Spring Sustainability Film Series highlights community resilience

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Sustainability Institute at Penn State is pleased to announce the spring 2023 lineup of its "Intersections" film series, integrating its programming around the theme of “Building Better Bonds” and highlighting stories of community resilience in the face of sustainability challenges.

The spring "Intersections" film programming kicks off online on Wednesday, Jan, 18, at 7 p.m. with a series of sobering short films for Martin Luther King Jr. Week at Penn State that examine different forms of racial violence in American society and stories of individuals and communities trying to confront these challenges.

The films include the story of students at the University of North Carolina confronting a racist statue on campus, a pastor trying to deal with questions of forgiveness after the massacre of churchgoers in Charleston by a white supremacist and the community of Minneapolis’s response to the murder of George Floyd.

Other scheduled events this spring include (all online and at 7 p.m.):

• Feb. 1 — "My Name is Pauli Murray," about intersections of civil rights, women’s rights and LGBTQA+ rights
• March 1 — "The Empowerment Project," about empowering women and girls to excel as leaders in different career fields
• March 22 — "A River Reborn," about watershed protection and restoration
• Apr. 19 — A film to be announced about wildlife conservation, screening in conjunction with the Center for Performing Arts’ presentation of "Our Planet Live in Concert" on April 11.

“It is my hope attendees walk away from these films and post-event panel discussions with questions, and maybe even some solutions, about how comprehensive issues of sustainability  are, how they fit into each of our lives and how we can build better bonds within our communities,” said Sophia Marsh, a third-year plant sciences major and community outreach intern at the Sustainability Institute, who oversees the programming for the film series.

All events are free and open to all students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. All events will be livestreamed online to allow participation from all Penn State campuses.

Pre-registration for all events is required and can be completed at the "Intersections" website.

About Intersections

Created in 2019, the "Intersections" film series builds community at Penn State across disciplines and campuses while highlighting the ways sustainability issues intersect with each other. To date, the series has exposed over 5,500 Penn Staters and community members to complex issues ranging from the intersections between environmental justice, housing and climate change to the ways in which immigration policies affect women’s rights and workers’ rights.

All the films in the series illustrate aspects of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a series of 17 goals agreed to by more than 190 nations in 2015 to try to create a sustainable future for all by 2030. The goals confront issues of social and economic justice in addition to environmental protection and form the basis of how Penn State defines its approach to sustainability.

Post-film discussions focus on finding solutions to problems and connecting Penn Staters to resources and opportunities to get involved, both on and off campus.

The series is co-presented by WPSU with significant programming support from the Center for Global Workers’ Rights and Penn State Water Consortium.

For more information about the series or if you are interested in co-sponsoring future films and/or speakers, please contact Sophia Marsh at sam7405@psu.edu.