Atlanta Screening Of ‘banished’ With Filmmaker Marco Williams

PRLog (Press Release) – Jan 10, 2008 – WHAT:   Community preview screenings of acclaimed documentary BANISHED followed by a post-screening discussion. There is no charge to attend this event and is open to the public.

How did three U.S. town make African Americans disappear? Marco Williams, award-winning filmmaker of TWO TOWNS OF JASPER, visits some of the whitest counties in the country to confront the legacy of “banishment” – a wave of racial purging that tore through the South 100 years ago. Williams sits down with KKK leaders, white residents of these all white communities, as well as descendants of the banished alike, opening the wounds of history. Will he help these communities heal? Is reconciliation possible? Or reparations? Or both?

The January 19th screening will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Marco Williams. Williams is a faculty member at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in their Undergraduate Film and Television Department. An award-winning documentary and fiction film director, Williams’ directing credits include: BANISHED (2007), FREEDOM SUMMER (2006), MLK BOULEVARD: THE CONCRETE DREAM (2003) and TWO TOWNS OF JASPER (2002).

WHO:  Independent Lens, ITVS, Decatur Library, Hands On Atlanta, Urban Media Makers, SankofaSpirit,
National Parks Service – MLK National Historic Site

WHEN:   Saturday, January 19, 2008
 5:00 p.m.
 MLK National Historic Site, 450 Auburn Ave, Atlanta, GA 30312.

Encore presentation
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
7:00-9:00 PM
Decatur Library, 215 Sycamore Street, Decatur, GA 30030.
Note: Marco Williams will not be at this screening.

Both screenings are open to the public, provided at no charge as a community service.

2007-2008 SEASON SCHEDULE
January 22   BANISHED – The story of three counties that forcefully banished African-American families from their towns
February 26    IRON LADIES OF LIBERIA – A behind-the-scenes portrayal of Africa’s first freely elected female head of state
March 25   KING CORN – Recent college grads plant a single acre of corn and follow its journey to America’s tables
April 22  A DREAM IN DOUBT – America’s first post-9/11 hate crime murder, as told through the eyes of his brother   
May 20  NEW YEAR BABY -



ABOUT ITVS COMMUNITY CINEMA

ITVS Community is the national community engagement program of the Independent Television Service (ITVS) and the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens. Through Community Engagement Campaigns in support of groundbreaking, independent films, our innovative educational product ITVS Community Classroom and our flagship community outreach program Community Cinema, ITVS Community works to bring communities together and connect them with information, resources and opportunities for education, engagement and positive change. ITVS Community builds on our 15-year legacy of community engagement activities and makes public broadcasting into a powerful resource for individuals, communities and organizations working on key social issues around the country. www.itvs.org/outreach

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For more information about Independent Lens, visit: www.pbs.org/independentlens