• UNC Asheville, 1 University Heights, hosts its ninth Human Rights Film Festival, March 20-22. The free events are sponsored by the university’s Human Rights Studies Program and its student chapter of Amnesty International.
The festival begins Wednesday, March 20, at 7 p.m., in Highsmith Student Union with A Cambodian Spring, a documentary that chronicles the country’s growing number of land-rights protests. A discussion on “land grabbing” issues led by Inclusive Development International co-founders David Pred and Natalie Bugalski, who work with communities in Southeast Asia and Africa to defend against corporate-driven land dispossessions, will follow the screening.
Alfonso Cuarón’s triple Oscar-winning Roma screens on Thursday, March 21, at 7 p.m., in Highsmith Student Union. The drama about a maid’s experiences with domestic and political turmoil in 1970s Mexico will feature a post-film discussion led by Juan Sánchez Martinez, assistant professor of Spanish at UNCA.
The festival concludes Friday, March 22, at 7 p.m., in Rhoades Robinson Hall, Room 125, with The Sentence. The documentary explores the consequences of mass incarceration and mandatory minimum drug sentencing through the lens of a mother of three young children who’s serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison. UNCA alum Tarrah Callahan, executive director of Conservatives for Criminal Justice Reform, will lead the post-film discussion. unca.edu
• On Saturday, March 23, at 11 a.m., Grail Moviehouse, 45 S. French Broad Ave., hosts a screening of Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope. The documentary spotlights trailblazers in pediatrics, education and social welfare who are using cutting-edge methods to protect children from the dangerous effects of toxic stress. The event is presented by Buncombe Partnership for Children and will be followed by a Q&A with a panel composed of members from the Buncombe Adverse Childhood Experience Collaborative. Tickets are $8.50 and available online. buncombepfc.org/training
