Within each of us is the power to affect positive changes in the lives of people closest to us and within our communities. We can also influence our culture and the greater world around us. Certain films can help us to see, hear, and feel such power within us and inspire us to make a difference.

In September, the Dryden will launch a series of monthly screenings celebrating the power of the human spirit. These films have been selected in the hopes that they will stimulate thought, discussion, passion, and action. Each selection explores the potential to add meaning in one’s life through contributions, in all manner of ways, to the lives of others.

The series begins September 20 & 21, when we present three showings of A Man Named Pearl. Scott Galloway and Brent Pierson offer a documentary portrait of self-taught topiary gardener Pearl Fryar, whose dazzling, one-of-a-kind plant sculptures in his magical backyard have earned media and tourist attention and revived his once-declining hometown of Bishopville, located in the poorest county of South Carolina. A special panel discussion will follow the 8 p.m. program only on September 20.

On October 25, the second offering of the series is Encounter Point. This acclaimed film by Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha introduces citizens on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for whom an end to the fighting has become a personal crusade. Family members of slain Palestinians and Israelis, both military and civilian, share their stories and how they have turned their grief into a force for change in the region. A panel discussion will follow the screening. See the calendar section for details.