WATCH:
CMP-SUPPORTED 'DIVIDE AND CONQUER: THE STORY OF ROGER AILES' IS IN THEATERS AND AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING NOW!
3 Stars - "...a disturbing study of depravity in full toxic bloom." - Rolling Stone
“Ruthlessly effective. Fleet, lucid and completely watchable.” - IndieWire
"Impressive and absorbing. You leave “Divide and Conquer” energized and incensed." - NYTimes
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3 CMP-SUPPORTED FILMS ARE SHORTLISTED FOR 'BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY' OSCAR
WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Directed by Morgan Neville
Fred Rogers used puppets and play to explore complex social issues: race, disability, equality and tragedy, helping form the American concept of childhood. He spoke directly to children and they responded enthusiastically. Yet today, his impact is unclear. Have we lived up to Fred’s ideal of good neighbors?
OF FATHERS AND SONS
Directed by Talal Derki
Talal Derki returns to his homeland where he gains the trust of a radical Islamist family, sharing their daily life for over two years. His camera focuses on Osama and his younger brother Ayman, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up in an Islamic Caliphate.
DARK MONEY
Directed by Kimberly Reed
“Dark money” contributions, made possible by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, flood modern American elections – but Montana is showing Washington D.C. how to solve the problem of unlimited anonymous money in politics.
Nationwide Screenings will happen for all 15 Shortlisted films in the month of January! Check out the Music Box Theatre for Chicago's screenings.
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CMP-SUPPORTED 'WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?' was awarded the GOTHAM AUDIENCE AWARD
CMP-SUPPORTED 'WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?' was also listed as one of Former President Barack Obama's favorite movies of 2018!
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In case you need MORE docs to watch, VOX and THE VERGE both included several CMP-Supported films on their 'Best Documentaries of 2018' lists:
CMP-Supported WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
CMP-Supported BISBEE '17
Awaiting Digital Release
CMP-Funded 306 HOLLYWOOD
DOC10 Film MINDING THE GAP
THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS
AMAZING GRACE
Theatrical Release in March 2019
HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING
SHIRKERS
THE LAST RACE
AMERICA TO ME
Available on Starz
FREE SOLO
A THOUSAND THOUGHTS
DID YOU WONDER WHO FIRED THE GUN?
MAKALA
MONROVIA, INDIANA
LEARN:
As we step into a new year, it's satisfying to take a look back at 2018 and the boom year that it proved to be for documentaries. Below you will find articles about Netflix's increasingly large role in film production, how streaming services are shaking up the Oscar race, the trends we saw this year in docs, and some exciting news about the inaugural project for the Obamas' production company!
NYT: Netflix’s Movie Blitz Takes Aim at Hollywood’s Heart
Moviegoers may not know Scott Stuber, but he is fast becoming one of the most important — and disruptive — people in the film business. A former Universal Pictures vice chairman, Mr. Stuber, 50, is Netflix’s movie chief. His mandate is to make the streaming service’s original film lineup as formidable as its television operation, which received 112 Emmy nominations this year, the most of any network."
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Variety: Awards Budgets, Streaming Services Shake Up Oscar Documentary Race
There’s no denying the race for documentary Oscar has changed dramatically in the past decade and even more so in the past five years. The reason for the shift? Money. What is debatable is if the shift is for the better."
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Hollywood Reporter: How This Year's Docs Tapped Into the Volatile Political Climate
Hundreds of documentary features have come out in the past year, and while they explore an incredibly wide range of topics and subjects, many of the top awards contenders seem to have something in common: They touch on the current political climate and much of the unrest that surrounds Donald Trump's administration."
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Variety: Why Uplifting Docs Took Over the Box Office in 2018
Documentaries have a reputation for being, as Jerry Seinfeld put it at the 2007 Oscars, “incredibly depressing.” But not this year. While 2018 has seen its share of high-profile political docus, including Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 11/9” and Errol Morris’ “American Dharma,” audiences seem to be in serious need of inspirational non-fiction films that don’t deal directly with politics. The evidence is the abnormally lofty documentary box office numbers over the summer."
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NYT: The Obamas Acquire Book Critical of Trump as First Netflix Project
Former President Barack Obama’s production company has bought the rights to the Michael Lewis book “The Fifth Risk,” its first known acquisition since it signed a deal with Netflix in May. “The Fifth Risk” tracks the messy transition from the Obama administration to the one headed by President Trump, as inexperienced appointees take over important bureaucratic jobs."
IMPACT:
'THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED' COMMUNITY SCREENING AND EVENT
Sponsored by MacArthur Foundation, Pillars Fund and CMP, THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED had its' Chicago Launch with a community screening at the Bridgeport Arts Center. The screening was followed by a town hall discussion on healing and collective trauma and a Mobile Storytelling Booth, all part of the Inverse Surveillance Project - the impact and engagement strategy for the recently premiered documentary film.
Community screenings of THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED are accompanied by a mobile storytelling booth to provide a safe and respectful space for audience members to share and document their personal stories. Some of these stories will go on to live on an interactive online platform developed with MIT and the New America Foundation, so those around the country can hear experiences of other communities facing similar circumstances. These testimonies not only become part of a broader web of experience, mapping and accounting for the impact of these governmental programs, but contribute towards a broader effort of collective healing.
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Vulture: Talal Derki’s Syria Documentary Of Fathers and Sons Has Marked Him for Death
By posing as an Al-Qaeda sympathizer, Talal Derki (director of CMP-supported OF FATHERS AND SONS) was granted rare and seldom-seen access to Al-Nusra activities in Syria. But with that access came incredible risk.
IMPACT:
THANK YOU FOR COMING TO DINNER & DOCS @ THE DAVIS FOR OUR SCREENING OF CMP-SUPPORTED DARK MONEY!
After a fabulous dinner by Chef Gil at CarbonArc and a fascinating screening of DARK MONEY, we had the great fortune of a rousing Q&A with an impressive group of panelists from various vital Chicago organizations:
SUE CROSS from the INSTITUTE FOR INDEPENDENT NEWS
KIMBERLY REED, director of DARK MONEY
DAVID GREISING, CEO of BETTER GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
STEPHANIE LULAY, Co-Founder and Managing Editor of BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
FERNANDO DIAZ, Editor-In-Chief and Publisher for CHICAGO REPORTER
RICK TULSKY, Co-Director of INJUSTICEWATCH
BETTINA CHANG, Co-Founder and Editorial Director for CITY BUREAU
BRANT HOUSTON from the MIDWEST CENTER / UNIV. OF ILLINOIS
DAN SOLES, Senior VP and Chief Television Content Officer for WTTW
Thanks to all CMP members for your support and belief in the power of media to bring about change.
COMMUNITY - MODELED PHILANTHROPY
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Credits:
Rene Bohmer from Unsplash David Jorre from Unsplash James Richards