Hett Center Announces Free Film Series

(LEBANON, Ill., August 31, 2017) — This fall, McKendree University’s Hettenhausen Center for the Arts’ free Film Art Series presents four powerful, critically acclaimed films. Each will begin at 7 p.m. in the Hett auditorium on the Lebanon, Ill., campus. An informal discussion is held afterward. Some films contain adult themes or language and may not be appropriate for everyone. For more information, visit theHett.com, or call 618-537-6863.

Sponsored by the Leon and Helen Church Family Foundation, the series is free and open to the public. In addition to one or more Academy Award Best Picture nominees to be announced next spring, the series will feature the following:

Sept. 19: “The Battle of Algiers” (1967) is a powerful, documentary-like examination of the response to an occupying force during as fear and violence escalated during the fight for independence from the French government in the 1950s. Not rated; 2 hours, 1 min.

Oct. 10: “Concussion” (2015) stars Will Smith as pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who uncovered the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play. Rated PG-14; 2 hours, 3 min. (Author Jeanne Marie Laskas, who wrote the bestselling novel “Concussion” and the 2009 GQ article “Game Brain” on which this film is based, will speak at the Hett on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5 and reservations are recommended.)

Oct. 23: “Shakespeare Behind Bars” (2005) is a documentary about 20 male inmates in a Kentucky prison who form an unlikely Shakespearean acting troupe. Not rated; 1 hour, 33 min.

Nov. 29: “Milk” (2008) stars Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist who in 1977 became California’s first openly gay elected official. Rated R; 2 hours, 8 min.

 

-McK-