Q&A: Mitch Dickman (Director), Shatira Herrera (cast), Karen Slack (cast) 

Moderator: Evan Shapiro, Executive Producer (Portlandia)

Filmed mostly in black and white, and influenced by the political activism of Sophie Scholl, Silent Rose is an intimate look at the many students, teachers, and staff whose stories interweave in the difficult landscape of modern high school, with the results of the 2016 Presidential election looming over the school. The students try to survive amidst lockdown drills, the rise of fake news on social media and their feelings about racial inequality in the wake of Trayvon Martin's murder. We meet a new teacher who is learning the ropes, a school security guard dealing with frightening new challenges and two students who are given the opportunity to open up an honest dialogue about race relations and instead find themselves at odds with their school principal. Part improv and based on actual events, real high-schoolers re-enact their lives.