Join Sustain Penn State for the third screening in its “Seeing the Human Scale” series as part of the Intersections sustainability film series. For this evening, we offer a collection of three short films around the theme of “Third Places” on Wednesday, November 4, at 7 p.m. (EST) online. Free and open to all; pre-registration required at this registration link.

There are two places in which most of us spend the majority of our time: home and work. But sociologists and public health experts have long recognized we need third places. These are places you feel welcome and a sense of belonging; community and connection. For individuals, they are vital to our happiness and well-being. For communities, they are vital to their resilience. For this screening, we offer three short films that highlight the value of three places where people find and co-create valuable communities; a community library built in a bus, a roller skating rink, and a virtual reality world. Together, they show that what makes a “space” into a “place” are the hearts and gifts people bring to share: 

Reading North: Books in the Arctic, Saila Huusko (2018, U.S., 25 min.)

Oula Kotakorva has been a beacon of hope as he drives a library bus through sections of Sweden, Finland, and Norway where people otherwise can be completely isolated for much of the year. But the value of the bookmobile is not only the stories tucked inside its pages; it is the chance for people to connect with Oula. He knows their families, the particulars about their reading habits, and just how to create a welcoming environment. But he’s been doing this job for a long time. Will he be able to find someone who is willing and able to succeed him? in Huusko’s heartwarming film, we follow the final months of Oula’s tenure as he moves onto retirement and bear witness to the value of libraries and librarians to countless communities.

The People Could Fly, Imani Dennison (2025, U.S., 22 min.)

“The People Could Fly” is a famous African American folktale, telling of people having the power to escape slavery. But the need to escape daily life has endured long after slavery. Freedom did not magically transform public spaces into spaces of equality and belonging. So in Louisville, Kentucky, where parks and recreational facilities long remained segregated, African Americans created their own places of escape where they could fly . . . on wheels. Dennison’s film takes us into the heart of a community, bonding over decades inside a roller rink around a shared love of gliding and flying. More than just escapism, people there found–and continue to find–support networks, purpose, and communal joy.

The Reality of Hope, Joe Hunting (2025, U.S., 30 min.)

Online virtual communities have an ambiguous reputation. For some, they help those who are outcast or in a minority find connections to a broader community. For others, they are escapist fantasies, preventing people from making more meaningful connections IRL (in real life). But for Hiyu, a Swede who is part of a community of “furries” who gather in virtual reality (VR), virtual communities turn out to be where he goes to save his life. When experiencing kidney failure and needing a replacement quickly, he finds a surprise donor, going by the online username Photographotter, an American whom he has never met IRL. The tenuous bond they share will be tested. Photographotter must travel for months from the United States to Sweden. Hiyu must survive dialysis until the surgery is ready. Will the donation be successful? The Reality of Hope shows friendships don’t have to start in-person in order to blossom into something life-changing. Filmed in both real life and virtual reality. 

Following the films, we will hold a panel discussion with experts who study and create third places. Panelists to be announced.