DSL’s available now / DVD w/PPR available late October 2023
WINNER: Best Documentary, The People’s Film Festival.
New York City is undergoing a period of “hyper-gentrification” unlike anywhere else, but courageous communities and activists are fighting back.
Gentrification is not a new phenomenon. In fact, New Yorkers have been talking about gentrification ever since the term was first coined in the 1960s. But over the decades, as more and more wealthy real estate developers and giant corporations have sought to reconstruct urban landscapes for economic gain, what was once a process of gradual change has turned into a nightmare of radical transformation and displacement.
New York City is currently undergoing a period of “hyper-gentrification” unlike anywhere else in the world.
There Goes the Neighborhood presents a portrait of the communities and activists who are courageously fighting back against the powers of greed and corruption in order to preserve the diversity and culture of their city.
WINNER: IndiePix Vision Award, Winter Film Awards
Documentary / 2022 / English / 74 minutes / A film by Ian Phillips
Monumental writer in the age of transcendentalism, groundbreaking feminist, critic and parlor conversationalist, Margaret Fuller was the foremost female intellectual of the mid-Victorian Age.
As the first American front-line international war correspondent, she covered the Italian Risorgimento and she herself tilted towards a global utopian revolution.
Margaret Fuller is brought to life through the intimate revelations of award-winning biographers and is animated with a rich period tapestry and an authentic musical score.
The film brings Margaret Fuller out of historical obscurity, exposes her inner life, bridges the gap between her time and ours, and illuminates the gender divisions she challenged in an effort to highlight her achievements.
Margaret Fuller became a member of the elusive Cambridge, Massachusetts intellectuals; the Harvard student’s boy’s club that included Ralph Waldo Emerson, and James Freemen Clark to name just two.
Ralph Waldo Emerson called Fuller “The Greatest Conversationalist that America had”.
Family circumstances had her move to Boston where she became an influential leader and teacher of women’s group.
This film has huge potential in Women’s Studies, History, Sociology, Journalism and Philosophy American Studies and English.
What’s truly fascinating is the growing number of Fuller enthusiasts emerging from affinity groups not usually drawn to the humanities, but who identify with Fuller’s struggles as a woman who overcame economic odds and gender discrimination to create work of true importance.
With her brilliant, socially awkward demeanor, she has a potential following among women who self-reference as nerds, first and second-generation female immigrants who are facing obstacles and limitations in their culture’s patriarchal societies.
Those who use social media and other means to combat inequality may find in Fuller a salty heroine.
2021 / 40 minutes / color and Black & White / English / A film by Jonathan Schwartz
HOW TO ORDER:
Public Performance and Digital Site Licenses are available through Soundview Media Partners. To inquire or to place an order, write to info@soundviewmediapartners.com or simply choose from the options below:
Based on the true story of Orson Welles, Rose McClendon and their revolutionary Shakespeare production!
Produced by the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in association with Warner Bros., this 14x Festival Winner tells the dramatic story of when, in 1936, Broadway star Rose McClendon and producer John Houseman convinced a gifted but untested 20-year-old Orson Welles to direct Shakespeare’s Macbeth with an all-Black cast in Harlem.
Set in Haiti, the production first earned the nickname “Haitian Vodou” fulfilling the element of witchcraft contained in the Shakespeare original. It later became more famously known as “Voodoo Macbeth”.
A box office sensation, the production, which toured the nation, was regarded as a landmark theatrical event for its innovative interpretation of the play, its success in promoting African-American theater, and its role in the development of Orson Welles as a new and powerful theatrical force.
It was before Citizen Kane and before War of the Worlds. It was dynamic and included Orson and Rose – who also played Lady Macbeth – clashing over everything from scene blocking to crew hires, while Houseman contended with a congressman hell-bent on shutting down what he deemed to be communist propaganda. In the end, Welles and McClendon overcame the political pressure, personal demons, and protests to realize their groundbreaking vision.
This 2021 film / 2022 theatrical release tells the story how Voodoo Macbeth was conceived and developed. Its dramatic and theatrical style is due, at least in part, to the extensive collaboration that went into the production itself. The large cast, numerous directors, multiple producers and the USC/Warner Bros. relationship results not only in incredible storytelling, but also in a new and exciting style of production itself.
The Volume of Festival Wins to Date Speak Loudly. Here are a few…
WINNER
Best Film – Harlem International Film Festival
Best Production – Harlem International Film Festival
Best Actress – Harlem International Film Festival
Best Film – Vail Film Festival
Best Director, Charlotte Black Film Festival
Best Ensemble Cast – San Diego International Film Festival
Director’s Choice Award / Independent Spirit Award – Sedona International Film Festival
Best Director – Catalina Film Festival
Best U.S. Feature – Catalina Film Festival
Best Actress – Catalina Film Festival
Best Actor – Catalina Film Festival
“A moving tribute to an indelible slice of history, that is finally being shared and celebrated! One of Orson Welles’ most pivotal moments, right before Citizen Kane, brought beautifully to life. This story was hidden for far too long, along with Rose McClendon’s wonderful legacy. Some say better late than never, but this story should be shouted from the rooftops, uncovering one of America’s hidden jewels, that was always meant to shine!” – Suzanne Marques, CBS Los Angeles.
“Impressive…the film’s production is itself a collaborative effort in the spirit of the Harlem theatre…”– J. Paul Johnson, 25 Years Later.
“This retelling of a very innovative part of theater and African American history is precious.” – Dwight Brown, National Newspaper Publishers Association.
“A fantastic example of team unity as there is never a sense of multiple voices trying to steer this project…with solid production design up and down the line and never a sense of doubt in the story that it is trying to capture.” – Dave Voigt, In The Seats.
“By all odds, my great success in my life was that play, because the opening night there were five blocks in which all traffic was stopped. You couldn’t get near the theatre in Harlem. Everybody who was anybody in the black or white world was there. And when the play ended there were so many curtain calls that finally they left the curtain open, and the audience came up on the stage to congratulate the actors. And that was magical.” – Orson Welles (1982 interview)
BONUS MATERIAL ON THE DISC VERSIONS
Audio Commentary
Actual 1936 footage from National Archives of the play that toured the country to interracial audiences.
2021 / Drama / 108 minutes / Color / English Language / A film directed by Agazi Desta, Sabina Vajrača, Hannah Bang, Christopher Beaton, Dagmawi Abebe, Victor Alonso-Berbel, Tiffany K. Guillen, Zoë Salnave, Ernesto Sandoval, Roy Arwas, and produced by Xiaoyuan Xiao, Miles Alva , Jason Phillips, John Watson.
HOW TO ORDER:
Public Performance and Digital Site Licenses are available through Soundview Media Partners. To inquire or to place an order, write to info@soundviewmediapartners.com or simply choose from the options below:
