Film Pittsburgh is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s independent film production company that has created several Academy Award-winning films, amongst receiving other high honor accolades. They pride themselves on their Teen Screen program, a free screening feature that educators can use either in theaters or in their intimate classrooms. 

Available films are about sensitive topics like Antisemitism, gun violence in schools, and mental health to name a few. As a future educator and a current student minoring in Holocaust and Genocide studies, I found this foundation to be especially useful in education and inspiring. 

Educators can choose from a variety of films to either view in a theater or virtually in a classroom. Films tend to touch people in different ways than books and lectures do. Somehow actually seeing an event occur, places you in that situation at that time. The viewer feels like they’re experiencing the same things that the characters are.

As a teacher, I would love to do a special viewing for my students on a film about the Holocaust. The next class, we would have an open discussion about what we saw, how it made us feel, and the things we can do in the future to prevent Genocide from happening. I think that this would also open discussions for similar things that may be going on in other countries even today. In addition, this film could be used for creative writing projects, essay building, and even add some additional historical knowledge that they may not have had before. 

Visit the Teen Screen site for more info!