HumanDocs Film Series partners with Epic Girl to present 'Step' tonight in Shamblin Theatre
Lacey Klotz |
On Wednesday, Oct. 18, Lipscomb University’s HumanDocs Film Series will partner with Epic Girl, a community organization that empowers young girls through educational programs, mentoring, counseling and community activities; and Fox Searchlight Productions, to present a screening of Step at 6:30 p.m. in Shamblin Theatre. The film is free and open to the public.
Hosted by Lipscomb’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the event will also feature a panel discussion moderated by Aerial Ellis, instructor of communication at Lipscomb; and featuring panelists: Antonisha McIntosh, Lipscomb student and intern in the Office of Intercultural Development; Jennifer Wade, a magistrate in Juvenile Court at Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County; Sheila Freeman, founder and CEO at Epic Girl; and Andrea Hancock, outreach coordinator at Epic Girl.
A Sundance selection and winner of the Audience Award for Best Feature at AFI Docs, Step takes viewers into the lives of a step team at an all-female prep school in Baltimore. The young women on the team face a variety of challenges, including lack of support at home and uphill battles to get into college. Step is about the power of community, the influence of dedicated educators and the unifying power of art.
“Education is Power,” said Kathryn York, vice president of Epic Girl. “As humans we cannot be mindful of something that we don’t know exists. If we understand that our actions and/or our circumstances pre-dispose us to negative consequences, we can make a more empowered choice. If we understand the dangers of human trafficking, we can be watchful of something that seems too good to be true. If we are educated about trauma, we can see how it can affect our life choices. Education is the beginning of change. We are thrilled to partner with Fox Searchlight Productions because we also believe in empowerment through education and community.”
Now in its ninth year, HumanDocs is a series of social-justice documentaries at Lipscomb University. The series emerged from the desire of the university's College of Liberal Arts & Sciences to develop students personally, encourage lifelong learning and inspire service in a changing world.
“HumanDocs is honored to partner with Epic Girl to bring Step to campus,” said Ted Parks, associate professor of foreign languages and co-curator of Lipscomb’s HumanDocs film series. “Epic Girl is taking concrete steps to address the issues that lie in the background of Step, including the unequal access to educational opportunities that plagues our nation. Step is a story of challenge, hard work and triumph. And to me, Step does what good documentary filmmaking is known for— it invites us into the lives of people, and as we watch their lives, we get to know their world.
The HumanDocs Film series is presented in partnership with the Lipscomb Honors College and the Nashville Film Festival. All screenings are free and open to the public, and Lipscomb students receive one chapel credit for attending. For more information on this event, contact Ted Parks at ted.parks [at] lipscomb.edu or at 615.966.6616.