Onyx Collective’s “Searching for Soul Food” will arrive on June 2 exclusively on Hulu, Variety has learned.
“Searching for Soul Food” follows rock star celebrity chef Alisa Reynolds as she discovers what soul food looks like around the world. As she seeks out the food, she’ll also explore the stories, the people, and the traditions of each place she visits, bringing her own flavor right along with her. The international journey finds Chef Reynolds exploring the culinary worlds of Mississippi, Oklahoma, Appalachia, South Africa, Italy, Jamaica, Peru and Los Angeles.”
Additionally, Onyx Collective also released a teaser for the unscripted series. The 38-second clip offers a brief montage through some of host Reynolds’ travels across the globe, eating various versions of tacos, corn bread and collard greens, and pizza in celebration of the traditions that unite the diverse cultures throughout the world.
Reynolds is the executive chef and founder of My 2 Cents LA,...
“Searching for Soul Food” follows rock star celebrity chef Alisa Reynolds as she discovers what soul food looks like around the world. As she seeks out the food, she’ll also explore the stories, the people, and the traditions of each place she visits, bringing her own flavor right along with her. The international journey finds Chef Reynolds exploring the culinary worlds of Mississippi, Oklahoma, Appalachia, South Africa, Italy, Jamaica, Peru and Los Angeles.”
Additionally, Onyx Collective also released a teaser for the unscripted series. The 38-second clip offers a brief montage through some of host Reynolds’ travels across the globe, eating various versions of tacos, corn bread and collard greens, and pizza in celebration of the traditions that unite the diverse cultures throughout the world.
Reynolds is the executive chef and founder of My 2 Cents LA,...
- 5/2/2023
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Ryan Heller has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Film & Documentary at Topic Studios, the award-winning studio from First Look Media.
In his new role, he will continue to lead the feature film group, while adding feature-length documentaries to his purview, formalizing an area in which he had already been operating. He will oversee the doc arena with Vice President, Nonfiction, Christine Connor, continuing to report to CEO Michael Bloom.
A key player in the launch and critical successes of Topic Studios, who has since 2018 built and managed its feature film slate through development, financing, production and distribution, Heller most recently served as Senior Vice President of Film and Acquisitions.
He has long been a champion for new directorial voices, in recent years shepherding such breakout projects as the psychological horror Nanny and the acclaimed buddy comedy, The Climb. The former title from rising star director Nikyatu Jusu was...
In his new role, he will continue to lead the feature film group, while adding feature-length documentaries to his purview, formalizing an area in which he had already been operating. He will oversee the doc arena with Vice President, Nonfiction, Christine Connor, continuing to report to CEO Michael Bloom.
A key player in the launch and critical successes of Topic Studios, who has since 2018 built and managed its feature film slate through development, financing, production and distribution, Heller most recently served as Senior Vice President of Film and Acquisitions.
He has long been a champion for new directorial voices, in recent years shepherding such breakout projects as the psychological horror Nanny and the acclaimed buddy comedy, The Climb. The former title from rising star director Nikyatu Jusu was...
- 1/12/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: In a competitive situation, Topic Studios has secured the rights to Amanda Montell’s book Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism for adaptation as a television docuseries.
Published by Harper Wave in June of 2021, Montell’s second book, following Wordslut, dissects how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.
The docuseries will be a powerful and timely deep dive into how cults maintain their power, per producers. According to Montell, whose own father escaped from a cult as a teenager, “we’ve been thinking about cults in completely the wrong way. While there have long been dark, dangerous cults (such as the Manson Family), fanatical groups actually fall along a spectrum, from Heaven’s Gate all the way to SoulCycle and Taylor Swift stans. Using an incisive, compelling and often funny tone, Cultish will unpack what cult influence looks,...
Published by Harper Wave in June of 2021, Montell’s second book, following Wordslut, dissects how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.
The docuseries will be a powerful and timely deep dive into how cults maintain their power, per producers. According to Montell, whose own father escaped from a cult as a teenager, “we’ve been thinking about cults in completely the wrong way. While there have long been dark, dangerous cults (such as the Manson Family), fanatical groups actually fall along a spectrum, from Heaven’s Gate all the way to SoulCycle and Taylor Swift stans. Using an incisive, compelling and often funny tone, Cultish will unpack what cult influence looks,...
- 11/15/2022
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
At its first ever Television Critics Association press tour presentation, Disney’s Onyx Collective announced three new series orders: true crime docuseries “Ring of Fire: The Life of Annie Mae Aquash” (working title) directed by Yvonne Russo, an untitled project about car culture hosted by Swizz Beatz and “Searching for Soul Food” hosted by chef Alisa Reynolds and executive produced by Melina Matsoukas.
Onyx Collective also set an Oct. 22 premiere date for Oprah Winfrey, Tracee Ellis Ross and Michaela Angela Davis’ docuseries “The Hair Tales” and debuted a trailer for Raamla Mohamed’s legal drama “Reasonable Doubt.” Additionally, an extension was announced of Yara Shahidi and her production company 7th Sun’s overall deal with Onyx Collective and ABC Signature.
“Ring of Fire: The Life of Annie Mae Aquash” examines the life and murder of Annie Mae Aquash. A Mi’kmaq woman from Nova Scotia, Canada, Annie Mae was a mother,...
Onyx Collective also set an Oct. 22 premiere date for Oprah Winfrey, Tracee Ellis Ross and Michaela Angela Davis’ docuseries “The Hair Tales” and debuted a trailer for Raamla Mohamed’s legal drama “Reasonable Doubt.” Additionally, an extension was announced of Yara Shahidi and her production company 7th Sun’s overall deal with Onyx Collective and ABC Signature.
“Ring of Fire: The Life of Annie Mae Aquash” examines the life and murder of Annie Mae Aquash. A Mi’kmaq woman from Nova Scotia, Canada, Annie Mae was a mother,...
- 8/4/2022
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Onyx is doubling down with non-scripted with three new series.
The Disney-owned brand is launching true-crime docuseries Ring of Fire: The Life of Annie Mae Aquash (w/t), The Untitled Swizz Beatz Project and Searching for Soul Food.
It comes after the brand won an Oscar for its Questlove-directed feature documentary Summer of Soul.
The orders were unveiled by Onyx President Tara Duncan at its virtual TCA presentation. All three shows will premiere on Hulu.
Ring of Fire: The Life of Annie Mae Aquash, directed by Yvonne Russo, examines the extraordinary life and unravels the decades-old mystery behind the murder of Annie Mae Aquash.
A Mi’kmaq woman from Nova Scotia, Canada, Annie Mae is a mother, a teacher and a revolutionary who fought for Indigenous rights and whose death went unsolved for almost 30 years, becoming one of Indian Country’s most infamous cases. Set between the sweeping landscape of...
The Disney-owned brand is launching true-crime docuseries Ring of Fire: The Life of Annie Mae Aquash (w/t), The Untitled Swizz Beatz Project and Searching for Soul Food.
It comes after the brand won an Oscar for its Questlove-directed feature documentary Summer of Soul.
The orders were unveiled by Onyx President Tara Duncan at its virtual TCA presentation. All three shows will premiere on Hulu.
Ring of Fire: The Life of Annie Mae Aquash, directed by Yvonne Russo, examines the extraordinary life and unravels the decades-old mystery behind the murder of Annie Mae Aquash.
A Mi’kmaq woman from Nova Scotia, Canada, Annie Mae is a mother, a teacher and a revolutionary who fought for Indigenous rights and whose death went unsolved for almost 30 years, becoming one of Indian Country’s most infamous cases. Set between the sweeping landscape of...
- 8/4/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Yara Shahidi, arguably the face of Freeform, is extending her overall deal with the studio behind Grown-ish and adding Onyx Collective to the pact.
“It is every creative’s dream to be seen and heard and to do so with colleagues who align with your vision and your soul. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to continue to create with our Disney family and be grounded in the work that Onyx Collective is doing to meet the moment,” said Yara Shahidi and her mom/business partner Keri Shahidi.
The duo’s 7th Sun banner will continue to develop and produce scripted and unscripted programming for both studios as part of the exclusive deal that includes working with Freeform and Onyx Collective president Tara Duncan and her various teams.
Shahidi joins the likes of Ryan Coogler, Destin Daniel Cretton, Prentice Penny, Natasha Rothwell...
Yara Shahidi, arguably the face of Freeform, is extending her overall deal with the studio behind Grown-ish and adding Onyx Collective to the pact.
“It is every creative’s dream to be seen and heard and to do so with colleagues who align with your vision and your soul. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to continue to create with our Disney family and be grounded in the work that Onyx Collective is doing to meet the moment,” said Yara Shahidi and her mom/business partner Keri Shahidi.
The duo’s 7th Sun banner will continue to develop and produce scripted and unscripted programming for both studios as part of the exclusive deal that includes working with Freeform and Onyx Collective president Tara Duncan and her various teams.
Shahidi joins the likes of Ryan Coogler, Destin Daniel Cretton, Prentice Penny, Natasha Rothwell...
- 8/4/2022
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 397 members of the global film community to join the organization, it was announced Tuesday.
Among those who will henceforth be able to vote for the Oscar nominations and winners if they accept, as the vast majority of people who have received invites historically have: newly-minted Oscar winners Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell (music branch) and Ariana DeBose and Troy Kotsur (actors); Paramount chief Brian Robbins and Disney general entertainment chief Dana Walden (executives); and film critic Leonard Maltin (members-at-large).
According to an Academy-provided breakdown of the new invitees, 44 percent are women, 37 percent are non-white and 50 percent are non-Americans (54 different countries are represented). If they all accept, the Academy’s overall membership will be 34 percent female, 19 percent non-white and 23 percent non-American.
Seven branches invited more women than men (actors, casting directors, costume designers, documentary,...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 397 members of the global film community to join the organization, it was announced Tuesday.
Among those who will henceforth be able to vote for the Oscar nominations and winners if they accept, as the vast majority of people who have received invites historically have: newly-minted Oscar winners Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell (music branch) and Ariana DeBose and Troy Kotsur (actors); Paramount chief Brian Robbins and Disney general entertainment chief Dana Walden (executives); and film critic Leonard Maltin (members-at-large).
According to an Academy-provided breakdown of the new invitees, 44 percent are women, 37 percent are non-white and 50 percent are non-Americans (54 different countries are represented). If they all accept, the Academy’s overall membership will be 34 percent female, 19 percent non-white and 23 percent non-American.
Seven branches invited more women than men (actors, casting directors, costume designers, documentary,...
- 6/28/2022
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Every January, the Sundance Film Festival launches a slew of documentary Oscar contenders, and 2021 was no exception. While notable recent examples of fall openers winning Oscars include “Citizenfour” and “Free Solo” — and last year’s Netflix winner “My Octopus Teacher” played no festivals at all — most eventual Oscar nominees got their initial boost at Sundance and became must-sees for the expanding list of increasingly international documentary branch voters.
Emerging strong from Sundance 2021 was Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s innovative animated documentary “Flee,” which scored rave reviews and the Grand Jury Prize. This moving story of a refugee survivor reveals the identity-crushing dangers and humiliations of an immigrant trying to find sanctuary in a harsh world. Neon successfully mounted an Oscar campaign in three categories: Animation, Documentary, and International Feature Film, a first for any Oscar contender.
“Flee” landed an early Gotham Awards nomination and has assembled a mighty collection of awards and nominations,...
Emerging strong from Sundance 2021 was Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s innovative animated documentary “Flee,” which scored rave reviews and the Grand Jury Prize. This moving story of a refugee survivor reveals the identity-crushing dangers and humiliations of an immigrant trying to find sanctuary in a harsh world. Neon successfully mounted an Oscar campaign in three categories: Animation, Documentary, and International Feature Film, a first for any Oscar contender.
“Flee” landed an early Gotham Awards nomination and has assembled a mighty collection of awards and nominations,...
- 2/11/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Every January, the Sundance Film Festival launches a slew of documentary Oscar contenders, and 2021 was no exception. While notable recent examples of fall openers winning Oscars include “Citizenfour” and “Free Solo” — and last year’s Netflix winner “My Octopus Teacher” played no festivals at all — most eventual Oscar nominees got their initial boost at Sundance and became must-sees for the expanding list of increasingly international documentary branch voters.
Emerging strong from Sundance 2021 was Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s innovative animated documentary “Flee,” which scored rave reviews and the Grand Jury Prize. This moving story of a refugee survivor reveals the identity-crushing dangers and humiliations of an immigrant trying to find sanctuary in a harsh world. Neon successfully mounted an Oscar campaign in three categories: Animation, Documentary, and International Feature Film, a first for any Oscar contender.
“Flee” landed an early Gotham Awards nomination and has assembled a mighty collection of awards and nominations,...
Emerging strong from Sundance 2021 was Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s innovative animated documentary “Flee,” which scored rave reviews and the Grand Jury Prize. This moving story of a refugee survivor reveals the identity-crushing dangers and humiliations of an immigrant trying to find sanctuary in a harsh world. Neon successfully mounted an Oscar campaign in three categories: Animation, Documentary, and International Feature Film, a first for any Oscar contender.
“Flee” landed an early Gotham Awards nomination and has assembled a mighty collection of awards and nominations,...
- 2/11/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
A total of 15 documentaries were shortlisted for a 2022 Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature and the subjects documented in them range in topics all over the documentary spectrum. Five of those filmmakers joined our recent Meet the Experts panel, with subjects such as America’s most infamous prison riot, the rise of a young female singer who becomes one of the biggest stars on the planet, how a group of adult survivors of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church use drama therapy to process their trauma, how a bunch of recreational divers pulled off an incredible rescue mission in Thailand and the stories of five families that have been displaced by a perilous civil war.
In our roundtable conversation, we hear what the directors behind these highlighted docs think about making the shortlist for this year’s Academy Awards. Gold Derby recently discussed this and more with Stanley Nelson...
In our roundtable conversation, we hear what the directors behind these highlighted docs think about making the shortlist for this year’s Academy Awards. Gold Derby recently discussed this and more with Stanley Nelson...
- 1/23/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Stanley Nelson, one of the directors of the documentary “Attica,” feels like the sad fact that everyone killed on the last day of the Attica Prison riot was killed by law enforcement is something that’s been lost to history. “The first reports were that the inmates had slit people’s throats and had killed people,” Nelson, along with co-director Traci Curry, tells Gold Derby during our recent Meet the Experts: Film Documentary panel (watch the exclusive video interview above). Unfortunately, by the time authorities figured out what had actually happened, the public had already latched on to the false narrative. “When the medical examiner examined the dead, they found no throats were slit, but it had already come out and the retraction is never as forceful or seen by as many people.”
“Attica,” which is currently available to stream from Showtime, examines the events of the prison uprising at...
“Attica,” which is currently available to stream from Showtime, examines the events of the prison uprising at...
- 1/23/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
A Hero (Asghar Farhadi)
In A Hero, the discovery of a bag of gold coins sets the scene for a knotted Bressonian morality tale. The director is Asghar Farhadi, a filmmaker who has spent his career examining those blurred lines between right and wrong; decency and hubris; righteousness and folly. Taking place in the city of Shiraz, it proves a return to familiar ground for him: both the first he has made in his native Iran after the awful misstep that was Everybody Knows, as well as a return to the moral complexities of A Separation, still his finest film to date. – Rory O. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon Prime
Attica (Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry)
There’s a moment towards...
A Hero (Asghar Farhadi)
In A Hero, the discovery of a bag of gold coins sets the scene for a knotted Bressonian morality tale. The director is Asghar Farhadi, a filmmaker who has spent his career examining those blurred lines between right and wrong; decency and hubris; righteousness and folly. Taking place in the city of Shiraz, it proves a return to familiar ground for him: both the first he has made in his native Iran after the awful misstep that was Everybody Knows, as well as a return to the moral complexities of A Separation, still his finest film to date. – Rory O. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon Prime
Attica (Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry)
There’s a moment towards...
- 1/21/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Seven top documentary filmmakers will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022 Academy Awards and guild contenders. Each person from these films is now on the Oscar shortlist. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Wednesday, January 19, at 6:00 p.m. Pt; 9:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our contributing editor Charles Bright and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series throughout January and February. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 awards contenders:
“Attica:” Traci Curry, Stanley Nelson
Synopsis: Shedding new light on the enduring violence and racism of the prison system,...
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series throughout January and February. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 awards contenders:
“Attica:” Traci Curry, Stanley Nelson
Synopsis: Shedding new light on the enduring violence and racism of the prison system,...
- 1/12/2022
- by Chris Beachum and Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
It was on Sept 9, 1971 prisoners seized control of the maximum security Attica prison in upstate New York. The five-day uprising became the worst prison riot in the history of the U.S. with 43 people killed including 39 that were killed in the bloody Sept. 13th raid that saw helicopters flying over dropping tear gas while state police and corrections officers storming the prison shooting some 3,000 rounds killing 29 inmates, ten hostages and wounding 89. Even after the raid, the prisoners were tortured by the police in the form of reprisals; the wounded inmates barely received any medical help.
Authorities stated the inmates slit the throats of the 10 hostages who died during the raid. In fact, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who never visited the prison during the uprising, stated: they “carried out the cold-blood killings they had threated from the outset.” Autopsies proved, though, that the dead hostages had been shot by the police. Outrage...
Authorities stated the inmates slit the throats of the 10 hostages who died during the raid. In fact, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who never visited the prison during the uprising, stated: they “carried out the cold-blood killings they had threated from the outset.” Autopsies proved, though, that the dead hostages had been shot by the police. Outrage...
- 12/19/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The state of surveillance, intimate music celebrations, Helen Keller’s socialist ethos, refugee tales, examining the scars of abuse in the Catholic Church, and living a life solely through cinema—just a few of the subjects and stories this year’s documentaries brought us. With 2021 wrapping up, we’ve selected 16 features in the field that left us most impressed. If you’re looking for where to stream them, check out our handy guide here.
All Light, Everywhere (Theo Anthony)
Seemingly birthed from some kind of virtuosic computer algorithm or beamed directly from outer space, Theo Anthony’s debut feature Rat Film was a peculiarly engaging, wholly fascinating documentary. Using the population of rats to chart the history of classism and systemic racism throughout Baltimore over decades, it heralded an original new voice in nonfiction filmmaking. When it comes to his follow-up All Light, Everywhere, Anthony casts a wider focus while...
All Light, Everywhere (Theo Anthony)
Seemingly birthed from some kind of virtuosic computer algorithm or beamed directly from outer space, Theo Anthony’s debut feature Rat Film was a peculiarly engaging, wholly fascinating documentary. Using the population of rats to chart the history of classism and systemic racism throughout Baltimore over decades, it heralded an original new voice in nonfiction filmmaking. When it comes to his follow-up All Light, Everywhere, Anthony casts a wider focus while...
- 12/15/2021
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
See our comprehensive guide to where to stream the best films of 2021.
Agnes (Mickey Reece)
Agnes begins how any other possession film might––with the discovery of a demonic presence. When the convent of Saint Theresa fear there’s evil inhabiting the body of one of their young nuns, they outsource help from the diocese. Things quickly, expectedly start to unravel from there. But director Mickey Reece wants you to forget everything you know about possession and exorcism in film––or, well, maybe not. Because part of what makes his new feature Agnes work so beautifully is its very upending of expectations for that particular horror subgenre. With over twenty-five feature films thus far, spanning his career since 2008 as a lower-budget indie...
See our comprehensive guide to where to stream the best films of 2021.
Agnes (Mickey Reece)
Agnes begins how any other possession film might––with the discovery of a demonic presence. When the convent of Saint Theresa fear there’s evil inhabiting the body of one of their young nuns, they outsource help from the diocese. Things quickly, expectedly start to unravel from there. But director Mickey Reece wants you to forget everything you know about possession and exorcism in film––or, well, maybe not. Because part of what makes his new feature Agnes work so beautifully is its very upending of expectations for that particular horror subgenre. With over twenty-five feature films thus far, spanning his career since 2008 as a lower-budget indie...
- 12/10/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“It was a complete education for me,” admits Traci Curry, the director of the documentary “Attica.” The critically acclaimed film, co-directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson, chronicles the infamous 1971 prison uprising in upstate New York and the botched response by the state and federal government that resulted in the deaths of more than 40 people. The Showtime film has earned three nominations at the upcoming Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director for Nelson and Curry. Watch our exclusive video chat with both directors above.
For Curry, who was not alive when the riots happened, the making of the film gave her an opportunity to connect the invocation of the prison’s name — famously referenced in Sidney Lumet‘s “Dog Day Afternoon” — with a true humanitarian crisis. “I never could have imagined the extent of the story,” she says. “I never could have imagined that this story...
For Curry, who was not alive when the riots happened, the making of the film gave her an opportunity to connect the invocation of the prison’s name — famously referenced in Sidney Lumet‘s “Dog Day Afternoon” — with a true humanitarian crisis. “I never could have imagined the extent of the story,” she says. “I never could have imagined that this story...
- 12/1/2021
- by Tony Ruiz
- Gold Derby
The documentary “Attica” about the 1971 prison riot is all too timely as America continues to grapple with inequities in its criminal justice system. It debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, followed by an October 29 theatrical release and a November 6 premiere on Showtime.
The film chronicles the events that transpired exactly 50 years ago. On September 9 of that year, more than 1,200 inmates took control of the facility, leaving dozens dead but bringing public attention to the abuses rampant in America’s prison system. Critics have described it as “devastating” and “harrowing,” an “essential film that can now stand as a definitive vision of that epochal event.”
SEEFilm documentary roundtable panel: Becoming Cousteau, A Cop Movie, My Name is Pauli Murray, Simple as Water, The Velvet Underground
It earned three Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominations, including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director (Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry). Nelson has won...
The film chronicles the events that transpired exactly 50 years ago. On September 9 of that year, more than 1,200 inmates took control of the facility, leaving dozens dead but bringing public attention to the abuses rampant in America’s prison system. Critics have described it as “devastating” and “harrowing,” an “essential film that can now stand as a definitive vision of that epochal event.”
SEEFilm documentary roundtable panel: Becoming Cousteau, A Cop Movie, My Name is Pauli Murray, Simple as Water, The Velvet Underground
It earned three Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominations, including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director (Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry). Nelson has won...
- 11/29/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
The Attica Prison Riot of 1971 was the bloodiest prison revolt in U.S. history. Prisoners demanding better living conditions took control of the complex, and after four days of negotiations, state police regained control of the prison, resulting in 43 people dead — 33 of them prisoners, while the other 10 were correctional officers or civilian employees. Filmmakers Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry’s documentary Attica depicts the violent revolt and sheds light on how it sparked the prisoners’ rights movement and the need for ongoing reform in U.S. prisons. Nelson and former Attica inmate Arthur Harrison, who appears in ...
- 11/13/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Attica Prison Riot of 1971 was the bloodiest prison revolt in U.S. history. Prisoners demanding better living conditions took control of the complex, and after four days of negotiations, state police regained control of the prison, resulting in 43 people dead — 33 of them prisoners, while the other 10 were correctional officers or civilian employees. Filmmakers Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry’s documentary Attica depicts the violent revolt and sheds light on how it sparked the prisoners’ rights movement and the need for ongoing reform in U.S. prisons. Nelson and former Attica inmate Arthur Harrison, who appears in ...
- 11/13/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
There’s a moment towards the end of Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry’s documentary Attica where a white state trooper is seen putting his fist in the air while screaming, “That’s White Power!” The other men around him smile and cheer because they’ve scored a victory for white men in blue. They’ve just taken back the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility after a five-day stand-off where about 1,200 inmates rebelled and took 42 staff members hostage to negotiate prison reform. And they did it, in their own words, with “White Power.” How is “White Power” defined? Well, as the footage and first-hand accounts reveal, it means knowingly picking off unarmed Black and Brown men with high-powered artillery after saying they wouldn’t be hurt. “White Power” is white supremacy. And cowardice.
What have we learned in the aftermath? Not much if you look at the inhumane ways prisoners were...
What have we learned in the aftermath? Not much if you look at the inhumane ways prisoners were...
- 10/29/2021
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
The new documentary “Attica” that tells the story of the 1971 prison riot at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York made a specific choice to cut the voices of academics and historians, opting instead to make this film exclusively the story of the prisoners and families who lived through it.
“Your instincts whenever you’re telling the story is go to the historians. It was so dissonant with the voices of the prisoners and the families because you’re putting this disconnected, academic, pedantic voice,” the film’s producer Traci Curry told TheWrap’s Steve Pond at the Toronto Film Festival. “It just became clear that this just has to be their story.”
“It was definitely the right decision. There’s no second-guessing,” director Stanley Nelson added. “It was like he was coming from another world. Butted up against people like Tyrone who had been there, and him talking...
“Your instincts whenever you’re telling the story is go to the historians. It was so dissonant with the voices of the prisoners and the families because you’re putting this disconnected, academic, pedantic voice,” the film’s producer Traci Curry told TheWrap’s Steve Pond at the Toronto Film Festival. “It just became clear that this just has to be their story.”
“It was definitely the right decision. There’s no second-guessing,” director Stanley Nelson added. “It was like he was coming from another world. Butted up against people like Tyrone who had been there, and him talking...
- 9/16/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
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.