The news last week that Participant Media would be shutting down shocked the entertainment industry, but it hit the documentary community with particular force.
Going back 20 years, the production and distribution company has supported premium nonfiction content on a major scale, backing documentaries that took on important social and political issues ranging from climate change to race in America, education, the national security state, the U.S.-Mexico drug war, and much more. Along the way, it earned Oscars for Citizenfour, An Inconvenient Truth and American Factory, and Oscar nominations for a slew of others including Flee, Rbg, The Square, and Food, Inc.
On the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, we discuss the developments at Participant and what they mean for a nonfiction field already been reeling from a sluggish acquisition market and slashed budgets at streamers. Our guests are Oscar-nominated filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen,...
Going back 20 years, the production and distribution company has supported premium nonfiction content on a major scale, backing documentaries that took on important social and political issues ranging from climate change to race in America, education, the national security state, the U.S.-Mexico drug war, and much more. Along the way, it earned Oscars for Citizenfour, An Inconvenient Truth and American Factory, and Oscar nominations for a slew of others including Flee, Rbg, The Square, and Food, Inc.
On the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, we discuss the developments at Participant and what they mean for a nonfiction field already been reeling from a sluggish acquisition market and slashed budgets at streamers. Our guests are Oscar-nominated filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Cinetic Media has signed New York-based documentary filmmaker Contessa Gayles for management across all media.
Most recently, Gayles took to SXSW with her film Songs from the Hole, which garnered strong reviews and won the festival’s Visions Audience Award. Described as a documentary visual album, pic follows musician James “JJ’88” Jacobs as he writes about his innermost struggles while serving a double life sentence.
Up next for Gayles is the Tribeca Festival debut of her documentary The Debutantes, made in collaboration with NBC News Studios, Westbrook Studios, and BET Studios. Through personal video diaries and dance, the doc watches as teens Amelia, Dedra, and Teylar navigate identity and gender norms while pursuing dreams of college, medicine or business.
Gayles’ documentary short, Founder Girls, exec produced by Queen Latifah, premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Festival and was broadcast on BET. Previously, she was a producer at CNN, where she created,...
Most recently, Gayles took to SXSW with her film Songs from the Hole, which garnered strong reviews and won the festival’s Visions Audience Award. Described as a documentary visual album, pic follows musician James “JJ’88” Jacobs as he writes about his innermost struggles while serving a double life sentence.
Up next for Gayles is the Tribeca Festival debut of her documentary The Debutantes, made in collaboration with NBC News Studios, Westbrook Studios, and BET Studios. Through personal video diaries and dance, the doc watches as teens Amelia, Dedra, and Teylar navigate identity and gender norms while pursuing dreams of college, medicine or business.
Gayles’ documentary short, Founder Girls, exec produced by Queen Latifah, premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Festival and was broadcast on BET. Previously, she was a producer at CNN, where she created,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Jeff Skoll, the billionaire philanthropist who launched Participant 20 years ago to champion socially conscious films, is closing down the impact producer-financier behind Spotlight, Roma, and Green Book.
In a memo to staff on Tuesday morning eBay co-founder Skoll said, ”I founded Participant with the mission of creating world-class content that inspires positive social change, prioritizing impact alongside commercial sustainability. Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created, distributed and consumed.”
The statement hinted at what may have driven the Canadian’s “very difficult decision”. Studios and streamers are scrutinising their spend more than ever,...
In a memo to staff on Tuesday morning eBay co-founder Skoll said, ”I founded Participant with the mission of creating world-class content that inspires positive social change, prioritizing impact alongside commercial sustainability. Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created, distributed and consumed.”
The statement hinted at what may have driven the Canadian’s “very difficult decision”. Studios and streamers are scrutinising their spend more than ever,...
- 4/16/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: In a competitive situation, Cinetic Media has signed Aaron Schimberg and Vanessa McDonnell, the filmmaker and producer behind the darkly comedic psychological thriller A Different Man, for management across all media.
World premiering at Sundance 2024 before going on to play Berlin, the conversation starter from A24 stars an unrecognizable Sebastian Stan as Edward, an aspiring actor who undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. Edward’s new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.
Schimberg wrote and directed the pic, which next week opens Film at Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art’s New Directors/New Films. Also starring Adam Pearson and The Worst Person in the World breakout Renate Reinsve, in her American debut, the film is produced by Christine Vachon, McDonnell, and Gabriel Mayers.
World premiering at Sundance 2024 before going on to play Berlin, the conversation starter from A24 stars an unrecognizable Sebastian Stan as Edward, an aspiring actor who undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. Edward’s new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.
Schimberg wrote and directed the pic, which next week opens Film at Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art’s New Directors/New Films. Also starring Adam Pearson and The Worst Person in the World breakout Renate Reinsve, in her American debut, the film is produced by Christine Vachon, McDonnell, and Gabriel Mayers.
- 4/1/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Sky has landed UK broadcast rights to music film My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80thAnniversary Concert.
The deal was announced today by the film executive producers Sophia Dilley from Concord Originals and Imogen Lloyd Webber from Concord Theatricals. Sky will broadcast the film in the UK on Sky Arts in May.
Directed by BAFTA winner Julia Knowles (The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration), the film celebrates the historic partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and features iconic songs from The Sound of Music, South Pacific, Oklahoma! and others.
The film includes a concert captured in London in December 2023 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane – the same venue that premiered the original West End productions of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Carousel, SouthPacific and The King and I.
It was headlined by the likes of recent Rogers & Hammerstein leading lady Joanna Ampil (Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific); Olivier...
The deal was announced today by the film executive producers Sophia Dilley from Concord Originals and Imogen Lloyd Webber from Concord Theatricals. Sky will broadcast the film in the UK on Sky Arts in May.
Directed by BAFTA winner Julia Knowles (The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration), the film celebrates the historic partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and features iconic songs from The Sound of Music, South Pacific, Oklahoma! and others.
The film includes a concert captured in London in December 2023 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane – the same venue that premiered the original West End productions of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Carousel, SouthPacific and The King and I.
It was headlined by the likes of recent Rogers & Hammerstein leading lady Joanna Ampil (Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific); Olivier...
- 3/20/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Frida Kahlo’s art is taking on a new form, thanks to the documentary “Frida.” Editor Carla Gutiérrez (“Rbg”) makes her feature directorial debut with documentary “Frida” about the life and legacy of acclaimed painter Kahlo.
Gutiérrez uses Kahlo’s own words, coupled with animated versions of her artwork, to bring Kahlo’s pieces to life onscreen. The film uses Kahlo’s illustrated diary, letters, essays, and print interviews to craft a new story around Kahlo’s personal life and love affairs across 40 years, including her famed marriage to husband and fellow artist Diego Rivera. The film debuted at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Director Gutiérrez spent two years researching Kahlo before helming “Frida.” The filmmaker also employed a team of mostly female Latina artists to create the singular cinematic experience that transcends an art history lesson and becomes a living portrait of Kahlo’s life, with her artistic magical realism at the center.
Gutiérrez uses Kahlo’s own words, coupled with animated versions of her artwork, to bring Kahlo’s pieces to life onscreen. The film uses Kahlo’s illustrated diary, letters, essays, and print interviews to craft a new story around Kahlo’s personal life and love affairs across 40 years, including her famed marriage to husband and fellow artist Diego Rivera. The film debuted at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Director Gutiérrez spent two years researching Kahlo before helming “Frida.” The filmmaker also employed a team of mostly female Latina artists to create the singular cinematic experience that transcends an art history lesson and becomes a living portrait of Kahlo’s life, with her artistic magical realism at the center.
- 3/7/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Carla Gutierrez, a Peruvian emigre to the United States who made her name as an editor of documentaries (“Rbg”), transitions to director with “Frida” (Time Studios/Imagine Documentaries/Amazon/MGM), which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday, January 18.
Long obsessed with Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, Gutierrez was reading some of the books about her and realized there was enough material for Kahlo to narrate her own story. “When I started looking at research material, I found that no one had truly focused on her voice and let Frida herself carry a narrative,” said Gutierrez via a Zoom interview.
She went to her “Rbg” and “Julia” directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West and pitched them the idea of digging deep into a third “kick-ass woman,” said Gutierrez. They became executive producers, but when they went out to find backing, some companies were afraid of a Spanish-language archive movie that might feel historically distant.
Long obsessed with Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, Gutierrez was reading some of the books about her and realized there was enough material for Kahlo to narrate her own story. “When I started looking at research material, I found that no one had truly focused on her voice and let Frida herself carry a narrative,” said Gutierrez via a Zoom interview.
She went to her “Rbg” and “Julia” directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West and pitched them the idea of digging deep into a third “kick-ass woman,” said Gutierrez. They became executive producers, but when they went out to find backing, some companies were afraid of a Spanish-language archive movie that might feel historically distant.
- 1/20/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Cinetic Media has signed documentary filmmaker Carla Gutiérrez. It will represent Gutiérrez across all media. The news comes as Gutiérrez’s directorial debut”Frida” premieres this week at Sundance. Cinetic has been ramping up management additions of late having also recently signed Betsy West and Julie Cohen (“Rbg”) of Storyville Films, both of whom executive produced Gutiérrez’s directorial debut.
Carla Gutiérrez is an Emmy- and Eddie-nominated documentary editor. She edited the Oscar-nominated films “Rbg” and “La Corona.” Her latest film as an editor, “Julia,” about renowned chef, and television personality Julia Child, premiered at Telluride and was an official selection of the Toronto Film Festival. Gutiérrez also edited the Emmy-nominated “Pray Away.” Her work has received awards at Sundance, Tribeca, Berlinale, Outfest, the Critic’s Choice Awards, the National Board of Review Awards, and the DuPont Columbia Awards. She has been a creative adviser for the Sundance Edit Lab,...
Carla Gutiérrez is an Emmy- and Eddie-nominated documentary editor. She edited the Oscar-nominated films “Rbg” and “La Corona.” Her latest film as an editor, “Julia,” about renowned chef, and television personality Julia Child, premiered at Telluride and was an official selection of the Toronto Film Festival. Gutiérrez also edited the Emmy-nominated “Pray Away.” Her work has received awards at Sundance, Tribeca, Berlinale, Outfest, the Critic’s Choice Awards, the National Board of Review Awards, and the DuPont Columbia Awards. She has been a creative adviser for the Sundance Edit Lab,...
- 1/18/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Cinetic Media has signed directors Julie Cohen, Oren Jacoby and Betsy West. The management company will represent the Oscar-nominated filmmakers and their documentary company, Storyville Films, across all types of media.
Storyville Films was founded by Jacoby to produce documentaries and series driven by “strong personal narratives of conscience, courage and innovation.” Jacoby, Cohen and West serve as Storyville’s directors. Their production and distribution partners include Amazon, CNN Films, HBO, Imagine Entertainment, Kino Lorber, Magnolia Pictures, Netflix, Participant Media, PBS, Sony Pictures Classics and Time Studios.
Films by the Storyville partners include West and Cohen’s “Rbg,” a documentary about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that was a box office hit and earned an Oscar nomination; as well as “Julia,” a look at Julia Childs’ legacy; and “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.” Jacoby’s films include “On Broadway,” “Constantine’s Sword” and “Sister Rose’s Passion,...
Storyville Films was founded by Jacoby to produce documentaries and series driven by “strong personal narratives of conscience, courage and innovation.” Jacoby, Cohen and West serve as Storyville’s directors. Their production and distribution partners include Amazon, CNN Films, HBO, Imagine Entertainment, Kino Lorber, Magnolia Pictures, Netflix, Participant Media, PBS, Sony Pictures Classics and Time Studios.
Films by the Storyville partners include West and Cohen’s “Rbg,” a documentary about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that was a box office hit and earned an Oscar nomination; as well as “Julia,” a look at Julia Childs’ legacy; and “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.” Jacoby’s films include “On Broadway,” “Constantine’s Sword” and “Sister Rose’s Passion,...
- 12/13/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Submarine has acquired worldwide distribution rights to Ilya Chaiken’s music documentary feature Pretty Ugly: The Story of the Lunachicks, ahead of its world premiere at Doc NYC.
Concord Originals, the narrative content creation division of L.A.-based music management company Concord, has come on board to finance and produce.
The film revolves around influential underground New York punk band Les Lunachicks which had its heyday in the 1990s with songs such as Fallopian Rhapsody and Bitterness Barbie, and performed live with the likes of No Doubt, Green Day, The Offspring, The Go-Go’s, Nofx, Rancid, The Ramones, Rev Horton Heat, The Buzzcocks and Joan Jett.
Director and producer Chaiken catches up with the group decades after its messy break-up as its members attempt to reunite for one last show.
“I’ve been a devoted Lunachicks fangirl since I lucked into their very first show in 1988 when we were all teenagers.
Concord Originals, the narrative content creation division of L.A.-based music management company Concord, has come on board to finance and produce.
The film revolves around influential underground New York punk band Les Lunachicks which had its heyday in the 1990s with songs such as Fallopian Rhapsody and Bitterness Barbie, and performed live with the likes of No Doubt, Green Day, The Offspring, The Go-Go’s, Nofx, Rancid, The Ramones, Rev Horton Heat, The Buzzcocks and Joan Jett.
Director and producer Chaiken catches up with the group decades after its messy break-up as its members attempt to reunite for one last show.
“I’ve been a devoted Lunachicks fangirl since I lucked into their very first show in 1988 when we were all teenagers.
- 11/9/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Julie Cohen’s latest documentary, “Every Body,” premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, starts with clips of gender reveal parties. As a male-sung rendition of Ronnie Spector’s “Be My Baby” plays, we see happy couples celebrating their upcoming pregnancies, as pink and blue smoke/confetti/etc swirls in the air. But juxtaposed with this happy scene is the knowledge that, as the doc lays out, 1.7% of people have intersex traits, ie they are born with a combination of male and female biology.
These numbers are skewed, according to Cohen, because people are too afraid to disclose whether they belong to the intersex community, and as the rise in anti-trans legislation starts to take hold, it leaves intersex people even more fearful of advocating for themselves. Into this world Cohen introduces the audience to three intersex advocates: Sean Saifa Wall, Alicia Roth Weigel and River Gallo. Each have a unique...
These numbers are skewed, according to Cohen, because people are too afraid to disclose whether they belong to the intersex community, and as the rise in anti-trans legislation starts to take hold, it leaves intersex people even more fearful of advocating for themselves. Into this world Cohen introduces the audience to three intersex advocates: Sean Saifa Wall, Alicia Roth Weigel and River Gallo. Each have a unique...
- 6/11/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Updated with statement from CNN Films from original 6:31 p.m. story: Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny got a loving message from his wife from the Oscar stage after the film about him won Best Documentary Feature.
“Thank you to everybody here,” Yulia Navalnaya said when director Daniel Roher summoned her to the microphone after making his acceptance remarks. “My husband is in prison just for telling the truth. My husband is in prison just for defending democracy. Alexei, I’m dreaming of the day when you will be free and our country will be free. Stay strong.”
Related: Oscar Winners List
Roher’s documentary Navalny, from CNN Films, chronicles the poisoning plot that nearly took Alexei Navalny’s life. He was flying from Siberia to Moscow in August 2020 when he became deathly ill. Russian doctors who initially treated him claimed he was suffering from a metabolic disorder. But...
“Thank you to everybody here,” Yulia Navalnaya said when director Daniel Roher summoned her to the microphone after making his acceptance remarks. “My husband is in prison just for telling the truth. My husband is in prison just for defending democracy. Alexei, I’m dreaming of the day when you will be free and our country will be free. Stay strong.”
Related: Oscar Winners List
Roher’s documentary Navalny, from CNN Films, chronicles the poisoning plot that nearly took Alexei Navalny’s life. He was flying from Siberia to Moscow in August 2020 when he became deathly ill. Russian doctors who initially treated him claimed he was suffering from a metabolic disorder. But...
- 3/13/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
In June, Focus Features will release Oscar-nominated director Julie Cohen’s “Every Body,” a documentary about three intersex individuals.
It is estimated that up to 1.7% of the world’s population is born with intersex traits, according to the U.N.’s Human Rights Office. The term intersex is used to describe people born with physical sex characteristics that do not fit typical definitions of male or female. These traits may be evident at birth, emerge at puberty, or become apparent later in life.
Produced in partnership with NBC News Studios, “Every Body” investigates the lives of actor and screenwriter River Gallo (they/them), political consultant Alicia Roth Weigel (she/they), and Ph.D. student Sean Saifa Wall (he/him). The docu examines how all three subjects moved from childhoods marked by shame, secrecy, and non-consensual surgeries to thriving adulthoods after each set aside medical advice to keep their bodies a...
It is estimated that up to 1.7% of the world’s population is born with intersex traits, according to the U.N.’s Human Rights Office. The term intersex is used to describe people born with physical sex characteristics that do not fit typical definitions of male or female. These traits may be evident at birth, emerge at puberty, or become apparent later in life.
Produced in partnership with NBC News Studios, “Every Body” investigates the lives of actor and screenwriter River Gallo (they/them), political consultant Alicia Roth Weigel (she/they), and Ph.D. student Sean Saifa Wall (he/him). The docu examines how all three subjects moved from childhoods marked by shame, secrecy, and non-consensual surgeries to thriving adulthoods after each set aside medical advice to keep their bodies a...
- 3/9/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Food is a universal theme in movies, and what's great about that is the wide variety of traditions, customs, and cultures that go into making foods from around the world so different and interesting. Food is strongly tied to family all over the map, whether it's big events like weddings or a Sunday dinner, or recipes handed down through the generations. Food can also be part of seduction or used in erotic games, and it can trace the arc of a romantic relationship. Food being prepared professionally, in restaurants, always makes for high drama and it's easy to understand why professional kitchens are such frequent settings for movies and TV shows. The tension can be unbearable, but there's also camaraderie amongst the staff, and interesting bonds to be explored with the customers and (gulp) the critics.
Some common themes in food movies are the high culture/low culture dichotomy --...
Some common themes in food movies are the high culture/low culture dichotomy --...
- 12/15/2022
- by Fiona Underhill
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
Few documentaries have ever featured as inspiring a subject as Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, through which the Oscar-nominated directors of 2018’s Rbg, Julie Cohen and Betsy West, profile the eponymous former U.S. congresswoman who was shot in the head while meeting with Tucson constituents in 2011 — and who has since fought her way back from the brink of death to become a leading advocate for gun safety measures.
Giffords, Cohen and West traveled to the Scad Savannah Film Festival in October to screen their Oscar-eligible doc feature and then discuss it in front of a packed Lucas Theatre audience with The Hollywood Reporter. You can watch video of that conversation, which closes with a deeply moving sing-a-long that illustrates just how much progress Giffords has made in her recovery, at the top of this post.
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,...
Few documentaries have ever featured as inspiring a subject as Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, through which the Oscar-nominated directors of 2018’s Rbg, Julie Cohen and Betsy West, profile the eponymous former U.S. congresswoman who was shot in the head while meeting with Tucson constituents in 2011 — and who has since fought her way back from the brink of death to become a leading advocate for gun safety measures.
Giffords, Cohen and West traveled to the Scad Savannah Film Festival in October to screen their Oscar-eligible doc feature and then discuss it in front of a packed Lucas Theatre audience with The Hollywood Reporter. You can watch video of that conversation, which closes with a deeply moving sing-a-long that illustrates just how much progress Giffords has made in her recovery, at the top of this post.
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,...
- 12/12/2022
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
Art
1341 Frames of Love and War (Yes Docu)
In celebrating the work of acclaimed Israeli war photographer Micha Bar-Am, director Ran Tal’s 1341 Frames of Love and War offers a meditation on photography, political violence and identity through an exclusive (and exhaustive) deep dive into Bar-Am’s expansive artistic archives over the past five decades.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Neon)
Laura Poitras (an Oscar winner for 2014’s Citizenfour) directs this portrait of renowned photographer Nan Goldin, one that offers intimate access to her suburban upbringing and experiences living among marginalized communities and artistic scenes in New York City. It also depicts the downfall of the Sackler family, a target of Goldin’s activism and whose company Purdue Pharma created and marketed OxyContin — the root cause of the American opioid epidemic.
Art & Krimes by Krimes (MTV Documentary Films)
While serving a six-year prison sentence for drug possession,...
Art
1341 Frames of Love and War (Yes Docu)
In celebrating the work of acclaimed Israeli war photographer Micha Bar-Am, director Ran Tal’s 1341 Frames of Love and War offers a meditation on photography, political violence and identity through an exclusive (and exhaustive) deep dive into Bar-Am’s expansive artistic archives over the past five decades.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Neon)
Laura Poitras (an Oscar winner for 2014’s Citizenfour) directs this portrait of renowned photographer Nan Goldin, one that offers intimate access to her suburban upbringing and experiences living among marginalized communities and artistic scenes in New York City. It also depicts the downfall of the Sackler family, a target of Goldin’s activism and whose company Purdue Pharma created and marketed OxyContin — the root cause of the American opioid epidemic.
Art & Krimes by Krimes (MTV Documentary Films)
While serving a six-year prison sentence for drug possession,...
- 12/8/2022
- by Tyler Coates, Beatrice Verhoeven and Hilton Dresden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
Gabby Giffords, the former U.S. congresswoman from Arizona, shared inspirational words on pushing for change and moving forward in “challenging times” on Wednesday at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment breakfast gala, presented by Lifetime.
Former Hollywood executive and icon Sherry Lansing introduced Giffords, who received a standing ovation as she approached the stage. Lansing called Giffords an “extraordinary woman” as her mentor.
“This woman has shown me that whatever age we are, we can literally find someone to mentor us and inspire us to higher levels of awareness and action,” said Lansing, who was the first female head of a studio when she was named president of 20th Century Fox in 1980. The executive later ran Paramount for 12 years before stepping down to create a nonprofit foundation.
Giffords was the third woman in Arizona’s history to be elected to the U.
Gabby Giffords, the former U.S. congresswoman from Arizona, shared inspirational words on pushing for change and moving forward in “challenging times” on Wednesday at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment breakfast gala, presented by Lifetime.
Former Hollywood executive and icon Sherry Lansing introduced Giffords, who received a standing ovation as she approached the stage. Lansing called Giffords an “extraordinary woman” as her mentor.
“This woman has shown me that whatever age we are, we can literally find someone to mentor us and inspire us to higher levels of awareness and action,” said Lansing, who was the first female head of a studio when she was named president of 20th Century Fox in 1980. The executive later ran Paramount for 12 years before stepping down to create a nonprofit foundation.
Giffords was the third woman in Arizona’s history to be elected to the U.
- 12/7/2022
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Emmy-winning documentary executive Courtney Sexton is returning to the esteemed production company Participant, CEO David Linde announced today. She will oversee all of Participant’s documentary content as Executive Vice President of Documentary Film and Television from the start of 2023, having previously spent eight years as a development executive with the company.
Sexton most recently served as SVP of CNN Films and will now report to Linde. Her oversight of Participant’s documentary department builds upon the legacy achieved by the late Diane Weyermann, who joined the company shortly after its creation in 2004 and turned its doc division into an industry leader, overseeing such titles as Academy Award winners Citizenfour, The Cove, American Factory and An Inconvenient Truth. The latter climate change documentary spurred former Vice President Al Gore to say, “It is not an exaggeration to say she really did change the world.”
“Courtney is an exceptionally talented, compassionate...
Sexton most recently served as SVP of CNN Films and will now report to Linde. Her oversight of Participant’s documentary department builds upon the legacy achieved by the late Diane Weyermann, who joined the company shortly after its creation in 2004 and turned its doc division into an industry leader, overseeing such titles as Academy Award winners Citizenfour, The Cove, American Factory and An Inconvenient Truth. The latter climate change documentary spurred former Vice President Al Gore to say, “It is not an exaggeration to say she really did change the world.”
“Courtney is an exceptionally talented, compassionate...
- 11/17/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
In the lead-up to the upcoming “Andor” finale on Disney+, The Walt Disney Company will air the first two episodes of the series across networks including ABC, FX and Freeform, and also make it available to view on sister streamer Hulu.
“Andor” episodes “Kassa” and “That Would Be Me” will be made available on the following schedule across the Thanksgiving holiday, with Hulu offering an extended streaming window:
ABC: Wednesday November 23, 9 p.m. Et FX: Thursday, November 24, 9 p.m. Et Freeform: Friday, November 25, 9 p.m. Et Hulu: Available from November 23 through December 7
The two-episode finale for the Disney+ “Star Wars” series, which stars Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, premieres on Wednesday, November 23.
Additional cast members for the series include Genevieve O’Reilly, Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Fiona Shaw, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis. The executive producers are Kathleen Kennedy, Tony Gilroy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Luna and Michelle Rejwan.
“Andor” episodes “Kassa” and “That Would Be Me” will be made available on the following schedule across the Thanksgiving holiday, with Hulu offering an extended streaming window:
ABC: Wednesday November 23, 9 p.m. Et FX: Thursday, November 24, 9 p.m. Et Freeform: Friday, November 25, 9 p.m. Et Hulu: Available from November 23 through December 7
The two-episode finale for the Disney+ “Star Wars” series, which stars Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, premieres on Wednesday, November 23.
Additional cast members for the series include Genevieve O’Reilly, Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Fiona Shaw, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis. The executive producers are Kathleen Kennedy, Tony Gilroy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Luna and Michelle Rejwan.
- 11/15/2022
- by EJ Panaligan
- Variety Film + TV
It’s been a headline-making weekend at the Kelly-Giffords household in Tucson, Arizona.
The couple celebrated the news Friday that Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly had been re-elected to his first full term representing Arizona, winning a tight contest with Republican Blake Masters. That bulletin was followed by the announcement today that CNN will premiere Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, the acclaimed documentary about the former Congresswoman, next Sunday, November 20.
The film from Oscar nominees Julie Cohen and Betsy West, documents Giffords’ arduous rehabilitation from a near-fatal shooting in January 2011, a tragic event that stopped her ascent as a rising star in the Democratic Party.
Directors Betsy West (L) and Julie Cohen
“Directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West reveal incredible new, personal perspectives on the assassination attempt and recovery of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, following a devastating mass shooting event that...
The couple celebrated the news Friday that Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly had been re-elected to his first full term representing Arizona, winning a tight contest with Republican Blake Masters. That bulletin was followed by the announcement today that CNN will premiere Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, the acclaimed documentary about the former Congresswoman, next Sunday, November 20.
The film from Oscar nominees Julie Cohen and Betsy West, documents Giffords’ arduous rehabilitation from a near-fatal shooting in January 2011, a tragic event that stopped her ascent as a rising star in the Democratic Party.
Directors Betsy West (L) and Julie Cohen
“Directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West reveal incredible new, personal perspectives on the assassination attempt and recovery of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, following a devastating mass shooting event that...
- 11/14/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Prior to the advent of streaming, documentaries had a reputation for being, as Jerry Seinfeld put it at the 2007 Oscars, “incredibly depressing.”
Politics, the environment, warfare, and the farming industry were all topics routinely explored by documentary filmmakers for several decades. But Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Apple, and Disney have effectively altered the nonfiction landscape by seeking out documentaries that have mass appeal, which has in turn helped them build their respective audiences. Netflix has a knack for determining what will appeal to viewers. “Tiger King,” “The Last Dance” and “The Tinder Swindler” were all released on the streaming service.
Given the ongoing worldwide pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, America’s school shooting crisis, the yearly uptick in extreme weather events, it’s not exactly a surprise that viewers are attracted to nonfiction content that isn’t didactic. It makes sense that factual features and series about celebrities, sports, and music are all the rage.
Politics, the environment, warfare, and the farming industry were all topics routinely explored by documentary filmmakers for several decades. But Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Apple, and Disney have effectively altered the nonfiction landscape by seeking out documentaries that have mass appeal, which has in turn helped them build their respective audiences. Netflix has a knack for determining what will appeal to viewers. “Tiger King,” “The Last Dance” and “The Tinder Swindler” were all released on the streaming service.
Given the ongoing worldwide pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, America’s school shooting crisis, the yearly uptick in extreme weather events, it’s not exactly a surprise that viewers are attracted to nonfiction content that isn’t didactic. It makes sense that factual features and series about celebrities, sports, and music are all the rage.
- 11/10/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Friday was a “sad day for the documentary film world,” one filmmaker told IndieWire after hearing the news that CNN Films will scale back on original documentaries from outside partners. The strategy shift means more than losing a major buyer; for filmmakers it means the great documentary gold rush had a good run, but it’s now over.
CNN is far from the only platform to tighten its nonfiction belt; cost cutting measures have also come for Netflix, Amazon, and Peacock. However, CNN was one of the last bastions for hardcore, capital-d documentaries that aspired to more than true crime or “Tiger King.”
“What’s happening across the documentary universe that’s troubling is we’re seeing more of the prestige outlets that have been traditionally for filmmakers to speak their truth and speak their story, they’re starting to dwindle,” said one talent representative within the documentary world, who...
CNN is far from the only platform to tighten its nonfiction belt; cost cutting measures have also come for Netflix, Amazon, and Peacock. However, CNN was one of the last bastions for hardcore, capital-d documentaries that aspired to more than true crime or “Tiger King.”
“What’s happening across the documentary universe that’s troubling is we’re seeing more of the prestige outlets that have been traditionally for filmmakers to speak their truth and speak their story, they’re starting to dwindle,” said one talent representative within the documentary world, who...
- 11/2/2022
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Vladimir Putin may prefer that people forget about imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but the Cinema Eye Honors isn’t.
The awards show dedicated to the art and craft of documentary film today announced its 2023 Unforgettables list of the most memorable subjects of nonfiction films this year, and Navalny’s name was front and center. The story of the lawyer and anti-corruption crusader, who was almost killed in a Kremlin poisoning plot in 2020, is told in the award-winning film Navalny, directed by Daniel Roher.
Joining Navalny on the Unforgettables list is another political leader — Gabby Giffords, the former Congresswoman from Arizona who was severely injured in an assassination attempt in 2011. Her difficult road to recovery and return to activism is told in Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen.
Artist Nan Goldin
Nan Goldin, the artist at the center of the Laura Poitras...
The awards show dedicated to the art and craft of documentary film today announced its 2023 Unforgettables list of the most memorable subjects of nonfiction films this year, and Navalny’s name was front and center. The story of the lawyer and anti-corruption crusader, who was almost killed in a Kremlin poisoning plot in 2020, is told in the award-winning film Navalny, directed by Daniel Roher.
Joining Navalny on the Unforgettables list is another political leader — Gabby Giffords, the former Congresswoman from Arizona who was severely injured in an assassination attempt in 2011. Her difficult road to recovery and return to activism is told in Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen.
Artist Nan Goldin
Nan Goldin, the artist at the center of the Laura Poitras...
- 10/26/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The Savannah College of Art and Design celebrates 25 years with the 25th annual Scad Savannah Film Festival, taking place in person October 22–29, 2022. The largest university-run film festival in the U.S., this eight-day celebration honors both professional and student filmmakers and welcomes major industry luminaries, with award-winning directors, writers, and actors on site.
This year, Scad will honor Jonathan Majors with the Spotlight Award for “Devotion,” Janelle Monáe with the Spotlight Award for “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Kerry Condon with the Distinguished Performance Award for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Jd Dillard with the Rising Star Director Award for “Devotion,” Nicholas Hoult with the Vanguard Award for “The Menu,” Jeremy Pope with the Distinguished Performance Award for “The Inspection,” Sandy Powell with the Variety Creative Impact Award in Costume Design for “Living,” Eddie Redmayne with the Virtuoso Award for “The Good Nurse,” Henry Selick with the Outstanding Achievement in...
This year, Scad will honor Jonathan Majors with the Spotlight Award for “Devotion,” Janelle Monáe with the Spotlight Award for “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Kerry Condon with the Distinguished Performance Award for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Jd Dillard with the Rising Star Director Award for “Devotion,” Nicholas Hoult with the Vanguard Award for “The Menu,” Jeremy Pope with the Distinguished Performance Award for “The Inspection,” Sandy Powell with the Variety Creative Impact Award in Costume Design for “Living,” Eddie Redmayne with the Virtuoso Award for “The Good Nurse,” Henry Selick with the Outstanding Achievement in...
- 10/3/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Eddie Redmayne, Janelle Monáe, Jonathan Majors and Sadie Sink are among the stars being honored at the Scad Savannah Film Festival later this month.
The Savannah College of Art and Design celebrates 25 years with the 25th annual Scad Savannah Film Festival, taking place in person Oct. 22–29. Redmayne will receive the Virtuoso Award for “The Good Nurse,” Monáe will be presented with the Spotlight Award for “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Jonathan Majors with the Spotlight Award for “Devotion” and Sadie Sink with the Rising Star Award for “The Whale.”
Among the other honorees, Kerry Condon is set to receive the Distinguished Performance Award for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Jd Dillard with the Rising Star Director Award for “Devotion,” Nicholas Hoult with the Vanguard Award for “The Menu,” Jeremy Pope with the Distinguished Performance Award for “The Inspection.” Henry Selick is being honored with the Outstanding Achievement in Animation Award for “Wendell and Wild.
The Savannah College of Art and Design celebrates 25 years with the 25th annual Scad Savannah Film Festival, taking place in person Oct. 22–29. Redmayne will receive the Virtuoso Award for “The Good Nurse,” Monáe will be presented with the Spotlight Award for “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Jonathan Majors with the Spotlight Award for “Devotion” and Sadie Sink with the Rising Star Award for “The Whale.”
Among the other honorees, Kerry Condon is set to receive the Distinguished Performance Award for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Jd Dillard with the Rising Star Director Award for “Devotion,” Nicholas Hoult with the Vanguard Award for “The Menu,” Jeremy Pope with the Distinguished Performance Award for “The Inspection.” Henry Selick is being honored with the Outstanding Achievement in Animation Award for “Wendell and Wild.
- 10/3/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
The Scad Savannah Film Festival, which has grown into an Oscar season stop of considerable importance, is set to mark its 25th anniversary with a contender-packed lineup of films and list of honorees.
Opening with The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight) and closing with Living (Sony Classics), the nation’s largest university-run film festival, which this year will run Oct. 22-29, will showcase 143 films, including 53 narrative feature films, 20 documentary feature films, and 79 shorts, with eight world premieres and six U.S. premieres.
It will also celebrate Eddie Redmayne with the Virtuoso Award for The Good Nurse (Netflix); Janelle Monáe with the Spotlight Award for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix); Sadie Sink with the Rising Star Award for The Whale (A24); Jeremy Pope with the Distinguished Performance Award for The Inspection (A24); Jonathan Majors with the Spotlight Award and Jd Dillard with the...
The Scad Savannah Film Festival, which has grown into an Oscar season stop of considerable importance, is set to mark its 25th anniversary with a contender-packed lineup of films and list of honorees.
Opening with The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight) and closing with Living (Sony Classics), the nation’s largest university-run film festival, which this year will run Oct. 22-29, will showcase 143 films, including 53 narrative feature films, 20 documentary feature films, and 79 shorts, with eight world premieres and six U.S. premieres.
It will also celebrate Eddie Redmayne with the Virtuoso Award for The Good Nurse (Netflix); Janelle Monáe with the Spotlight Award for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix); Sadie Sink with the Rising Star Award for The Whale (A24); Jeremy Pope with the Distinguished Performance Award for The Inspection (A24); Jonathan Majors with the Spotlight Award and Jd Dillard with the...
- 10/3/2022
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
The Scad Savannah Film Festival, which takes place at the Savannah College of Art and Design each year shortly before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences votes to determine its Oscar shortlists, and which has become a premier showcase for documentary programming, in particular, has revealed the names of the 10 documentary features that it will highlight on this year’s edition of its celebrated Docs to Watch panel.
The one-of-a-kind Docs to Watch gathering, which features discussion about the challenges and rewards of documentary filmmaking, will take place at the Lucas Theatre on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 26, midway through the 25th edition of the fest, which will run from Oct. 22 through Oct. 29. For the ninth year in a row, it will be presented by The Hollywood Reporter and moderated by yours truly.
The films represented on the panel will be:...
The Scad Savannah Film Festival, which takes place at the Savannah College of Art and Design each year shortly before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences votes to determine its Oscar shortlists, and which has become a premier showcase for documentary programming, in particular, has revealed the names of the 10 documentary features that it will highlight on this year’s edition of its celebrated Docs to Watch panel.
The one-of-a-kind Docs to Watch gathering, which features discussion about the challenges and rewards of documentary filmmaking, will take place at the Lucas Theatre on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 26, midway through the 25th edition of the fest, which will run from Oct. 22 through Oct. 29. For the ninth year in a row, it will be presented by The Hollywood Reporter and moderated by yours truly.
The films represented on the panel will be:...
- 9/16/2022
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband Senator Mark Kelly in the documentary Gabby Giffords Won’T Back Down. Courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment.
Gabby Giffords Won’T Back Down is an uplifting, inspiring documentary about a woman who truly knows what it means to overcome: former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords, who was shot in the head by a would-be assassin. Although few even survive such as injury, Giffords not only did survive but made a remarkable recovery, regaining an ability to speak and walk, although she remains partly impaired in both. Much of the credit for her amazing recovery has to go to her own indomitable, optimistic personality – and a remarkable sense of humor – but it is also due to the unwavering support of her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, now an Arizona senator.
Gabby Giffords certainly won’t back down, as directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West show us in this uplifting,...
Gabby Giffords Won’T Back Down is an uplifting, inspiring documentary about a woman who truly knows what it means to overcome: former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords, who was shot in the head by a would-be assassin. Although few even survive such as injury, Giffords not only did survive but made a remarkable recovery, regaining an ability to speak and walk, although she remains partly impaired in both. Much of the credit for her amazing recovery has to go to her own indomitable, optimistic personality – and a remarkable sense of humor – but it is also due to the unwavering support of her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, now an Arizona senator.
Gabby Giffords certainly won’t back down, as directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West show us in this uplifting,...
- 8/12/2022
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
By Glenn Dunks
We’ve been here before with the filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen. The prolific documenters (four film in five years) have carved a niche as directors of biographical explorations of people who staked a claim for themselves in annals of history through sheer dogged determination: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Oscar-nominated Rbg), activist and non-binary pioneer Pauli Murray (I Am Pauli Murray), and celebrity chef Julia Child (Julia).
Their latest is a much more contemporary figure, yet one who represents the directing pair’s most cherished traits. Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down isn’t the most exciting film, but it is an emotionally affecting one...
We’ve been here before with the filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen. The prolific documenters (four film in five years) have carved a niche as directors of biographical explorations of people who staked a claim for themselves in annals of history through sheer dogged determination: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Oscar-nominated Rbg), activist and non-binary pioneer Pauli Murray (I Am Pauli Murray), and celebrity chef Julia Child (Julia).
Their latest is a much more contemporary figure, yet one who represents the directing pair’s most cherished traits. Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down isn’t the most exciting film, but it is an emotionally affecting one...
- 7/20/2022
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris, a kind Cinderella story for older women with a Dior twist, arrives in 978 theaters this weekend with strong reviews and great word of mouth. The film is a known property among that demo given its prime trailer treatment before Focus Features’ fan favorite Downtown Abbey: A New Era — not a bad setup.
Deadline review here. The film by Anthony Fabian with Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert and Jason Isaacs has a 92/critics, 94/audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It shares the pond with a handful of strong studio holdovers and new wide releases Paw Patrol: The Movie and drama Where The Crawdads Sing. Like Crawdads, Mrs. Harris is based on a popular book – the 1958 novel by Paul Gallico – and book clubs are prominent in a large marketing push.
Manville plays Ada Harris, a British housekeeper and widow who dreams of buying her own couture Christian Dior gown.
Deadline review here. The film by Anthony Fabian with Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert and Jason Isaacs has a 92/critics, 94/audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It shares the pond with a handful of strong studio holdovers and new wide releases Paw Patrol: The Movie and drama Where The Crawdads Sing. Like Crawdads, Mrs. Harris is based on a popular book – the 1958 novel by Paul Gallico – and book clubs are prominent in a large marketing push.
Manville plays Ada Harris, a British housekeeper and widow who dreams of buying her own couture Christian Dior gown.
- 7/15/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
If you find yourself sobbing through the first half of the new documentary “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,” no one could possibly blame you.
Maybe you’ll break at the part where you hear about Giffords’ mother moving to Texas so she could be with her in the hospital every day. Maybe video footage of her early speech-therapy sessions, where she struggles to say her own name, will get you. Perhaps her return to House of Representatives, where she was met with a standing ovation, will put you over the edge.
Whatever your undoing, it’s impossible to withstand much of this powerful film, directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West, without being overwhelmed.
The documentary opens on a series of white roses in front of the National Mall, each placed to represent an American felled by gun violence. Archival footage in the opening credits then treats us to...
Maybe you’ll break at the part where you hear about Giffords’ mother moving to Texas so she could be with her in the hospital every day. Maybe video footage of her early speech-therapy sessions, where she struggles to say her own name, will get you. Perhaps her return to House of Representatives, where she was met with a standing ovation, will put you over the edge.
Whatever your undoing, it’s impossible to withstand much of this powerful film, directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West, without being overwhelmed.
The documentary opens on a series of white roses in front of the National Mall, each placed to represent an American felled by gun violence. Archival footage in the opening credits then treats us to...
- 7/15/2022
- by Lena Wilson
- The Wrap
“Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,” an inspirational story about the former Arizona congresswoman’s fight to recover from an assassination attempt in 2011 and lobby for greater gun safety laws, arrives in theaters July 15 amid a troubling surge in mass shootings across the country, underscoring the scope of her challenge.
But Giffords, who struggles to speak due to injuries she incurred in that attack, remains undaunted, even in the wake of the July 4 mass shootings in Illinois and the June 23 Supreme Court decision overturning concealed-carry gun restrictions in New York.
“For me, it has been really important to move ahead and to not look back,” says the former legislator, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on July 7.
“This country experiences more mass shootings than any other industrialized nation,” Giffords later writes via email. “The only defense the gun lobby has to high-profile shootings is to argue that gun laws don’t matter,...
But Giffords, who struggles to speak due to injuries she incurred in that attack, remains undaunted, even in the wake of the July 4 mass shootings in Illinois and the June 23 Supreme Court decision overturning concealed-carry gun restrictions in New York.
“For me, it has been really important to move ahead and to not look back,” says the former legislator, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on July 7.
“This country experiences more mass shootings than any other industrialized nation,” Giffords later writes via email. “The only defense the gun lobby has to high-profile shootings is to argue that gun laws don’t matter,...
- 7/15/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The documentary Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down traces the former congresswoman’s improbable recovery and activism in the wake of a devastating shooting
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, a new documentary about the former congresswoman turned gun control activist, opens on the National Mall dotted with bouquets like a somber orchard – 40,000 white flowers for lives lost to gun violence in the US in 2019, 5,000 orange ones for the increase in 2020. She walks with a limp and a cane, the result of partial paralysis on her right side following an attempted assassination in 2011. Her face, altered by the injuries from a gunshot wound to the head and several life-saving surgeries, bears a grim recognition.
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, directed by Rbg film-makers Betsy West and Julie Cohen, is as much about America’s unrelenting and preventable epidemic of gun violence, for which Giffords is both a dauntless activist and grim statistic,...
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, a new documentary about the former congresswoman turned gun control activist, opens on the National Mall dotted with bouquets like a somber orchard – 40,000 white flowers for lives lost to gun violence in the US in 2019, 5,000 orange ones for the increase in 2020. She walks with a limp and a cane, the result of partial paralysis on her right side following an attempted assassination in 2011. Her face, altered by the injuries from a gunshot wound to the head and several life-saving surgeries, bears a grim recognition.
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, directed by Rbg film-makers Betsy West and Julie Cohen, is as much about America’s unrelenting and preventable epidemic of gun violence, for which Giffords is both a dauntless activist and grim statistic,...
- 7/13/2022
- by Adrian Horton
- The Guardian - Film News
Click here to read the full article.
“I’m optimistic,” Gabby Giffords, the former U.S. congresswoman from Arizona, told me when I caught up with her on Tuesday in Hollywood, where she was attending an advance screening of Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s new documentary Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down just hours after an historic deal to pass limited gun safety reforms was struck in the U.S. Senate. Giffords, who was shot in the head in a 2011 attack and still bears the scars of that terrible day, said of the path forward for that bill and other bills like it, “It will be a long, hard haul, but I’m optimistic!”
The 52-year-old, who was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007 and resigned from it in 2012, gushed to me about Cohen and West’s documentary, which Tom Ortenberg‘s Briarcliff Entertainment will...
“I’m optimistic,” Gabby Giffords, the former U.S. congresswoman from Arizona, told me when I caught up with her on Tuesday in Hollywood, where she was attending an advance screening of Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s new documentary Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down just hours after an historic deal to pass limited gun safety reforms was struck in the U.S. Senate. Giffords, who was shot in the head in a 2011 attack and still bears the scars of that terrible day, said of the path forward for that bill and other bills like it, “It will be a long, hard haul, but I’m optimistic!”
The 52-year-old, who was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007 and resigned from it in 2012, gushed to me about Cohen and West’s documentary, which Tom Ortenberg‘s Briarcliff Entertainment will...
- 6/22/2022
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Updated with final winners: The Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul, Bo Burnham’s Emmy-winning musical comedy special Inside, Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad and Raoul Peck’s Exterminate All the Brutes are among the final list of winners of 2022 Peabody Awards.
The Peabodys, in their 82nd year, honor the year’s most powerful content across the fields of entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth, and public service programming. The organization based at the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia wrapped up a a weeklong rollout of all 30 winners Thursday.
This year’s awards were presented by the likes of Melissa McCarthy, Morgan Freeman, John Legend, Kevin Bacon, H.E.R., Ethan Hawke, Jon Stewart, Hasan Minhaj, Riz Ahmed, LeVar Burton, Jenny Slate, Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Scott.
Newsman Dan Rather and Fresh Air‘s Terry Gross have already won this year’s Career Achievement Award and Institutional Award,...
The Peabodys, in their 82nd year, honor the year’s most powerful content across the fields of entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth, and public service programming. The organization based at the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia wrapped up a a weeklong rollout of all 30 winners Thursday.
This year’s awards were presented by the likes of Melissa McCarthy, Morgan Freeman, John Legend, Kevin Bacon, H.E.R., Ethan Hawke, Jon Stewart, Hasan Minhaj, Riz Ahmed, LeVar Burton, Jenny Slate, Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Scott.
Newsman Dan Rather and Fresh Air‘s Terry Gross have already won this year’s Career Achievement Award and Institutional Award,...
- 6/9/2022
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
"A comeback story like no other." Briarcliff Entertainment has revealed the trailer for Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down, a documentary film from the two acclaimed doc filmmakers Julie Cohen & Betsy West. This premiered at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival a few months ago, and opens in US theaters this July. Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down tells the extraordinary story of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, her relentless fight to recover following an assassination attempt in 2011, and her new life as one of the most effective activists in the battle against gun violence and in promoting understanding of the language condition aphasia. Featuring extensive verité filming of Gabby and her husband, astronaut-turned-Senator Mark Kelly; interviews with President Barack Obama and many others; plus exclusive access to stunning videos taken in the weeks following her near-death experience, this film is the story of a rising star transformed by an act of violence, ...
- 6/8/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Updated with trailer: Briarcliff Entertainment on Tuesday dropped the trailer for Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, the upcoming documentary from Rbg and Julia directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen.
The feature-length pic is gearing up for a theatrical release July 15 after the distributor acquired it in April after its world premiere at SXSW. CNN Films will air it later this year.
Here’s the trailer:
Previous Exclusive, April 19: Briarcliff Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, the new documentary from directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen. The distributor plans to open the film nationwide July 15, with CNN Films planning to air it later in the year.
The doc, which premiered at SXSW last month, is viewed as an awards-season contender, with a 100 score so far on Rotten Tomatoes.
The project tells the story of Giffords, who was seriously wounded in a 2011 assassination...
The feature-length pic is gearing up for a theatrical release July 15 after the distributor acquired it in April after its world premiere at SXSW. CNN Films will air it later this year.
Here’s the trailer:
Previous Exclusive, April 19: Briarcliff Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, the new documentary from directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen. The distributor plans to open the film nationwide July 15, with CNN Films planning to air it later in the year.
The doc, which premiered at SXSW last month, is viewed as an awards-season contender, with a 100 score so far on Rotten Tomatoes.
The project tells the story of Giffords, who was seriously wounded in a 2011 assassination...
- 6/7/2022
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
The 2022 Peabody Awards have announced the second round of winners, which includes My Name is Pauli Murray in the documentary category and Hacks in the entertainment category.
The New York Times’ Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol won in the news category alongside PBS NewsHour’s January 6th Reporting.
Other winners include Philly D.A., presented by Kevin Bacon; Sort Of, presented by Tan France; and NBC Bay Area: The Moms of Magnolia Street & No Man’s Land: Fighting for Fatherhood in a Broken System, presented by H.E.R.
The remaining awards will be presented virtually Wednesday through Thursday. A full list of nominees can be found here, and the first round of winners is here.
A total of 30 winners will be chosen from the nominees and revealed this week with celebs announcing each recipient via a short video...
The 2022 Peabody Awards have announced the second round of winners, which includes My Name is Pauli Murray in the documentary category and Hacks in the entertainment category.
The New York Times’ Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol won in the news category alongside PBS NewsHour’s January 6th Reporting.
Other winners include Philly D.A., presented by Kevin Bacon; Sort Of, presented by Tan France; and NBC Bay Area: The Moms of Magnolia Street & No Man’s Land: Fighting for Fatherhood in a Broken System, presented by H.E.R.
The remaining awards will be presented virtually Wednesday through Thursday. A full list of nominees can be found here, and the first round of winners is here.
A total of 30 winners will be chosen from the nominees and revealed this week with celebs announcing each recipient via a short video...
- 6/7/2022
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
HBO Max’s “Hacks” is the latest entertainment series to be honored by the Peabody Awards, which announced the win on Tuesday morning.
“When they’re together taking on all things comedy and feminism, ‘Hacks’ crackles with wit and truly sings,” Melissa McCarthy said in her presentation to the show.
Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Paulilu, First Thought Productions, Fremulon Productions and 3 Arts Entertainment, are behind the show.
“HBO Max’s Hacks became a word-of-mouth hit thanks to the brilliantly funny intergenerational pairing of Jean Smart as standup legend Deborah Vance and Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels, the desperate young comedy writer sent to freshen up Deborah’s act,” the org said in its statement honoring the show. “Created by ‘Broad City’ writers Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, the series follows Deborah and Ava as they try to revive their...
“When they’re together taking on all things comedy and feminism, ‘Hacks’ crackles with wit and truly sings,” Melissa McCarthy said in her presentation to the show.
Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Paulilu, First Thought Productions, Fremulon Productions and 3 Arts Entertainment, are behind the show.
“HBO Max’s Hacks became a word-of-mouth hit thanks to the brilliantly funny intergenerational pairing of Jean Smart as standup legend Deborah Vance and Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels, the desperate young comedy writer sent to freshen up Deborah’s act,” the org said in its statement honoring the show. “Created by ‘Broad City’ writers Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, the series follows Deborah and Ava as they try to revive their...
- 6/7/2022
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s Julia Child documentary Julia is to be given a linear TV showing on CNN later this month.
The theatrical feature, which is exec produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Michael Rosenberg, explores the celebrated TV chef’s near-10-year toil testing recipes and exchanging notes with two friends who shared her love of French food.
Featuring interviews with Child’s friends and family, the film explains her vast, enduring influence upon U.S. kitchens and culture.
Pioneering filmmakers Cohen and West are directors and producers are Holly Siegel, Justin Wilkes and Sara Bernstein.
The film will premiere on Memorial Day Monday 30 May at 8pm Est.
“Julia Child was a muse to so many of us who remember her hundreds of television appearances through the decades. We hope viewers will be delighted to discover – or rediscover – a woman who defied all expectations, pursued her passions,...
The theatrical feature, which is exec produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Michael Rosenberg, explores the celebrated TV chef’s near-10-year toil testing recipes and exchanging notes with two friends who shared her love of French food.
Featuring interviews with Child’s friends and family, the film explains her vast, enduring influence upon U.S. kitchens and culture.
Pioneering filmmakers Cohen and West are directors and producers are Holly Siegel, Justin Wilkes and Sara Bernstein.
The film will premiere on Memorial Day Monday 30 May at 8pm Est.
“Julia Child was a muse to so many of us who remember her hundreds of television appearances through the decades. We hope viewers will be delighted to discover – or rediscover – a woman who defied all expectations, pursued her passions,...
- 5/10/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Festivals
The Cannes Film Market has added to its previously announced Ukraine in Focus program, which will provide Ukrainian filmmakers and producers with networking, pitching and co-financing opportunities over two days during the Cannes Film Festival, on May 21 and 22. A panel discussion titled “Ukrainian Cinema: From Surviving to Thriving Again: How the Global Film Community Can Come Together to Support the Country’s War-Torn Industry” will take place on May 21.
In addition the market has confirmed the full endorsement and patronage of Ukrainian Films Now, an initiative promoted by Eave, First Cut Lab, and When East Meets West, which aims at gathering a pool of European regional and national film funds to support Ukrainian films at a late post-production stage to complete the final financial gap.
“We hope that these initiatives will allow Ukraine’s cinema and audiovisual industry to not only survive in the challenging context, but to thrive...
The Cannes Film Market has added to its previously announced Ukraine in Focus program, which will provide Ukrainian filmmakers and producers with networking, pitching and co-financing opportunities over two days during the Cannes Film Festival, on May 21 and 22. A panel discussion titled “Ukrainian Cinema: From Surviving to Thriving Again: How the Global Film Community Can Come Together to Support the Country’s War-Torn Industry” will take place on May 21.
In addition the market has confirmed the full endorsement and patronage of Ukrainian Films Now, an initiative promoted by Eave, First Cut Lab, and When East Meets West, which aims at gathering a pool of European regional and national film funds to support Ukrainian films at a late post-production stage to complete the final financial gap.
“We hope that these initiatives will allow Ukraine’s cinema and audiovisual industry to not only survive in the challenging context, but to thrive...
- 5/4/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Briarcliff Entertainment has acquired the North American theatrical rights to “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,” the new documentary film from directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen.
The film is set for a nationwide theatrical release on July 15. CNN Films, which produced the project with Time Studios, still retains the broadcast rights and will show the film on CNN later this year.
“Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” tells the story of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her inspiring rise in the Democratic party before she was shot in the head following an assassination attempt on her life in 2011. The film shows her long road to recovery, her strong bond and love with her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, and above all, her ongoing battle with the mental language condition aphasia brought on by her brain injury.
West and Cohen’s film premiered to acclaim at last month’s SXSW...
The film is set for a nationwide theatrical release on July 15. CNN Films, which produced the project with Time Studios, still retains the broadcast rights and will show the film on CNN later this year.
“Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” tells the story of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her inspiring rise in the Democratic party before she was shot in the head following an assassination attempt on her life in 2011. The film shows her long road to recovery, her strong bond and love with her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, and above all, her ongoing battle with the mental language condition aphasia brought on by her brain injury.
West and Cohen’s film premiered to acclaim at last month’s SXSW...
- 4/19/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
The third instalment in the Harry Potter spin-off series took £5.9m.
RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Apr 8-10)Total gross to date Week 1. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore (Warner Bros) £5.9m £5.9m 1 2. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Paramount) £2.9m £10.6m 2 3. The Bad Guys (Universal) £1.1m £4.9m 2 4. Morbius (Sony) £734,000 £5.1m 2 5. The Batman (Warner Bros)
£623,964 £39.2m 6
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.30
Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore comfortably topped the UK-Ireland box office in its debut weekend, but could not match previous titles in the franchise.
The third instalment in the spin-off series received the widest-ever opening for Warner Bros, with 714 locations,...
RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Apr 8-10)Total gross to date Week 1. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore (Warner Bros) £5.9m £5.9m 1 2. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Paramount) £2.9m £10.6m 2 3. The Bad Guys (Universal) £1.1m £4.9m 2 4. Morbius (Sony) £734,000 £5.1m 2 5. The Batman (Warner Bros)
£623,964 £39.2m 6
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.30
Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore comfortably topped the UK-Ireland box office in its debut weekend, but could not match previous titles in the franchise.
The third instalment in the spin-off series received the widest-ever opening for Warner Bros, with 714 locations,...
- 4/11/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Julia Child is having quite the resurgence this year. HBO Max’s new limited series, “Julia,” is the third program aimed at the legendary American-born chef who brought French cuisine to the masses, joining Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s documentary released last year and Food Network’s “Julia Child Challenge.” It’s not clear exactly why Child is capturing audiences’ interests at the moment — perhaps it’s fueled, in part, by us spending two years in our homes realizing we can’t cook. But either way, it’s a great way to appreciate the majesty of food, especially when it looks so good on-screen.
Created by “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” producer Daniel Goldfarb, “Julia” is a light and charming examination of Child’s rise to fame. We meet Julia (British actress Sarah Lancashire) at a crossroads with her husband, Paul (David Hyde Pierce). Despite their deep love for each other,...
Created by “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” producer Daniel Goldfarb, “Julia” is a light and charming examination of Child’s rise to fame. We meet Julia (British actress Sarah Lancashire) at a crossroads with her husband, Paul (David Hyde Pierce). Despite their deep love for each other,...
- 3/30/2022
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
Almost two decades after her death, Julia Child is back in the media spotlight, the subject of a trio of projects.
The Sony Pictures Classics documentary “Julia,” from the “Rbg” team of Julie Cohen and Betsy West, was first out of the gate when it debuted on the fest circuit in September, followed March 16 by “The Julia Child Challenge” cooking competition on Food Network. The HBO Max scripted series “Julia” will arrive later this month, with Sarah Lancashire portraying the iconic chef.
In the reality show, eight self-proclaimed disciples of Child vie for the chance to win an all-expenses-paid, three-month cooking course at Le Cordon Bleu, where she studied in 1950, by whipping up their own spins on her iconic dishes.
Courtney White, outgoing president of Food Network and streaming food content at parent company Discovery, attributes the confluence of Child projects in part to her increased relevance during the pandemic,...
The Sony Pictures Classics documentary “Julia,” from the “Rbg” team of Julie Cohen and Betsy West, was first out of the gate when it debuted on the fest circuit in September, followed March 16 by “The Julia Child Challenge” cooking competition on Food Network. The HBO Max scripted series “Julia” will arrive later this month, with Sarah Lancashire portraying the iconic chef.
In the reality show, eight self-proclaimed disciples of Child vie for the chance to win an all-expenses-paid, three-month cooking course at Le Cordon Bleu, where she studied in 1950, by whipping up their own spins on her iconic dishes.
Courtney White, outgoing president of Food Network and streaming food content at parent company Discovery, attributes the confluence of Child projects in part to her increased relevance during the pandemic,...
- 3/17/2022
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety Film + TV
CNN, which created the 24-hour news cycle, was also the first to know that it wasn’t enough. Facing increasing competition in real-time news, CNN executives confronted the new reality a decade ago: It needed to evolve or face obsolescence.
It all came down to one question: “What can you give viewers that makes CNN essential?,” Amy Entelis, executive VP for talent and content development at CNN Worldwide, told IndieWire in an interview at SXSW. The answer was more original, exclusive reporting, plus not-news programming from CNN Original Series and CNN Films to offer deeper takes on the people, places, and events that commanded appointment viewing.
Today, CNN faces another pivot. It ranks last place in the cable news ratings, well behind Fox News, but the 40-year-old company is betting that the March 29 launch of CNN+ will reinvigorate the brand. News delivered by boldface talent is of supreme importance; Wolf Blitzer,...
It all came down to one question: “What can you give viewers that makes CNN essential?,” Amy Entelis, executive VP for talent and content development at CNN Worldwide, told IndieWire in an interview at SXSW. The answer was more original, exclusive reporting, plus not-news programming from CNN Original Series and CNN Films to offer deeper takes on the people, places, and events that commanded appointment viewing.
Today, CNN faces another pivot. It ranks last place in the cable news ratings, well behind Fox News, but the 40-year-old company is betting that the March 29 launch of CNN+ will reinvigorate the brand. News delivered by boldface talent is of supreme importance; Wolf Blitzer,...
- 3/15/2022
- by Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
Sony Pictures Classics announced today that its feature documentary Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story, co-directed by five-time Oscar nominee Frank Marshall (The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart) and Ryan Suffern (Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&m Records), will hit theaters in New York and Los Angeles on May 13, before expanding to additional markets in the following weeks. It will open against IFC Films’ horror-thriller The Innocents, Roadside Attractions’ comedy Family Camp and Universal’s horror-thriller Firestarter starring Zac Efron and more.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, aka “Jazz Fest,” is the signature annual music and cultural event of the city and has been called America’s greatest festival. It has celebrated the music, food, arts and crafts of all of Louisiana since 1970, with hundreds of thousands attending the event each year. The documentary weaves together live performances and...
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, aka “Jazz Fest,” is the signature annual music and cultural event of the city and has been called America’s greatest festival. It has celebrated the music, food, arts and crafts of all of Louisiana since 1970, with hundreds of thousands attending the event each year. The documentary weaves together live performances and...
- 3/15/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
“Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” begins with the former Arizona representative placing flowers in memorial vases for victims of gun violence. With a voiceover rife with potent pauses, her cadence sounds for a moment like a spoken word poem. While her rhythm is indeed intentional and meaningful, it’s not out of a sense of artistry. Instead, it’s a sign of the aphasia Giffords has wrestled with since a bullet ripped through her brain on Jan. 8, 2011. A gunman obsessed with the congressperson attempted to assassinate her as she was greeting constituents at a Tucson supermarket. Giffords and 12 others survived the mass shooting, but six people did not, including civics-interested Christina-Taylor Green, 9, and federal judge John Roll.
With their latest film, documentary duo Julie Cohen and Betsy West (“Rgb”) create a portrait of Giffords and her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly, that is both inspiring and infuriating. Watching the vibrant...
With their latest film, documentary duo Julie Cohen and Betsy West (“Rgb”) create a portrait of Giffords and her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly, that is both inspiring and infuriating. Watching the vibrant...
- 3/15/2022
- by Lisa Kennedy
- Variety Film + TV
In 2011, former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords survived an assassination attempt that left her partially paralyzed and unable to walk. Tracing her recovery and activism, the title of Julie Cohen and Betsy West‘s documentary “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” pretty much says it all. A portrait of Gifford’s resilience juxtaposed against the sheer institutional gridlock that accompanies any attempts at gun reform, Cohen and West’s film is most affecting when centered around Gifford’s recovery process and her relationship with her astronaut husband (and current congressman) Mark Kelly.
Continue reading ‘Gabby Giffords: Won’t Back Down’ Review: A Personal, Scattered Tribute to the Titular Congresswoman [SXSW] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Gabby Giffords: Won’t Back Down’ Review: A Personal, Scattered Tribute to the Titular Congresswoman [SXSW] at The Playlist.
- 3/12/2022
- by Christian Gallichio
- The Playlist
Having its premiere today at SXSW, this CNN Films theatrical documentary Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down is a truly inspirational offering an almost verite kind of fly-on-the-wall account of what can only be termed as a comeback story like no other. In 2011 Giffords, an Arizona congresswoman and rising star in the Democratic party had the wind at her back with talk of possibly a Senate or Governor run in the future, even maybe a Presidential one. She was married to astronaut Mark Kelly, and was even looking at adding a new addtion to their family which included his two daughters from a previous marriage. Then it all came crashing down when at a campaign event, she and several others attending were felled by a gunman run amok. Several died that day including a 12 year old girl who was interested in civic studies and tagged along to the rally. Giffords...
- 3/12/2022
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline 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.