My Omaha will be on PBS’s Independent Lens on October 5th and will be available afterward on PBS’s app. The documentary looks at the political attitudes and history of Omaha, Nebraska. Here’s the press release with al the details about the film and how to see it this Fall:
MY OMAHA EXPLORES FAMILY, RACE AND THE SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUND IN A DIVIDED AMERICA
PREMIERES ON OCTOBER 5, 2026 ON INDEPENDENT LENS,
THE PBS APP AND PBS DOCUMENTARIES YOUTUBE CHANNEL
“An ambitious documentary about divided families living in small-town
America and the role national politics can play in driving
an even deeper wedge between generations.”
— Alison Foreman, Indiewire
“This is a staggering work that truly gives us an insight into the seeming chasms in America, that are actually bridged by love and emotion.”
— Steve Kopian, Unseen Films
“My Omaha teaches us that it is the pursuit, the seeking of truth,
that must continue. We must look at the change ourselves before
seeking to change the world. This picture has a mighty heart.”
— Kent Hill, Film Threat
SYNOPSIS
Directed by Nick Beaulieu, produced by Emmy Award®-winner Doug Block (51 Birch Street), and made in association with Kartemquin Films, the timely documentary chronicles Omaha’s racial justice movement and the filmmaker’s efforts to reconnect with his terminally ill father, a devoted Trump supporter 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, a Knee Knocker Production in association with Kartemquin Films, will appear on Independent Lens on Oct 5, 2026 and be available for streaming until November 30, 2026 via the PBSApp and on the PBS Documentaries YouTube channel Oct 5-Oct 20, 2026.
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.
MY OMAHA (2025)
Written & Directed by: Nick Beaulieu
Produced by: Nick Beaulieu, Doug Block
Consulting Producer: Judith Mizrachy
Director of Photography: James Zanders, Nick Beaulieu
Editors: Jordan Montminy, Summers Henderson
Consulting Editor: Maeve O’Boyle
Composer: Sarah Lynch
Genre: Documentary
