A new movie about banning books is up for an Oscar.
The film is called “The ABCs of Book Banning.” It’s made by Sheila Nevins, a famous filmmaker. The movie is short and talks about how banning books affects students.
Nevins, who’s 84, says kids learn a lot from books. They can’t travel everywhere, so books help them see the world.
This is Nevins’ first time being nominated for an Oscar as a director. She’s won 26 Oscars before for her work.
Book banning has become a big issue lately. From January to August 2023, over 3,900 books were challenged. Many of these books talk about race, LGBTQ topics, and history.
Nevins got the idea for the movie from a 101-year-old woman named Grace Linn. Linn was against banning books in her school district in Florida.
Instead of focusing on parents and teachers, the movie talks to kids. It shows how book bans affect them.
The movie interviews kids from Florida of different ages. It also shows the covers of banned books and quotes from those books.
Nevins was shocked by the books being banned. Some were for young kids, like “And Tango Makes Three.” Others were more serious, like the graphic novel version of Anne Frank’s diary.
Making this movie made Nevins think about her own love for reading. She wants kids to have the same opportunities she had.
Nevins hopes this movie will show how important it is for kids to learn about the world. She wants them to be able to make the world a better place.
