In 2018, the J. Cole-produced documentary “Out of Omaha” took home the Audience Award at the DOC NYC film festival in New York City. The documentary follows twin brothers Darcell and Rell as they come of age in Omaha, Nebraska. As a predominately white city—less than 13% of the residents of Omaha are black—Omaha offers a unique portrait of systemic injustice for its non-white residents. Over an eight-year span, the filmmakers follow Darcell and Rell as they work to make better lives for themselves against the constraints put upon them and their families.
Cole, whose music has been nominated for multiple Grammy and American Music Awards, recognized the narrative in ‘Omaha’ as all-too-common in the lives of those he grew up with. “‘Omaha’ is the story that never gets told,” Cole was quoted as saying in AllHipHop a few days before the film’s premiere. “These are the forgotten ones that the world so often overlooks. The story of these two boys-turned-to-men resonated with me in part because I’ve known them my whole life. Not personally, and not literally, but their stories parallel too many of the boys I grew up with, caught between a rock and hard place and bound for pain.”
‘Omaha’ was also directed by Clay Tweel, a documentarian whose body of work is as strong as it is varied. Tweel’s 2015 documentary “Finders Keepers,” which recounted the bizarre custody battle that broke out over a missing leg, was a striking mashup of the sensational and the sincere. Meanwhile, Tweel’s 2016 documentary “Gleeson“ profiled former professional football player Steve Gleason in his ongoing battle with ALS. That film, which we described as “shockingly intimate,” blended the everyday struggle of being a father against Gleason’s broader role as a spokesperson and an ambassador for the ALS community. With Tweel at the helm, ‘Omaha’ promises to blend powerful storytelling with the authentic approach of a seasoned documentary filmmaker.
“Out of Omaha” will premiere on STARZ on Sept. 9.
https://youtu.be/kwVfRWcrfz0
