Santa Clara professors take top prize with innovative film Can’t Thread a Moving Needle
Theatre Professor and College of Arts and Sciences Associate Dean Barbara Means Fraser and Communications Professor Michael Whalen won a coveted Platinum Remi Award at the Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival for their film Can’t Thread a Moving Needle. The film is meant to help prevent sexual assault on college campuses. Running for more than forty five years, Worldfest is the only film festival in North America dedicated to recognizing independent films and filmmaking annually. Notable previous winners include George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and Spike Lee, among many others.
Along with a companion kit that facilitates its discussion by subject (i.e., acquaintance rape, alcohol and drugs, bystander intervention, the experience of the survivor, etc.), the film can be downloaded in its entirety, free of charge, from the Santa Clara Student Life website. Since its general release in April of this year, the film has been downloaded by more than 100 colleges and organizations across the United States, including the Julliard School, the University of Hawaii, Stanford University and the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
The film, financed by the Avon Foundation for Women, is the result of close collaboration among faculty, students, alumni, professionals, and many organizations across campus. Read More.