Exclusive: The award-winning documentary Afghan Dreamers will exclusively premiere on Paramount+ on May 23, ahead of an expected Emmy push for the documentary about an all-girl robotics team in Afghanistan.
Emmy winner Sheila Nevins and Oscar winner Ellen Goosenberg Kent executive produce the feature from MTV Documentary Films. David Greenwald directs and David Cowan and Beth Murphy produce the documentary, winner of Best Human Rights Film award at Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland and the Audience Award for Tiempo de Historia at the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain. See the trailer below.
‘Afghan Dreamers’
“Afghan Dreamers tells the harrowing story of an all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan as they struggle to succeed in international competitions,” notes a description of the film, “while combating their male-dominated culture under the threat of Taliban rule.”
In the U.S., the documentary has screened at numerous festivals including Dallas, Boulder, Cleveland, Montclair, and Scad Savannah.
Emmy winner Sheila Nevins and Oscar winner Ellen Goosenberg Kent executive produce the feature from MTV Documentary Films. David Greenwald directs and David Cowan and Beth Murphy produce the documentary, winner of Best Human Rights Film award at Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland and the Audience Award for Tiempo de Historia at the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain. See the trailer below.
‘Afghan Dreamers’
“Afghan Dreamers tells the harrowing story of an all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan as they struggle to succeed in international competitions,” notes a description of the film, “while combating their male-dominated culture under the threat of Taliban rule.”
In the U.S., the documentary has screened at numerous festivals including Dallas, Boulder, Cleveland, Montclair, and Scad Savannah.
- 5/9/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
MTV Documentary Films has boarded new projects about an all-girl Afghan robotics team, a #MeToo crime story, an imprisoned mural artist and a community of disabled children in Pakistan. The documentaries join a slate that includes Ondi Timoner’s Sundance title “Last Flight Home,” which will be screening at Telluride this week in a rare double festival act.
The fledgling division, which was Oscar-nominated for the film “Ascension” earlier this year, was set up in 2019 by legendary HBO Documentary Films boss Sheila Nevins, and ViacomCBS executives Liza Burnett Fefferman and Nina L. Diaz. Nevins was at HBO for 38 years and won 34 Emmys in that period. Her credits include “Citizenfour,” “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” and “Paradise Lost.”
The slate spans four feature-length documentaries and six short films (full details below), with Timoner’s “Last Flight Home” serving as a centrepiece.
The “Dig!” director’s acclaimed film follows...
The fledgling division, which was Oscar-nominated for the film “Ascension” earlier this year, was set up in 2019 by legendary HBO Documentary Films boss Sheila Nevins, and ViacomCBS executives Liza Burnett Fefferman and Nina L. Diaz. Nevins was at HBO for 38 years and won 34 Emmys in that period. Her credits include “Citizenfour,” “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” and “Paradise Lost.”
The slate spans four feature-length documentaries and six short films (full details below), with Timoner’s “Last Flight Home” serving as a centrepiece.
The “Dig!” director’s acclaimed film follows...
- 9/2/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Ash Mayfair and Kyoko Miyake are among those included.
Breaking Through The Lens (Bttl), the year-round programme to promote projects by female and non-binary international filmmakers, unveiled its 10 finalists at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (May 17-28).
The participants were chosen from submissions from over 50 countries and pitched their projects to film investors, distributors, and sales agents.
The selection includes Vietnamese-born director Ash Mayfair with If I Had Two Lives, about a surrogate mother who starts re-evaluating her own relationship with her mother and her childhood in a Vietnamese military camp. Mayfair’s feature debut The Third Wife won...
Breaking Through The Lens (Bttl), the year-round programme to promote projects by female and non-binary international filmmakers, unveiled its 10 finalists at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (May 17-28).
The participants were chosen from submissions from over 50 countries and pitched their projects to film investors, distributors, and sales agents.
The selection includes Vietnamese-born director Ash Mayfair with If I Had Two Lives, about a surrogate mother who starts re-evaluating her own relationship with her mother and her childhood in a Vietnamese military camp. Mayfair’s feature debut The Third Wife won...
- 6/6/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Members of an all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan, the majority of whom narrowly fled the country following the Taliban’s brutal takeover of power, are the subjects of a new feature documentary depicting the group’s rise to become national heroes, Variety can reveal.
Directed by David Greenwald and produced by Beth Murphy, “Afghan Dreamers” — named after the original team of six girls — is in post-production, though currently on hold as the pair frantically works to ensure the young women and their families are safe and secure after escaping the Taliban.
Variety can confirm that most of the girls are now in Mexico, while one remains in Doha, Qatar.
“On the way from Herat to Kabul, we were very scared,” reads a tense message from one member of the team, shared with Variety, as she sought to escape. “Every hour, the Taliban would enter the car and check the inside of the car.
Directed by David Greenwald and produced by Beth Murphy, “Afghan Dreamers” — named after the original team of six girls — is in post-production, though currently on hold as the pair frantically works to ensure the young women and their families are safe and secure after escaping the Taliban.
Variety can confirm that most of the girls are now in Mexico, while one remains in Doha, Qatar.
“On the way from Herat to Kabul, we were very scared,” reads a tense message from one member of the team, shared with Variety, as she sought to escape. “Every hour, the Taliban would enter the car and check the inside of the car.
- 8/25/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
– Exclusive: The 24th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival has unveiled its exclusive poster from artist John Alexander. Alexander is a local Hamptons resident and the official 2016 Hiff poster will be based off of his “Ship of Fools” work.
This year’s festival will run from October 6-10. Film titles will be announced at a later date. You can find out more about the festival at its official website. Check out the official poster below.
– USA-based Stage 32, the world’s largest online platform connecting and educating film, TV and theater professionals, will be presenting its short film program at the 2016 Hollyshorts Film Festival in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, August 19 at the Harmony Gold Theater in Hollywood. The winning filmmakers were chosen by executives from The Weinstein Company,...
– Exclusive: The 24th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival has unveiled its exclusive poster from artist John Alexander. Alexander is a local Hamptons resident and the official 2016 Hiff poster will be based off of his “Ship of Fools” work.
This year’s festival will run from October 6-10. Film titles will be announced at a later date. You can find out more about the festival at its official website. Check out the official poster below.
– USA-based Stage 32, the world’s largest online platform connecting and educating film, TV and theater professionals, will be presenting its short film program at the 2016 Hollyshorts Film Festival in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, August 19 at the Harmony Gold Theater in Hollywood. The winning filmmakers were chosen by executives from The Weinstein Company,...
- 8/11/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Tribeca Film Institute and Gucci announced the recipients of the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund on Thursday [13].
The fund, now in its sixth year, is led by Tribeca’s director of documentary programming Ryan Harrington. Projects receive production and finishing funds totalling $150,000 as well as year-round support.
The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund Recipients are: Marshall Curry for Run And Gun; Jeremy Williams for On A Knife Edge; Ryan White and Ben Cotner for Perry V Schwarzenegger; Johan Grimonprez for The Shadow World; James Spione for Silenced; and Da Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus for Unlocking The Cage.
The Spotlighting Women Documentary award, presented for the third year in a row by the Kering Foundation, is given to documentaries that accent the courage and strength of character of women across the globe. Recipients are: Andreas Dalsgaard, Nicolas Servide and Viviana Gomez for Democrazy; Pamela Yates for Disruption; and Beth Murphy for What Tomorrow Brings.
The projects...
The fund, now in its sixth year, is led by Tribeca’s director of documentary programming Ryan Harrington. Projects receive production and finishing funds totalling $150,000 as well as year-round support.
The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund Recipients are: Marshall Curry for Run And Gun; Jeremy Williams for On A Knife Edge; Ryan White and Ben Cotner for Perry V Schwarzenegger; Johan Grimonprez for The Shadow World; James Spione for Silenced; and Da Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus for Unlocking The Cage.
The Spotlighting Women Documentary award, presented for the third year in a row by the Kering Foundation, is given to documentaries that accent the courage and strength of character of women across the globe. Recipients are: Andreas Dalsgaard, Nicolas Servide and Viviana Gomez for Democrazy; Pamela Yates for Disruption; and Beth Murphy for What Tomorrow Brings.
The projects...
- 6/13/2013
- ScreenDaily
London – Benh Zeitin's Beasts of the Southern Wild, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' Ruby Sparks and Beth Murphy's feature documentary The List are among the titles boosting U.S. presence at this year's Abu Dhabi Film Festival. The festival also finds slots for Eugene Jarecki's documentary The House I Live In and features End of Watch, directed by David Ayer, Robert Zemeckis' Flight and Robert Redford's The Company You Keep. With more than 80 movies and shorts unspooling during the year's event, the sixth edition of the festival is guaranteed a flashbulb-popping red carpet event with Nicholas Jarecki's
read more...
read more...
- 9/25/2012
- by Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival opened and closed with two glossy, star-studded premieres, as the raunchy rom-com "The Five-Year Engagement" and the surefire summer blockbuster "The Avengers" bookended the event.
But it was the far more modestly budgeted films in between that made the 11th annual Tribeca fest a success, with audiences and critics alike discovering gems you probably won't see plastered on the side of a bus anytime soon.
Our 10 favorites ranged from music documentaries ("Searching for Sugar Man") to quote-unquote mumblecore ("Your Sister's Sister"), but they share one common thread, at least in our eyes: They deserve a much wider audience. Maybe even on bus ads. – By Jason Guerrasio, Kevin Polowy, Nigel Smith and Brooke Tarnoff
'The Giant Mechanical Man'
Jenna Fischer stars in this charming, off-beat exploration of casual existentialism; the movie, written and directed by her husband, Lee Kirk, makes the most of the regular-person...
But it was the far more modestly budgeted films in between that made the 11th annual Tribeca fest a success, with audiences and critics alike discovering gems you probably won't see plastered on the side of a bus anytime soon.
Our 10 favorites ranged from music documentaries ("Searching for Sugar Man") to quote-unquote mumblecore ("Your Sister's Sister"), but they share one common thread, at least in our eyes: They deserve a much wider audience. Maybe even on bus ads. – By Jason Guerrasio, Kevin Polowy, Nigel Smith and Brooke Tarnoff
'The Giant Mechanical Man'
Jenna Fischer stars in this charming, off-beat exploration of casual existentialism; the movie, written and directed by her husband, Lee Kirk, makes the most of the regular-person...
- 5/1/2012
- by NextMovie Staff
- NextMovie
Beth Murphy has written, produced and directed almost 20 documentaries, including Tribeca 2007's "Beyond Belief." She returns this year with "The List." Murphy studied History and International Relations/Communications before working in radio and TV news. Upon leaving, she founded Principle Pictures in order to tell the stories that mattered to her; she leads productions around the world, many in war-torn and developing countries. "I believe documentary filmmaking is a uniquely powerful way to understand the human drama that defines the world’s most pressing social and political issues," says Murphy, adding that the type of documentaries she makes are "personal narratives that highlight greater human rights and social problems, and the subjects I choose to focus on are ones that are close to my heart,…my films are about individuals who take action when action may seem unlikely; about the kind of people who make you feel...
- 4/18/2012
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
After the United States launched Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens stepped up to assist our military in the reconstruction effort. In the intervening years, an American who worked with these teams for years discovered that many of his former colleagues were being targeted by radical extremists because of their work; in fear for their lives (and those of their families), these Iraqis have become refugees in search of asylum. In The List, Tff alum Beth Murphy (Beyond Belief, Tff 2007) chronicles Kirk Johnson's ongoing attempts to force our country to do the right thing. Tribeca: Tell us about The List. How do you describe the documentary in your own words? Beth Murphy: This is a film about the clarity and conviction of one man in the face America's war on terrorism, a war that often provides few moments of clarity or moral fortitude. To me,...
- 3/15/2012
- TribecaFilm.com
2012 Tribeca Film Festival announced the World Narrative and Documentary Competition film selections
HollywoodNews.com: The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, today announced the World Narrative and Documentary Competition film selections, along with selections for the out-of-competition Viewpoints section—the program established last year that highlights personal stories in international and independent cinema. Forty-six of the 90 feature-length films were announced. The 11th edition of the Festival will take place from April 18 to April 29 at locations around New York City.
The Festival was curated by a new programming team this year. Frédéric Boyer has joined Tff as Artistic Director, having most recently served as Artistic Director and Head of Programming for the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Geoffrey Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, has expanded his role in overseeing the Festival program. Genna Terranova has been promoted to Director of Programming and Cara Cusumano returns as Programmer.
“It’s been so gratifying to watch the new programming...
The Festival was curated by a new programming team this year. Frédéric Boyer has joined Tff as Artistic Director, having most recently served as Artistic Director and Head of Programming for the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Geoffrey Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, has expanded his role in overseeing the Festival program. Genna Terranova has been promoted to Director of Programming and Cara Cusumano returns as Programmer.
“It’s been so gratifying to watch the new programming...
- 3/6/2012
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Tribeca Film Festival announced half of this year’s movie showcase, the 11th edition of the New York celebration set for April 18-29. James Franco’s behind-the-scenes General Hospital feature, Francophrenia, will have its North American premiere in the Viewpoints section – the program established last year that highlights more personal stories. “He’s kind of constructed this really interesting and well-crafted film about that experience that plays with the boundaries of documentary,” says Genna Terranova, Tribeca’s director of programming. “It’s a bit tongue in cheek, as James himself can be. He’s a bit enigmatic and the film is as well.
- 3/6/2012
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
With The Five-Year Engagement set as the opening title for the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, they’ve announced more of the line-up today with World Narrative & Documentary Features as the Viewpoint titles. We’ve got the next film from The Exploding Girl director Bradley Rust Gray, Jack and Diane (as well as a first look about featuring Juno Temple, thanks to Styd).
There is a new Harmony Korine short as well Kate Bosworth‘s While We Were Here and The Girl, starring Abbie Cornish. James Franco also has his latest film, Francophrenia, featuring footage from his performance on General Hospital. Nothing sticks out too greatly yet, but if I see something as interesting as Beyond the Black Rainbow or Magic Valley like last year, I’ll be a happy man. Check it out below and come back Thursday for the rest of the announcement.
World Narrative Feature Competition
• All In (La Suerte En Tus Manos...
There is a new Harmony Korine short as well Kate Bosworth‘s While We Were Here and The Girl, starring Abbie Cornish. James Franco also has his latest film, Francophrenia, featuring footage from his performance on General Hospital. Nothing sticks out too greatly yet, but if I see something as interesting as Beyond the Black Rainbow or Magic Valley like last year, I’ll be a happy man. Check it out below and come back Thursday for the rest of the announcement.
World Narrative Feature Competition
• All In (La Suerte En Tus Manos...
- 3/6/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
SXSW kicks off later this week, but once your done slurping the BBQ sauce off your fingers, pack your backs and head north to Manhattan as the Tribeca Film Festival is gearing up to unspool in April. To whet cinephile appetites, organizers have dropped the lineup for the World Narrative Feature Competition, World Documentary Feature Competition and Viewpoints lineups and there are plenty of titles to take note of.
Among the narratives, the anticipated "Jack And Diane" from Bradley Rust Gray will make its world premiere. Starring Juno Temple and Riley Keough, the film takes a teenage lesbian love tale and twists the formula, with one of them revealing she's a werewolf. Add to that a cast rounded out by Dane DeHaan, Jena Malone and pop star Kylie Minogue (as a tattooed lesbian, of course) and you can see why this will be one of the hottest tickets at the fest.
Among the narratives, the anticipated "Jack And Diane" from Bradley Rust Gray will make its world premiere. Starring Juno Temple and Riley Keough, the film takes a teenage lesbian love tale and twists the formula, with one of them revealing she's a werewolf. Add to that a cast rounded out by Dane DeHaan, Jena Malone and pop star Kylie Minogue (as a tattooed lesbian, of course) and you can see why this will be one of the hottest tickets at the fest.
- 3/6/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
When people used to discuss Ohio trio Times New Viking, you could have assumed that they were talking about a harsh noise project, not a group that wrote pop songs and then buried them in static. Indeed, for the bulk of Times New Viking's career, the critical emphasis has been more on how the group sounded--loud, distorted, crackling--than how they wrote or sang or played.
Dancer Equired--the fifth Times New Viking album and the best, too--finally pushes back the brambles and puts the proper spotlight on the tunes themselves. This isn't a polished pop record by any stretch, but what we find is a group that writes smart little songs and plays them with a reassuring indifference to perfection. "Ever Falling in Love," a subversively droopy duet between Beth Murphy and Adam Elliott, pairs the monologues of two confused lovers who eventually find one another. The video, directed by Brandon Reichard,...
Dancer Equired--the fifth Times New Viking album and the best, too--finally pushes back the brambles and puts the proper spotlight on the tunes themselves. This isn't a polished pop record by any stretch, but what we find is a group that writes smart little songs and plays them with a reassuring indifference to perfection. "Ever Falling in Love," a subversively droopy duet between Beth Murphy and Adam Elliott, pairs the monologues of two confused lovers who eventually find one another. The video, directed by Brandon Reichard,...
- 5/5/2011
- by Grayson Currin
- ifc.com
Having sparked speculation on the status of her relationship with Gerard Butler, Jennifer Aniston recently explained her affection for him. In a multi-part interview with Billy Bush, which began airing on Tuesday, February 9, the 40-year-old actress stated that her co-star in "The Bounty Hunter" is "the most unpretentious guy".
"We just had so much fun together you know. He's just fun," the Beth Murphy of "He's Just Not That Into You" explained when asked about the 40-year-old actor. Stating that she had a great time working with the "300" star, she added, "He's a guys guy, but he's absolutely the most lovely and sort of self-deprecating and just what you see is what you get. We look at work the same way...we always had each other's back."
The "Marley & Me" star also addressed why she chose Mexico to celebrate her 41st birthday, which her friend organized. "He said to me,...
"We just had so much fun together you know. He's just fun," the Beth Murphy of "He's Just Not That Into You" explained when asked about the 40-year-old actor. Stating that she had a great time working with the "300" star, she added, "He's a guys guy, but he's absolutely the most lovely and sort of self-deprecating and just what you see is what you get. We look at work the same way...we always had each other's back."
The "Marley & Me" star also addressed why she chose Mexico to celebrate her 41st birthday, which her friend organized. "He said to me,...
- 2/10/2010
- by celebrity-mania.com
- Celebrity Mania
The Channel 4 Britdoc Foundation, the London-based not-for-profit group that creates new sources of funding and distribution for social issue documentaries, is partnering with the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program to take its Good Pitch to Ifp's Independent Film Week in New York.
The daylong program, to be held on Sept. 24, will allow selected filmmakers to present their docs to potential funders.
The September edition of the Good Pitch builds on Ifp's collaborative program with the U's Department of Public Information entitled "Envision -- Addressing Global Issues through Documentaries." Each of the selected film projects connects with one or more of the Un's eight Millennium Development Goals, including poverty reduction, maternal health, gender equality and AIDS.
The selected projects are: "25 to Life," directed by Michael l. Brown; "Easy Like Water," Glenn Baker; "Garbage Dreams," Mai Iskander; "Rose & Nangabire," Beth Davenport and Elizabeth Mandel; "To Catch a Dollar: Muhammad Yunus Banks on America,...
The daylong program, to be held on Sept. 24, will allow selected filmmakers to present their docs to potential funders.
The September edition of the Good Pitch builds on Ifp's collaborative program with the U's Department of Public Information entitled "Envision -- Addressing Global Issues through Documentaries." Each of the selected film projects connects with one or more of the Un's eight Millennium Development Goals, including poverty reduction, maternal health, gender equality and AIDS.
The selected projects are: "25 to Life," directed by Michael l. Brown; "Easy Like Water," Glenn Baker; "Garbage Dreams," Mai Iskander; "Rose & Nangabire," Beth Davenport and Elizabeth Mandel; "To Catch a Dollar: Muhammad Yunus Banks on America,...
- 8/24/2009
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IFP handed out $130,000 in cash and in-kind prizes Thursday at its annual Independent Filmmaker Awards.
Joseph Cashiola received IFP's inaugural $50,000 Independent Filmmaker Lab Finishing Grant for his feature directorial debut, the drama "A Thing as Big as the Ocean."
Other awards at the ceremony hosted by Ally Sheedy and Kevin Corrigan included the $10,000 Adrienne Shelly Director's Grant given to Dia Sokol for her feature debut, "Sorry, Thanks." The Adrienne Shelly Foundation and Artists Public Domain funded the prize.
The $10,000 Kodak Grand Jury Screenwriting Prize went to Benjamin Bates for his "Walrus Eating Baloney," one of 150 works-in-progress in Independent Film Week's current Project Forum.
Another feature in the lineup, "The Promise of Freedom," earned filmmaker Beth Murphy the $10,000 Fledgling Fund Award for Socially Conscious Documentaries.
Eight other filmmakers won Panasonic Digital Filmmaking Grants. All winners were assigned producers as mentors, and each of the winning projects will be assigned a producing mentor.
Joseph Cashiola received IFP's inaugural $50,000 Independent Filmmaker Lab Finishing Grant for his feature directorial debut, the drama "A Thing as Big as the Ocean."
Other awards at the ceremony hosted by Ally Sheedy and Kevin Corrigan included the $10,000 Adrienne Shelly Director's Grant given to Dia Sokol for her feature debut, "Sorry, Thanks." The Adrienne Shelly Foundation and Artists Public Domain funded the prize.
The $10,000 Kodak Grand Jury Screenwriting Prize went to Benjamin Bates for his "Walrus Eating Baloney," one of 150 works-in-progress in Independent Film Week's current Project Forum.
Another feature in the lineup, "The Promise of Freedom," earned filmmaker Beth Murphy the $10,000 Fledgling Fund Award for Socially Conscious Documentaries.
Eight other filmmakers won Panasonic Digital Filmmaking Grants. All winners were assigned producers as mentors, and each of the winning projects will be assigned a producing mentor.
- 9/18/2008
- by By Gregg Goldstein
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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