Photos: MY OMAHA Documentary to Premiere on Independent Lens
Filmmaker Nick Beaulieu and producer Doug Block, known for 51 Birch Street, are available for interviews.
MY OMAHA premieres nationally on PBS's Independent Lens on Monday, October 5, 2026, and will stream free on the PBS App through November 30, 2026.
The timely documentary follows filmmaker Nick Beaulieu as he chronicles North Omaha's fight for racial justice while attempting to reconnect with his terminally ill father, Randy, a conservative Christian and devoted Trump supporter.
Beginning with Donald Trump's emergence in 2016, Nick examines the divide between the predominantly white suburbs where he grew up and North Omaha, a historically Black community shaped by racial segregation, economic inequality and the legacy of Malcolm X. What begins as an exploration of his hometown becomes an intimate reckoning with family, race and the challenge of communicating across America's political divide.
Directed by Nick Beaulieu, produced by 51 Birch Street filmmaker Doug Block and made in association with Kartemquin Films, MY OMAHA brings the country's political divisions into the intimate space of one American family.
At a moment when families and communities are struggling to communicate across political divides, My Omaha asks whether we can still listen to one another—and what it takes to find common ground.
Set against the political and racial divisions reshaping the United States, the film follows filmmaker Nick Beaulieu as he documents North Omaha's racial justice movement while attempting to reconnect with his terminally ill father, Randy, a conservative Christian and staunch Trump supporter.
The film begins in 2016, as the emergence of Donald Trump intensifies divisions across the country. Returning to his hometown after journalism school, filmmaker Nick Beaulieu sets out to understand the distance between the predominantly white suburbs where he grew up and North Omaha, a historically Black community shaped by racial segregation, economic inequality and the legacy of Malcolm X.
His search leads him to activist Leo Louis II and into North Omaha's racial justice movement. Through Leo, Nick encounters a side of his hometown he had never fully understood—a community fighting to protect itself, preserve its history and confront systems that have neglected it for generations. At the same time, Nick attempts to reconnect with his terminally ill father, Randy, a conservative Christian and staunch Trump supporter. What begins as a documentary about political division becomes an intimate portrait of family, race, identity and the unresolved contradictions at the heart of modern America.
My Omaha will appear on Independent Lens on Oct 5, 2026 and be available for streaming until November 30, 2026 via the PBS App and on the PBS Documentaries YouTube channel Oct 5-Oct 20, 2026.
Director/Writer/Producer Nick Beaulieu and Producer Doug Block are available for in-person interviews (NY) and remotely from August 24 - November 13, 2026.
Potential Discussion Topics
Political divisions within families; the possibilities—and limitations—of dialogue across political divides
Communicating with relatives whose beliefs sharply differ from one's own
Race, segregation and inequality in the American Midwest
Omaha's Black history and the legacy of Malcolm X
Grassroots activism and community resilience
Documentary filmmaking as a form of personal and civic inquiry
Film Team Biographies
Nick Beaulieu is a writer and filmmaker based in NYC. His feature debut My Omaha premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2025. Previously, he was a contributing writer on The Last Tear and produced short films for the PBS series American Portrait. He has received support for his work from Humanities Nebraska, the Kindle Project, the Union for Contemporary Art, and the Andy Warhol Foundation. He also works as a marketing consultant for filmmakers, film festivals and distributors.
Doug Block is an Emmy, Peabody and Sundance award-winning documentary filmmaker based in New York City. He's best known for his personal documentaries, which include The Kids Grow Up, 112 Weddings, and 51 Birch Street, named one of '10 Best Films of the Year' by the New York Times. His producing credits include: Silverlake Life and Jupiter's Wife, among others. He is the founder of The D-Word, a free online community of documentary professionals worldwide.
Credits
My Omaha is a Knee Knocker Production in association with Kartemquin Films.
Director: Nick Beaulieu
Producers: Nick Beaulieu, Doug Block
Consulting Producer: Judith Mizrachy
Writer: Nick Beaulieu
Cinematographers: James Zanders, Nick Beaulieu
Editors: Jordan Montminy, Summers Henderson
Consulting Editor: Maeve O'Boyle
Composer: Sarah Lynch
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 2025
RT: 85 minutes
Website: https://www.myomahafilm.com/about
