February 02, 2017
Screening of ‘Finding the Gold Within’ set for Feb. 11
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A film that earned a prestigious award at the 2015 Big Muddy Film Festival will be screened next week as part of Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Black History Month.
“Finding the Gold Within,” a documentary that follows six African-American men through their first three-and-one-half years of college, earned the 2015 John Michaels Film Award. The film will be screened from 1 to 3 p.m., Feb. 11, at Artspace, 304 W. Walnut St., Carbondale.
The film is presented by the university’s Student Multicultural Resource Center, College of Mass Communication and Media Arts, Carbondale Community Arts, the Big Muddy Film Festival, and Big Muddy Crew, a registered student organization on campus. Admission is free.
The 2014 film by Karina Epperlein looks at the successes and trials of the six students, alumni of the Alchemy, Inc., youth mentoring program in Akron, Ohio.
Black History Month events continue through March 2. The complete schedule is available for download at http://smrc.siu.edu/.
Meanwhile, plans continue for the upcoming 39th annual Big Muddy Film Festival, Feb. 21-26 at various locations on campus and in Carbondale. The event features both competition and non-competition screenings daily. There are juried films in four categories: animation, documentary, experimental and narrative. This year’s festival features 80 film screenings from several countries.