Antioch University Santa Barbara is launching a new community event series focusing on social issues.

The first event, “Antioch in Conversation: Documenting the Face of Homelessness & Poverty in Santa Barbara,” will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 12 at Community Hall on the AUSB campus.

Several short student documentary films will be shown that draw attention to the human face of poverty and homelessness in our community. Academy Award-winning documentarian Margaret Lazarus will speak about the impact of her social justice films, then participate on the panel discussion about poverty and homelessness, with questions and input invited from the audience.

The panelists are:

» Margaret Lazarus, executive director of Cambridge Documentary Films

» Geoff Green, executive director of The Fund for Santa Barbara

» Alice O’Connor, Ph.D., history professor and director of UCSB Washington Center at UC Santa Barbara

“Antioch in Conversation: Documenting the Face of Homelessness & Poverty in Santa Barbara” is free and open to the community at 602 Anacapa St. in downtown Santa Barbara. Click here for more event details, panelist profiles and to RSVP.

AUSB designed Antioch in Conversation as way of cultivating for interactive engagement and dialogue with the public about the social issues that affect our community. This first event capitalizes on the knowledge that documentaries and other forms of media are powerful tools that not only tell the stories of social injustice but can bring about awareness and demand social action. The student films chosen to be shown were created in the BA Communication & Media “Documentary Filmmaking” class at AUSB.

Click here for more information about AUSB’s BA Program.

— Mandi DeVos represents Antioch University Santa Barbara.