A Brave Heart: The Lizzy Velasquez Story is a documentary following the inspiring journey of 26 year old, 58 pound Lizzie from cyber-bullying victim to anti-bullying activist. Born with a rare syndrome that prevents her from gaining weight, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Velasquez was first bullied as a child in school for looking different and, later online, as a teenager when she discovered a YouTube video labeling her "The World's Ugliest Woman." The film chronicles unheard stories and details of Lizzie's physical and emotional journey up to her multi-million viewed TedX talk, and follows her pursuit from a motivational speaker to Capitol Hill as she lobbies for the first federal anti-bullying bill.

Watch the trailer here.

The screening will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Dr. Jacqueline Vickery.

Dr. Vickery is an assistant professor in the Department of Media Arts at UNT. She conducts research on young people's digital media practices as they intersect with issues of equity, identity, privacy, literacy, and policy. She approaches research from a qualitative perspective and draws methodologically from ethnography, feminist media theory, and discourse analysis. Her first book, Worried about the Wrong Things: Youth, Risk, and Opportunity in the Digital World, will be published Spring 2017 with the MIT Press. Through discursive analysis and in-depth ethnographic research the book argues that media panics about online dangers overlook another urgent concern: creating equitable online opportunities for marginalized youth. Dr. Vickery has also published work on privacy and surveillance, digital literacy and equity in after-school clubs, conducted analyses of anonymity in meme production, blogs, and forums, and researched issues of online femininity and gender performance.

Fem Flicks is a film series spotlighting various gender issues. Fem Flicks is presented by the Multicultural Center, the Media Library, and the Women's & Gender Studies Program.