The magazine The Nation was founded 150 years ago "by anti-slavery abolitionists four months after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln." Its birthday celebration is touching down in Tucson for the Festival of Books this weekend. More information about The Nation's writers' events here. 

Sunday at 7 p.m., the Loft will be screening the regional premier of the documentary Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation, with the filmmaker Barbara Kopple and The Nation's John Nichols in attendance. Before the showing, at 6pm, there will be a reception honoring Kopple with " the Lofty Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of her important and influential contributions to the world of documentary filmmaking." Anyone who buys a ticket to the film can attend, on a first-come, first-admitted basis.

Kopple won two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature, one for her 1990 film, American Dream, and the other for her 1991 film, Harlan County USA. Here's more about her filmography.

Barbara Kopple produced and directed Harlan County USA and American Dream, both winners of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 1991, Harlan County USA was named to the National Film Registry by the Librarian of Congress and designated an American Film Classic. Harlan County USA was recently restored and preserved by the Women’s Preservation Fund and the Academy Film Archive, and was featured as part of the Sundance Collection at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005. The Criterion Collection released a DVD of Harlan County USA in 2006. Other works include Running from Crazy, Fight to Live, A Force of Nature, Gun Fight, The House of Steinbenner, Woodstock: Now and Then, Shut Up and Sing, Wild Man Blues, and Havoc.