Part of the series Changing the Picture

Dir. Ava DuVernay. 2012, 99 mins. DCP courtesy of African American Film Festival Releasing Movement. With Emayatzy Corinealdi. Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere is one of the most remarkable American independent films of the year, winner of the Best Director award at Sundance, and nominee for Best Picture and Breakthrough Actor at the Gotham Independent Film Awards.

When her husband, Derek, is sentenced to eight years in a California prison, Ruby drops out of medical school to maintain her marriage and focus on ensuring Derek's survival in his violent new environment. Driven by love, loyalty, and hope, Ruby learns to sustain the shame, separation, guilt, and grief that a prison wife must bear. Her new life challenges her to the very core of her identity, and her turbulent path propels her in new, often frightening directions of self-discovery. Ava DuVernay’s elegant and emotionally inspiring debut portrays the universal dilemma of how a woman maintains herself as she commits to loving and supporting someone through hardship. "Featuring luminous performances by a cast of rising stars led by Emayatzy Corinealdi and Omari Hardwick, Middle of Nowhere infuses gravity and grace into the prison tale and marks the arrival of an important new directorial talent." (Sundance Film Festival). "A triumph of both black and female characterization… beautifully nuanced." (Karina Longworth, The Village Voice). A discussion with the acclaimed writer/director Ava DuVernay follows the screening.

Tickets: $15 public / $9 Museum members / Free for Silver Screen members and above. Order online or call 718 777 6800 to reserve tickets.


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