pro sports. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The odds may be stacked against them, but they’ll never stop fighting for a better future. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The film will air Monday, Feb. 1 at 9 p.m. on WSIU-TV.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"> The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution by Stanley Nelson on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 2:30 p.m. at the Carbondale Public Library.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">A new revolutionary culture emerged in the turbulent 1960s, and the Black Panther Party was at the vanguard. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Weaving together a treasure trove of rare footage with the voices of a diverse group of people who were there, Stanley Nelson tells the vibrant story of a pivotal movement that feels timely all over again. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The film will air Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. on WSIU-TV.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"> Peace Officer by Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber on Saturday, April 16, at 2:30 p.m. at the Carbondale Public Library.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The increasingly tense relationship between law enforcement and the public is seen through the eyes of someone who's been on both sides: a former sheriff who established Utah's first SWAT team, only to see the same unit kill his son-in-law in a controversial standoff 30 years later. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Now a private investigator, Dub seeks the truth in this case and other officer-involved shootings. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">This film will air in April 2016 on WSIU-TV. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Questions about Indie Lens Pop-Up screenings at the Carbondale Public Library may be directed to 618- 457-0345. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Learn more about the engagement series on WSIU’s local Indie Lens Pop-Up webpage at www.wsiu.org/indielenspopup or call 618-453-5595.</span></p>