Film Streams at the Ruth Sokolof Theater
Finding and appreciating independent cinema in Omaha is difficult, but not impossible. Seeing independent film outside of corporate run venues is even harder--watching "The Hurt Locker" at your local AMC loses some (but not all) of its charm when you have to elbow you way through the "G-Force 3D" crowd to get a ticket.
But fear not! With a little searching and careful attention there are plenty of ways to stay current with the suprisingly active world of independent film and be a good little cinephile in Omaha, NE.
Number 1 on the list:
Go buy a membership to Film Streams arthouse theater on 14th and Webster. Seriously...go...right now. Film Streams is, hands down, the best way for Omahans to see independent and foreign cinema making its way through the arthouse theater circuit and to revisit some of history's classic and cannonical films.
Becoming a member is easy and relatively inexpensive. Members at Film Streams are entitled to reduced ticket prices ($4 instead of $8), plus, a 20% discount off of already cheap concession items. Members are also privy to advance ticket sales of special screenings, director discussions, and live HD broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera.
An Individual Membership onlys costs $50 and is good for an entire year. College Students and Seniors (60 and over) are eligible for membership at $35. On average, if you see at least on film a month at Film Streams--and you really should be--a membership at any level pays for itself.
If you don't have a membership, and you haven't been spending much time at Film Streams, here are some things that you may have missed this year:
- 14 film retrospective look at the career of John Cassavetes including a special discussion with his longtime collaborator Syemour Cassel
- 35mm print of "Lawrence of Arabia"
- an extended run of multi-Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire"
- Barry Jenkis' indie-gem, "Medicine for Melancholy"
- 7 film retrospective of the work of Nebraska native and active Omahan, Henry Fonda that included "12 Angry Men" and "Once Upon a Time in the West"
- 35mm print of Woody Allen's "Manhattan"
- 35mm print of "Gone with the Wind"
- special screening of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" with post-screening discussion with author and Omaha writer Ron Hansen
Plus many, many others!
But there are still plenty of opportunities to see some great work at Film Streams in the near future:
- "Tetro" written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola (his first original screenplay since "The Conversation") which runs through September 10
- 10 film look at the work of Debra Winger including "Terms of Endearment" and "Urban Cowboy"
- Feature 2009: A one night only live discussion between Omaha filmmaker Alexander Payne and Debra Winger
- the remainder of the Forever Young series which inclues "Pee-Wees Big Adventure", "The Iron Giant", and "Babe, the Gallant Pig"
- The remaining run of Lynn Shelton's mumblecore hit "Humpday"
For information on becoming a member, click here.
For a list of current movie listings, click here.
To sign up for their E-Newsletter (both handy and non-intrusive), click here.
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