For Immediate Release
Friday, April 8, 2016
Contact: Beth Spezia, WSIU Educational Outreach Coordinator, (618) 453-5595, beth.spezia@wsiu.org; Diana Brawley Sussman, Director, Carbondale Public Library Director, (618) 457-0354; Lisa Tawil, ITVS, (415) 356-8383, ext. 244, lisa_tawil@itvs.org
Press materials: http://itvs.org/films/peace-officer/photos-and-press-kit
WSIU, Carbondale Public Library to Host Free Film Screening on April 16
"Peace Officer” is Final Film of 2015-16 Season of Indie Lens Pop-Up
Carbondale, IL – WSIU Public Broadcasting, a service of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and the Carbondale Public Library, in partnership with Indie Lens Pop-Up, the Independent Television Service (ITVS), and the PBS series Independent Lens, are pleased to present a free screening and discussion of Peace Officer, a film by Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber, on Saturday, April 16 at 2:30pm at the Carbondale Public Library.
Discussion moderators are Christopher Mullins, Professor and Acting Chair of the SIU Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Susan Toliver, Crime Victim Advocate for the Carbondale Police Department. Guests will be entered in a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card.
Winner of both the Grand Jury and Audience Awards for Best Documentary at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival, Peace Officer is the story of William “Dub” Lawrence, a former sheriff who established and trained Utah’s first SWAT team – only to watch in horror as that same unit killed his son-in-law, Brian Wood, in a controversial standoff years later. Driven by an obsessive sense of mission, Lawrence uses his investigative skills to uncover the truth about that incident and other officer-involved shootings in his community, while tackling larger questions about the changing face of peace officers nationwide. The full program will air on WSIU-TV on Monday, May 9 at 8pm.
For more information about the film, visit itvs.org/films/peaceofficer or pbs.org/independentlens/films/peaceofficer. You may also visit WSIU’s web page at wsiu.org/indielenspopup. Questions about the screenings should be directed to the Carbondale Public Library at (618) 457-0354 or WSIU at (618) 453-5595.
About the Filmmakers
Scott Christopherson, a native of York, Pennsylvania, worked as an undergraduate for Harvard University’s Ross McElwee on the film In Paraguay (2008). McAlwee then helped guide Christopherson’s first film Only the Pizza Man Knows, which was broadcast internationally on the satellite cable network BYUtv. Christopherson subsequently worked as the Documentary Arts director/instructor for Spy Hop Productions and the Sundance Institute’s youth documentary workshops. Films made by his students went on to win multiple awards locally and internationally. While attending graduate school in San Francisco, Christopherson shot, directed, and edited over 20 short films for Project Runway’s season six website. He received his MFA in documentary cinema from San Francisco State University and also earned an MA degree in Anthropology from UW-Madison. He was an assistant professor of documentary film at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, prior to relocating back to Provo, where he teaches non-fiction film at Brigham Young University.
Brad Barber, who was named to Variety's “10 Documakers to Watch” list in 2015, is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker who works in multiple forms and genres. Peace Officer, his feature directing debut, won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2015 SxSW Film Festival, the Human Rights Award at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and the David Carr Award for Truth in Non-Fiction Filmmaking at the Montclair Film Festival, among other festival honors. The film was a recipient of the AFI Docs/NBC Universal Impact Grant for social outreach, and a 2016 Cinema Eye Honors nominee. In 2009, Barber was nominated for an Emmy for his work as an editor on the HBO documentary Resolved, for which he also served as an associate producer and cinematographer, and has won multiple regional Emmys for his public television documentary series Beehive Stories. Barber attended USC, where he received an MFA in Cinema-Television Production, and worked in Los Angeles as an editor, cinematographer, and director/ producer of documentary film and television with credits on Showtime, ESPN, Discovery Channel, and many others. His shorts and feature film work have been shown at film festivals and art museums around the world. Barber, who lives in Provo, Utah, currently works as an independent filmmaker and professor and is married to artist Susan Krueger-Barber. Together they have two amazing sons. Barber was born in Walnut Creek, California, and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee.
About Indie Lens Pop-Up
Indie Lens Pop-Up is a neighborhood series that brings people together for film screenings and community-driven conversations. Featuring documentaries seen on the PBS series Independent Lens, Indie Lens Pop-Up draws local residents, leaders, and organizations to discuss what matters most, from newsworthy topics to family and relationships. Make friends, share stories, and join the conversation. Find Independent Lens on Facebook for information on online Pop-Up events.
About WSIU Public Broadcasting
WSIU Public Broadcasting is licensed to the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University and is an integral part of the College of Mass Communication & Media Arts on the Carbondale campus. The WSIU stations reach more than three million people across five states and beyond through three digital public television channels, three public radio stations, a radio information service, a website, and an education and community outreach department. WSIU's mission is to improve the quality of life of the people they serve. The WSIU stations partner with other community organizations to promote positive change and to support the academic and public service missions of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Learn more and get the latest station news online at wsiu.org and on WSIU's Facebook and Twitter pages. WSIU's programs and services are partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
About the Carbondale Public Library
The Carbondale Public Library provides resources and services to support the educational, informational, cultural, and recreational needs of the Carbondale community. The library is part of the Illinois Heartland Library System. For more information about the library, including how to get a library card, call (618) 457-0354.
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