Poster detail for Beyond Boundaries film series

The Beyond Boundaries Screening & Discussion Series is an annual, six-part film series organized around categories of diversity including, but not limited to race, gender, class, sexuality, and abilities, with an emphasis on intersectionality.  

Screenings create an opportunity for open dialogue on social justice issues among students, staff, faculty, and members of the greater Western New York community.

All screenings are held in the Burchfield Penney Art Center’s Tower Auditorium beginning at 6:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

Spring 2026 Schedule

The Inquisitor poster

The Inquisitor: Barbara Jordan (2025)

Directed by Angela Lynn Tucker
Narrated by Alfre Woodard
Thursday, February 19

Barbara Jordan’s political life was a series of firsts: she was Texas’s first Black state senator, the first southern Black woman to join Congress, the first Black American and the first woman to deliver a keynote address at a Democratic National Convention… the list goes on.  To call her a trailblazer is too light an emphasis on the path this extraordinary woman blazed. Known for her oratory brilliance and unwavering principles, Jordan’s voice helped shape 1970s politics. 

Ratified poster

Ratified (2025

Directed by Sabaah Folayan and Deborah R Draper
Thursday, March 12

Follow the fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.  Legal equality for all genders has still not been officially added to the Constitution. Ratified chronicles the campaign to make Virginia the 38th state to ratify the amendment, which is the number of states required to have an amendment added to the Constitution after Congressional approval.  The film follows organizing efforts as a cross-party coalition confronts entrenched political power. Virginia Senator Jennifer McClellan and Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy push through legislative barriers, along with a grassroots team led by Republican-turned-organizer Kati Hornung. Their efforts mark the continuum of a 101-year fight.

Come See Me in the Good Light poster

Come See Me in the Good Light (2025)

Director: Ryan White
Thursday, April 23

Trying to contextualize and come to terms with a terminal cancer diagnosis comes with heartbreak and heavy realizations. Colorado Poet Laureate Andrea Gibson approaches their situation with honesty and art. Alongside their fellow poet partner, Megan Falley, Gibson works towards a big final performance, bringing their spoken word skills to life on an otherwise grim topic. The true beauty comes from within their relationship

Curation & Sponsorship

The series is curated by Communication Department faculty Ruth Goldman and Meg Knowles.   

Beyond Boundaries is sponsored by the Communication Department, the Burchfield Penney Art Center, the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, and the Center for Social Justice.

For more information, please contact Dr. Ruth Goldman or Professor Meg Knowles. 

Previously Screened

Fall 2025

  • Deaf President Now!
  • Union
  • Sugarcane

Spring 2025

  • Daughters
  • Power of the Dream
  • Every Body

Fall 2024

  • The Disappearance of Shere Hite  
  • Chisholm ‘72: Unbought and Unbossed 
  • Girls State 2024 

Spring 2024

Fall 2023

Spring 2023

Fall 2022

Spring 2022

Fall 2021

Spring 2021

Fall 2020

Spring 2020 

Fall 2019

Spring 2019

Fall 2018

Spring 2018

Fall 2017

Spring 2017

Fall 2016

Spring 2016

Fall 2015

Spring 2015

Fall 2014