VILLANOVA STUDENT-PRODUCED SOCIAL JUSTICE DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES THIS APRIL

Villanova, Pa – Villanova University’s Social Justice Documentary filmmaking course is renowned for producing impactful films that illuminate vital narratives, many of which garner both local and national recognition. Student production team Out of Bounds Productions will premiere their new documentary on Thursday, April 30 at 7 p.m. at the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available on the Mullen Center’s website.

Under faculty guidance, students in the Social Justice Documentary course embark on a two-semester journey, mastering the art of filmmaking and production while immersing themselves in diverse communities. Beyond storytelling, these students become advocates for the causes they document, often spearheading volunteer and fundraising efforts to engage the broader Villanova community. Housed within the Department of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the course is open to students from all disciplines across the University.

In fall 2025, students in the course, led by Hezekiah L. Lewis III, MFA, associate professor of Communication and director of the Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society, traveled to Morocco where they immersed themselves in the rich cultural traditions of the indigenous Amazigh community. 

The film follows two Amazigh women: Hanan, an 18-year-old student, and Fadma, an elder who has spent her life in the High Atlas Mountains. While Hanan chooses to leave the village and Fadma chooses to remain, their stories, linked by a shared Amazigh identity, reveal different paths toward what each believes is best for themselves and for their people.

The Amazigh people of Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains are facing severe water insecurity due to ongoing drought and limited access to clean drinking water. Out of Bounds Productions aims to raise funds through ticket sales and donations to construct a new well closer to the village, providing a reliable source of clean, sustainable water for the Amazigh community.

“Having been a part of the Social Justice Documentary before as a director of photography and editor, being a producer for Out of Bounds Productions is surprisingly a very unfamiliar experience,” says one of three student producers, Daniel Kee ’26 CLAS. “Even when it seems hard to keep going, the strength of the Amazigh people and the support from my team keeps me working for this story.”

About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has been the heart of the Villanova learning experience, offering foundational courses for undergraduate students in every college of the University. Serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students, the College is committed to fortifying them with intellectual rigor, multidisciplinary knowledge, moral courage and a global perspective. The College has more than 40 academic departments and programs across the humanities, social sciences, and natural and physical sciences.