The MSP Film Society, in partnership with the Capri Theater and the Minnesota Historical Society, presents the 2019 MSPIFF Winner for both Best Minnesota Made Documentary and Audience Choice New American Visions Documentary Feature, Love Them First: Lessons from Lucy Laney Elementary, at 7 p.m., Thursday, January 2 at North Community High School, door 18, 1500 James Avenue N. North High serves as the alternate location for this film series while the Capri Theater is closed for expansion and renovation. Tickets to First Thursday Filmsare $5; purchase in advance at mspfilm.org or at the door the night of the show.
With unprecedented access over the course of a year, Love Them First: Lessons from Lucy Laney Elementary follows the determination of a charismatic North Minneapolis school principal, Mauri Melander Friestleben, as she sets out to undo history. With Lucy Laney at the bottom of the state’s list of underperforming schools for two decades, standardized test scores from most black students began rising for the first time under Friestleben’s leadership. However, when the school encounters a heartbreaking setback, Friestleben is forced to confront the true measure of student success at Lucy Laney in this story of inspiration, heartbreak, perseverance and the power of love.
Each First Thursday Films screening is followed by a fervent discussion of the movie, this month led by Love Them First directors Lindsey Seavert and Ben Garvin. After graduating from Indiana University’s Ernie Pyle School of Journalism and working as a reporter at five news stations stretching from Northern Minnesota, to Nevada and Ohio, Seavert has been a reporter at Minnesota-based news station KARE 11 since 2012. Garvin, a photojournalist for KARE 11, was named 2011 Journalist of the Year by the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. In 2017 he served as president of the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists where he helped overturn a ban on photography in state prisons. Both Seavert and Garvin have received Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards for their work.
The First Thursdaysseriescontinues with Harriet Tubman biopic Harriet on February 6, featuring discussion leader Professor John Wright, and Cine Latino Audience Award runner-up The Radical Monarchs on March 5.
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. Info: thecapritheater.org or mspfilm.org. Capri programs are generously supported by Target.