The event will feature a unique, collaborative set designed and performed by musical artist Piano Pete, a New York City pianist, and Dana Kinsey, Lancaster City Poet Laureate, actor, and spoken word artist. The performance will feature original poems in communion with songs composed or adapted by Piano Pete. The set will include some narrative as well as a few special guest artists.
Genre: Community Event
On Screen/In Person Film Series: Preschool to Prison – FREE
Tuesday, October 7 • 7 PM • Steinman Hall
A compelling examination of the U.S. public education system and its disparate outcomes for children of color and children with special needs. Those affected by the school-to-prison pipeline, fueled by zero-tolerance policies used to justify suspension and arrests, discuss the generational impact of this system.
6:15 PM • Pre-show community panel discussion with Chad Dion Lassiter, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission; Dr. Frederika Schmitt, Millersville University Associate Professor of Sociology & Criminology; Karlee Shambaugh, Program Facilitator, Lancaster County Prison; and Dr. Elizabeth Powers, Millersville University Professor of Early, Middle, and Exceptional Education and Chair of the MU Center for Public Scholarship & Social Change.
Post-screening Q&A • Dr. Karen Baptiste, director Presented in partnership with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the Millersville University Department of Criminology, Sociology, & Anthropology.
Post-screening Q&A • Dr. Karen Baptiste, director Presented in partnership with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the Millersville University Department of Criminology, Sociology, & Anthropology.
On Screen/In Person Film Series: Life After – FREE
Thursday, November 13 • 7 PM • Steinman Hall
A gripping personal investigation that exposes the tangled web of moral dilemmas and profit motives surrounding assisted dying. Disabled filmmaker Reid Davenport uncovers shocking abuses of power while amplifying the voices of the disability community fighting for justice and dignity in a matter of life and death.
6:15 PM • Pre-show community panel discussion
Post-show • Q&A with director Reid Davenport
Post-show • Q&A with director Reid Davenport
Presented in partnership with the MU Disability Film Festival.
On Screen/In Person Film Series: Silent War: Asian American Reckonings with Mental Health – FREE
Wednesday, February 18 • 7 PM • Steinman Hall
Join us for our free film and filmmaker series!
Silent War: Asian American Reckonings with Mental Health is a groundbreaking documentary that confronts the deep silence surrounding mental illness in Asian American communities. Through intimate stories of struggle, survival, and healing, the film explores how cultural stigma, intergenerational trauma, racism, and systemic neglect have shaped the mental health experiences of families from diverse Asian backgrounds.
Featuring raw personal testimonies, expert insights, and emotional family reckonings, Silent War reveals the human cost of staying silent—and the power of breaking that silence. At once personal and political, the film charts a collective journey from shame to resilience, offering hope for a more inclusive and compassionate mental health future.
6:15 PM • Pre-show community panel discussion with Margaret Thorwart, Director of MU Center for Health Education & Promotion; Meagan Howell-Brogan, Head of Counseling Services, Franklin & Marshall College; Irma Do, Coordinator, (MSW) Faith Communities Partnership, Mental Health America Lancaster; and Sandy Chen, featured in Silent War, who hopes that her story will help others. She is currently pursuing a degree in psychology at UMBC with the aim of continuing her passion for mental health advocacy.
Post-show • Q&A with Director Changfu Chang, Assistant Director A.C. Brooke, Director of Music Barry Atticks, and Film Editor Jordan Graff.
Accessibility: ASL interpretation will be available for the pre-screening panel discussion and the post-screening Q&A. The film is captioned.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can dial or text 988 and be connected to help.
On Screen/In Person Film Series: Louder than Guns – FREE
Wednesday, March 18 • 7 PM • Steinman Hall
A music film about gun violence and gun rights in America. Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor and NPR’s David Greene journey through rural, urban, and suburban America, having a conversation that humanizes all sides of this country’s polarized gun debate. Through the convening power of music and civil discourse, Secor and Greene help those they meet to find unexpected common ground.
6:15 PM • Pre-show community panel with Dr. Pia Fenimore, Clinical Consultant for the Lancaster County Safe Firearm Storage Initiative, Chief of Pediatrics, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health (LG Health); Rev. Martha Harris, Convenor of With One Voice: Faith Leaders United To End Gun Violence; Kim McDevitt, Executive Director of Mental Health America, Lancaster; and Maura Condon Umble, Board Member of CeaseFirePA, member of Mom’s Demand Action, appointed to the Pennsylvania Office of Gun Violence Prevention Executive Committee
Post-show • Q&A with David Greene
Accessibility: ASL interpretation will be available for the panel discussion and Q&A. The film is captioned.
Presented in partnership with the Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund, Penn Medicine, the Briar Hill Foundation, and Mental Health America of Lancaster County.
On Screen/In Person Film Series: We Still Here – FREE
Directed by Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi
This film introduces the incredible youth of Comerío, Puerto Rico, as they navigate the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Follow 24-year-old Mariangelie Ortiz as she leads a group of young residents traveling to Washington D.C. to protest in the halls of Congress. Don’t miss this coming-of-age story as the youth of Comerío find their power and begin to create a sustainable future for themselves and their community.
6:15 p.m. • Pre-screening community panel including Duane Hagelgans, J.D., Professor of Emergency Management at Millersville; Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz, the 2023 Conrad Nelson Visiting Artist at Millersville; Dr. Zeshan Ismat, Professor of Geosciences and Earth & Environmental Studies at Franklin & Marshall; Angela Capeles, Executive Board Member, Latino Empowerment Project; and Jaime Arroyo, CEO of ASSETS and member of the Lancaster City Council.
7:00 p.m. • Free screening of WE STILL HERE
8:00 p.m. • Post-screening Q&A with Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi (Director/Producer), Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi (Producer), and Mariangelie Ortiz (youth activist).
Presented in partnership with the Lancaster County Community Foundation and the Walters/Unitarian Universalist Church Trust.
CEUs: This event will offer 2.5 credit hour of ethics requirements for $25.00 to interested licensed professionals.
On Screen/In Person Film Series: A Life Like This – FREE
A Life Like This is a cinematic portrait of four outsider artists working and living with disability in Central Pennsylvania who face discrimination, inequity, and underexposure. Through the unique stories of Malcolm Corley, Adam Musser, Sybil Roe Thompson, and David Nolt, who create without pretension or boundaries, the film aims to destigmatize an underrepresented demographic of uniquely inspiring artists and explore how art shapes and impacts their lives.
Come early for a pre-show panel featuring Dr. Thomas Neuville, Professor at Millersville University, and Jacklyn Nagle, Executive Director of the Disability Empowerment Center. Stay after the show for a Q&A with director James Hollenbaugh and the four artists featured in his film. Artwork from the artists will be featured in the Lyet Lobby.
Accessibility info: This event will offer ASL interpretation.
CEUs: This event will offer 2.5 credit hours of ethics requirements for $25.00 to interested licensed professionals.
On Screen/In Person Film Series: The Ride Ahead – FREE
Directed by Dan Habib
Twenty-one-year-old Samuel Habib wants to launch the bold adult world he craves – to date, leave home, go to college – but he drives a 350-pound wheelchair, uses a communication device, and can have a seizure at any moment. Can guidance from America’s most rebellious disability activists empower his path forward?
Join us at 6:15 p.m. for a pre-show panel featuring Dr. Thomas Neuville, Disability Studies Professor at Millersville University, Jacklyn Nagle, Executive Director of the Disability Empowerment Center, Theo W. Braddy, Executive Director of the National Council on Independent Living, and Christian Huber, Disability Advocate with cerebral palsy and future Social Work/Disability Studies major at Millersville University.
After the showing, join us for a live Q&A with the film’s director, Dan Habib, as well as pre-recorded Q&As with Samuel Habib, the young man featured in the film. Maysoon Zayid, a comedian, actress, writer, and disability advocate, will be joining the session via Zoom.
Accessibility: This event will feature ASL interpretation and audio description.
CEUs: This event will offer 2.5 credit hour of ethics requirements for $25.00 to interested licensed professionals.
On Screen/In Person Film Series: A Tree of Life – FREE
Directed by Trish Adlesic
A deeply personal portrait of he survivors, families, and community of the eleven people killed in the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. This film sheds light on the collective trauma suffered by a tight-knit group and brings into sharp focus the hate-based rhetoric that surrounds many of the mass shootings today.
CEUs: This event will offer 2.5 credit hour of ethics requirements for $25.00 to interested licensed professionals.
On Screen/In Person Film Series: Our American Family – FREE
Directed by Hallee Adelman & Sean King O’Grady
A radically honest portrait of five family members grappling with the legacy of generational addiction as they fight to heal resentments and pull each other out of the deepest depths. Captured at a pivotal “nothing to lose” moment over the course of a year, five family members, tired of life with addiction, struggle to transcend their crippling histories, find hope, and explore what’s possible through love. A touching, eye-opening look into one of America’s most pressing crises.
At 6:15 P.M., there will be a pre-show panel featuring Dr. Ryan Orr, Millersville University Assistant Professor of Sociology; Judge David L. Ashworth, President Judge of the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas and Founder of the Lancaster Drug Court; Kayla Weiler, Manager of Addiction Medicine at Penn Medicine; and Chris Dreisbach, CEO of Blueprints for Addiction Recovery and addiction survivor.
After the showing, there will be a Q&A with the film’s director, Hallee Adelman, and the mother of the family featured in the documentary, Linda Geraghty.
CEUs: This event will offer 2.5 credit hour of ethics requirements for $25.00 to interested licensed professionals.