ACT Human Rights Festival logoThe ACT Human Rights Film Festival kicks off 2019 with its first “ACT Year Round” screening of TransMilitary at The Lyric, on Thursday, Feb. 7, at 6:30 p.m. ACT Year Round showcases must-see human rights documentary films that don’t make it into the annual festival.

“ACT Year Round will reach more people in order to communicate and engage in thoughtful conversations around important issues all year long,” said Beth Seymour, the managing director of ACT.

“It offers the opportunity to screen excellent films that may not have been available for the festival, and gives ACT the chance to show films in underserved communities and to create new community partners,” Seymour said. “We will show some films for free and screenings will take place in diverse settings by removing geographic and financial barriers. ACT will be able to reach more people, be more impactful, and better serve the northern Colorado communities.”

Transmilitary PosterTransMilitary chronicles the lives of four individuals (Senior Airman Logan Ireland, Cpl. Laila Villanueva, Capt. Jennifer Peace and 1st Lt. El Cook) defending their country’s freedom while fighting for their own. They put their careers and their families’ livelihoods on the line by coming out as transgender to top brass officials in the Pentagon in hopes of attaining the equal right to serve. The ban was lifted in 2016, but with President Trump now trying to reinstate it, their futures hang in the balance again.

“Human rights films give voices to the disenfranchised or to the voiceless,” Seymour said. “Film is a uniquely powerful method of storytelling, and the personal stories shared in Transmilitary are important, moving, and highly relevant. This is a film everyone should see.”

The screening will be held at The Lyric theater, north of Old Town at 1209 N College Ave., in Fort Collins. Purchase tickets online through the Lyric or in person. General admission tickets are $9.50; student and senior tickets are $7.50. Attendees are invited to gather in The Lyric lobby immediately following the screening to discuss the film and be present for a chance to win all-festival and weekend passes to the 2019 ACT Human Rights Film Festival occurring April 5-13.

ACT Year Round screenings will take place throughout the year at various venues, will include talk-back sessions with local experts and special guests when possible, and will recognize, if not benefit, the work of local nonprofits and organizations.

The ACT Human Rights Film Festival showcases important human rights stories from across the world and creates pathways toward change through meaningful dialogue after each screening. All-festival and weekend passes to the fourth annual ACT Human Rights Film Festival go on sale Feb. 7 through the ACT website, www.actfilmfest.org. Online sales for individual tickets open March 5 when the full festival schedule is released.

ACT is produced by CSU’s Department of Communication Studies and is the Intermountain West’s only film festival dedicated to human rights.