Barbara Lacen-Keller, Lily Keber and Mayor Latoya Cantrell at World Premiere of Buckumping at the New Orleans Film Festival. Photo credit: Sydney Walker[/caption]
The City of New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell was in the audience on Sunday, October 21st at the Orpheum Theater to attend the 29th New Orleans Film Festival for the World Premiere of “Buckjumping“, a documentary about New Orleans dance culture and traditions, directed by Lily Keber.
The Orpheum was packed with 900 people in the audience and the film was well received with often claps and laughter in the auditorium. There was a second line after the screening which took hundreds of people from the Orpheum Theater to the after party at Ace Hotel.
Buckjumping is a feature-length documentary about dance traditions in New Orleans, observing both their contemporary expression and abiding significance. The film follows six communities as they demonstrate ownership of the streets of New Orleans, commemorate their dead, forge community and find spiritual transcendence.
Films
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BUCKJUMPING Documentary on Dance Culture in New Orleans Premiered at New Orleans Film Festival [Trailer]
[caption id="attachment_32339" align="aligncenter" width="874"] Barbara Lacen-Keller, Lily Keber and Mayor Latoya Cantrell at World Premiere of Buckumping at the New Orleans Film Festival. Photo credit: Sydney Walker[/caption]
The City of New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell was in the audience on Sunday, October 21st at the Orpheum Theater to attend the 29th New Orleans Film Festival for the World Premiere of “Buckjumping“, a documentary about New Orleans dance culture and traditions, directed by Lily Keber.
The Orpheum was packed with 900 people in the audience and the film was well received with often claps and laughter in the auditorium. There was a second line after the screening which took hundreds of people from the Orpheum Theater to the after party at Ace Hotel.
Buckjumping is a feature-length documentary about dance traditions in New Orleans, observing both their contemporary expression and abiding significance. The film follows six communities as they demonstrate ownership of the streets of New Orleans, commemorate their dead, forge community and find spiritual transcendence.
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LIFE WITHOUT BASKETBALL, Documentary on Hijab-Wearing Basketball Player to Premiere at DOC NYC [Trailer]
Life Without Basketball is an intimate and revealing look at the life and career of Bliqis Abdul-Qaadir, a 5’2 pioneering, powerhouse basketball player from Springfield Massachusetts, who broke records and barriers on her way to becoming the first Division I basketball player to play wearing a hijab. When a controversial FIBA (International Basketball Federation) uniform rule ends her chances of playing professionally, she must reexamine her faith and identity as a Muslim-American.
Life Without Basketball documentary, presented by Pixela Pictura and directed by Tim O’Donnell and Jon Mercer, will have its World Premiere at DOC NYC, America’s Largest Documentary Festival, on Saturday, Nov 10, 2018.
Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir’s story began in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball. Bilqis excelled as an honor student and on the basketball court from an early age. In January 2009, while a senior at New Leadership Charter School, she shattered the Massachusetts state scoring record (male or female) that was previously held by female hoops legend Rebecca Lobo, averaging over 40 points a game, and finishing with 3,070 career points.
Following her record-breaking high school career, Bilqis received a scholarship to play for the University of Memphis. She appeared in Sports Illustrated and on ESPN, was named the 2008-09 Gatorade Massachusetts Basketball Player of the Year, and was invited to the White House for a Ramadan dinner with President Barack Obama. In 2011, Bilqis was awarded the United States Basketball Writers Association “Most Courageous” award at the NCAA Women’s Final Four for being recognized as the first Muslim-American woman to play covered in NCAA history. After completing her final year of NCAA eligibility at Indiana State University, Bilqis began preparing to play internationally. When her agent discovered a little-known FIBA uniform rule which prohibited players from wearing religious head coverings, such as hijabs, turbans, and yarmulkes on the court, her professional career was abruptly halted. Unwilling to stray from her religious beliefs, Bilqis prepared for the toughest challenge of her life.
Life Without Basketball is an essential American story about hope and courage, and an exploration of identity and consequence. The film examines the personal impact of Bilqis’s encounter with this career ending rule and the complex world of being Muslim in America, where family tradition and popular perception are often at odds. Through persistent advocacy and dedication to youth empowerment, Bilqis’s story engages viewers in a new conversation about social and political dynamics at home and abroad.
Co-director Tim O’Donnell says “As a former Springfield (MA) high school art teacher and wrestling coach, I first heard about Bilqis’s story from a former student who played basketball with her. I was struck by the discriminatory nature of the FIBA rule, I teamed up with co-director Jon Mercer and we started filming right away, as Bilqis began her fight for the right to play. What originally was thought of as short production quickly turned into four years as the filmmakers were fully welcomed into Bilqis’s family and their private lives. Life Without Basketball continues Pixela Pictura’s mission of working within marginalized communities to share stories of overcoming personal challenge or conflict…”
Life Without Basketball will have its World Premiere at DOC NYC, America’s Largest Documentary Festival on the following date/times:
Saturday, November 10th at 5pm. Cinepolis Cinema
Life Without Basketball won best pitch at the 2015 DOC NYC, and materials were adapted into FIBA Allow Hijab, a short documentary co-created with Jon Mercer and distributed through CNN Films and UNINTERRUPTED. His Boston based company Pixela Pictura is currently in post-production on Finding My Dad’s Memories, a personal documentary filmed during his father’s recovery from a traumatic brain injury. His past work includes The Last Time I Heard True Silence and For The Love of Dogs. Tim was a former high school art teacher and wrestling coach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OavrXZs9YgM
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Namrata Singh Gujral’s 5 WEDDINGS Opens in Theaters on October 26th [Trailer]
“5 Weddings,” by Indian female director Namrata Singh Gujral follows an American journalist who travels to “heartland India” to cover the five main ceremonies at Indian weddings, only to end up fascinated with the transgender dancers (Hijras) who typically dance at these colorful celebrations. Complications arise when she falls in love with her shadow cop whose instructions are to keep her story censored.
The film will open theatrically around the globe on October 26th, 2018 beginning in the USA with Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, Chicago, IL and Cambridge, MA, among others in the U.S., and internationally (in 15 countries and multiple languages) including: Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Russia, Poland, Indie, Pakistan,Singapore, China, Australia, New Zealand, Fiki, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and the Ivory Coast, with many more locations to follow after this worldwide launch date.
“5 Weddings” is described as an enthralling narrative of cultural clashes, transgender tangles and lost love along the heartfelt journey of life, symbolized by the universal ups and downs of a wedding celebration. “5 Weddings” is a feature film with comedy, drama and romance that showcases the vibrant ceremonies at India’s weddings, with a very important sub plot that features Hijras, a sect of transgender dancers who have been an integral part of Indian wedding tradition for centuries. Gujral, long ahead of the trans-casting debate that now features prominently in Hollywood, always knew she wanted to cast authentically for a community that has so often been swept aside and underserved in every culture —casting trans actors as trans characters in India.
In the vein of “The 100 Foot Journey,” “Monsoon Wedding” and “Bride and Prejudice,” this film is helmed by Namrata Singh Gujral (“1 a Minute”), an Indian American filmmaker with a penchant for cause projects. Boasting a universally acclaimed cast with Rajkummar Rao (India’s official entry to Academy Awards 2018 “Newton”), Nargis Fakhri (Bollywood blockbuster “Rockstar”), Oscar nominee Candy Clark (“American Graffiti”) and Golden Globe nominee Bo Derek (“10″), “5 Weddings” opens in cinemas worldwide on September 21st, 2018. Other Hollywood star cast includes Broadway star Anneliese van der Pol (“Beauty and The Beast”), Mariana Paola Vicente (“The Lucky Man,” “Miss Universe 2010”), Robert Palmer Watkins (“General Hospital”), Dawn Richard (“Danity Kane”) and Rupak Ginn (“Royal Pains”). Also starring from India are Suvinder Vicky (“Chauthi Koot” Un Certain Regard Cannes 2015), Shiwani Saini (“Sarbjit”), Saru Maini (“Dangerous Husn”) and Diljott (“Teshan”).
This film marks second Hollywood projects for both Fakhri and Rao. Fakhri was earlier seen in the Melissa McCarthy film “Spy” and Rao will be seen in the Freida Pinto film “Love Sonia.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN7AeJ-mEIA
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Actress Rachel Brosnahan to Narrate Climate Change Documentary, PARIS TO PITTSBURGH
[caption id="attachment_32267" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Rachel Brosnahan in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”Amazon[/caption]
Award-winning actress and activist Rachel Brosnahan, star of the hit series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, will narrate Bloomberg Philanthropies’ upcoming climate change documentary, Paris to Pittsburgh. The film will premiere on National Geographic, Wednesday, December 12th at 9PM ET/PT and is produced by RadicalMedia in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Paris to Pittsburgh brings to life the impassioned efforts of individuals who are battling the most severe threats of climate change in their own backyards. Set against the national debate over the United States’ energy future – and the Trump administration’s explosive decision to exit the Paris Climate Agreement – the film captures what’s at stake for communities around the country and the inspiring ways Americans are responding. To view the trailer, visit ParistoPittsburgh.com.
At the recent Emmy Awards, Brosnahan, a Global Citizen ambassador who has worked on anti-poverty and get-out-the-vote initiatives in the past, used her acceptance speech time to strongly encourage those watching to “vote, show up, and bring a friend to the polls.”
“Paris to Pittsburgh shines a light on the many forgotten communities and people who have been affected by climate change in our country, as well as solutions for how we can fight back and reduce our carbon footprint,” said Brosnahan. “I’m proud to be part of this poignant and powerful documentary, and admire the pro-active approach Bloomberg Philanthropies has taken with this project and this issue; we need meaningful change.”
Paris to Pittsburgh explores the very real social and economic effects of climate change-fueled disasters – from America’s heartland to the nation’s coastlines and the island of Puerto Rico. The film features stories behind climate-related recovery and resiliency, as well as innovative efforts to reduce carbon emissions. It showcases cities, states, businesses and citizens taking their own action in the face of federal inaction.
Front and center is Pittsburgh, the boomtown formerly reliant on coal. When President Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the worldwide Paris Climate Agreement, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto didn’t follow. Instead, he and his city affirmed their commitment to ambitious energy efficiency goals. Mayor Peduto and Pittsburgh’s story is one of the many examples of bold economic and climate leadership in the film.
“America is not walking away from Climate Action; that’s the strong, clear message of Paris to Pittsburgh,” said Katherine Oliver, the film’s Executive Producer and a Principal at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “And who better to underscore that message than Rachel Brosnahan, a forward-looking and engaged role model for these times. We are thrilled that she has lent her strong voice and spirit of activism to this project.” Oliver further explained that Bloomberg Philanthropies has long believed in the power of informed storytelling to change minds and ignite positive change, and that’s why filmmaking has become such a key component of its strategy.
Paris to Pittsburgh is produced by the Academy Award and Emmy-winning production company RadicalMedia, in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies. The film is co- directed by Emmy Award winner Sidney Beaumont and Emmy Award winning filmmaker Michael Bonfiglio. Beaumont also produced the film. Executive Producers are Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger, Jon Kamen and Katherine Oliver. Co-producers are Lindsay Firestone and Katie Dunn. Antha Williams of the Bloomberg Philanthropies environment program served as a consulting producer.
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AT&T Presents: Untold Stories Releases First Film NIGERIAN PRINCE on October 19 [Trailer]
[caption id="attachment_21867" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Nigerian Prince[/caption]
AT&T Presents: Untold Stories, a film initiative created by AT&T and Tribeca, will release the program’s first-ever film – Nigerian Prince – to audiences nationwide on Friday, October, 19. Written and directed by newcomer Faraday Okoro, and filmed in Lagos, Nigeria, the film is a heist thriller about a Nigerian-American teenager sent to visit relatives in Nigeria against his will, later to join forces with his internet scammer cousin in an attempt to return to the United States on his own.
Nigerian Prince follows two characters: Eze, a stubborn, first generation Nigerian-American teenager and his cousin, Pius, who is a desperate Nigerian Prince scammer. After Eze’s mother sends him to Nigeria against his will, Eze retaliates by teaming up with Pius to scam unsuspecting foreigners in order to earn money for a return ticket back to America. Executive produced by Spike Lee, the film stars Chinaza Uche and Antonio Bell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7_jlp1_MLg
Kicking off the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, Okoro was one of five aspiring directors who participated in a live pitch to a panel of celebrity and industry judges that included AT&T’s chief brand officer Fiona Carter to win $1 million to make their film utilizing the Untold Stories program grant, mentorship and distribution commitments. Okoro’s film, Nigerian Prince, had its world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival to rave reviews and packed theaters in New York City. Now, delivering on the program’s promise to ensure that underserved artists’ work is not only created but seen, Nigerian Prince will be available to millions of movie enthusiasts in select theaters across the country as well as on DIRECTV, U-Verse and a range of on-demand platforms.
“Untold Stories is the rare project that unites AT&T’s commitment to equality with our passion for delivering exhilarating new experiences for our customers. Like our friends at Tribeca, we appreciate quality storytelling that entertains, challenges and transports us to places we’ve never been with a creative vision we’ve never seen – that is Nigerian Prince,” said Fiona Carter, chief brand officer, AT&T Communications. “We are thrilled to help Faraday and his incredible team live their dream with the debut of this film, but we’re equally excited to bring a wonderful and completely unique film to a national audience.”
“Programs like Untold Stories have the incredible power to introduce audiences to new storytellers and new ways of seeing the world,” said Jane Rosenthal, ceo and co-founder of Tribeca Enterprises/Tribeca Film Festival. “We’re proud to support Faraday Okoro’s globe-trotting, culture-crossing film Nigerian Prince as the first recipient of the Untold Stories grant, and we are eager to champion other emerging filmmakers as we continue to get untold stories heard with our friends at AT&T.”
AT&T Presents: Untold Stories. An Inclusive Film Program in Collaboration with Tribeca was launched in 2017 to ensure that diverse storytellers always have a screen on which to shine. AT&T will provide funding up to $1 million for one talented filmmaker to create his or her film each year, and Tribeca will provide mentorship from seasoned industry professionals. AT&T will distribute the winning film across its video platforms. This film initiative is an alliance between AT&T and Tribeca along with Tribeca Film Institute and debuted at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.
Nigerian Prince is the first film produced under the program. In April of 2018, AT&T awarded its second $1 million to Untold Stories winners Sasie Sealy and Angela Cheng for their film, LUCKY GRANDMA. Like Nigerian Prince, it will also have its world premiere screening during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival next April. Submissions are now open for Year 3 – and aspiring filmmakers are encouraged to submit scripts between now and Nov. 24, 2018, for their chance to compete for a $1 million grant to make their film as part of AT&T Presents: Untold Stories.
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OLYMPIA, Documentary on Academy Award-Winning Actress Olympia Dukakis to World Premiere at 2018 DOC NYC
Olympia, a documentary feature film on Academy Award®-winning actress Olympia Dukakis from director Harry Mavromichalis will world premiere at 2018 DOC NYC.
Olympia the film takes us on a poetic journey in search of one’s place in the world. We follow Academy Award® winning actress Olympia Dukakis as she takes on the roles of actor, teacher, wife, mother, and social activist. Determined not to be defined solely as a woman in a male dominated society she struggles to find a sense of belonging due to her ethnic roots and the dichotomy she has always felt between her American values and the values of her immigrant parents. After making the decision that she would never take no for an answer and would never let anyone define her, her mantra became: “Always move forward, no matter what.”
This revealing and unfiltered documentary follows the life and career of Academy Award® winning actress, Olympia Dukakis. Starting on the day she turns eighty and continuing for three years, this film deals with the struggles and pains surrounding identity and the roles placed on us by society. Its cinema-verité style allows the audience to constantly move alongside Olympia as she navigates between rehearsals, workshops, family life, and finally the journey to her ancestral home in Greece. Exhibiting both candor and vulnerability, we see her deal with age, grief, and sexuality while opening up about her past struggles with depression, suicide, and drug addiction.
Intricately weaving between visceral impromptu personal moments with Olympia, together with footage of her performances both on and off screen, we experience the presence of an unrelenting female energy. Not only does her story add to the perpetual ‘herstory’ of women withstanding and overcoming their obstacles and oppressors through the passage of time, it also gives us insight into how she overcame the impediments that affected her life as the daughter of immigrants and as a woman in a male-dominated society. We are granted the raw, unfiltered attitude of Olympia without a script to guide her. Her fierceness is seen to persist throughout her daily life beyond the stage or film. Years of oppression, subordination and self-doubt have thickened her skin and sharpened her mind, and her energy is contagious. Despite her age and the innumerable experiences in her life, her determination to continue, to move forward and overcome the hurdles that life places before us all, is an inspiration.
Through her brutal honesty and sincerity, Olympia compels us to confront our own shortcomings and differences by letting go, and moving forward with defiant conviction, which leaves us with a cathartic feeling that we too can be an “octogenarian motherfucker.”
WORLD PREMIERE SCREENING AT DOC NYC
Sunday, November 11 at 6:30 pm
SVA Theatre (School of Visual Arts)
333 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011 (Between 8 and 9 Avenues)
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Award Winning Japanese Family Drama SHOPLIFTERS Sets US Release Date [Trailer]
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s touching new family drama Shoplifters is one of the most buzzed about foreign films of 2018, having won the Palme d’Or at 2018 Cannes Film Festival, and recently selected as Japan’s Official Submission for Foreign Language Film Competition for the 91st Academy Awards. Shoplifters will open on Friday, November 23 in New York at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the IFC Center (and in Los Angeles). A national expansion will follow.
After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them.
In an recent interview, director Hirokazu Kore-eda was asked, Was your intention to depict a family from a different angle compared to your previous films? The first thing that came to my mind was the tagline: “Only the crimes tied us together”. In Japan, crimes like pension frauds and parents making their children shoplift are criticized severely. Of course, these criminals should be criticized but I am wondering why people get so angry over such minor infractions even though there are many lawbreakers out there committing far more serious crimes without condemnation. Especially after the 2011 earthquakes, I didn’t feel comfortable with people saying repeatedly that a family bond is important. So I wanted to explore it by depicting a family linked by crime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG-mXdOzC4c
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THE FIRST PATIENT, Documentary on First Year Med Students, Sets November Release Date [Trailer]
THE FIRST PATIENT is a new film that documents the extraordinary transformation of first-year medical students in the class many consider the toughest in medical school – gross anatomy. With extraordinary access and assistance provided by The Mayo Clinic, Director Chip Duncan brings his cameras into a world the public rarely sees.
THE FIRST PATIENT will open in New York on October 16 at the Cinema Village and in Los Angeles on November 19 at the Laemmle Monica Film Center. A national rollout will follow throughout the fall.
First year medical students embark on the ultimate expedition to explore the inside of the human body.
A dramatic journey into an unknown world, THE FIRST PATIENT challenges audiences to embrace their curiosity and courage as they follow first year medical students through gross anatomy – the dissection of the human body. The Mayo Clinic School of Medicine granted unprecedented access to veteran filmmaker Chip Duncan and The Duncan Entertainment Group team to explore a world long considered taboo. The documentary proves both entertaining and emotional as the camera follows a diverse group of students, faculty and body donors on this life affirming journey inside the human body.
THE FIRST PATIENT provides dynamic insights into medical science, teamwork, death, and spirituality as students discover what it means to be a doctor … and what it means to be a human being.
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Documentary TRUST MACHINE: THE STORY OF BLOCKCHAIN to International Premiere at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival [Trailer]
Blockchain entertainment studio SingularDTV’s first feature-length documentary Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain is set for an international premiere at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) 2018. The film premieres in the JF Science360 Programme on November 21 with additional screenings to follow on Nov 26 and Nov 27.
Always one step ahead in signaling technology’s seismic shifts, award-winning documentarian Alex Winter (DOWNLOADED, DEEP WEB) has built up a body of work that documents how innovation changes the way people live their daily lives. In Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain, he drills down on blockchain, the decentralized technology that supports cryptocurrencies. Why are banks terrified while UNICEF 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.
Forbes’ Lauren DeLisa Coleman describes the film as “a compelling new documentary about blockchain and cryptocurrency that is dramatic, poignant, and engaging no matter whether you are working deep in the tech space, a business executive trying to grasp such disruptive changes or the everyday person intrigued about digital privacy, activism and power.”
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.”
Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain opens in New York’s Cinema Village theater on October 26, followed by an LA release on November 16. will become available on SingularDTV’s distribution platform in 2019. Produced by Kim Jackson of SingularDTV, Geoff Clark of Futurism Studios and Alex Winter’s Trouper Productions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMlqIoUVnLo
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Watch an Unrecognizable Nicole Kidman as LAPD Detective in Awards Buzz DESTROYER Trailer
Annapurna Pictures released the official trailer and poster for Destroyer starring an unrecognizable Nicole Kidman as an LAPD detective. Destroyer which is receiving rave reviews and considerable awards buzz, opens in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on December 25 before expanding in January.
Destroyer follows the moral and existential odyssey of LAPD detective Erin Bell who, as a young cop, was placed undercover with a gang in the California desert with tragic results. When the leader of that gang re-emerges many years later, she must work her way back through the remaining members and into her own history with them to finally reckon with the demons that destroyed her past.
The film is directed by Karyn Kusama, and also stars Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Bradley Whitford, Jade Pettyjohn, and Scoot McNairy.
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MY PERFECT WORLD: THE AARON HERNANDEZ STORY to World Premiere at DOC NYC
Dan Wetzel and Kevin Armstrong undertake an exhaustive journey into the mind and motives behind the murderous fall, and tragic suicide, of Aaron Hernandez, in the new documentary in My Perfect World: The Aaron Hernandez Story. My Perfect World: The Aaron Hernandez Story will World Premiere at 2018 DOC NYC on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 9:15 PM – IFC Center.
IT WAS A MOMENT THAT BLINDSIDED A NATION – just five days after being found not guilty of a double murder, Aaron Hernandez was discovered dead in his prison cell. Americans were shocked… confused… thrown off-kilter. Officials reported that Hernandez was not on suicide watch and that no note was found. “John 3:16” was, however, written on his forehead. The following day the story changed. The prison was mistaken, there were actually three suicide notes found in his cell. But why would he take his own life?
Together with award winning journalists Kevin Armstrong and Dan Wetzel, director Geno McDermott and Blackfin uncover the full, never before seen story of one of the most tragic figures in sports. Featuring exclusive interviews with those closest to Hernandez, as well as hundreds of hours of never before seen archival footage (including from 100 hours of Hernandez’s multiple court cases and surveillance camera from the night of his murders), My Perfect World: The Aaron Hernandez Story recounts the step by step process that took Hernandez from a young football star in Bristol, Connecticut to an early grave at age 27.
ABOUT DIRECTOR GENO MCDERMOTT
Geno McDermott is a New York-based director and executive producer, wielding a rare and versatile ability to film, edit and produce thus bringing a holistic approach to filmmaking. After spending several years roaming America’s heartland in search of unique characters and compelling stories for documentary series, Geno launched Blackfin in 2014 from a small WeWork office at 28 years of age. Now, just five years later Blackfin is one of Manhattan’s thriving independent production companies with clients such as Netflix, National Geographic, Discovery, History, CNN, Paramount, AMC and Investigation Discovery. Early 2017 marked Geno and Blackfin’s entrance into the feature documentary world by self-financing development and production of My Perfect World: The Aaron Hernandez Story for the festival circuit, all while producing the film BAD HENRY which aired on Investigation Discovery in July 2018.
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Gravitas Ventures to Release Adam Christian Clark’s Relationship Drama NEWLY SINGLE [Trailer]
Adam Christian Clark’s darkly comedic relationship drama Newly Single starring Adam Christian Clark (“Caroline and Jackie”), Jennifer Kim (“Mozart in the Jungle”), Molly C. Quinn (“Castle”), and Anna Jacoby-Heron (“Stranger Things”) was today acquired by Gravitas Ventures for release in the US. Newly Single had its festival World Premiere at Tallinn Black Nights Festival in late 2017 and it also just played at CPH-PIX Film Festival in September. Gravitas Ventures will release the film this December 7, 2018.
American filmmaker Adam Christian Clark directs and stars in this jet black comedy centered around the Los Angeles dating scene, as a self-obsessed filmmaker finds himself on the market once again. The film is a darkly funny and sometimes brutal exercise. While the film is reminiscent of great American cinema of the 1970’s with a somewhat staccato structure made up of disparate moments, this is still a thoroughly modern affair replete with some graphic sexuality and an often harsh takedown on modern views of dating.
“We are immensely proud that Gravitas will be releasing Adam Christian Clark’s sophomore effort out into the marketplace. Adam is a powerful storyteller with a unique vision, and the type of filmmaker we try to empower here at Divide/Conquer,” said Adam Hendricks on behalf of the producers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_uUhnjg0oQ