Greenwich To Release Biographical Documentary “We Are As Gods”

Posted on July 26, 2022 by admin

Greenwich Entertainment is set to release the documentary about American visionary Stewart Brand

“We Are As Gods” offers a deep dive into the many sides of Stewart Brand— the Zelig-like creator of The Whole Earth Catalog, an influential member of Ken Kesey’s “The Merry Pranksters,” and an early activist in the modern environmental movement. Brand, in his guise as cyber-utopian, coined the phrase “personal computer” and influenced many in Silicon Valley, including Steve Jobs, who have gone on to shape our modern world. Now in his 80s, Brand looks to leave a legacy for the long-term future with his efforts to rewild ecosystems by resurrecting extinct species. But his former allies believe he’s gone too far.

“We are as gods and might as well get good at it,” Stewart Brand wrote in 1968. A Zelig-like pioneer of LSD, modern environmentalism, cyberspace and futurism now urges people to use their god-like powers to fight extinction by reviving lost species, but his former allies in the environmental movement vow to stand in his way.

Also of note, Brand is the subject of a recent Penguin Press biography by John Markoff.

Directed by David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg (Bill Nye: Science Guy), the film will be released on demand starting Tuesday, September 6, 2022.

‘POV’ Delves Into Abundant Yet Painful History of Payahuunadü In Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust

Posted on July 5, 2022 by admin

Debuts on PBS Television Nationwide Monday, July 18, 2022 and Free Streaming on PBS.org Through August 18, 2022

POV, America’s longest running documentary series, now celebrating its 35th anniversary season, exposes the legacy of colonization, racism, and environmental injustice in the Payahuunadü region (California’s Owens Valley).

The national broadcast premiere of Emmy Award-winning director Ann Kaneko’s (Against the Grain: An Artist’s Survival Guide to Perú) and producer Jin Yoo-Kim’s (A Woman’s Work: The NFL Cheerleader Problem) Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust premieres Monday, July 18, 2022.

The documentary is available to stream free until August 18, 2022 at pbs.org , and the PBS Video app. In addition to standard closed captioning, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.

At the foot of the majestic snow-capped Sierras sits Manzanar, the site of the World War II concentration camp where 11,070 Japanese Americans were incarcerated from March 1942 to November 1945. This place is the confluence for memories of Payahuunadü, the now-parched “land of flowing water.”
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“From Where They Stood” Berlinale Documentary Release Set

Posted on June 30, 2022 by admin

Greenwich Entertainment announced today the U.S. and Canadian release of the documentary “From Where They Stood” (À pas aveugles) written and directed by Christophe Cognet. The North American theatrical release begins July 15, 2022 at NYC’s Film Forum followed by additional major US & Canadian cities.

A 2021 Berlinale Forum premiere, From Where They Stood went on to win the Spirit of Freedom Award for Best Documentary at the 2021 Jerusalem Film Festival. The US festival premiere was at the 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival at Lincoln Center.

“From Where They Stood” was produced by Raphaël Pillosio. Greenwich’s Edward Arentz negotiated the acquisition with Fionnuala Jamison of MK2 International on behalf of the filmmakers.

“In contrast to today when thankfully evidence of war crimes and genocide can be gathered often remotely and disseminated worldwide with startling precision and detail, the individuals who took these photos risked everything to pierce the cloak of secrecy that surrounded the genocidal horror of the Nazi murder machine and remain a testimony to their courage and defiance in the face of totalitarian evil,” says Greenwich’s co-president Edward Arentz.

Here’s the film official synopsis:
It’s not widely known but somehow a handful of prisoners in Nazi concentration camps managed to take clandestine photographs of the hell the Nazis were hiding from the world.

Either smuggled out or hidden and retrieved only after the war, Director Christophe Cognet retraces the footsteps of these courageous men and women in a quest to unearth the circumstances and the stories behind their photographs.

Freestyle Digital Media to Release Powerful WWII Documentary Across North American on TVOD/Digital on August 16th, 2022

Posted on June 25, 2022 by admin

Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group has acquired North American rights from Insanely Practical Productions the second documentary film directorial effort from filmmaker Stephen Edwards’ (acclaimed composer of “Requiem for My Mother”, and musical contributor to award-winning films such as “Nomadland”, “Dallas Buyer’s Club”), captivating new documentary “Syndrome K.” “Syndrome K” will be available to rent and own on U.S. digital HD internet, and satellite platforms on August 16th, 2022 through Freestyle Digital Media.

The last film to be narrated by acclaimed screen icon Ray Liotta (“Goodfellas,” “Field of Dreams”), “Syndrome K” shines a light on the truly amazing story of three Roman Catholic doctors, who created a highly contagious f ake disease during the Nazi Occupation of Rome to save Roman Jews in a Vatican-affiliated hospital from deportation to Auschwitz during WWII.

When Nazis invaded Rome in 1943, they immediately targeted the Roman Jews. Against Vatican orders, three doctors at Fatebenefratelli, the Vatican-affiliated Catholic hospital hid many Jews who had sought refuge, disguising them as sick patients infected with a wildly touted, highly contagious fake disease they dubbed Syndrome K to fool the Nazis, who were quite fearful of falling victim to disease. The doctors “quarantined” the “infected” Jews to protect them. As Nazi suspicions mounted, they were forced to elaborate and maintain this ruse to keep their countrymen alive until the Allied forces under Gen. Mark Clark began the harrowing fight to liberate Rome from the South. Syndrome K might be the only horrible disease in history that actually saved lives – because it didn’t really exist.
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Photos: The Cave of Adullam Premieres 2022 Tribeca Film Festival

Posted on June 16, 2022 by admin

By Armando

ESPN Films’ “The Cave of Adullam” premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival held in New York City. “The Cave of Adullam” was also the big winner for Best Documentary Feature at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.

Laurence Fishburne, Jesse Williams and director Laura Checkoway were in attendance during the premiere.

Directed by Laura Checkoway, the documentary tells the story of martial arts sensei Jason Wright. He tenderly guides his often-troubled young Detroit students with a beautifully effective blend of compassion and tough love.

Laurence Fishburne produced ‘The Cave of Adullam’, along with Helen Sugland, Roy Bank, Joe Plummer, Laura Checkoway, Jenifer Westphal.

The cast includes Jason Wilson, Kevin L. Collins Jr., Gabriel Davenport, Daniel White, Tamarkus Williams.

The 2022 Tribeca Festival continues through Sunday, June 19, 2022.

Photos: AIPimaging.com

Photos from “It Aint Over” Premiere @ Tribeca Film Festival, NYC

Posted on June 13, 2022 by admin

Red carpet photos from the premiere of “It Ain’t Over” at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.

“From writer/director Sean Mullin, “It Ain’t Over” shows an intimate portrait of a misunderstood American icon, this emotional and uplifting documentary about Yogi Berra takes us beyond the caricatures and “Yogisms,” and into the heart of a sports legend whose unparalleled accomplishments on the baseball diamond were often overshadowed by his off-the-field persona.”

Director: Sean Miullin
Producers: eter Sobiloff, Mike Sobiloff, Natalie Metzger, Matt Miller
Cast: Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Bob Costas, Vin Scully, Billy Crystal

Photos: AIPimaging.com

Powerful New Documentary Feature To Have World Premiere At Tribeca Festival 2022

Posted on June 10, 2022 by admin

Two women fight for a memorial for the burial ground of enslaved Africans on Saint Helena – and the right to remember.

Thee documentary, which is set to have its world premiere at Tribeca Festival 2022, is directed by Joseph Curran and Dominic Aubrey De Vere.

Joseph Curran and Dominic de Vere are a directing duo compelled by vital stories in urgent need of a spotlight. It is this mission statement that led them to Saint Helena, one of the world’s most remote islands. A Story of Bones is their ﬁrst feature-length documentary.

Here’s the official synopsis:
As the Chief Environmental Officer for Saint Helena’s troubled £285m ($360m) airport project, Annina Van Neel learned of the island’s most terrible atrocity – an unmarked mass burial ground of an estimated 9,000 formerly enslaved Africans in Rupert’s Valley. It is one of the most significant traces of the transatlantic slave trade still on earth.

Haunted by this historical injustice, Annina now fights alongside renowned African American preservationist Peggy King Jorde and a group of disenfranchised islanders – many of them descendants of the formerly enslaved – for the proper memorialisation of these forgotten victims. The resistance they face exposes disturbing truths about the UK’s colonial past and present.

David Henry Gerson’s “The Story Won’t Die” Sets Release Date

Posted on May 9, 2022 by admin

“The Story Won’t Die” from director David Henry Gerson, has set its release theatrically in Los Angeles on June 10 (Laemmle Cinemas) and in New York (Cinema Village) on Friday, June 17.

Featuring Medhat Aldaabal, Tammam Azzam, Diala Brisly, Abu Hajar, Bahila Hijazi, Omar Imam, Lynn Mayya, Anas Maghrebi and Mhd Sabboura (BBoy Shadow), the film is an official selection for Hot Docs, AFI Docs, Watch Docs and many more.

“The Story Won’t Die is an inspiring, timely look at a young generation of Syrian artists who use their work to protest and process what is currently the world’s largest and longest ongoing displacement of people since World War II. The film is produced by Sundance Award-winning producer Odessa Rae (Navalny).

Rapper Abu Hajar, together with other celebrated creative personalities of the Syrian uprising, a post-Rock musician (Anas Maghrebi), members of the first all-female Syrian rock band (Bahila Hijazi and Lynn Mayya), break-dancer (Bboy Shadow), choreographer (Medhat Aldaabal), and visual artists (Tammam Azzam, Omar Imam and Diala Brisly), use their art to rise in revolution and endure in exile in this new documentary reflecting on a battle for peace, justice and freedom of expression. It is an uplifting and humanizing look at what it means to be a refugee in today’s world and offers inspiring and hopeful vantages on a creative response to the chaos of war.

Netflix Releases “Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres”

Posted on May 7, 2022 by admin

Just in time for Asian Pacific and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Netflix has released the award winning acclaimed documentary about of one of America’s most important legendary music editors – Ben Fong-Torres, which is now streaming on the platform as of today.

The film, directed by Suzanne Joe Kai, is an insightful, moving and entertaining portrait of the iconic Asian American journalist who was instrumental in the careers of many iconic music legends. It was no secret that every rock/pop/soul music act of the 70’s yearned to be on the cover of the revolutionary Rolling Stone magazine and be interviewed by Ben Fong-Torres.

Executive produced by Oscar® winning Freida Lee Mock, Oscar® nominated Bryn Mooser, award winning Doug Blush and the late Tony Hsieh, LIKE A ROLLING STONE: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BEN FONG-TORRES shows us how the legendary Rolling Stone magazine writer and music editor, defined the cultural zeitgeist of the ’60s and ’70s. Featuring incredible archival footage and intimate interviews with Ben Fong-Torres, Cameron Crowe, Annie Leibovitz, Carlos Santana, Elton John, Steve Martin, Bob Weir, Quincy Jones, Marvin Gaye and more, this film brings us the personal story of this legendary journalist.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
The lights, the crowds, the music! Ben Fong-Torres covered it all at Rolling Stone, as its legendary writer and first music editor. Ben’s life is an epic sweep through the world of rock and roll. The American-born son of Chinese immigrants, Ben grew up in Chinatown with only a radio to the outside world. Driven by a passion for music and writing, his groundbreaking work helped define American culture. He became a voice of a generation which changed America forever.
Featuring incredible archival footage and intimate interviews with Ben Fong-Torres, Cameron Crowe, Annie Leibovitz, Carlos Santana, Elton John, Steve Martin, Bob Weir, Quincy Jones, Marvin Gaye, Paul McCartney and more, this film brings us the personal story of this legendary journalist.

“End Of The Line” Documentary Set For June 14 Release

Posted on April 22, 2022 by admin

The character-driven documentary about the New York City subway crisis is set for release in digital and cable on demand platforms in the United States on Tuesday, June 14.

The film is from award-winning filmmaker Emmett Adler, who directed, edited and produced the film. It is also an official selection for thee DC NYC. Adler also produced the film, along with Ian Mayer and co-Producer Mariah Wilson.

Gravitas Ventures has set the release of the documentary on June 14, 2022.

Here’s the official synopsis for “End Of The Line:

Establishing the vital economic importance and grandeur of New York City’s historic subway system, the film dives into its dire modern-day troubles picking up in the late 2010s when flooding, overcrowding, power failures, and derailments have become commonplace. After a particularly bad spate of disasters in the summer of 2017, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proclaims a state of emergency and hires a new international wunderkind executive named Andy Byford to save the subways. Byford, an earnest Briton with an impressive resume, enters as a charismatic would-be hero. As the political turmoil behind the subway’s decline comes into sharp focus, scenes in barbershops, bodegas, and bakeries show the frustration and devastation among business owners and residents who are caught in the middle.

Ultimately, the COVID-19 pandemic furthers this, and brings to light America’s need to shore up its infrastructure in cities across the country and the inequality struggles that are central to this debate. A heartfelt and scrupulous exploration, this film poses the question: what happens when the lifeline of a city goes flat?