Film Streams’ mission is to enhance the cultural environment of the Omaha-Council Bluffs area through the presentation and discussion of film as an art form.

Founded in 2005, Film Streams opened the new two-screen Ruth Sokolof Theater in July 2007, following a successful start-up capital campaign supported by individuals, families, foundations, and corporations throughout the Omaha-Council Bluffs area. The grand opening of our theater featured a pair of special events with Oscar-winning filmmaker and Film Streams Board Member Alexander Payne introducing our first repertory series, Alexander Payne Presents, along with an outstanding run of our theater’s initial first-run film, the Edith Piaf biopic LA VIE EN ROSE.

The following year brought approximately 40 first-run premieres to the Ruth Sokolof Theater, along with 10 repertory series and various special events with visiting filmmakers and guest speakers, including director Aaron Woolf (KING CORN), author, public radio host, and Film Streams Advisory Board Member Kurt Andersen (Out There: Nebraska and the Great Plains in the Movies), filmmaker Jennifer Venditti (BILLY THE KID), and director Yung Chang (UP THE YANGTZE).

We’ve also shared in many wonderful partnerships with fellow arts organizations and community groups, including the Omaha Public Library, [Downtown] Omaha Lit Fest, the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET), the Anti-Defamation League, Opera Omaha, Omaha's Darfur Community Organization, Lutheran Family Services, the Omaha Summer Arts Festival, Omaha Performing Arts, the Down Syndrome Parents Network, Boys & Girls Club, Girls Inc, Conference for Inclusive Communities, Creighton University, UNO’s OLLAS group, and the YWCA, among others.

In July 2008, we hosted our first annual fundraiser, Feature 2008, at the Holland Performing Arts Center, with Alexander Payne and acclaimed actress Laura Dern sharing the concert hall stage for an intimate conversation about Dern’s extraordinary career.

In March 2008, the New York Times published a feature story about Film Streams’ Ruth Sokolof Theater.