It’s no secret that the Belcourt has an excellent education program. In its Strong Leads Seminar for High School Girls in 2018, the arthouse theater offered a free four-week workshop series in which girls watched films directed by women and featuring woman protagonists. They followed the screenings with lively discussions about the #MeToo movement, representation and elements of film in what felt like an empowering feminist amen corner. But the theater’s latest venture, Words Caught in My Throat: A Film Seminar for Black Middle School Girls, offered an an added component. The theater brought in filmmakers to spotlight the participants and document their journey. The short film, called “In the Shadows,” will screen on Saturday, March 9 at 10 a.m. and is free and open to the public.
The workshop was co-designed by the Belcourt education director, Allison Inman, and Melissa Gordon — an author, poet, performance artist and social worker who coaches schools in alternative discipline policy. From the press release:
Under leadership of Metro Nashville Public Schools’ Restorative Practices Specialist Melissa Gordon, girls watched and discussed a series of short films about various aspects of black female identity. Then, through a series of hands-on activities and creative writing exercises, girls wrote original poems about times in their lives they’ve felt silenced. Producer and co-director Meleisha Edwards and co-director Brionna Scrivens captured the students’ personal reflections to create the short film “In the Shadows.” The result is a powerful, poignant first-person account of the struggles of middle school girls who feel misunderstood or invisible. Through their poems, the girls step out of the shadows to be heard.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew. Check out the preview below.
Come to the premiere of In the Shadows, a short film created as part of the Belcourt Theatre’s Words Caught in My Throat Film Seminar for Black 7th and 8th Grade Girls, in conjunction with Metro Nashville Public Schools’ Office of Restorative Practices. After the film, stay for a Q&A with cast and crew.
This is a free event. Seating is first come, first served.
More about the project:
In late 2018, 11 students gathered in the Belcourt Theatre’s Jackson Education and Engagement Space for the Words Caught in My Throat Film Seminar for Black 7th and 8th Grade Girls. Under leadership of Metro Nashville Public Schools’ Restorative Practices Specialist Melissa Gordon, girls watched and discussed a series of short films about various aspects of black female identity. Then, through a series of hands-on activities and creative writing exercises, girls wrote original poems about times in their lives they’ve felt silenced. Producer and co-director Meleisha Edwards and co-director Brionna Scrivens captured the students’ personal reflections to create the short film In the Shadows. The result is a powerful, poignant first-person account of the struggles of middle school girls who feel misunderstood or invisible. Through their poems, the girls step out of the shadows to be heard.
Words Caught in My Throat seminar was co-created and led by Melissa Gordon of MNPS, coordinated by Allison Inman of the Belcourt’s Education and Engagement Program, and made possible by the Highlander Research and Education Center’s We Shall Overcome Fund.
