{"688587":{"#nid":"688587","#data":{"type":"event","title":"2026 Global Media Festival: The Sand Castle (2024) Film Screening and Q\u0026A with Film Director Matty Brown and Producer Mandy Ward","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJoin us for a screening of \u003Cem\u003EThe Sand Castle \u003C\/em\u003E(2024), a film that explores empathy and sustainability through the story of a displaced family struggling to survive on an uninhabited island after a disaster. As scarcity forces them to rely on one another and on their fragile environment, the film reflects on survival not as domination, but as care, restraint, and shared responsibility. \u0026nbsp;The screening will be followed by a conversation about the film\u2019s themes of displacement, interdependence, and the quiet work of sustaining empathy under pressure. Light refreshments will be provided. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/forms.office.com\/r\/5p0374e2Tf\u0022\u003ERegistration\u003C\/a\u003E requested.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EAbout the Global Media Festival\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/globalmediafest.modlangs.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGlobal Media Festival\u003C\/a\u003E is Georgia Tech\u2019s annual film and discussion series that brings global stories into conversation with pressing social, cultural, and ethical questions across languages and cultures.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe theme for 2026 is\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ESustaining Empathy in a Fractured World\u003C\/em\u003E. We approach empathy not as a simple feeling, but as a capacity \u2014 the ability to listen, to imagine another person\u2019s reality, and to stay engaged even when doing so is difficult or uncomfortable. In this sense, empathy is not passive or soft; it is something that has to be sustained, practiced, and protected, especially in moments of conflict, fatigue, and polarization.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESeen this way, empathy becomes a form of sustainability. It helps prevent social and emotional disconnection and holds together relationships, communities, and conversations that might otherwise fall apart. The films in this year\u2019s program explore what happens to this capacity under pressure \u2014 in war zones, in digital and media-saturated spaces, within families, and in moments of silence, loss, or moral uncertainty. Together, they invite us to think about how empathy is strained, reshaped, and, at times, quietly sustained in fractured contexts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis year\u2019s program includes 11 events: 10 film screenings from around the world, each followed by a conversation with directors, scholars, or guests. We are also introducing a new format this year \u2014 an introductory directing workshop \u2014 to give students a more hands-on way to think about how stories are shaped and told on screen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll screenings are free and open to the public, and each event is followed by national food, creating space to continue the conversation in a more informal setting.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESponsored by: School of Modern Languages, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Atlanta Global Studies Center, Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, Charles A. Smithgall Institute Chair Fund, IAC ADVANCE Professorship, School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Korean Foundation USA, Front Row Filmed Entertainment\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Sand Castle \u003C\/em\u003E(2024) film screening and Q\u0026amp;A with film director Matty Brown and producer Mandy Ward.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"\u0022The Sand Castle\u0022 (2024) film screening and Q\u0026A with film director Matty Brown and producer Mandy Ward."}],"uid":"36009","created_gmt":"2026-02-27 16:20:02","changed_gmt":"2026-03-02 16:35:44","author":"cwhittle9","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-03-02T16:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2026-03-02T19:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-03-02T19:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-03-02 21:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-03-03 00:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-03-03 00:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Walter E. Ehmer Theater, John Lewis Student Center","extras":[],"hg_media":{"679483":{"id":"679483","type":"image","title":"Arabic-Final-768x1024.png","body":null,"created":"1772469311","gmt_created":"2026-03-02 16:35:11","changed":"1772469311","gmt_changed":"2026-03-02 16:35:11","alt":"Arabic-Final-768x1024.png","file":{"fid":"263652","name":"Arabic-Final-768x1024.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/03\/02\/Arabic-Final-768x1024.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/03\/02\/Arabic-Final-768x1024.png","mime":"image\/png","size":234553,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/03\/02\/Arabic-Final-768x1024.png?itok=cAxld4J3"}}},"media_ids":["679483"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/forms.office.com\/r\/5p0374e2Tf","title":"Register Now"},{"url":"https:\/\/globalmediafest.modlangs.gatech.edu\/","title":"Global Media Festival"}],"groups":[{"id":"145331","name":"Georgia Tech Arts"},{"id":"660380","name":"GT Arts"},{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1288","name":"School of History and Sociology"},{"id":"1283","name":"School of Literature, Media, and Communication"},{"id":"1284","name":"School of Modern Languages"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1792","name":"Arts and Performance"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"194945","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"177814","name":"Postdoc"},{"id":"78771","name":"Public"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EValeriya Chekalina\u003Cbr\u003Evchekalina6@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}