Reading the World, Paulo Freire in Angicos- Live At the Logan Center

Chicago debut Live Screenings Catherine Murphy and Iris de Oliveira Live Screenings at Chicago Filmmakers and Logan Center NOTE: TWO LOCATIONS AND TWO DATES. October 30 at Chicago Filmmakers ( link below) and November 8 at the Logan Center. Tickets here Catherine Murphy and Iris de Oliveira | 2025 | 70 min | Digital Projection In 1963, global icon Paulo Freire led an experimental project teaching hundreds of rural farmers to read, write and vote in Brazil, until he was arrested and forced into exile during a U.S.-backed coup d'état. Told through the collective memories of farmers, students, and educators who participated in the “Culture Circles," where they learned to read and write in 40 hours, Reading the World contains rare archival footage of 1960s Brazil that was recently recovered after being buried for decades. The innovative teaching method used critical and creative thinking instead of memorization and repetition. By contextualizing and personalizing the lessons, educators used their surroundings to teach vocabulary and construct meaning. Hundreds of Brazilians became literate and were allowed to vote as a consequence, strengthening the blossoming democracy and social movement that was disrupting the colonial structures. After a shocking coup d’état, the farmers’ notebooks were set on fire, and Freire was eventually forced into exile for 16 years, spreading his pedagogy around the globe and impacting democracy and education until today. Today Freire is considered one of the most influential philosophers of education in the twentieth century, and revered by educators across the world. LOGAN CENTER SCREENING WITH BILL AYERS The Film will also be screened at the Chicago Filmmakers on October 30 -tickets are linked here: https://chicagofilmmakers.org/upcoming-screenings-and-events/reading-the-world