W&L Presents Premiere Screening of ‘The Brownsburg Conversations’ The May 6 screening of the feature-length documentary is free and open to the public.

Nich Perez
April 22, 2026

Washington and Lee University presents the premiere of “The Brownsburg Conversations,” a documentary by Nich Perez, the DeLaney filmmaker-in-residence with W&L’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communications, at 6:30 p.m. on May 6 in Stackhouse Theater in Elrod Commons. The film screening is free and open to the public, and no tickets are required. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and a question-and-answer session will follow the screening.

The screening is supported by W&L’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communications and was created in collaboration with W&L student filmmakers.

“The Brownsburg Conversations” brings audiences into the heart of a Virginia community reckoning with its past and imagining its future. The documentary offers an intimate portrait of the residents of Brownsburg, Virginia, and through their voices, explores how communities hold memory, confront inherited histories and seek common ground across differences.

By embodying a shared process of listening, learning and ethical storytelling, “The Brownsburg Conversations” celebrates the power of documentary film as a tool for connection, bringing students, artists and community members together to preserve stories, confront history and imagine collective futures.

Directed by Perez, whose work emphasizes community-centered filmmaking and collaborative creative practice, “The Brownsburg Conversations” is co-produced and edited alongside members of the Brownsburg community and W&L students.

Following the screening, audience members are invited to remain for a Q&A session with the producers, filmmakers and Brownsburg community members, moderated by Kevin Finch, associate professor of journalism and mass communications. The post-film conversation will provide space for dialogue, reflection and shared insight, extending the film’s spirit of engagement beyond the screen.