Alamo Drafthouse Raleigh is honored to name the critically acclaimed new documentary from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville, WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?, a Drafthouse Recommends selection. This is a designation placed on films that move, innovate, and inspire. To honor the work of the film’s subject, Fred Rogers, Alamo Drafthouse theaters nationwide will donate $1 from each WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? ticket sold to their local PBS stations. Additionally, throughout the month of June, guests who use drafthouse.com and the Alamo app will be able to add an optional PBS donation to any ticket purchase.

“We believe in the message of the film, in Mister Rogers' mission, and in the ongoing work of our friends at PBS KIDS,” says Alamo Drafthouse Chief Creative Officer Mike Sherrill. “So we’re delighted to team up with our guests to give back to an organization that’s benefitted kids and adults for five decades.”

Opening weekend for the Raleigh premiere of WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? will take place June 22, 2018 and includes a special guest appearance, as well as an opportunity to give back to the community. David Newell, who played an iconic role on the series as the mailman, will be introducing the film at the Raleigh Alamo Dafthouse premiere on June 22 and June 23, 2018. Following each showing, David Newell will partake in Q & A sessions along with a meet and greet opportunity on June 23. Additionally, a food drive will be taking place that weekend with all proceeds going to the Food Bank of NC. Guests are encouraged to donate 2-4 items food items.

20 FEET FROM STARDOM director Morgan Neville’s WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? is an emotional and in-depth look at a man who truly believed in the value of respect, kindness, and care -- for children, for the disadvantaged, and for everyone. Through the use of extensive archival footage and interviews with family, friends and colleagues, WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? tells the story of Fred McFeely Rogers and his life’s work. A bullied youth, an ordained minister, an early participant in television’s first decade -- these experiences all led to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, the innovative mix of education and whimsical make-believe that began airing on American public broadcasters fifty years ago.

“I give an expression of care every day to each child, to help him realize that he is unique,” said Rogers in a 1969 appearance before a Senate committee to defend federal funding for public broadcasting. “I end the program by saying, ‘You've made this day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you, and I like you, just the way you are.’ And I feel that if we in public television can only make it clear that feelings are mentionable and manageable, we will have done a great service for mental health.”

For six years Alamo Drafthouse has used the Drafthouse Recommends program to champion great films to the widest possible audience long before awards buzz sets in. Selections have ranged from documentaries (I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO) to foreign gems (THE HANDMAIDEN) to future Oscar winners like CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, GET OUT, and THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI. To announce the inclusion of WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? in the program, Alamo Drafthouse’s creative team produced two videos -- one focusing on why it was selected, and another highlighting an iconic moment in Mister Rogers’ history.

WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? tickets are on sale now at drafthouse.com and the Alamo app on iOS and Android for Alamo Drafthouse Raleigh.

WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? links

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