Honoring the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, the team at Celebration Cinema’s will showcase the motion picture “Just Mercy” at all ten of its first-run theatres across the state including Celebration Cinema in Benton Harbor on Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year.
Celebration’s ten first run theatres include not only Benton Harbor, but also theatres in Grand Rapids, Lansing, Okemos, Muskegon, Mount Pleasant, and Portage. All will offer special $5.00 pricing for all show times of the new film “Just Mercy” next Monday, January 20th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Emily Loeks is Community Affairs Director for Studio C which operates the theatre chain. She says, “For years, our company has highlighted a variety of current or special event films on MLK Day to encourage reflection on our history and the continuing civil rights work in this country,” and adds, “Just Mercy is a great choice for this year. We are happy that the film’s wide release makes it available in all of our first-run Michigan theatres.”
A powerful and thought-provoking true story, “Just Mercy” follows young civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper legal representation. Lead actors, Michael B. Jordan, Brie Larson and Jamie Foxx, each of whom have Marvel movies on their resume, identify Bryan Stevenson as a “real life superhero.”
In Grand Rapids, there will be a MLK Day movie & conversation event at Celebration Cinema Studio Park, hosted in collaboration with Amplify GR, the Christian Reformed Church Race Relations committee, Metro Health and GR Initiatives for Leaders. Tickets to that event will be available for $5.00. The post-film conversation will be facilitated by Pastor Julian Newman from Tribes Church. Panelists will include:
- Holly Honig-Josephson, Vice President, Humanity for Prisoners
- Judge Christina Elmore, 17th District Court
- Attorneys: Jeshua Lauka, David Wierenga & Lauka PC
- Alexandria Vaughn-Earvin, Forest Hills Central High School Senior
- Commissioner Senita Lenear, 3rd Ward
- Mr. Michael Daniels, Executive Director of Ingenium
Tickets for all locations and show times of the movie, and for the movie and discussion event at Studio Park, can be secured in advance at celebrationcinema.com or, as available, at the box office.
Studio C creates space where the story happens, giving diverse communities a place to gather around movies, music, dining, and events. Studio C companies, include Celebration Cinema, with 12 locations in west and mid-Michigan including the Getty Drive In; ShowSpan, the premier producer of consumer shows in the Midwest; the Listening Room, a state of the art music venue; and One Twenty Three Tavern are owned by John D. Loeks.
In the photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market, lead actor Michael B. Jordan is shown at the premier of Just Mercy at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019.
