This summer, the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center is hosting weekly screenings of movies made in Nebraska.
Curated by Program Manager Laurie Richards, this special series features films, including rarely-screened documentaries, cinema classics, indie gems, biting comedies and award-winning dramas.
All tickets for this series are $5. For more information on the series and the films and to buy tickets, visit https://theross.org/events/made-in-nebraska/.
The films remaining in the series include:
• Terms of Endearment: Wednesday, June 4 at 7 p.m. “Terms of Endearment” dazzled critics and audiences alike with its believable, insightful story of two captivating people, widow Aurora Greenaway (Shirley Maclaine) and her daughter Emma (Debra Winger). From grand slapstick to deepest sentiment, director James L. Brooks masterfully paints scenes from their evolving 30-year relationship. Jack Nicholson turns in a great comic performance as Maclaine’s neighbor, boisterous astronaut Garrett Breedlove.
• To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar: Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m. Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo and Wesley Snipes star in this hilarious adventure about three transvestites on the cross-country road trip of a lifetime. On their way to Hollywood for a drag queen beauty pageant, Vida (Swayze), Chi Chi (Leguizamo) and Noxeema (Snipes) get stranded in the tiny Midwestern town of Snydersville. Determined to make the best of a bad situation, the “girls” set out to repair the broken hearts, broken dreams and broken nails of the small-town residents during one wildly outrageous weekend.
• Citizen Ruth: Wednesday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m. In this satirical look at a controversial issue, unfit mother of four Ruth Stoops discovers while in jail that she’s pregnant again. The judge charges her with endangering the fetus, but tells her he’ll reduce the charges if she has an abortion. When word of this gets out, Ruth’s caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between anti-abortion and abortion rights activists who want to use Ruth to get their messages across. Laura Dern stars in an award-winning performance backed by a stellar ensemble cast that includes Burt Reynolds, Mary Kay Place, Swoosie Kurtz, Kelly Preston, Kurtwood Smith and Tippi Hendren.
• Lovely, Still: Wednesday, June 25 at 7:30 p.m. With the approach of Christmas causing him to feel lonely in life and love, Robert Malone (Martin Landau) arrives home to find a stranger (Ellen Burstyn) standing in his house. What begins as an odd and awkward encounter quickly blossoms into what appears to be a romantic late-life love affair in this heartfelt and beautifully crafted holiday fable. Skillfully and sensitively directed by Nik Fackler, the film also stars Elizabeth Banks and Adam Scott and features original music by Coner Oberst and a score by Nate Walcott and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes.
• Vino Veritas: Tuesday, July 1 at 7:30 p.m. On Halloween night, the lives of two suburban couples unravel forever under the influence of a Peruvian wine brewed from the toxic skin of a tree frog. This elixir reduces all inhibitions and soon friendships and relationships are revealed to be not quite what they seemed.
• Take Me to the River: Tuesday, July 8 at 7:30 p.m. Matt Sobel’s assured directorial debut is the story of Ryder, an artsy California teen who travels to Nebraska for a family reunion. Planning to come out to his conservative relatives, Ryder makes a showy entrance at the cookout with his short shorts and his eye-catching shades. No one seems particularly impressed except his nine-year-old cousin Molly, who likes to follow him around. When they go to the barn to look for birds and she comes back screaming and inconsolable, Ryder comes under suspicion and, in the process of clearing his name, learns that some family secrets are better kept that way.
• American Honey: Tuesday, July 15 at 7 p.m. Star (Sasha Lane), a teenage girl from a troubled home, runs away with a traveling sales crew that drives across the American Midwest selling magazine subscriptions door to door. Finding her feet in this gang of teenagers, one of whom is Jake (Shia LaBeouf), she soon gets into the group’s lifestyle of hard partying, law-bending and young love.
• Ocean of Grass: Tuesday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. “Oceans of Grass” is an experiential, immersive documentary capturing a year in the life of a 130-year-old Nebraska Sandhills ranch. It presents the intriguing personalities of the individuals who choose this sparse, rugged lifestyle, from old-school patriarchs to artistic ranchers to young guns pushing the ranch operations into the future. This lyrical documentary showcases the incredible, yet sublime, beauty of the little-known Nebraska Sandhills using 4K, aerial and POV cameras.
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: Tuesday, July 29 at 7 p.m. “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” tells six stories, united by their dark, offbeat takes on traditional tales from the American West. Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.
• Nomadland: Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m. Following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. The third feature film from director Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” features real nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells as Fern’s mentors and comrades in her exploration of the American West. Academy Award-winner for Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Director.
• Bones and All: Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 7 p.m. Based on the novel by Camille DeAngelis, “Bones and All” is a story of first love between Maren (Taylor Russell), a young woman learning how to survive on the margins of society, and Lee (Timothée Chalamet), an intense and disenfranchised drifter. It is a liberating road odyssey of two young people coming into their own, searching for identity and chasing beauty in a perilous world that cannot abide who they are.
• Snack Shack: Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Nebraska City, summer of 1991. Inseparable best friends A.J. (Conor Sherry) and Moose (Gabriel LaBelle) seize the opportunity to run the local pool’s rundown snack shack after their plan to gamble on dog races and sell home-brewed beer goes down the drain. Dreaming of striking it rich, things take an unexpected turn when they meet summer visitor Brooke (Mika Abdalla), an effortlessly cool lifeguard who puts their big summer plans, and their friendship, at risk.
• Daft State: Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Easton’s mysterious psychological destruction drives him to the edge of sanity and possible self-harm by those who love him most…his wife and daughter. Will Easton succumb to their increasingly traumatizing pressure, or will he conquer the dark forces at play?
• My Friend Norman: Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Take a journey with Norman Geske, Nebraska’s Father of the Arts, with this feature-length documentary about the impact one man has had on the artistic and cultural heritage of Nebraska and beyond. Directed by Laurie Richards.