2007-2008 Season
Community Cinema: Real Reality Shows offers monthly sneak previews of documentaries from the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens. Following each screening we feature special guest speakers and audience discussion designed to bring a local perspective to the important issues addressed in the film. Screenings are held at the ISU Bengal Theater from 5:30 pm-6:30 pm on selected Tuesday nights.
Please Vote For Me
Tuesday, September 18
In the city of Wuhan in central China, three eight-year-old elementary school students campaign for the coveted position of class monitor. This is the first election for a class leader to be held in China. The candidates hold debates, campaign tirelessly and show their intellectual and artistic skills, until one is voted the winner.
Miss Navajo
Tuesday, October 23
For more than 50 years, the Miss Navajo Nation pageant contestants have showcased not only their beauty, but also their skills in music, cooking and other cultural knowledge, including a recent addition--fluency in the Navajo language. Following these young women in their quest for the crown and featuring personal stories of recent winners, MISS NAVAJO is a unique celebration of womanhood.
An Unreasonable Man
Tuesday, November 13
For over 40 years, Ralph Nader has worked tirelessly as a consumer advocate, building a legislative record to rival that of any contemporary president. Yet today, many consider him merely an egomaniac and a "spoiler." AN UNREASONABLE MAN takes an unsparing look at one of the most important and controversial political figures our time.
Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita
Tuesday, December 4
Dr. Jack Kessler, a prominent neurologist, shifts his diabetes research to stem cell research when his daughter is paralyzed from the waist down. MAPPING STEM CELL RESEARCH brings the stem cell debate to the forefront and examines the constantly evolving interplay between the promise of new discoveries, the controversy of modern science and the courage of people living with devastating disease and injury.
Banished
Tuesday, January 29
From the 1860s to the 1920s, dozens of towns and counties across America violently expelled entire African American communities, forcing thousands of black families to flee their homes. A century later, these towns remain all white. BANISHED tells the story of three of these communities and their black descendants, who return to learn shocking histories.
Iron Ladies of Liberia
Tuesday, February 26
With unprecedented access, this intimate documentary goes behind-the-scenes with Africa's first freely elected female head of state, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, president of Liberia. The film explores the challenges facing the new president and the extraordinary women surrounding her as they develop and implement policy to rebuild their ravaged country and prevent a descent back into civil war.
King Corn
Tuesday, March 18
Two recent college graduates embark on a mission to see where America's food comes from—by growing it. In the rural town of Greene, Iowa, the two friends plant a single acre of the nation's most powerful crop—corn—and then set out to follow it from a seed to the dinner plate.
A Dream In Doubt
Tuesday, April 15
One of America's first post 9/11 hate crime murders punctuated a growing wave of violence in retaliation for the terror attacks. Told from the perspective of the victim’s brother, A DREAM IN DOUBT travels to Mesa, Arizona to reveal a story of national tragedy, murder, community and the American dream.