Virginia Film Festival

At the University of Virginia, Andrew Kaufman has taught the acclaimed class Books Behind Bars: Life, Literature, and Leadership since 2010. Each week, students travel to a maximum-security juvenile correctional center to study Russian literature with incarcerated young people. Using the literature of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky as a prism through which to share the stories of their lives, classmates—both UVA students and correctional center residents—convey their most intimate human experiences. As students break down their preconceptions about one another, they establish meaningful relationships, and are transformed by their discovery of shared humanity in such an unexpected place. Discussion with subjects from the film, Andrew Kaufman (UVA), and Andrew Block (Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice), moderated by director Chris Farina

Supported by ScribeConcepts.com