March 18, 2024
Dear Campus Community,
Gettysburg College is pleased to welcome the pathbreaking documentarian Ken Burns back to campus for a special event on Friday, April 5, from 3 - 4:15 p.m. in the College Union Building Ballroom. The event is free and open to all Gettysburg College students, faculty, and staff.
During this Gettysburg Film Festival event, we will view a screening of Burns’ clips that explore consequential presidential elections throughout American history—from founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams’ attack-driven campaigns, to Abraham Lincoln’s effort to earn reelection in the midst of the Civil War, to John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon’s political maneuvering during the Cold War and Civil Rights Movement. Students will then engage in a live Q&A with Burns following the screening.
Sharing the stage with Burns will be his trusted collaborator and fellow award-winning filmmaker Sarah Botstein. Her work with Burns and Lynn Novick represents some of the most popular and acclaimed programming on PBS, including Jazz, Prohibition, The Vietnam War, College Behind Bars, and Hemingway. Their remarks and audience engagement will be filmed for an upcoming PBS feature on the extraordinary life and legacy of Burns.
Throughout his 40-year career, Burns has directed and produced many of the most influential historical documentaries about war, racism, and presidential history ever made. Together, his films have won 16 Emmy Awards and earned two Academy Award nominations. We have much to learn from the remarkable careers of Ken and Sarah, and we are deeply grateful for their visit to our campus.
We hope you will join us for this memorable Gettysburg College event.
Sincerely,
Bob Iuliano
President