SFA to screen 'Last Train Home'

A free screening of "Last Train Home" will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, in Cole Art Center in downtown Nacogdoches.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - As part of its monthly independent film series, the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of "Last Train Home" at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, at The Cole Art Center @The Old Opera House.

"Last Train Home" is the story of how every spring during the Chinese New Year, China's cities are plunged into chaos as millions of migrant workers attempt to return home by train. It is an epic spectacle that describes today's China as a country "tragically caught between its rural past and industrial future," according to information at www.last-train.com.

The 87-minute unrated documentary is described as the "emotionally engaging and visually beautiful" debut film from Chinese-Canadian director Lixin Fan, which draws viewers into the "fractured lives of a single migrant family caught up in the movement between city and countryside, both driven and damaged by economic realities beyond their control," the website says.

The film was named Best Documentary 2010 by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and was a Golden Gate Award winner at the San Francisco International Film Festival. "Last Train Home" is a Zeitgeist Films release.

Prior to the screening, "Same Odds," a short film written and directed by SFA cinematography student Dudley May, will be shown. The film won People's Choice Award in the 2013 Nacogdoches Film Festival Shorts Competition.

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For additional information, call (936) 468-1131.