This summer, Lawrence, Kansas welcomes the Algerian national soccer team to town. Filmmakers Misti Boland and Jeremy Osbern have created a video installation that will run overnight from June 22 through June 28 in the storefront window of 836 Massachusetts Street. Featuring soccer scenes from across the Lawrence community, the installation celebrates the beauty, energy, … [more]
A brand new Algerian co-production fresh from the 2026 Rotterdam International Film Festival screens at the Free State Festival in celebration of the Algerian soccer team's home base in Lawrence, Kansas this summer. This free screening is made possible by support from the Lawrence Public Library. Directed by Malek BensmailRun Time: 1 hour 46 min … [more]
Directed by by Gillo Pontecorvo Run Time: 2 hours Pre-show performance by New Horizons Band, including the Algerian National Anthem Post-show discussion with Megan Greene of KU International Affairs and Asmaa Ben Baba of KU African and African-American Studies Video by Adel Ben Bella, Brown University Doctoral Student ABOUT THE FILM One of the most … [more]
Headliner Boots Riley returns to the Free State Festival for a screening of his new film, I Love Boosters, and a post-screening Q&A. This event was made possible by support from the KU Department of African and African-American Studies, KU Film and Media Studies and the Hall Center for the Humanities at KU. This film … [more]
A screening of the feature documentary, The Return of the Sacred Red Rock, and the short documentary, Healing Ribbons: One Stitch at a Time. Pre-show healing ribbon skirt and shirt fashion show. Post-show filmmaker Q&A. Run time: 1hr 24min ABOUT THE FEATURE FILM After being separated from their sacred stone for nearly a century, the … [more]
ABOUT THE FILM An entire football match filmed from the perspective of soccer hero Zinedine Zidane (father of this year's Algerian goalie, Luca Zidane). High-art comes to the pitch for this ambitious project hailed widely as a groundbreaking new direction in sports films. At a 2005 match between Villarreal versus Real Madrid, seventeen cameras were … [more]
Enjoy a world tournament soccer match in the comfort of the big screen at the Lawrence Arts Center main stage! Admission is FREE but limited to seating capacity. Doors open at 8:30pm Game at 9pm
The Lawrence Public Library presents a captivating conversation with Robyn Hitchcock on the Arts Center stage. Admission to the 6:30pm conversation is FREE, but advance registration is required. Admission to the concert by Robyn Hitchcock & his band at 8:30pm requires a separate $25 General Admission Ticket. The theatre will be cleared between events. ABOUT … [more]
Headliner Robyn Hitchcock performs a full band concert live on the Arts Center stage! Tickets are $25. Doors at 8pm. Concert at 8:30pm. General admission. Note: this event is a separate ticket from the 6:30pm conversation with Robyn Hitchcock. This event is made possible thanks to support from the Lawrence Public Library, Love Garden Sounds … [more]
Winner of the U.S. Documentary Audience Award and the Festival Favorite Award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival! Directed by David Alvarado Introduction by Dr. Neill Gabrielle Esquibel-Kennedy, Visiting Assistant Professor of the Chicanx/Latinx Program in KU Department of American Studies. Run time: 1hour 32min ABOUT THE FILM An auteur emerges from America’s underclass: from … [more]
Four short documentaries capture people, places and things in Kansas and beyond. Experience the films on the big screen and head to the lower lobby for pizza by our friends at Johnny's Tavern and conversation with filmmakers! Lend Me A Hand by Kat King (14 min) Welcome to Dollar Country by Michael Suter (24 min) … [more]
Nine Little Indians makes its Kansas premiere at the Free State Festival followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Shannon Kring, Director of Photographer Marc Gerke, and Pat Charbonneau moderated by Sarah Bariya of the STA (Sexual Trama and Abuse) Care Center. Don't miss this special engagement! ABOUT THE FILM Executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Shannon … [more]
ABOUT THE FILM In 1971, artist Faith Ringgold created a monumental painting “For the Women’s House” for the women incarcerated at Rikers Island jail. Fifty years later, artist Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter, who gave birth in prison 15 years ago, finds herself banding together with an eclectic group of activists, politicians, artists, corrections officers and … [more]
The Kansas premiere of the highly anticipated documentary fresh from the 2026 Sundance Film Festival accompanied by a post-screening Q&A! This event is made possible by support from the Lawrence Journal-World and the KU William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications. ABOUT THE FILM Seized is a gripping, stranger-than-fiction investigative thriller that plunges … [more]
Aaron Brookner returns to Lawrence for the Kansas premiere of the film Nova '78 followed by a filmmaker Q&A! This event is made possible by support from Tom Harper of Stephens Real Estate. ABOUT THE FILM Nova '78, directed by Aaron Brookner and Rodrigo Areias from a restored archive by Howard Brookner, is an electrifying journey … [more]
