By Glenn Charlie Dunks
Nancy Schwartzman’s latest documentary wades forcefully into sensitive territory. As she had done with (the superior) Roll Red Roll in 2018, she charts stories of sexual assault and rape in places where police, the justice system, and society at large too often find ambiguity and uncertainty. An audience watching Victim/Suspect is probably not among those who do, although I suppose launching on such a platform as Netflix may help capture some viewers whose attitudes towards people like those in Schwartzman’s doc are ingrained enough to need rewiring and allow them the empathy required to understand their circumstance.
As the title implies, Victim/Suspect is about women who have reported the crime of rape and have instead become the one arrested. Whether it be due to apathy or investigative sloppiness on behalf of the police or just plain old misogyny and bias, they end up handcuffed and sent to prison.
Nancy Schwartzman’s latest documentary wades forcefully into sensitive territory. As she had done with (the superior) Roll Red Roll in 2018, she charts stories of sexual assault and rape in places where police, the justice system, and society at large too often find ambiguity and uncertainty. An audience watching Victim/Suspect is probably not among those who do, although I suppose launching on such a platform as Netflix may help capture some viewers whose attitudes towards people like those in Schwartzman’s doc are ingrained enough to need rewiring and allow them the empathy required to understand their circumstance.
As the title implies, Victim/Suspect is about women who have reported the crime of rape and have instead become the one arrested. Whether it be due to apathy or investigative sloppiness on behalf of the police or just plain old misogyny and bias, they end up handcuffed and sent to prison.
- 5/27/2023
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Editor’s note: This review was originally published at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Netflix releases the film on its streaming platform on Tuesday, May 23.
If anything, Nancy Schwartzman’s “Victim/Suspect” too calmly lays out its case over the course of a tight 90-minute running time. The “Roll Red Roll” filmmaker is again taking on the topic of sexual assault in America with her latest film, which follows investigative reporter Rachel de Leon as she unspools tale after tale of alleged sexual assault victims suddenly, horribly being turned into suspects when the very cops meant to investigate their allegations accuse them of faking all of it. Even worse: They are then charged with a litany of crimes, fully completing the cycle from, yes, victim to suspect.
It’s the kind of story that should make viewers rage — at the cops, the system, the world — but Schwartzman sidesteps emotion to cede her story to de Leon,...
If anything, Nancy Schwartzman’s “Victim/Suspect” too calmly lays out its case over the course of a tight 90-minute running time. The “Roll Red Roll” filmmaker is again taking on the topic of sexual assault in America with her latest film, which follows investigative reporter Rachel de Leon as she unspools tale after tale of alleged sexual assault victims suddenly, horribly being turned into suspects when the very cops meant to investigate their allegations accuse them of faking all of it. Even worse: They are then charged with a litany of crimes, fully completing the cycle from, yes, victim to suspect.
It’s the kind of story that should make viewers rage — at the cops, the system, the world — but Schwartzman sidesteps emotion to cede her story to de Leon,...
- 1/23/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
A group of filmmakers including director Kimberly Townes-Gethers, producer-writer-actor Theo Perkins and executive Kirk Moore have launched Audacity Division, a banner that aims to amplify non-dominant narratives in the Bipoc space.
Its debut project is 14 Days, a short film that follows two ex-lovers (Diarra Kilpatrick and Perkins) who find reconciliation over Zoom conversations at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The film reinforces the power of therapy and challenges the stigma associated with mental health with Bipoc communities. (See the trailer below.)
Kilpatrick’s credits include writing on The Last O.G. and a role on HBO’s Perry Mason, and is up next in USA Network’s Nash Bridges revival. She also earned an Emmy nomination for the ABC Digital Studios short-form series American Koko. Perkins’ acting credits include Lie to Me, NCIS and Raising the Bar.
The short is helmed by Ad co-founder Townes-Gethers. Perkins and Brandon Scotland are producers and Moore is executive producer. Christian Epps is the Dp. The short was shot on iPhones during the pandemic, and all the cast and crew worked remotely.
The plan is to develop 14 Days into a potential TV series. Audacity Division’s next short is Hands to the Sky, which will highlight the rising epidemic of autism in Bipoc communities in New Jersey, with an eye on developing it into a feature-length film.
“My belief is that in order to transform, change, and liberate, we can not stay still,” said Perkins, also founder and artistic director of the nonprofit Elizabeth Youth Theater Ensemble. “What we accomplished during the filming of 14 Days, the audacity that we had as artists, led to the birth of the collective.”
Here’s the 14 Days trailer:
***
Multitude Films, the LGBTQ-led independent production company dedicated to telling nonfiction stories by and about underrepresented communities, has hired veteran producer Sweta Vohra and promoted Ameena Din to VP Finance. The news comes after the company founded and led by Jessica Devaney signed with ICM Partners.
The company produced the Peabody-nominated Roll Red Roll and last year’s Oscar-shortlisted documentary short Call Center Blues, and its latest projects include Netflix’s upcoming Pray Away in partnership with Ryan Murphy and Blumhouse, and “Apart,” an installment of the HBO Max and Sesame Workshop series Through Our Eyes.
Vohra, a three-time News & Documentary Emmy nominees, is a New York City-based journalist, filmmaker, and producer who previously was a producer-director on the first season of New York Times series The Weekly on FX and Hulu. Din also consults on Netflix projects including the recent Lenox Hill and works with Fork Films, HBO, Conde Nast Entertainment, Itvs, Hoff Productions and more.
***
Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American distribution rights to Lone Wolf, an Australian thriller directed by Jonathan Ogilvie. Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Hugo Weaving, Diana Glenn, Josh McConville and Chris Bunton star in the pic, a product of the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund. It will no get a U.S. release in theaters and on-demand on September 24.
Set in contemporary Melbourne, the plot center on Winnie (Cobham-Hervey), a young woman who runs a struggling political bookshop with her boyfriend Conrad (McConville) and takes care of her disabled brother. But Winnie’s efforts to hold everything together get thwarted when Conrad becomes entangled in an act of terrorism.
“Filmmaker Jonathan Ogilvie skillfully blends issues of surveillance and big government and how they intersect with radical political groups, resulting in a highly topical and tense film that leaves the viewer thinking about who is watching, and why,” said Megan Huggins, Gravitas’ Acquisitions Coordinator.
Huggins negotiated the deal with Denmark-based LevelK.
Its debut project is 14 Days, a short film that follows two ex-lovers (Diarra Kilpatrick and Perkins) who find reconciliation over Zoom conversations at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The film reinforces the power of therapy and challenges the stigma associated with mental health with Bipoc communities. (See the trailer below.)
Kilpatrick’s credits include writing on The Last O.G. and a role on HBO’s Perry Mason, and is up next in USA Network’s Nash Bridges revival. She also earned an Emmy nomination for the ABC Digital Studios short-form series American Koko. Perkins’ acting credits include Lie to Me, NCIS and Raising the Bar.
The short is helmed by Ad co-founder Townes-Gethers. Perkins and Brandon Scotland are producers and Moore is executive producer. Christian Epps is the Dp. The short was shot on iPhones during the pandemic, and all the cast and crew worked remotely.
The plan is to develop 14 Days into a potential TV series. Audacity Division’s next short is Hands to the Sky, which will highlight the rising epidemic of autism in Bipoc communities in New Jersey, with an eye on developing it into a feature-length film.
“My belief is that in order to transform, change, and liberate, we can not stay still,” said Perkins, also founder and artistic director of the nonprofit Elizabeth Youth Theater Ensemble. “What we accomplished during the filming of 14 Days, the audacity that we had as artists, led to the birth of the collective.”
Here’s the 14 Days trailer:
***
Multitude Films, the LGBTQ-led independent production company dedicated to telling nonfiction stories by and about underrepresented communities, has hired veteran producer Sweta Vohra and promoted Ameena Din to VP Finance. The news comes after the company founded and led by Jessica Devaney signed with ICM Partners.
The company produced the Peabody-nominated Roll Red Roll and last year’s Oscar-shortlisted documentary short Call Center Blues, and its latest projects include Netflix’s upcoming Pray Away in partnership with Ryan Murphy and Blumhouse, and “Apart,” an installment of the HBO Max and Sesame Workshop series Through Our Eyes.
Vohra, a three-time News & Documentary Emmy nominees, is a New York City-based journalist, filmmaker, and producer who previously was a producer-director on the first season of New York Times series The Weekly on FX and Hulu. Din also consults on Netflix projects including the recent Lenox Hill and works with Fork Films, HBO, Conde Nast Entertainment, Itvs, Hoff Productions and more.
***
Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American distribution rights to Lone Wolf, an Australian thriller directed by Jonathan Ogilvie. Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Hugo Weaving, Diana Glenn, Josh McConville and Chris Bunton star in the pic, a product of the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund. It will no get a U.S. release in theaters and on-demand on September 24.
Set in contemporary Melbourne, the plot center on Winnie (Cobham-Hervey), a young woman who runs a struggling political bookshop with her boyfriend Conrad (McConville) and takes care of her disabled brother. But Winnie’s efforts to hold everything together get thwarted when Conrad becomes entangled in an act of terrorism.
“Filmmaker Jonathan Ogilvie skillfully blends issues of surveillance and big government and how they intersect with radical political groups, resulting in a highly topical and tense film that leaves the viewer thinking about who is watching, and why,” said Megan Huggins, Gravitas’ Acquisitions Coordinator.
Huggins negotiated the deal with Denmark-based LevelK.
- 7/2/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: ICM Partners has signed Multitude Films, the LGBTQ-led nonfiction production company founded by Jessica Devaney and dedicated to telling nonfiction stories by and about underrepresented communities. The move comes as it has upcoming Netflix’s Pray Away in partnership with Ryan Murphy and Blumhouse, and “Apart,” an installment of the HBO Max and Sesame Workshop series Through Our Eyes.
The company, launched in 2016 by Brooklyn-based producer Devaney, has produced films including this past season’s Oscar-shortlisted documentary short Call Center Blues from Geeta Gandbhir, Sundance award winner Always in Season from Jacqueline Olive, and Peabody-nominated Roll Red Roll directed by Nancy Schwartzman which bowed at Tribeca in 2018.
Multitude has won the Cinereach Producers Award, the Sima Vital Voices Award, and Doc NYC’s 40 under 40 Award. The team is led by Deveany, VP Production Anya Rous; and Head of Finance Ameena Din.
“We’re thrilled to partner with ICM and...
The company, launched in 2016 by Brooklyn-based producer Devaney, has produced films including this past season’s Oscar-shortlisted documentary short Call Center Blues from Geeta Gandbhir, Sundance award winner Always in Season from Jacqueline Olive, and Peabody-nominated Roll Red Roll directed by Nancy Schwartzman which bowed at Tribeca in 2018.
Multitude has won the Cinereach Producers Award, the Sima Vital Voices Award, and Doc NYC’s 40 under 40 Award. The team is led by Deveany, VP Production Anya Rous; and Head of Finance Ameena Din.
“We’re thrilled to partner with ICM and...
- 6/21/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Every year, documentaries that examine crimes are made. Some, such as Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America,” Joshua Rofe’s “Lorena” and most recently Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg’s “The Preppy Murder: Death in Central Park,” study a single crime decades after the fact in hopes of establishing a greater clarity and understanding of traumatic events.
But some crimes against humanity deserve immediate dissection and magnification, including mass shootings, sexual abuse and data-mining manipulation. Each is an offense that has directly and indirectly affected millions of Americans in recent years and each is an offense that continues to play out in our society. In these cases, documentarians take on crimes that need immediate absorption and contemplation.
Just four days after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, Emily Taguchi and Jake Lefferman traveled to Parkland, Fla., on assignment for ABC’s “Nightline.” Initially the duo...
But some crimes against humanity deserve immediate dissection and magnification, including mass shootings, sexual abuse and data-mining manipulation. Each is an offense that has directly and indirectly affected millions of Americans in recent years and each is an offense that continues to play out in our society. In these cases, documentarians take on crimes that need immediate absorption and contemplation.
Just four days after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, Emily Taguchi and Jake Lefferman traveled to Parkland, Fla., on assignment for ABC’s “Nightline.” Initially the duo...
- 12/7/2019
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
When it comes to the film industry’s non-fiction arm, 2019 has proven to be the year of the woman. Not only are females behind the majority of this year’s high-profile documentaries, they are also, thus far, dominating the non-fiction feature awards race. Case in point, six of the 10 best doc noms selected from 375 submissions for the 35th annual Intl. Documentary Assn. awards were directed or co-directed by women.
They are: “Advocate” (Rachel Leah Jones), “American Factory” (Julia Reichert), “For Sama” (Waad Al-Khateab), “Honeyland” (Tamara Kotevska), “One Child Nation” (Nanfu Wang and Lynn Zhang) and “Edge of Democracy” (Petra Costa).
Additionally, all the films nominated in the kudofest’s inaugural director category were helmed or co-helmed by women, while three of this year’s five feature doc Gotham Award nominees are directed by females. Meanwhile the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards gave “American Factory,” “Honeyland” and “One Child Nation” a combined total of 13 noms.
They are: “Advocate” (Rachel Leah Jones), “American Factory” (Julia Reichert), “For Sama” (Waad Al-Khateab), “Honeyland” (Tamara Kotevska), “One Child Nation” (Nanfu Wang and Lynn Zhang) and “Edge of Democracy” (Petra Costa).
Additionally, all the films nominated in the kudofest’s inaugural director category were helmed or co-helmed by women, while three of this year’s five feature doc Gotham Award nominees are directed by females. Meanwhile the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards gave “American Factory,” “Honeyland” and “One Child Nation” a combined total of 13 noms.
- 12/6/2019
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
By Glenn Dunks
Have you heard? The Academy has announced the longlist of eligible titles for the 2019 Best Documentary Feature category. All 159 of ‘em; they don’t call it a longlist for nothing. The 15-wide shortlist will be derived from these and from there the five nominees will be chosen by the documentary branch.
As I suspected, Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old is not on the list. It is also worth noting – as I have done all year – that Amazing Grace gambled with the odds last year on a qualifying run and sadly didn’t make it. There were only a few films that we have written about in Doc Corner that either did not submit or were not eligible including Vision Portraits, The Raft, Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché and Beyoncé’s Homecoming would be the best of that lot.
All the big...
Have you heard? The Academy has announced the longlist of eligible titles for the 2019 Best Documentary Feature category. All 159 of ‘em; they don’t call it a longlist for nothing. The 15-wide shortlist will be derived from these and from there the five nominees will be chosen by the documentary branch.
As I suspected, Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old is not on the list. It is also worth noting – as I have done all year – that Amazing Grace gambled with the odds last year on a qualifying run and sadly didn’t make it. There were only a few films that we have written about in Doc Corner that either did not submit or were not eligible including Vision Portraits, The Raft, Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché and Beyoncé’s Homecoming would be the best of that lot.
All the big...
- 11/13/2019
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Women may be the gatekeepers of the documentary arm of the entertainment industry, but this year marks the first time they have helmed the majority of awards season’s high-profile documentaries.
The filmmakers include Irene Taylor Brodsky (“Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements”), Petra Costa (“The Edge of Democracy”), Lauren Greenfield (“The Kingmaker”), Barbara Kopple (“Desert One”), Rachel Lears (“Knock Down the House”), Nancy Schwartzman (“Roll Red Roll”), Nanfu Wang and Lynn Zhang (“One Child Nation”).
In addition, there are also documentary frontrunners co-directed by women, including “Advocate” (Rachel Leah Jones), “After Parkland” (Emily Taguchi), “American Factory” (Julia Reichert), “For Sama” (Waad Al-Khateab), “The Great Hack” (Jehane Noujaim) and “Honeyland” (Tamara Kotevska).
In late October, when the Intl. Documentary Assn. announced the nominees for the 35th annual Ida awards, six of the 10 best doc nods and all of the films nominated in the inaugural director category were directed or co-directed by women.
The filmmakers include Irene Taylor Brodsky (“Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements”), Petra Costa (“The Edge of Democracy”), Lauren Greenfield (“The Kingmaker”), Barbara Kopple (“Desert One”), Rachel Lears (“Knock Down the House”), Nancy Schwartzman (“Roll Red Roll”), Nanfu Wang and Lynn Zhang (“One Child Nation”).
In addition, there are also documentary frontrunners co-directed by women, including “Advocate” (Rachel Leah Jones), “After Parkland” (Emily Taguchi), “American Factory” (Julia Reichert), “For Sama” (Waad Al-Khateab), “The Great Hack” (Jehane Noujaim) and “Honeyland” (Tamara Kotevska).
In late October, when the Intl. Documentary Assn. announced the nominees for the 35th annual Ida awards, six of the 10 best doc nods and all of the films nominated in the inaugural director category were directed or co-directed by women.
- 11/5/2019
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The International Documentary Association (Ida) has revealed the 35th Annual Ida Documentary Awards shortlists for the Best Feature and Best Short categories, culled from 785 submissions: 375 documentary features, 153 documentary shorts, 124 documentary series, 89 student films, 44 podcasts, and 48 music documentaries. After winnowing down each list to up to ten nominees to be announced on Wednesday, October 23, online screeners will be accessible for viewing as of November 4, followed by the Ida membership voting.
The 2019 Awards will be presented at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 7. The Ida will bestow awards in 16 categories. This year, the Ida has changed how craft awards are selected: cinematographers, editors, writers and composers will do the honors. And for the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director.
The awards categories include Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award,...
The 2019 Awards will be presented at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 7. The Ida will bestow awards in 16 categories. This year, the Ida has changed how craft awards are selected: cinematographers, editors, writers and composers will do the honors. And for the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director.
The awards categories include Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award,...
- 10/10/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The International Documentary Association (Ida) has revealed the 35th Annual Ida Documentary Awards shortlists for the Best Feature and Best Short categories, culled from 785 submissions: 375 documentary features, 153 documentary shorts, 124 documentary series, 89 student films, 44 podcasts, and 48 music documentaries. After winnowing down each list to up to ten nominees to be announced on Wednesday, October 23, online screeners will be accessible for viewing as of November 4, followed by the Ida membership voting.
The 2019 Awards will be presented at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 7. The Ida will bestow awards in 16 categories. This year, the Ida has changed how craft awards are selected: cinematographers, editors, writers and composers will do the honors. And for the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director.
The awards categories include Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award,...
The 2019 Awards will be presented at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 7. The Ida will bestow awards in 16 categories. This year, the Ida has changed how craft awards are selected: cinematographers, editors, writers and composers will do the honors. And for the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director.
The awards categories include Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award,...
- 10/10/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Aretha Franklin documentary “Amazing Grace,” the moon-mission chronicle “Apollo 11” and the first film from Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, “American Factory,” have made the short list for the International Documentary Association’s 2019 Ida Documentary Awards, the Ida announced on Thursday.
The announcement narrows the field to 30 feature films and 21 shorts that will move on to a second round of voting.
The IDA’s short list of 30 feature films contains 10 films that were on Doc NYC’s recent 15-film list of the year’s likeliest nonfiction awards contenders: “American Factory,” “The Apollo,” “Apollo 11,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “The Cave,” “Diego Maradona,” “The Edge of Democracy,” “For Sama,” “Honeyland” and “One Child Nation.”
Additional films on the Ida’s list include “Amazing Grace,...
The announcement narrows the field to 30 feature films and 21 shorts that will move on to a second round of voting.
The IDA’s short list of 30 feature films contains 10 films that were on Doc NYC’s recent 15-film list of the year’s likeliest nonfiction awards contenders: “American Factory,” “The Apollo,” “Apollo 11,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “The Cave,” “Diego Maradona,” “The Edge of Democracy,” “For Sama,” “Honeyland” and “One Child Nation.”
Additional films on the Ida’s list include “Amazing Grace,...
- 10/10/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The BBC has picked up a slew of feature docs including Oscar-nominated Minding The Gap and Sundance titles One Child Nation and Maiden.
This comes as the British public broadcaster has revamped its feature doc strand Storyville with films launching on youth-skewing network BBC Three for the first time as it looks to appeal to younger audiences.
The pick ups were unveiled today at the Sheffield Doc/Fest by BBC Storyville Commissioning Editor Mandy Chang.
Minding the Gap will air on BBC Three alongside true crime doc Roll Red Roll and music doc Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl.
Bing Liu’s Oscar nominated Minding the Gap is the coming-of-age saga of three skateboarding friends in their Rust Belt hometown, hit hard by decades of recession. In his quest to understand why he and his friends ran away from home as teenagers, Bing tracks 23-year-old Zack as he becomes a...
This comes as the British public broadcaster has revamped its feature doc strand Storyville with films launching on youth-skewing network BBC Three for the first time as it looks to appeal to younger audiences.
The pick ups were unveiled today at the Sheffield Doc/Fest by BBC Storyville Commissioning Editor Mandy Chang.
Minding the Gap will air on BBC Three alongside true crime doc Roll Red Roll and music doc Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl.
Bing Liu’s Oscar nominated Minding the Gap is the coming-of-age saga of three skateboarding friends in their Rust Belt hometown, hit hard by decades of recession. In his quest to understand why he and his friends ran away from home as teenagers, Bing tracks 23-year-old Zack as he becomes a...
- 6/9/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Cinereach announced the four recipients of 2019’s Producer Award, a $50,000 filmmaking prize as part of the Cinereach Producers Initiative, on Friday.
The indie film company has selected Jessica Devaney (“Always in Season”), Alexandra Lazarowich (“Fast Horse”), Kishori Rajan (“Random Acts of Flyness”) and Jamund Washington (“Tramps”) as independent producers that have demonstrated vision and integrity, contributed to the film community as mentors and leaders, and enriched the culture through their films.
“This year’s group of recipients is particularly exciting because Jessica, Alexandra, Kishori and Jamund have each created poignant, culturally thoughtful work that breaks down barriers on a multitude of platforms. Their commitment to this type of work is shifting our industry in meaningful ways,” Merrill Sterritt, head of partnerships and creative initiatives at Cinereach, said in a statement.
Also Read: How to Be a 'Real' Producer: Know Your Audience and 'Fight for Your Life'
“We are proud to...
The indie film company has selected Jessica Devaney (“Always in Season”), Alexandra Lazarowich (“Fast Horse”), Kishori Rajan (“Random Acts of Flyness”) and Jamund Washington (“Tramps”) as independent producers that have demonstrated vision and integrity, contributed to the film community as mentors and leaders, and enriched the culture through their films.
“This year’s group of recipients is particularly exciting because Jessica, Alexandra, Kishori and Jamund have each created poignant, culturally thoughtful work that breaks down barriers on a multitude of platforms. Their commitment to this type of work is shifting our industry in meaningful ways,” Merrill Sterritt, head of partnerships and creative initiatives at Cinereach, said in a statement.
Also Read: How to Be a 'Real' Producer: Know Your Audience and 'Fight for Your Life'
“We are proud to...
- 6/7/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
By Glenn Dunks
“She is so raped right now… this is the funniest thing ever.”
That’s one of the callous lines that opens Nancy Schwarzman’s debut feature documentary, Roll Red Roll. Played against misty images of an otherwise seemingly peaceful hamlet, the opening minute is not the last time we will hear those words, spoken as they were by a male high schooler as a young girl lay drunken and unconscious on the floor of his friend’s rec room. The words return later, this time in video form, as the boy in question laughs and smiles, his face radiating with some sort of queasy pride for his friends, two fellow high schooler students who would eventually be found guilty of rape.
It’s important to not beat around the bush here – after all, Schwarzman’s film doesn’t...
“She is so raped right now… this is the funniest thing ever.”
That’s one of the callous lines that opens Nancy Schwarzman’s debut feature documentary, Roll Red Roll. Played against misty images of an otherwise seemingly peaceful hamlet, the opening minute is not the last time we will hear those words, spoken as they were by a male high schooler as a young girl lay drunken and unconscious on the floor of his friend’s rec room. The words return later, this time in video form, as the boy in question laughs and smiles, his face radiating with some sort of queasy pride for his friends, two fellow high schooler students who would eventually be found guilty of rape.
It’s important to not beat around the bush here – after all, Schwarzman’s film doesn’t...
- 4/2/2019
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
“Roll Red Roll” is a piercingly relevant and disturbing documentary about an infamous high school rape case that took place in Steubenville, Ohio, on Aug. 11, 2012. Steubenville, the sort of Friday-night-lights small town that boasts signs that read “Kick off for Jesus,” is a place that’s good at keeping secrets. When the rape was first reported in a local newspaper, there was an attempt on the part of much of the community to deny the crime by simply waving it away. It was seen as the stars of the local football team, known as the Big Red, getting a little too wild in a boys-will-be-boys way. The coach didn’t even suspend his players for drinking (a rule he was generally strict about), because he didn’t want to get them in trouble.
But there are times you need an instigator to stir up a hornets’ nest, and one of...
But there are times you need an instigator to stir up a hornets’ nest, and one of...
- 3/22/2019
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Women are front and center in PBS’ slate for its 32nd season of Pov. A total of 16 feature films in this year’s lineup were created by women directors, while four of the five short films are helmed by females. To further diversify its season, Pov has a global reach with 10 of the feature films coming from abroad.
The new season kicks off June 17 with Nancy Schwartzman’s Roll Red Roll on all PBS stations and across its platforms and pov.org and amdoc.org. October will welcome broadcast premieres with pop-out episodes in early 2020. The second season of Pov Shorts will begin July 22 with Changing Same, which will premiere after the feature On Her Shoulders. In addition to Changing Same, the rest of this year’s Pov Shorts confirmed slate feature filmmakers of color: Water Warriors, Stay Close, Edgecombe and Crisanto Street.
The surge of women filmmakers and...
The new season kicks off June 17 with Nancy Schwartzman’s Roll Red Roll on all PBS stations and across its platforms and pov.org and amdoc.org. October will welcome broadcast premieres with pop-out episodes in early 2020. The second season of Pov Shorts will begin July 22 with Changing Same, which will premiere after the feature On Her Shoulders. In addition to Changing Same, the rest of this year’s Pov Shorts confirmed slate feature filmmakers of color: Water Warriors, Stay Close, Edgecombe and Crisanto Street.
The surge of women filmmakers and...
- 3/13/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The Nancy Schwartzman-directed documentary Roll Red Roll has been acquired by Together Films and will have a limited theatrical release starting March 22 at the Film Forum in New York. The launch marks Together Films’ first foray into the U.S. market and will come ahead of the documentary’s nationwide broadcast debut June 17 on PBS as the opening film for the 32nd season of its Pov series.
Roll Red Roll made its world premiere last year at the Tribeca Film Festival. A true-crime thriller that uncovers the social media-fueled “boys will be boys” culture at the root of high school sexual assault in America, Roll Red Roll unearths the complex motivations of both perpetrators and bystanders. It also looks unflinchingly at the role adults played in enabling the culture.
To coincide with the premiere of the documentary, producers have launched the Roll Red Roll impact campaign which will...
Roll Red Roll made its world premiere last year at the Tribeca Film Festival. A true-crime thriller that uncovers the social media-fueled “boys will be boys” culture at the root of high school sexual assault in America, Roll Red Roll unearths the complex motivations of both perpetrators and bystanders. It also looks unflinchingly at the role adults played in enabling the culture.
To coincide with the premiere of the documentary, producers have launched the Roll Red Roll impact campaign which will...
- 2/12/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
If there's a more hideous phrase in the language than "rape culture," one would be hard-pressed to name it. Nancy Schwartzman's documentary Roll Red Roll examines the phenomenon through the prism of the infamous 2012 rape of a teenage girl by the star players of a Steubenville, Ohio, football team. The film, which recently received its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, documents the case in such a powerful fashion that your feelings of outrage will persist long after the movie is over.
What's truly scary about the incident at the film's center is how many similar but ignored...
What's truly scary about the incident at the film's center is how many similar but ignored...
- 4/29/2018
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.