The film showing at the Varsity Friday and Saturday nights is a part of the film festival that is included in this year's Mission Week events.,”

Marquette's "Challenged to Choose: The Courage to Act" Mission Week kicks off Friday with the film "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," which plays at 7 p.m. in Varsity Theatre and runs through Feb. 10.

The film showing at the Varsity Friday and Saturday nights is a part of the film festival that is included in this year's Mission Week events. Additional events include a special Mass Sunday at 4 p.m. at Gesu Church and lectures by Marquette professors and high-profile professionals.

The week's keynote speaker is Lynn Brewer, a former Enron executive and a whistleblower for the Enron scandal.

This year's Mission Week emphasizes a more individually applicable theme than past years', including Mission Week 2006's theme, "Human Dignity, Human Rights: A Call to Service," and 2005's theme, "Constructing Peace."

"Mission Week provides an opportunity to look at Marquette's identity," said Stephanie Russell, executive director of University Mission & Identity. "Inherent in our mission is everyday courage to live our faith and this year's Mission Week is a venue to reflect on that."

According to Russell, Brewer is a "prime example" of an individual who has the ethical character to live faithfully and who will discuss the "bigger kind of ethical dilemmas for our lives, but also speak about everyday ethical issues . so it should be applicable to everyone."

In addition to Brewer, Bethany McLean, a senior writer at Fortune Magazine who broke the Enron scandal in the media, will speak Tuesday night at the annual Burleigh Media Ethics Lecture.

The Enron story is a "fabulous tale of drama and intrigue and hubris, and it's all true," said College of Communication Dean John Pauly. "Bethany McLean's work exemplifies the importance of what journalists do."

Other speakers during the week include Alex Gibney, author, director and producer of "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" and Karen Ristau, president of the National Catholic Education Association.

Marquette faculty members Michael Switzenbaum, chair of the civil and environmental engineering department; Lauren Leslie, chair of the department of education; and Lisa Hanson, associate professor of nursing, will share the hardest decisions they've ever had to make during daily lunchtime conversations.

Gibney's film will headline the film festival, which is new to Mission Week this year.

"The Gibney film is a superb piece of work – a great story, told in an absolutely clear and compelling way, with a sly sense of humor," Pauly said.

Because the film is a documentary, it was distributed less widely than many Hollywood films. The film festival, then, is a "great opportunity" to see an "important film" and meet and speak to the director, according to Pauly.

"I always hope students come to our college events because they are intellectually curious, ethically committed or passionate about public life," Pauly said. "Students will find Mission Week energizing and inspiring to hear what a difference the work of a young reporter can make in the world."

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