On Screen/In Person Film Series: A Thousand Pines – FREE

An intimate portrait of a hidden world, following a crew of Mexican guest workers over the course of a season as they plant trees throughout the United States. The crew struggles to balance the job’s physical demands and its extreme isolation with remaining connected to the life they are providing for back home.

Panel Discussion @ 6:15 PM | Film Screening @ 7:00 PM | Post-Show Q&A with Director Noam Osband

On Screen/In Person Film Series: And So I Stayed – FREE

An award-winning documentary about survivors of domestic violence who are unjustly incarcerated for killing their abusers in self-defense. These women paid a steep price with long prison sentences, lost time with loved ones, and painful memories.

Note: This film contains mature themes and depictions of violence. Viewer discretion is advised.

6:15 PM | Pre-show Community Panel with Whitney Barbusca, MSW, LSW Social Worker, Penn Medicine (LGH); Mandy Billman, Director of Sexual Assault Prevention & Counseling Center, YWCA; Fai Hammond, Outreach Coordinator, Domestic Violence Services; and Dr. Heather Givin, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Millersville University.
7:00 PM | Film screening
Post-show | Q&A with survivor-advocate Kim Dadou Brown

In the Lyet Lobby, “Silent Witness” will be on display. “Silent Witness” is a visual memorial to victims of Family and Intimate Partner Violence. The Silent Witnesses are red, life-size silhouettes. Each one bears a shield on which is written the story of a woman, child, or man who was killed by an abusive partner. The silhouettes also memorialize bystanders who were killed in attacks on an intimate partner. The Silent Witness Display is a collaboration between Domestic Violence Services and the Victim Witness Services – Office of the District Attorney and Penn Medicine.

On Screen/In Person Film Series: Code of the Freaks – FREE

A radical reframing of the use of disabled characters in film, gathering hundreds of clips from over a century of Hollywood favorites – viewed with a fresh perspective by on-the-ground disability activists, artists, and scholars. Taking its title from Tod Browning’s 1932 classic, Code of the Freaks counters formulaic “inspiration porn” with a powerful corrective, daring to imagine a cinematic landscape that centers the voices of disabled people.

Panel Discussion @ 6:15 PM | Film Screening @ 7:00 PM | Post-Show Q&A with Director Salome Chasnoff

ACCESSIBILITY • ASL interpretation is available upon request. Please use this form to request accessibility services at least two weeks prior to the performance.

Presented in partnership with the MU Disability Film Festival & MU Learning Institute.

On Screen/In Person Film Series: Kaddish – FREE

A candid portrait of a father who survived the Holocaust by hiding in a hole in a forest for six months, and a young Jewish activist—his son—who comes to terms with his father’s traumatic history.

Panel Discussion @ 6:15 PM | Film Screening @ 7:00 PM | Post-Show Q&A with Director Steve Brand

In partnership with the MU Holocaust & Genocide Conference.

Covering the Vote: Journalists Examine the 2024 Election

A panel discussion featuring local, state and national reporters sharing their experiences and observations from the 2024 election and what they see going forward.

Colby Itkowitz
National Politics Reporter
The Washington Post

Brett Sholtis
Investigative Reporter, Democracy
LNP | LancasterOnline

Carter Walker
Pennsylvania Reporter
VotebeatUS

Katie Bernard
Reporter
Philadelphia Inquirer

The mission of the Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund is to support, protect, and expand local journalism in and for Lancaster County by promoting investigative and public interest journalism and media literacy. These efforts will ensure the people of Lancaster County continue to be informed, engaged, and empowered by independent local journalism. https://lancjournalismfund.org/

Piano Pete & a Poet Meet

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.

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.

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

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

Asian Americans are among the least likely to seek help for mental illness. The stigma surrounding the topic, in conjunction with discrimination and racial profiling, makes mental health an intersectional—and pressing—issue. Silent War reveals the unspoken toll mental illness has had on this community.

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 Dr. Changfu Chang and Assistant Director A.C. Brooke

Accessibility: ASL interpretation will be available for the pre-screening panel discussion and the post-screening Q&A. The film is captioned.

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
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 Steinman Institute for Civic Engagement, Penn Medicine, the Briar Hill Foundation, and Mental Health America of Lancaster County.