Announcement

On Wednesday, April 1, and Thursday, April 2, Emerson College will celebrate exceptional nonfiction work by students at It’s All True, the College’s fourth annual documentary festival. The two-day event is open to the public and will showcase screenings of original student films as well as filmmaker and journalist Peter Davis’ documentary Hearts and Minds (35 mm print)—a powerful portrayal of the disastrous effects of US involvement in Vietnam, for which he won an Oscar in 1975.

Free Screenings (Open to the Public)

Wednesday, April 1, 7:00 p.m.—The School of the Arts presents Filmmaker Peter Davis and Hearts and Minds (35mm print); a Q & A with the filmmaker follows the screening. The screening will take place at the Bright Family Screening Room at Emerson/Paramount Center (559 Washington Street, Boston). The event is free and open to public; seating is first come, first served. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Thursday April 2, 7:00 p.m.—Student documentary films, hosted by filmmaker Peter Davis, will be screened in the Bright Family Screening Room at Emerson/Paramount Center (559 Washington Street, Boston). The event is free and open to the public; seating is first come, first served. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Sponsored by Virgin Unite, Boston Avid Users Group, Rule Broadcast, DocYard, Graduate Students Association, and Captured Emotion.

“We’re thrilled to host Peter Davis on campus for this year’s documentary film fest,” said Marc Fields, associate professor in Visual and Media Arts and Graduate Program Director at Emerson College. “So many of our students venture into documentary filmmaking, exploring a range of vital topics that impact the world we live in. The enduring relevance of Peter’s award-winning film Hearts and Minds is a wonderful tribute to the power of documentary films and his roots in journalism,” he said.

Davis, whose credits include the PBS series Middletown and The Selling of the Pentagon (CBS) and who covered the war in Iraq for The Nation, will participate in workshops during undergraduate and graduate documentary classroom visits. He will also present “Stories of War in Film and Print,” a lecture on war coverage from Vietnam to Iraq for Journalism and Liberal Arts students on April 2, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Bordy Auditorium.

Chosen by Visual and Media Arts faculty at Emerson, the 10 selected student documentaries for this year’s It’s All True film festival cover a wide range of stylistic approaches, perspectives, and social concerns. Remember Us Now, Wandering evokes the memories and struggles in the Aida refugee camp in the occupied West Bank; Black Lives Matter highlights the “Black Lives Matter” protests and reminds us that we are not a post-racial society; and Finding Gino is the story of how a mysterious American Bandstand dancer from the ‘70s became a beloved icon of the Boston Celtics decades after his death.

Additional Student Documentaries to Be Screened

The Honey Man (5:00)Shot on black and white film, this creative treatment displays the story of Yugoslavian World War II survivor Jakob Keller, who found salvation through farming.

Two-Stroked: A Love Story (7:22)—This story is a bumpy ride with Jacqui, Lucian, and the Uglies from vintage moped repairs and service shop Lucky 2 Strokes as they exhibit the wonderful and horrible world of mopeds.

Between Now and Forever (3:59) speculates on the likelihood of extraterrestrial life in parallel to human existence.

Broken Soil (9:45)A priest, a college student, and a family man discuss the impact of the recent crisis in Ukraine on the Ukrainian community in Boston.

The Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters (5:24)—Archival footage from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reveals startling views of Mormon women.

Brattle (7:08)A portrait of the Brattle Book Shop, where authors' voices beckon to the browsers.

Continuous Excavation (30:00)Archaeologists unearth a 400-year-old necropolis that provides the backdrop for new insight into history and modern life in a tiny town in Tuscany.


About the College

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, opposite the historic Boston Common and in the heart of the city’s Theatre District, Emerson College educates individuals who will solve problems and change the world through engaged leadership in communication and the arts, a mission informed by liberal learning. The College has 3,780 undergraduates and 670 graduate students from across the United States and 50 countries. Supported by state-of-the-art facilities and a renowned faculty, students participate in more than 90 student organizations and performance groups. Emerson is known for its experiential learning programs in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, the Netherlands, London, China, and the Czech Republic as well as its new Global Portals, with the first opening last fall in Paris. The College has an active network of 51,000 alumni who hold leadership positions in communication and the arts. For more information, visit Emerson.edu.