The Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development and Friends for Peace will be showing A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps at 7 p.m. February 1 at the Normal Theater located at 209 W. North St.
The showing, sponsored by the Stevenson Center and Friends for Peace, is free and open to the Illinois State University community.
A Towering Task takes a closer look at peacebuilding, economic development, and political independence through the Peace Corps’ nearly six decades of trials and transformations.
In the film, filmmaker Alana DeJoseph examines the rich history of the Peace Corps and the challenges that lie ahead in the 21st century. “A Towering Task puts a human face on the Peace Corps – and makes sense of its history of idealism, improvisation, politics, and at times its failings,” said travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux. “It is the most coherent and satisfying documentary I know of the Peace Corps, and I can’t imagine a better one.”
The film has been selected at numerous film festivals including the Denver Film Festival, Vail Film Festival, Black Star International Film Festival, Dallas International Film Festival, The Hague Global Cinema Festival, and the Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival. The film has also won awards for excellence at the Impact Docs Awards and Accolade Global Film Competition.
