Film Screening: 'Bridge of Spies'

ASU's Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagement presents a screening of the Oscar-winning Cold War-themed thriller "Bridge of Spies," directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by the Coen brothers. Based on the true story of the exchange of spies during the Cold War, the film — according to the New York Times — reveals the emergence of the surveillance state and invites comparison with the War on Terror.

Before the film screening Volker Benkert, assistant professor in ASU's School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, will provide some historical context for the film; Associate Professor Greg Bernstein, from the Herberger School of Film, Dance and Theatre, will provide a screenwriter’s perspective on the problems writers face when adapting a historical event into a film; then Francis Gary Powers Jr., the son of the subject of “Bridge of Spies” and author of "Spy Pilot," about the controversy that surrounded the U-2 incident, will share some of his research on the legacy of his father. All three presenters willl be available for Q&A after the film.

The Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagement is a unit of the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at ASU. The event is also sponsored by the Herberger School of Film, Dance and Theatre;  Pat Tillman Veterans Center; the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies; and The Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies.