The world has come to recognize the supreme talent of Viola Davis, the Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress. But she had to overcome huge obstacles to achieve her success, growing up poor in Central Falls, Rhode Island.
The enormity of those obstacles becomes strikingly clear in an episode of the Apple TV+ documentary series Dear… that’s devoted to Davis. Now in its second season, the show profiles a different entertainer, activist or athlete in each installment, built around letters written to the trailblazers by members of the public inspired by their example.
Contenders TV Docs + Unscripted — Deadline’s Complete Coverage
Along with Davis, among the subjects in Season 2 are actors Jane Fonda, Sandra Oh and Billy Porter; filmmaker Ava DuVernay; and NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Choosing the icons is a key part of the process, showrunner and executive producer Donny Jackson explained as he appeared at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted event.
The enormity of those obstacles becomes strikingly clear in an episode of the Apple TV+ documentary series Dear… that’s devoted to Davis. Now in its second season, the show profiles a different entertainer, activist or athlete in each installment, built around letters written to the trailblazers by members of the public inspired by their example.
Contenders TV Docs + Unscripted — Deadline’s Complete Coverage
Along with Davis, among the subjects in Season 2 are actors Jane Fonda, Sandra Oh and Billy Porter; filmmaker Ava DuVernay; and NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Choosing the icons is a key part of the process, showrunner and executive producer Donny Jackson explained as he appeared at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted event.
- 4/23/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Freeform announced Tuesday that it is launching a nonfiction slate with three new original series: “The Deep End,” “Dear Pony: Keep This Between Us” and “Day to Night,” all geared to appeal to the network’s young demographic.
“Nonfiction is a genre that our audience loves,” Jihan Robinson, vice president, alternative development at Freeform, said in a statement. “Our goal is to focus on character-driven narratives that are relatable and reflective of the Gen Z and millennial experience, and we could not be more proud to usher in the new wave of nonfiction programming with these three unique series.”
“The Deep End,” a four-part docu-series directed by Jon Kasbe, delves inside the world of a controversial female spiritual teacher. It was filmed over three years and is produced by Bits Sola and executive produced by The Documentary Group’s Tom Yellin and Gabrielle Tenenbaum. It premieres on the network Wednesday,...
“Nonfiction is a genre that our audience loves,” Jihan Robinson, vice president, alternative development at Freeform, said in a statement. “Our goal is to focus on character-driven narratives that are relatable and reflective of the Gen Z and millennial experience, and we could not be more proud to usher in the new wave of nonfiction programming with these three unique series.”
“The Deep End,” a four-part docu-series directed by Jon Kasbe, delves inside the world of a controversial female spiritual teacher. It was filmed over three years and is produced by Bits Sola and executive produced by The Documentary Group’s Tom Yellin and Gabrielle Tenenbaum. It premieres on the network Wednesday,...
- 4/5/2022
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
Freeform has pulled back the curtain on its move into non-fiction with two docuseries and a reality series kicking off its unscripted slate.
The Disney-owned network has ordered The Deep End, a four-part docuseries about controversial spiritual teachers, Dear Pony: Keep This Between Us, a series about grooming in U.S. high schools directed by Phoenix Rising helmer Amy Berg and Day to Night, an eight-part reality series set in New York City.
The slate is overseen by Jihan Robinson, VP, Alternative Development, Freeform, the former Quibi and Netflix exec who joined in December 2020.
Robinson said that non-fiction is a genre that its Gen Z and millennial audience loves.
“Freeform as a whole is just really looking to be reflective and authentic to the young adult experience,” she told Deadline. “As a part of that, this audience is really engaged and loves the category of nonfiction programming across the board.
The Disney-owned network has ordered The Deep End, a four-part docuseries about controversial spiritual teachers, Dear Pony: Keep This Between Us, a series about grooming in U.S. high schools directed by Phoenix Rising helmer Amy Berg and Day to Night, an eight-part reality series set in New York City.
The slate is overseen by Jihan Robinson, VP, Alternative Development, Freeform, the former Quibi and Netflix exec who joined in December 2020.
Robinson said that non-fiction is a genre that its Gen Z and millennial audience loves.
“Freeform as a whole is just really looking to be reflective and authentic to the young adult experience,” she told Deadline. “As a part of that, this audience is really engaged and loves the category of nonfiction programming across the board.
- 4/5/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Filmmaker R.J. Cutler’s interest in documenting Billie Eilish dates back to 2018, when he contacted director of photography Jenna Rosher about a rising star he saw interviewed in Vanity Fair. “I watched those and was completely fascinated and blown away by her from the get-go,” Rosher says of the magazine’s series, which checks in on Eilish yearly.
To chronicle the moment in which she became a worldwide phenomenon, “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry,” available on Apple TV Plus, follows the teen singer as she writes and releases her debut album, interweaving intimate family footage with concert clips and rare behind-the-scenes moments.
Rosher, who worked with Cutler and editor Lindsay Utz, was not looking to make a celebrity vanity piece or a talking-head documentary. “We were interested in telling a story about a young woman coming of age on the world stage,” she says.
For a film that was shot verité style,...
To chronicle the moment in which she became a worldwide phenomenon, “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry,” available on Apple TV Plus, follows the teen singer as she writes and releases her debut album, interweaving intimate family footage with concert clips and rare behind-the-scenes moments.
Rosher, who worked with Cutler and editor Lindsay Utz, was not looking to make a celebrity vanity piece or a talking-head documentary. “We were interested in telling a story about a young woman coming of age on the world stage,” she says.
For a film that was shot verité style,...
- 12/13/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
The bracingly intimate feel of the documentary Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry emerged because the pop singer at its center grew to trust the filmmakers enough to reveal her private pain on her own terms, the film’s director revealed.
“We achieved the intimacy because Billie and her family were open and available and wanted to tell their story,” R.J. Cutler said at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary awards-season event. He said he spend a year and a half building a relationship with Eilish’s inner circle. “We develop trust and we engage with them in the in the verité process, and the verité process fundamentally understands that the story belongs to the subject. Our only desire is to see what’s happening and to experience Billie’s life and to be able to tell that story when it’s done.”
“Over time, trust develops, you connect with...
“We achieved the intimacy because Billie and her family were open and available and wanted to tell their story,” R.J. Cutler said at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary awards-season event. He said he spend a year and a half building a relationship with Eilish’s inner circle. “We develop trust and we engage with them in the in the verité process, and the verité process fundamentally understands that the story belongs to the subject. Our only desire is to see what’s happening and to experience Billie’s life and to be able to tell that story when it’s done.”
“Over time, trust develops, you connect with...
- 11/21/2021
- by Scott Huver
- Deadline Film + TV
“Her world was out of focus,” admits Jenna Rosher, the cinematographer on “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry.” For our recent webchat, she continues, “The title is really fitting for Billie’s life for that period of time. It would definitely not apply to her life now. She’s very focused and she’s grown up a lot. We followed her during a unique moment of catapulting into fame and just trying to be a teenager. It’s not just a story about this unbelievable artist; it’s also a story about a family and a person navigating that time of your life.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.
SEEElmo Ponsdomenech interview: ‘Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry’ mixer
The documentary film available on Apple TV+ chronicles the teen singer as she writes and releases her debut album. It showcases her rise from a modestly successful performer to Grammy-winning superstar.
SEEElmo Ponsdomenech interview: ‘Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry’ mixer
The documentary film available on Apple TV+ chronicles the teen singer as she writes and releases her debut album. It showcases her rise from a modestly successful performer to Grammy-winning superstar.
- 11/10/2021
- by Matt Noble
- Gold Derby
Singer-songwriter Billie Eilish is not even out of her teens and she has already won awards in the Grammys’ top four categories: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.
She’s achieved something else rare for someone her age—having a documentary made about her by a major filmmaker. Emmy winner R.J. Cutler went behind the lens for Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, the Apple TV+ film that’s now in contention for Emmy consideration.
It’s a portrait of the artist as a young woman, illuminating Eilish’s creative process, her close relationship with older brother Finneas O’Connell, with whom she makes music, and her parents. It also explores the way she has negotiated fame, and depressive tendencies that she doesn’t conceal.
“I feel the dark things,” Elish says at one point in the film. “I feel them very strongly.
She’s achieved something else rare for someone her age—having a documentary made about her by a major filmmaker. Emmy winner R.J. Cutler went behind the lens for Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, the Apple TV+ film that’s now in contention for Emmy consideration.
It’s a portrait of the artist as a young woman, illuminating Eilish’s creative process, her close relationship with older brother Finneas O’Connell, with whom she makes music, and her parents. It also explores the way she has negotiated fame, and depressive tendencies that she doesn’t conceal.
“I feel the dark things,” Elish says at one point in the film. “I feel them very strongly.
- 6/15/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Grammy-winning singer Billie Eilish is such a fervent fan of “The Office” that she has watched the series in full at least 14 times by her own estimation. “Every time I watch it, I understand something new, because I started at [age] 12,” she said last year to stars Steve Carell and Brian Baumgartner, the latter of whom hosts a podcast dedicated to the former NBC comedy. “And I honestly, if you asked my parents, most of the things that — this makes me sound so stupid — but most of the things that I know are because of ‘The Office.’”
So when it came time for director R.J. Cutler and cinematographer Jenna Rosher to film what would become the documentary “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry,” it should be no surprise that one of Eilish’s visual touchstones for the project was the mockumentary show.
See our Meet the Experts panels
“My tendency...
So when it came time for director R.J. Cutler and cinematographer Jenna Rosher to film what would become the documentary “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry,” it should be no surprise that one of Eilish’s visual touchstones for the project was the mockumentary show.
See our Meet the Experts panels
“My tendency...
- 6/4/2021
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Six top TV cinematographers will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Btl Experts” Q&a event with key 2021 guild and Emmy contenders this month. Each person will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Thursday, May 27, at 5:00 p.m. Pt; 8:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our contributing editor Christopher Rosen and a group chat with Christopher and all of the group together.
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Btl Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Emmy contenders:
“Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”: Jenna Rosher
Synopsis: An intimate look at the singer-songwriter’s journey, navigating life on the road,...
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Btl Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Emmy contenders:
“Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”: Jenna Rosher
Synopsis: An intimate look at the singer-songwriter’s journey, navigating life on the road,...
- 5/19/2021
- by Chris Beachum and Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Never trust a man in Speedos who promises to change your life. That’s advice from director Eva Orner’s “Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator,” a doc that bends and snaps the self-described God status of megalomaniac yoga coach Bikram Choudhury, who sexually assaulted his female students while bragging he was the smartest and most spiritual man they’d ever be lucky enough to meet. The women were paying for the privilege: $10,000 each for a nine-week teacher training camp at a hotel where Choudhury slept in the presidential suite. Or rather, as Choudhury claims he only needed one hour of rest a night, where he instead summoned pupils to his bedroom for a 3 a.m. massage — and they went, because he alone controlled their future. Some say they were pressed against walls or pressured to touch his penis. Some say they were raped.
, ever since Bikram pranced before TV cameras flexing...
, ever since Bikram pranced before TV cameras flexing...
- 9/9/2019
- by Amy Nicholson
- Variety Film + TV
An amazing talent gone way too soon, Janis Joplin is more than her boozy, brash public image. This bio docu has the personal background and the insights of those her knew, plus the Texas and San Francisco context in the Rock breakout of the late 1960s. Janis: Little Girl Blue DVD Filmrise / Mvd 2015 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date May 6, 2016 / 19.95 Starring Janis Joplin, Cat Power (voice), Peter Albin, Melissa Etheridge, Clive Davis, Laura Joplin, Michael Joplin, D.A. Pennebaker, Kris Kristofferson, Country Joe McDonald, Dick Cavett.. Cinematography Francesco Carrozzini, Jenna Rosher Film Editors Mark Harrison, Maya Hawke, Billy McMillin, Garret Price, Brendan Walsh Produced by Amy J. Berg, Alex Gibney, Katherine LeBlond, Jeff Jampol Directed by Amy J. Berg
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Janis: Little Girl Blue is an entertaining and emotionally affecting bio-film about the noted singer and songwriter, whose rise to fame in the San Francisco scene of the...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Janis: Little Girl Blue is an entertaining and emotionally affecting bio-film about the noted singer and songwriter, whose rise to fame in the San Francisco scene of the...
- 4/30/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Catch the trailer, poster as well as images from the Cinedigm release Junior. The film directed, produced and film by Jenna Rosher, opens on August 13th on VOD and features Eddie Belasco Jr. and Josephine Belasco. Eddie Belasco is a 75-year-old Italian-American who seems to have jumped from the pages of a Scorsese script, except he lives with his 98-year-old “Ma,” Josephine. Luckily, their senses of humor match their levels of irritability. Together they fight and laugh in equal measures as the difficulties of aging and living in a changing neighborhood catch up with them. Eddie was always one to love the limelight, trying his hand at acting and managing topless female rock bands and now is running a non-profit theatre group for young people. In the meantime, the spotlight is squarely on Josephine, with the local press running to her as she finally gets her high school diploma.
- 8/5/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Jessica Hausner's tale of one woman's life-changing visit to the pilgrimage site adds to its awards haul from Venice, Vienna and Warsaw
Lourdes, Jessica Hausner's stark, gripping account of one woman's religious pilgrimage, was tonight awarded the crowning prize at the annual Birds Eye View film festival in London. The film, which stars the French actor Sylvie Testud, has already picked up awards at film festivals in Venice, Vienna and Warsaw. It goes on general release in the UK on 26 March.
Hausner's drama took the award for best feature. Elsewhere, Jenna Rosher's Junior was named best documentary while the award for best short film was split between the Oscar-nominated The Door, by Juanita Wilson, and Slaves, which was co-directed by Hanna Heilborn and David Aronowitsch.
The festival was set up to champion the work of female film-makers in a male-dominated industry. Reports suggest that only about 7% of feature film directors are women.
Lourdes, Jessica Hausner's stark, gripping account of one woman's religious pilgrimage, was tonight awarded the crowning prize at the annual Birds Eye View film festival in London. The film, which stars the French actor Sylvie Testud, has already picked up awards at film festivals in Venice, Vienna and Warsaw. It goes on general release in the UK on 26 March.
Hausner's drama took the award for best feature. Elsewhere, Jenna Rosher's Junior was named best documentary while the award for best short film was split between the Oscar-nominated The Door, by Juanita Wilson, and Slaves, which was co-directed by Hanna Heilborn and David Aronowitsch.
The festival was set up to champion the work of female film-makers in a male-dominated industry. Reports suggest that only about 7% of feature film directors are women.
- 3/12/2010
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
A sterling year has wrapped with a raft of new trophies – the finest of the winners amply demonstrate what documentaries can do better than anything else
This year, Sheffield Doc/Fest beefed up its awards schedule with a raft of well thought out new trophies. The choices made suggest that this decision is definitely paying off.
Perhaps the most useful of the new categories is the Green award. Environmental film-making is a field in which some fine work needs to be separated from a lot of routine special pleading. Thankfully, this year's award went to a far from preachy film. The Blood of the Rose, produced and directed by Henry Singer (who gave us 9/11: The Falling Man), examines the mysterious murder in Kenya of the conservationist Jane Root, herself a one-time film-maker. The jury said the film offered "a well-balanced perspective on a compelling crime story", and no one could argue with that.
This year, Sheffield Doc/Fest beefed up its awards schedule with a raft of well thought out new trophies. The choices made suggest that this decision is definitely paying off.
Perhaps the most useful of the new categories is the Green award. Environmental film-making is a field in which some fine work needs to be separated from a lot of routine special pleading. Thankfully, this year's award went to a far from preachy film. The Blood of the Rose, produced and directed by Henry Singer (who gave us 9/11: The Falling Man), examines the mysterious murder in Kenya of the conservationist Jane Root, herself a one-time film-maker. The jury said the film offered "a well-balanced perspective on a compelling crime story", and no one could argue with that.
- 11/10/2009
- by David Cox
- The Guardian - Film News
In a lengthy ceremony that brought out some seminal figures in independent film, the Woodstock Film Festival handed out its honors Saturday night in somewhat nearby Kingston, NY with Cruz Angeles’ “Don’t Let Me Drown” winning the prize for best narrative feature, while Jenna Rosher’s “Junior” took best narrative feature. Woodstock also turned the spotlight on two pivotal figures of American cinema, giving producer Ted Hope its Honorary Trailblazer Award, while …...
- 10/4/2009
- Indiewire
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