Arts and Entertainment

Free screening of faculty member's documentary offers audience input

Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A free on-campus screening of a Penn State faculty member's film offers audience members the opportunity to provide feedback about the movie that focuses on an elementary school teacher who used innovative measures to help her students raise their grades.

The screening of "Discovering Gloria" begins at 6 p.m. April 27, in Foster Auditorium of Paterno Library on the University Park campus. Presented by University Libraries, the session free and open to the public.

Directed and produced by award-winning Penn State documentary filmmaker Boaz Dvir, "Discovering Gloria" tells the story of former Duval Elementary School (Gainesville, Florida) teacher Gloria Jean Merriex's transformation into a trailblazing innovator and a national model. 

Written, directed and produced by Boaz Dvir, a senior lecturer in the College of Communications, the film tells the story of Gloria Merrix, a teacher at Duval Elementary School in Gainesville, Florida, who used dance and hip-hop routines with her students to help the school raise its F grade for math on statewide standardized testing to an A in just one year.

After the free screening audience members will get the chance to complete a quick survey to provide constructive feedback to help improve the film and the final editing process.

Dvir teaches writing and production in the journalism and film-video departments.

Last Updated June 14, 2021