VENTURA: The Ventura College Spring 2009 Arts and Lecture Series starts with the screening of the 2008 documentary The World We Want on Friday, January 23 in the Second Floor Reading Room of the Library and Learning Resource Center (LRC) on the Ventura College campus. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet and talk with Patrick Davidson, the director-screenwriter-producer of the film prior to the screening. The discussion will start at 6:30 p.m.; the film will be shown at 7:00 p.m. followed by a question and answer period.

The World We Want is the first feature length film from Patrick Davidson, an award winning writer-producer-director, well known and respected for producing high quality, socially conscious, and engaging entertainment. The captivating documentary tells the inspirational stories of teenage activists throughout the world fighting to improve their communities, countries and lives. Shot in high definition on location in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Russia, Senegal and the United States, the film follows the students’ battles for changes that include banning teenage gambling, lowering taxation on artists, creating a town constitution, securing clean drinking water and more. The World We Want documents the young citizens’ struggle to convince local and national leaders to enact their ideas while capturing the teenagers’ dedication, determination, and empowerment as they work together to change the world.

The Hollywood Reporter says, “What appears to be another routine, feel-good, youth-oriented doc morphs into a motivational how-to for young activists as it gains momentum and impact. The World We Want recently world premiered at AFI Fest, where it shared the audience award for best documentary feature….The film profiles teenage participants in Project Citizen, a school-based international civics program administered by a California nonprofit and funded by the U.S. Department of Education and others. Active in all 50 states and 65 countries internationally, the initiative educates students about local and national governance while involving them in real-world problem-solving. Eight international groups of youthful activists … participate in local projects and compete to win recognition as “Program of the Year.” Davidson … traveled around the world capturing the kids’ lives and their struggles to improve their communities. He lets the kids speak for themselves, their families and their hometowns. Particularly affecting are the personal accounts of young people seeking communal reconciliation and advancement in war-torn Colombia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.”

Davidson has produced television programming and educational media for ABC, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Discovery Networks, History Channel, Lifetime, National Geographic, the U.S. Department of Education, the United Nations and others. He is a former Senior Vice President of the Disney Channel and a former national council member for the National Endowment for the Arts. An Emmy Award nominee and winner of the Cable Ace for outstanding children’s special for The Presidential Inaugural Celebration for Children, he has also produced a set of annual specials for ABC including The African American Experience, Volunteers Across America and Environmentality.

The event is free and refreshments will be served. For additional information, call the Public Relations Office, Ventura College, (805) 654-6462. For a campus map, visit the college website, www.VenturaCollege.edu, click on College Information and then select Maps and Parking.