The Plaza would like to team up with teachers to find out how we can work together. As a not-for-profit, community supported cultural organization, The Plaza is committed to offering an educational program that enriches your teaching experience while providing an engaging and inspiring experience for your students. Check here for our monthly free teachers screenings and other special events, and make sure to visit our Media Literacy and Field Trips pages to find out how you can plan trips.
Plaza MAC offers professional development sessions for teachers! Our Education Coordinator can come in for general workshops about media literacy, or sessions specifically tailored to the needs of the school or department. Contact us today to set up a session for your next Superintendent Conference Day!
PAST FILMS:
I Am Eleven (NR) Do you remember when you were 11? Australian filmmaker Genevieve Bailey traveled the world for six years talking with 11-year-olds to compose this insightful, funny, and moving portrait of childhood. From an orphanage in India to a single-parent household in inner-city Melbourne to bathing with elephants in Thailand, I AM ELEVEN explores the lives and thoughts of children from all around the world. Why this age, specifically? Bailey explains in an opening voiceover that making the movie occurred to her during a low point in her life, and she wanted to go back to a happier time. For her, that was age 11, "when the world feels big, in a good way, and it was at our feet." Serving as director, producer, cinematographer and editor, Bailey traveled the world and talked to a wide variety of young people in hopes of making a film that's both optimistic and real.
Directed by Genevieve Bailey
RBG (NR) At the age of 84, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. But without a definitive Ginsburg biography, the unique personal journey of this diminutive, quiet warrior's rise to the nation's highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her biggest fans—until now. RBG is a revelatory documentary exploring Ginsburg 's exceptional life and career from Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and co-produced by Storyville Films and CNN Films.
Directed by Betsy West, Julie Cohen
Featuring Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Gloria Steinem, Nina Totenberg
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (NR) Austrian actress Hedy Lamarr became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the 1940s. In the 1930s she did a scandalous nude scene in the film Ecstasy, fled from an oppressive marriage, and found solace in an acting career through MGM studios. She became such an icon that her likeness was the inspiration for both Catwoman and Snow White in later films. Behind the glitz and glamour, however, lay the mind of an inventor. Lamarr had no formal training, but studied science and taught herself about aerospace engineering and electrical engineering in her spare time. She went on to help invent a torpedo radio guidance system during World War II; her studies and inventions became the basis for the bluetooth and WiFi technology we use today. She is also known for her work in signal-hopping and aerodynamics. Her work made such an impact on science and technology that she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014. This film follows her life story, from her glamorous acting career to her hobbies in the sciences. Through the use of interviews and never before heard audio clips, Hedy Lamarr tells her story in her own words. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was named one of the best films of 2017 by Artforum.
Directed by Alexandra Dean
Starring Nino Amareno, Charles Amirkhanian, Jeanine Basinger
The Post (PG-13) Steven Spielberg directs Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in THE POST, a thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post's Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks) as they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents. The two must overcome their differences as they risk their careers-and their very freedom-to help bring long-buried truths to light. THE POST marks the first time Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg have collaborated on a project. In addition to directing, Spielberg produces along with Amy Pascal and Kristie Macosko Krieger. The script was written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, and the film features an acclaimed ensemble cast including Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bradley Whitford, and Zach Woods.
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Alison Brie