A documentary on the life of John Lewis, a civil rights legend and U.S. Representative who died July 17, is among films streaming through the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln theatre is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but continues to offer 10 films and productions from the Metropolitan Opera and National Theatre via online streaming. Along with “John Lewis: Good Trouble,” the film options also include “Marona’s Fantastic Tale,” a French animation about an optimistic stray dog.
All films, including those highlighted below, are accessible via the Ross website through July 30.
Using interviews and rare archival footage, “John Lewis: Good Trouble” chronicles Lewis’ 60-plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health-care reform and immigration. Using present-day interviews with the 80-year-old icon, director Dawn Porter explores Lewis’ childhood experiences, his inspiring family and his fateful meeting with Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957.
Lewis, a Democrat, served as the U.S. House of Representative for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District for more than three decades. In addition to interviews with Lewis and his family, Porter’s film includes interviews with political leaders, congressional colleagues and other people who figure prominently in Lewis’ life.
Immediately following the feature, there will be a pre-recorded discussion between Lewis and Oprah Winfrey. The 16-minute interview was filmed last month and is being made available exclusively for virtual cinema and in-theater engagements of the film.
This poetic and touching film from director Anca Damian follows an optimistic stray dog named Marona as she looks back on the human companions she has loved throughout her life. Delivered alongside dazzlingly colorful, sweeping designs produced in part by acclaimed artist Brecht Evens, “Marona’s Fantastic Tale” is a life-affirming adventure told with the patient, boundless love of a dog, and reminds us that happiness is a small thing.
