Bailey Hall Announces Line Up for the Bailey Hall Film Series

Davie, Fla. (August 22, 2017) – Uplifting documentaries about artists and advocates as well as a timely black comedy highlight the second season of the Bailey Hall Film Series presenting the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers.

"From high school’s students that use the arts to escape harsh urban realities to an astounding advocate for autistics to the soaring genius of writer Wendell Berry and Hollywood composers, the independent films in the Bailey Hall Film Series celebrate the human spirit," said Dr. Dan Barnard, Broward College associate dean of cultural affairs and director of Bailey Hall. "The series leads off with its only fictional film, a comedic look at the bureaucracy of the modern healthcare system starring Danny Glover and James Roday. These are films that you won't see anywhere else. And it is an incredible experience to be able to meet with the filmmaker immediately after seeing them."

Producers, directors and others behind the making of the films will be present at screenings for post-film discussions. In its second year, the films will be shown in the Bailey Hall Jazz Club format, that offers a more intimate experience in a lounge setting on the Bailey Hall stage for dynamic post-screening discussions. Patrons will receive a complimentary beverage to enjoy during the film.

The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers is a program of South Arts. Southern Circuit screenings are funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. South Arts, founded in 1975, is a nonprofit regional arts organization building on the South's unique heritage and enhancing the public value of the arts.

The Bailey Hall Film Series:

The Bailey Hall Film Series presenting the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers opens on Thursday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m. with Pushing Dead, a comedy about a man and his disease starring James Roday, Danny Glover, Robin Weigert, Khandi Alexander and Tom Riley. The film follows Dan, a struggling writer that has been HIV-positive for over 20 years, who deposits a $100 birthday check only to be dropped from his insurance plan for earning too much. Now he must take on a helpless bureaucracy or come up with $3,000 a month to buy his meds. The San Jose Mercury News applauded the film for its "crafty screenwriting and a charismatic cast." Following the screening, director Tom E. Brown will engage the audience in a discussion about the film and his work. The trailer is available at https://vimeo.com/165190792.

Go behind the scenes to discover how famous Hollywood composers developed some of the most iconic scores in history as Bailey Hall presents Score on Thursday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. The 2017 documentary features interviews with John Williams, Quincy Jones, James Horner and Randy Newman as well as directors James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and many others as it explores how composers assemble music to complement onscreen images that achieve powerful reactions from worldwide audiences. Following the screening, director Matt Schrader will engage the audience in a discussion about the film and his work. The trailer is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K6RwDM8VFE.

From Executive Producer Russell Simmons and Director Jason Zeldes, the award-winning documentary Romeo is Bleeding comes to Bailey Hall on Thursday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. The film follows Donté Clark, a young poet who transcends the violence of a fatal turf war in his hometown of Richmond, Calif. Clark struggles to maintain his idealism as he works with high school students to mount an urban adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to end Richmond's cycle of trauma. Clark will attend the screening and engage in a post-screening discussion. Romeo Is Bleeding received the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the San Francisco International Film Festival, Audience Award Best Documentary at the Aspen Film Fest, and Best Documentary Feature at the Napa Valley Film Festival, as well as other awards. The trailer is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE6m_05dQfw.

Bailey Hall presents the documentary DEEJ, which follows this nonspeaking autistic who has found a uniquely powerful voice through his text-to-voice synthesizer, on Thursday, February 15 at 7:30 p.m. The story is told largely by DJ Savarese ("Deej") who discovers what having a voice can truly mean as he embraces filmmaking and poetry and advocates on behalf of others. Living with a loving adoptive family after being abandoned by his birth parents, he makes his way through high school and dreams of college while confronting the terrors of his past and obstacles to inclusion. Director Robert Rooy will engage the audience in a post-screening discussion about the film and his work. The trailer is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x7wDqtsE3Y.

"This is what Glee looks like in real life," says one participant in the uplifting documentary Purple Dreams, which will be screened at Bailey Hall on Thursday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. Struggling with homelessness, low-income neighborhoods, gang-related violence and single-parent households, students broaden their world through a triumphant musical production that ultimately propels them into a world of opportunity previously beyond their reach. The film's producer, Robin Grey, will engage the audience in a post-screening discussion about the film. The trailer is available at https://vimeo.com/57487519.

The Bailey Hall Film Series presenting the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers closes its second season with Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, the famous writer, farmer and activist, on Thursday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. Filmed in Kentucky's Henry County where Berry has lived since the mid-1960s, the documentary weaves Berry's poetic and prescient words with gorgeous cinematography and the testimonies of his family and neighbors in a portrait of the changing landscapes and shifting values of rural America. Filmmakers Laura Dunn and Jef Sewell will engage in a post-screening discussion about the film and their work. The trailer is available at https://vimeo.com/216446791.

A subscription to every film in the series is $50 and tickets to individual screenings are $10. Student and senior discounts are also available throughout the season. Tickets are available by visiting www.baileyhall.org or contacting the Bailey Hall box office at (954) 201-6884. The box office and phone lines are open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and one hour prior to an event.

The flagship venue of Broward College, Bailey Hall is located on the A. Hugh Adams Central Campus at 3501 Davie Rd. in Davie and offers free parking.