Executive film producer and Virginia Tech alumna Caty Borum Chattoo will visit campus Wednesday, Sept. 10 for a screening of the documentary series "Stand Up Planet." 

The event, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Moss Arts Center, will include a question-and-answer session follow the screening. Admission is free and no tickets are required.

"Stand Up Planet" is a documentary television show that tells stories about problems around the globe. It takes a new approach with creative storytelling and comedy to bring awareness to large social issues such as world hunger, famine, infant mortality, girl's education, and preventable diseases. 

The project is described as a documentary TV show, transmedia series, and digital campaign that showcases life in some of the toughest places on earth - in parts of India and South Africa - through the lens and experiences of stand-up comics.

Comic Hasan Minhaj is the U.S. based host of the show who is on a quest to find some of the best humor from all corners of the developing world. In his search, he finds comics who bring awareness to some of the most difficult global issues of our time.

At a time when many have become desensitized to the many messages from various organizations about world social issues, Chattoo sees this approach as "a creative new way to tell the story about global poverty." The use of comedy proves to be an effective way to reach the millennial audience; the generation born between the early 1980s to the early 2000s.

Following the screening, the audience will have a chance to hear from Chattoo about her experience with the project, as well as her career in social change communication, integrated media campaigns, and documentary film and television production.

Chattoo is a producer and media strategist who works at the intersection of media and storytelling, research, and social-impact public affairs campaigns. She is currently executive in residence at American University's School of Communication and Creative Director and principal investigator at the Center for Media and Social Impact in Washington, D.C.

The Moss Arts Center is located at 190 Alumni Mall on the campus of Virginia Tech. Parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street, in the Squires Lot, located at the corner of College Avenue and Otey Streets, in the Architecture Annex Lot on Otey Street, and the Perry Street/Prices Fork lots. Find more parking information online or call 540-231-3200. Additional parking is available in the Kent Squire parking garage and the Farmers Market metered parking lot, both located on Draper Road. Additional downtown Blacksburg parking information can be found online.

The event is sponsored by the School of Performing Arts in partnership with Undergraduate Academic Affairs and the Department of Communication.

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