Potter College News

The film "City of a Million Dreams" will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at The Capitol as part of the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmaker Series.

Western Kentucky University's Potter College of Arts and Letters Cultural Enhancement Series has helped sponsor the tour for years.

Dr. Anthony Harkins, PCAL Cultural Enhancement Series chair, said the series' films are selected by a committee of representatives of the CES and The Capitol and are based on "what we think will resonate most with the community."

'We thought this film's celebration of music and dance and cultural traditions and its story of resilience and recovery would be the perfect fit for the series," he said.

The film features writer and videographer Deb Cotton, a chronicler of the New Orleans club culture spawned by the legacy of jazz funerals, and clarinetist Michael White, who loses everything after Hurricane Katrina.

After the screening, there will be a Q&A Session with the film's editor, cowriter and co-producer Tim Watson, who will visit with a film production class at WKU earlier that day.

Watson is a documentary editor, writer and producer based in New Orleans. Much of his work includes music, social issues and history in Louisiana and New Orleans.

His films have been seen on HBO, PBS and other networks in the United States and Europe and he has had key roles on more than 20 feature-length documentaries.

Harkins said PCAL has been participating in the program - which brings six filmmakers and their films to town over the course of a year - for multiple years before the COVID 19 "pause" and over the past two years.

In addition to Thursday's film, the series will continue with films being shown in February, March and April of next year.

"CES's big event next semester is bringing Charles Blow to DSU Auditorium on Feb. 13 in celebration of Black History Month," Harkins said.

Blow is a New York Times columnist and the author of "Fire Shut Up in My Bones" and "A Black Power Manifesto."

For students attending Thursdays film, a participation QR code will be available to scan at the conclusion of the Q&A session.

For free tickets and more information, visit capitolbg.org.