Screenings of ‘The Vietnam War’ offered in Ogallala and across Nebraska
Preview screenings of the highly anticipated new Ken Burns’ documentary “The Vietnam War,” are taking place across Nebraska leading up to its Sept. 17 premiere.
Free and open to the public, screenings will be followed by a discussion with local Vietnam veterans.
Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, a political scientist and assistant vice chancellor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a military veteran, will facilitate panel discussions at all locations except for events at the Nebraska History Museum. Marty Ramirez, former Vietnam Veteran and Purple Heart recipient, will facilitate the screenings at the museum.
These events are presented by NET, Nebraska’s PBS and NPR Stations, to provide outreach and public engagement in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.
Screening locations
• Lincoln: Noon-1 p.m. CT, Sept. 6, Nebraska History Museum; 7 p.m., Sept. 11, Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center
• Scottsbluff: 7:30 p.m. MT, Aug. 31, Midwest Theater
• Fremont: 7 p.m., Sept. 5, Midland University, Eppley Auditorium
• Ogallala: 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. MT, Sept. 7, Prairie Theatre
• North Platte: 7 p.m. CT, Sept. 7, North Platte Community College South Campus, McDonald-Belton Theater, limited seating, reserved tickets available at NPCC Welcome Centers (maximum four per person); noon, Sept. 15, Prairie Arts Center
• Norfolk: 7 p.m. CT, Sept. 12, Johnny Carson Theatre
• Hastings: 1:30 p.m. CT, Sept. 17, Super Screen Theatre, Hastings Museum
These NET events are coordinated in partnership with the Daughters of the American Revolution. For more information, visit netNebraska.org/vietnam for updates.
In addition, NET will collect stories related to “The Vietnam War” to include on this website. Stories can be sent to mflorenc@netNebraska.org and should be no more than 500 words accompanied with a photo of the veteran.
The documentary
“The Vietnam War,” a new 10-part, 18-hour documentary film series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, premieres Sunday, Sept. 17. The first five episodes will air nightly Sept. 17-21, and the final five episodes will air nightly Sept. 24-Sept. 28, all at 6 p.m. MT on NET.
In an immersive narrative, Burns and Novick tell the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never been told on film. “The Vietnam War” features testimony from nearly 100 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.
Ten years in the making, the series brings the war and the chaotic epoch it encompassed viscerally to life. It includes rarely seen, digitally re-mastered archival footage from sources around the globe, including photographs taken by some of the most celebrated photojournalists of the 20th century, as well as historic television broadcasts, evocative home movies and revelatory audio recordings from inside the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations.
Viewers are encouraged to join the conversation via social media by using #VietnamWarPBS.