LAKELAND (March 2, 2017) – Mira Nair, internationally acclaimed director of films such as Queen of Katwe and Mississippi Masala, will be the next speaker in Florida Southern College’s Child of the Sun Distinguished Speaker Series.
“Between Two Worlds: An Evening with Mira Nair” will take place at 7 p.m. on March 14 in the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel on the FSC campus. The event is free and open to the public.
Ms. Nair, raised in India and schooled at Harvard, uses her natural grasp of identity conflict to make films that explore gender, race, inter-generational strife, and displacement. Her debut film, Salaam Bombay!, won 25 international awards, including two at Cannes, for best first feature and most popular entry. Her other films include Mississippi Masala (with Denzel Washington), Vanity Fair (with Reese Witherspoon), The Namesake (with Kal Penn), and Monsoon Wedding. Her more recent work includes Amelia, starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere, a biographical study of early American aviatrix Amelia Earhart; and Queen of Katwe, with Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o.
“It is a rare treat to have an artist of Mira Nair’s stature with us to share her insights about the power of film to comment on our cultural struggles,” said Dr. Brad Hollingshead, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at FSC. “She is particularly well-suited at this moment to comment on challenges related to identity and belonging.”
The 2017 Child of the Sun Distinguished Speakers Series explores the relationship between art and the human experience. The lectures take up difficult questions about the role of art in our social and personal lives and consider how art responds to the wonder and complexity of our experiences.
About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1883, Florida Southern College is the oldest private comprehensive college in Florida. The College maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 52 undergraduate programs and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio, is an award-winning national leader in engaged learning, and boasts 27 NCAA Division II national championships. It is ranked the No. 5 Regional College in the South by U.S. News and World Report; named a Top Baccalaureate College by Washington Monthly; and included in The Princeton Review’s 379 Best Colleges, The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015, and Forbes magazine’s America’s Top Colleges Guide. The College is committed to the development of the whole student through vibrant student life programs that prepare graduates to make a positive, consequential effect on society. Nestled by scenic Lake Hollingsworth, the College is conveniently located within an hour’s drive of both Orlando and Tampa. FSC is home to the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012. Named the “Most Beautiful Campus in the Nation” for two consecutive years by The Princeton Review and one of the nation’s “Ten College Campuses with the Best Architecture” by Architectural Digest, Florida Southern is an internationally-recognized place of beauty and academic excellence.
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