The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul and the Capri Theater present Middle of Nowhere at 7 p.m. Thursday, September 1. Tickets to First Thursday Films @ the Capri are $5 and can be purchased at mspfilm.org or at the door the night of the show. The Capri is located at 2027 West Broadway.
Middle of Nowhere tells the story of Ruby, a young woman who drops out of medical school in order to focus on her husband’s well-being while he’s incarcerated. As the couple stares into the hollow end of an eight-year prison sentence, Ruby must learn to live another life, one marked by shame and separation, guilt and grief. Through it all, Ruby is propelled in new and often frightening directions of self-discovery.
Middle of Nowhere earned writer director Ava DuVernay the coveted Best Director award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. DuVernay also directed the critically acclaimed, Academy Award-nominated film Selma. Her latest documentary, The 13th, will be released at the New York Film Festival in September.
After the screening of Middle of Nowhere there will be a lively discussion centered on the issue of incarceration. Craig Rice, the Film Society’s curator of First Thursday Films, will lead the conversation, joined by Chela Guzman-Wiegert, an attorney in the Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office (who grew up just a few blocks from the Capri), Calvin Giles, juvenile court prosecutor in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and Ricardo Solomon who is a probation officer.
In addition to the great movie and post-film discussion, the Film Society and the Capri are offering a “buy one, get one free” pass to First Thursday Films beginning with the screening of Middle of Nowhere. Details are at mspfilm.org and thecapritheater.org.
This screening is a part of Black Cinema: Under the Skin, a program of films by Black filmmakers, exploring Black culture and experience. Topical and relevant in these turbulent times, Black Cinema aims to create a space for dialogue and better understanding. Black Cinema is funded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. First Thursday Films @ the Capri is supported by the law firm Grey Plant Mooty.
The remaining 2016 schedule of First Thursday Films @ the Capri includes: Dear White People on October 6; Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks on November 3; and Daughters of the Dust on December 1. More info at thecapritheater.org and mspfilm.org.