The premiere of “Inspire Me! Africa” is set for 6 p.m. Dec. 14 in Tivoli Turnhalle on the Auraria Campus.
The movie takes audience members on a journey with CU students and alumni who are teachers by profession. They travel through the heart of the Serengeti, with its dramatic biological diversity, to Maasai villages, Tanzanian schools and AIDS orphanages for close interactions with the people and cultures of Africa. The trek leads to the very roof of the African continent on the giant volcano, Mount Kilimanjaro. The film then follows the film’s subjects back into their U.S. classrooms to explore how their extraordinary experiences in Africa translate into inspiration for their students.
“Inspire Me! Africa” was directed by Brad McLain at CU Denver’s Experiential Science Education Research Collaborative (XSci) within the School of Education and Human Development. Anthropologist Jane Goodall makes an appearance in the film to share a story about her most inspirational teacher. It also features a heroic former Evergreen Middle School teacher, Leslie Jankausky, who was killed in a tragic car accident following her trip to Africa.
“This film is both a celebration of the art of teaching and a powerful call-to-action to do it better,” said Teresa Bell McLain, producer of the movie and vice president of marketing and strategy at XSci. “It’s about how inspiration happens through extraordinary experiences.”
This film premiere serves as a fundraiser for the African schools and orphanages visited in the film, as well as the creation of a Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots Colorado based program at CU Denver. The Roots and Shoots program will create a venue for Colorado teachers and students to take action through projects that benefit the welfare of people, animals and the environment.
Tickets are $25 for students and teachers. Premium tickets are $100. For more information and tickets, please visit: www.xscifundraiser.org.