Whether it’s a self-fulfilling storytelling prophecy or a dangerous by-product of the way geopolitical developments have been viewed for the last few centuries, stories told on an international scale often end up loaded with allusions to chess. Particularly in stories drenched in spy maneuvering and intelligence gathering, referring to a game of pawns and rulers and thinking a half-dozen moves ahead has become apt, if not obligatory.
For better or for worse, that’s how writer/director Hugo Blick frames much of the story of “Black Earth Rising.” But for as much as “Black Earth Rising” charts the story of reconciling trauma as a tactical game, there’s an overarching condemnation of the ways that different forces on a global stage, from imperial powers to massive multinational corporations, treat widespread tragedy as a simple step in an unfolding narrative.
“Black Earth Rising” centers around the evolving experiences of Kate...
For better or for worse, that’s how writer/director Hugo Blick frames much of the story of “Black Earth Rising.” But for as much as “Black Earth Rising” charts the story of reconciling trauma as a tactical game, there’s an overarching condemnation of the ways that different forces on a global stage, from imperial powers to massive multinational corporations, treat widespread tragedy as a simple step in an unfolding narrative.
“Black Earth Rising” centers around the evolving experiences of Kate...
- 1/26/2019
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
In 1994 O.J. Simpson was arrested for the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, and the 24-hour news cycle was born. Yet, the death of an estimated 800,000 Tutsis by members of the Hutu ethnic majority in Rwanda during that same period went largely unnoticed in the West. That inconsistency was in part what inspired creator Hugo Blick (“The Honourable Woman”) to bring an eight-episode limited series, “Black Earth Rising,” to viewers nearly a quarter of a century later.
“Black Earth Rising” tells the fictional story of Tutsi survivor Kate Ashby (Michaela Coel), a legal investigator who was adopted as a little girl by a famous International Criminal Court (Icc) lawyer (Harriet Walter). Years later when her mother prepares to help prosecute a Rwandan militia leader who fought against the genocide, it drives a wedge between the pair and kicks off a deadly chain of events. John Goodman also stars as the team’s American boss,...
“Black Earth Rising” tells the fictional story of Tutsi survivor Kate Ashby (Michaela Coel), a legal investigator who was adopted as a little girl by a famous International Criminal Court (Icc) lawyer (Harriet Walter). Years later when her mother prepares to help prosecute a Rwandan militia leader who fought against the genocide, it drives a wedge between the pair and kicks off a deadly chain of events. John Goodman also stars as the team’s American boss,...
- 1/25/2019
- by Amber Dowling
- Variety Film + TV
Bringing to bear a talented cast on a story of real geopolitical significance, “Black Earth Rising,” Netflix’s drama about the long-tail aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, would seem to have had the potential to be one of 2019’s early television successes. Which makes its falling short all the more painful and pronounced. The show, previously aired in the U.K. on BBC Two and written and directed by Hugo Blick (“The Honourable Woman”), squanders the audience’s goodwill with ill-conceived narrative turns, a reliance on cliché, and, worst, dialogue that defies belief. Its potential resonances as a story about how we metabolize, and prosecute, the worst of crimes ends up, soon enough, squandered as the audience loses faith in the story and its telling.
Michaela Coel (“Chewing Gum”) plays Kate Ashby, an investigator working for human-rights attorney Michael Ennis. Ennis, an American, plies his trade in the United Kingdom — and Kate,...
Michaela Coel (“Chewing Gum”) plays Kate Ashby, an investigator working for human-rights attorney Michael Ennis. Ennis, an American, plies his trade in the United Kingdom — and Kate,...
- 1/21/2019
- by Daniel D'Addario
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has released the first trailer for an intense-looking new limited series called Black Earth Rising. The story centers around a genocide survivor who is coping with what she went through and look for the truth behind the questions that she needs answering.
From London, to Paris to Rwanda, Black Earth Rising is a deeply personal journey about one woman’s persistent exploration to uncover her hidden past, at whatever the cost.
The film is described as “a contemporary thriller that follows the journey of Kate Ashby (Michaela Coel), a Rwandan orphaned by the genocide, raised in London by an adoptive mother and trying to discover the truth of her past. She is helped in her search by lawyer Michael Ennis (John Goodman). The series examines the West’s relationship with Africa, set in a world of prosecution of war crimes.”
The series was written and directed by Hugo Blick...
From London, to Paris to Rwanda, Black Earth Rising is a deeply personal journey about one woman’s persistent exploration to uncover her hidden past, at whatever the cost.
The film is described as “a contemporary thriller that follows the journey of Kate Ashby (Michaela Coel), a Rwandan orphaned by the genocide, raised in London by an adoptive mother and trying to discover the truth of her past. She is helped in her search by lawyer Michael Ennis (John Goodman). The series examines the West’s relationship with Africa, set in a world of prosecution of war crimes.”
The series was written and directed by Hugo Blick...
- 1/16/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
In today’s TV News Roundup, “The Last O.G.” announces its Season 2 return date and Variety has the exclusive first look at Fox’s new legal drama “Proven Innocent.”
First Looks
Netflix has announced its new limited series “Black Earth Rising” will launch on Jan. 25. The contemporary thriller series stars Michaela Coel as Kate Ashby, a Rwandan girl raised in London by her adoptive mother after being orphaned by genocide. She attempts to learn the truth about her past with the help of lawyer Michael Ennis, played by John Goodman.
Variety has the exclusive first look at “Proven Innocent,” a new legal drama from Fox debuting on Feb. 15. Rachelle Lefevre plays Madeline Scott, a lawyer who has an uncompromising hunger for justice after she spent 10 years in prison for a wrongful murder conviction. Riley Smith plays her brother, who was also convicted, Russell Hornsby plays her partner and lawyer who set her free,...
First Looks
Netflix has announced its new limited series “Black Earth Rising” will launch on Jan. 25. The contemporary thriller series stars Michaela Coel as Kate Ashby, a Rwandan girl raised in London by her adoptive mother after being orphaned by genocide. She attempts to learn the truth about her past with the help of lawyer Michael Ennis, played by John Goodman.
Variety has the exclusive first look at “Proven Innocent,” a new legal drama from Fox debuting on Feb. 15. Rachelle Lefevre plays Madeline Scott, a lawyer who has an uncompromising hunger for justice after she spent 10 years in prison for a wrongful murder conviction. Riley Smith plays her brother, who was also convicted, Russell Hornsby plays her partner and lawyer who set her free,...
- 1/15/2019
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
After jumping onto Netflix viewers’ radar with two very different projects, Michaela Coel is about to add a third. The creative force behind “Chewing Gum” and cast member in “Black Mirror: USS Callister” plays the main character at the heart of the new international drama series “Black Earth Rising,” premiering later this month.
The show, which aired for UK audiences last fall, follows the efforts of Kate Ashby, a Rwandan-born legal investigator to find the truth behind how and why she survived a genocide. That pursuit eventually brings in the help of Michael Ennis (John Goodman), an American lawyer living overseas after his divorce. With his help, Kate looks to figure out the validity of the statement in the trailer below, that “Some things are best left forgotten.”
Through their efforts, “Black Earth Rising” touches on issues of self-harm, family identity, trauma’s relationship to memory, the lingering effects of colonialism,...
The show, which aired for UK audiences last fall, follows the efforts of Kate Ashby, a Rwandan-born legal investigator to find the truth behind how and why she survived a genocide. That pursuit eventually brings in the help of Michael Ennis (John Goodman), an American lawyer living overseas after his divorce. With his help, Kate looks to figure out the validity of the statement in the trailer below, that “Some things are best left forgotten.”
Through their efforts, “Black Earth Rising” touches on issues of self-harm, family identity, trauma’s relationship to memory, the lingering effects of colonialism,...
- 1/15/2019
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia has launched a TV and direct mail campaign around its fundraising event, the Big Aussie Barbie.
The campaign features actor Les Hill, cricketer Matthew Hayden, celebrity chef Ben O’Donohue and rugby league stars Michael Ennis and Ben Ross.
The campaign, which claims that the disease kills eight Australian men every day, is running on outdoor, online ads, email, social media and direct mail as well as TV.
Credits:
Agency: Friend
Creative Director: Peter Vierod
Art Director: Andy Walsh
Director: Gary Cunliffe, Plump Films...
The campaign features actor Les Hill, cricketer Matthew Hayden, celebrity chef Ben O’Donohue and rugby league stars Michael Ennis and Ben Ross.
The campaign, which claims that the disease kills eight Australian men every day, is running on outdoor, online ads, email, social media and direct mail as well as TV.
Credits:
Agency: Friend
Creative Director: Peter Vierod
Art Director: Andy Walsh
Director: Gary Cunliffe, Plump Films...
- 8/27/2012
- by Robin Hicks
- Encore Magazine
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