By Gregg Goldstein
Jamila Wignot has won two Peabody awards and an Emmy for producing and directing documentaries. This week in Cannes’ digital market, Cinetic Media is screening 20 minutes of footage of her third feature-length directorial effort, “Ailey,” for individual buyers. The Insignia Films production examines the life of the pioneering choreographer Alvin Ailey, using his own words and interviews with luminaries such as Ailey’s muse and successor, Judith Jamison. Variety spoke with Wignot about the project, her experiences as a Black filmmaker and changes she hopes to see in the industry.
— Gregg Goldstein
How did you get involved with “Ailey?”
It came to me through Insignia. They saw that there hadn’t been a film on Ailey in quite some time. And it was like having the greatest gift placed into my lap, because his work is very meaningful to me. In college, the Black student group on...
Jamila Wignot has won two Peabody awards and an Emmy for producing and directing documentaries. This week in Cannes’ digital market, Cinetic Media is screening 20 minutes of footage of her third feature-length directorial effort, “Ailey,” for individual buyers. The Insignia Films production examines the life of the pioneering choreographer Alvin Ailey, using his own words and interviews with luminaries such as Ailey’s muse and successor, Judith Jamison. Variety spoke with Wignot about the project, her experiences as a Black filmmaker and changes she hopes to see in the industry.
— Gregg Goldstein
How did you get involved with “Ailey?”
It came to me through Insignia. They saw that there hadn’t been a film on Ailey in quite some time. And it was like having the greatest gift placed into my lap, because his work is very meaningful to me. In college, the Black student group on...
- 6/25/2020
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety Film + TV
After her Oscar nomination for producing the 2017 animated short “Lou,” Dana Murray is making her feature producing debut with “Soul,” the third Disney/Pixar film from director Pete Docter to be named as a Cannes Official Selection. Jamie Foxx voices the role of a middle-school band teacher who is transported to the Great Before, a place where souls are developed before they go to Earth. It’s one of the few Cannes films with a Black cast and co-director/co-writer. Murray talked to us about the film, internal Pixar “culture tests” and how things have changed since Pixar co-founder John Lasseter’s departure in late 2018. — Gregg Goldstein
What can people expect from “Soul?”
Pete Docter makes films that go emotionally deep. People will walk away really thinking about their lives. We get so wrapped up in our to-do lists. [It’s about] appreciating the smaller things, a theme most people can relate to...
What can people expect from “Soul?”
Pete Docter makes films that go emotionally deep. People will walk away really thinking about their lives. We get so wrapped up in our to-do lists. [It’s about] appreciating the smaller things, a theme most people can relate to...
- 6/23/2020
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety Film + TV
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