In September, Meaningful Movies Ballard will be showing Ultimate Citizens, the story of Jamshid Khajavi, an extraordinary 65-year-old Iranian American public school counselor who uses the sport of Ultimate Frisbee to help children heal.

The story is centered around a program at Hazel Wolf school in Seattle. In an America where many families are quietly, barely getting by, Mr. Jamshid coaches an underdog team of kids on their way to compete in the world’s largest youth tournament. ULTIMATE CITIZENS is a celebration of resilience and belonging, and the third independent feature documentary from award-winning filmmaker Francine Strickwerda.

A discussion with Ultimate Frisbee coach and former Nationals and Worlds player Michael Vacirca follows the film.

Sustainable Ballard and Center for Spiritual Living Ballard partner with the Meaningful Movies Project to present documentaries in our neighborhood.

To stay informed about future screenings, you can subscribe to our newsletter (sent out about once every three weeks).  We’d love to hear what you want to see!  What topics do you want to explore?  Do you have a specific movie to recommend?  To provide input, or if you are interested in volunteering with Meaningful Movies Ballard, please e-mail info@sustainableballard.org

The Meaningful Movies Project is a non-profit organization that assists neighborhoods, groups and individuals organize, educate and advocate using the power of  documentary film and relevant conversation to build positive and meaningful community and a more just and peaceful world.

Film screenings are always followed by some form of discussion or audience engagement, where education and opportunities for involvement or advocacy are made available. In addition, we rely on, and benefit from one another’s knowledge and experience in an environment that fosters a strong undercurrent of community building.

Events are all-volunteer organized and run. They are always open to the public at no cost, and rely on donations from attendees to remain sustainable. The events are “owned” by the community.