WHAT: FREE preview screening of Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Followed by a community discussion with Cindy Putman and other Panelists
WHO: Presenters: Indie Lens Pop-Up, & WCTE
WHEN: Tuesday, April 16 6:00 pm – 7:30 (Doors open at 5:30)
TTU’s Backdoor Playhouse 805 Quadrangle Dr. Cookeville, 38501
RSVP: No reservations needed but seating is limited
Cookeville, TN— Indie Lens Pop-Up, presented by ITVS, Independent Lens, TTU’s Backdoor Playhouse, and WCTE, wcte.org, will feature Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, the acclaimed documentary from Morgan Neville (Oscar ® -winning 20 Feet from Stardom). One of the most celebrated theatrical releases of 2018, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? takes an intimate look at America’s favorite neighbor: Fred Rogers.
The documentary 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. There hadn’t been anything like Mister Rogers on television before, and there hasn’t been since. The film premiered on Independent Lens in February.
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. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? explores his legacy, focusing on these radically kind ideas. While the nation changed around him, Rogers stood firm in his belief about the importance of protecting childhood. 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 both the Producers Guild of America Award for Documentary and the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is a Focus Features presentation, in association with Impact Partners and PBS/Independent Lens, a Tremolo Production; executive producers, David J. & Linda A. Cornfield, David Stone & David Boies III, Rick Rosenthal & Nancy Stephens, John Boccardo & Derek Esplin, Andrea Van Beuren, Jenifer Westphal, Dan Cogan, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Regina K. Scully; cinematography by Graham Willoughby; edited by Jeff Malmberg & Aaron Wickenden; produced by Morgan Neville, Caryn Capotosto and Nicholas Ma; directed by Morgan Neville.
About Indie Lens Pop-Up Indie Lens Pop-Up is a neighborhood series that brings people together for film screenings and community-driven conversations. Featuring documentaries seen on PBS’s Independent Lens, Indie Lens Pop-Up draws local residents, leaders and organizations together to discuss what matters most, from newsworthy topics, to family and relationships. Make friends, share stories, and join the conversation. For more visit http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/indie-lens-popup/
About Independent Lens
Independent Lens is an Emmy® Award-winning weekly series airing on PBS Monday nights at 10:00 PM. The acclaimed series, with Lois Vossen as executive producer, features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Presented by ITVS, the series is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding from PBS, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more visit pbs.org/independentlens. Join the conversation: facebook.com/independentlens and on Twitter @IndependentLens.
For more information, visit: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/wont-you-be-my-neighbor/
WCTE has served the Upper Cumberland for more than 40 years as the region’s premier storyteller and is the only television station in a 75-mile radius of Cookeville, TN., making it a strategic partner with education, health services, government, arts and music. WCTE is owned and operated by the Upper Cumberland Broadcast Council and is one of only 350 PBS affiliates nationwide.
WCTE Upper Cumberland PBS
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