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Donald Trump’s return to the White House is not only a second opportunity for the president to fulfill his political wish list, but a second chance for some of the most extreme figures in his first administration to climb the rungs of power.

Enter Darren Beattie, a former Trump staffer who was fired from the White House in 2016 after attending a white nationalist conference. Beattie has now been tapped to serve as the State Department’s acting under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, according to a report from Semafor.

Oscar-winning Ukraine-Russia war documentary 20 Days in Mariupol from Frontline, PBS and The AP, took home awards in two categories at The Grierson Trust’s 2024 British Documentary Awards on Wednesday night.

In association with All3Media, the ceremony took place at London’s Roundhouse arts and music venue, where Channel 4 took home the highest number of prizes with five, followed by the BBC with three and Netflix with two.

Mstyslav Chernov’s 20 Days in Mariupol, which won the Academy Award for best documentary earlier this year, earned the best current affairs documentary and best cinema documentary awards Wednesday. Me and the Voice in My Head, produced by Hungry Bear Media for Channel 4 won the best single documentary – Domestic award, with Joe Tracini winning the best documentary presenter.

This year’s award winners spanned a wide range of subjects with powerful documentaries on the war in Ukraine, a Turkish singer...

Ibram X. Kendi is developing a documentary based on his bestselling book “How to Raise an Antiracist.”

The project is one of seven book-to-screen adaptations in the works at his production company Maroon Visions, which is overseen by head of development and production Michael Lebowitz. The company previously produced Netflix’s “Stamped From the Beginning,” based on Kendi’s book of the same name, and ESPN’s “Skin in the Game.” Kendi and Lebovitz serve as executive producers on each of the adaptations.

“How to Raise an Antiracist” is a follow-up to Kendi’s 2019 book “How to Be an Antiracist.” Published in 2023 via Penguin Random House, the book “guides parents, caregivers and teachers on how to protect children from harmfully racist messages while raising them to come of age and join the efforts to create equity and justice for all.”

Maroon Visions is also developing a scripted series based on...

Today, the Nantucket Film Festival, which featured conversations with Ken Burns and many others, announced winners for this year’s 29th edition of the fest. In addition to Audience Award winners, they have also released winners for Best of Fest, the Tony Cox Screenplay Competition, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Award, and many others.

“It is a privilege to honor this cohort of both established and emerging screenwriters and storytellers, who represent the heart of our industry, at the 2024 edition of the festival,” said Mystelle Brabbée, Executive Director of the Nantucket Film Festival, and Anita Raswant, Lead Programmer of the Nantucket Film Festival. “Thank you to all of our attending filmmakers and writers for sharing their powerful stories with us and our passionate audiences who continue to turn out to the theaters and support our mission. We would like to take a moment to recognize our jurors, sponsors, staff, and volunteers,...

Juneteenth is the longest-running, nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. SiriusXM is honoring Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, with exclusive specials dedicated to informing and educating listeners about the significance of the holiday while also celebrating Black voices across music, news, business, and beyond.

Juneteenth Specials on SiriusXM Tom Morello’s One Man Revolution

Listen anytime on the SiriusXM app

Tom pulls together a mix of ’90s alternative, grunge, and much more from African American artists in celebration of Juneteenth. Hear music from Rage Against The Machine, Lenny Kravitz, Tracy Chapman, and many more.

United Shades of America Marathon

Listen June 19 from 7am–7pm Et on CNN Originals (Ch. 453)

In honor of Juneteenth, CNN Originals presents a marathon of “United Shades of America,” the show where comedian W. Kamau Bell visits communities around America and tries to understand the struggles they face.

The Nantucket Film Festival has set the lineup for its 2024 edition and will honor Emmy-nominated writer-producer Kerry Ehrin, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams and Girls5Eva showrunner Meredith Scardino.

The 29th edition of the festival will open with Josh Margolin’s June Squibb-starrer Thelma, close with Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s Christopher Reeve documentary Super/Man and Jeff Zimbalist’s documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, about a daredevil couple who secretly filmed themselves climbing the world’s last super skyscraper. The festival will also continue its tradition of screening a Disney or Pixar film on its opening day, with a festival screening of Inside Out 2.

The festival also announced several honorees: Ehrin will receive the Excellence in Television Writing Award; Williams will receive the Career Achievement in Filmmaking Award and his latest feature Stamped From the Beginning, based on the book of the same name by Ibram X. Kendi,...

Five full weeks after the Oscars, the Writers Guild of America finally got around to giving out its awards. Oscar winner Cord Jefferson (“American Fiction”) won the original screenplay prize while David Hemingson (“The Holdovers”) picked up the adapted screenplay trophy; he had lost at the Oscars to “Anatomy of a Fall,” which was ineligible here.

Three other scripts deemed ineligible by the WGA went on to win Oscars in the past decade: “Birdman” (2015; original), “The Father” (2021; adapted), and “Belfast” (2022; original). During that time, 68 of the WGA Awards nominees numbered among the 100 screenplays that reaped Oscar bids.

Two other Oscar contenders — “Poor Things,” and “The Zone of Interest” — were ruled out of the running by the guild before nominations were announced way back on Feb. 21. The WGA included “Barbie” in the original lineup while the academy had it over in adapted. That was the third time in a decade that...

David Hemingson’s The Holdovers at Focus Features won original screenplay and Cord Jefferson’s Oscar-winning American Fiction from Amazon MGM Studios took adapted honours at the strike-delayed Writers Guild Awards on Sunday.

This was a second major adapted screenplay award in relatively short order for Jefferson after last month’s Oscar win.

The Holdovers prevailed in an original screenplay category that included Barbie and May December, but not the Oscar winner Anatomy Of A Fall, rendered ineligible here because it was not produced under a Writers Guild of America (WGA) contract.

The best documentary screenplay award went to Errol Morris for The Pigeon Tunnel.

David Hemingson’s The Holdovers at Focus Features won original screenplay and Cord Jefferson’s Oscar-winning American Fiction from Amazon MGM Studios took adapted honours at the strike-delayed Writers Guild Awards on Sunday.

This was a second major adapted screenplay award in relatively short order for Jefferson after last month’s Oscar win.

The Holdovers prevailed in an original screenplay category that included Barbie and May December, but not the Oscar winner Anatomy Of A Fall, rendered ineligible here because it was not produced under a Writers Guild of America (WGA) contract.

The best documentary screenplay award went to Errol Morris for The Pigeon Tunnel.

Writer/director Cord Jefferson on the set of ‘American Fiction’ (Photo credit: Claire Folger © 2023 Orion Releasing LLC)

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) stretched out the awards season, handing out their annual awards during ceremonies held in Los Angeles and New York on April 14, 2024. Niecy Nash-Betts (Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story) had the honor of hosting the Writers Guild of America West’s ceremony while Josh Gondelman (Desus & Mero) handled hosting duties for the Writers Guild of America East.

The final season of Succession was recognized with Drama Series and Episodic Drama awards, and the first season of The Last of Us snagged the New Series trophy. The Bear and Beef continued their winning streaks, scoring Comedy Series and Limited Series wins.

David Hemingson’s The Holdovers and Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction were recognized as the best original and adapted screenplays of 2023. And Errol Morris’ The Pigeon Tunnel took...

With the 2024 Oscars and the 2023 Emmys firmly in the rearview mirror, the film and TV awards calendar is all but ready to return to normalcy after last years Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes disrupted the first half of award season. The last major event to be impacted by the altered schedule is today’s WGA Awards, which took place in an unusual post-Oscars slot after the strikes forced the guild to delay its voting process. As most of Hollywood looks ahead to the 2024 film and TV slate, today’s concurrent ceremonies in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Palladium and New York City’s Edison Ballroom gave award watchers one last chance to celebrate the best screenwriting of 2023.

David Hemingson’s “The Holdovers” won the night’s marquee award for Original Screenplay, beating out heavyweights including Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s “Barbie” and Celine Song’s “Past Lives.” In the Adapted Screenplay category,...

As was the case last year, only six of the current 10 Oscar nominees for screenplay achieved similar recognition from the Writers Guild of America. Three of the four films that were excluded from the WGA rosters revealed on February 21 – “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Poor Things,” and “The Zone of Interest” – had been deemed ineligible in January, while “Maestro” simply failed to garner enough support from the guild.

Although it’s competing for the adapted screenplay Oscar, “Barbie” is included in the WGA’s original lineup. This marks the third such instance in 10 years, following the cases of “Whiplash” (2015) and “Moonlight” (2017), the latter of which won the favor of both organizations. The remaining original WGA contenders are “Air” and Oscar hopefuls “The Holdovers,” “May December,” and “Past Lives.”

The films presently running first and second in Gold Derby’s adapted Oscar race – “Oppenheimer” and “American Fiction” – will also face off at the WGA Awards,...

The strike-delayed nominations for the 2024 Writers Guild Awards are out. Check out the list below.

In a flipping of the script this season, the WGA Awards will be held on April 14 – more than a month after the Academy Awards.

As always, the Writers Guild of America has different eligibility requirements than the Movie Academy, so some awards-season favorite scripts are missing from today’s nominations.

Related: Oscar Nominations: Diversified Voting Throws The Love Around As ‘Oppenheimer’ Tops With 13, With ‘Poor Things’, ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ And ‘Barbie’ Close Behind – Full List

The guild and the Oscars mostly are on the same page for Original Screenplay, with both nominating The Holdovers, May December and Past Lives. The WGA also cited Air, while the Academy went with Anatomy of a Fall and Maestro. But the Writers Guild also has Barbie on its Original List, whereas the script for 2023’s No. 1 movie...

The nominees for the 2024 Writers Guild of America Awards are finally here.

The Writers Guild of America West (Wgaw) and Writers Guild of America East (Wgae) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in screenwriting, television, new media, news, radio/audio, and promotional writing for 2023.

Oscar-nominated screenplays for “Barbie,” “The Holdovers,” “May December,” “Past Lives,” “American Fiction,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and “Oppenheimer” were expected WGA nominations. However, surprise nods for “Air,” “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” and “Nyad” prove the WGA Awards still have a few tricks up their sleeve. If you’re wondering, “Poor Things” was not eligible because it wasn’t produced under a WGA contract, per a source close to the project.

Despite now taking place one month after the Academy Awards, the WGA nominations still carry weight this season — and could be a deciding factor for final Oscar voting. As IndieWire’s Anne Thompson predicted,...

The Writers Guild of America’s west and east arms have announced nominations for this year’s honors in screenwriting, television, new media, news, radio/audio, and promotional writing during 2023. Delayed due to the Hollywood strikes, this year’s ceremony will take place on Sunday, April 14, 2024. Here are the nominees:

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay

“Air,” Written by Alex Convery; Amazon MGM Studios

“Barbie,” Written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach; Warner Bros. Pictures

“The Holdovers,” Written by David Hemingson; Focus Features

“May December,” Screenplay by Samy Burch, Story by Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik; Netflix

“Past Lives,” Written by Celine Song; A24

Adapted Screenplay

“American Fiction,” Screenplay by Cord Jefferson, Based upon the novel “Erasure” by Percival Everett; Amazon MGM Studios

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.,” Screenplay by Kelly Fremon Craig, Based on the book by Judy Blume; Lionsgate

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” Screenplay by Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese,...

The 2024 Writers Guild Awards nominations have been revealed.

The nominees in the category of original screenplay are Air, Barbie, The Holdovers, May December and Past Lives.

In the adapted screenplay category the nominees are American Fiction, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Killers of the Flower Moon, Nyad and Oppenheimer.

In an unusual move this year, the WGA Awards will take place after the Oscars, with the winners awarded on April 14.

A complete list of this year’s nominees follows.

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay

Air, Written by Alex Convery; Amazon MGM Studios

Barbie, Written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach; Warner Bros. Pictures

The Holdovers, Written by David Hemingson; Focus Features

May December, Screenplay by Samy Burch, Story by Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik; Netflix

Past Lives, Written by Celine Song; A24

Adapted Screenplay

American Fiction, Screenplay by Cord Jefferson, Based upon the novel Erasure by Percival Everett; Amazon MGM Studios

Are You There God?...

Writers Guild Of America has announced its feature nominees and the roster includes The Holdovers, May December and Barbie for original screenplay and American Fiction, Oppenheimer and Killers Of The Flower Moon in the adapted category.

Air is the surprise among the original contenders and takes its place alongside Past Lives. Barbie earned an Oscar nod in the adapted screenplay category.

Anatomy Of A Fall was ineligible as it was not produced under a WGA contract. Justine Triet’s film, like Maestro, which was not in Wednesday’s announcement, earned an Oscar nod.

Competing for the adapted screenplay prize are...

What could reparations look like in America’s leading cities? What Is Owed? — a new podcast announced today from GBH News and Prx — will unpack the history, tensions, precedents, and current movement surrounding reparations. The podcast starts in Boston, America’s ‘cradle of liberty’ and the capital of the first state to legalize slavery.

Hosted by GBH News political reporter Saraya Wintersmith, the seven-part limited series premieres on February 15, one year after Boston Mayor Michelle Wu appointed an official Reparations Task Force to research the impact of 400 years of slavery and economic exclusion on the city and to issue recommendations to address the legacy of harm to its Black residents. The podcast will explore a variety of reparations frameworks.

Featured guests will add their expertise and perspectives alongside Wintersmith. Among the voices joining What Is Owed? are Wellesley College historian and author Kellie Carter Jackson, author and scholar Dr. Ibram X. Kendi,...

The 1619 Project, which has been praised for reframing our understanding of American history but attacked by conservatives who brand it as “woke-ism,” won the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series Emmy on Sunday at the Creative Arts ceremony.

Executive producers Oprah Winfrey, Roger Ross Williams, Shoshanna Guy, the New York Times’ Kathleen Lingo and Nikole Hannah-Jones are among those who earned trophies for their work on the six-part Hulu series. Hannah-Jones, who hosts the series, created the original 1619 Project for the Times to mark the 400-year anniversary of the first arrival of African captives on the shores of what would become the United States. The Pulitzer Prize-winning project aimed to place “the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States’ national narrative,” according to the newspaper.

Oprah Winfrey at the Los Angeles premiere of Hulu’s ‘The 1619 Project’

In 2020, then-...

We sat down with Roger Ross Williams, Ibram X Kendi & Mara Brock Akil to talk about the importance of their new film – Netflix’s Stamped from the Beginning. Directed by Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams, based on Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s New York Times best-selling book of the same name, it exposes the long-standing and powerful presence of anti-black racism in American history, using vivid animations and leading female scholars to explore the history of anti-Black racist ideas.

Leading female academics and activists such as Dr. Angela Davis, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Dr. Jennifer L. Morgan, and Dr. Kendi guide viewers through a searing account of how racist tropes and imagery were developed and enshrined in American culture

Linda Marric asks the questions.

Stamped from the Beginning is available to watch on Netflix now.

Stamped from the Beginning Interviews

The post Stamped from the Beginning Interviews – Roger Ross Williams,...

In the spring of 2022, Ibram X. Kendi was recognized as one of the most banned authors in America. The National Book Award winner’s passionate reporting on the permeation of racist ideas throughout American history riled up conservative proponents, leading to three of Kendi’s tomes being banned in six school districts across multiple states. Now, his efforts to expose racist ideology is the subject of a new Netflix documentary, Stamped From the Beginning.

Stamped From the Beginning, based on Kendi’s 2016 book of the same name, shines a light...

The token image of a white celebrity and a bunch of colored, underprivileged kids serving as the celebrity being all woke and progressive gets rightfully mocked in Stamped from the Beginning. The new Netflix documentary film doesn’t hold anything back as it deconstructs the concept of racism in America. Instead of telling a story, it raises important questions and also comes up with proper, logical answers. Armed with thoughtful animation of many kinds, tons of clippings from popular and accessible movies, and a whole bunch of Black men and women candidly talking about everything uncomfortable, Stamped from the Beginning is a fiery piece of documentary and undoubtedly one of the very best to come out of Netflix in recent times. The credit for that fully goes to its source material, the best-selling book of the same name by author, historian, and anti-racism activist Ibram X. Kendi, as well as...

Netflix documentary Stamped from the Beginning takes Ibram X Kendi’s best-selling book and explores the question ‘what’s wrong with Black people?’

For 18 white men deemed “the most respectable characters in Boston”, it defied credulity. How could Phillis Wheatley, an African-born Black teenager sold into slavery, have produced such refined, exquisite poetry? The sceptics set about interrogating her to determine whether she was the true author. She passed the test and her book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published in 1773 with the assistance of wealthy abolitionists.

Wheatley’s divine spark destroyed a myth of Black inferiority that generations of white people had painstakingly constructed to justify slave labour. Two and a half centuries later, Amanda Gorman, a 22-year-old African American woman, became the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration. Yet the Black Lives Matter movement is already facing new backlash.

Based on the book by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, “Stamped from the Beginning” is a documentary that mixes animation with real images. It is directed by Roger Ross Williams.

The United States is a complex and contrasting country, as is its rich and diverse culture.

In 1860, Senator David opposed a law that sought to provide education to black people, arguing that, marked since birth, God himself created them inferior.

It was another century, different ideas, and now, in our times, ideological propaganda still exists, in a different way and with different intentions, but there is always someone behind all the ideological propaganda that presents certain societal models and benefits others. What lies behind it all?

“Stamped from the Beginning” explores how, since the enslavement of black people began in the 16th century, popular culture has justified behaviors that, ultimately, only have one sole motivation: trading slaves to make money, choosing...

“Stamped from the Beginning” opens by asking its viewers a simple question: “What is wrong with Black people?”

In a conversational setting, any halfway decent person’s reaction would be a knee-jerk dismissal of the premise — either with a charitable “nothing at all” or a more blunt “what the hell are you talking about?” But in a theoretical context, the Black academics who appear in Roger Ross Williams’ new documentary think it’s a question worth asking. Given the anti-Black discrimination that began with the Transatlantic slave trade and continued through the Jim Crow era and persists in less overt forms today, Williams’ various talking heads argue that it’s fair to wonder what Black people did to deserve it.

It shouldn’t be a spoiler to say that the film concludes the Black community did not, in fact, deserve to be systemically marginalized for centuries. Instead, the Netflix adaptation...

Updated with details about the next and final screening, which is “Stamped from the Beginning” on November 20. Learn more here.

This Monday, November 20, the next and concluding screening in our Art of the Doc series will be of Roger Ross Williams’ acclaimed “Stamped from the Beginning” at the Landmark Westwood. Doors open at 6:30pm with a pre-reception featuring beer, wine, and conversations with other documentary fans. Then at 7:30, the screening will begin, after which there will be a Q&a moderated by IndieWire’s Marcus Jones with director Roger Ross Williams himself. The film, based on the book by Ibram X. Kendi about how racist tropes permeate American culture, debuted to extraordinary acclaim at TIFF in September, and IndieWire’s Anne Thompson considers it a frontrunner in the Best Documentary Feature race at the Oscars.

New to our Art of the Doc series? Well, IndieWire has celebrated the...

Roger Ross Williams is having quite the year. So far, the Oscar-winning director has released his first fiction film, Amazon Studios’ “Cassandro”; the HBO documentary “Love to Love You, Donna Summer”; AppleTV+ docuseries “The Super Models”; and Hulu miniseries “The 1619 Project.”

Joining Williams’ impressive output this year is Netflix’s “Stamped From the Beginning,” an adaptation of the eponymous bestselling book by Ibram X. Kendi about the history of racism and anti-Blackness in the U.S. The film has its European premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam on Tuesday.

To have “Stamped From the Beginning” play at the festival is special to the American director, who now lives in the Dutch capital. “Amsterdam is my home, I love the city so much. IDFA is such an important festival for the Dutch community but it’s also an important festival for me, personally, being a Dutch resident married to a Dutch person,...

Many of us probably think we know how racist anti-Black ideas started or think racism was always part of the human condition. Director Roger Ross Williams challenges these notions with his adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi’s book “Stamped From the Beginning.” Relying on testimony from Black female scholars and Kendi’s research, the helmer starts by posing a provocative question: “What is wrong with Black people?” By the end of the film, Williams unsparingly topples the sanctimoniousness inherent in thinking the answer is simple or clear. Even if it is.

True to its title, “Stamped From the Beginning” seeks to explain the origin of anti-Blackness. According to activist Angela Davis, one of the esteemed talking heads who give the film its credibility: “It’s not about the color of one’s skin or the grade of one’s hair. It’s about slavery.” That is how Europeans justified the...

A24 continues its stream of special runs opening dark comedy Dream Scenario in limited release on six screens in New York and LA. Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli (Sick Of Myself) and produced by Ari Aster, it stars Nicolas Cage as a hapless family man whose life is turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams.

The film premiered at Toronto Film Festival to stellar reviews (see Deadline’s here). A24 had a SAG-AFTRA waiver and Cage began promoting the film at TIFF. The English-language debut for Norwegian helmer Borgli — whose satire Sick Of Myself premiered at Cannes last year — also features Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Kate Berlant, Nicholas Braun and Noah Centineo.

Opens NY at AMC Lincoln Square, Angelika, Alamo, In LA at The Grove, Century City, Burbank. Q&As with filmmaker Borgli and cast members Berlant (who plays an executive...

Though I’ve not read Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s New York Times bestseller Stamped From the Beginning: the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, I’m guessing the National Book Award-winner might not be the most obvious material for the big screen. Which is why I was a bit surprised when I finally watched the TIFF-debuting Netflix doc Stamped From the Beginning, Roger Ross Williams’ cinematic and often playful take on the professor-author’s quite heavy subject matter. Indeed, any film that opens with its (Black) director ambushing his (Black) talking heads with the query/salvo, “What is wrong with Black people?” is […]

The post “The History of Racist Ideas”: Roger Ross Williams on Stamped From the Beginning first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Though I’ve not read Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s New York Times bestseller Stamped From the Beginning: the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, I’m guessing the National Book Award-winner might not be the most obvious material for the big screen. Which is why I was a bit surprised when I finally watched the TIFF-debuting Netflix doc Stamped From the Beginning, Roger Ross Williams’ cinematic and often playful take on the professor-author’s quite heavy subject matter. Indeed, any film that opens with its (Black) director ambushing his (Black) talking heads with the query/salvo, “What is wrong with Black people?” is […]

The post “The History of Racist Ideas”: Roger Ross Williams on Stamped From the Beginning first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams talks to high-profile Black women in a hybrid documentary/animation based on Dr Ibram X Kendi’s landmark book

Dr Ibram X Kendi first published Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America in 2016 and it’s since had many forms, though this 92-minute film might be the most heart-poundingly persuasive yet. Alongside Ava DuVernay’s Academy Award-winning 13th and Elvis Mitchell’s delightfully idiosyncratic Is That Black Enough for You?!? it also solidifies Netflix’s reputation as a home for worthwhile Black history documentaries.

The film’s particular innovation is to privilege Black women’s perspectives on the history of American racism, and with the exception of Kendi himself, every expert commentator here is a Black woman. It’s an undeniable coup to have legendary movement leader Angela Davis included, though she doesn’t say much. More memorable are contributions...

Sffilm’s 9th Annual Doc Stories festival is getting underway, featuring a distinguished lineup of Oscar-contending nonfiction films.

Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés, screens this afternoon, while the opening night slot goes to another music-driven documentary, Matthew Heineman’s American Symphony, an intimate look at Grammy Award winner Jon Batiste [scroll for full Doc Stories schedule].

Sffilm Doc Stories runs November 2-5 in the City by the Bay, with several of the films available for streaming Nov. 6-7. By design, it’s a tightly curated program.

Sffilm Director of Programming Jessie Fairbanks

“It’s incredibly competitive and we only have two shorts blocks and the rest are features,” notes Sffilm Director of Programming Jessie Fairbanks. “It’s really an opportunity for us to showcase what we consider to be the best of documentary filmmaking at this point in the season. We require a Bay Area premiere, so we’re...

Mike Birbiglia Sets “The Old Man and the Pool” Comedy Special at Netflix

Following a run on both Broadway and in the West End, Mike Birbiglia is bringing his comedy special “The Old Man and the Pool” to Netflix for all to see.

The new special is Birbiglia’s fifth for the streamer, starting with 2008’s “What I Should Have Said Was Nothing” and up to his most recent, “The New One,” in 2019. “The Old Man and the Pool” sees Birbiglia “take on life’s big questions: why are we here? What’s next? Exactly how much chlorine are they putting in the Ymca pool?”

The show ran on Broadway from Nov. 13, 2022–Jan. 15, 2023, followed by its run in London’s West End from Sept. 12–Oct. 7. The hour-long special debuts on the streamer on Nov. 21.

Sign Up $6.99+ / month netflix.com “Good Burger” Sequel Releases Official Trailer

Paramount+ is finally serving up...

Following up his narrative drama Cassandro, Roger Ross Williams returned to the documentary realm for his second feature of the year with Stamped from the Beginning. Adapting Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s book, the TIFF selection utilizes vivid animations and leading female scholars to explore the history of anti-Black racist ideas. Ahead of a Netflix release next month, the first trailer has now arrived.

Here’s the official synopsis: “Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams brings Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s New York Times bestseller to the screen with Stamped from the Beginning. Published in 2016, Dr. Kendi’s National Book Award winner chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. Williams’ documentary adaptation uses an innovative animation process that blends live action with the art of the era to illuminate figures and moments both well-known and obscure, both historical and contemporary.

Netflix’s trailer for Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams’ Stamped From the Beginning features clips of female scholars discussing the connection between the United States’ history of racism and the history of power. The documentary based on Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s bestselling book will premiere on November 10, 2023 in select theaters, followed by a release on the streaming service on November 20.

“When we started looking at historians and scholars, we came up with a long list. I noticed the pattern that most of the people doing the work around racism in America were Black women,” stated director Williams in an interview on Netflix’s Tudum. “I asked them in pre-interviews, ‘Why do you do this work?’ And many of them said the same thing — that they had no choice. This was their experience and their life. And if they’re going to dedicate their life to something, it’s going...

"I love all of the things that Blackness have given America, whether or not America acknowledges it." Ooh yes, say it. Speak it. Netflix has revealed an official trailer for a documentary film called Stamped From the Beginning, arriving in theaters and for streaming on Netflix later in November this fall. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, with stops at AFI Fest and Doc NYC. Directed and produced by Roger Ross Williams, Stamped From the Beginning is executive produced by Dr. Kendi and NAACP Image Award winner Mara Brock Akil. Oscar-winning director Williams brings Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's best-selling book titled Stamped From the Beginning to life, using vivid animations and leading female scholars to explore the history of anti-Black racist ideas. Described in rave reviews as "an important & eye-opening film that should be seen by everyone everywhere as it challenges conventional thought on the relationship between Black people and America.

Netflix has released the trailer for “Stamped From the Beginning,” a hybrid documentary and scripted feature that delves into race in the United States.

Roger Ross Williams directs Ibram X. Kendi’s book adaptation of the same name.

With Black women scholars such as Angela Davis, Dr. Imani Perry and activist Brittany Packnett Cunningham as the main storytellers, the documentary examines the creation and perpetuation of anti-Black racism and white supremacy in America. From slavery to police brutality, Williams examines the dehumanizing historical myths that have degraded Black people. He also calls out white supremacy and the myths started by white people and how mass media as well as political strategy have long painted Black people as dangerous.

“I read Dr. Kendi’s book and it transformed me in many ways, it made me confront how I see myself as a Black man and I immediately knew I had to...

When it comes to the buzzier titles at any film festivals, traditional narrative cinema often hogs the spotlight. But the Toronto International Film Festival, held in Toronto, Canada in September 2023, has also provided an impressive array of non-fiction films, movies that take a look at the real-life workings of humanity. From sports documentaries and intimate explorations of war, to films about legendary musicians and meditative dives into family history, this year's crop of TIFF documentaries has a little something for everyone.

The best documentaries offer audiences a new perspective on the world around them, shedding light on important issues that might otherwise go unnoticed, or even just paying homage to the careers of beloved stars. Without the dramatic flourishes of narrative films, which embellish even stories based on real life, documentaries are able to prevent a much more authentic vision of the world -- albeit subject to the specific viewpoint of their filmmakers.

The 2023 Montclair Film Festival, one of the Northeast’s top regional fall fests, announced Wednesday that the Nicolas Cage film “Dream Scenario” will serve as this year’s opening night feature, while new films from Alexander Payne, Roger Ross Williams, Todd Haynes, and Matthew Heineman will also screen during the annual event.

“Dream Scenario,” due out in November via A24, premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and won rave reviews for Cage. The feature will kick off the 2023 Montclair Film Festival on October 20 followed by a conversation with writer-director Kristoffer Borgli.

“Stamped from the Beginning,” Williams’ documentary, will serve as the 2023 Mff Documentary Centerpiece screening. That event takes place on October 22, and Williams will attend for a post-screening Q&a.

“The Holdovers” – Payne’s top awards contender following its splashy showing at the Telluride Film Festival and in Toronto, where it was runner-up for the TIFF audience...

The lineup for Montclair Film’s 2023 festival is set to feature screenings of Dream Scenario, Eileen and Stamped From the Beginning, as well as discussions with director Todd Haynes and award-winning musician Jon Batiste.

The 12th annual edition of the New Jersey-based event will kick off with an opening night screening and Q&a for Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario, a comedy starring Nicolas Cage as a listless family man and professor who becomes an overnight celebrity after becoming a central figure of others’ dreams. It will close with William Oldroyd’s period psychological thriller Eileen, starring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie.

This year, the Alexander Payne-directed and Paul Giamatti-starring The Holdovers has been named the Fiction Centerpiece selection and Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams, based on Sara Varonas’ popular graphic novel, is the Family Centerpiece. As the 2023 Documentary Centerpiece, Roger Ross Williams’ adaptation of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi...

It’s impossible to ignore that racism still plays an unfortunately large role in the world of professional sports. Most people are aware of the stereotype that white athletes are inherently smarter, while Black athletes are more physically gifted, but “Skin in the Game with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi,’ which premieres Wednesday, Sept. 20 on ESPN+, aims to demonstrate that systemic racism is embedded in many other facets of the world of professional sprots. You can watch ESPN+ with a subscription to ESPN+.

How to Watch 'Skin in the Game with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi' When: Wednesday, September 20, 2023 TV: ESPN+ Stream: Watch with a subscription to ESPN+. Sign Up Now$9.99 / month espnplus.com About 'Skin in the Game with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi'

“Skin in the Game” features the expert analysis of Dr. Ibram X Kendi, who was declared one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2020 for his work.

This festival season brought with it a pair of ambitious adaptations of scholarly texts. In Venice, Ava DuVernay premiered Origin, a narrative take on Isabel Wilkerson’s tome, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. The Selma director anchored her adaptation in a tender love story, using Wilkerson’s personal life to understand the intellectual and emotional labor supporting the book’s framework. And at the Toronto International Film Festival, Roger Ross Williams debuted his own film translation of an influential text on race.

In Stamped From the Beginning, Williams uses Ibram X. Kendi’s book of the same name to recast the narrators of Black history. The documentary, which will premiere on Netflix in November, convenes contemporary Black women scholars and organizers to synthesize and contextualize Kendi’s central thesis. The author makes the briefest appearances throughout the film, attesting to Williams’ mission to center Black women.

There’s a...

There are a few documentarians who dabble in feature filmmaking: R.J. Cutler (“If I Stay”), Matt Heineman (“A Private War”), even Werner Herzog (there are many). To their ranks we can now add Oscar-winner Roger Ross Williams (“Music By Prudence”), and he’s all in on making it work.

At Telluride, Williams screened his well-reviewed Sundance feature “Cassandro”; saw the world premiere of “Stamped from the Beginning” at the Toronto International Film Festival; and Apple TV+ will air his four-part docuseries “The Super Models” September 20.

It’s an eclectic and vibrant collection of work and none of it was straightforward or easy. “Cassandro” is based on the true story of Luchador Saúl Armendáriz (Gael García Bernal in a career-best performance) who finds his true identity as the cross-dressing El Exotico on the Mexico wrestling circuit. Williams met his subject on the Amazon documentary short “The Man Without a Mask” (2016).

“I knew that story inside out,...

Oscar-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams has much to celebrate this weekend. His first narrative/fiction film, Cassandro, opens theatrically today. And he has just been named the recipient of the Critics Choice Impact Award from the Critics Choice Association.

The Critics Choice group also announced documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee will receive the Pennebaker Award, recognizing lifetime achievement in the nonfiction film arena. The honors for McElwee and Williams will be presented as part of the 8th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards gala in New York on Sunday, Nov. 12.

‘Stamped From the Beginning’

Williams is fresh from the world premiere at TIFF of his latest documentary, Stamped From the Beginning, which will premiere on Netflix later this year. In the film, “leading female scholars share a journey through history to understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated and enshrined in American society,” according to a release from the Critics Choice Association.

If your education was only gleaned from the American public school system, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks may be the only Black historical figures you know. The limited overview of the Civil Rights movement and slavery is at stake when schools, government, and other authoritative bodies whitewash dark annals of the country’s foundation in today’s direction of banning the passage of the past to future generations. Yet Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams inhibits America’s violent chapters, taboo portions, and past Presidents from being forgotten in his newest film, Stamped From the Beginning.

His adaptation of scholar Ibram X. Kendi’s book of the same name observes how America imbued concept of race from the 1500s to the present. He deploys a vast archive of past media (including snippets of Omar Little and Officer Alonso Harris reinforcing the criminalization of Black people) that degraded Black people,...

South by Southwest has unveiled its initial lineup of featured speakers for its 2024 conference, including Rosario Dawson and “Call Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper.

The 38th annual edition of the SXSW conference consists of 24 programming tracks celebrating the convergence of film, television, music and technology. Other notable speakers include “How to Be an Antiracist” author Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, head of ChatGPT Peter Deng and CEO of Ace Entertainment Matt Kaplan.

“Whether it’s how AI will change the way we create, or how storytelling can further amplify voices that fully represent our communities, at SXSW we’re constantly discussing how the future will impact our world,” said Hugh Forrest, SXSW chief programming officer and co-president, in a statement. “Ranging from Peter Deng to Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, to Amy Webb, our first group of Featured Speakers includes world-renowned experts who can provide answers to the many questions posed by these fast-developing industries.

The Toronto International Film Festival announced its lineup of documentaries this morning, a slate that includes the world premiere of a film on uncancelled comedian Louis C.K., as well as fresh work from nonfiction greats Raoul Peck, Frederick Wiseman, Errol Morris, Lucy Walker, and Roger Ross Williams.

Sorry/Not Sorry, directed by Caroline Suh and Cara Mones, foregrounds women comedians who accused Louis C.K. of sexual harassment and the consequences they faced as a result. C.K. admitted in 2017 that he had exposed himself and masturbated in front of several women, which appeared to cancel his thriving standup and acting career. But after a pause he resumed standup performances before sold out crowds.

Louis C.K.

“It’s a really nuanced telling of the story produced by the New York Times,” TIFF chief documentary programmer Thom Powers told Deadline. “It’s been six years since the original New York Times reporting on this case.

A documentary about women who accused Louis C.K. of sexual harassment and the consequences those accusations had on their careers is one of 22 documentaries from 12 countries heading to the 2023 Toronto Intl. Film Festival.

The docu titled “Sorry/Not Sorry,” previously intended for Showtime, is one of several films in TIFF’s nonfiction program that focus on women who have been unjustly ignored for their achievements. TIFF Docs opening night film, “Copa 71,” tells the story of the lost legacy of a 1971 international women’s soccer tournament that had record setting crowds in Mexico City but was largely erased from sports history. The film’s producers include Venus and Serena Williams as well as soccer super star Alex Morgan. Lucy Walker, a two-time Oscar nominee, is bringing “Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa,” about a single mother working as a dishwasher at a Connecticut Whole Foods, who has another life as a record-breaking mountain climber.

This year, non-fiction titles will be front and center at the Toronto International Film Festival, as many writers and actors will not be on hand due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Opening night at the 2023 festival brings a documentary world premiere, Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine’s “Copa 71” (seller: Dogwoof), about an historic international women’s soccer tournament lost to sports history. The filmmakers bring us back to the record-setting crowds assembled in Mexico City in 1971. U.S. soccer star Alice Morgan and athletes Venus and Serena Williams are among the film’s executive producers.

That’s the sort of unexpected story that veteran TIFF documentary programmer Thom Powers sought for this year’s documentary program of 22 titles from 12 countries. While it’s always painful to whittle down the selection from 800 feature submissions (the post-pandemic production boom continues), Powers looked at giving a boost to sales titles...