One of the most celebrated theatrical releases of 2018, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" will be the next free Indie Lens Pop-Up event at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 27 at Capitol City Cinema in downtown Jefferson City.
Premiering on PBS' "Independent Lens" in February, the acclaimed documentary from Morgan Neville, takes an intimate look at America's favorite neighbor, Mr. Fred Rogers.
According to a news release from Capitol City Cinema executive director J. Dalton Turner, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" tells the story of a soft-spoken minister, puppeteer, writer and producer whose show was beamed daily into homes across America for more than 30 years. In his beloved television program "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," Rogers and his cast of puppets and friends spoke directly to young children about some of life's weightiest issues in a simple, direct fashion.
Fred Rogers' career represented a sustained attempt to present a coherent, beneficent view of how television could be used as a positive force in society, the news release said.
"While the nation changed around him, Rogers stood firm in his belief about the importance of protecting childhood," the news release said. "This intimate portrait goes beyond zip-up cardigans and the land of make-believe, into the heart of a creative genius who inspired generations of children with compassion and limitless imagination."
Since its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2018, the film has become the top-grossing biographical documentary of all time, earning more than $22 million at the domestic box office. It received three Critics' Choice Documentary Awards, including best documentary, best director and best editing, as well as the Audience Award at the IFP Gotham Awards. Neville's film was also nominated for the IDA Documentary Award for Best Feature, nabbed five Cinema Eye honors, including best documentary, and won the Producers Guild of America Award for Documentary and the Film Independent Spirit Award for best documentary, the news release said.
A community discussion will follow the screening of "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" which is part of the Indie Lens Pop-Up neighborhood series that is presented by KMOS-TV, Jefferson City Human Relations Commission, Capitol City Cinema and others.
The purpose of Indie Lens Pop-Up is the bring people together for a film screening and spark community-driven conversations. The films shown during this series are documentaries featured on PBS's "Independent Lens," which airs at 10 p.m. each Monday. For more information, visit pbs.orgindependentlens/films/wont-you-be-myneighbor or pbs.org/independentlens/indie-lens-pop-up.
To RSVP to this event, visit capitolcitycinema.org/indie-lens.