Documentary Screenings to Explore Themes of this Year’s Santa Barbara Reads

What do a book described as “an audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse” and a documentary film about a current day Shakespeare company have in common? Quite a bit.

This year’s Santa Barbara Reads selection, Station Eleven, follows a disparate group of musicians and actors that have found each other in a post global pandemic world. Bard in the Backcountry is an Emmy nominated documentary that follows a summer season of Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. Not only do both follow acting troupes over thousands of miles, one along the lakeshore in the previous state of Michigan and one in the rugged landscape of current day Montana, but they both explore what it means to be part of a community and how experiencing art, particularly Shakespeare, can move and engage.

As part of this year’s Santa Barbara Reads programming the Santa Barbara Public Library is inviting the community to special screenings of Bard in the Backcountry. The Library welcomes individuals to view the documentary, read the book, and explore how themes of discipline, transformation, and generosity of spirit can transcend time and place.

Three special screenings at three branches of the Santa Barbara Public Library:

• Wednesday, November 8 at 6:00 PM, Central Library
• Saturday, November 11 at 2:00 PM, Eastside Library
• Monday, November 20 at 3:00 PM, Buellton Library

Information about Santa Barbara Public Library System locations, hours, events, and program is available at SBPLibrary.org. All Library programs are free and open to the public.