Join us for special screenings of the visionary Afrofuturist musical NEPTUNE FROST March 24, 25, and 26 followed by a free lecture by Dr. Steven Shaviro on March 27. Tickets for screenings of NEPTUNE FROST are free for UNL students and regular Ross prices for the general public. Presented in partnership with the UNL Film Studies Program.

Dr. Steven Shaviro (Emeritus Professor of English at Wayne State University) has published books on science fiction, film theory, philosophy, and music videos. His latest book is Fluid Futures: Science Fiction and Potentiality.

Tickets available soon. Free UNL Student tickets available at the Ross Box Office only (not available online).

SHOWTIMES

MAR 24 | MON

NEPTUNE FROST ~ 7:10 P.M.

MAR 25 | TUE

NEPTUNE FROST ~ 4:50 P.M.

MAR 26 | WED

NEPTUNE FROST ~ 7:10 P.M.

MAR 27 | THU

DR. STEVEN SHAVIRO LECTURE ~ 5:00 P.M.
“OF MINERALS AND GENDERS: AFROFUTURISM, CYBERPUNK, and NEPTUNE FROST”

SYNOPSIS

Multi-hyphenate, multidisciplinary artist Saul Williams brings his unique dynamism to this Afrofuturist vision, a sci-fi punk musical that’s a visually wondrous amalgamation of themes, ideas, and songs that Williams has explored in his work, notably his 2016 album MartyrLoserKing. Co-directed with the Rwandan-born artist and cinematographer Anisia Uzeyman, the film takes place in the hilltops of Burundi, where a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective.

From their camp in an otherworldly e-waste dump, they attempt a takeover of the authoritarian regime exploiting the region’s natural resources – and its people. When an intersex runaway and an escaped coltan miner find each other through cosmic forces, their connection sparks glitches within the greater divine circuitry. Set between states of being – past and present, dream and waking life, colonized and free, male and female, memory and prescience – Neptune Frost is an invigorating and empowering direct download to the cerebral cortex and a call to reclaim technology for progressive political ends.

Official Website

Director

Saul Williams, Anisia Uzeyman

WITH

Cheryl Isheja, Kaya Free, Eliane Umuhire, Dorcy Rugamba, Rebecca Mucyo, Tresor Niyongabo, Elvis Ngabo

Run Time

1 hour, 45 minutes

Released

2021

Distributed by

Kino Lorber

HEARING AND VISUAL ASSISTANCE

Assisted Listening Subtitled / Open Captions

Country

United States, Rwanda

SUBTITLES

Kinyarwanda, English, Swahili and French with English subtitles

NOT RATED

Many of the films shown at The Ross are not rated due to the prohibitive cost of acquiring a rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. Consequently, as many of these films contain graphic content, viewer discretion is advised.

REVIEWS

“Critic’s Pick! Mind-bending. An Afrofuturist fantasia that is also a musical, a science-fiction parable and a hacker manifesto.”

A.O. Scott, New York Times

“One of the most extraordinarily original cinema experiences of the year.”

Carlos Aguilar, The Wrap

“A mesmerizing Afropunk odyssey hacking at the boundaries of gender, technology, and class.”

Toussaint Egan, Polygon