Sept. 26, 2019—Missouri Western State University will host a screening of the 2018 documentary film “Man on Fire” and a workshop with the filmmakers on Oct. 3 and 4. The events are free and open to the public.
“Man on Fire” focuses on Grand Saline, Texas, a town east of Dallas with a history of racism, a history the community doesn’t talk about. The shroud of secrecy ended when Charles Moore, an elderly white preacher, self-immolated to protest the town’s racism in 2014, shining a spotlight on the town’s dark past.
The film, directed by Joel Fendelman and produced by Fendelman and James Chase Sanchez, won the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award from the International Documentary Association, the Best Student Award at the San Luis Obispo Film Festival and the Feature Film Programmers Choice Award at the Sidewalk Film Festival. Last year, it aired on the PBS series “Independent Lens.”
“Man on Fire” will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, in the Kemper Recital Hall, Spratt Hall room 101. The filmmakers will lead a workshop on implicit bias and white supremacy at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 4.
The events are sponsored by the Center for Multicultural Education, Center for Student Involvement, the International Center and the Student Government Association.
Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.