Trish Adlesic (‘The ABCs of Book Banning’): Oscar-nominated doc reveals ‘the underbelly of suppression and hate’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“Book banning is the underbelly of suppression and hate,” declares Oscar-nominated filmmaker Trish Adlesic about the troubling and growing trend of banning books from public schools and libraries. Adlesic examines the effects of such efforts in the documentary “The ABCs of Book Banning,” which is nominated for Best Documentary Short at the 96th Academy Awards. Working with co-nominees Sheila Nevins and Nazenet Habtezghi, Adlesic crafts a film that gives voice to those most affected by book restrictions and bans: children. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
“The ABCs of Book Banning” highlights the range of books targeted by conservative organizations throughout the nation. The audience hears from school aged children who wonder why adults are trying to take away their access to knowledge. The film is also bookended with a speech by 101-year-old Grace Linn, who addresses her local Florida school board meeting about the dangerous history of book bans and the harm they might cause to future generations.
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Adlesic says it was Nevins who saw Linn’s speech on social media and encouraged Adlesic to meet Linn. “We really just fell in love with her,” she exclaims. “When we got to know her and we saw her vision and her activism, we decided to bookend her– make her the opening and closing– and juxtapose it with what kids were thinking.”
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The decision to feature the voices of children was made early on to balance out the voices of organizations such as Moms for Liberty, who sponsor and promote many book banning campaigns around the country. “We just felt like they were getting a lot of attention,” she says. “We just feel that we really weren’t hearing from kids.” In collecting the children’s perspectives, Adlesic says that the importance of the film became clear. “It was so refreshing and encouraging because they are our future,” she argues. “There were a few kids that actually felt they should be afraid of the books because of the way they were being handled and banned. They felt like there was something bad about them. So I think that’s also dangerous because it intimidates kids.”
Adlesic believes that it was her upbringing that ignited her passion for helping others. Her father had an advanced degree in education and her mother was a nurse. “My parents always said, ‘If you see an injustice, say something and do something,'” she says. “We were raised that was to really care about other people and to really do all you can to shed light on it. So with this artistic form of communicating, it’s all I know how to do.”
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