The Global Media Festival is the Georgia Tech School of Modern Languages’ annual film and discussion series focusing on sustainability across languages and cultures. The 2024 festival explored themes around a variety of the UN sustainable development goals. The festival was from Friday, March 29th to Sunday, April 7th, 2024. ALL SCREENINGS WERE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! All events were held in the Atlantic and Cypress Theaters at Georgia Tech’s John Lewis Student Center.
2024 Festival Highlights
“BIGGER THAN US” (France, 2021).
Screening and Exclusive Insight from Director Flore Vasseur
The documentary follows Melati Wijsen, an 18-year-old Indonesian girl and well- established activist against plastic pollution in her country. She wants to understand how to hold on and continue her action, so she goes on to meet six other young activists across the globe. The film features Greta Thunberg as part of the cast. Watch the trailer here.
Sunday, April 7 // GT Student Center, Cypress Theater // 2:30 P.M.
“ROLLING STRONG (RODAR CONTRA TODO)” (Peru, 2016).
Screening and Q&A with Director Marianela Vega
This documentary tells the story of the first wheelchair rugby team in Peru. A group of men and women, from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, get together to play a new sport of which they know little. The film shows their process of coming together as a team, the excitement of their first international tournaments and the motivations that guide their everyday struggle on and off the court. Watch the trailer here.
Friday, April 5 // GT Student Center, Cypress Theater // 5:30 P.M.
“ALICE JÚNIOR” (Brazil, 2019).
Screening, Q&A, and Discussion panel with Producer Diana Moro
Alice Júnior, a carefree, spoiled, trans YouTuber, has everything she could ask for. But when her father announces their move from the vibrant Brazilian city of Recife to a conservative small town where she must attend a traditional catholic school, the rebellious Alice prepares herself for small-minded prudery. Alice Júnior celebrates rethinking outdated perspectives of gender, sexuality, and differences as a whole. Watch the trailer here.
“HIDDEN LETTERS” (China, 2022).
Screening and Q&A with Director and Producer Violet Du Feng
Hidden Letters is a story about the power of female talent, the bonds of sisterhood, and the parallels between generations of struggles drawn together by Nushu—a centuries-old secret text shared amongst women. It tells the story of two Chinese women trying to balance their lives as independent women while confronting the traditional identity that defines but also oppresses them. Watch the trailer here.
Friday, March 29 // GT Student Center, Atlantic Theater // 5:30 P.M.
“UNTOLD (WAR OF MEMORIES)” (South Korea, 2018).
Screening and Q&A with Director Lee-Kil Bora
In the 1960s, South Korea fought in the Vietnam War as a US ally. The massacres of Vietnamese civilians by Korean soldiers are yet to be recognized by the Korean government. Untold brings forth the memories of three Vietnamese survivors, asking: “After 50 years of silence, what does the Vietnamese War really mean to us, and what should it be?” Watch the trailer here.
Tuesday, April 2 // GT Student Center, Cypress Theater // 5:30 P.M.
“WE WERE KIDS BACK THEN” (Peru + USA, 2022)
Screening and Q&A with Director Rafael Alvarado
Emilio, a young Peruvian living in NYC, is caught off guard when Mary, a Peruvian childhood acquaintance (now his cleaning woman), arrives with her baby to his apartment. The situation tests Emilio’s loyalties as he tries to satisfy his demanding partner, Andrew, and support a compatriot in need. Watch the trailer here.
Friday, April 5 // GT Student Center, Cypress Theater // 5:30 P.M.
“WE WILL HAVE EVERYTHING” (China, 2020)
Screening and Q&A with Director Jiang Nengjie
In the Chinese society where 5.68 million mentally disabled citizens often remain unseen, the documentary follows a Beijing charity organization’s devoted efforts to offer care and support to this marginalized group. It prompts reflection on whether and how individuals with mental disabilities can secure dignity, welfare, and human rights. Watch the trailer here.
Monday, April 1 // GT Student Center, Cypress Theater // 5:30 P.M.
“MR. BACHMANN AND HIS CLASS” (Germany, 2021)
Film Screening
This documentary portrays the bond between a school teacher known for his unconventional teaching methods and his 12- to 14-year-old students living in a provincial German industrial town shaped by its history of forced labor under Nazi rule and migration of “guest workers” in the 1960s and 1970s. It’s a timely commentary on the role of education for the 21st-century and its challenges in today’s multicultural Germany. Watch the trailer here.
Sunday, March 31 // GT Student Center, Cypress Theater // 2 P.M.
