SAN DIEGO (Press Release) – The 22nd Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival, sponsored by the Leichtag Family Foundation, and presented by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS, will present the season kick-off event, The Power of Hope, on Sun., August 21, beginning at 6:15 p.m. with an exclusive Underwriter Reception, followed by a film screening of Stories From an Undeclared War at 7:15 p.m. in the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, concluding with a post screening discussion with Erin Gruwell, teacher and founder of the Freedom Writers Foundation.
Stories From an Undeclared War recounts the journey of a group of 150 at-risk youths from Long Beach, California, who, in the mid-1990s, inspired by teacher Erin Gruwell and the Diary of Anne Frank, learned to rise above their circumstances by writing their own stories. Told entirely in cinema-vérité, through the voices of the students themselves, the documentary goes far beyond the feature film Freedom Writers, exploring the lives of the students beyond the classroom, along with the ramifications and long-term impact of telling their stories.
Erin Gruwell has earned a reputation for her steadfast commitment to the future of education. Her impact as a change agent inspired the Paramount Pictures film Freedom Writers, starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank as Erin. The film is based on The Freedom Writers Diary, the New York Times bestseller that chronicled Gruwell’s extraordinary journey with the 150 high school students who had been written off by the education system.
By fostering an educational philosophy that valued and promoted diversity, she transformed her students’ lives. She encouraged them to re-think
rigid beliefs about themselves and others, reconsider daily decision, and ultimately re-chart their futures. With her support, Gruwell’s students chose to forego teenage pregnancy, drugs, and violence to become aspiring college students, published writers, and citizens for change. They called themselves the
“Freedom Writers” in homage to civil rights activists The Freedom Riders and published a book.
rigid beliefs about themselves and others, reconsider daily decision, and ultimately re-chart their futures. With her support, Gruwell’s students chose to forego teenage pregnancy, drugs, and violence to become aspiring college students, published writers, and citizens for change. They called themselves the
“Freedom Writers” in homage to civil rights activists The Freedom Riders and published a book.
Inspired by Anne Frank, Gruwell and her students captured their collective journey in The Freedom Writers Diary. Through students’ entries and Gruwell’s
narrative text, the book records their “eye-opening, spirit-raising odyssey against intolerance and misunderstanding.” In early 2007, Teach With Your
Heart, Gruwell’s powerful memoir and call to arms was published. Gruwell founded the Freedom Writers Foundation where she currently teaches teachers around the country how to implement her innovative lesson plans into their own classrooms. Now, the documentary Stories From an Undeclared War captures
the odyssey of the students through their classroom and writing experiences and follows them into the lives they are leading today.
narrative text, the book records their “eye-opening, spirit-raising odyssey against intolerance and misunderstanding.” In early 2007, Teach With Your
Heart, Gruwell’s powerful memoir and call to arms was published. Gruwell founded the Freedom Writers Foundation where she currently teaches teachers around the country how to implement her innovative lesson plans into their own classrooms. Now, the documentary Stories From an Undeclared War captures
the odyssey of the students through their classroom and writing experiences and follows them into the lives they are leading today.
Gruwell and her students have appeared on numerous television shows, including Oprah, Prime Time Live with Connie Chung, Barbara Walters’ The View, and Good Morning America, to name a few. Their story has earned them dozens of awards, including the Spirit of Anne Frank Award.
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Preceding provided by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture
Preceding provided by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture