Southwestern University welcomes Yoav Potash, director of ‘Crime after Crime,’ an award-winning Sundance Film Festival Documentary. Potash, discussing “Life-Changing Filmmaking,” will be the featured speaker for the Howard-Crawford Lecture Series, hosted by Southwestern’s English Department. The talk will take place Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015, from 4–5:30 p.m., on the Southwestern campus in the F.W. Olin Building, Room 105.

In his lecture, Potash will talk about the making of ‘Crime after Crime’ and the lessons he learned about the criminal justice system and filmmaking/storytelling. ‘Crime after Crime’ is itself an artful work of social activism, and the prison footage included in the film is a testament to Potash’s commitment and creativity.

‘Crime after Crime’ chronicles the story of Debbie Peagler, who was imprisoned for more than a quarter of a century for her nebulous involvement in the murder of her abuser, Oliver Wilson. Peagler’s story is one of criminal injustice marked by a disregard for domestic violence, the threat of the death penalty being used to subvert the rights of defendants to a trial, and the suppression of evidence. Yet the story is also one of rehabilitation and faith—her own and that of the two social activist attorneys who are determined to make the justice system live up to its name.

In preparation for Potash’s visit to the Southwestern campus, there will be a screening of ‘Crime after Crime’ on Feb. 17 at 4 p.m. in Olin 105, sponsored by the English Department and Southwestern’s Paideia “Identifying Identity” Cluster. Additional information about the film’s context and reception can be found at http://crimeaftercrime.com.  

The English Department’s lecture series is funded by The Claud Howard and Elizabeth A. Crawford Endowment. Elizabeth Crawford’s generous endowment is in honor and memory of her father, Claud Howard, a professor at Southwestern for many years, and herself (Howard-Crawford). Past speakers have included both critics and creative writers, including Marlon Ross ’78, Leslea Newman, Susannah Heschel, Emily Davis ’98, Alex Huang, Caroline Levander and David Liss.