- Documentary, Made in Nebraska
The Rose Man of Omaha
- NOT RATED
- 2025
- 1 HR, 31 min
- JUL 22, 2026
- Dean Battiato
David M Weiss
MADE IN NEBRASKA 2026 SUMMER SERIES
If you’ve been out on the town in Omaha, you’ve likely encountered Dean Battiato selling flowers. This heartfelt documentary tells the story of the Sicilian-American man on the spectrum who faces life’s hardships with resilience, all while selling roses to spread love in a search for belonging and connection.
The ROSE MAN OF OMAHA will be followed by aN In-PERSON Q&A with filmmaker David M Weiss.
Nebraska Filming Location: Omaha, NE
TICKETS: $10 General Admission | $5 Members & UNL Students
Director David Weiss takes a remarkably intimate, humanistic look at Dean Battiato, a diminutive man with Asperger’s Syndrome who sells cut roses from a basket in Omaha’s entertainment districts. We learn his rose hustle helps assuage his loneliness while reminding him of what he can’t find – a lovemate. Battiato is a complex mix of intelligence, obsession, wry wit, and gifted memory. He embodies resilience for enduring insults and biases, living on the margins, and surviving cancer and a brutal attack. This proud Sicilian American and hopeless romantic is a true original and authentic to a fault. The film reminds us we’re all far more than what first meets the eye.
Leo Adam Biga
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