From first-time feature filmmaker Likarion Wainaina and co-producer Tom Tykwer comes this honest and inspiring story about the strength of young people in the face of adversity. Obsessed with Jackie Chan and action films, nine-year-old Jo dreams of being a superhero, but time is not on her side. When the doctors reveal that she is terminally ill, Jo leaves the hospital and returns home to be with her mom and sister. While her mom insists that she stay inside and rest, her sister has different plans. With the entire village’s support, they decide to make dreams a reality and turn Jo into the superhero they know she is. Newcomer Stycie Waweru delivers a captivating and earnest performance, imbuing her character with a subtle strength that ignites the screen. This film is a stunning reminder of the power of imagination. GET TICKETS  

This surprise Golden Globe winner for Best Animated Feature is a wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical, that follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet. From the boundless imagination of the award-winning filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis (Away) comes a thrilling animated spectacle as well as a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of friendship and community. Steeped in the soaring possibilities of visual storytelling, Flow is a feast for the senses and a treasure for the heart. GET TICKETS  

The AAHD Gallery is excited to present Second Chances, an exhibition showcasing new works by second-year MFA students in Studio Art and Design. Featured artists include Lily Dorian (sculpture), Heidi Dargle (visual communication design), Franceska Alvarado (painting and drawing), Lucy Schultz (industrial design), and Olivia Koziel (photography). The exhibition runs weekdays from January 30 to February 13, 2025, with a special opening reception Thursday, January 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. Join us to celebrate these talented, emerging artists and their inspiring creations. Originally published at artdept.nd.edu.

Rev. Msgr. Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo is the undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. He will join the Keough School of Global Affairs during the Nanovic Institute for European Studies' Keeley Vatican Lecture, the latest in this series that seeks to connect the University of Notre Dame with the Vatican. His message, titled "The Reform of the Roman Curia and the Promotion of Integral Human Development," will focus on integral human development, a critical component of Catholic Social Teaching that emphasizes supporting the growth of each person as a holistic human being. This powerful calling inspires the mission of the Keough School of Global Affairs. We invite all students, faculty, staff, and the general public to attend this timely event. Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., will introduce Rev. Msgr. Ekpo.About the Keeley Vatican Lecture series The Keeley Vatican Lecture, facilitated annually by the Nanovic Institute, provides a way to deepen Notre Dame’s connection to the Holy See by bringing distinguished representatives from the Vatican to explore questions surrounding the University’s Catholic mission. Established in 2005 through the generous support of alumnus Terrence R. Keeley ’81, lecturers typically spend several days on campus, joining classes, celebrating Mass with students, and conversing with faculty members. Past Keeley Vatican Lectures have included Sister Raffaella Petrini (secretary-general of the Vatican City State), Rev. Fr. Hans Zollner, Dr. Barbara Jatta, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, and Ukrainian Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak. Originally published at nanovic.nd.edu.

The AAHD Gallery is excited to present Second Chances, an exhibition showcasing new works by second-year MFA students in Studio Art and Design. Featured artists include Lily Dorian (sculpture), Heidi Dargle (visual communication design), Franceska Alvarado (painting and drawing), Lucy Schultz (industrial design), and Olivia Koziel (photography). The exhibition runs weekdays from January 30 to February 13, 2025, with a special opening reception Thursday, January 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. Join us to celebrate these talented, emerging artists and their inspiring creations. Originally published at artdept.nd.edu.

Nikhit D'SaKellogg Institute Faculty FellowAssistant Professor and Senior Associate Director for Research, Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child There are numerous challenges facing young children in Haiti, including political upheaval, gang violence, civil unrest, community violence, closures, shortages of necessities, and natural disasters. This fragility has had a detrimental impact on their learning and development. To address these multifaceted risk factors D'Sa's team at the University of Notre Dame focused on leveraging the assets of the primary settings — lakay, lekol, legliz (home, school, and parish) — where young children learn and develop daily. Over four years and spread across six of the 10 departments in Haiti, they worked to activate this lakay-lekol-legliz (L3) system through interventions and approaches that were need-based, developed in partnership with communities, iteratively tested and improved, and gradually scaled. In this talk, D'Sa will share lessons from these years of research with faith-based communities, discussing how his team at the Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child worked with community partners to activate the L3 system, the evidence and impact of this activation, and lessons for similar initiatives in other conflict-affected and fragile states.   Click here for more information