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Exhibitions and Events

Revealing focus

Writer and Editor Daniel Okrent will discuss a range of topics with filmmaker Ken Burns, beginning at 5:10 p.m. Thursday, March 21 at the Michigan Theatre. The conversation is part of the Penny W. Stamps Speaker Series.

Burns has directed and produced some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball;Jazz, Statue of Liberty; Huey Long; Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery; Frank Lloyd Wright;Mark Twain; Unforgivable Blackness:  The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson; The War; The National Parks:  America’s Best Idea; and, most recently, The Dust Bowl.

His films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including thirteen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations; and a 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

The Central Park Five

Screening & Discussion

Saturday, March 23rd at 12 pm

As part of the 51st Ann Arbor Film Festival, Ken Burns will also take part in a screening and discussion of his newest film, The Central Park Five, at noon on Saturday, March 23rd in the Michigan Theater’s main auditorium.

The Central Park Five, directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon, tells the story of five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who, in 1989, were arrested and later wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman in New York City’s Central Park. Ken Burns will be joined by Raymond Santana (one of the “Five”), and Steve Drizin, Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern. The discussion will be moderated by David Moran, Director of the Michigan Innocence Clinic.

With support from the Department of Screen Arts & Cultures, the Ann Arbor Film Festival, and the Institute for the Humanities.

Established with the generous support of alumna Penny W. Stamps, the Speaker Series brings respected emerging and established artists/designers from a broad spectrum of media to the School to conduct a public lecture and engage with students, faculty, and the larger University and Ann Arbor communities. Additional support is provided by media sponsor, Michigan Radio.

Michigan Theater is located at 603 E. Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor. Thursday’s lecture is free and open to the public.

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