Bernard-Henri Lévy on a young girl in Slava Ukraini saying she read Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers and Queen Margot: “She lived in a bunker, a basement, underground. The only thing which kept her connected was a book, literature.”
Last year when I spoke with Bernard-Henri Lévy on The Will To See (Une Autre Idée Du Monde), co-directed with Marc Roussel, he moved up our scheduled time to meet so we could watch the final French presidential debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. When we met last week for a conversation on Slava Ukraini, again co-directed with Marc Roussel (produced by François Margolin with associate producer Emily Hamilton and advisor Gilles Hertzog) it was the afternoon of President Joe Biden’s early morning announcement that he will be running for re-election, and four days before Roy Wood Jr. (executive producer of Cj Hunt’s documentary The Neutral Ground...
Last year when I spoke with Bernard-Henri Lévy on The Will To See (Une Autre Idée Du Monde), co-directed with Marc Roussel, he moved up our scheduled time to meet so we could watch the final French presidential debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. When we met last week for a conversation on Slava Ukraini, again co-directed with Marc Roussel (produced by François Margolin with associate producer Emily Hamilton and advisor Gilles Hertzog) it was the afternoon of President Joe Biden’s early morning announcement that he will be running for re-election, and four days before Roy Wood Jr. (executive producer of Cj Hunt’s documentary The Neutral Ground...
- 5/1/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The Neutral Ground co-screenwriter James Hamilton with Anne-Katrin Titze: “The director, Cj Hunt, is my longtime best friend. Our comedy brain had to be working and our storytelling brain had to be working." Photo: Ed Bahlman
Cj Hunt’s The Neutral Ground, co-written with James Hamilton (comedian and journalist) and Jane Geisler (who is also the editor), shot by Paavo Hanninen, executive produced by Roy Wood Jr. and Sally Jo Fifer, produced by Darcy McKinnon with co-producer Jeremy Blum, was a highlight of the 20th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary is also a co-production of the PBS program Pov (season 34), executive produced by Erika Dilday, Justine Nagan, and Chris White, and Itvs, in association with the Center for Asian American Media.
Cj Hunt in front of the Robert E Lee statue in Richmond, Virginia
In addition, at Tribeca, Cj Hunt received an Albert Maysles Award Special Jury...
Cj Hunt’s The Neutral Ground, co-written with James Hamilton (comedian and journalist) and Jane Geisler (who is also the editor), shot by Paavo Hanninen, executive produced by Roy Wood Jr. and Sally Jo Fifer, produced by Darcy McKinnon with co-producer Jeremy Blum, was a highlight of the 20th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary is also a co-production of the PBS program Pov (season 34), executive produced by Erika Dilday, Justine Nagan, and Chris White, and Itvs, in association with the Center for Asian American Media.
Cj Hunt in front of the Robert E Lee statue in Richmond, Virginia
In addition, at Tribeca, Cj Hunt received an Albert Maysles Award Special Jury...
- 4/9/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Three communications execs — Marlea Willis of Marlea Willis Communications, Michael Krause of Foundry Communications and Jolyn Matsumuro of The Brookes Company — are starting a new entertainment PR agency, Luminary Communications.
The PBS docu series Pov, Fishbowl Films, Film Movement, Corinth Films, IndiePix Films and Time Life are initial clients of the boutique agency headquartered in New York and Los Angeles.
Willis recently spearheaded campaigns for doc The Neutral Ground directed by Cj Hunt and executive produced by Roy Wood, Jr; Pov’s first miniseries And She Could Be Next, executive produced by Ava DuVernay, directed by Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia; and Harlem music docuseries By Whatever Means Necessary executive produced by Nina Yang Bongiovi and Forest Whitaker and directed by Keith McQuirter.
Willis has been a festival PR manager for the Tribeca Film Festival, and led campaigns for films in competition at Sundance, TIFF, SXSW, Full Frame and the San Francisco International Film Festival.
The PBS docu series Pov, Fishbowl Films, Film Movement, Corinth Films, IndiePix Films and Time Life are initial clients of the boutique agency headquartered in New York and Los Angeles.
Willis recently spearheaded campaigns for doc The Neutral Ground directed by Cj Hunt and executive produced by Roy Wood, Jr; Pov’s first miniseries And She Could Be Next, executive produced by Ava DuVernay, directed by Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia; and Harlem music docuseries By Whatever Means Necessary executive produced by Nina Yang Bongiovi and Forest Whitaker and directed by Keith McQuirter.
Willis has been a festival PR manager for the Tribeca Film Festival, and led campaigns for films in competition at Sundance, TIFF, SXSW, Full Frame and the San Francisco International Film Festival.
- 7/19/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
The Critics Choice Association awarded “Summer of Soul” the top prize at the sixth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, which honors the best achievements in nonfiction released in theaters, on TV, or on major digital platforms. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s look at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival took home the most awards of any film, with five in total.
This year’s nominees were led by “Ascension” and “Summer of Soul,” two films by first-time documentarians. Each had six nominations. But “Ascension,” Jessica Kingdon’s look at the pursuit of the Chinese dream, failed to score any prizes November 14.
“Summer of Soul,” which won the top documentary prize and an Audience Award following its Sundance premiere earlier this year, won five of the six awards it was nominated for at the critics awards: Best Documentary Feature, Best First Documentary Feature, Best Editing, Best Archival Documentary, and Best Director, a prize Thompson...
This year’s nominees were led by “Ascension” and “Summer of Soul,” two films by first-time documentarians. Each had six nominations. But “Ascension,” Jessica Kingdon’s look at the pursuit of the Chinese dream, failed to score any prizes November 14.
“Summer of Soul,” which won the top documentary prize and an Audience Award following its Sundance premiere earlier this year, won five of the six awards it was nominated for at the critics awards: Best Documentary Feature, Best First Documentary Feature, Best Editing, Best Archival Documentary, and Best Director, a prize Thompson...
- 11/15/2021
- by Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
The Critics Choice Association has announced nominees for the sixth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards.
The awards cover documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms. The awards gala takes place Nov. 14 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“Ascension” and “Summer of Soul, both from first-time documentarians, led the nominations with six each. “Becoming Cousteau” and “The Rescue” both received five nods each.
“This has been and continues to be a fantastic year for documentary storytelling. And the number of first-time feature documentarians in the mix of nominees, alongside proven veterans, shows that nonfiction cinema continues to have a very bright future,” said Christopher Campbell, President of the Critics Choice Association Documentary Branch. “Our world, from its most amazing wonders to its greatest challenges, is being reflected back on the screen so immediately and creatively by today’s filmmakers, and it’s a tremendous honor for us to recognize all of their achievements.
The awards cover documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms. The awards gala takes place Nov. 14 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“Ascension” and “Summer of Soul, both from first-time documentarians, led the nominations with six each. “Becoming Cousteau” and “The Rescue” both received five nods each.
“This has been and continues to be a fantastic year for documentary storytelling. And the number of first-time feature documentarians in the mix of nominees, alongside proven veterans, shows that nonfiction cinema continues to have a very bright future,” said Christopher Campbell, President of the Critics Choice Association Documentary Branch. “Our world, from its most amazing wonders to its greatest challenges, is being reflected back on the screen so immediately and creatively by today’s filmmakers, and it’s a tremendous honor for us to recognize all of their achievements.
- 10/18/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
The Critics Choice Association (Cca) has announced the nominees for the sixth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards (Ccda). This year’s winners will be revealed at a gala on Sunday, November 14, 2021, in Brooklyn, NY. The awards honor the best achievements in nonfiction released in theaters, on TV, or on major digital platforms.
Both films by first-time documentarians, “Ascension” and “Summer of Soul” lead this year’s nominations with six each. “Ascension,” a look at the Chinese dream across social classes, is also up for Documentary Feature, Director (Jessica Kingdon), First Feature, Cinematography, Editing, and Score. Meanwhile, “Summer of Soul” is up for Documentary Feature, Best Director (Ahmir “Questlove’ Thompson), First Documentary, Editing, Archival Documentary, and Music Documentary.
“Becoming Cousteau” and “The Rescue” also picked up five nominations each.
Last year, “Dick Johnson Is Dead” took home the Cca’s top award for Best Documentary as well as the Best Director award for Kirsten Johnson.
Both films by first-time documentarians, “Ascension” and “Summer of Soul” lead this year’s nominations with six each. “Ascension,” a look at the Chinese dream across social classes, is also up for Documentary Feature, Director (Jessica Kingdon), First Feature, Cinematography, Editing, and Score. Meanwhile, “Summer of Soul” is up for Documentary Feature, Best Director (Ahmir “Questlove’ Thompson), First Documentary, Editing, Archival Documentary, and Music Documentary.
“Becoming Cousteau” and “The Rescue” also picked up five nominations each.
Last year, “Dick Johnson Is Dead” took home the Cca’s top award for Best Documentary as well as the Best Director award for Kirsten Johnson.
- 10/18/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The winners of the Documentary categories of the 42nd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards are in, with PBS once again topping the contenders with 10 wins, while Netflix nabbed four trophies.
The PBS documentary Belly of the Beast, which exposed eugenics and reproductive injustice in California prisons, won Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary honors. Showtime’s Kingdom of Silence, a look at journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s life, work, and murder, topped the Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary honors, while Netflix’s Athlete A, a study of the US Gymnastics scandal involving disgraced doctor Larry Nassar, came in as the Outstanding Investigative Documentary winner.
The awards were announced by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). The News & Documentary Emmy Awards are presented as two ceremonies. Categories honoring Television News Programming were presented Tuesday. Both ceremonies were livestreamed.
“Tonight, we celebrate these documentary professionals who in the unprecedented year of 2020 delivered the insightful,...
The PBS documentary Belly of the Beast, which exposed eugenics and reproductive injustice in California prisons, won Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary honors. Showtime’s Kingdom of Silence, a look at journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s life, work, and murder, topped the Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary honors, while Netflix’s Athlete A, a study of the US Gymnastics scandal involving disgraced doctor Larry Nassar, came in as the Outstanding Investigative Documentary winner.
The awards were announced by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). The News & Documentary Emmy Awards are presented as two ceremonies. Categories honoring Television News Programming were presented Tuesday. Both ceremonies were livestreamed.
“Tonight, we celebrate these documentary professionals who in the unprecedented year of 2020 delivered the insightful,...
- 9/30/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Israeli film Advocate won best documentary during Wednesday’s 42nd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards.
Directed by Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche for PBS, the story follows the work of human rights lawyer Lea Tsemel as she represents political prisoners.
Filmmaker and comedian Cj Hunt was a presenter during the evening, handing an award to the team behind Miles Davis, Birth of the Cool for best arts and culture documentary. The project was later awarded best sound.
The award for best writing went to The Story of Plastic, from director Deia Schlosberg; while Rick Rowley’s Jamal Khashoggi-centered film Kingdom of Silence was recognized ...
Directed by Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche for PBS, the story follows the work of human rights lawyer Lea Tsemel as she represents political prisoners.
Filmmaker and comedian Cj Hunt was a presenter during the evening, handing an award to the team behind Miles Davis, Birth of the Cool for best arts and culture documentary. The project was later awarded best sound.
The award for best writing went to The Story of Plastic, from director Deia Schlosberg; while Rick Rowley’s Jamal Khashoggi-centered film Kingdom of Silence was recognized ...
- 9/29/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Israeli film Advocate won best documentary during Wednesday’s 42nd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards.
Directed by Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche for PBS, the story follows the work of human rights lawyer Lea Tsemel as she represents political prisoners.
Filmmaker and comedian Cj Hunt was a presenter during the evening, handing an award to the team behind Miles Davis, Birth of the Cool for best arts and culture documentary. The project was later awarded best sound.
The award for best writing went to The Story of Plastic, from director Deia Schlosberg; while Rick Rowley’s Jamal Khashoggi-centered film Kingdom of Silence was recognized ...
Directed by Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche for PBS, the story follows the work of human rights lawyer Lea Tsemel as she represents political prisoners.
Filmmaker and comedian Cj Hunt was a presenter during the evening, handing an award to the team behind Miles Davis, Birth of the Cool for best arts and culture documentary. The project was later awarded best sound.
The award for best writing went to The Story of Plastic, from director Deia Schlosberg; while Rick Rowley’s Jamal Khashoggi-centered film Kingdom of Silence was recognized ...
- 9/29/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
2Nd Update with Katty Kay resignation, 9:30 Am: Ozy Media’s star journalist, former BBC anchor Katty Kay, resigned from the embattled news site Wednesday, calling recent allegations surfaced in a New York Times story “serious and deeply troubling.”
“I had recently joined the company after my long career at the BBC, excited to explore opportunities in the digital space,” she wrote in a tweeted statement. “I support the mission to bring diverse stories and voices to the public conversation. But the allegations in The New York Times, which caught me be surprise, are serious and deeply troubling and I had no choice but to end my relationship with the company.”
While at the BBC, she had hosted a podcast with Ozy Media co-founder and CEO Carlos Watson called When Katty Met Carlos. She joined Ozy last summer.
Updated with comment from Ozy Media board: Ozy Media COO and co-founder...
“I had recently joined the company after my long career at the BBC, excited to explore opportunities in the digital space,” she wrote in a tweeted statement. “I support the mission to bring diverse stories and voices to the public conversation. But the allegations in The New York Times, which caught me be surprise, are serious and deeply troubling and I had no choice but to end my relationship with the company.”
While at the BBC, she had hosted a podcast with Ozy Media co-founder and CEO Carlos Watson called When Katty Met Carlos. She joined Ozy last summer.
Updated with comment from Ozy Media board: Ozy Media COO and co-founder...
- 9/29/2021
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
The Nashville Film Festival will return in late September and early October with a hybrid slate of in-person and online screenings and events — with several music documentaries figuring into the programming, including docs about Brian Wilson, the pioneering 1970s all-female rock band Fanny and the MTV-era group A-ha, plus the world premiere of a film that takes John Hiatt and Jerry Douglas into Nashville’s famed RCA Studio B.
Music-based films take up only a sliver of the overall roster at the Sept. 30-Oct. 6 festival. Among narrative highlights, the festival will wrap up with A24’s “The Humans,” Stephen Karam’s adaptation of his Tony Award-winning play, with Karam and other guests from the film in attendance.
Altogether, 160 films — 45 of which are feature-length entries — have been selected for the 52nd annual festival, a little more than 50 of which will screen in-person at venues throughout Nashville. More than 30 of the features are getting their U.
Music-based films take up only a sliver of the overall roster at the Sept. 30-Oct. 6 festival. Among narrative highlights, the festival will wrap up with A24’s “The Humans,” Stephen Karam’s adaptation of his Tony Award-winning play, with Karam and other guests from the film in attendance.
Altogether, 160 films — 45 of which are feature-length entries — have been selected for the 52nd annual festival, a little more than 50 of which will screen in-person at venues throughout Nashville. More than 30 of the features are getting their U.
- 8/25/2021
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Comedy Central is expanding The Daily Show universe with another podcast.
Correspondent Roy Wood Jr. is hosting Beyond the Scenes, an audio series that will give listeners an inside look at how producers and writers of the late-night series use comedy to tackle a variety of complex topics, from racial injustice to sex robots.
Wood’s fellow correspondents including Desi Lydic, Dulcé Sloan, Michael Kosta, Ronny Chieng and contributor Jordan Klepper will also be featured as they tackle an array of topics.
The series is produced in partnership with iHeartMedia and will launch on July 20. You can listen to the trailer below.
The first episode – Therapy in the Black Community – will see Wood joined by Daily Show writers X Mayo and Ashton Womack for a wide-ranging and deeply personal discussion about mental health, Black church, the protests against racial injustice and police brutality of 2020.
“This is the show where we go beyond the scenes,...
Correspondent Roy Wood Jr. is hosting Beyond the Scenes, an audio series that will give listeners an inside look at how producers and writers of the late-night series use comedy to tackle a variety of complex topics, from racial injustice to sex robots.
Wood’s fellow correspondents including Desi Lydic, Dulcé Sloan, Michael Kosta, Ronny Chieng and contributor Jordan Klepper will also be featured as they tackle an array of topics.
The series is produced in partnership with iHeartMedia and will launch on July 20. You can listen to the trailer below.
The first episode – Therapy in the Black Community – will see Wood joined by Daily Show writers X Mayo and Ashton Womack for a wide-ranging and deeply personal discussion about mental health, Black church, the protests against racial injustice and police brutality of 2020.
“This is the show where we go beyond the scenes,...
- 7/14/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
In new documentary The Neutral Ground, the attempts to remove Confederate statues is explored along with a troubled history of culpability
“I was just happy somebody else had to go put their ass on the line instead of me,” deadpans Roy Wood Jr, a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. “I do it enough for Trevor Noah.”
The somebody else was Cj Hunt, a Daily Show field producer and person of colour who puts his “ass on the line” by taking part in a white people’s re-enactment of the American civil war. It makes for a jaw dropping scene in Hunt’s nimble new film, The Neutral Ground, about the struggle to remove monuments to the slave-owning Confederacy and understand why the war never really ended.
“I was just happy somebody else had to go put their ass on the line instead of me,” deadpans Roy Wood Jr, a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. “I do it enough for Trevor Noah.”
The somebody else was Cj Hunt, a Daily Show field producer and person of colour who puts his “ass on the line” by taking part in a white people’s re-enactment of the American civil war. It makes for a jaw dropping scene in Hunt’s nimble new film, The Neutral Ground, about the struggle to remove monuments to the slave-owning Confederacy and understand why the war never really ended.
- 7/6/2021
- by David Smith in Sarasota, Florida
- The Guardian - Film News
Chicago – When you are not black in America, you cannot imagine the societal indignities (to say the least) that are endured on a daily basis, both macro and micro. A new documentary on a particular indignity, “The Neutral Ground,” by first time director Cj Hunt, premieres on PBS’s “Pov” on July 5th, 2021. Click for details.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
”The Neutral Ground” is an incredible and personal story about accepting identity and how the ready acceptance of lies by (mostly) white people create our current divisions. The “neutral ground” is New Orleans, during the 2010 decade of debate regarding Confederate statues and monuments that still resided in prominent places, in a city that has a 70 percent black population. Director and reporter Cj Hunt is a biracial (black/Filipino) participant in the debate, coming to terms with an identity that had eluded him before, and exposing the sheer pomposity and blinders that white people...
Rating: 5.0/5.0
”The Neutral Ground” is an incredible and personal story about accepting identity and how the ready acceptance of lies by (mostly) white people create our current divisions. The “neutral ground” is New Orleans, during the 2010 decade of debate regarding Confederate statues and monuments that still resided in prominent places, in a city that has a 70 percent black population. Director and reporter Cj Hunt is a biracial (black/Filipino) participant in the debate, coming to terms with an identity that had eluded him before, and exposing the sheer pomposity and blinders that white people...
- 7/3/2021
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
In August 2017, Americans clashed in Charlottesville, Va., over the question of whether to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. It was, unofficially speaking, a reenactment of the Civil War that divided this country 150 years earlier, and comedian-cum-filmmaker Cj Hunt was there to witness the standoff.
We all know what Trump said of those on both sides of the issue, but Hunt’s alternately amusing and enraging essay film “The Neutral Ground” goes beyond the surface debates to examine why some Southerners are so attached to their Civil War heroes. The answer, complicated though it may be, is tied up in the pernicious propaganda campaign known as the Lost Cause, which has enabled subsequent generations to rationalize (rather than reconcile/repair) the racism of their not-so-distant past.
“There are no Hitler statues in Germany today,” Rev. Jesse Jackson observed after the confrontation in Charlottesville turned violent. That tragedy...
We all know what Trump said of those on both sides of the issue, but Hunt’s alternately amusing and enraging essay film “The Neutral Ground” goes beyond the surface debates to examine why some Southerners are so attached to their Civil War heroes. The answer, complicated though it may be, is tied up in the pernicious propaganda campaign known as the Lost Cause, which has enabled subsequent generations to rationalize (rather than reconcile/repair) the racism of their not-so-distant past.
“There are no Hitler statues in Germany today,” Rev. Jesse Jackson observed after the confrontation in Charlottesville turned violent. That tragedy...
- 6/28/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Cj Hunt is a NYC-based comedian and filmmaker, and currently a field producer on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. But back in 2015 Hunt was still a resident of New Orleans, having spent nearly a decade teaching in its school (and after-school) system, assisting in its public defender’s office — and yes, pursuing his passion for comedy at night. So when Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced he’d be asking the city council to remove four monuments to the losing side in the Civil War, the stand-up/educator immediately thought to call his good friend (producer Darcy McKinnon, a “25 New Face” […]
The post “Resisting the Power of the White Gaze”: Cj Hunt on his Tribeca-Premiering Confederate Monuments Doc, The Neutral Ground first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Resisting the Power of the White Gaze”: Cj Hunt on his Tribeca-Premiering Confederate Monuments Doc, The Neutral Ground first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 6/18/2021
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Cj Hunt is a NYC-based comedian and filmmaker, and currently a field producer on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. But back in 2015 Hunt was still a resident of New Orleans, having spent nearly a decade teaching in its school (and after-school) system, assisting in its public defender’s office — and yes, pursuing his passion for comedy at night. So when Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced he’d be asking the city council to remove four monuments to the losing side in the Civil War, the stand-up/educator immediately thought to call his good friend (producer Darcy McKinnon, a “25 New Face” […]
The post “Resisting the Power of the White Gaze”: Cj Hunt on his Tribeca-Premiering Confederate Monuments Doc, The Neutral Ground first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Resisting the Power of the White Gaze”: Cj Hunt on his Tribeca-Premiering Confederate Monuments Doc, The Neutral Ground first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 6/18/2021
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Chicago – The 2021 Tribeca Film Festival continues as a hybrid mix of New York City in-person events and online access, which includes the finest documentaries of 2021. The festival takes place through June 20th. For information on joining in via passes or tickets, click TribecaFilm.com.
The 2021 Tribeca Festival, presented by AT&T, brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, VR, gaming, music, and online work. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is a platform for creative expression and immersive entertainment. This year’s celebration of storytelling can be enjoyed virtually through the “Tribeca At Home” program. Many of the most anticipated features and short films will be made available only as part of our Tribeca Online Premieres lineup … a diverse range of dramas, comedies and documentaries.
All These Sons
Photo credit: TribecaFilm.com
Documentaries Of Tribeca Fest: Capsule Reviews
Click the title...
The 2021 Tribeca Festival, presented by AT&T, brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, VR, gaming, music, and online work. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is a platform for creative expression and immersive entertainment. This year’s celebration of storytelling can be enjoyed virtually through the “Tribeca At Home” program. Many of the most anticipated features and short films will be made available only as part of our Tribeca Online Premieres lineup … a diverse range of dramas, comedies and documentaries.
All These Sons
Photo credit: TribecaFilm.com
Documentaries Of Tribeca Fest: Capsule Reviews
Click the title...
- 6/16/2021
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Taking place across outdoor venues in all five boroughs of New York City, the Tribeca Film Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary June 9-20, screening a bevy of features, shorts, TV series, podcasts and games in what is being billed as the first major in-person film festival to take place in North America since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Managing all the logistics to mount a proper in-person festival despite such circumstances would be a tall enough order, but the task of assembling a credible festival lineup across multiple disciplines, despite a near-total shutdown of film production for months, could have been quite a challenge on its own. It was something that Tribeca’s festival director Cara Cusumano was apprehensive about as the festival prepared to open for submissions last summer, but it turned out she needn’t have worried.
“We didn’t know what to expect, submissions-wise,” she says.
Managing all the logistics to mount a proper in-person festival despite such circumstances would be a tall enough order, but the task of assembling a credible festival lineup across multiple disciplines, despite a near-total shutdown of film production for months, could have been quite a challenge on its own. It was something that Tribeca’s festival director Cara Cusumano was apprehensive about as the festival prepared to open for submissions last summer, but it turned out she needn’t have worried.
“We didn’t know what to expect, submissions-wise,” she says.
- 6/8/2021
- by Andrew Barker
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Pov, PBS’ showcase of independent nonfiction films, has acquired Nicholas Bruckman’s Not Going Quietly and added the documentary to its season 34 lineup.
Centered on disabled activist Ady Barkan, Not Going Quietly debuted at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival and won its Audience Award for Documentary Feature and the Special Jury Recognition for Humanity in Social Action.
The film follows Barkan, a lawyer and rising star in the world of progressive activism who’s diagnosed with Als at age 32. After a chance encounter with a senator on an airplane, Ady assembles a motley crew of activists to travel across the country and campaign for a once-in-a-generation movement for universal healthcare access for all Americans.
Amanda Roddy produced the film for People’s Television, and Jay and Mark Duplass, Bradley Whitford, Mel Eslyn, Sam Bisbee, Jackie Bisbee, Wendy Neu, Nina Tassler, Joan Boorstein, Denise DeNovi, Ryder Haske, and Bruckman serve as executive producers.
Centered on disabled activist Ady Barkan, Not Going Quietly debuted at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival and won its Audience Award for Documentary Feature and the Special Jury Recognition for Humanity in Social Action.
The film follows Barkan, a lawyer and rising star in the world of progressive activism who’s diagnosed with Als at age 32. After a chance encounter with a senator on an airplane, Ady assembles a motley crew of activists to travel across the country and campaign for a once-in-a-generation movement for universal healthcare access for all Americans.
Amanda Roddy produced the film for People’s Television, and Jay and Mark Duplass, Bradley Whitford, Mel Eslyn, Sam Bisbee, Jackie Bisbee, Wendy Neu, Nina Tassler, Joan Boorstein, Denise DeNovi, Ryder Haske, and Bruckman serve as executive producers.
- 6/7/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
Stacey Abrams has been tapped to receive the inaugural Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice award as part of the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival.
The new award named for Belafonte — the Emmy-winning actor, activist and civil rights leader — is intended to recognize individuals who have used storytelling and the arts to enact change in their communities.
Abrams, in addition to her work as a politician and voting rights activist, also produced last year’s gripping documentary “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” which illuminated America’s history of voter suppression. As such, Tribeca announced that Abrams will be honored for her “outstanding leadership, service and commitment to fighting against injustices through her work as a political leader, voting rights activist and novelist.”
“We are proud to salute the brilliant and inspiring actor, activist and friend, Harry Belafonte with this award created in his honor,’” said Tribeca Chief Content Officer, Paula Weinstein.
The new award named for Belafonte — the Emmy-winning actor, activist and civil rights leader — is intended to recognize individuals who have used storytelling and the arts to enact change in their communities.
Abrams, in addition to her work as a politician and voting rights activist, also produced last year’s gripping documentary “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” which illuminated America’s history of voter suppression. As such, Tribeca announced that Abrams will be honored for her “outstanding leadership, service and commitment to fighting against injustices through her work as a political leader, voting rights activist and novelist.”
“We are proud to salute the brilliant and inspiring actor, activist and friend, Harry Belafonte with this award created in his honor,’” said Tribeca Chief Content Officer, Paula Weinstein.
- 5/13/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
PBS’ Masterpiece and BritBox UK have renewed “Sanditon” for second and third seasons.
The critically acclaimed drama series based on Jane Austen’s final, unfinished novel will premiere on BritBox and later air on ITV.
Season 2 of “Sanditon” will continue to follow heroine Charlotte Heywood as she returns to the coastal resort of Sanditon and engages in intriguing and romantic relationships with familiar and new characters.
“Sanditon” will begin filming later this year in and around Bristol, and casting will be announced in the future.
Justin Young, who wrote four episodes of Season 1, will develop the new seasons, serving as lead writer and executive producer. Andrew Davies, who originally created the show, will return as a writer and executive producer.
Charles Sturridge is lead director, Rebecca Hedderly serves as series producer and Ian Hogan produces. Executive producers are Belinda Campbell for Red Planet Pictures, Susanne Simpson for Masterpiece and Chloe Tucker for ITV/BritBox.
The critically acclaimed drama series based on Jane Austen’s final, unfinished novel will premiere on BritBox and later air on ITV.
Season 2 of “Sanditon” will continue to follow heroine Charlotte Heywood as she returns to the coastal resort of Sanditon and engages in intriguing and romantic relationships with familiar and new characters.
“Sanditon” will begin filming later this year in and around Bristol, and casting will be announced in the future.
Justin Young, who wrote four episodes of Season 1, will develop the new seasons, serving as lead writer and executive producer. Andrew Davies, who originally created the show, will return as a writer and executive producer.
Charles Sturridge is lead director, Rebecca Hedderly serves as series producer and Ian Hogan produces. Executive producers are Belinda Campbell for Red Planet Pictures, Susanne Simpson for Masterpiece and Chloe Tucker for ITV/BritBox.
- 5/6/2021
- by Haley Bosselman, Ethan Shanfeld and Antonio Ferme
- Variety Film + TV
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