Shaquille O’Neal Hosts Free Screening Of Oscar Nominated Short Documentary “The Queen Of Basketball”

Posted on February 10, 2022 by admin

NBA Superstar and movie producer Shaquille O’Neal announced today he is hosting continuous screenings of an Oscar® nominated film at the Capri Theatre in Jackson, MS in honor of the birthday of the late Lusia “Lucy” Harris aka The Queen of Basketball born on February 10, 1955, in nearby Greenwood, MS. [Press Photos]

Ms. Harris is the subject of the Academy Award® nominated short subject documentary THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL directed by two-time Academy Award® nominee Ben Proudfoot. Ms. Harris passed away on January 18, 2022, just three weeks prior to the Oscar® announcement. The film was produced in Ms. Harris’ hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi.

Executive Producer O’Neal states: “Today would have been Lucy’s 67th birthday; so, In her honor, I’m bringing the THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL to the big screen for everyone in Mississippi. In honor of her life achievements and to celebrate her story’s Oscar® nomination, I’m encouraging parents to take their children, coaches to take their teams and black families with little black girls to experience Lucy’s story.”

The screenings at Jackson’s historic Capri Theatre, recently lovingly restored, will take place today – Thursday, February 10 starting at 11:00 AM and will run continuously with the last screening beginning at 4:15 PM.

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GATHR Jump Starts Theatrical On Demand For Re-Mastered, 50th Anniversary Edition of “On Any Sunday”

Posted on September 8, 2021 by admin

Bruce Brown Films Archives

Media company GATHR® will showcase the re-mastered and digitally enhanced 50th Anniversary edition of the Oscar®-nominated 1971 documentary ON ANY SUNDAY via its fan-driven cinema distribution model Theatrical On Demand®. The documentary, financed by and starring movie icon and motocross weekend warrior Steve McQueen, is regarded as the best film ever made on the sport of motorcycle racing.

Screening event tickets will be available on the new Sports Illustrated ticketing exchange, SI Tix. For more details on the film (screenings begin later this month) and to see the trailer, please visit HERE.

“At SI Tix, we are committed to giving fans the opportunity to enjoy the best live event experiences the world of sports and entertainment has to offer,” said David Lane, CEO, SI Tix by Sports Illustrated. “On Any Sunday has a unique and special connection to Sports Illustrated. Steve McQueen’s appearance is one of the most iconic covers of the magazine and we’re thrilled to partner with Gathr to debut the anniversary edition of this historic film to our millions of fans.”

On Any Sunday, a Bruce Brown Films documentary directed by Bruce Brown (The Endless Summer), was nominated for the Best Documentary Academy Award® in 1971. The original film was financed by Steve McQueen’s Solar Productions and features motorcycle racing enthusiast McQueen along with two of the sport’s icons: Malcolm Smith and Mert Lawwill.

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Finding Kendrick Johnson

Posted on August 4, 2021 by admin

On January 11th, 2013, Kendrick Johnson was found dead in his high school gymnasium rolled up in a gym mat. The state of Georgia ruled his death as an accident, having died from positional asphyxia. When the family hired their own Forensic Pathologist, not only did he find KJ’s organs missing from his body during the autopsy, he determined the cause of death to be from non-accidental blunt force trauma. To this day, no one knows where KJ’s organs have gone.. So what really happened to KJ?

FINDING KENDRICK JOHNSON is the feature documentary product of a 4-year undercover investigation into the facts of this case. From the creator of ‘Stranger Fruit’, this new documentary hopes to shed light on one of the most important American stories of our time.

Told through the eyes of KJ’s family and close friends, Narrated by Hollywood legend, Jenifer Lewis, Directed by ‘Stranger Fruit’ creator, Jason Pollock, with an amazing team of Producers including Actor Hill Harper, and Space Jam 2 Director Malcolm D. Lee, FINDING KENDRICK JOHNSON shares this truly historic, heartbreaking, and unbelievable story with the world for the first time.

“The case of Kendrick Johnson is one the most important cases in U.S. history,” says writer/director Jason Pollock. “KJ deserves justice, and hopefully our film will help his family get one step closer to that outcome.”

“This is the most important film I’ve ever worked on,” says actor and activist Jenifer Lewis. “What this family has gone through is unspeakable but we must speak it so the public knows the truth. Jason has done a brilliant job on this vital story of injustice.”

FINDING KENDRICK JOHNSON will be available on digital and video on demand beginning Friday, July 30, 2021 and will be heading to theaters nationwide throughout the summer.

Christo Brock’s Documentary “Brewmance” Set For Release Next Week

Posted on April 9, 2021 by admin

Produced and directed by Christo Brock (Touch The Wall), the documentary will be released on VOD on all major platforms on April 13, 2021 in US, Canada, UK and more.

The American Craft Beer movement began with a group of restless homebrewers searching for something genuine and flavorful. Today it’s evolved into a redefinition of beer and an international cultural phenomenon. That uniquely American spirit of rebellion and innovation survives in two groups of homebrewers from Long Beach, California who are looking to open their own breweries and bring their beers to the world. These include a Christian father-son team who grew close over making beer and a retired rock star looking for the “quiet” existence of a brewery owner.

With the insight and commentary of legendary brewers Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada), Fritz Maytag (Anchor Brewing), Charlie Papazian, Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River), Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head), Jim Koch (Boston Brewing) and others, “Brewmance” reveals the soul of craft beer in the heart of America.

Christo Brock is an American Producer, Director, and Editor best known for the iconic swim documentary Touch the Wall, the sports films Spirit of the Marathon and Hood to Coast, and the craft beer documentary “Brewmance”.

Historical Documentary “Last Will & Testament” Released By Strike Back Studios

Posted on April 2, 2021 by admin

Strike Back Studios, a new joint venture between Realization Films, Public House Films, and Hideout Pictures, has release Centropolis Entertainment’s fascinating historical documentary “Last Will & Testament”.

With April being Shakespeare international Month, the film is now available to stream on Amazon Prime, Vudu, Tubi and other streaming platforms along with across TVOD platforms iTunes, Fandango Now, Google Play, YouTube, among others globally to rent or buy.

Twin sisters & filmmakers Laura Wilson & Lisa Wilson’s intricate historical journey charts the fascinating documentary “Last Will & Testament” from executive producer Roland Emmerich (who’s brilliant “Anonymous” also explores Shakespeare’s identity) and featuring stage and screen icons Derek Jacobi (“Gladiator,” “Gosford Park, “Dead Again”), Mark Rylance (“Bridge of Spies,” “The BFG,” “Dunkirk”), and Vanessa Redgrave (“Atonement,” “Howards End,” “Coriolanus”). It’s the greatest literary mystery of all time who actually wrote the works of Shakespeare? Featuring a powerful score by Graeme Revell (“The Saint,” “The Crow,” “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”), the greatest mystery of an identity hidden by time and the constructs of society…The Bard himself.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
It’s the greatest literary mystery of all time; who wrote the works of Shakespeare? Although the official story has held sway for centuries, questions over the authorship of the plays and poems have persisted. Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles are among the many famous figures who doubt that a grain-dealer from Stratford-upon-Avon was England’s “Star of Poets.” “Last Will & Testament” will transform the way you look at Shakespeare.

Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez

Posted on January 20, 2021 by admin

World Premiere at the 2021 Slamdance Film Festival

Moving, thought-provoking, both personal and political, Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez explores the controversial art and life of the legendary underground cartoonist through the lens of his wife, Emmy-nominated filmmaker Susan Stern.

From the propaganda comics of WWII, to the underground comics breakthrough in 1960s New York and San Francisco, to the graphic novels of today, Bad Attitude is an enthralling history of comics and a rousing call to art and activism. Featuring a roster of friends and family, Bad Attitude dives deep into Spain’s life with insight from comics luminaries R. Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Trina Robbins, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, and Ed Piskor, and features animation by Spain’s daughter, the New York-based artist, Nora Rodriguez.

“Bad Attitude is a love letter to my partner in art and life, Spain Rodriguez, but it is also a love letter to all activists, especially artist-activists,” says director Susan Stern. “I hope Bad Attitude creates a space for conversation about the art and social justice we are trying to make, the ways we fail, and how we can be forgiven.”

BAD ATTITUDE: The Art of Spain Rodriguez will have its world premiere in the Breakouts section at the 2021 Slamdance Film Festival.The documentaary is directed and produced by Susan Stern

Timely Doc “76 DAYS” From MTV Documentary Films Out On Dec 4

Posted on December 3, 2020 by admin

An Urgent Look at the Earliest Days of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Wuhan, China Launches in Virtual Cinemas Nationwide Beginning Friday, December 4

MTV Documentary Films has announced the release of 76 DAYS, a raw and emotional look at the struggles of the people of Wuhan, China, in the earliest days of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The documentary is directed by New York filmmaker Hao Wu (People’s Republic of Desire) and two China-based journalists, Weixi Chen and “Anonymous,” who took enormous personal risks to film at four different hospitals, 76 DAYS world-premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival where it topped IndieWire’s Critics Poll as Best Documentary of the festival.

76 DAYS was directed by Hao Wu, Weixi Chen and Anonymous. It was produced by Hao Wu and Jean Tsien. The film was written and edited by Hao Wu and shot by Anonymous and Weixi Chen. Executive producers are Sheila Nevins, Bryn Mooser, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Naja Pham Lockwood, Jamie Chen, and Roberto Grande.

It is set to be released in over 50 virtual cinemas nationwide (including Film Forum in NY and Laemmle Theaters in LA) beginning Friday, December 4.

On January 23rd, 2020, China locked down Wuhan, a city of 11 million, to combat the emerging COVID-19 outbreak. Set deep inside the frontlines of the crisis, 76 DAYS tells indelible human stories at the center of this pandemic—from a woman begging in vain to bid a final farewell to her father, a grandfather with dementia searching for his way home, a couple anxious to meet their newborn, to a nurse determined to return personal items to families of the deceased. These intimate stories bear witness to the death and rebirth of a city under a 76-day lockdown, and to the compassion and human resilience that persists in times of profound tragedy.