As part of our See Change initiative, we strive to showcase the work of women and non-binary individuals and their behind-the-scenes involvement in a production.
This film is produced by Cathy Konrad.
Join Film Streams as we welcome Omaha's own Oscar®-winning director Alexander Payne for an audience Q&A following our screening of the 30th anniversary restoration of Citizen Ruth, which was created by IndieCollect in collaboration with Paramount and The Criterion Collection.
Film Information
When it debuted at Sundance in early 1996, Alexander Payne’s debut instantly announced a striking new voice to American cinema. With a fantastic performance from Laura Dern and sharp turns from Swoosie Kurtz, Kurtwood Smith, Tippi Hedren, Mary Kay Place, and Burt Reynolds (as a fire-and-brimstone preacher), the film skewers political extremism with dark wit and piercing irony.
Unfit mother of four Ruth Stoops (Dern) discovers while in jail that she's pregnant again. The judge charges her with endangering the fetus, but tells her he'll reduce the charges if she has an abortion. When word of this gets out, Ruth's caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between anti-abortion and abortion rights activists who want to use Ruth to get their messages across.
Reviews
"At a time when almost every film has a “market” in mind, here is a movie with a little something to offend anyone who has a strong opinion on abortion." – Roger Ebert
Thank you to the following for their support:
Anonymous
Cindy M. Heider
The Holland Foundation
Susan & Mike Lebens
Lozier Foundation
Annette & Paul Smith
Anonymous
Kevin McCarthy
Nancy & Mike McCarthy
Douglas County Visitor Improvement Fund
Richard Brooke Foundation
Tina & John Cherica
Dixon Family Foundation
Tina & Dan Lonergan
Mutual of Omaha
Julie & Scott Cobb
Amy Haddad & Steve Martin
Lisa Freifeld & James Boles
Hillary Nather-Detisch & John Detisch
Neil Sandhoefner
Gigi O'Hara
Shannon & Emiliano Lerda
Film Stills
