Showtime will air Outcry, a five-part documentary series examining the gripping story of high school football star Greg Kelley, his controversial conviction and the quest for truth and justice as the case unfolds. Produced and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Pat Kondelis (Disgraced), Outcry will have its world premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals in Austin, ahead of its television premiere on Friday, April 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime.
HBO has confirmed their slate of captivating documentaries for the first half of 2020, including ATLANTA CHILD MURDERS (working title), a documentary series reexamining the missing and murdered children of Atlanta in the late-’70s and early-’80s in collaboration with Show of Force, Roc Nation and Get Lifted Film Co.; WELCOME TO CHECHNYA, directed by David France, chronicling a group of brave activists risking their lives to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ persecution in the repressive and closed Russian republic of Chechnya; NATALIE WOOD: WHAT REMAINS BEHIND, intimately exploring Natalie Wood’s life, career and tragic death through the unique perspective of her daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner and others who knew her best; and McMILLION$, from executive producer Mark Wahlberg and directors James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte, a six-part documentary series chronicling the stranger-than-fiction story of the mysterious McDonald’s Monopoly game promotion scam and the mastermind who developed the complex scheme, stealing millions of dollars and building a vast network of co-conspirators across the U.S.
HBO is in production on the first project in its multi-film deal with best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow. Farrow will collaborate with Academy Award nominated directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady of Loki Films to investigate threats, intimidation and violence directed at journalists working to expose corruption and abuse by governments, corporations and other powerful interests. The film will follow subjects in the United States and internationally.
Showtime Documentary Films announced upcoming titles from its 2020 slate from preeminent documentarians, including LOVE FRAUD from Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, THE TRADE from Matthew Heineman, THE LONGEST WAR from Greg Barker, Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon, KINGDOM OF SILENCE from Alex Gibney, Rick Rowley and Lawrence Wright, and THE KINGMAKER from Lauren Greenfield.
HBO released the official trailer for “McMillions,” the documentary series directed by by James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte that chronicles the stranger-than-fiction story of an ex-cop turned security auditor who rigged the McDonald’s Monopoly game promotion for a decade, stealing millions of dollars and building a vast network of co-conspirators across the U.S.
Oprah Winfrey has stepped away and will no longer be an executive producer of the upcoming untitled documentary about music executive Drew Dixon, who accused Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct. The documentary also will not air on Apple TV+, but is still expected to world premiere as scheduled at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
The documentary film Women of Troy, exploring the transcendent career of the USC women’s basketball team of the 1980s led by Cheryl Miller and their impact on women’s basketball, will debut on HBO in March 2020.
Icarus Films will release filmmaker Patricio Guzmán’s The Cordillera of Dreams (La cordillera de los sueños), winner of the L’Oeil d’or Best Documentary Award at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. The film will open on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, at the IFC Center; on Friday, February 21, 2020 at the Lumiere Music Hall in Los Angeles; followed by dozens of cities across the U.S. and Canada including Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
Netflix released the trailer for “Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez,” the three-part documentary series that examines what led to the murderous fall and shocking death of former NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez.
American Factory won the top awards at the 2020 Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking, taking the award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking’ and ‘Outstanding Achievement in Direction’ for directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert.
The Directors Guild of America announced the nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for 2019.
The rom-com documentary Shoot To Marry, the follow-up to Canadian filmmaker Steve Markle’s cult classic Camp Hollywood released the new trailer prior to the film’s World Premier at the 2020 Slamdance Film Festival.