The Rescue List[/caption]
SFFILM’s Launch program returns to the San Francisco International Film Festival to provide a platform for a select group of exceptional films just beginning their distribution journey.
In Launch’s second year, five documentary features within the official lineup of the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival have been selected to have their world premieres.
Documentary
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SFFILM Launch Program to Feature World Premiere of 5 Documentaries on 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival Lineup
[caption id="attachment_27553" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Rescue List[/caption]
SFFILM’s Launch program returns to the San Francisco International Film Festival to provide a platform for a select group of exceptional films just beginning their distribution journey.
In Launch’s second year, five documentary features within the official lineup of the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival have been selected to have their world premieres.
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FILMWORKER -Documentary on Stanley Kubrick’s Long-Time Assistant Leon Vitali, Sets Release Date
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Filmworker[/caption]
Filmworker, a documentary film directed by Tony Zierra about Stanley Kubrick’s long-time assistant Leon Vitali, will open at the Metrograph in New York on May 11th, and at the Nuart in Los Angeles on May 18th, followed by a national rollout. The film world premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and went on to screen at numerous international film festivals including Telluride, the New York Film Festival and the AFI Fest.
It’s a rare person who would give up fame and fortune to dedicated himself to someone else’s creative vision. Yet, that’s exactly what Leon Vitali did after his acclaimed performance as ‘Lord Bullingdon” in Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. After appearing in Barry Lyndon, prestigious job offers poured in from film, television and stage, but Leon turned them all down to take on the role of assistant to the master filmmaker. It would prove to be an extraordinary, intense, often arduous journey that would push Leon to his limit and beyond. The young actor surrendered his thriving career to become Kubrick’s loyal right-hand man.
For more than two decades, Leon played a crucial role behind-the-scenes helping Kubrick make and maintain his legendary body of work. In Filmworker, Leon’s candid and often funny experiences in the company of the notoriously private Kubrick are woven together with rich and varied elements including previously unseen photos, videos, letters, notebooks, and memos from Leon’s private collection of Kubrick artifacts. Insightful, emotionally charged anecdotes from actors, family, crew members, and key film industry professionals who worked with Kubrick and Leon add an important layer of detail and impact to the story.
On what would turn out to be Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut, Leon was stretched to the limit carrying out double duties. Not only did he attend to countless production tasks, he also gave a stellar performance as the imperious ‘Red Cloak’. Kubrick’s sudden death in the midst of putting the final touches on Eyes Wide Shut left chaos in its wake. Without Kubrick’s unassailable leadership, confusion reigned. Exhausted, ill, and grief-stricken over the loss of the man whose dynamic presence had been his driving force for decades, Leon threw himself into a tough and constant battle to keep Kubrick’s uncompromising standards alive.
Filmworker enters the world of Leon Vitali and Stanley Kubrick from a unique perspective that highlights the nitty-gritty of the creative process. By experiencing Leon’s journey we come to understand how the mundane gives rise to the magnificent as timeless filmmaking is brought to life at its most practical and profound level. Leon’s story is uniquely his own, but this chronicle of one artist who chose to serve another stands as a testament to the legions of unsung heroes whose names shine for a brief moment as the credits roll.
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5 Scientists Explore Some of the Most Spectacular Places on Earth in Trailer for “The Serengeti Rules”
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“Bob Paine (played by Matthieson McCrae) explores the Pacific Northwest in search of a natural laboratory.” From THE SERENGETI RULES. Photo credit: Nicolas Brown.[/caption]
Check out the beautiful and breath-taking trailer for The Serengeti Rules, a film that follows five pioneering scientists exploring some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth.
Directed by Emmy and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Nicolas Brown, The Serengeti Rules, will world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.
Beginning in the 1960s, a small band of young scientists headed out into the wilderness, driven by an insatiable curiosity about how nature works. Immersed in some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth—from the majestic Serengeti to the Amazon jungle; from the Arctic Ocean to Pacific tide pools—they discovered a single set of rules that govern all life. Now in the twilight of their eminent careers, these five unsung heroes of modern ecology—Bob Paine, Jim Estes, Mary Power, Tony Sinclair, and John Terborgh—share the stories of their adventures, and how their pioneering work flipped our view of nature on its head. Across the globe, they discovered that among the millions of species on our planet, some are far more important than others. They called these species “keystones,” because they hold the natural world together. The role of keystones is both revelatory and surprising: sea otters help kelp forests flourish, supporting everything from salmon to eagles; wolves enable rivers to run clear and help forests thrive; and the humble wildebeest controls the numbers of trees, butterflies, elephants, and even giraffes on the savanna.
Unfortunately, these deep connections also work in reverse. When keystones are removed, ecosystems unravel and collapse—a phenomenon no one had imagined—or understood until their revolutionary discoveries. But with new knowledge also comes new hope, and these same visionaries reveal the remarkable resilience of nature—and how the rules they discovered can be used to upgrade and restore the natural world. They give us the chance to reimagine the world as it could and should be.
Based on the book by Sean B. Carroll, The Serengeti Rules will forever change the way we see nature. The film will be accompanied by a media and impact campaign to shine a light on restoration projects across the world.
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Kevin Macdonald’s Authorized Whitney Houston Documentary Gets a Summer Theatrical Release Date
Whitney, Academy Award®-winning director Kevin Macdonald’s highly anticipated documentary about the life and career of legendary superstar Whitney Houston will be released this summer in the United States on July 6th by Roadside Attractions and Miramax, and also on July 6th in the UK and Ireland by Altitude Film Entertainment.
Whitney is the intimate, definitive account of the superstar’s life and career, authored by renowned Oscar®-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald. The only film officially supported by the late singer’s estate, it includes previously unreleased recordings, rare never-before-seen footage and live performances recorded by Houston at various stages her life, as well as original studio recordings and acapellas of some of the late singer’s greatest hits. Because the filmmakers had access to vast archives of the Houston estate, the film also contains personal home movie footage that has never been seen publicly before, offering a rare glimpse of Whitney’s life behind-the-scenes as known only to her closest relatives, friends and collaborators.
Director Macdonald says, “I approached Whitney’s life like a mystery story; why did someone with so much raw talent and beauty self-destruct so publicly and painfully? I was lucky enough to have the support of Pat Houston and the Whitney Houston estate in this quest. They entrusted me with the ‘keys to the vault’ while giving me complete freedom to follow the story wherever it went. At heart, Whitney is an intimate family story that reveals a new side to a woman that even her most die-hard fans never knew.”
“To tell Whitney’s story, you have to know her story,” says Patricia Houston, the late singer’s manager, sister-in-law and the executor of Houston’s estate. “We could not be more excited that Whitney’s fans will have this authoritative and definitive documentary chronicling the full arc or her career and the scope of Whitney’s entire life. This is an amazing retrospective that celebrates Whitney with never-before-seen footage and Kevin approaches her life with no blinders on. He captures all of Whitney’s magic, and he does not ignore the hard times. This is a film that will truly thrill all who knew and loved her as a musician, actress, model and so much more.”
Academy Award®-winner Kevin Macdonald (Marley, Touching The Void, One Day in September, The Last King of Scotland), Academy Award®-winning producer Simon Chinn (Man on Wire, Searching For Sugarman), and his Lightbox co-founder Emmy® Award-winning producer Jonathan Chinn (LA 92, Fantastic Lies) and multi-Emmy® Award nominated and Happy Street Entertainment co-founder Lisa Erspamer (“Running From Crazy”) tell the unvarnished and authentic story of the late icon’s life in a film that examines both the meteoric highs and devastating lows of her remarkable and unforgettable career. Patricia Houston, Nicole David, Zanne Devine, Rosanne Korenberg, Joe Patrick, and Altitude Film Entertainment’s Will Clarke, Andy Mayson, and Mike Runagall executive produced.
Often referred to simply as ‘The Voice’, Whitney Houston was a singular talent, blessed with an extraordinary vocal range and incredible technical skill. As one of music’s biggest selling artists ever, she broke more records than any other female singer in the history of pop music. With over 200 million album sales worldwide, and remaining the only artist to chart seven consecutive US No. 1’s, Whitney Houston became the voice of a generation and is the most awarded female singer in history. Coming from an esteemed lineage of singers, Whitney was destined to be plucked from her gospel-singing roots to rule the world stage. She inspired a generation of singers from Mariah Carey and Lady Gaga to Beyoncé and her unforgettable performance of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ moved the nation.
But all these achievements became overshadowed by a story of deep internal turmoil, addiction and self-destruction. With unprecedented access to friends, family and collaborators – some of whom have never told their story before, Kevin Macdonald offers the first comprehensive look at Whitney Houston’s life, work and creative process. The film reveals a woman who was both blessed and cursed with perhaps the greatest natural ability of any pop star in history.
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Watch Trailer for NEW WAVE: DARE TO BE DIFFERENT – The Story of WLLR 92 “the Most Influential Radio Station”
New Wave: Dare To Be Different directed by Ellen Goldfard tells the story of the most influential radio station on Long Island, NY called WLLR 92. U2, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, Blondie, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, The Clash, The Cure – over half a billion records sold, but you might have never heard of them if not for the small suburban radio station on Long Island, NY called WLIR 92.7.
The documentary film is a nostalgic look back at the rogue radio station on the cutting edge of music throughout the 1980s. Program director Denis McNamara, the station crew and the biggest artists of the era tell the story of how they battled the FCC, record labels, mega-radio and all the conventional rules to create a musical movement that brought New Wave to America.
New Wave: Dare To Be Different features rare archival footage and candid interviews with artists including Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, Billy Idol, Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran), Dave Wakeling (The English Beat), Annabella Lwin (Bow Wow Wow), Jim Kerr (Simple Minds), Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, YAZ and Erasure), Curt Smith (Tears for Fears), Fred Schneider (The B-52s), Mike Score (A Flock of Seagulls), Mike Peters (The Alarm), Katrina Leskanich (Katrina and the Waves), Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones and Midge Ure (Ultravox, Live Aid founder), among others. WLIR helped introduce most of these bands to a U.S. audience while creating a community centered around the punk and New Wave scene.
Now, 30 years after the station went off the air, the film tells the story of the unique rise and fall of this independent cultural institution. New Wave: Dare To Be Different premieres on Showtime on Friday, March 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdmvLN_pZq8
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7 Documentaries incl. “The Rape of Recy Taylor” Acquired by Starz
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The Rape of Recy Taylor[/caption]
Seven exclusive, first-run documentaries including The Rape of Recy Taylor, a film that exposes a legacy of physical abuse of black women and reveals Rosa Parks’ intimate role in Recy Taylor’s story, have been acquired by Starz. The Rape of Recy Taylor will premiere on STARZ in July 2018.
Recently mentioned as “a name I know and I think you should know, too” by Oprah Winfrey during her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 75th Golden Globes on January 7, 2018, Mrs. Recy Taylor was abducted and gang raped by six white men in Alabama in 1944. An epic story of black women who spoke up when danger was greatest, it was their noble efforts to take back their bodies that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and movements that followed.
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
The Rape of Recy Taylor – Premiere Date: July 2, 2018 Mrs. Recy Taylor was abducted and gang raped by six white men in Alabama in 1944. Unbroken, she spoke up and fought for justice with help from the NAACP, Rosa Parks and legions of women. An epic story of sexual violence in the Jim Crow South, when courageous black women fight to take back their bodies and their dignity. McLaren – Premiere Date: March 12, 2018 A fearless sportsman and a brilliant visionary engineer, Bruce McLaren became a superstar during the glamorous jet-set world of 1960s Formula One motor racing. McLaren recounts the New Zealander’s life, from his humble beginnings at his father’s auto shop in Auckland, to revolutionizing Formula One Racing by becoming the youngest driver ever to win a Grand Prix, to his death at 32. Featuring interviews from his closest friends and family members, the documentary is an unprecedented window into the life of a true genius. Pecking Order – Premiere Date: March 26, 2018 Fierce rivalries, club infighting, problematic birds and irregular judging are just some of the challenges faced by a group of zealous Kiwi chicken breeders hell bent on victory at the 2015 National Poultry Show. Sled Dogs – Premiere Date: April 9, 2018 Winner of the World Documentary Award and Best Female-Directed Documentary at the Whistler Film Festival, Sled Dogs is the first documentary to look at the sometimes gruesome reality of what happens at sled dog operations and the Iditarod once the tourists go home. This film weaves together various characters and narratives to explore a truth about the dog sledding industry while posing the question: “Is the abuse seen against “man’s best friend” disguised as entertainment? Intent to Destroy: Death, Denial & Depiction – Premiere Date: April 23, 2018 Emmy(R) award winner and Academy Award(R)-nominated director Joe Berlinger (STARZ Original Docuseries “Wrong Man”) embeds himself on the epic film set of Terry George’s The Promise (2016) to take an unwavering look at the Armenian Genocide. Historians, scholars and filmmakers come together in Berlinger’s cinematic exploration of the tangled web of responsibility that has driven a century of denial by the Turkish government and its strategic allies. Intent to Destroy (2017) is a timely reckoning with the large-scale suppression of a historical tragedy. Berlinger confronts the fraught task of shedding light on the Armenian Genocide – whose witnesses and descendants are still fighting to be officially acknowledged as such by the international community – how it was carried out during World War I as the reign of the Ottoman Empire drew to a close, and how it laid the groundwork for the genocides that followed. What Haunts Us – Premiere Date: May 14, 2018 The 1979 class of Porter Gaud School in Charleston, South Carolina graduated 49 boys. Within the last 35 years, six of them have committed suicide. When Paige Goldberg Tolmach gets word that another former student from her beloved high school has killed himself, she decides to take a deep dive into her past in order to uncover the surprising truth and finally release the ghosts that haunt her hometown to this day. Stranger Fruit – Premiere Date: June 18, 2018 Stranger Fruit is a documentary about what happened to Mike Brown, told through the eyes of those closest to him, including his father, Michael Brown Sr. Pollock delivers an in-depth look at the facts of Mike Brown’s case in an effort to unravel the full story of what happened on Aug. 9, 2014, when then-Ferguson, Missouri, Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Brown. Love & Bananas – Premiere Date: July 30, 2018 Ashley Bell and a team of elephant rescuers led by world renowned Asian elephant conservationist Lek Chailert, embark on a daring 48-hour mission across Thailand to rescue a 70-year old captive blind Asian elephant and bring her to freedom.
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WHEN GOD SLEEPS, Profile of Exiled Iranian Musician Shahin Najafji, Debuts on PBS Independent Lens | Trailer
Directed by Till Schauder, When God Sleeps is a rap-punk-rock documentary about Iranian musician Shahin Najafi, who is forced into hiding after hardline clerics issue a fatwa for his death, incensed by a rap song that focuses on the oppression of women and human rights abuses. Shahin’s frantic escape leads to an impossible romance with Leili Bazargan, granddaughter of the first prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who was handpicked for the job by none other than the late Ayatollah Khomeini. Risking his life every time he steps on a stage, Shahin refuses to stop performing as an act of resistance while living a modern day Romeo and Juliet romance. When God Sleeps premieres on Independent Lens on Monday, April 2, 2018, 10:00-11:30 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS.
In 2012, Najafi released a satirical rap song that triggered thousands to rally in a campaign for his assassination. Incensed by the song’s irreverent remarks about Ali al-Naghi, one of twelve imams revered by Shia Muslims, hardline clerics placed a $100,000 bounty on his head. “My songs didn’t make me famous,” said Shahin. “The fatwa did.”
German journalist Günter Wallraff, who gave refuge to Salman Rushdie after his death fatwa, offers shelter to Shahin too. Despite the threats against his life, Shahin insists on total freedom of expression. His stubborn refusal to back down in spite of death threats is reminiscent of a suicide mission, complicating long-term planning for his new romantic relationship. Ironically, his uncompromising stance is not unlike that of the religious hardliners who want him dead. Shahin sees it as his mission, indeed his life’s purpose, to stand up to oppressive religious leaders — even if he has to pay the ultimate price for it.
“Touching on hot topics like Islam, terrorism, protest, and the global refugee crisis, When God Sleeps checks off just about every newsworthy box as we immerse ourselves in the life of the ‘Salman Rushdie of Rap,’” said Lois Vossen, Independent Lens executive producer. “The human cost of resistance is at the core of this film, which explores nationalism and the growing hostility toward immigrants through the lens of a rebellious musician who occupies the complex role of both political activist and cultural bridge-builder.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbk9nhUqmvs
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SXSW 2018: See New Poster + Trailer for AI Documentary “More Human Than Human”
Check out the new poster and trailer for More Human Than Human, the fascinating new documentary directed by Tommy Pallotta and Femke Wolting that delves into the increasing presence of Artificial Intelligence in our daily lives, and the existential questions it raises for humanity.
More Human Than Human premieres this Saturday March 10th, in the VISIONS section at SXSW 2018.
In this personal, playful and at times dramatic quest, filmmaker Tommy Pallota explores how much of his creativity and human values are at stake as he builds his own robot to replace himself as a filmmaker. The complexity of tasks that smart machines can perform is increasing at an exponential rate. Where will this ultimately take us? If a robot can learn to fold a towel on its own, will it someday be able to cook you dinner, perform surgery, and even conduct a war? This film instigates this debate between futurists and skeptics, about the potential of Artificial Intelligence. The filmmakers take us on a quest of understanding these innovations, opposing views and challenging our aspirations for the future of man and machine.
OFFICIAL SELECTION- SXSW 2018- VISIONS
MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN
Directed By Tommy Pallotta & Femke Wolting
TRT: 78 min in English
Screening Times
Saturday, March 10 – 1:45 PM – Vimeo Theater
Monday, March 12 – 4:00 PM – Alamo Lamar D
Thursday, March 15 – 6:00 PM – Alamo Lamar A
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SXSW 2018: Watch Trailer for “TAKE YOUR PILLS” Documentary on Rise in Adderall Prescriptions
Take Your Pills, directed by acclaimed documentarian Alison Klayman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry) and executive produced by Maria Shriver and Christina Schwarzenegger, explores the rise in popularity of prescription stimulants such as Adderall in today’s do-more-better-faster world.
Take Your Pills will premiere at SXSW on Friday, March 9, and will launch globally on Netflix on Friday, March 16.
The pressure to achieve more, do more, and be more is part of being human – and in the age of Adderall and Ritalin, achieving that can be as close as the local pharmacy. No longer just “a cure for excitable kids,” prescription stimulants are in college classrooms, on Wall Street, in Silicon Valley…any place “the need to succeed” slams into “not enough hours in the day.” But there are costs. In the insightful Netflix documentary Take Your Pills, award-winning documentarian Alison Klayman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry) focuses on the history, the facts, and the pervasiveness of cognitive-enhancement drugs in our amped-up era of late-stage-capitalism. Executive produced by Maria Shriver and Christina Schwarzenegger, Take Your Pills examines what some view as a brave new world of limitless possibilities, and others see as a sped-up ride down a synaptic slippery slope, as these pills have become the defining drug of a generation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6Xebo1pngM
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Showtime Documentary Series “THE FOURTH ESTATE” to World Premiere as Closing Night Film of Tribeca Film Festival
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The Fourth Estate[/caption]
The new Showtime original documentary series, The Fourth Estate, directed by award-winning filmmaker Liz Garbus (What Happened, Miss Simone?), will have its world premiere as the closing night film of the prestigious 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.
In these times when journalism is being questioned and attacked as “fake news,” Garbus turns her lens on The New York Times in The Fourth Estate, revealing the challenges, triumphs and pitfalls of covering a president who has declared the majority of the nation’s major news outlets “the enemy of the people.” Embedded for the past year with The Times and granted unprecedented access and interviews with editors and reporters on the front lines, the docuseries presents a groundbreaking portrait of the men and women who are fighting for freedom of the press. Viewers will witness the inner workings of journalism and investigative reporting during this administration’s first history-making year.
Following the screening on Saturday, April 28, Tribeca Film Festival will host a panel discussion with some of the subjects of the documentary including The New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet, Washington bureau chief Elisabeth Bumiller, White House correspondent Maggie Haberman, Washington investigative correspondent Mark Mazzetti and Garbus.
The Fourth Estate will premiere on Showtime, on Sunday, May 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
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See the Official Poster for William Friedkin’s Exorcist Documentary “The Devil And Father Amorth”
The Orchard has released the official poster for “The Devil And Father Amorth” directed by William Friedkin. The film will be released in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on April 20th, 2018.
In his latest, William Friedkin returns not only to his documentary roots but to the subject of one of his most towering works, 1973’s THE EXORCIST. Friedkin, a legendary raconteur, leads a tour that moves from the infamous Exorcist steps in Georgetown to Italy, where he meets with the 91-year-old Father Gabriele Amorth, official exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, and accompanies Amorth on one of his harrowing house calls. A sprightly, at times gonzo-style investigation into the long history of demonic lore, and a one-of-a-kind insight into the persistence of medieval belief in the supposedly modern world.
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Netflix Acquires Sundance Award-Winner “Shirkers” and Documentary Short “Zion”
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Shirkers[/caption]
Sandi Tan’s creative odyssey Shirkers, which had its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, where Tan won the Directing Award in World Cinema Documentary has been acquired by Netflix. The film will next be shown at the True/False Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri on Friday, March 2. Adding to its robust slate of documentary shorts, Netflix also acquired Zion, a ten-minute film directed by Floyd Russ about a young wrestler who was born without legs and finds acceptance and community within the world of wrestling. Both films will debut on Netflix later this year.
An inspired labor of love for zine-making teens Sandi Tan, Jasmine Ng and Sophie Siddique, Shirkers was a Singapore-made 1992 cult classic – or it would have been, had the 16mm footage not been stolen by their enigmatic American collaborator Georges Cardona, who disappeared. More than two decades later, Tan, now a novelist in L.A., returns to the country of her youth and to the memories of a man who both enabled and thwarted her dreams. Magically, too, she returns to the film itself, revived in a way she never could have imagined.
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Zion Clark appears in ZION by Floyd Russ | photo by Gregory Wilson[/caption]
Zion is a gripping portrait of Zion Clark, a young wrestler born without legs who grew up in foster care. Clark began wrestling in second grade against his able-bodied peers. The physical challenge became a therapeutic outlet and gave him a sense of family. Moving from foster home to foster home, wrestling became the only constant thing in his childhood.