One World Film Festival returns to Lexington

By Kelly Berger

Lexington’s One World Film Festival is celebrating its 11th anniversary this year, showing 11 films during February and March.

The festival, hosted at the Kentucky Theatre and the Lexington Public Library Theatre, aims to expose viewers to diverse documentaries and feature films, as well as to sponsor speakers, according to the festival’s Web site.

The second film in the series,  “Pete Seeger: Power of Song” will be shown Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Kentucky Theatre. The documentary follows folk singer Seeger’s life and the humanitarian and ecological causes he was involved in.

Gary Schroeder, committee member for the film festival and director of Academic Services and Teacher Certification at UK, thinks the Pete Seeger documentary will be a special presentation.

“Pete is 90 years old, a leading person in human rights and folk music – everybody knows him from the radio and KET. He brought about uplifting change and it’s hard not to leave this film being positive and everybody who sees this film will enjoy it,” Schroeder said.

Following some of the films are discussions held by the directors, filmmakers and participants, along with panels of experts that help discuss their works with the audience.

After the film Thursday, Michael Johnathon, the host of WoodSong’s Old-Time Radio Hour, will be holding the discussion and answering questions about Seeger.

Johnathon said he thought the representation of Seeger, who he has known for a long time, in the film was great.

“Few artists are this interesting and what Pete went through in his life is very inspiring. It’s so inspiring because we live in a world of two-dimensional art,” Johnathon said. “Pete lived a three-dimensional life and took huge risks with it.”

The documentary shows Seeger as a real guy, as a passionate thinker and an absorbed musician with a loyal family who stuck by his side, Johnathon said.
Annette Mayer, chair coordinator of the festival, said the people of Lexington have a lot to gain from the showings of the films.

“The whole point of this production is for people to better understand the different cultures and expand their knowledge of the films,” Mayer said.

The festival gives an important sense of perspective, Schroeder said.

“It helps viewers obtain a better understanding of all the different classes and groups of people and combats those stereotypes and superficial ideas that overload us in the mainstream media,” Schroeder said.

The year long process of choosing the films is the hardest part, Mayer said. They may not be like Slumdog Millionaire, Mayer joked, but said she feels that they are educational documentaries that people need to know.

The films are free and open to the public and the festival sees attendees come back over time, Schroeder said.

“We have groups of people that come to the films faithfully who are very appreciative and love the films – it’s great to appeal to the people,” Schroeder said. “It’s a great couple of hours where you can learn about something that you wouldn’t normally see in a typical theatre.”