THIS WORLD IS NOT MY OWN Free Screening

Chewing gum sculptures, a wealthy gallerist, a firebrand wrestler, a notorious M**der case and the segregated south – it’s all part of Nellie Mae Rowe’s boundless universe. This World is Not My Own reimagines this self-taught artist’s world and her life.

Beginning with her birthday July 4, 1900, artist Nellie Mae Rowe’s life spanned the 20th century. For most of her life, Nellie made art in obscurity, propelled by a force she viewed as a God-given gift. As the daughter of a sharecropper and former slave, she made art from whatever she could find. As an adult, she transformed her home into her “Playhouse,” an imaginative oasis filled with vibrant drawings, handmade sculptures and dolls, and collected objects. Six years before her death, a wealthy gallerist, Judith Alexander, “discovered” and introduced her work to the art world.

Over four acts, This World is Not My Own traces the lifespan of an artist who struggles to dedicate her life to art while exploring the personal and political events that shaped her singular body of work. The film mixes traditional documentary techniques with animations and scripted scenes shot in intricately detailed sets to bring her dynamic story to life. Actresses, Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black, Greedy People) and Amy Warren (Gravity, Boardwalk Empire), perform scripted scenes based on Nellie Mae Rowe quotes. Their recorded voices and movements make the animated Nellie and Judith come to life.

The Mississippi Film Society, in partnership with the Mississippi Museum of Art, the Mississippi Humanities Council, and the Mississippi Film Office is pleased to invite you to a special free screening of The World is Not My Own on Thursday night, February 13, at 7 p.m. at the Mississippi Museum of Art. Tickets are first-come, first-served and limited to 4 per order. The Museum galleries will be open until 6 p.m. and a cash bar will be available from 6:00 p.m. throughout the evening. The screening will be followed by a conversation with the film's producer and co-writer Ruchi Mital and Chase Quinn, Creative Director and Curator of Special Projects at the Mississippi Museum of Art.

This screening of The World is Not My Own is part of SouthArts’ Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers. Since its inception in 1975, Southern Circuit has brought influential independent filmmakers and their films from around the country to communities throughout the South. The program is made possible through a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Host or Publisher MISSISSIPPI FILM SOCIETY