A history of nonviolence

But that narrow scope is exactly what it takes to make you feel the indignity being a second-class citizen in the most powerful country in the world. Never heard of Annie Lee Cooper or Jimmie Lee Jackson? After you see “Selma,” these real Americans will be burned into your brain.

Following the example set by “Lincoln,” “Selma” focuses on a single moment in the life of its subject: In this case, King’s march from Selma to Montgomery in protest of lack of legislation securing voting rights for blacks. It’s mind-blowing, given modern voter apathy, to witness the reenactment of hundreds of King’s followers falling to their knees outside a county courthouse, hands clasped behind their heads, willfully accepting a brutal beating just for the right to enter the building and register to vote. Im ages like this have the ability to ignite public action — such is the power of film.

David Oyelowo (“Interstellar”) gives a career-making performance as King, investing his characterization with an eerie, almost otherworldly calm in the face of the ugliness and violence he endures. We don’t hear him give King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, but the entire performance is filled with an unspoken optimism for a brighter future.

The film has been dogged with criticism about its depiction of President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson), which shows him as largely unsympathetic to King’s cause, but I think the filmmakers went this route to give King a human being he could look in the eye. It’s an ingenious way to depict King’s struggle against public apathy. And it’s only by addressing this indifference head-on that we as a nation will be able to move beyond our racist history and into a future where we can, in King’s words, transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

The January Indie Film Series at Studio C! is under way. This month’s schedule includes documentaries, foreign language films and two movies about jazz mentors with polar opposite temperaments.

“Art and Craft” (NR, 89 min.)
Documentary about an art forger and diagnosed schizophrenic who was busted after years of donating his paintings to museums across the country.

“Ernest and Celestine” (G, 80 min.)
Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Film last year about the unlikely friendship between a troubadour bear and an artist mouse.

“Force Majeure” (R, 120 min.)
A knee-jerk decision by a Swedish patriarch during an avalanche scare irreversibly changes his family’s dynamics in this insightful psychodrama.

“Keep on Keepin’ On” (R, 86 min.)
Documentary about the relationship between Clark Terry — mentor to jazz greats Miles Davis and Quincy Jones — and his newest protégé, a 23-year old blind piano prodigy.

“Last Days in Vietnam” (NR, 98 min.)
Documentary about the Fall of Saigon, when American soldiers and diplomats had to decide between obeying White House orders and evacuate only U.S. citizens or risk being charged with treason and save the lives of South Vietnamese citizens.

“Love is Strange” (R, 94 min.)
Outside forces put the recent marriage of Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) to the ultimate test in this critically acclaimed drama.

“Whiplash” (R, 107 minutes)
J.K. Simmons won a Golden Globe Sunday for his role as an abusive bandleader who attempts to pummel greatness out of a freshman jazz drummer.

Indie Film Series, through Feb. 5. Studio C! Meridian Mall, 1999 Central Park Drive, Okemos. (517) 393-7469, celebrationcinema.com/studioc.