Slamdance 2025: My Omaha and The Hole Story

Today, we’re looking at two documentaries fresh from Slamdance: One focusing on politics and social justice in Omaha, and another exploring the truth of a mysterious hole in northern California.

My Omaha (Nick Beaulieu)

In 2016, filmmaker Nick Bealieu returned to his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska for a two-pronged project. Over the years, he chronicles the growing social justice movement in town, Omaha’s historical racial issues, and the violence that they seemingly constantly endure. In addition, Nick also attempts to dissect his relationship with his very politically-conservative father, Randy, how opposed their views have become, and how to reconcile that in concurrence with his father’s stage-four cancer diagnosis.

This multifaceted approach to a film evokes an appropriate mix of emotions. Anyone in a situation similar to Nick and his father can feel the frustration, the sadness, and the conflict that comes from the realization that someone you love not only has a completely differing view of the world, but holds morals and values starkly in contrast to yours. The conversations they have, even the difficult ones that make no progress, can be tough to watch and at times all too familiar. At the same time, Nick’s conversations with pillars of the North Omaha community such as Leo are both inspiring as well as angering as we see not only the progress the city is making, but the struggles it has endured and continues to endure. He attends town halls and local conversations about violence and shootings, one where a future shooter happens to be in attendance, and rides around with Robert, a founder of Project K.N.O.S.E., who patrols the streets and deescalates potentially fatal conflicts.

My Omaha is both a touching personal introspective and a powerful social documentary. Rather than tackling the two separately, we’re able to see how social issues, family issues, race, and politics all interweave and can impact all aspects of our lives and touch us in many different yet concurrent ways. In the current political climate, those who have the emotional bandwidth for such viewing will find this compelling and even inspiring.

The Hole Story (Elijah Sullivan)

Mount Shasta, California. July, 2009. A group of timber markers went out into the woods and stumbled across a hole in the ground. Not just any hole: A massive, sixty-foot deep gouge in the earth. Others found a pulley and cable setup in the trees nearby, as if to lift dirt or other objects out of the hole. Naturally, the U.S. Forest Service opened an investigation, geologists were called in, and the public started getting curious. Who did this? For how long? Why? Filmmaker Elijah Sullivan talks to those involved in the investigation, public access hosts, cryptozoologists, conspiracy theorists, and everyone in between  in a quest for answers that seem only to beg even more questions.

Formatted like a true-crime documentary, The Hole Story doesn’t feel like even half of the whole story. Within this search for the truth about this massive hole is a roaming exploration of mythos and misinformation within the Mount Shasta community. Every time you feel like you’ve started to touch on the truth of something, we pivot into a completely different conversation or idea. From a conspiracy theory about the hidden continent of Lemuria beneath Mt. Shasta to the “I Am” temple dating back to the 1930s, every story becomes more eyebrow-raising than the last. Then, it all starts to come together.

At just under eighty-eight minutes, this is the perfect late-night, junk-food documentary about the craziest legend you’ve never heard of. Whether you love mysteries, conspiracy theories, or just a good story, The Hole Story has something for you.

Check out more of our Slamdance 2025 coverage here!