Ragtag Cinema will now launch its second season of its ‘Show Me’ series with a story of 2016’s ‘Loving’.
This season screens the story of Richard and Mildred Loving (played by Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga), a mixed-race couple whose challenge to the state of Virginia led to a Supreme Court decision. Directed by Jeff Nichols, ‘Loving’ centers on the story of the couple who went on a fight against the intermarriage laws to the Supreme Court. The Court’s decision in 1967’s Loving in Virginia had such laws, which disallowed interracial marriages and relationships and said it as unconstitutional.
Both the season of The Show Me series is monthly, and FREE to the public. Accordingly, Show Me Loving is rated PG-13 for the thematic elements. The screening of the film is on Thursday August 26 which will begin at 7 p.m. on streaming platforms.
Ragtag Cinema’s Show Me Series is an indicater to approach new things with a hint of rationalism. As well as, a challenge to show our society, all the possibilities shared experiences with film can have and the potential to create a spark that can move our society towards equity, inclusion, and unity.
Ruth Negga is an Irish actress has received the best actress Academy Award nomination for her role in the film. Anne Thompson, an American journalist who covers story on the film and television praised director Nicholas for the film and said that the story was quiet, authentic and true in its form.
Ragtag Cinema is a community-supported nonprofit theater which is dedicated to the film art and culture. The theatre is located on the Hitt Street in Columbia, Missouri. Ragtag Cinema is founded by a group including Paul Sturtz and David Wilson in May 2000. Ragtag Cinema is a project of the Ragtag Film Society, with over 20 years of showcasing transformative cinema and art in Columbia. This cinema provides unique films yearly, nonfiction films, live music and interactive works of art. Accordingly, the style of showing the films is even more unique as streaming platforms became so popular due to the global pandemic.
The theatre spotlights the film as an art form, promoting media literacy, education and new ideas along with supporting the local artists. Also, the theater serves as a primary venue for the True/False Film Fest, that was launched by Sturtz and Wilson in the year 2004. Ragtag’s first location was in a small storefront on the 10th Street, having couches and chairs to assist up to 75 guests for its one screen. Afterwards, the theater moved to its present location a few blocks away in the year 2009.
The theatre began with no experience in the film business and had only a little technical knowledge. But the support received by the community to continue the film series made the theater to launch more and more films. At an early stage, the theatre gained some fundraising including a benefit screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, at the Missouri Theater. After being approached by Tim Spence, Holly Roberson and Ron Rottinghaus, the theatre agreed to move its step more further towards their dream. On the 10th Street in May 2000, a café/movie theater clubhouse known as The Ragtag Cinemacafé was opened for the public. The first screening of the theatre was a popular movie about the state Missouri, Waiting for Guffman in the May 2000.
