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Cinema Eye Honors, the organization that recognizes outstanding artistic achievement in nonfiction and documentary films & series, announced the first round of their 2023 awards and nominations at its annual Cinema Eye Fall Lunch held in Los Angeles.

In the five Broadcast categories, HBO film “Four Hours at the Capitol,” an inside look at the January 6th riot, led with three nominations: Broadcast Film, Broadcast Editing and Broadcast Cinematography. Other projects like the Disney+ docuseries “The Beatles: Get Back” and Showtime’s “We Need to Talk About Cosby” also received more than one nomination.

Other announcements at the event include the annual Shorts List, which spotlights 10 of the year’s top documentary short films, and the recipient of the Legacy Award this year, Terry Zwigoff’s 1995 film “Crumb.”

“I’m glad to find out you don’t have to be dead to receive this award,” Zwigoff said in a written statement. “I...

“Four Hours at the Capitol,” “The Beatles: Get Back,” “Playing With Sharks,” “We Need to Talk About Cosby,” “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” and “How To With John Wilson” are among the nonfiction television programs that have been nominated in the Cinema Eye Honors broadcast categories, Cinema Eye Honors announced at the organization’s annual fall lunch in Los Angeles on Thursday.

“Four Hours at the Capitol,” Jamie Roberts’ HBO film about the Jan. 6 insurrection, received three nominations to lead all programs. “Get Back,” “Cosby,” “Stanley Tucci,” “John Wilson” and “Playing With Sharks” each received two nominations.

Along with “Four Hours at the Capitol” and “Playing With Sharks,” broadcast film nominees were “Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes,” “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” and “George Carlin’s American Dream.” Nonfiction series nominees were “Get Back,” “Cosby,” “Black and Missing,” “Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey,” “LuLaRich” and “Mind Over Murder.” Nominated anthology series...

With each passing year, the stars and filmmakers that were part of Hollywood’s “Golden Age” depart, often to, as some have said with a whimsical wink, “that great late show in the sky”. And yet there was little levity evident near the beginning of 2022 when the arts lost a man who was more than merely a “matinee idol”. He was a true inspiration for millions, the first black actor to take home a competitive Best Actor Academy Award. That was 1964, and the man was Sidney Poitier. Now, over nine months since his passing, a talented team of documentarians have joined forces in a retrospective and a celebration of the life and legacy of Sidney.

So, who is the best choice to take us through that decades-spanning career, and give us a glimpse of his early years of poverty and struggle? Why none other than the man himself. But it...

With Sidney Poitier’s own voice providing the narrative backbone to Reginald Hudlin’s documentary Sidney, we get to rediscover just what a wonderful storyteller he was. He speaks about his childhood in the Bahamas, his adolescence in Nassau, and the overnight culture clash of coming to Miami without realizing just what it meant to be a Black man in America—all with such emotion and drama that we can’t help hanging on his every word. A harrowing experience at the end of a police officer’s gun. The kindly Jewish waiter who helped him read better. The radio announcer he studied every night to lose his accent. And the outright rejection by a respected theater director when he greenly walked into an audition unprepared. They’re insights into an icon’s origins.

They’re also the early signs of how and why Poitier’s life and career would...

The great acting legend Sidney Poitier died in January at age 94. He did not live to see the thrilling new documentary on his life and career, Sidney, which had its world premiere Saturday night at the Toronto Film Festival. However, it had its blessing, and that of his family, for a film that has been percolating and in development and then production for five years. And although Poitier himself didn’t get to see the finished work, everyone else will beginning on September 23 when it begins streaming on Apple TV+ and playing in selected theaters.

With Oprah Winfrey on board as a producer (with Derik Murray) and Reginald Hudlin as director, Poitier gets an extraordinarily comprehensive and wide-ranging look at his life told in linear fashion and narrated by himself through the use of eight hours of interview footage done in 2012 with Winfrey, as well as other archival interviews. This...

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Sidney Poitier arrived in Hollywood in 1950, four years before the injustice of segregation in public schools was challenged in front of the Supreme Court and five years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white person. Before Poitier, Black actors were often cast as servants or slaves, but Poitier refused to accept these disrespectful roles. Poitier refused to fade into the background and became a leading man, paving the way for future Black actors. Throughout his 50 year career, Poitier portrayed a doctor, minister, a teacher, and a detective in films that often called out bigotry and racism in American society. 

Apple TV+ has announced an upcoming documentary about Poitier and his life, which will span...

Sidney Poitier’s barrier-breaking legacy is now back on the big screen.

The Documentary “Sidney,” directed by Academy Award nominee Reginald Hudlin (“Marshall”), focuses on Poitier’s career as an actor, filmmaker, and activist during the Civil Rights Movement. Interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, and Barbra Streisand frame the film, which is produced by Oprah Winfrey and Derik Murray in close collaboration with the Poitier family.

Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and the Network Entertainment produce the Apple Original Film, set to debut September 23 on AppleTV+ and in select theaters. Jesse James Miller wrote the documentary, with Terry Wood, Catherine Cyr, Brian Gersh, Paul Gertz, Reginald Hudlin, Joanna Shimkus Poitier, Anika Poitier, and Barry Krost executive producing.

Poitier says in the trailer, “I left the Bahamas with this sense of myself. And from the time I got off the boat, America began to say to me,...

Apple TV+ has debuted the trailer for the documentary “Sidney,” produced by Oprah Winfrey and directed by Reginald Hudlin, which honors the legendary actor Sidney Poitier.

The documentary will capture Poitier’s legacy as an iconic actor, filmmaker and activist at the center of Hollywood and the Civil Rights Movement.

“The world I knew was quite simple,” Poitier’s voice opens the trailer. “I never thought about what I looked like. I didn’t know what a mirror was!”

Also Read:

Sidney Poitier Documentary in the Works at Apple With Oprah Winfrey as Executive Producer

Featuring candid interviews with Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee and many more, the film is also produced by Derik Murray, in close collaboration with the Poitier family.

The film follows Poitier’s life and career as he moved from the Bahamas to America, learning about the...

Apple has unveiled the trailer for the new documentary film ‘Sidney,’ produced by Oprah Winfrey.

Directed by Academy Award nominee Reginald Hudlin, this revealing documentary honours the legendary Sidney Poitier and his legacy as an iconic actor, filmmaker and activist at the centre of Hollywood and the Civil Rights Movement. Featuring candid interviews with Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee and many more, the film is also produced by Derik Murray, in close collaboration with the Poitier family.

Produced by Oprah Winfrey, and hailing from Harpo Productions and Network Entertainment, the documentary is directed by Reginald Hudlin and written by Jesse James Miller. Derik Murray also serves as producer. Terry Wood, Catherine Cyr, Brian Gersh, Paul Gertz, Reginald Hudlin, Joanna Shimkus Poitier, Anika Poitier and Barry Krost executive produce.

Also in trailers – “Tonight will be madness…” Full trailer drops for ‘The Menu’

The doc...

Today Apple unveiled the trailer for the new documentary film “Sidney,” produced by Oprah Winfrey.

From producer Oprah Winfrey and directed by Academy Award nominee Reginald Hudlin, this revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier and his legacy as an iconic actor, filmmaker and activist at the center of Hollywood and the Civil Rights Movement. Featuring candid interviews with Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee and many more, the film is also produced by Derik Murray, in close collaboration with the Poitier family.

The actor was recognized twice by The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The first time was when Actress Anne Bancroft presented Poitier the Oscar for Best Actor for Lilies of the Field at the 36th Academy Awards.

Sidney Poitier received an Honorary Oscar, presented by Denzel Washington, for his body of work at the 74th Annual Academy Awards.

Produced by Oprah Winfrey,...

The first trailer for “Sidney,” Apple TV+’s upcoming documentary on legendary film icon Sidney Poitier, has been released.

The film examines the legacy of Poitier, who died earlier this year at 94. One of the most acclaimed and recognizable movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the first Black man to receive a best actor award, Poitier was also a director and an activist for the Civil Rights Movement. Interview subjects featured in the film include Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand and Spike Lee.

“Sidney” is directed by Reginald Hudlin, from a script by Jesse James Miller. Oprah Winfrey produces with Derik Murray for Harpo Productions and Network Entertainment. Hudlin executive produces with Poitier family members Joanna Shimkus Poitier and Anika Poitier, as well as Terry Wood, Catherine Cyr, Brian Gersh, Paul Gertz and Barry Krost.

“Sidney” releases Sept. 23. Watch the full trailer below.

Set to air March 15 on the Paramount Network after its SXSW world premiere, “I Am Richard Pryor” is a largely satisfying if thoroughly conventional portrait of the immensely gifted and deeply troubled entertainer whose richly deserved reputation as a comic genius stems at least partially from his frequent and fearless willingness to make himself the target of his take-no-prisoners humor.

Director Jesse James Miller has entwined film clips, archival material and talking-heads interviews to fashion what occasionally feels like an officially sanctioned biography — an impression only reinforced by the billing of Jennifer Lee Pryor, the subject’s widow and a recurrent interviewee in the film, as an executive producer. Still, the story that emerges is undeniably fascinating, and may prove especially intriguing for viewers who have only recently discovered the late legend through his scripted features and comedy-concert films.

Even longtime fans of Pryor might be surprised by those sections...

"It so moves an audience to find a performer who shares their vulnerability with you." Premium channel Paramount Network has debuted an official trailer for the documentary I Am Richard Pryor, the iconic comedian / performer who broke barriers and achieved massive success. "Pimps, poverty, racism — he took all that dark shit and made it light." The doc film explores and celebrates the life and career of the iconic comedian who lifted himself out of poverty to achieve worldwide fame and fortune. "Volatile yet vulnerable, crass but sensitive, streetwise and cocky, Pryor did not simply tell stories, he brought them to life and was considered a trailblazer for generations of comics to come. The film explores his unusually personal art that was a window into a vulnerable soul, as well as the endless struggle to extend dignity and equality to all." Here's the official trailer for Jesse James Miller's doc I Am Richard Pryor,...

“Pimps, poverty, racism — he took all that dark shit and made it light,” says writer and historian Dr. Todd Boyd in the Paramount Network’s upcoming documentary I Am Richard Pryor, which dives deep into the life of the titular comedy legend. The film will have its world premiere on March 12 at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin and will debut March 15 on the Paramount Network.

As part of the network’s I Am docuseries, I Am Richard Pryor is directed by Jesse James Miller and explores and celebrates the life and career of the iconic comedian who lifted himself out of poverty to achieve worldwide success. As seen in the trailer above, Miller tells the story of Pryor via his wife Jennifer as well as high-profile comedians, writers, producers and actors including Sandra Bernhard, Ron De Blasio, Michael Epps, Tiffany Haddish, Howie Mandel, Lily Tomlin, Rocco Urbisci, Jimmie Walker and others.

The SXSW Film Festival has added more to their already robust lineup including the world premieres of the forthcoming remake of Pet Sematary and the horror The Curse of La Llorona as well as a screening of the series finale of Comedy Central’s Broad City and the second of season of YouTube’s Cobra Kai. In addition, they have unveiled a massive slate of Midnighters, Festival Favorites, Shorts, Episodic Pilots and Virtual Cinema Projects. The 26th edition of the South by Southwest Conference and Festival runs March 8-17 in Austin.

The film fest will end with a horrific scream courtesy of Pet Sematary which is based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King. The horror stars Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and John Lithgow and is the second film iteration of the popular novel. The first was released in 1989 and was followed by a sequel in 1992.

Also set to...

The South by Southwest Film Festival has selected the world premiere of “Pet Sematary” as the closing night film on March 17.

Based on the Stephen King horror novel, Paramount’s remake stars Jason Clarke as Dr. Louis Creed in the story of a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the Maine woods near the family’s new home. Amy Seimetz and John Lithgow also star.

The film comes three decades after the original adaptation of the King classic. “Starry Eyes” helmers Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer directed the movie. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian are producing the remake with Jeff Buhler and David Kajganich writing the script, and Alexandra Loewy executive producing. The film opens in theaters on April 5.

SXSW’s 26th edition will open March 8 in Austin, Texas, with Jordan Peele’s horror-thriller “Us.” John Krasinski’s thriller “A Quiet Place” launched the festival last year.

SXSW also...

Spike your mohawk and safety pin your ripped shirts because award-winning fashion designer John Varvatos and music legend Iggy Pop are teaming to bring a bit of rebellion to TV. The pair will serve as executive producers of Punk, a four-part docuseries that has been greenlit by Epix.

Varvatos will partner with filmmaker Derik Murray’s Network Entertainment to produce the quintessential story of punk which is currently in production and is set to premiere on Epix on March 11, 2019. Murray will also produce the docuseries which will be directed by Jesse James Miller.

The docuseries will feature original, exclusive interviews with America’s punk pioneers and the UK’s most notorious bands. In addition to being Ep, Iggy Pop will lend his voice to the Punk narrative alongside Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols/Public Image Ltd./PiL), Marky Ramone (Ramones), Debbie Harry and Chris Stein (Blondie), Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses...

“I Am Richard Pryor,” a look at a comedy legend who reinvented stand-up with his confessional style of humor, is being produced for Paramount Network. The film follows Richard Pryor as he rises from his impoverished childhood, growing up in a brothel run by his grandmother, to become the highest-paid performer in the entertainment industry. In addition to being a stand-up legend and a keen social critic of race in America, Pryor starred in “Stir Crazy,” “Silver Streak,” and other Hollywood blockbusters.

The film will be executive produced by Jennifer Lee Pryor, the late comic’s wife. It is being backed by filmmaker Derik Murray’s Network Entertainment and is part of the company’s “I Am” series. The documentaries look at celebrities such as Paul Walker, Heath Ledger, and Steve McQueen.

The Pryor film features interviews with comedians, filmmakers, writers, and collaborators including Lily Tomlin, Tiffany Haddish, Michael Epps,...

When it comes to documentary filmmaking, not every director sees room for nuance within the form. One may just have to hope for a compelling subject, strong interviews and a few familiar faces to add to the narrative. But occasionally, as in the case with Jesse James Miller’s The Good Son: The Life Of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, the director takes a few risks in the art of storytelling and finds ways to invite the audience inside of the film, almost as if the story were his own, or that of a close friend....

Jesse James Miller writes and directs.

The Yellow Affair has acquired the rights for family film Becoming Redwood, written and directed by Jesse James Miller and produced by Joely Collins and Chad Willett.

The story is about a unique young boy with dysfunctional parents who has a boundless imagination.

The film won prizes at festivals including Vancouver and Edmonton as well as screening in Beijing, Atlanta and Sonoma.

Distribution rights are not available in Benelux, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Former Yugoslavia, Hungary, India, Poland, Romania, Africa, Turkey, and the Us.

Boxer Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini’s proudest moment, as he says in Jesse James Miller’s nimble documentary, "The Good Son: The Life of Ray 'Boom Boom ' Mancini," was his World Boxing Association lightweight championship. By defeating Art Frias, he honored his boxer father and continued -- if not avenged -- his father’s legacy. But it is another father and son that give this documentary its emotional resonance. The father is Deuk Koo Kim, Mancini’s South Korean rival in a November 13, 1982 bout that lasted 14 rounds before Mancini knocked Kim out, and ultimately caused his death. Kim’s passing left a pregnant fiancée."The Good Son" unites Mancini and Kim’s widow and adult son, Jiwan, hoping the men, who feel a duty to meet, can find closure for the tragedy that has haunted both of their lives. For Mancini, there is the unspoken survivor’s guilt,...

Indies are your best bet this weekend. Don't miss Lake Bell's hilarious feminist comedy "In a World," skewering the macho trailer voice-over business; and David Gordon Green's return to independent filmmaking, the well-reviewed "Prince Avalanche," a two-hander starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch. Also receiving praise from critics is Jesse James Miller's documentary "The Good Son: The Life of Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini," centering on the life and career of the retired American boxer. Neill Blomkamp's "Elysium," starring Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley, finally hits theaters, and is being met with positive to middling reviews. Critics can't fault Blomkamp for knowing how to put together a sci-fi film; but the heavy-handed socially conscious message and character development don't quite live up to the dazzling effects and world-building of this original story. Meanwhile, Sundance entry "Lovelace," starring Amanda Seyfried as the eponymous "Deep Throat" star,...

The documentary "The Good Son," which will be released by SnagFilms (Indiewire's parent company) this summer, tells the story of world-famous boxing champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini and the fight that changed his life. Based on Mark Kriegel's book of the same name, the film hosted a special family and friends screening March 28 at the Linwood Theater in Hollywood. Directed by Jesse James Miller ("Uganda Rising"), "The Good Son" revisits the unforgettable fight between Mancini and Korean fighter Duk Koo Kim 30 years ago. After Mancini knocked Kim out in the 14th round, Kim fell into a coma; days later, he was taken off life support. Following Kim's death, both his mother and the fight referee committed suicide, leaving Mancini shattered and a deeply changed man. "The Good Son" features first-ever interviews from Kim's wife and son, as well as interviews from Mancini's friends Mickey Rourke and Ed O'Neill. The...

We've already had an evil tooth fairy and a old ventriloquist lady that ripped out tongues, why not a ghostly seamstress that sews victims' mouths shut? Toss in Lance Henriksen, and it sounds like a film tailor made to go straight to DVD. It's called The Seamstress and it will on October 6th. Funny how that works out.

The Seamstress was brought into being by the desperate curse of an innocent woman being tortured to death by a vigilante mob. Voracious for blood, the hideously mutilated specter hunts a small group of friends who become trapped on the island where she died. The friends, led by Allie, are searching for Allie's missing father. As Allie comes to understand that he was one of the vigilantes, her friends begin to die gruesome horrific deaths on the point of The Seamstress' needle. When the last two surviving vigilantes arrive, locked in...

The Hollywood Film Festival, which runs from Oct. 18-22 at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood, will spotlight 18 world premieres, including 20th Century Fox's horse drama Flicka, starring Alison Lohman and Tim McGraw; the documentary Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on Film by Tom Thurman; and DreamWorks Animation's Flushed Away, directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell. The festival's closing night screenings include Phillip Noyce's Catch a Fire, a drama about terrorism in Apartheid-era South Africa, starring Tim Robbins and Derek Luke. Several other films will highlight contemporary Africa, including Mette Zeruneith's In a Soldier's Footsteps, Jesse James Miller's Uganda Rising and Philippe Diaz's The Empire in Africa.