“The Bad Kids,” a coming-of-age story showcasing extraordinary educators and talented students combating the crippling effects of poverty, will feature in NET’s Indie Pop-Up film series at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 19, at the Sheldon Museum of Art.

“The Bad Kids” focuses on the students of Black Rock Continuation High School located in an isolated and impoverished Mojave Desert community. The alternative school offers at-risk students one last chance at a diploma.

Every one of these so-called “bad kids” at Black Rock have fallen so far behind in credits that they have no hope of earning a diploma at a traditional high school. Educators believe that empathy and life skills, more than academics, give these underserved students command of their own futures.

A discussion will take place following the film led by Jason Feldhaus, Vice President - Connected Youth Initiative, of the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation.

Presented by NET, the Independent Lens documentary film screening combined with speakers and open discussion, confronts real-life issues while bringing people together for community-driven conversation around films from the award-winning PBS series.

“The Bad Kids,” a film by Keith Fulton and Lou Pepe, was the winner of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award for Vérité Filmmaking and is part of “American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen” public media initiative made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help communities ensure more students graduate ready for college and careers.

In partnership with NET, film screenings will also be available at the Midwest Theater in Scottsbluff and the West Point Community Theatre in West Point.

Future film screenings and discussions in Lincoln will be at the Sheldon Museum of Art. The 2016-17 schedule includes:

• 1:30 p.m. March 19 – “Newtown” – This documentary uses deeply personal testimonies to tell the story of the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, the deadliest mass shooting of schoolchildren in American history. Through poignant interviews with parents, siblings, teachers, doctors and first responders, “Newtown” documents a traumatized community still reeling from the senseless killing, fractured by grief but driven toward a sense of purpose.
• 7 p.m. April 3 – “National Bird” – Follow whistleblowers who, despite possible consequences, are determined to break the silence around the secret U.S. drone war, one of the most controversial issues of our time. The film gives rare insight through the eyes of both survivors and veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder while plagued by guilt over participating in the killing of faceless people in foreign countries.
• 1:30 p.m. May 21 – “Real Boy” – This coming-of-age story features Bennett, a transgender teenager with dreams of musical stardom. During the first two years of his gender transition, Bennett works to repair a strained relationship with his family, and he is taken under the wing of his friend and musical hero, celebrated transgender folk singer Joe Stevens.

Indie-Lens Pop-Up film and discussion series is free and open to the public. Films are shown in partnership with ITVS and Lincoln community radio station KZUM, 89.3 FM. Films focus on thought-provoking and controversial topics.

For more information on the series and NET Community Engagement, click here. For more information about Independent Lens, click here.