Submitted Photo The documentary, “Our Towns,” featured in this poster, will be shown in Minot Tuesday.

The documentary, “Our Towns,” which paints a picture of small town America reinventing itself, will air in Minot at a showing hosted by a partnership of downtown groups Tuesday.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. at The Arlene Theater in the Mouse River Players building. The screening will begin at about 7:30 p.m. Following the show, the Minot Downtown Business & Professional Association will offer the audience a couple of Minot-focused questions and turn them loose to meet each other and share their thoughts.

“‘Our Towns’ tells the stories of communities across the country just like Minot, places both fighting for and redefining their futures. Watching it as a community creates an opportunity to gather people passionate about Minot and collectively imagine the place we want to become,” said Josh Wolsky, interim director for DBPA.

“Our Town” is the work of Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan. Based on the book “Our Towns: A 100,000 Mile Journey into the Heart of America,” by journalists James and Deborah Fallows, the film spotlights local initiatives and explores how a sense of community and common language of change can help people and towns find a different path to the future.

In 2011, the Fallows created a blogpost for The Atlantic magazine, asking its readers to share compelling stories about their towns – from economic setbacks to local struggles or achievements. Within a week, they received over 1,000 responses. For the next five years, they traveled the United States, exploring the changes taking place for what would become their bestselling book.

In 2018, filmmakers Ascher and Jordan joined them to revisit eight of those cities, including San Bernardino, California; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Columbus, Mississippi; Eastport, Maine; Charleston, West Virginia; and Bend, Oregon.

The film introduces viewers to a wide range of civic leaders, immigrants, educators, environmentalists, artists, students and others, witnessing their love for their communities and the innovative ways they are improving them.

The Minot screening is free and made possible by a partnership of DBPA, Mouse River Players, Main Street Books and The Starving Rooster. The Starving Rooster will be providing a drink service and Main Street Books will have copies of the Fallows’ book available for purchase.

Tickets are required to ensure compliance with building occupancy. Tickets can be obtained through the Downtown Minot Facebook page or Eventbrite by searching for Minot events or directly at: www.eventbrite.com/e/161683895885.