Gettysburg Film Festival Returns May 8–11 With Ken Burns, Martin Sheen, Susan Eisenhower and More

• Asia Tabb
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  Asia Tabb is the Host and Producer for WITF’s The Spark.
  
  She began her start in radio when she joined legendary radio/ host producer, Doc Christian. She worked closely with Doc for her role on “The Gospel Express, on WHOV 88.1 FM and was a host for “Unrestricted Praise” at Praise FM.
  
  Previously she was an anchor in Shreveport, Louisiana at KTAL/KMSS. Asia also worked as a Multi-Media Journalist at WHP-TV here in Harrisburg, PA.
  
  Asia got her break into news at KTVO in Ottumwa, Ia. While the 2020 caucuses were gearing up. Asia followed many candidates through their campaign trail from Senator Cory Booker, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and 46th President of the United States Joe Biden.
  
  Asia was born and raised in Norfolk, Va. She graduated from Old Dominion University in 2018 with a major in Communications.
  
  Asia is extremely friendly so don’t be afraid to say hi if you see her out and about.

photo courtesy of the Gettysburg Film Festival

Aired; April 9th, 2025.

The Gettysburg Film Festival is returning for its third year, running May 8–11, 2025, and bringing with it an extraordinary lineup of films, speakers, and historical insights. On The Spark, host Asia Tabb spoke with festival producer Andrew Dalton, director Jake Boritt, and Brett Messenger of the Majestic Theater about what attendees can expect at this year’s event.

Founded in 2023 with the help of renowned documentarian Ken Burns, the festival is the first of its kind dedicated to films about history. “What Gettysburg needs is a Ken Burns film festival,” Boritt recalled saying to Burns during the pandemic in 2020. To his surprise, Burns responded enthusiastically: “Love it, lots to work out.”

From there, the seeds of the festival were planted, with Gettysburg College, the Majestic Theater, and the Adams County Historical Society coming on board. “We’ve created the first film festival dedicated to films about history,” Boritt said. “Ken wanted to come back… and so Ken Burns will be back May 8th in Gettysburg for the third Gettysburg Film Festival.”

This year’s theme is especially poignant: Victory in Europe, marking the 80th anniversary of V Day. “We timed this festival very intentionally to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe,” said Dalton. “V Day, Victory in Europe Day, was May 8, 1945. And so this festival will begin on May 8, 2025, 80 years later.”

The festival’s venues are steeped in history. The Majestic Theater, celebrating its centennial this year, has deep ties to World War II and President Dwight D. Eisenhower. “This is the theater where he experienced things,” said Messenger. “It’s where people in central Pennsylvania experienced the war through war reels… It becomes more special in a place like this.

Though this year’s focus is on WWII, the festival offers broad appeal. “If you’re not particularly interested in war, there’s a lot of other things that happen in this festival too,” said Messenger. “There’s the newest Ken Burns movie about Da Vinci, jazz, The Monuments Men… lots of ways to enjoy thinking about American history.”

The festival also serves a deeper educational purpose. “To be a strong country, a strong democracy, you need to understand history,” said Boritt. “And learning it from films on screen—it’s vital to education.”

Listen to the podcast to hear the entire conversation.