Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center

A haven for film nerds & freebies!This is a University of Nebraska-owned theater, which means that in addition to showing movies to the public, they use the theatres for film classes. During the school year when classes are assigned to watch a film there, they often open up the empty seats to the public, for free.They offer some good sneak peeks before movies are released. Recently, I saw Charlie Bartlett, American Gangster, & Forgetting Sarah Marshall there all for FREE before they were released in theaters.This is also the only place in Lincoln (and most of Nebraska, for that matter), that you'll be able to watch documentaries like "Control Room" & "Bowling for Columbine" in theatres. That goes for liberal films too, which won't garner much of an audience in Nebraska. For a couple years, they showed a compilation of all of the Academy Awards short animation nominees. That was cool - I can't even find that on Netflix!They serve the local community by occasionally hosting premieres of locally-produced shows for our statewide Public Television Station (NET Nebraska), or premiering local films & doing Q&A with the filmmakers afterwards.TIPS:1) Check their site (www.theross.org) often for special deals (free popcorn?) and for the upcoming shows. You can also grab a flyer (to the left of the ticket booth) for that info.2) If there's no metered parking available on the street, try the University's visitor lot, a block east.3) Try the Kookaburra licorice. It doesn't even taste like "licorice". It tastes like awesome.4) If you're going to a free sneak preview, this is how it works:- Go there a day or so early to pick up your ticket voucher. I think you can also do this the day of the show. This is not a ticket, & beware: they overbook it.- Get there an hour early. Again, at least one hour early. 30 minutes before the show, the lobby will be crammed full of mostly college students waiting to see a free movie.- Exchange your voucher for a ticket, & wait in line.- For some of the more popular movies, the distributor will send a "bouncer" to check your purse or backpack before you enter the theatre, to make sure you're not trying to make a bootleg. So...this may not be a good show to sneak food into either :)

The Ross is a nice theater and on its two screens, offers films you'd never expect to find in Lincoln. For example, I saw Sigur Ros' Heima (free screening!!) and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. I wouldn't say it's a reason to stay in Lincoln, but it's certainly a nice perk for while you are around.

So thankful for this theater!! New to Lincoln and had been very disappointed thinking there was not an indie theater here... But there definitely is! Too bad The Ross doesn't show up when searching Fandango, etc. They really should and that's my one suggestion.

This theatre is a reason to stay in Lincoln. It's a beautiful, state-of-the-art theatre where they show two independent movies at a time and keep us up to date with the rest of the world when it comes to good films. They also have great concessions... Australian Kookaburra licorice, coffee from the Mill, great chocolate, etc. I love this place. And they also work with the university and show films for film classes there... And, they are one of the three sites in the country to review films for the Students' best films award for student film-makers... I have a friend who worked there and got to go to Sundance... Wonderful asset for Lincoln... named for its benefactor who I think is from Lincoln and lives in New York.

A fantastic theatre that adds a lot to the Lincoln arts. The Ross has two great screens that feature the best independent, foreign, and documentary films. Since it works with UNL it is great for college students and brings in lots of guest speakers and festivals. Without the Ross, a community like Lincoln would never get these sorts of films. It's rare for a city this size and even rare for some large cities. Lincoln is blessed to have such a wonderful cinema.