"Running America" only in Digiplex Theaters May 3 - 9

“RUNNING AMERICA”

Digiplex Exclusive

May 3 - 9

In "Running America," ultra-marathoners Charlie Engle and Marshall Ulrich, the only person in the world to complete the Triple Crown of Extreme Sports, team up to press the human physical and mental strengths to their limits on a record breaking run from San Francisco to New York. 

The challenge: run 3,063 miles in 46 days, starting in San Francisco and running to Times Square in NYC.  To accomplish this record-breaking milestone, they have to run close to SEVENTY miles per day!

Charlie Engle and Marshall Ulrich in "Running America"

This ground breaking documentary film follows Charlie and Marshall on their journey through sheer determination and willpower in this amazing physical and mental endurance event.

Patience, perseverance and faith drive them as they experience extreme fatigue as well challenging and dark moments of self-doubt and injury. 

"Running America" follows the highs and lows of their incredible feat as they run the equivalent of 117 marathons over 52 days.  Their epic run is their quest to reach out to ordinary Americans around the country, raising awareness for the United Way and drawing attention to childhood obesity.

Charlie Engle, the star of “Running the Sahara,” became one of the first people to run across the entire Sahara desert over 111 days, all 4,300 miles.  Ulrich, has completed 116 ultra marathons and reached the top of all Seven Summits on all seven continents.

“Running America” is the eighth film in the DigiNext series, a curated series of independent films fresh from festivals around the world.  "Running America" will debut exclusively at Digiplex Theaters across the country.  Digiplex will donate 30% of ticket sales to OneFundBoston to aid victims of the Boston Marathon attack.

Exclusive Q&A with ultramarathoner Charlie Engle:

1.How long did it take to plan Running America?

I first had the idea for Running America sometime around 2003. In truth, every ultra distance runner thinks about doing this run. It is an iconic symbol of freedom and there is a long tradition of running from coast to coast. Like most of my painful ideas, Running America sat dormant for years but it was really always there, just waiting for me to commit. That happened in 2007 when I decided it was time to get serious. I had just completed my run across the Sahara Desert and I knew I wanted to start planning the next thing.  As it turns out, the logistics planning was equally as hard as the physical undertaking itself.

2.How did you train to run 70 miles every day? –Running America presented a problem for me physically. I needed to run almost 500 miles per week to set a new record. But to run that much in training was just not possible or healthy. So I focused more on just trying to be healthy. Experience had taught me that my body would adapt to the stress during the run but to beat myself up further before the run just didn't make sense. As it turned out, I was not able to stay healthy before the run due to the stress of preparation and training. I was working and training for 18 hours every day and I

contracted a bad staph infection. If I had to do it again (and I just might), I would try to delegate much more of the logistics to others and just focus on my physical health.

3. How did you feel when the doctor told you that you would do permanent damage to your leg if you didn't stop? Did you consider continuing anyway?

The moment when the doctor told me I had to quit is forever etched in my mind. It brought out a mixture of emotions for me because I was desperate to continue but I was in so much pain, I just couldn't see a way to finish this run. I was severely depressed at this point of the expedition. I felt like I was letting down so many people but I had accept what the doc was telling me. All my toes on my right foot were numb at the time and I knew he was telling me the truth. Through my sadness over the situation, I was still able to see that this was an opportunity if I just looked at it the right way. I needed to accept that things had changed and that my job now was to support my fellow runner and to find a way to make something positive out of this mess.

4.How did it feel to run with the kids in Sydney, Iowa?

The day that I ran into Sydney, Iowa is one of the best days of my life. These kids didn't care about any records or injuries or sponsors. All they wanted to do was run and to me acknowledged. I literally felt a weight lifted from my heart when I met these kids and ran into Sydney. At that moment I knew that everything was going to be alright if I just kept moving forward.  Those kids saved me.

5. Do you plan to try again to set the Running America record?

I think about trying again every day. I have so many places I still want to run across in the world but I can say for sure that I will try again to break this record. There is a reason that the record has existed for 33 years now. It's simply the most difficult running record on the world to break. That's the very reason I am so drawn to it. All the odds are against anyone ever being able to break it. But just because something may seem impossible, that doesn't

mean we shouldn't try.

"Running America"

May 3 - 9

Only in Digiplex Theaters

Tom Cruise stars in Oblivion at Digiplex Theaters

“Oblivion”

Digiplex Theaters on April 19th

Sixty years after the Earth was nearly destroyed by an alien attack, former marine commander, Jack Harper, played by Tom Cruise is one of the last few drone repairmen on earth.

The year is 2077, and Harper, also known as Tech 49, is among the few humans stationed on the planet following a nuclear attack. Mandated to remain behind on Earth to repair unmanned drones, Cruise’s character is charged with ridding the wasteland of any remaining alien life.

Tom Cruise stars in "Oblivion" at Digiplex Theaters

Living above in Sky Tower 49, a military outpost suspended above the earth’s surface, Jack patrols from thousands of feet above extracting crucial resources after decades of war with the Scavengers, or Scavs.  Following the catastrophic destruction of the earth, Jack’s post-apocalyptic existence involves repairing remaining automated drones and patrolling for survivors who must evacuate to Saturn’s planet Titan.

Haunted by flashbacks and recurring dreams of a mysterious woman, the arrival of a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft triggers a chain of events that compels Jack to re-examine his life.  Jack ultimately realizes that his friends and enemies are not at all who he thinks they are and begins to question his mission and what he knows about himself. 

Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman also stars in Oblivion with Tom Cruise as a resistance leader stationed on Earth.  Melissa Leo, Andrea Riseborough and Olga Kurylenko also star in this groundbreaking science fiction action film playing in Digiplex Theaters on April 19. 

Oblivion 

Digiplex Theaters April 19

Kinderblock 66: Return to Buchenwald Film Debut ONLY at Digiplex Theaters April 12 - 18

“Kinderblock 66: Return to Buchenwald”

Exclusively at Digiplex Theaters 
April 12 – 18

A Story of Survival

On April 11, 1945, Buchenwald was liberated. Nearly 1,000 boys survived. Sixty-five years later, on April 11, 2010 several of the surviving boys from block 66 returned to Weimer and to Buchenwald.  “Kinderblock 66: Return to Buchenwald” is their story.

This profoundly moving film provides a powerful look into the harrowing experiences and the lives of the Holocaust survivors from a children’s barrack, Block 66, at the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp. 

The Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany was a Nazi slave labor camp where thousands of Jews were killed, many more were also sent to Auschwitz to die.  A large growing number of teenage European Jewish boys were being transferred to Buchenwald.  

The German Communist-led underground there made a conscious decision to protect them.  The youths did not work and were cared for and protected by the block leaders, Antonin Kalina, a Czech Communist and his deputy, Gustav Schiller, a Polish Jew.  

The leaders strove until the last days of the war to keep the boys from danger...seeing in them the hope for the future.  On April 11, 1945, Buchenwald was liberated. Nearly 1000 boys survived.

Kinderblock survivor Israel-Laszio Lazar at Buchenwald

Sixty-five years later, four of the surviving boys journey to reunite at Buchenwald to tell their story for a commemoration of the liberation of the camp by Allied forces.  The film depicts their survival while incarcerated in a Nazi concentration camp in a riveting story of good triumphing over evil.

This is the story of Naftali-Duro Furst from Czechoslovakia, Pavel Kohn of Prague, Israel-Laszio Lazar of Romania and Alex Moskovic of Czechoslovakia.  Four boys desperate to live....they survived as boys and came back as men to tell their story.

"Kinderblock 66: Return to Buchenwald" 

Digiplex Theaters April 12 - 14

 "Q&A" with Buchenwald survivor Alex Moscovic and filmmakers Brad Rothschild and Steven Moscovic on Sunday, April 14 immediately following the film screening.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation in 3D at Digiplex

G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3D

at Digiplex Theaters

Framed for a crime they did not commit, the G.I. Joes must not only fight Cobra but also vindicate themselves to a government that condemned them.  A follow-up to the 2009 blockbuster G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the team in G.I. Joe: Retaliation is forced to contend with treats from within the government that jeopardize their existence.

Following a deadly terrorist attack which leaves U.S. defenses scattered and vulnerable, the few remaining Joes rely on the help of the original Joe, the “Real American Hero,” Joe Colton, played by Bruce Willis, to hatch a plan to win back the White House and defeat an evil terrorist group’s ruthless leader.

This gritty action adventure film features a star-studded cast including Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson and Channing Tatum.  Director Jon Chu pairs returning characters Duke (Channing Tatum) and Snake Eyes (Ray Park) with a slew of new heros; Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki), Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), as well as Firefly (Ray Stevenson).

G.I. Joe: Retaliation at Digiplex Theaters

Long time G.I. Joe fans will enjoy the fight sequences between fan-favorite characters and new weapons of mass destruction. The 3D film takes the movie to a whole new level and brings the audience even closer to the non-stop action with gravity-defying acrobatics and impressive visual and special effects.  G.I. Joe Retaliation delivers a powerful punch.  Playing at Digiplex Theaters.

Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" at Digiplex Theaters March 24 & 25

Charles Dickens’“Great Expectations”

Digiplex Theaters

March 24 & 25

“Great Expectations,” one of the most popular Charles Dickens classics comes to life on the big screen making theater history from London’s Vaudeville Theater.  Since its original publication 150 years ago, “Great Expectations,” has been portrayed in film, TV and musicals, but this is the first full-length play from London’s West End. 

Written by one of the greatest and most prolific writers, this top-notch performance of “Great Expectations” celebrates Dickens’ epic storytelling and larger than life characters in the first ever stage adaptation in London.

The lavish and spectacular theatrical show brings some of the most memorable characters ever created to life.  Pip, the orphan and the film’s protagonist, the beautiful, chilling Estella, the terrifying convict Magwitch, who changes Pip’s life, the manipulative lawyer Jaggers, and the tragic, mysterious Miss Havisham, the wealthy spinster who lives a life of seclusion following the loss of her love.

"Great Expectations" at Digiplex Theaters 

This top-notch performance of “Great Expectations” provides a dramatic portrayal of Pip’s growth and personal development.  Pip, with his ‘great expectations,’ feels guilt for a crime he committed at an early age and lives in fear of being arrested.  In addition to crime, the film also depicts ambition, social class and the importance of social advancement in the class system of Victorian England.

Audiences will become completely immersed in the intensity of the characters’ affection, loyalty and conscience.  Although Pip is an idealist, his desire for self-improvement and his ambitions for advancement in life motivate him to have “great expectations” about his future.  In true Dickens’s style, Great Expectations’ classic characters reflect the events of the time in this outstanding and evocative production.  See it at Digiplex Theaters March 24 and 25th!

"Great Expectations"

Digiplex Theaters

March 24 & 25

"Running the Sahara" March 15 - 21 at Digiplex Theaters

 

“Running the Sahara”

March 15 – 21

Digiplex Theaters

Most people cannot imagine running a marathon, not to mention two …. in one day.  “Running the Sahara” breaks all records when three ultra marathoners set a goal to run across six African countries, anticipating two marathons per day, for eighty days ... without a day off.

This powerful and inspirational film captures the unprecedented quest and incredible journey as Charlie Engle, Kevin Lin and Ray Zahab run over 4,300 miles in 111 consecutive days through 6 countries in Africa.  “Running the Sahara” chronicles the runners’ journey as they tackle not only the elements, but also unimaginable physical and emotional obstacles.

Charlie Engle, Kevin Lin and Ray Zahab in "Running the Sahara"

Charlie Engle from the United States, Kevin Lin from Taiwan, and Ray Zahab from Canada, have run together in marathons before. But this time is different. This isn't a race. It's a grueling test of will and a chance to accomplish something that no known person has ever achieved. Their perseverance fighting through injury and extreme fatigue to reach their goal changed them forever.

"Running the Sahara" Executive Producer
 and Narrator Matt Damon (center)
 

The newest in the DigiNext Film series, the feature documentary “Running the Sahara” is narrated and executive produced by Academy Award winner Matt Damon and directed by Academy Award winner James Moll.  Audiences will marvel watching the life changing experiences and impact of the runners’ tremendous test of strength and determination as they brave the elements in one

of the most extreme physical environments.

Encounters with the Tuaregs of Niger, the Pyramids of Giza and the solitude of the Tenere Desert abound as they run through Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, and Egypt.  In addition to the expedition’s incredible achievement, the film also chronicles the attention and support that they are bringing to the water crisis in Africa through H2O Africa.

Watch the amazing journey of the runners on their quest, toward the finish line building in great anticipation as to whether this amazing human feat is possible.  Watch their journey become legend in “Running the Sahara” at Digiplex Theaters on March 15 – 21.

 "Running the Sahara"

March 15 - 21

Digiplex Theaters

"An Evening with Cystal Pite" Nederlands Dans Theater March 3 and 5th at Digiplex Theaters

“An Evening with Crystal Pite”

Nederlands Dans Theater

 March 3 and 5  

Digiplex Theaters

Audiences are treated to a stunning performance from a rising star in the dance world, Crystal Pite, the Vancouver based performer and choreographer whose fluid, organic and poetic style shines in this rich innovative dance performance. 

A master storyteller, Pite allows the audience to interpret its own story line from her ballet, putting viewers in the dancers’ shoes as they contemplate love, loss and conflict translated through intense dance movements.

Through the integration of powerful movement, music and rich visual design, Pite’s work prompts the audience to reflect upon their own lives.  Her innovative dance approach is renowned for integrating thrilling and highly structured movements into the music, text and rich visual design. 

Both of the works by Crystal Pite  and the Nederlands Dans Theater deal in abstract themes and are centered on the theme of the Frontier, the border between reality and the unknown. 

Nederlands Dans Theater
"An Evening with Crystal Pite"

This engaging performance features the stunning intensity of dancers’ hyper articulated bodies attached to one another, as they move with astonishing ease. The first half of the performance looks inward, towards the frontiers of what we know about the human mind.

The second ballet looks outward to the border of the universe and explores the dark and mysterious forces that form our world. The precise and sinewy movements of the dancers make them appear to be suspended by gravity, dangling between what we know and do not know about the mind and the universe. 

Crystal Pite’s signature work fuses this distinct and complex choreography with classical elements for a truly unique performance.  Presenting life as an epic tale, Pite strives to reflect the body’s role in providing the illustrative shape of love, conflict and loss in this ballet.

Join us at Digiplex Theaters for the Nederlands Dans Theater “A Evening with Crystal Pite” on March 3 and 5^th.

 “An Evening with Crystal Pite”

Nederlands Dans Theater

March 3 and 5^th at Digiplex Theaters