‘MLK/FBI’ documentary to open Jan. 15

The Rehoboth Beach Film Society’s Cinema Art Theater will present “MLK/FBI,” starting Friday, Jan. 15. This intriguing documentary lays out a detailed account of FBI surveillance of one of America’s most visible activists. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered today as an American hero: a bridge-builder, a shrewd political tactician, and a moral leader. Yet throughout his history-altering political career, he was often treated by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies like an enemy of the state.

Award-winning editor and director Sam Pollard presents an account of the events that dogged King’s activism throughout the ’50s and ’60s, fueled by the racist and red-baiting paranoia of J. Edgar Hoover. In crafting a rich archival tapestry, featuring some revelatory restored footage of King, Pollard urges viewers to remember that true American progress is always hard-won.

Screening times are 3 p.m., Friday, Jan. 15; 6 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 16; 2 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 17; 2 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 20; and 3 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 21. Admission is $8 for members and $11 for nonmembers. Customers are encouraged to purchase tickets online at rehobothfilm.com. If seats are available, tickets can be purchased at the theater starting 30 minutes prior to each screening.