Muhammad Ali Center Partners with KET in Ongoing Free Film Series

Two Screenings this Fall Include New Documentary from the Director of Winter’s Bone

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (October 13, 2015) — In partnership with KET, the Muhammad Ali Center is showing two free screenings on October 29 and November 5 in the Center’s auditorium. While admission for both films is free, reservations are required and can be confirmed through the Ali Center’s website.

The first film, Stray Dog, (showing on October 29 at 6:00 p.m.) comes from director, Debra Granik, who also directed the Academy Award-nominated Winter’s Bone. Granik introduced Ronnie “Stray Dog” Hall to a national audience in Winter’s Bone by casting the real-life Missouri biker as the crime boss “Thump.” Granik was so taken with Hall’s personal story that she made him the subject of her new documentary. Behind the tattoos and tough biker image, Ronnie Hall is a decent, tender-hearted man troubled by his time in Vietnam but devoted to helping his immigrant family and fellow veterans. He runs a trailer park in rural Missouri with his wife, Alicia, who recently emigrated from Mexico. When Alicia’s teenage sons arrive, the film reveals a tender portrait of an America outside the mainstream. Stray Dog is a powerful look at the Veteran experience, a surprising love story, and a fresh exploration of what it takes to survive in the hardscrabble heartland. The trailer for the movie can be seen here.

The next film in the Ali Center’s ongoing series, Mimi and Dona, will show on November 5 at 6:00 p.m. Ninety-two year-old mother, Mimi, has cared for her intellectually disabled daughter, Dona, for 64 years. Now faced with the inevitability of not outliving her daughter, she must find a future home for Dona. This poignant, heartbreaking and, at times, humorous documentary traces this process through the story of a quirky and deeply connected mother-daughter duo. The film spotlights the challenges of aging caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities—some 4.6 million Americans, 75% of whom live at home with family—and details the ripple effects of Dona’s disability on three generations of a Texas family. The trailer for the movie can be seen here.