A Moving, Personal Journey Brings America’s Political Divide into Focus in “My Omaha,” Premiering on PBS’s Independent Lens October 5

An intimate portrait of family, race, and the uneasy search for truth inside modern America, Nick Beaulieu’s documentary feature debut “My Omaha” will premiere October 5, 2026, on PBS’s INDEPENDENT LENS.

Set in Omaha, Nebraska, where the legacies of Malcolm X, racial segregation, and political division still shape everyday life, “My Omaha” begins in 2016, as the emergence of Donald Trump intensifies political and racial divisions across the United States. Returning home after journalism school, Beaulieu turned his camera toward Omaha, where he grew up in its predominantly white suburbs but had never fully understood the lived realities of the historically Black neighborhoods of North Omaha.

“My Omaha” broadcasts 60 years after its greatest influence, Bill Jersey’s acclaimed 1966 documentary “A Time for Burning,” which was added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 2005 for its cultural and historical significance. Jersey appears as a key subject and mentor in “My Omaha,” in what became the prolific filmmaker’s final on-screen interview.

Seeking to better understand the forces separating these communities, Beaulieu meets activist Leo Louis II, a fiercely independent organizer whose work places him at the center of Omaha’s racial justice movement. Through Louis, Beaulieu encounters a side of his hometown he had never fully seen: a community confronting generations of disinvestment and discrimination while fighting to preserve its history, protect itself, and build a more equitable future.

At the same time, Beaulieu begins filming a series of increasingly difficult conversations with his father Randy, a staunch Trump supporter. When Randy is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, their political disagreements take on a new urgency, forcing father and son to confront the emotional distance between them before time runs out.

“Nick Beaulieu’s deeply personal journey through his hometown of Omaha speaks to something much larger: what happens to our relationships when the people we love see the world very differently,” said Lois Vossen, INDEPENDENT LENS founding executive producer. “By bringing Bill Jersey’s perspective into the story, ‘My Omaha’ creates a powerful connection between two generations of filmmakers asking what it means to reckon with a complicated history and still find a way forward.”

As Omaha faces protests, political unrest and the aftermath of a polarizing death connected to the movement, Beaulieu finds himself caught between a personal awakening, the realities Louis has spent his life navigating and the desire to remain connected to a father whose worldview he increasingly struggles to understand.

Spanning years of Beaulieu’s life and Omaha’s racial justice movement, “My Omaha” offers an unflinching portrait of one American city while asking broader questions about the country itself.

“My Omaha” will premiere on PBS’s INDEPENDENT LENS on October 5, 2026, (check local listings) and will be available to stream on the PBS app and PBS Documentaries YouTube Channel.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

Nick Beaulieu, Director/Writer/Producer

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 Las Tear” and produced short films for the PBS series AMERICAN PORTRAIT. He also works as a marketing consultant for filmmakers, film festivals, and distributors.

Doug Block, Producer

Doug Block is an award-winning filmmaker based in NYC. He’s best known for his personal documentaries, which include “The Kids Grow Up,” “112 Weddings,” and “51 Birch Street.” His producing credits include: “Silverlake Life: The View from Here” and “Jupiter’s Wife,” among others. He is also the founder of The D-Word, a free online community of documentary professionals.

CREDITS

Director

Nick Beaulieu

Producer            

Nick Beaulieu

Doug Block

Executive Producers 

Lois Vossen

Royd Chung

ABOUT INDEPENDENT LENS
Independent Lens is an award-winning documentary series that fosters understanding, seeks to build empathy, and encourages a more united society. Produced by ITVS, Independent Lens documentaries have premiered on PBS for 25 years and streamed on YouTube, helping Americans foster deeper connections between communities and themselves. From the Oscar-nominated I Am Not Your Negro to the Peabody-acclaimed docuseries Philly D.A. and the Emmy^Ⓡ award-winning The Invisible War, Independent Lens provides viewers with in-depth, nuanced storytelling reflecting the experiences of people from a variety of voices and communities. Funding is provided by the Action Circle for Independent Lens with major funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Acton Family Giving, Ford Foundation, and Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, with additional support from Artemis Rising Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, Park Foundation, Brandt Jackson Foundation, the deNovo Initiative, and RandomGood Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Stream anytime on the PBS app or on the PBS Documentaries YouTube channel. Learn more at pbs.org/independentlens

ABOUT ITVS

Independent Television Service (ITVS) is the largest co-producer of independent documentaries in the United States. For more than 30 years the San Francisco non-profit has funded and partnered with documentary filmmakers to produce and distribute untold stories. ITVS incubates and co-produces these award-winning titles and premieres them on our Emmy® Award-winning PBS series, INDEPENDENT LENS. ITVS titles reach audiences across PBS, WORLD, and NETA, with streaming access available on digital platforms including the PBS app and the PBS Documentaries channel on YouTube. ITVS is funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Acton Family Giving, Ford Foundation, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, Artemis Rising Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, Park Foundation, Brandt Jackson Foundation, the deNovo Initiative, and RandomGood Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. For more information, visit itvs.org

# # #