The Hollywood Reporter has landed 44 nominations for the 66th annual SoCal Journalism Awards, including print journalist of the year for Rebecca Keegan and best website.
Other nominations were bestowed upon THR’s Songwriter Roundtable, podcasts Awards Chatter and It Happened in Hollywood, and the Live Feed and Heat Vision blogs, in addition to THR’s original photography, videos, criticism and social media posts.
The awards are handed out by the Los Angeles Press Club, which noted that more than 2,300 entries were submitted this year. The winners will be announced at an awards dinner gala June 23 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
Below is a list of THR’s nominations. See a full list of noms.
Journalist Of The Year
Print, over 50,000 circulation
Rebecca Keegan
All Media Platforms — Print, Radio, Podcast, TV or Online
Multimedia Package
Mesfin Fekadu, THR Photo Team, THR Video Team,, “The Hit Squad: Billie Eilish,...
Other nominations were bestowed upon THR’s Songwriter Roundtable, podcasts Awards Chatter and It Happened in Hollywood, and the Live Feed and Heat Vision blogs, in addition to THR’s original photography, videos, criticism and social media posts.
The awards are handed out by the Los Angeles Press Club, which noted that more than 2,300 entries were submitted this year. The winners will be announced at an awards dinner gala June 23 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
Below is a list of THR’s nominations. See a full list of noms.
Journalist Of The Year
Print, over 50,000 circulation
Rebecca Keegan
All Media Platforms — Print, Radio, Podcast, TV or Online
Multimedia Package
Mesfin Fekadu, THR Photo Team, THR Video Team,, “The Hit Squad: Billie Eilish,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Kimberly Nordyke
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Updated with amended description of documentary My Sweet Land. Sheffield DocFest, the U.K.’s premiere nonfiction film festival, today revealed the full lineup for its 31st edition running June 12-17. Among the highlights: the world premiere of Tilda Swinton’s feature directorial debut, The Hexagonal Hive and a Mouse in a Maze, co-directed by Bartek Dziadosz.
In the film, premiering in International Competition, Swinton and Dziadosz “travel the world to understand what it means to learn, and along the way uncover playful food for thought – for adults and young people alike.” Swinton previously directed segments in the documentaries The Seasons In Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger (2016) and The New Ten Commandments (2008).
‘Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color’
Sheffield 2024 will not lack for star power. In addition to Oscar winner Swinton, Idris Elba and the team behind the upcoming National Geographic Documentary series Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color...
In the film, premiering in International Competition, Swinton and Dziadosz “travel the world to understand what it means to learn, and along the way uncover playful food for thought – for adults and young people alike.” Swinton previously directed segments in the documentaries The Seasons In Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger (2016) and The New Ten Commandments (2008).
‘Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color’
Sheffield 2024 will not lack for star power. In addition to Oscar winner Swinton, Idris Elba and the team behind the upcoming National Geographic Documentary series Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color...
- 5/8/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Tilda Swinton’s feature directorial debut The Hexagonal Hive And A Mouse In A Maze, co-directed with Bartek Dziadosz, will world premiere in competition at Sheffield DocFest (June 12-17) as the full programme is unveiled.
The 109-strong line-up includes 48 world premieres, 14 international and 17 European.
Swinton and her co-director travel the world in The Hexagonal Hive And A Mouse In A Mouse to explore the concept of learning. The documentary was first introduced at Sheffield’s MeetMarket in 2018.
All the competition titles are world premieres including the latest from Croatian filmmaker Goran Devic, Pavillon 6 which surrounds Croatia’s fight for the Covid-19 vaccination.
The 109-strong line-up includes 48 world premieres, 14 international and 17 European.
Swinton and her co-director travel the world in The Hexagonal Hive And A Mouse In A Mouse to explore the concept of learning. The documentary was first introduced at Sheffield’s MeetMarket in 2018.
All the competition titles are world premieres including the latest from Croatian filmmaker Goran Devic, Pavillon 6 which surrounds Croatia’s fight for the Covid-19 vaccination.
- 5/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Princ Films boards ‘Isabel’s Garden’ For Cannes Marche Du Film
Princ Films has boarded Kit Rich’s debut Isabel’s Garden for the upcoming Marche Du Film in Cannes. Isabel’s Garden stars Karen David (Fear the Walking Dead) as a small-town TV reporter who has to raise a teenage stepdaughter in the wake of her husband’s death. The film also stars Gabriela Flores (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood), Valery Ortiz (Skeletons in the Closet) and Manuel Rafael Lozano (Teen Wolf: The Movie). Its premiere won the Poppy Jasper Best Feature Film 2024 at the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival. “To be at the Marche du Film is an incredible opportunity to share Isabel’s Garden with the world,” said Igor Princ, president of Princ Films. “Isabel’s Garden has a huge heart and deeply touches those who watch it.” Isabel’s Garden was produced by Giovanna Andolina, Manuel Rafael Lozano and Rich.
Princ Films has boarded Kit Rich’s debut Isabel’s Garden for the upcoming Marche Du Film in Cannes. Isabel’s Garden stars Karen David (Fear the Walking Dead) as a small-town TV reporter who has to raise a teenage stepdaughter in the wake of her husband’s death. The film also stars Gabriela Flores (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood), Valery Ortiz (Skeletons in the Closet) and Manuel Rafael Lozano (Teen Wolf: The Movie). Its premiere won the Poppy Jasper Best Feature Film 2024 at the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival. “To be at the Marche du Film is an incredible opportunity to share Isabel’s Garden with the world,” said Igor Princ, president of Princ Films. “Isabel’s Garden has a huge heart and deeply touches those who watch it.” Isabel’s Garden was produced by Giovanna Andolina, Manuel Rafael Lozano and Rich.
- 5/3/2024
- by Max Goldbart, Hannah Abraham and Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The UK’s Sheffield DocFest is creating a special programme of talks and screenings called ‘Days Of Reflection’ focused on themes of co-resistance, freedom of the press, ancestral lands and archiving the present for its 31st edition (June 12-17).
It will form a central focus for this year’s overall festival theme of Reflections On Realities.
“This year, recognising the interconnected challenges of rising polarisation, freedom of the press, attacks on independent journalism and the many violent conflicts around the world, we have thought deeply about our position and responsibility as a charity committed to advancing the art of documentary,...
It will form a central focus for this year’s overall festival theme of Reflections On Realities.
“This year, recognising the interconnected challenges of rising polarisation, freedom of the press, attacks on independent journalism and the many violent conflicts around the world, we have thought deeply about our position and responsibility as a charity committed to advancing the art of documentary,...
- 5/3/2024
- ScreenDaily
Klitschko: More Than A Fight Photo: Courtesy of Sheffield DocFest Klitschko: More Than A Fight has been announced as the opening film of this year's Sheffield DocFest, which runs from June 12 to 17.
The Sky Original documentary, directed by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald, focuses on former heavyweight boxing world champion Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir, who together dominated the sport for more than a decade. Now the longest serving Mayor of Kyiv, this feature-length documentary charts Vitali’s journey from the ring to political office, leading the defence of the capital since the Russian invasion.
Roger Ross Williams will be guest of honour Photo: Courtesy of Sheffield DocFest The festival has also announced its Guest of Honour will be Love To Love You, Donna Summer director Roger Ross Williams, who will present a specially curated programme of five social impact documentaries and moderate a panel discussion with the filmmakers.
Roger...
The Sky Original documentary, directed by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald, focuses on former heavyweight boxing world champion Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir, who together dominated the sport for more than a decade. Now the longest serving Mayor of Kyiv, this feature-length documentary charts Vitali’s journey from the ring to political office, leading the defence of the capital since the Russian invasion.
Roger Ross Williams will be guest of honour Photo: Courtesy of Sheffield DocFest The festival has also announced its Guest of Honour will be Love To Love You, Donna Summer director Roger Ross Williams, who will present a specially curated programme of five social impact documentaries and moderate a panel discussion with the filmmakers.
Roger...
- 4/30/2024
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The 31st edition of Sheffield DocFest will open with the world premiere of Kevin Macdonald’s Klitschko: More Than A Fight, at Sheffield City Hall on June 12.
The Sky Original film follows brothers and former heavyweight boxers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko as Vitali moves from the ring to political office, leading the defence of Kyiv as its mayor when Ukraine was attacked by Russian forces in February 2022.
The film combines present-day footage shot in Ukraine, the US and Germany, with personal archive material from the Klitschko family.
It is produced by Docsville Studios and Sky Studios, and will be broadcast...
The Sky Original film follows brothers and former heavyweight boxers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko as Vitali moves from the ring to political office, leading the defence of Kyiv as its mayor when Ukraine was attacked by Russian forces in February 2022.
The film combines present-day footage shot in Ukraine, the US and Germany, with personal archive material from the Klitschko family.
It is produced by Docsville Studios and Sky Studios, and will be broadcast...
- 4/30/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Sheffield DocFest will open with Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald’s latest doc Klitschko: More Than a Fight, while Roger Ross Williams, the first African American director to win an Academy Award, is Guest of Honor.
Sky’s doc about the notorious Ukrainian boxing brothers will take audiences into the lives of former heavyweight world champion Vitali Klitschko and Wladimir, who were prominent in the industry for more than a decade. Vitali is now the longest-serving Mayor of Kyiv, and the feature-length documentary will chart his journey from the ring to defending the city from Russian forces. The film, produced by Docsville Studios and Sky Studios, will be broadcast on Sky Documentaries in the UK and other Sky territories including Germany later this year.
“Like many people around the world I was shocked and outraged by the aggression, murder and wanton destruction of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” said...
Sky’s doc about the notorious Ukrainian boxing brothers will take audiences into the lives of former heavyweight world champion Vitali Klitschko and Wladimir, who were prominent in the industry for more than a decade. Vitali is now the longest-serving Mayor of Kyiv, and the feature-length documentary will chart his journey from the ring to defending the city from Russian forces. The film, produced by Docsville Studios and Sky Studios, will be broadcast on Sky Documentaries in the UK and other Sky territories including Germany later this year.
“Like many people around the world I was shocked and outraged by the aggression, murder and wanton destruction of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” said...
- 4/30/2024
- by Hannah Abraham
- Deadline Film + TV
The Sheffield DocFest will open its 2024 edition with the world premiere of Kevin Macdonald’s Klitschko: More Than a Fight on June 12 at Sheffield City Hall. The annual documentary festival in England also unveiled Roger Ross Williams, the first African American director to win an Academy Award for his 2010 doc short Music by Prudence, as the guest of honor.
The Sky original Klitschko: More Than a Fight promises to offer audiences “unprecedented access to former heavyweight boxing world champion Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir, who together
dominated the sport for more than a decade,” according to a description of the doc. “Now the longest-serving mayor of Kyiv, this feature-length documentary charts Vitali’s journey from the ring to political office, leading the defense of the capital when it was attacked by Russian forces in February 2022 to the present day. While Wladimir uses his celebrity status and popularity to help...
The Sky original Klitschko: More Than a Fight promises to offer audiences “unprecedented access to former heavyweight boxing world champion Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir, who together
dominated the sport for more than a decade,” according to a description of the doc. “Now the longest-serving mayor of Kyiv, this feature-length documentary charts Vitali’s journey from the ring to political office, leading the defense of the capital when it was attacked by Russian forces in February 2022 to the present day. While Wladimir uses his celebrity status and popularity to help...
- 4/30/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Deadline on Monday launched its streaming site for Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted, showing off the full panels of all 20 shows that participated in Saturday’s all-day showcase of the year’s best in nonfiction, unscripted and late-night programming as Emmy season ramps up.
Click here for the streaming site.
This year’s panel lineup featured a load of shows that have been generating zeitgeist-y buzz, including Gypsy Rose Blanchard joining the conversation with the EPs for The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the filmmakers behind Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, the producers behind this year’s Oscars, and the creatives behind late-night staples Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Daily Show.
The documentary field was also well-repped, featuring filmmakers Ron Howard (Jim Henson Idea Man) Roger Ross Williams (The Super Models), Morgan Neville (Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces) Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss (Girls State...
Click here for the streaming site.
This year’s panel lineup featured a load of shows that have been generating zeitgeist-y buzz, including Gypsy Rose Blanchard joining the conversation with the EPs for The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the filmmakers behind Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, the producers behind this year’s Oscars, and the creatives behind late-night staples Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Daily Show.
The documentary field was also well-repped, featuring filmmakers Ron Howard (Jim Henson Idea Man) Roger Ross Williams (The Super Models), Morgan Neville (Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces) Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss (Girls State...
- 4/29/2024
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
The Apple TV+ docuseries The Super Models hearkens to the 1990s when four extraordinary beauties ruled the covers of fashion magazines and popular culture: Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista.
“It was a time when music and art and fashion were all coming together. And they were the first influencers … way before there were cell phones or anything,” executive producer and director Roger Ross Williams said during an appearance at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted event. “They were on the pages of the Daily News and New York Post and the fashion magazines and the gossip magazines. They were everywhere.”
Producer-director Larissa Bills added, “These women, I think, be it their force of personality plus the time, plus the culture, it became a zeitgeist where they were able to own their own image. And I don’t mean that literally because there’s certainly an element...
“It was a time when music and art and fashion were all coming together. And they were the first influencers … way before there were cell phones or anything,” executive producer and director Roger Ross Williams said during an appearance at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted event. “They were on the pages of the Daily News and New York Post and the fashion magazines and the gossip magazines. They were everywhere.”
Producer-director Larissa Bills added, “These women, I think, be it their force of personality plus the time, plus the culture, it became a zeitgeist where they were able to own their own image. And I don’t mean that literally because there’s certainly an element...
- 4/27/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
This year’s Emmy race features some of the most explosive nonfiction content in recent years: docuseries on the fate of a beloved talk show host, a vulnerable young woman victimized in a case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, the scandal involving Nickelodeon kids shows, and a revealing look inside one of professional sports’ greatest dynasties.
Deadline’s Contenders TV: Documentary + Unscripted virtual event — your indispensable guide to TV awards season — goes in depth on all of it Saturday in a showcase that kicks off at 9 a.m. Pt.
Click here to register and watch the livestream.
Among the panelists joining today are key talent behind Lifetime’s Where Is Wendy Williams?, Investigation Discovery’s Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, and The Dynasty: New England Patriots from Apple TV+. Gypsy Rose Blanchard herself joins us to talk about telling her shocking story in Lifetime’s The Prison...
Deadline’s Contenders TV: Documentary + Unscripted virtual event — your indispensable guide to TV awards season — goes in depth on all of it Saturday in a showcase that kicks off at 9 a.m. Pt.
Click here to register and watch the livestream.
Among the panelists joining today are key talent behind Lifetime’s Where Is Wendy Williams?, Investigation Discovery’s Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, and The Dynasty: New England Patriots from Apple TV+. Gypsy Rose Blanchard herself joins us to talk about telling her shocking story in Lifetime’s The Prison...
- 4/27/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The strikes are behind us, Emmy season is upon us, and it’s time to hear from the creatives and talent behind some of the TV season’s most talked-about nonfiction programs. Deadline’s daylong Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted virtual event will offer just that this weekend, giving awards-watchers a chance to kick back at home and take in the tales.
You can RSVP for Saturday’s livestream here.
Starting at 9 a.m. Pt Saturday, the fourth annual event features 20 panels with cast and creatives from series, specials and telefilms.
Here is what and who you can expect to see.
From ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
From Prime Video: Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story (Writer/Director...
You can RSVP for Saturday’s livestream here.
Starting at 9 a.m. Pt Saturday, the fourth annual event features 20 panels with cast and creatives from series, specials and telefilms.
Here is what and who you can expect to see.
From ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
From Prime Video: Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story (Writer/Director...
- 4/24/2024
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
The Nantucket Film Festival has set the lineup for its 2024 edition and will honor Emmy-nominated writer-producer Kerry Ehrin, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams and Girls5Eva showrunner Meredith Scardino.
The 29th edition of the festival will open with Josh Margolin’s June Squibb-starrer Thelma, close with Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s Christopher Reeve documentary Super/Man and Jeff Zimbalist’s documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, about a daredevil couple who secretly filmed themselves climbing the world’s last super skyscraper. The festival will also continue its tradition of screening a Disney or Pixar film on its opening day, with a festival screening of Inside Out 2.
The festival also announced several honorees: Ehrin will receive the Excellence in Television Writing Award; Williams will receive the Career Achievement in Filmmaking Award and his latest feature Stamped From the Beginning, based on the book of the same name by Ibram X. Kendi,...
The 29th edition of the festival will open with Josh Margolin’s June Squibb-starrer Thelma, close with Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s Christopher Reeve documentary Super/Man and Jeff Zimbalist’s documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, about a daredevil couple who secretly filmed themselves climbing the world’s last super skyscraper. The festival will also continue its tradition of screening a Disney or Pixar film on its opening day, with a festival screening of Inside Out 2.
The festival also announced several honorees: Ehrin will receive the Excellence in Television Writing Award; Williams will receive the Career Achievement in Filmmaking Award and his latest feature Stamped From the Beginning, based on the book of the same name by Ibram X. Kendi,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2023 Oscars Predictions:
Best Original Screenplay Past Lives, from left: Teo Yoo, Greta Lee, John Magro, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Following its victories at the Golden Globes for best screenplay and the BAFTA for original screenplay, it appears almost inevitable that “Anatomy of a Fall” will secure the Oscar for its co-writers,...
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2023 Oscars Predictions:
Best Original Screenplay Past Lives, from left: Teo Yoo, Greta Lee, John Magro, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Following its victories at the Golden Globes for best screenplay and the BAFTA for original screenplay, it appears almost inevitable that “Anatomy of a Fall” will secure the Oscar for its co-writers,...
- 3/7/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Achievement in Directing The Zone Of Interest, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Christopher Nolan… in a walk. It’s not really worth going over any other potential upsets, but if you prefer — Jonathan Glazer for “The Zone of Interest.”
After a year hit with Hollywood...
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Achievement in Directing The Zone Of Interest, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Christopher Nolan… in a walk. It’s not really worth going over any other potential upsets, but if you prefer — Jonathan Glazer for “The Zone of Interest.”
After a year hit with Hollywood...
- 3/7/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Pope Francis, Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Un chief Ban Ki-Moon will be honored at the upcoming Cinema for Peace gala in Berlin on February 19.
The long-running gala run by the Cinema for Peace Foundation will be accompanied by the inaugural World Forum on the Future Of Democracy, Tech and Humankind.
The latter event will run from February 18 to 19 at the Allianz Forum next to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin with the aim of promoting the renewal of democracy and freedom at a time when both are under threat.
The Cinema for Peace Foundation was created in 2008 as an international non-profit organization with the goal to foster change through film. Over the years it has worked with a host of stars including Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.
Clinton and Ban will attend the February 19 gala in person while Pope Francis will be shown receiving his award in a recorded video.
The long-running gala run by the Cinema for Peace Foundation will be accompanied by the inaugural World Forum on the Future Of Democracy, Tech and Humankind.
The latter event will run from February 18 to 19 at the Allianz Forum next to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin with the aim of promoting the renewal of democracy and freedom at a time when both are under threat.
The Cinema for Peace Foundation was created in 2008 as an international non-profit organization with the goal to foster change through film. Over the years it has worked with a host of stars including Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.
Clinton and Ban will attend the February 19 gala in person while Pope Francis will be shown receiving his award in a recorded video.
- 2/12/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The Ford Foundation is coming through for documentary filmmakers in a big way.
Today, the nonprofit philanthropic institution announced its latest round of grants under the foundation’s JustFilms division — $4.2 million that will go to support “59 innovative film projects centered on social justice globally and in the United States.”
Among the recipients are Union, the film directed by Stephen Maing and Brett Story that just held its world premiere at Sundance, and fellow Sundance premiere The Battle for Laikipia, directed by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi. Union, about the battle to unionize an Amazon facility on Staten Island, New York, is in U.S. Documentary Competition at Sundance. The Battle for Laikipia, in World Cinema Documentary Competition at the festival, examines “a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven.” Roger Ross Williams and Toni Kamau are among the producers of Laikipia.
Today, the nonprofit philanthropic institution announced its latest round of grants under the foundation’s JustFilms division — $4.2 million that will go to support “59 innovative film projects centered on social justice globally and in the United States.”
Among the recipients are Union, the film directed by Stephen Maing and Brett Story that just held its world premiere at Sundance, and fellow Sundance premiere The Battle for Laikipia, directed by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi. Union, about the battle to unionize an Amazon facility on Staten Island, New York, is in U.S. Documentary Competition at Sundance. The Battle for Laikipia, in World Cinema Documentary Competition at the festival, examines “a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven.” Roger Ross Williams and Toni Kamau are among the producers of Laikipia.
- 1/25/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar documentary branch voters can’t be accused of parochialism. They ventured far and wide to select their shortlist of feature documentaries for 2023, tapping films from countries as varied as a U.N. roll call: Ukraine, Uganda, Poland, Denmark, Tunisia, Canada and the United States.
To Kill a Tiger, one of the 15 finalists, unfolds in a village in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Nisha Pahuja, who was born in India and raised in Canada, directed the film about a humble couple who fight for justice after their 13-year-old daughter is sexually assaulted by three men. Before the shortlist was announced, Pahuja wondered whether doc branch members would embrace her documentary. “It’s a Canadian film, but it’s an Indian story,” she said, “and it’s subtitled.”
Pahuja needn’t have worried. Neither subtitles nor remote settings deter today’s documentary branch, whose membership is far less insular than it used to be.
To Kill a Tiger, one of the 15 finalists, unfolds in a village in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Nisha Pahuja, who was born in India and raised in Canada, directed the film about a humble couple who fight for justice after their 13-year-old daughter is sexually assaulted by three men. Before the shortlist was announced, Pahuja wondered whether doc branch members would embrace her documentary. “It’s a Canadian film, but it’s an Indian story,” she said, “and it’s subtitled.”
Pahuja needn’t have worried. Neither subtitles nor remote settings deter today’s documentary branch, whose membership is far less insular than it used to be.
- 1/14/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
A chance meeting at a New York City hotel brought together multi-award-winning actor Gael García Bernal and Roger Ross Williams, an Academy Award-winning director who wanted to discuss Mexico’s Luchadores Exóticos, specifically trailblazer Saúl Armendáriz, better known as Cassandro.
Luchadores Exóticos are male wrestlers who performed in drag in the ring, who at the start of the movement in the 1940s were just a form of entertainment and didn’t necessarily reflect the performer’s sexual orientation. They would usually fight with macho male wrestlers who were closer to heels than heroes who would most often win the match.
The film, currently available to stream via Prime Video, tells the courageous story of real-life wrestler Cassandro and his journey of self-love and acceptance while breaking barriers for wrestlers everywhere. But back to how the story came to be begins with García Bernal and Williams chatting in the Big Apple.
Luchadores Exóticos are male wrestlers who performed in drag in the ring, who at the start of the movement in the 1940s were just a form of entertainment and didn’t necessarily reflect the performer’s sexual orientation. They would usually fight with macho male wrestlers who were closer to heels than heroes who would most often win the match.
The film, currently available to stream via Prime Video, tells the courageous story of real-life wrestler Cassandro and his journey of self-love and acceptance while breaking barriers for wrestlers everywhere. But back to how the story came to be begins with García Bernal and Williams chatting in the Big Apple.
- 1/14/2024
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
The Cinema Eye Honors announced the winners for its documentary films and series competition Friday in Manhattan, with “32 Sounds” taking the honor for outstanding nonfiction feature. Maite Alberdi won outstanding direction for “The Eternal Memory” together with Kaouther Ben Hania for “Four Daughters,” while “Paul T. Goldman” won outstanding nonfiction series.
See all the winners below:
—Outstanding Nonfiction Feature
32 Sounds
Directed by Sam Green
Produced by Josh Penn and Thomas O. Kriegsmann
—Outstanding Direction
Maite Alberdi
The Eternal Memory
Kaouther Ben Hania
Four Daughters
—Outstanding Editing
Michael Harte
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
—Outstanding Production
Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson Rath, Derl McCrudden and Vasilisa Stepanenko
20 Days in Mariupol
—Outstanding Cinematography
Ants Tammik
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
—Outstanding Original Score
Jd Samson
32 Sounds
—Outstanding Sound Design
Mark Mangini
32 Sounds
—Outstanding Visual Design
Thomas Curtis and Sean Pierce
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
—Outstanding Debut
Kokomo...
See all the winners below:
—Outstanding Nonfiction Feature
32 Sounds
Directed by Sam Green
Produced by Josh Penn and Thomas O. Kriegsmann
—Outstanding Direction
Maite Alberdi
The Eternal Memory
Kaouther Ben Hania
Four Daughters
—Outstanding Editing
Michael Harte
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
—Outstanding Production
Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson Rath, Derl McCrudden and Vasilisa Stepanenko
20 Days in Mariupol
—Outstanding Cinematography
Ants Tammik
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
—Outstanding Original Score
Jd Samson
32 Sounds
—Outstanding Sound Design
Mark Mangini
32 Sounds
—Outstanding Visual Design
Thomas Curtis and Sean Pierce
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
—Outstanding Debut
Kokomo...
- 1/13/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay, Caroline Brew, Jaden Thompson and Diego Ramos Bechara
- Variety Film + TV
Since the academy expanded the Best Picture category at the Oscars in 2010, Best Original Screenplay has gone to writers of a wide-range of genres: dramas; comedies (“Midnight in Paris”); biopics; true-life stories (“Spotlight”); memoirs (“Belfast”); period pictures (“Django Unchained”); war movies (“The Hurt Locker”); sci-fi (“Her”), thrillers horror (“Get Out”) and fantasies (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) . (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2023 Oscar predictions for Best Original Screenplay.)
Regardless of the type of film, a nominee needs broad academy support to win this race. Indeed, all 14 of the most recent Best Original Screenplay winners were, at the least, Best Picture nominees. And seven of them won the big prize, bringing the total number of Best Picture champs with Oscar-winning original screenplays to 18. By comparison, 42 films have done this on the adapted side including the 2022 double dipper “Coda.”
In 2023 all five nominees for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards were crafted by writer/directors.
Regardless of the type of film, a nominee needs broad academy support to win this race. Indeed, all 14 of the most recent Best Original Screenplay winners were, at the least, Best Picture nominees. And seven of them won the big prize, bringing the total number of Best Picture champs with Oscar-winning original screenplays to 18. By comparison, 42 films have done this on the adapted side including the 2022 double dipper “Coda.”
In 2023 all five nominees for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards were crafted by writer/directors.
- 1/11/2024
- by Paul Sheehan and Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Sting, Isabella Rossellini, and U.S. director Roger Ross Williams came out to support the recent New York launch of Matteo Garrone’s Venice prizewinning immigration epic “Io Capitano” at the Museum of Modern Art.
The movie – which is Italy’s now shortlisted Oscar candidate for best international feature film – narrates the Homeric journey of two two Senegalese teenagers, Seydou and Moussa, who decide to leave Dakar to reach Europe in pursuit of a better life. It realistically depicts their plight through the pitfalls of the desert, the horrors of detention centers in Libya and the dangers of the sea.
Variety critic Guy Lodge in his review called “Io Capitano” the director’s “most robust, purely satisfying filmmaking since Garrone’s international breakthrough with ‘Gomorrah’ 15 years ago.” The drama, which at Venice won best director and best emerging actor for its co-star Seydou Sarr is Italy’s strongest Oscar contender in recent memory.
The movie – which is Italy’s now shortlisted Oscar candidate for best international feature film – narrates the Homeric journey of two two Senegalese teenagers, Seydou and Moussa, who decide to leave Dakar to reach Europe in pursuit of a better life. It realistically depicts their plight through the pitfalls of the desert, the horrors of detention centers in Libya and the dangers of the sea.
Variety critic Guy Lodge in his review called “Io Capitano” the director’s “most robust, purely satisfying filmmaking since Garrone’s international breakthrough with ‘Gomorrah’ 15 years ago.” The drama, which at Venice won best director and best emerging actor for its co-star Seydou Sarr is Italy’s strongest Oscar contender in recent memory.
- 1/8/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The 1619 Project, which has been praised for reframing our understanding of American history but attacked by conservatives who brand it as “woke-ism,” won the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series Emmy on Sunday at the Creative Arts ceremony.
Executive producers Oprah Winfrey, Roger Ross Williams, Shoshanna Guy, the New York Times’ Kathleen Lingo and Nikole Hannah-Jones are among those who earned trophies for their work on the six-part Hulu series. Hannah-Jones, who hosts the series, created the original 1619 Project for the Times to mark the 400-year anniversary of the first arrival of African captives on the shores of what would become the United States. The Pulitzer Prize-winning project aimed to place “the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States’ national narrative,” according to the newspaper.
Oprah Winfrey at the Los Angeles premiere of Hulu’s ‘The 1619 Project’
In 2020, then-...
Executive producers Oprah Winfrey, Roger Ross Williams, Shoshanna Guy, the New York Times’ Kathleen Lingo and Nikole Hannah-Jones are among those who earned trophies for their work on the six-part Hulu series. Hannah-Jones, who hosts the series, created the original 1619 Project for the Times to mark the 400-year anniversary of the first arrival of African captives on the shores of what would become the United States. The Pulitzer Prize-winning project aimed to place “the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States’ national narrative,” according to the newspaper.
Oprah Winfrey at the Los Angeles premiere of Hulu’s ‘The 1619 Project’
In 2020, then-...
- 1/8/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The list of feature documentaries still in contention for the Oscars has been cut to 15 finalists, a brutal culling from a contingent of 167 qualifiers. The annual shortlist announcement leaves a handful of filmmakers celebrating, many more disappointed, and documentary watchers with much to debate.
Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast cohosts John Ridley and Matt Carey analyze the shortlist that advanced films from Oscar winners Davis Guggenheim and Roger Ross Williams, and Oscar nominees Matthew Heineman, Maite Alberdi and Kaouther Ben Hania. The shortlist brought recognition to filmmakers from Tunisia, Denmark, Poland, Ukraine, Chile, Uganda, Canada, and the U.S., further evidence of the way international members of the Oscar Documentary Branch have become definitive in determining the nonfiction films that continue in the race for nominations.
Snubs and surprises abounded in the shortlist. The new episode of Doc Talk explores why legends like Errol Morris and Frederick Wiseman missed the cut.
Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast cohosts John Ridley and Matt Carey analyze the shortlist that advanced films from Oscar winners Davis Guggenheim and Roger Ross Williams, and Oscar nominees Matthew Heineman, Maite Alberdi and Kaouther Ben Hania. The shortlist brought recognition to filmmakers from Tunisia, Denmark, Poland, Ukraine, Chile, Uganda, Canada, and the U.S., further evidence of the way international members of the Oscar Documentary Branch have become definitive in determining the nonfiction films that continue in the race for nominations.
Snubs and surprises abounded in the shortlist. The new episode of Doc Talk explores why legends like Errol Morris and Frederick Wiseman missed the cut.
- 1/2/2024
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
The International Documentary Association (IDA), Cinema Eye Honors and Gotham Awards have delivered their verdicts on the top feature docs of the year. And, for the streamers, it’s a grim result.
Absent from the Gothams’ doc feature selections, the Cinema Eye’s top feature and director noms and the IDA’s 17-title shortlist are titles from Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV+.
The lists read, in the words of one leading awards publicist, “like a giant fuck-you to Netflix.” And with Oscar campaigning in high gear, they pose the question: Is a streamer backlash brewing?
The Gotham noms are mostly non-u.S. productions, including Kino Lorber’s Four Daughters, PBS’ 20 Days in Mariupol and Cinema Guild’s Our Body. Likewise, the IDA’s shortlisted titles included Morocco’s The Mother of All Lies, Colombia’s Anhell69, South African artist portrait Milisuthando, the CBC-backed Twice Colonized and the BBC-backed,...
Absent from the Gothams’ doc feature selections, the Cinema Eye’s top feature and director noms and the IDA’s 17-title shortlist are titles from Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV+.
The lists read, in the words of one leading awards publicist, “like a giant fuck-you to Netflix.” And with Oscar campaigning in high gear, they pose the question: Is a streamer backlash brewing?
The Gotham noms are mostly non-u.S. productions, including Kino Lorber’s Four Daughters, PBS’ 20 Days in Mariupol and Cinema Guild’s Our Body. Likewise, the IDA’s shortlisted titles included Morocco’s The Mother of All Lies, Colombia’s Anhell69, South African artist portrait Milisuthando, the CBC-backed Twice Colonized and the BBC-backed,...
- 12/14/2023
- by Adam Benzine
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Any year in which an unlikely summer double bill became a global moviegoing event — with one film soaring toward $1.5 billion in worldwide grosses and the other closing in on $1 billion — can’t be considered bad news for Hollywood. But the Barbenheimer phenomenon aside, bad news plagued the film industry for much of 2023.
The strikes of the writers and actors guilds shut down production for five long months, causing major titles like Dune 2 to push back to 2024, leaving fall festival red carpets sparsely populated and disrupting a release pipeline in ways that are sure to have a ripple effect for the next year or two.
Theatrical grosses remained inconsistent, struggling to regain pre-pandemic momentum for most genres except horror (all hail, new scream queen M3GAN; a big hand for Talk to Me), and even the once-reliable cash cow of the superhero blockbuster sputtered more often than not.
The Marvels...
The strikes of the writers and actors guilds shut down production for five long months, causing major titles like Dune 2 to push back to 2024, leaving fall festival red carpets sparsely populated and disrupting a release pipeline in ways that are sure to have a ripple effect for the next year or two.
Theatrical grosses remained inconsistent, struggling to regain pre-pandemic momentum for most genres except horror (all hail, new scream queen M3GAN; a big hand for Talk to Me), and even the once-reliable cash cow of the superhero blockbuster sputtered more often than not.
The Marvels...
- 12/13/2023
- by David Rooney, Jon Frosch, Lovia Gyarkye and Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Six directors of standout 2023 documentary features gathered at The Hollywood Reporter’s Los Angeles offices in mid-November for THR’s annual Documentary Roundtable.
Among them were two revered veterans with Oscars to their name: Davis Guggenheim (2006’s An Inconvenient Truth), who helmed Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, a film about the life and struggles of the beloved actor who was stricken at a young age with Parkinson’s disease; and Roger Ross Williams (2009’s Music by Prudence), director of Stamped From the Beginning, a film about the history of anti-Black racism in America. Meanwhile, a first-time filmmaker, twice-Grammy-nominated producer D. Smith, profiled four Black transgender women who have performed sex work in Kokomo City.
Oscar nominee Nicole Newnham (2020’s Crip Camp) made a documentary portrait of a person once famous but now largely forgotten: The Disappearance of Shere Hite, about the titular sex researcher and her landmark 1976 book about female sexuality.
Among them were two revered veterans with Oscars to their name: Davis Guggenheim (2006’s An Inconvenient Truth), who helmed Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, a film about the life and struggles of the beloved actor who was stricken at a young age with Parkinson’s disease; and Roger Ross Williams (2009’s Music by Prudence), director of Stamped From the Beginning, a film about the history of anti-Black racism in America. Meanwhile, a first-time filmmaker, twice-Grammy-nominated producer D. Smith, profiled four Black transgender women who have performed sex work in Kokomo City.
Oscar nominee Nicole Newnham (2020’s Crip Camp) made a documentary portrait of a person once famous but now largely forgotten: The Disappearance of Shere Hite, about the titular sex researcher and her landmark 1976 book about female sexuality.
- 12/13/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 2023 Academy Museum Gala brought out well over 100 celebrities on Sunday night (December 3)!
Stars like Lupita Nyong’o, Selena Gomez, Kendall Jenner and Natalie Portman hit the red carpet at the third annual event.
The Academy Museum Gala is a fundraising event for the museum, raising “funds to support the organization’s museum exhibitions, education initiatives and public programming,” according to Variety.
Keep reading to find out more…
This year’s event was postponed due to the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel. It was originally supposed to take place October 14th, but was pushed back to this weekend.
Honorees this year included Priscilla director Sofia Coppola with the Visionary Award, Meryl Streep with the Icon Award, Michael B Jordan with the Vantage Award and Oprah Winfrey with the Pillar Award.
Keep scrolling to see photos of more than 100 celebs who attended…
Taylor Zakhar Perez
Fyi: Taylor is wearing a Tag Heuer Carrera watch.
Stars like Lupita Nyong’o, Selena Gomez, Kendall Jenner and Natalie Portman hit the red carpet at the third annual event.
The Academy Museum Gala is a fundraising event for the museum, raising “funds to support the organization’s museum exhibitions, education initiatives and public programming,” according to Variety.
Keep reading to find out more…
This year’s event was postponed due to the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel. It was originally supposed to take place October 14th, but was pushed back to this weekend.
Honorees this year included Priscilla director Sofia Coppola with the Visionary Award, Meryl Streep with the Icon Award, Michael B Jordan with the Vantage Award and Oprah Winfrey with the Pillar Award.
Keep scrolling to see photos of more than 100 celebs who attended…
Taylor Zakhar Perez
Fyi: Taylor is wearing a Tag Heuer Carrera watch.
- 12/4/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Barbie director Greta Gerwig, filmmakers Roger Ross Williams and Cord Jefferson and Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage are set to receive honors at the Sffilm Awards Night on Dec. 4 in San Francisco, organizers said on Wednesday.
The event honors achievement in film and its fundraising proceeds support the organization’s mission to “discover, nurture and showcase the next generation of film artists.”
The awards season event at the city’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts will see the Oscar-nominated Gerwig receive the Irving M. Levin Award for film direction from Barbie co-star Ryan Gosling and the Nion McEvoy & Leslie Berriman Award for Storytelling go to Stamped from the Beginning director Roger Ross Williams, an honor to be introduced by actor Raúl Castillo.
Barbie, which Gerwig penned with Noah Baumbach and stars Margot Robbie, has been a critical and box office success for Gerwig and is getting awards buzz.
In other Sffilm prize-giving,...
The event honors achievement in film and its fundraising proceeds support the organization’s mission to “discover, nurture and showcase the next generation of film artists.”
The awards season event at the city’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts will see the Oscar-nominated Gerwig receive the Irving M. Levin Award for film direction from Barbie co-star Ryan Gosling and the Nion McEvoy & Leslie Berriman Award for Storytelling go to Stamped from the Beginning director Roger Ross Williams, an honor to be introduced by actor Raúl Castillo.
Barbie, which Gerwig penned with Noah Baumbach and stars Margot Robbie, has been a critical and box office success for Gerwig and is getting awards buzz.
In other Sffilm prize-giving,...
- 11/29/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nicolas Cage is getting his long-awaited recognition for being a beacon of cinema over the course of his almost half-century-long career.
The Oscar-winning actor will be recognized with the Maria Manetti Shrem Lifetime Achievement Award for Acting during the 2023 Sffilm Awards, which will take place Monday, December 4 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
The award has been given out to actors such as Glenn Close, Kate Winslet, Robert Duvall, Robin Williams, and Adam Driver. Margot Robbie received the honor in 2022.
Cage appears in this year’s critically acclaimed dark comedy “Dream Scenario.” His classic films range from “Peggy Sue Got Married” to “Moonstruck,” “Face/Off” and “Con Air.” Cage previously has received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work in “Leaving Las Vegas,” and later earned a second Academy Award nomination for his performance in “Adaptation.”
Cage additionally...
The Oscar-winning actor will be recognized with the Maria Manetti Shrem Lifetime Achievement Award for Acting during the 2023 Sffilm Awards, which will take place Monday, December 4 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
The award has been given out to actors such as Glenn Close, Kate Winslet, Robert Duvall, Robin Williams, and Adam Driver. Margot Robbie received the honor in 2022.
Cage appears in this year’s critically acclaimed dark comedy “Dream Scenario.” His classic films range from “Peggy Sue Got Married” to “Moonstruck,” “Face/Off” and “Con Air.” Cage previously has received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work in “Leaving Las Vegas,” and later earned a second Academy Award nomination for his performance in “Adaptation.”
Cage additionally...
- 11/29/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
IndieWire’s longtime commitment to highlighting boundary-pushing documentary filmmaking reached new heights this fall during the inaugural Art of the Doc screening series. Presented in partnership with National Geographic, Art of the Doc showcased six of the best nonfiction films of 2023 at the Landmark Westwood in Los Angeles. Each screening featured in-person conversations with filmmakers and documentary subjects moderated by IndieWire editors.
“Our editors gave careful consideration in selecting these films for our inaugural screening series, Art of the Doc,” IndieWire senior VP and editor in chief Dana Harris-Bridson said in a statement announcing the series. “We’re excited to have the in-person opportunity to share IndieWire’s perspective with the work of great filmmakers.”
“We’re thrilled to be launching our first documentary screening series with our partner National Geographic,” said IndieWire senior VP and publisher James Israel. “Nat Geo’s support of the art of current documentary filmmaking...
“Our editors gave careful consideration in selecting these films for our inaugural screening series, Art of the Doc,” IndieWire senior VP and editor in chief Dana Harris-Bridson said in a statement announcing the series. “We’re excited to have the in-person opportunity to share IndieWire’s perspective with the work of great filmmakers.”
“We’re thrilled to be launching our first documentary screening series with our partner National Geographic,” said IndieWire senior VP and publisher James Israel. “Nat Geo’s support of the art of current documentary filmmaking...
- 11/27/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
We sat down with Roger Ross Williams, Ibram X Kendi & Mara Brock Akil to talk about the importance of their new film – Netflix’s Stamped from the Beginning. Directed by Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams, based on Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s New York Times best-selling book of the same name, it exposes the long-standing and powerful presence of anti-black racism in American history, using vivid animations and leading female scholars to explore the history of anti-Black racist ideas.
Leading female academics and activists such as Dr. Angela Davis, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Dr. Jennifer L. Morgan, and Dr. Kendi guide viewers through a searing account of how racist tropes and imagery were developed and enshrined in American culture
Linda Marric asks the questions.
Stamped from the Beginning is available to watch on Netflix now.
Stamped from the Beginning Interviews
The post Stamped from the Beginning Interviews – Roger Ross Williams,...
Leading female academics and activists such as Dr. Angela Davis, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Dr. Jennifer L. Morgan, and Dr. Kendi guide viewers through a searing account of how racist tropes and imagery were developed and enshrined in American culture
Linda Marric asks the questions.
Stamped from the Beginning is available to watch on Netflix now.
Stamped from the Beginning Interviews
The post Stamped from the Beginning Interviews – Roger Ross Williams,...
- 11/22/2023
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
In the spring of 2022, Ibram X. Kendi was recognized as one of the most banned authors in America. The National Book Award winner’s passionate reporting on the permeation of racist ideas throughout American history riled up conservative proponents, leading to three of Kendi’s tomes being banned in six school districts across multiple states. Now, his efforts to expose racist ideology is the subject of a new Netflix documentary, Stamped From the Beginning.
Stamped From the Beginning, based on Kendi’s 2016 book of the same name, shines a light...
Stamped From the Beginning, based on Kendi’s 2016 book of the same name, shines a light...
- 11/22/2023
- by Kalia Richardson
- Rollingstone.com
IDFA – the largest documentary film festival in the world — has just wrapped its 36th edition, and it was a memorable one by every definition. Two hundred and fifty films screened in Amsterdam, representing work from across the globe –the Middle East to Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Europe.
In a special edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, we report on the festival from Amsterdam, speaking on the ground with five notable filmmakers, including Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams, who came to IDFA for the European premiere of his new Netflix documentary Stamped From the Beginning, an examination of how racist ideas have permeated American culture.
Sex researcher Shere Hite
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nicole Newnham tells us how European audiences reacted to her award-winning documentary The Disappearance of Shere Hite, about the titular American sex researcher who became a sensation after the publication of her book The Hite Report in the 1970s,...
In a special edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, we report on the festival from Amsterdam, speaking on the ground with five notable filmmakers, including Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams, who came to IDFA for the European premiere of his new Netflix documentary Stamped From the Beginning, an examination of how racist ideas have permeated American culture.
Sex researcher Shere Hite
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nicole Newnham tells us how European audiences reacted to her award-winning documentary The Disappearance of Shere Hite, about the titular American sex researcher who became a sensation after the publication of her book The Hite Report in the 1970s,...
- 11/21/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The token image of a white celebrity and a bunch of colored, underprivileged kids serving as the celebrity being all woke and progressive gets rightfully mocked in Stamped from the Beginning. The new Netflix documentary film doesn’t hold anything back as it deconstructs the concept of racism in America. Instead of telling a story, it raises important questions and also comes up with proper, logical answers. Armed with thoughtful animation of many kinds, tons of clippings from popular and accessible movies, and a whole bunch of Black men and women candidly talking about everything uncomfortable, Stamped from the Beginning is a fiery piece of documentary and undoubtedly one of the very best to come out of Netflix in recent times. The credit for that fully goes to its source material, the best-selling book of the same name by author, historian, and anti-racism activist Ibram X. Kendi, as well as...
- 11/21/2023
- by Rohitavra Majumdar
- Film Fugitives
Based on the book by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, “Stamped from the Beginning” is a documentary that mixes animation with real images. It is directed by Roger Ross Williams.
The United States is a complex and contrasting country, as is its rich and diverse culture.
In 1860, Senator David opposed a law that sought to provide education to black people, arguing that, marked since birth, God himself created them inferior.
It was another century, different ideas, and now, in our times, ideological propaganda still exists, in a different way and with different intentions, but there is always someone behind all the ideological propaganda that presents certain societal models and benefits others. What lies behind it all?
“Stamped from the Beginning” explores how, since the enslavement of black people began in the 16th century, popular culture has justified behaviors that, ultimately, only have one sole motivation: trading slaves to make money, choosing...
The United States is a complex and contrasting country, as is its rich and diverse culture.
In 1860, Senator David opposed a law that sought to provide education to black people, arguing that, marked since birth, God himself created them inferior.
It was another century, different ideas, and now, in our times, ideological propaganda still exists, in a different way and with different intentions, but there is always someone behind all the ideological propaganda that presents certain societal models and benefits others. What lies behind it all?
“Stamped from the Beginning” explores how, since the enslavement of black people began in the 16th century, popular culture has justified behaviors that, ultimately, only have one sole motivation: trading slaves to make money, choosing...
- 11/20/2023
- by Martin Cid
- Martin Cid - TV
Roger Ross Williams, the director of Cassandro, opened up about why it was important to portray a positive queer story in the biopic based on a real-life gay amateur wrestler that turned Mexican lucha libre on its head.
“It was really important to tell a positive queer story about someone who is inspirational — someone who inspired me,” Williams said during a panel for the MGM Amazon Studios film at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles.
Williams said he made a short about the wrestling star and when he met the luchador he said, “You’re it! You’re my first scripted film.”
“I totally fell in love with his energy, his positivity, and the power of his story that in this macho, totally macho, male-dominated, homophobic world — he used that, he took back his power,” he said. “He used all the negativity and he turned it into a positive thing...
“It was really important to tell a positive queer story about someone who is inspirational — someone who inspired me,” Williams said during a panel for the MGM Amazon Studios film at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles.
Williams said he made a short about the wrestling star and when he met the luchador he said, “You’re it! You’re my first scripted film.”
“I totally fell in love with his energy, his positivity, and the power of his story that in this macho, totally macho, male-dominated, homophobic world — he used that, he took back his power,” he said. “He used all the negativity and he turned it into a positive thing...
- 11/19/2023
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
Deadline’s annual daylong awards-season kickoff event, Contenders Film: Los Angeles hosted stars and talent of films vying for the top honors during awards season.
Held at the Director’s Guild of America in Los Angeles, on November 18, the event featured 28 movies from film studios to promote their latest releases.
Panelists in the morning were Cilian Murphy from Universal Pictures’ Oppenheimer; Warner Bros. The Color Purple director Blitz Bazawule and actors Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks & Fantasia Barrino; director Alexander Payne from Focus Features The Holdovers; Kemp Powers & Amy Pascal from Columbia Pictures Spider-Man: Across the Universe; director Cord Jefferson & Jeffrey Wright from American Fiction, Rachel Sennott and director Emma Seligman from Amazon MGM Studios Bottoms & Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan and the crew of Maestro from Netflix.
Afternoon panelists included director Chloe Domont & actor Alden Ehrenreich from Fair Play; director Todd Haynes with actors Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman & Charles Melton...
Held at the Director’s Guild of America in Los Angeles, on November 18, the event featured 28 movies from film studios to promote their latest releases.
Panelists in the morning were Cilian Murphy from Universal Pictures’ Oppenheimer; Warner Bros. The Color Purple director Blitz Bazawule and actors Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks & Fantasia Barrino; director Alexander Payne from Focus Features The Holdovers; Kemp Powers & Amy Pascal from Columbia Pictures Spider-Man: Across the Universe; director Cord Jefferson & Jeffrey Wright from American Fiction, Rachel Sennott and director Emma Seligman from Amazon MGM Studios Bottoms & Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan and the crew of Maestro from Netflix.
Afternoon panelists included director Chloe Domont & actor Alden Ehrenreich from Fair Play; director Todd Haynes with actors Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman & Charles Melton...
- 11/18/2023
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated with details about the next and final screening, which is “Stamped from the Beginning” on November 20. Learn more here.
This Monday, November 20, the next and concluding screening in our Art of the Doc series will be of Roger Ross Williams’ acclaimed “Stamped from the Beginning” at the Landmark Westwood. Doors open at 6:30pm with a pre-reception featuring beer, wine, and conversations with other documentary fans. Then at 7:30, the screening will begin, after which there will be a Q&a moderated by IndieWire’s Marcus Jones with director Roger Ross Williams himself. The film, based on the book by Ibram X. Kendi about how racist tropes permeate American culture, debuted to extraordinary acclaim at TIFF in September, and IndieWire’s Anne Thompson considers it a frontrunner in the Best Documentary Feature race at the Oscars.
New to our Art of the Doc series? Well, IndieWire has celebrated the...
This Monday, November 20, the next and concluding screening in our Art of the Doc series will be of Roger Ross Williams’ acclaimed “Stamped from the Beginning” at the Landmark Westwood. Doors open at 6:30pm with a pre-reception featuring beer, wine, and conversations with other documentary fans. Then at 7:30, the screening will begin, after which there will be a Q&a moderated by IndieWire’s Marcus Jones with director Roger Ross Williams himself. The film, based on the book by Ibram X. Kendi about how racist tropes permeate American culture, debuted to extraordinary acclaim at TIFF in September, and IndieWire’s Anne Thompson considers it a frontrunner in the Best Documentary Feature race at the Oscars.
New to our Art of the Doc series? Well, IndieWire has celebrated the...
- 11/17/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Disney’s “The Marvels” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.4 million ($4.2 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.
However, in keeping with its global bow, the opening was soft as the latest installment in the MCU scored just above its stablemates “The Incredible Hulk” (2008) and “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011), both of which debuted with £3.3 million.
In its fourth weekend, Universal’s “Trolls Band Together” moved down a place to second with £959,193 for a total of £13.9 million.
In third place, also in its fourth weekend, Paramount’s Scorsese epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” collected £663,115 for a total of £9 million. In fourth position, in its third weekend, Universal’s “Five Nights at Freddy’s” earned £637,969 for a total of £9.8 million.
Rounding off the top five was the latest installment in Bollywood studio Yash Raj Films’ spy universe, “Tiger 3,” starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. The film released unusually on Sunday,...
However, in keeping with its global bow, the opening was soft as the latest installment in the MCU scored just above its stablemates “The Incredible Hulk” (2008) and “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011), both of which debuted with £3.3 million.
In its fourth weekend, Universal’s “Trolls Band Together” moved down a place to second with £959,193 for a total of £13.9 million.
In third place, also in its fourth weekend, Paramount’s Scorsese epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” collected £663,115 for a total of £9 million. In fourth position, in its third weekend, Universal’s “Five Nights at Freddy’s” earned £637,969 for a total of £9.8 million.
Rounding off the top five was the latest installment in Bollywood studio Yash Raj Films’ spy universe, “Tiger 3,” starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. The film released unusually on Sunday,...
- 11/14/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Roger Ross Williams is having quite the year. So far, the Oscar-winning director has released his first fiction film, Amazon Studios’ “Cassandro”; the HBO documentary “Love to Love You, Donna Summer”; AppleTV+ docuseries “The Super Models”; and Hulu miniseries “The 1619 Project.”
Joining Williams’ impressive output this year is Netflix’s “Stamped From the Beginning,” an adaptation of the eponymous bestselling book by Ibram X. Kendi about the history of racism and anti-Blackness in the U.S. The film has its European premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam on Tuesday.
To have “Stamped From the Beginning” play at the festival is special to the American director, who now lives in the Dutch capital. “Amsterdam is my home, I love the city so much. IDFA is such an important festival for the Dutch community but it’s also an important festival for me, personally, being a Dutch resident married to a Dutch person,...
Joining Williams’ impressive output this year is Netflix’s “Stamped From the Beginning,” an adaptation of the eponymous bestselling book by Ibram X. Kendi about the history of racism and anti-Blackness in the U.S. The film has its European premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam on Tuesday.
To have “Stamped From the Beginning” play at the festival is special to the American director, who now lives in the Dutch capital. “Amsterdam is my home, I love the city so much. IDFA is such an important festival for the Dutch community but it’s also an important festival for me, personally, being a Dutch resident married to a Dutch person,...
- 11/13/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
Many of us probably think we know how racist anti-Black ideas started or think racism was always part of the human condition. Director Roger Ross Williams challenges these notions with his adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi’s book “Stamped From the Beginning.” Relying on testimony from Black female scholars and Kendi’s research, the helmer starts by posing a provocative question: “What is wrong with Black people?” By the end of the film, Williams unsparingly topples the sanctimoniousness inherent in thinking the answer is simple or clear. Even if it is.
True to its title, “Stamped From the Beginning” seeks to explain the origin of anti-Blackness. According to activist Angela Davis, one of the esteemed talking heads who give the film its credibility: “It’s not about the color of one’s skin or the grade of one’s hair. It’s about slavery.” That is how Europeans justified the...
True to its title, “Stamped From the Beginning” seeks to explain the origin of anti-Blackness. According to activist Angela Davis, one of the esteemed talking heads who give the film its credibility: “It’s not about the color of one’s skin or the grade of one’s hair. It’s about slavery.” That is how Europeans justified the...
- 11/13/2023
- by Murtada Elfadl
- Variety Film + TV
A24 continues its stream of special runs opening dark comedy Dream Scenario in limited release on six screens in New York and LA. Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli (Sick Of Myself) and produced by Ari Aster, it stars Nicolas Cage as a hapless family man whose life is turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams.
The film premiered at Toronto Film Festival to stellar reviews (see Deadline’s here). A24 had a SAG-AFTRA waiver and Cage began promoting the film at TIFF. The English-language debut for Norwegian helmer Borgli — whose satire Sick Of Myself premiered at Cannes last year — also features Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Kate Berlant, Nicholas Braun and Noah Centineo.
Opens NY at AMC Lincoln Square, Angelika, Alamo, In LA at The Grove, Century City, Burbank. Q&As with filmmaker Borgli and cast members Berlant (who plays an executive...
The film premiered at Toronto Film Festival to stellar reviews (see Deadline’s here). A24 had a SAG-AFTRA waiver and Cage began promoting the film at TIFF. The English-language debut for Norwegian helmer Borgli — whose satire Sick Of Myself premiered at Cannes last year — also features Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Kate Berlant, Nicholas Braun and Noah Centineo.
Opens NY at AMC Lincoln Square, Angelika, Alamo, In LA at The Grove, Century City, Burbank. Q&As with filmmaker Borgli and cast members Berlant (who plays an executive...
- 11/10/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Though I’ve not read Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s New York Times bestseller Stamped From the Beginning: the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, I’m guessing the National Book Award-winner might not be the most obvious material for the big screen. Which is why I was a bit surprised when I finally watched the TIFF-debuting Netflix doc Stamped From the Beginning, Roger Ross Williams’ cinematic and often playful take on the professor-author’s quite heavy subject matter. Indeed, any film that opens with its (Black) director ambushing his (Black) talking heads with the query/salvo, “What is wrong with Black people?” is […]
The post “The History of Racist Ideas”: Roger Ross Williams on Stamped From the Beginning first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The History of Racist Ideas”: Roger Ross Williams on Stamped From the Beginning first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 11/10/2023
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Though I’ve not read Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s New York Times bestseller Stamped From the Beginning: the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, I’m guessing the National Book Award-winner might not be the most obvious material for the big screen. Which is why I was a bit surprised when I finally watched the TIFF-debuting Netflix doc Stamped From the Beginning, Roger Ross Williams’ cinematic and often playful take on the professor-author’s quite heavy subject matter. Indeed, any film that opens with its (Black) director ambushing his (Black) talking heads with the query/salvo, “What is wrong with Black people?” is […]
The post “The History of Racist Ideas”: Roger Ross Williams on Stamped From the Beginning first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The History of Racist Ideas”: Roger Ross Williams on Stamped From the Beginning first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 11/10/2023
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams talks to high-profile Black women in a hybrid documentary/animation based on Dr Ibram X Kendi’s landmark book
Dr Ibram X Kendi first published Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America in 2016 and it’s since had many forms, though this 92-minute film might be the most heart-poundingly persuasive yet. Alongside Ava DuVernay’s Academy Award-winning 13th and Elvis Mitchell’s delightfully idiosyncratic Is That Black Enough for You?!? it also solidifies Netflix’s reputation as a home for worthwhile Black history documentaries.
The film’s particular innovation is to privilege Black women’s perspectives on the history of American racism, and with the exception of Kendi himself, every expert commentator here is a Black woman. It’s an undeniable coup to have legendary movement leader Angela Davis included, though she doesn’t say much. More memorable are contributions...
Dr Ibram X Kendi first published Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America in 2016 and it’s since had many forms, though this 92-minute film might be the most heart-poundingly persuasive yet. Alongside Ava DuVernay’s Academy Award-winning 13th and Elvis Mitchell’s delightfully idiosyncratic Is That Black Enough for You?!? it also solidifies Netflix’s reputation as a home for worthwhile Black history documentaries.
The film’s particular innovation is to privilege Black women’s perspectives on the history of American racism, and with the exception of Kendi himself, every expert commentator here is a Black woman. It’s an undeniable coup to have legendary movement leader Angela Davis included, though she doesn’t say much. More memorable are contributions...
- 11/9/2023
- by Ellen E Jones
- The Guardian - Film News
Things got political on Wednesday at Doc NYC’s 10th annual Visionaries Tribute Honorees, when honoree Michael Moore asked the crowd to take a pledge “to let our Jewish brothers and sisters know that we will never, ever allow what happened in the 20th century” to happen again.
The Gotham Hall gala marks the opening day of the 14th annual Doc NYC and attracts the who’s who of the doc community from both coasts. Hundreds of documentary filmmakers, cinematographers, producers, editors, publicists, and distributors hobnob with Academy doc branch members in hopes of winning their votes.
Moore, American Documentary executive director Erika Dilday, and docu filmmakers Deborah Shaffer and Maite Alberdi, were honored during the four-hour lunch.
“Few of us are in a very festive mood right now,” Moore said during his 40-plus minute acceptance speech. “And so I’d like to start by just asking you to join...
The Gotham Hall gala marks the opening day of the 14th annual Doc NYC and attracts the who’s who of the doc community from both coasts. Hundreds of documentary filmmakers, cinematographers, producers, editors, publicists, and distributors hobnob with Academy doc branch members in hopes of winning their votes.
Moore, American Documentary executive director Erika Dilday, and docu filmmakers Deborah Shaffer and Maite Alberdi, were honored during the four-hour lunch.
“Few of us are in a very festive mood right now,” Moore said during his 40-plus minute acceptance speech. “And so I’d like to start by just asking you to join...
- 11/9/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
For the 10th year in a row, the Scad Savannah Film Festival, the 26th edition of which ran from Oct. 21 through Oct. 28, was the place to be for documentary filmmakers and documentary lovers — specifically on Oct. 25, when The Hollywood Reporter presented and your humble correspondent hosted the fest’s Docs to Watch panel that brings together the directors of up to 10 of the year’s finest documentary features.
Over the past nine years, 45 films were nominated for the best documentary feature Oscar, 19 of which were first highlighted as Docs to Watch. And in seven of those nine years, one of the Docs to Watch went on to win the best documentary feature Oscar: 2015’s Amy, 2016’s O.J.: Made in America, 2017’s Icarus, 2018’s Free Solo, 2019’s American Factory, 2021’s Summer of Soul and 2022’s Navalny. (The other two eventual winners — 2014’s Citizenfour and 2020’s My Octopus Teacher — were not screened...
Over the past nine years, 45 films were nominated for the best documentary feature Oscar, 19 of which were first highlighted as Docs to Watch. And in seven of those nine years, one of the Docs to Watch went on to win the best documentary feature Oscar: 2015’s Amy, 2016’s O.J.: Made in America, 2017’s Icarus, 2018’s Free Solo, 2019’s American Factory, 2021’s Summer of Soul and 2022’s Navalny. (The other two eventual winners — 2014’s Citizenfour and 2020’s My Octopus Teacher — were not screened...
- 11/4/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Every year the race for the Oscar for best documentary feature gets more expensive and less inclusive.
The challenging doc marketplace favors a handful of big-name filmmakers commissioned to make one-off films or docuseries. During the last two years, directors of independently made docs, especially those tackling hard-hitting social issues, have been facing an uphill battle to secure distribution.
The major streaming services, who just a few years ago were spending millions to acquire indie fare, seem to no longer be interested in garnering titles out of festivals.
There have, of course, been exceptions. Matthew Heineman’s “American Symphony” sold to Netflix immediately after the film’s Telluride premiere in September, and HBO Documentary Films/Max picked up Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize U.S. Documentary winner “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” eight months after it debuted in Park City. Netflix acquired Laura McGann...
The challenging doc marketplace favors a handful of big-name filmmakers commissioned to make one-off films or docuseries. During the last two years, directors of independently made docs, especially those tackling hard-hitting social issues, have been facing an uphill battle to secure distribution.
The major streaming services, who just a few years ago were spending millions to acquire indie fare, seem to no longer be interested in garnering titles out of festivals.
There have, of course, been exceptions. Matthew Heineman’s “American Symphony” sold to Netflix immediately after the film’s Telluride premiere in September, and HBO Documentary Films/Max picked up Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize U.S. Documentary winner “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” eight months after it debuted in Park City. Netflix acquired Laura McGann...
- 11/3/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.