The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul, in partnership with the Capri Theater and the Minnesota Historical Society, presents Marshall, at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 7 at North Community High School, door 18, 1500 James Ave. North High serves as the alternate location for this film series while the Capri Theater is closed for expansion and renovation. A map and directions to North High are available online at thecapritheater.org. Tickets to First Thursday Films are $5; purchase in advance at mspfilm.org or at the door the night of the show.
Marshall takes place in 1941, early in the career of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. In the film, Marshall (Chadwick Boseman), a rising star for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is called to conservative Connecticut to defend a black chauffeur charged with sexual assault and the attempted murder of his white socialite employer. Muzzled by a segregationist court, Marshall partners with a courageous young Jewish lawyer, Samuel Friedman. Together they mount the defense in an environment of racism and anti-Semitism. “The case proves more complex than either anticipates with unexpected twists and turns, even as it becomes a vital case that would define two careers as well as the fight for justice in America,” writes Kenneth Chisholm.
Each First Thursday Films screening is followed by a passionate discussion of the movie. This month, Donald M. Lewis, co-founder of the Minneapolis law firm Nilan Johnson Lewis, will lead the conversation after the film. Lewis earned his undergraduate degree in journalism at Northwestern University and his law degree at Harvard Law School. Business entities and government agencies have often engaged him to lead sensitive, high-profile investigations, many times involving allegations of executive fraud or other misconduct. From 2008 to 2013, Lewis served as dean of Hamlin University Law School.
The First Thursdays series continues with Amazing Grace, a documentary featuring Aretha Franklin, with conversation leader Jearlyn Steele on December 5; and Love Them First: Lessons from Lucy Laney Elementary on January 2.
Topical and relevant in these turbulent times, First Thursday Films aims to create a space for dialogue and better understanding. Come for the movies. Stay for the conversation. More info: thecapritheater.org or mspfilm.org.
Capri programs are generously supported by Target.