The Marshall University School of Art & Design will present discussions and a filmmaking workshop with documentary filmmaker Darcy McKinnon, a Joan C. Edwards Distinguished Visiting Professor of the Arts, March 27-28, at Marshall’s Visual Arts Center and in the Joan C. Edwards Playhouse.

McKinnon is a New Orleans-based filmmaker whose work focuses on the American South and the Caribbean. Some of her recently released projects include “A King Like Me,” “Roleplay," “Commuted,” “Algiers, America,” “Under G-d,” “Look at Me! XXXTENTACION” and “The Neutral Ground,” recipient of LEH Documentary of the Year 2022. Darcy is an alumna of the Impact Partners Producing Fellowship and the Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellowship, and a recipient of American Documentary’s Creative Visionary Award in 2023.

On March 28, McKinnon will present a guest lecture in a filmmaking class at 11:30 a.m. in Room 209 of the Visual Arts Center. This lecture is open to all Marshall students and employees. McKinnon will then host a public screening of her documentary film “Roleplay” and talk-back from 6-8 p.m. in the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center’s Francis-Booth Experimental Theatre. “Roleplay” follows a group of college students as they confront sexual violence on campus through a transformative theater process. It’s a coming-of-age story following young adults grappling with sex, consent, identity and power on their paths to adulthood. The evening event is free and open to the public.

These activities are sponsored by the BFA Filmmaking program in the School of Art & Design.