The Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy and the Robert P. Stiller School of Business will host a screening of Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve, a documentary that seeks to unveil America's central bank and its impact on the economy and society. The showing, on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m., will be the first in Vermont - other nearby showings are scheduled for November at Middlebury College and Dartmouth College.

"We are holding the screening of this movie to educate our students and local Vermonters about the Federal Reserve System," said John Pelletier, Director of the Center for Financial Literacy (CFL). "The Federal Reserve is one of the most powerful and important institutions in our nation.  Its decisions greatly impact all of us.  We believe that active participants in our democracy should understand the critical economic role that this organization plays in our lives.  Money for Nothing is a wonderful attempt to educate our citizens about this powerful organization.  As citizens we need to understand how our central banking system works."

A panel discussion and Q&A featuring Champlain faculty and community members knowledgeable about the topic will follow the 104-minute screening. The panel will last about 45 minutes, and includes Robert P. Stiller School of Business Professors Jennifer Vincent and Fritz Burkhardt, Computer Information and Technology Professor Frank Canovatchel, and Mr. Jason Dorion, Sr. Vice President, Head of Fixed Income & Derivatives & Portfolio Manager at Sentinel Investments. The panel will be moderated by Pelletier.  

Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve is a feature-length documentary about the Federal Reserve made by a Team of AFI, Sundance, and Academy Award winners.  Current and former top economists, financial historians, and investors and traders provide unprecedented access and take viewers behind the curtain to debate the future of the world's most powerful financial institution.  

"Debates on the role of central banking in our nation have been with us since the founding of the republic.  Our country has been debating the role of central banking since 1790 when Jefferson and Hamilton traded blows on this issue," continued Pelletier.  "These debates have been with us through history and voiced President Jackson, Williams Jennings Bryant and more recently Ron Paul.  This December, the Federal Reserve System will be 100 years old.  Early next year, a new Chairman will take over the leadership of the Federal Reserve.  I can't think of a better time show this movie."  

Digging beneath the surface of the 2008 crisis, Money For Nothing is the first film to ask why so many facets of our financial system seemed to self-destruct at the same time. For many economists and senior Fed officials, the answer is clear: the same Fed that put out 2008's raging financial fire actually helped light the match years before.  

As the global financial system continues to falter, the Federal Reserve finds itself at a crossroads. The choices it makes will greatly influence the kind of world our children and grandchildren inherit. How can the Federal Reserve steer our nation toward a more sustainable path? How can the American people - who the Fed was created to serve - influence an institution whose inner workings they may not understand?  

The key tenet underlying Money For Nothing is the belief that a more fully and accurately informed public will promote greater accountability and more effective policies from our central bank - no matter the conclusions any individual draws from the film.  

For more information contact Director of the Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy John Pelletier at jpelletier@champlain.edu, or business Prof. Charlie Nagelschmidt at nagelschmidt@champlain.edu      

About Money For Nothing: Inside The Federal Reserve 100 years after its creation, the power of the Federal Reserve has never been greater. Markets around the world hold their breath in anticipation of the Fed Chairman's every word. Yet the average American knows very little about the most powerful financial institution on earth. Narrated by acclaimed actor Liev Schreiber,  Money For Nothing: Inside The Federal Reserve is the first film to take viewers inside America's central bank and reveal the impact of Fed policies - past, present and future - on our lives. As Ben Bernanke's tumultuous tenure comes to a close, join Paul Volcker, Janet Yellen, and many of the world's best financial minds as they debate the decisions that led the global economy to the brink of collapse and ask whether we might be headed there again. For more information visit http://moneyfornothingthemovie.org