Eighteen teachers from all departments will be teaming up after STAR testing to put together another cultural film festival on April 16 starting at 5:30 pm. The foreign language department heads the festival with Spanish teacher Mrs. Catherine Fox-Anderson in the lead.

The idea of putting on a cultural film festival was inspired by the matrix project that is part of the foreign language curriculum. According to Mrs. Fox-Anderson, the festival is a model of the “Communities” section of the matrix, bringing students and parents together. “Community begins with the parent,” said Mrs. Fox-Anderson. With this in mind, some teachers offer credit to students for inviting family members. The teachers feel that this will hopefully bring the community together in a positive and unique environment that promotes cultural diversity. The festival will also act as a donation-only academic fundraiser.

The turn out for the first film festival (Oct. 8) was a success. “You scan the audience and you see grandma together with a seven-year-old kid,” said Mrs. Fox-Anderson. Because of this success and the favorable amount of student involvement, she has high hopes for the new festival; a one-hundred percent attendance increase is expected, and it is hoped that some revenue will be made. Any revenue will be equally split between participating departments.

Not everything is concrete, however. There will be definite problems with space and facilities, which will cause a limitation in availability. Problems with funding are already present. Some concerns exist over the ability of participating teachers to fully commit.

The staff members that will be new to the festival feel that it is a good way to promote culture throughout the school. “(Mrs. Fox-Anderson) is very motivated, with foreign language diligently working to bring school-wide cultural enrichment,” says P.E. Teacher Mrs. Donna Bussinger.

Most of the movies selected for the festival are chosen for their message on cultural diversity. Many of them have or will have literary counter-parts available in the school library for future reference and to promote reading.