UNITED SKATES[/caption]
UNITED SKATES, directed and produced by Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown, and winner of the Documentary Audience Award at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival has been acquired by HBO and will debut on the network in 2019. John Legend is an executive producer of the documentary feature.
As America’s last standing roller rinks are threatened with closure, UNITED SKATES spotlights a community of thousands who fight in a racially charged environment to save the underground African-American subculture of roller skating, which has been overlooked by the mainstream for generations, while giving rise to great musical talents.
The documentary will screen this fall in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and London, among other locations, supported by a robust outreach campaign.
Documentary
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Tribeca Award Winning Documentary UNITED SKATES to Debut on HBO in 2019 [Trailer]
[caption id="attachment_29156" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] UNITED SKATES[/caption]
UNITED SKATES, directed and produced by Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown, and winner of the Documentary Audience Award at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival has been acquired by HBO and will debut on the network in 2019. John Legend is an executive producer of the documentary feature.
As America’s last standing roller rinks are threatened with closure, UNITED SKATES spotlights a community of thousands who fight in a racially charged environment to save the underground African-American subculture of roller skating, which has been overlooked by the mainstream for generations, while giving rise to great musical talents.
The documentary will screen this fall in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and London, among other locations, supported by a robust outreach campaign.
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QUEEN OF THE WORLD, Landmark Documentary on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to Debut on HBO
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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are welcomed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to Buckingham Palace in London, April 1, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza[/caption]
“Queen of the World,” the Landmark Documentary on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, tells the story of how the Commonwealth and its growth have been a central focus and passion throughout Her Majesty’s life. The documentary will debut MONDAY, OCT. 1 (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO, which has U.S. rights to the film.
Produced by Oxford Films, QUEEN OF THE WORLD will offer unique insights into Her Majesty The Queen as a figure on the global stage in her role as head of the Commonwealth, an association of free and independent nations that were once part of the British Empire, and the baton she is passing to the younger members of the Royal Family as they continue to build upon her legacy. Today, there are 2.4 billion Commonwealth citizens, which is almost one-third of the world’s population.
Filmed over more than a year with privileged access to The Queen, her family, her staff and her residences, the documentary tells the story of how the Commonwealth and its growth have been a central focus and passion throughout Her Majesty’s life.
QUEEN OF THE WORLD features behind-the-scenes moments with The Queen and other members of the Royal Family, including Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Princess Anne; Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; and the Countess of Wessex.
As the family and world leaders discuss the importance of the Commonwealth to The Queen, the film documents the ways she passes her knowledge and experience to the younger generations.
Drawing on footage from The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s private film archives and treasures of the Royal Collection, QUEEN OF THE WORLD will offer a unique perspective on The Queen’s early years as Head of the Commonwealth, when she had the symbols of the then-eight Commonwealth countries embroidered on her Coronation gown. That number had grown to 53 countries by the time the Duchess of Sussex had flowers representing the nations of the Commonwealth embroidered on her wedding veil in 2018.
The documentary begins in 2017 with Her Majesty The Queen recording her annual Christmas message to the Commonwealth before what will be a momentous year for both the Royal Family and for her “family of nations.”
QUEEN OF THE WORLD spotlights some of the programs that The Queen hosts every year to give opportunities to people from around the Commonwealth. At Buckingham Palace, a team of young professionals from the Caribbean join a program inspired by The Queen’s desire to give a helping hand to rising stars in the hospitality industry in countries where tourism is vital to the local economy. The group is given advice before its first royal introduction, to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. It’s a lively encounter as Prince Harry, The Queen’s new Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, tells them, “You guys have spent way more time in Buckingham Palace than I ever have – and you’ve only been here two weeks!”
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is reunited with her wedding gown and veil for the first time since her wedding day, as Royal Collection specialists prepare the dress for a new public exhibition. She reflects on her wedding day, on the importance of the Commonwealth and on the symbolic significance of the floral Commonwealth emblems sewn into her silk veil.
With access to private home movies, QUEEN OF THE WORLD shows the role that the Royal Yacht Britannia played in The Queen’s early tours of the Commonwealth, when it served not just as a floating palace and traveling embassy, but also as a home away from home. Princess Anne watches footage of her and her brother, Prince Charles, as young children on their first trip on the Royal Yacht after six months apart from their parents during the great post-Coronation Commonwealth tour, in which The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh traveled 40,000 miles around the globe.
The film also follows a special event at Buckingham Palace during London Fashion Week. The Countess of Wessex explains the significance of the Commonwealth Fashion Exchange, in which designers and artisans from each of the 53 Commonwealth countries create and display new looks. The designs are shown at Buckingham Palace at an exhibition attended by the Countess and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Beatrice and many key figures from the global fashion industry.
As the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex prepare to head for the Pacific on their first major Commonwealth tour together, a new chapter in this remarkable global story is about to unfold.
Oxford Films also produced the documentary “Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy,” which debuted on HBO in 2017.
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Netflix Releases Quincy Jones Documentary Trailer Featuring Mary J. Blige, Tony Bennett, Bono, Will Smith,
Netflix released the trailer for the documentary Quincy, described as an intimate look into the life of icon Quincy Jones, ahead of its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival on September 9.
The film directed by Quincy’s daughter Rashida Jones along with Alan Hicks, seamlessly threads personal vérité moments with private archival footage to reveal a legendary life like no other. A unique force in music and popular culture for 70 years, Jones has transcended racial and cultural boundaries; his story is inextricably woven into the fabric of America. Beyond his own acclaim as a trumpeter, producer, conductor, composer and arranger, Jones’s inimitable gift to discover the biggest talents of the past half of the century is unprecedented. He has mentored and cultivated the careers of young talents, from Lesley Gore and Michael Jackson to Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith.
Quincy features Quincy Jones, Mary J. Blige, Tony Bennett, Bono, Will Smith, Jay Z, Peggy Lipton, Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey and many others. The film will launch globally and in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles on September 21.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT7gn6nhsAc
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Award Winning LIYANA Exec Produced by Thandie Newton Sets Release Date [Trailer]
The new trailer and poster debuted this week for the award-winning genre-defying documentary LIYANA directed by Aaron and Amanda Kopp and executive produced by actress Thandie Newton. The acclaimed film which has won over 25 film festival jury and audience awards will begin its 25+ city theatrical run with a special screening at New York’s IFC Film Center on October 9 before opening at the Maysles Documentary Center on October 10. Los Angeles and additional cities will follow.
Under the guidance of acclaimed South African storyteller, Gcina Mhlophe, five orphaned children from Swaziland collaborate to craft a collective fairytale drawn from their darkest memories and brightest dreams. Their fictional character, Liyana, is brought to life in innovative animated artwork as she embarks on a perilous quest to rescue her young twin brothers. The children’s real and imagined worlds begin to converge, and they must choose what kind of story they will tell – in fiction and in their own lives.
This genre-defying film weaves an original animated hero’s journey with poetic documentary scenes to create an inspiring tale of perseverance. LIYANA is a tribute to creativity, the strength of the human spirit, and the healing power of storytelling.
LIYANA is the critically acclaimed feature directorial debut of award-winning filmmakers and cinematographers Aaron Kopp & Amanda Kopp. They both shot for the Academy Award nominated campus assault documentary THE HUNTING GROUND. Aaron, who was raised in Swaziland, also shot and co-produced the Academy Award winning documentary SAVING FACE, which earned him an Emmy nomination. LIYANA features an original score by South African composer, Philip Miller, and stunning animation by Nigerian artist Shofela Coker, illustrating Liyana’s journey as told through the children in Swaziland. Executive produced by award-winning actress, Thandie Newton, LIYANA has screened at more than 80 film festivals around the world including the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival and MoMA DocFortnight.
The film has been hailed as, deeply moving and beautifully crafted by The Hollywood Reporter and lush and uplifting by the New York Times. Critics across the country say the film is brilliant, masterful, an inspirational cinematic experience, and that LIYANA stands a strong chance of making Oscar buzz throughout the year.
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Watch Captivating MAKING COCO: THE GRANT FUHR STORY Trailer on Controversial NHL Goalie
The new trailer is here for Making Coco : The Grant Fuhr Story, Don Metz’s captivating cinematic chronicle on one of the most celebrated, yet enigmatic goalies in the history of the NHL. The feature has been announced as the closing Gala film at the Calgary International Film Festival.
Featured contributors in the documentary include Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Martin Brodeur, Brett Hull, Chris Pronger and many more of the NHL’s royalty.
Fuhr, along with a number of his teammates, will provide a never-before-seen exclusive look into the high-flying Oilers dynasty of the 80’s, what made them so successful, and the infamous challenges that they faced. All-time rivals will speak to what it was like playing against the greatest goalie on the greatest team in the NHL’s 100-year history. Those closest to Grant will take the audience on a journey behind the mask to understand who the mixed-race superstar truly is.
Barely 19, Grant ‘Coco’ Fuhr became starting goalie for the most exciting team in NHL history. In his mid-30’s, he played 76 consecutive and 79 total games in an 82-game season to set two league records, then followed that ironman performance by playing 73 the following season on a completely rebuilt knee. During the decade and a half between, he employed his acrobatic style and cat-like reflexes to backstop five Stanley Cup champions and two Canada Cup winners, cementing a reputation as the ultimate “money goalie”. He also got himself demoted to the minors for calling the hometown fans jerks, announced his retirement at the age of 26 in an attempt to force a famously hard-nosed general manager to renegotiate a long-term contract, and was suspended for an entire NHL season for conduct deemed “dishonourable and against the welfare of the league” for substance use, only to return and redeem himself as one of the game’s true greats.
“I think he’s the best goaltender in the history of the NHL.” – Wayne Gretzky
Upstream Flix is partnering again with Award winning producer Adam Scorgie (Ice Guardians, The Culture High, Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo) in conjunction with Oilers Entertainment Group VP Don Metz and Co-Producer Shane Fennessey for Making Coco: The Grant Fuhr Story. Upstream Flix plan to release the film in late 2018.
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CALL HER GANDA Spotlights Murder Case of Filipino Transgender Woman Jennifer Laude by U.S. Marine [Trailer]
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CALL HER GANDA[/caption]
The award winning, politically charged, eye-opening and moving human rights documentary Call Her Ganda directed by PJ Raval follows the brutal murder case of Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude by a U.S. Marine, and the obstacles faced in the pursuit of justice by three women intimately invested in the case. An activist attorney (Virgie Suarez), a transgender journalist (Meredith Talusan) and Jennifer’s mother (Julita “Nanay” Laude) galvanize a political uprising, seeking justice and taking on hardened histories of U.S. imperialism in the Philippines.
Call Her Ganda premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and went on to play numerous other festivals including HotDocs, LA Asian Pacific, Frameline SF, Outfest, DMZ Docs – Korea, Doc Edge – New Zealand and Inside Out Toronto LGBTQ Film Festival winning awards along with audiences’ hearts and minds. Breaking Glass will release the film theatrically beginning September 21 in New York; September 28 in Los Angeles; October 5 in San Francisco; followed by a national rollout throughout the fall.
The Hollywood Reporter hailed the film, stating “Call Her Ganda handles its complex issues and complicated plot developments with forceful clarity. The film proves simultaneously heartbreaking and inspirational.” The film also “makes clear and compelling connections between personal stories and institutional violence” (NOW Magazine) and “doesn’t shy away from challenging anyone’s attitudes about trans people and the ongoing effects of colonialism.” (NOW Toronto ).
“Especially with our current political climate, I hope viewers find inspiration in witnessing these resilient women taking on the US, a foreign superpower, fighting for their voices to be heard and demanding accountability despite the odds. As Americans, we should all take a note, and support their efforts, while also fighting the oppressive forces in our own backyards”, said director Raval. “I’m thrilled to be working with Breaking Glass who is dedicated to bringing the story of Jennifer Laude to audiences nationwide.”
“Call Her Ganda is that rare film that comes along once in a generation”, said Richard Wolff, CEO of Breaking Glass. “This story is tragic, empowering, and exactly what our society needs right now to move the conversation about human rights forward.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wq7YETuN70
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Leon Lee’s LETTER FROM MASANJIA Sets September 14th Release Date [Trailer]
Leon Lee’s “Letter From Masanjia” is the unbelievable true story of an American woman who found an SOS note from a Chinese political prisoner in a box of Halloween decorations. The film has been hailed by audiences and critics alike as one of the best documentaries of 2018, and took home Audience Award for Documentary Feature at the 2018 Asian American International Film Festival. A devastating tale of human rights violations in current day China with corporate giants across the globe receiving prisoner labor efforts for Halloween decorations, asking no questions in a price for pennies on the dollar. This is the tale of one political prisoners desperate plea to alert the world to horrors most of society sweeps under the carpet.
Parade Deck Films will open “Letter From Masanjia” theatrically in New York and Los Angeles beginning on September 14th, 2018 and will expand into additional markets in the following weeks. Later this year Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, will bring the film to audiences across North America on VOD/Digital platforms on December 4th.
Written and directed by internationally acclaimed filmmaker and Peabody Award winner, Leon Lee, this astonishing & riveting documentary follows the true story of an Oregon woman who finds a desperate SOS letter penned by a political prisoner in her Halloween decorations and the nail-biting chain of events that it sparks when she takes the letter public, exposing appalling flagrant human rights violations – that leads to sweeping labor reform in China. The impact of what those two unlikely heroes have accomplished is even more profound in today’s rapidly boiling over political climate, not just in China but around the rest of the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKRavgm-KPY
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Five Documentary Film Projects Win 2018 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund Awards Totaling $125,000
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In Real Life – Liza Mandelup[/caption]
SFFILM on Friday announced the five winners of the 2018 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund awards totaling $125,000, which support feature-length documentaries in post-production. Jennifer Maytorena Taylor’s The Gut (working title), Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska’s Honeyland, Liza Mandelup’s In Real Life, Hassan Fazili’s Midnight Traveler, and Jessica Kingdon’s Untitled PRC Project, were each awarded funding that will help push each project towards completion.
The SFFILM Documentary Film Fund has a track record for championing important films that in recent years, left a mark on the festival circuit and beyond. Previous winners include RaMell Ross’ Hale County, This Morning, This Evening, which won a Special Jury Prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival; Peter Nicks’s The Force, which won the 2017 Sundance Film Festival Directing Award for documentary and SFFILM Festival’s McBaine Bay Area Documentary Feature Award, before being released theatrically by Kino Lorber; Peter Bratt’s Dolores, which won the 2017 SFFILM Festival Audience Award for Documentary Feature following its Sundance premiere; and Zachary Heinzerling’s Cutie and the Boxer, which won Sundance’s Directing Award for documentary and was nominated for the 2014 Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature; among many others.
Since its launch in 2011, the SFFILM Documentary Film Fund has distributed more than $750,000 to advance new work by filmmakers nationwide. The 2018 Documentary Film Fund is made possible thanks to support from Jennifer Battat and the Jenerosity Foundation.
2018 DOCUMENTARY FILM FUND WINNERS
The Gut (working title) – Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, director/producer; Jim Sabataso and Asma Bseiso, producers; Jen Bradwell and Youssif Salah, editors – $25,000 Filmed over two years in a small New England community that is struggling to emerge from the opioid epidemic and finds itself caught up in a battle over Syrian refugee resettlement, The Gut closely follows the lives of several intersecting but very different characters to explore what changes — and what doesn’t — when white, rural Americans see themselves in “the other.” Honeyland – Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska, co-directors; Atanas Georgiev, producer/editor – $25,000 The last female bee hunter in Europe struggles to save the bees and restore the natural balance when a family of nomadic beekeepers invade her land and threaten her livelihood. Honeyland is an exploration of an observational Indigenous visual narrative that deeply impacts our behavior towards natural resources and the human condition. In Real Life – Liza Mandelup, director; Lauren Cioffi and Bert Hamelinck, producers; Alex O’Flinn, editor – $25,000 This intimate contemplation on modern youth follows 16-year-old Austyn Tester as he flirts with the world of social media fame. Driven by a wide-eyed desire for stardom, Austyn cultivates a singularly positive online persona that’s at odds with growing up in small-town Tennessee. Midnight Traveler – Hassan Fazili, director; Su Kim, producer; Emelie Mahdavian, producer/editor – $25,000 Midnight Traveler follows a family of Afghan filmmakers on the run from the Taliban. Told from refugee/director Hassan Fazili’s unique first-person perspective, this story provides unprecedented access to the complex refugee experience as it encounters the West. Untitled PRC Project – Jessica Kingdon, director; Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell, producers – $25,000 Untitled PRC Project examines megatrends of today’s China through an impressionistic collage of the new “Chinese Dream.” This observational film reveals paradoxes born from prosperity of the newest world power through the flow of production, consumption, and waste.
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SingularDTV Sets Release Date for Alex Winter’s Documentary TRUST MACHINE: THE STORY OF BLOCKCHAIN [Trailer]
Blockchain entertainment studio SingularDTV is releasing its first feature-length documentary, Alex Winter’s Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain in New York on October 26, and Los Angeles on November 16.
Always one step ahead in signaling technology’s seismic shifts, Alex Winter has built up a body of work that documents how innovation changes the way people live their daily lives. DOWNLOADED (2013, SXSW) explored the downloading revolution and how Napster and file-sharing took on the music industry, leaving musicians wondering about royalty payments and copyrights. DEEP WEB (2015, San Francisco International Film Festival, Sheffield International Documentary Festival) revealed a new kind of internet: decentralized, encrypted and dangerous; with particular focus on the FBI capture of the Tor hidden service Silk Road, and the judicial aftermath.
In his newest documentary Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain, Alex Winter drills down on blockchain, the decentralized technology that supports cryptocurrencies. Why are banks terrified while UNICEF Ventures embraces it to help refugee children? Winter follows tech innovators striking a raw nerve as banks and network pundits rush to condemn volatile cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. British hacktivist Lauri Love fights extradition—his computer skills perceived a threat to the US government. Through the film, Winter reveals that the proponents of the blockchain—a verified digital ledger—are already using the technology to change the world; fighting income inequality, the refugee crisis and world hunger. Narrated by Rosario Dawson.
Alex Winter on his inspiration for Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain:“The idea of a verifiable ledger is a problem that’s been in search of a solution for a really long time. I got into this working on DOWNLOADED (2013). When I was making my film DEEP WEB (2015), funnily enough, I still had very little interest in bitcoin. Then the world got really confusing with blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, and decentralization.
Bitcoin matters, but blockchain is really where the changes are going to come. There are huge changes happening in human culture right now. Never has something like this happened before, ever. And it is fascinating to me. That’s why I really wanted to make this documentary.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMlqIoUVnLo
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Magical Touching Documentary 306 HOLLYWOOD Sets September Release Date [Video]
306 Hollywood is described as a touching and formally audacious film, directed by sister-brother artists and filmmakers Elan and Jonathan Bogarín which was the opening night film of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT section (and the first documentary ever to be selected for the program). 306 Hollywood will open in New York on Friday, September 28 at the Quad Cinema with a national rollout to follow.
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306 Hollywood by Elan Bogarín and Jonathan Bogarín[/caption]
When Elan and Jonathan lose their beloved grandmother, Annette, they face a profound question: When a loved one dies, what do we do with the things they leave behind? Turning documentary on its head, the Bogaríns embark on a magical-realist journey to discover who their grandmother really was, transforming her cluttered New Jersey home of 71 years into a visually exquisite ruin where tchotchkes become artifacts, and the siblings become archaeologists. With help from physicists, curators and archivists—and the added inspiration of a decade of interviews with the vivacious octogenarian herself—they excavate the extraordinary universe contained in Annette’s home. 306 Hollywood playfully transforms the dusty fragments of an unassuming life into an epic metaphor for the nature of time, memory and history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-biFuX4td4
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Watch Trailer for Powerful Documentary CITY OF JOY, Premieres September 7 on Netflix
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City of Joy[/caption]
Netflix has released the trailer for City of Joy, directed by first-time director Madeleine Gavin, that follows the first class of women at a revolutionary leadership center in eastern Congo called City of Joy. The documentary will launch globally on Netflix on September 7, 2018.
City of Joy follows the unlikely friendship that develops between Congolese doctor Dr. Denis Mukwege (2016 Nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize), The Vagina Monologues playwright Eve Ensler, and a charismatic Congolese human rights activist who join forces to create a safe haven for women survivors in the middle of violence-torn Eastern Congo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNy0MG_iy0Y
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Vivienne Westwood Documentary WESTWOOD: PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST on DVD on 9/11 [Trailer]
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Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist[/caption]
She helped create the look of British punk rock in the 1970s – then went on to become a global fashion innovator. Now the amazing and unpredictable life story of Vivienne Westwood is told in a must-see new film: WESTWOOD: PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST. It will be released by Greenwich Entertainment DVD on September 11, 2018.
With exclusive, unprecedented access, director Lorna Tucker’s WESTWOOD: PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST is the first film to encompass the remarkable story of Vivienne’s life, her fashion, her personality, her activism and her cultural importance.
Since igniting the punk movement with ex-partner and Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, Dame Vivienne Westwood has been redefining British fashion for over 40 years, and is responsible for creating many of the most distinctive looks of our time.
From the producers of the acclaimed documentaries Searching for Sugar Man, Listen to Me Marlon and Restrepo, WESTWOOD: PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST blends archive footage, beautifully crafted reconstruction and insightful interviews with Vivienne’s fascinating network of collaborators, guiding us on her journey from a childhood in postwar Derbyshire to the runways of Paris and Milan.
This is an intimate and poignant homage to one of the true cultural icons of our time, as she fights to maintain her brand’s integrity, her principles and her legacy in a business driven by consumerism, profit and global expansion.
Featuring supermodels Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell, and former Vogue magazine editor-at-large André Leon Talley, the film was an Official Selection at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and its theatrical release by Greenwich Entertainment coincided with New York Fashion Week.
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called WESTWOOD: PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST “A fascinating, involving glimpse of both who Westwood was back in the day and who she is at this particular moment in time,” while Anna Smith of Time Out called it “the perfect film to double bill Phantom Thread with.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2oF4wOnTS4