Films featuring 1960s revolutions in four countries and the 2018 Academy Award-nominated shorts open Feb. 9 at Nebraska’s Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. Also continuing to show is “The Shape of Water,” which has been nominated for 13 Oscars.
For “In the Intense Now,” Brazilian director João Moreira Salles draws from the visual archive of 1968 revolutions in France, Czechoslovakia, China and Brazil to examine what is captured and lost in images of great historical intensity.
The film is narrated by Salles. The story examines footage of French students’ uprising in May 1968; images captured by amateurs when the Soviet Union put an end to the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia; scenes that Salles’ mother filmed in China in 1966, the year of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution; and imagery from Salles’ childhood in Brazil during the establishment of dictator rule.
As part of the Norma A. Geske Cinema Showcase, Salles will attend 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 screening of “In the Intense Now” at the Ross. Following the screening, he will take part in a question and answer session with the audience.
“In the Intense Now (No Intenso Agora)”” is not rated and shows through Feb. 15.
“Oscar Shorts 2018” showcases 2018 Academy Award-nominees in animation, live action and documentary short film categories. The Ross presents the films in four categories - Animated, Live Action, Documentary A and Documentary B.
The Live Action films run for 99 minutes with a suggested rating of R. Show times are 7:15 p.m. Feb. 10; 4:45 p.m. Feb. 12; and 4:45 p.m. Feb. 14.
Live action films nominees include “Dekalb Elementary,” “The Silent Child,” “My Nephew Emmett,” “The Eleven O’Clock” and “All of Us (Watu Wote).”
Animation films show for 83 minutes with a rating of PG. Show times are 4:45 p.m. Feb. 9; 9:45 p.m. Feb. 11; 9:45 p.m. Feb. 13; and 7:15 p.m. Feb. 15.
Animated short films showing at the Ross include “Dear Basketball,” “Negative Space,” “Lou,” “Revolting Rhymes,” “Garden Party,” “Lost Property Office,” “Weeds” and “Achoo.”
The films in Documentary A play for 102 minutes with a suggested rating of R. Show times are 9:45 p.m. Feb. 10; 7:15 p.m. Feb. 12; and 9:45 p.m. Feb. 14.
Films showing in the Documentary A category include “Traffic Stop,” “Edith+Eddie,” and “Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405.”
The runtime for Documentary B films is 82 minutes with a suggested rating of R. Show times are 4:45 p.m. Feb. 11; 7:15 Feb. 13; and 4:45 p.m. Feb. 15.
Films showing in the Documentary B category include “Heroin(e)” and “Knife Skills.”
Descriptions of the “Oscar Shorts” films are available on the Ross website. A festival pass to see each of the short film categories is available at the Ross box office.
“The Shape of Water” is an other-worldly fable set in the early 1960s against the backdrop of Cold War-era America.
In the hidden, high-security government laboratory where she works, Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is lonely and trapped in a life of isolation. Her life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.
Other cast members include Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg and Doug Jones.
“The Shape of Water” is rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence and language.
It was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Both “The Shape of Water” and “In the Intense Now” show through Feb. 15. “Oscar Shorts 2018” play through Feb. 22.
For more information, such as show times, visit the Ross online or call 402-472-5353.
