Free Saturday Film & Discussion Series: “The Public”

What do 1970s Kentucky coal miners, the Cincinnati Public Library, and a grandmotherly Holocaust survivor have in common? They’ll all be featured in a new, free film series at the Franklin County Public Library-Rocky Mount in which we’ll explore complex social issues.
 
Together we’ll watch Harlan County USA, The Public and BIG SONIA, then join library staff and Ferrum College professors Susan Mead and John Kitterman in discussing what the films say and how they say it. See below for summaries of each film.
 
Films start at 10A with discussions following. Join us at all of them or pick and choose the ones you’re interested in. Free refreshments provided. Pre-registration is required by calling (540) 483-3098 option 0.
 
Feb. 8, 10A—Harlan County USA (1976). Not rated. This Academy Award winner chronicles a bitter and violent labor dispute between coal miners and corporate management in Appalachian Kentucky.
 
Feb. 15, 10A—The Public (2018). PG-13. An act of civil disobedience turns into a standoff with police when a group of homeless men take over the Cincinnati Public Library to seek shelter from the bitter cold.
 
Feb. 22, 10A—BIG SONIA (2016). Not rated. In the last store in a defunct shopping mall, 91-year-old Sonia Warshawski—great-grandmother, businesswoman and Holocaust survivor—runs the tailor shop she’s owned for more than 30 years. But when she’s served an eviction notice, the specter of retirement prompts Sonia to revisit her harrowing past as a refugee and witness to genocide