Documentary ‘Run Free’ a portrait of inspirational runner Caballo Blanco (+trailers)

If last weekend’s turnout for the Wichita Brewing Co. marathon relay race is any indicator, Wichita is a running town. More than 100 teams of six people participated in the race.

So interest should be high for a special screening of “Run Free: The True Story of Caballo Blanco” at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Palace Theatre, 535 S. Ridge Road Circle. Tickets are $12 in advance at www.imathlete.com/events/runfree or $15 at the door. The screening is sponsored by Run Wichita.

The film is a feature-length documentary about running legend Micah True, better known as Caballo Blanco – which means “the White Horse” – who was the focal point of Christopher McDougall’s 2009 best-selling book “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen,” about the Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico. Also known as the Raramuri, or “Running People,” they are some of the best long-distance runners in the world.

True lived and ran with the Tarahumara after moving to Copper Canyon in the 1990s. He created the 50-mile Copper Canyon Ultra-Marathon to honor their running traditions and contribute to their sustainability. Now in its 13th year, the race attracts some of the best runners in the world.

Sterling Noren, a filmmaker from Seattle who met True in 2009, directed the film. Most of the footage was recorded in the weeks leading up to the 2012 race. Shortly after that race, tragedy struck: True disappeared in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico during his daily run. His body was recovered several days later, found on a trail in a deserted canyon.

Noren has said the film is meant to preserve True’s legacy, to tell his story “in a way that was exciting and authentic, so that viewers could get a sense of what an amazing and inspiring person he was.”

The film has won several awards and is on a nationwide tour.

A percentage of the film’s profits and DVD sales will benefit Norawas de Raramuri (Friends of the Running People), the nonprofit agency founded by True to preserve traditional Tarahumara culture.

For more information about the film, go to www.runfreemovie.com.

New Web series debuts – Lawrence-based husband-and-wife filmmaking team Jeremy Osbern and Misti Boland have a created a new eight-episode Web series that will debut on Thursday.

“Red Bird,” which was shot mostly in and around Lawrence, is a western set in the 1860s. It follows a woman named Kitty Mae (Alexandra Goodman), who watched in horror as a gang of thieves invaded her town, killed all the men, set the town on fire and then killed her 12-year-old son. Bent on revenge, she hunts down and kills every man involved in the taking of her son’s life.

Along the way, she must evade her estranged husband-turned-bounty-hunter (Ian Stark) and her gun-wielding father (Michael McShane of “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”), before finally confronting the man responsible for it all, Bloody Bill (John Prosky of “A.I.” and “Fringe”). But her final act of revenge creates a whole new spiral of violence.

Also starring in the series is Armin Shimerman (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”).

Episodes 1 and 2 will be released on Thursday. Episodes 3, 4 and 5 will be released on March 31. Episodes 6, 7 and 8 will be released on April 7.

There is no charge. To view the series and get more information, go to www.redbirdseries.com.

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 8:18 AM with the headline "Documentary ‘Run Free’ a portrait of inspirational runner Caballo Blanco (+trailers)."