The 2010 SDSU Film Society’s Autumn Film Series kicked off at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14, in the Northern Plains Biostress Lab, room 103 with “Out in the Silence.” The 2009 documentary records the consequences of a same-sex wedding announcement in a conservative, rural community newspaper. Joining the viewing of the film is the director Joe Wilson. The film is cosponsored by American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota and the Brookings Human Rights Committee.

On Sept. 21, the film, “Burma VJ,” an academy award nominee for best documentary feature, will help celebrate the International Day of Peace. The documentary uncovers the high-risk lifestyles of Burmese undercover journalists broadcasting news across Burma, a closed news country. The journalists’ risk their lives to smuggle video across the border to broadcast the news to Burma via satellite. The 84-minute, 2008 film is directed by Andres Ostergaard and sponsored by the Brookings Human Rights Committee.

Keynote speaker, Bill Plympton, an Oscar-nominated animator, will present pieces of his work on Oct. 14 at the annual South Dakota Animation Festival. Some of his work includes, “Your Face,” “I Married a Strange Person,” and “The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger.” Cosponsors of the Festival are Daktronics and the Department of Visual Arts. The time and location of the event has yet to be announced.

All film series screenings will be held at the Northern Plains Biostress Lab, room 103 at 7 p.m. and are free to the public. The Northern Plains Biostress Lab is on the west end of North Campus Drive on the South Dakota State University campus.

For more information on the series or the Film Society, contact Jeff Heinle, associate professor of journalism and mass communications at 605-688-4665.