VIDEO NEWS RELEASE: Preview the Documenting Justice Film Screening (MPEG-4 format - Download Quicktime to watch)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility at The University of Alabama will host the first Documenting Justice Film Screening on Tuesday, May 1 at 7 p.m. at the Bama Theatre in downtown Tuscaloosa.

The film screening will be the culmination of a year’s work by non-film students who have come together for the first time in a specialized interdisciplinary course. Students enrolled in this class use film as a medium to communicate about ethical issues that deal with justice. The course and films focus on matters of concern to the state of Alabama.

Documenting Justice students use film and the written word to analyze culture and social experience. Download a high-resolution version

The screening, planned to be an annual event, will consist of seven short documentary films produced by 14 undergraduate and graduate students.

Topics of the films to be screened include:

• The lives of an immigrant family in Tuscaloosa and their interactions with the world around them, focusing especially on the role children play as a bridge between cultures.
• A Montgomery court that brings victims and offenders together to talk about how the crime affected them, in order to bring about healing.
• The growing sustainable and organic agriculture market and how it is promoting change in attitudes about food in Alabama.
• Following years of professional ballet dancing in New York City, a married couple returns home to Gilbertown to provide free classical dance classes to children in the Black Belt.
• The story of Collegeville, a small neighborhood located in an industrial corner of North Birmingham, and the access problems residents face resulting from the railroads that crisscross the neighborhood.
• The effects of sub-prime lending on people's lives.

This course allows students to apply documentary filmmaking skills and critical journalism towards the analysis of the cultural and social aspects of justice in Alabama.

Student filmmakers in the Documenting Justice course focus on people and issues of concern in Alabama. Download a high-resolution version

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

“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 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.

Admission for this event is free and it is open to the public. For more information, contact the UA Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility at 205/348-6493.

The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is in the midst of a planned, steady enrollment growth with a goal of reaching 28,000 students by 2010. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state's economy, is in keeping with UA's vision to be the university of choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state's flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.