Legal Aid Clinic debuts film festival for socially marginalized

Author: Shannon Roddel

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TheUniversityofNotre Dame Legal Aid Clinicwill debut itsFrancisco de Vitoria Film Festival,dedicated to films that speak for those marginalized by society, Wednesday to Friday (Oct. 11 to 13) in the auditorium of theHesburghCenterfor International Studies and Browning Cinema in theDeBartoloCenterfor the Performing Arts.

The films, each to be followed by a discussion, are as follows:

p. Wednesday ** Titicut Follies,to be shown at 7 p.m. in the Hesburgh Center, is a bleak chronicle of the conditions that existed at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane inBridgewater,Mass., authenticating the inhuman treatment inmates received from guards, social workers and psychiatrists.

Thursday ** The Orphan Trains,which examines the ambitious and controversial effort to rescue poor and homeless children from the streets ofNew York, will be shown at6 p.m.in the Browning Cinema.It is a free, but ticketed, event.Contact theDeBartoloCenterticket office at 631-2800.

Thursday ** Rabbit Proof Fence,is based on the true story of three Aboriginal girls who were forcefully separated from their mothers in Jigalong, Western Australia, in 1931 and sent to the Moore River settlement 1,250 miles away to be trained as domestic servants.The girls escaped, fleeing across the harsh, desert Australian landscape with only a rabbit-proof fence as their guide to return home.It will be shown at7 p.m.in the Browning Cinema.Contact theDeBartoloCenterfor free tickets.

Friday ** Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price,to be shown at7 p.m.in theHesburghCenter, is a feature-length documentary that investigates the influence of theretailer on families, the economy and American values.

The Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic, at725 Howard St.inSouth Bend, is a general practice law office that handles landlord-tenant matters, denial of public benefits, consumer credit problems and family law.Law students who work in the clinic complement their classroom education with practical experience while serving indigent clients who would otherwise be unable to afford legal services.

_Contact: Carol Jambor-Smith, director of external relations of the Notre Dame Law School, at 574-631-6891 or_ " cjambors@nd.edu ":mailto:cjambors@nd.edu

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