Film Screening: An Artist Responds to War

AN ARTIST RESPONDS TO WAR

Peter Schumann and the Bread & Puppet Theater

Directed by Robbie Leppzer • Turning Tide Films

Tuesday, September 15 at 7pm – Doors open at 6:30pm • $15.00 • Black Cherry Puppet Theater • 1115 Hollins Street Baltimore, MD 21223

Sponsored by Black Cherry Puppet Theater and Baltimore Artists Against Apartheid

AN ARTIST RESPONDS TO WAR is a vibrant portrait of Peter Schumann, the visionary founder of the Bread & Puppet Theater, whose six decades of radical political performance have been forged from a single, searing childhood question: how do we as humans respond to the madness of war and violence?

Born in Nazi Germany and shaped by the brutal reality of war via the aerial bombardments he experienced as a child, Schumann channeled this trauma into one of the most iconic and boundary-breaking theater companies in the world. Bread & Puppet came of age in the Vietnam War street protests of 1960s New York, and grew into its full form on a 250-acre Vermont farm in the 1970s, where the landscape itself became a stage that draws tens of thousands to its epic, large-scale spectacles.

Decades later, as international norms collapse and atrocities unfold in Gaza in plain sight, Schumann — now 92 and still working with fierce urgency — finds his life’s central question more pressing than ever. Drawing on originally shot footage and a remarkable archive of spanning more than 40 years, the film offers an intimate window into the man, his art, and his unbroken faith that creativity can stand against the brutality of power.

In an age desperate for hopeful figures of cultural resistance, AN ARTIST RESPONDS TO WAR is a testament to the radical, enduring idea that art is not a retreat from the world — it is a way of fighting for it.

Following the screening of AN ARTIST RESPONDS TO WAR, which runs 45 minutes, there will be a post-screening panel discussion moderated by Valeska Populoh.

When you purchase tickets, by checking the boxes “Share my email with the host” and “Share my email with the filmmaker,” you will allow us to send you periodic email updates and help build our grassroots audience for AN ARTIST RESPONDS TO WAR. Thank you!

For more info or to watch a trailer: www.AnArtistRespondsToWar.com 

This screening event is a partial benefit fundraiser for the Bread & Puppet Film Project, which filmmaker Robbie Leppzer and Turning Tide Films have been producing for 9 years.  In addition to releasing AN ARTIST RESPONDS TO WAR, we are also currently editing a feature-length documentary, BREAD & PUPPET: THE THEATER OF PETER SCHUMANN, about the full life story of Peter Schumann and the 63-year history of The Bread & Puppet Theater that will be completed in 2027. 

Find out how you can help us finish the feature-length film: 

www.BreadAndPuppetMovie.com