CCU presents free screening of Denzel Washington’s ‘Fences’
The film is an adaptation of the 1985 play written by August Wilson that won both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play examines race and opportunity in 1950s America through the eyes of Troy Maxson and his family.
Maxson is a sanitation worker in Pittsburgh who had aspirations of becoming a professional baseball player but was considered too old when the league began admitting black athletes. His bitterness over his own life pours over into his family when he faces his son's chance to meet a college football recruiter.
In addition to directing, Washington stars in the film with Viola Davis and Stephen Henderson. The film is rated PG-13 and was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Picture. The movie has a running time of two hours and 19 minutes.
"Fences" is part of the Modern Narratives Film Series presented by the Edwards College Department of English.
"I hope audiences leave any film chosen for the Modern Narrative Film Series with a renewed sense of what film, and narrative more broadly, is capable of," said Christian Smith, assistant professor of English and co-founder of the film series. "That it is, in fact, possible to think and be entertained at the same time."
Veronica Gerald, assistant professor of English, will lead a discussion about the film and cultural critique of the film following the screening.
The Coastal Theater is located in Room A-110 of the student union at 106 Spadoni Park Circle on the main Coastal campus in Conway. Parking is available in lots E and MM; visit coastal.edu/safety/parking.
For more information on the screening, contact Smith at csmith8@coastal.edu or 843-349-6967.