‘Sea’ sneak
The Arkansas Cinema Society is offering a free sneak preview of Disney’s “Young Woman and the Sea,” 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. The screening is part of the society’s Sneak Series. Doors open at 6:30. Admission is free; advance registration is required — reserve tickets at arkansascinemasociety.org/programs/young-woman-and-the-sea.
The film, directed by Joachim Ronning and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, stars Daisy Ridley as competitive swimmer Trudy Ederle, who, in 1926, was the first woman to ever swim across the English Channel. Watch the trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=7tNvrYzPUrk.
‘Valley Inn’ anniversary
The society is also marking the 10th anniversary of the release of “Valley Inn” with a screening at 8 p.m. June 7 in Fayetteville’s Walker Park, 10 W. 15th St. Admission is free. The film, shot on location around Northwest Arkansas, stars Joey Lauren Adams, David Lansbury, Natalie Canerday and Jordan Scott with special appearances by “American Idol” winner Kris Allen and Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen. The film was directed by Arkansas native Kim Swink and Chris Spencer. The screening is co-sponsored by the city of Fayetteville’s Department of Parks, Natural Resources and Cultural Affairs.
Charles B. Pierce’s “The Legend of Boggy Creek” kicks off the Arkansas Cinema Society’s Arkansas Classics series June 2 at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Arkansas Classics
And for its Arkansas Classics Series, the society is screening five films shot in part or entirely in Arkansas, 2:30 p.m. Sundays throughout June at the Museum of Fine Arts:
◼️ June 2: “The Legend of Boggy Creek,” director Charles B. Pierce’s horror docu-drama about the Fouke Monster, a Bigfoot-type creature sighted in and around Fouke, Ark., since the 1950s.
◼️ June 9: “A Face in the Crowd,” partially shot on location in Piggott. Andy Griffith plays Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes, a folk-singing drifter who rises to become first a powerful media star and then a political demagogue. The co-stars are Patricia Neal, Walter Matthau, Lee Remick and Anthony Franciosa; Elia Kazan directed.
◼️ June 16: “White Lightning,” with Burt Reynolds as an ex-con who teams up with federal agents to help break up a moonshine ring.
◼️ June 23: “One False Move” Bill Paxton plays a small-town police chief awaiting the arrival of a gang of killers led by Billy Bob Thornton; co-written by Thornton and Tom Epperson, directed by Carl Franklin.
◼️ June 30: “Mud.” Two young boys form a pact to help a fugitive evade the vigilantes that are on his trail and to reunite him with his true love. Matthew McConaughey stars with Reese Witherspoon and Tye Sheridan; written and directed by Cinema Society co-founder Jeff Nichols.
Admission to each screening is $15, $10 for children and senior citizens. Visit arkansascinemasociety.org.
The sinking of the HMT Rohna with the deaths of 1,015 U.S. servicemen in 1943 is the subject of the documentary “Rohna Classified,” available to stream through June 1. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
‘Rohna Classified’
The World War II documentary “Rohna Classified” will screen for one week, today through June 1, via the website, watch.showandtell.film/preview/rohna-memorial-day.
The 60-minute documentary examines the Nov. 26, 1943, sinking by the German Luftwaffe, using radio-guided bombs, of the HMT Rohna, a British transport ship (equipped with non-functioning lifeboats and inadequate lifebelts). It killed 1,015 Americans, the largest loss of life at sea in the history of any U.S. war.
Producers Jack Ballo and Michael Walsh spent five years researching the sinking of the ship and uncovering classified documents revealing that neglect and oversight contributed to the large number of casualties; the U.S. government declared the disaster classified and ordered all survivors to remain silent.
The filmmakers are trying to find the families of the soldiers, who came from 47 states, including 15 from Arkansas, most of them members of the 853rd Engineer Aviation Battalion. (Find a list of Rohna casualties, organized by state and home town, at rohnaclassified.com/rohna-casualties.)
On some nights, the screening will also include live panel discussions with survivors and historians. Viewers can watch the film without charge or make a donation to the film’s outreach and distribution campaign. Visit RohnaClassified.com.
