PHILADELPHIA FILM FESTIVAL FILM RECOMMENDATION:
TO BE HEARD
Directed by Roland Legiardi-Laura, Edwin Martinez, Deborah Shaffer and Amy Sultan
Wednesday, October 26 at 2:40 @ RITZ @ the Bourse
VIEW TRAILER ON VIMEO.
Three teenage friends from the Bronx tell their stories of friendship, love and struggle, showing how a radical poetry class can ignite change. Karina, Pearl and Anthony are in an alternative poetry workshop called Power Writing. Its motto is: “If you don’t learn to write your own life story, someone else will write it for you.” By writing and reciting their poetry, the students articulate their realities and dreams, striving to create their future. Two of the “outsider teachers”, Roland Legiardi-Laura and Amy Sultan, were a part of the collaborative film team following the three teens over four years; along with Edwin Martinez, the older sibling of another Power Writer. Academy Award winning director Deborah Shaffer joined them at a Power Writing performance.
The filmmakers “believe the impact of empowering the creative voices of youth and guiding their energy toward social engagement will lead to a more literate, ethical, critically minded citizenry, without which democracy is little more than a sham.” To Be Heard shows how the transformative power of education can help students pass the test of life and provides a valuable, inspiring contribution to the critical discussion of non-traditional youth education in the United States. (USA, 2011, 84 min) -- LINDA BLACKABY
Purchase your tickets online: or call 267-239-2941