"Life Is Beautiful," an Academy Award-winning Italian film from 1997, will be shown at Coastal Carolina University on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 5 p.m. at The Coastal Theater in the Lib Jackson Student Union as part of CCU's International Film Series. The screening is free and open to the public.

"Life Is Beautiful" (La vita e bella) is an Italian comedy-drama film set during the Holocaust. The film was inspired by the book "In the End, I Beat Hitler" by Rubino Romeo Salamonì and by director and star Roberto Benigini's father's experiences in a German labor camp during World War II. In the film, the lead character Guido Orefice attempts to shield his young son from learning the horrors of the Holocaust. In order to protect his son, Guido tells him that the family is on a big holiday and the labor camp is a big game.

The film, sponsored by the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies, will be shown in Italian with English subtitles. Following the showing, Cara Pounds, teaching associate, and Gary Schmidt, professor and chair of the department, will lead a discussion about the film. The film is 2 hours, 2 minutes long. The Lib Jackson Student Union is located at 100 Spadoni Park Circle on the main Conway campus. The theater is in room A-110.

For more information, contact Schmidt at gschmidt@coastal.edu or 843-349-2741.