Asheville site for statewide Moral Movies launching April 25

Press release
Asheville, NC, April 10, 2014 – The Mountain People’s Assembly in collaboration with the NC-NAACP and Working Films present Moral Movies. This four-month series will bring award-winning films to Asheville and seven other cities across North Carolina to jumpstart community dialogue on social, economic, and environmental issues relevant to the state. The program launches Friday, April 25th at 7pm at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville with a free screening of American Teacher, a documentary that follows the  lives and careers of four teachers, and provides an opportunity for conversation around teacher pay and public education in North Carolina.
Moral Movies will take place the last week of each month, from April through July (see schedule below). Screenings in Asheville will coincide with showings in Wilmington, Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville and Pittsboro. The ongoing series will highlight topics that have been hotly debated in the state legislature and by the public, such as education, income inequality, and voting. These issues will be spotlighted in the films and discussed in interactive post-screening programs designed to offer a forum for community members to share their perspectives, identify common ground, and discuss potential solutions to the problems at hand.
The Mountain People’s Assembly will host Moral Movies in Asheville. According to Elaine Lite,   “People all over NC are facing challenging times. In an effort to help educate our community, the Mountain People’s Assembly is proud to host the Moral Movie Film Series in Asheville.  Each film that was chosen for this series clearly exemplifies the specific issues that represent what we stand for, as well as reflecting our mission as a coalition. We hope that these films will encourage people to be active participants in our democratic process – and the best way to do that is through knowledge of the issues and voting in each and every election. It’s time for North Carolina citizens to reclaim their power.”

Issue focused statewide organizations are also collaborating on the series. Tarheel Alliance of Classroom Teachers (tACT) is co-sponsoring the screening of American Teacher. tACT is a professional organization that supports NC teachers in taking a more active role and voice in decisions made around public education.  tACT director Lynn Shoemaker said, “TACT has already used film this year to engage new teachers in our organization and looks forward to kicking off Moral Movies with a dialogue around teacher compensation and building support for the dedicated professionals that work in our schools each day.” (For details on other state-wide organization hosts for each screening see the schedule below).

Working Films, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Wilmington, NC is coordinating the statewide Moral Movies series. Working Films builds partnerships between nonfiction media-makers, nonprofit organizations, businesses, educators and advocates to advance community-based and policy solutions that address social, economic and environmental challenges. Co-director Molly Murphy says, “Working Films was inspired to pursue this series by the unprecedented civic engagement sparked by the Moral Monday demonstrations that began at the state capitol last year. As an organization that has worked nationally for over a decade to use film to raise awareness and catalyze community and civic involvement, we see an opportunity to use great films to inspire community dialogue and citizen participation around the issues at hand in our home state of North Carolina. We think that the series will give people across the state a way to actively participate and have their voices heard as citizens when the legislature reconvenes, even if they can’t make it to Raleigh every Monday.” Working Films is co-presenting the Moral Movie Film Series with the North Carolina NAACP, which is nationally recognized as the leader of the Moral Monday / Forward Together movement.

Asheville

Hosted by The Mountain People’s Assembly

American Teacher: Friday, April 25th, 7pm (Presented by tACT and the NC Association of Educators)

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place. Asheville, NC 28801

American Winter: Thursday, May 29th, 7pm (Presented by NC AFL-CIO)

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place. Asheville, NC 28801

Freedom Summer: Thursday June 26th, 7pm (Presented by Democracy NC)

Jubilee! 46 Wall St. Asheville, NC 28801

Inequality for All: Friday July 25th, 7pm (Presented by NC Justice Center)

Ferguson Auditorium at AB Tech, 340 Victoria Rd. Asheville NC 28801

 

 

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