{"id":1393,"date":"2026-01-19T07:08:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T07:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/internationallens\/?page_id=1393"},"modified":"2026-01-19T07:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T07:13:08","slug":"spring-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/internationallens\/","title":{"rendered":"SPRING 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

INTERNATIONAL LENS<\/strong>, a film series with a global perspective, provides a forum to promote conversation among 51³Ô¹ÏÍø\u2019s diverse students, faculty, staff, and the greater Nashville community. International Lens endeavors to transcend geographic, linguistic, ethnic, religious, and political boundaries by encouraging conversation and greater cross-cultural understanding through cinema.<\/p>\n

The series is organized by the Department of Cinema & Media Arts in collaboration with College of Arts and Science, Dean of Students offices, and other departments, centers, and programs across the University.<\/p>\n

There is no charge for admission.<\/p>\n

Films are screened in Sarratt Cinema at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Subscribe to iLensMail<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

See the iLens Trailer<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

SPRING 2026 Schedule of Films<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/h2>\n

\"\"MLK\/FBI<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thursday, January 22\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

USA (2020)\u00a0 Dir: <\/strong>Sam Pollard<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as an American hero: a bridge-builder, a shrewd political tactician, and a moral leader. Yet throughout his history-altering political career, he was often treated by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies like an enemy of the state. This fascinating documentary lays out a detailed account of the FBI surveillance that dogged King\u2019s activism throughout the \u201950s and \u201960s, fueled by the racist and red-baiting paranoia of J. Edgar Hoover. Unafraid of moral judgment but also attentive to the fine grain of ambiguity that clings to the facts, the film invites you to think about how what happened then might help explain where we are today. \u00a0English. <\/em>106 min.<\/p>\n

\"\"Tori And Lokita<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thursday, January 29\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Belgium (2022)\u00a0 Dir: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne<\/strong><\/p>\n

Winner of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival comes the story of seventeen-year-old Lokita and twelve-year-old Tori, two immigrants\u2014from Cameroon and Benin, respectively\u2014whose sibling-like bond is the only resource they can depend on in their struggle for survival on the margins of European society. The inseparable pair work as performers in a cheap trattoria, dealing drugs on the side for the restaurant\u2019s abusive cook, while balancing the demands of an indifferent bureaucracy and a band of violent smugglers. \u00a0French with English subtitles<\/em>. 89 min.<\/p>\n

\"\"Angry Inuk<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thursday, February 5<\/b><\/p>\n

Canada (2016)\u00a0 Dir: Alethea Arnaquq-Baril <\/strong><\/p>\n

Exploring seal hunting’s vital role for Inuit communities, their dependence on sealskin income, and how global anti-sealing movements have affected their livelihoods, an Inuk filmmaker joins a new tech-savvy generation of Inuit as they campaign to challenge long-established perceptions of seal hunting. Armed with social media and their own sense of humour and justice, the group brings its own voice into the conversation and presents themselves to the world as a modern people in dire need of a sustainable economy.\u00a0 Inuktitut with English subtitles<\/em>. 85 min.<\/p>\n

Screening in collaboration with the Indigenous Studies Seminar at Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"2nd annual Point Of VU Student Film Festival<\/span>
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Saturday, February 14 @ 10:00am<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

POINT OF VU Student Film Festival<\/strong>\u00a0(pointofvusff.wordpress.com<\/a>)\u00a0is 51³Ô¹ÏÍø\u2019s premier student-organized film event, celebrating the creativity and vision of emerging filmmakers from across Middle Tennessee. Founded to spotlight diverse and daring storytelling by local students, the festival offers a platform for emerging student filmmakers to showcase work that challenges, entertains, and inspires in a competitive environment, with the goal of fostering connections between students in the region. Building on last year\u2019s inaugural event, the 2nd<\/sup> annual POINT OF VU festival hopes to welcome an even broader mix of students, faculty, and community members to a variety of screenings, panels, guest speakers, and other festival events offering networking opportunities hosted by working professionals in the region.<\/p>\n

\"\"12.12: The Day<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thursday, February 19<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Korea (2023)\u00a0 Dir: Kim Sung-su\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

After the assassination of President Park Chung-hee, a dictator who maintained rule from a coup d\u2019\u00e9tat in 1961 until his death at the hands of one of his own, martial law was declared. Defense Security Commander Chun Doo-kwang and a private band of officers following him organize their own coup. Lee Tae-shin, a stubborn Capital Garrison Command commander who believes soldiers should not take political action, fights against Chun to stop him, all amidst political turmoil and betrayal in this historical thriller based upon the tense, 12-hour military coup in Seoul on December 12, 1979. Korean with English subtitles. <\/em>141 min.<\/p>\n

Screening in collaboration with the Korean Graduate Students and Scholars Association (KSSA)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"It Was Just an Accident
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thursday, February 26<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iran, France, Luxembourg (2025)\u00a0 Dir: Jafar Panahi<\/strong><\/p>\n

An unassuming mechanic is suddenly reminded of his time in an Iranian prison when he has a chance encounter with a man he strongly suspects to be his sadistic jailhouse captor. Panicked, he rounds up a few of his fellow ex-prisoners and they kidnap the suspected captor. But ambiguity about the man\u2019s guilt and their shared trauma sparks a tense moral debate over revenge, justice, and mercy as they drive through Tehran in this deeply felt moral thriller, where high stakes tension combines with unexpected flurries of humor and thoughtful questions regarding persecution and revenge. \u00a0Persian and Azerbaijani, with English Subtitles<\/em>. 104 min.<\/p>\n

\"\"Spacewoman
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thursday, March 19<\/strong><\/p>\n

USA (2024)\u00a0 Dir: Hannah Berryman<\/strong> \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Astronaut Eileen Collins was the first woman to pilot and command an American spacecraft. Born on the other side of the tracks in upstate New York, she smashed many glass ceilings in the US Air Force and at NASA during her career, culminating in four increasingly dramatic and dangerous space shuttle missions. With an incredible set of archival materials, intimate interviews, and a moving score, this nail-biting film shares the emotional journey experienced by Eileen\u2019s family and asks the philosophical question about what level of risk is acceptable in human endeavor.\u00a0 English<\/em>. 100 min.<\/p>\n

Screening in collaboration with the Margaret Cuninggim Women\u2019s Center <\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Until the Stones Speak
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thursday, March 26\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Korea (2022)\u00a0 Dir: Kim Kyungman<\/strong> \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wrongly incarcerated for crimes they did not commit during the 1948 Jeju Uprising, a group of five women finally lift the veil on what actually transpired. The Jeju April 3 massacre not only took the lives of a tenth of the entire Jeju Island population, but it also turned the innocent into prisoners without trial. It was only seventy years later that they were acquitted through a retrial. As the five grandmothers tell their stories of the unspeakable loss and tragedy, the horrific scenes of their experiences are brought back to life.\u00a0 Korean with English Subtitles<\/em>. 100 min.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Filmmaker will be in attendance (virtually) for a Q&A following the screening. Sponsored by the Department of Asian Studies<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"The Alabama Solution<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thursday, April 2<\/b><\/p>\n

USA (2025)\u00a0 Dir: Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman<\/strong><\/p>\n

Composed primarily of contraband cell phone footage taken by incarcerated men at correctional facilities across the state, this film exposes the inhumane conditions, systemic injustice, and brutal treatment of those behind bars in the Alabama prison system told through their own voices and stories. Focusing on the death of inmate Steven Davis, his mother’s quest for justice, and incarcerated leaders organizing for change using contraband phones, the film expertly weaves the pressing issues of prison privatization, inmate slave labor, government corruption, and extreme violence together to give a real sense of the abhorrent conditions of our fellow human beings. \u00a0English<\/em>. 115 min.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/em><\/strong>Monster<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thursday, April 9<\/b><\/p>\n

Japan (2023)\u00a0 Dir: Hirokazu Koreeda<\/strong><\/p>\n

When a single mother\u2019s young son starts to behave strangely at home, his mother feels that there is something wrong at school. Discovering that a teacher may be responsible, she storms into the school demanding to know what is going on with her son. But as the story unfolds through the eyes of mother, teacher, and child, the truth gradually emerges, revealing a complex story of misunderstanding, hidden friendships, bullying, and the search for truth, challenging initial perceptions and exploring themes of societal pressure, identity, and acceptance. \u00a0Japanese with English subtitles<\/em>. 127 min.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Films are 7:30pm in Sarratt Cinema unless otherwise noted<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In order to keep our community safe, please do not attend any of our screenings if you are feeling unwell.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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