Academy Museum of Motion Pictures features ELCA film A Time for Burning

​CHICAGO — The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles will feature A Time for Burning, a film of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The film will be shown Dec. 17 as part of the museum series "Works of Enduring Importance: 35 Years of the National Film Registry."

Produced by Lutheran Film Associates in 1966, A Time for Burning is a 58-minute, black-and-white cinema verite documentary that chronicles the struggle between the pastor of Augustana Lutheran Church in Omaha, Neb., and his all-white congregation as he encourages members to reach out to a neighboring Black church. Bill Jersey, one of the pioneers of cinema verite, and Barbara Connell directed the film, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

A Time for Burning was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2005 and remastered in 2020 by the Academy Film Archive. It was re-released in 2023.

The film is streaming on The Criterion Channel.

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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 3 million members in more than 8,700 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org