Randall Park’s directorial debut “Shortcomings,” a story about flawed people finding their way through life in a messy, tangled world where there is hope, but not necessarily happy endings opens at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center Aug. 4.
Continuing is “The Unknown Country.”
“Shortcomings” tells the story of Ben, a struggling filmmaker, who lives in Berkeley, Calif., with his girlfriend, Miko, and works for a local Asian American film festival. When he’s not managing an arthouse movie theater as his day job, Ben spends his time obsessing over unavailable blonde women, watching Criterion Collection DVDs, and eating in diners with his best friend Alice, a grad student with a serial dating habit. When Miko moves to New York for an internship, Ben is left to his own devices, and begins to explore what he thinks he might want.
“Shortcomings” is showing at the Ross through Aug. 17.
In “The Unknown Country,” Tana (Lily Gladstone) is reeling from a devastating loss, but is pulled back into the world by an unexpected invitation to her cousin’s wedding. She packs up her late grandmother’s Cadillac and hits the open road, driving from her home in Minnesota to South Dakota. After reconnecting with her Oglala Lakota family, Tana sets off to retrace a surreal journey that her grandmother took decades ago, searching for the spot captured in an old family photograph. As she travels, Tana finds connection in the stories of everyday people who’ve settled down far off the main roads including Isaac (Raymond Lee), who provides a pivotal clue to understanding the lost location that could cultivate closure.
“The Unknown Country” will show at the Ross through Aug. 10.
Learn more about the films, including show times and ticket availability.
