Fresh Faces: New Voices in American Cinema

Join the Avon Public Library for discussions of films by some of the newest, most diverse talent in the film world. View the films at home (check https://www.justwatch.com) for options, and join us for a Zoom discussion at 7:00 pm on the dates listed below.

Bob Kagan was Chair of the Communication Department at Manchester Community College for 30 years. In his “unretirement” he teaches Communication courses at Central Connecticut State University and the University of Hartford. He has been leading film discussions at the Avon Free Public Library for the past five years.

May 12 – Fruitvale Station, Directed by Ryan Coogler, available on Netflix

Ryan Coolger (Black Panther, Creed) directs Michael B. Jordan in this gritty drama set in San Francisco that dramatizes the true story of Oscar Grant a young man guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong skin color.  Watch the trailer here 

May 19 – Lady Bird, 2017, available on Netflix and Amazon Prime

Saoirse Ronan shines in this coming of age story about a teenager stuck in Sacramento, who spends her days planning her escape to New York all the while butting heads with her mother.  Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut demonstrates that her talent lies both in front of and behind the camera. Watch the trailer here 

May 26 – Leave No Trace, Directed by Deborah Granik, available on Amazon Prime. 

This film explores the bond between a father with PTSD and his 13-year-old daughter who are living off the grid. Leave No Trace shows what happens when a jogger spots their encampment in a city park. Questions of love, personal choice and individual growth are examined. Watch the trailer here 

June 2 – Parasite, Directed by Bong Joon Ho, available on Amazon Prime

This award winning film from South Korea focuses on greed and class discrimination as we follow a poor family who all find employment in the home of a wealthy family. Bong Joon Ho, director of Snowpiercer, deftly portrays class differences in a film that transcends national boundaries. Watch the trailer here 

Please register once for the entire series, even if you can’t attend all four sessions.

A Zoom link will be sent out the day before the event. Series sponsored by the Friends of the Avon Library.