Freedom Summer (film)

Last updated
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Stanley Nelson Jr.
Written byStanley Nelson Jr.
Produced byStanley Nelson Jr.
Cyndee Readdean
Edited byAljernon Tunsil
Production
company
Release date
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Freedom Summer is a 2014 American documentary film, written, produced and directed by Stanley Nelson Jr. [1] [2] The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014. [3]

Contents

It won the Best Documentary award at 2014 Pan African Film Festival. [4] The film had its U.S. television premiere at PBS on June 24, 2014. [5] [6]

Synopsis

The film narrates the events of the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer, when more than 700 student activists took segregated Mississippi by storm to resist the systematic exclusion of African Americans from the political process. Bob Moses of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee developed a campaign to bring a thousand volunteers to canvassed for voter registration, creating freedom schools and establishing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

Reception

Freedom Summer received positive reviews from critics. Rob Nelson of Variety , said in his review that "A well-shaped and powerful reminder of a time in recent American history when white supremacy was decisively and courageously undercut." [7] Duane Byrge in his review for The Hollywood Reporter praised the film by saying that "veteran filmmaker Stanley Nelson has crafted a searing portrait of those violent, racist times. Intelligently composed and powerfully driven, Freedom Summer is a stirring historical document. It would seem an essential addition for any university library." [8] Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan of Herald Sun , about the film said that ""Freedom Summer," for those who were born after 1964, brings home a time when wanting to vote meant threats of death on one extreme end, and losing your job on the other. It's a reminder why any new restrictions on voting, in particular those that impact African-American voters, are worth close scrutiny." [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Nelson Jr.</span> American documentary filmmaker

Stanley Earl Nelson Jr. is an American documentary filmmaker and a MacArthur Fellow known as a director, writer and producer of documentaries examining African-American history and experiences. He is a recipient of the 2013 National Humanities Medal from President Obama. He has won three Primetime Emmy Awards.

<i>Freedom on My Mind</i> 1994 documentary film by Connie Field and Marilyn Mulford

Freedom on My Mind is a 1994 feature documentary film that tells the story of the Mississippi voter registration movement of 1961 to 1964, which was characterized by violence against the people involved, including multiple instances of murder.

<i>Endgame</i> (2009 film) 2009 British film

Endgame is a 2009 British film directed by Pete Travis from a script by Paula Milne, based upon the book The Fall of Apartheid by Robert Harvey. The film is produced by Daybreak Pictures and reunites Travis with Vantage Point actor William Hurt. It also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jonny Lee Miller and Mark Strong. The film dramatises the final days of apartheid in South Africa. It was filmed at locations in Reading in England and Cape Town, South Africa in the first half of 2008 and was completed in December that year.

<i>Freedom Riders</i> (film) 2010 American film

Freedom Riders is a 2010 American historical documentary film, produced by Firelight Media for PBS American Experience. The film is based in part on the book Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice by historian Raymond Arsenault. Directed by Stanley Nelson, it marked the 50th anniversary of the first Freedom Ride in May 1961 and first aired on May 16, 2011. It was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The film was also featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show program titled, Freedom Riders: 50th Anniversary. Nelson was helped in the making of the documentary by Arsenault and Derek Catsam, an associate professor at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.

<i>Fire in the Blood</i> (2013 film) 2013 Indian film

Fire in the Blood is a 2013 documentary film by Dylan Mohan Gray depicting what it claims is the intentional obstruction of access to low-cost antiretroviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS to people in Africa and other parts of the global south, driven by multinational pharmaceutical companies holding patent monopolies and various Western governments consistently supporting these companies. The film claims that the battle against what it refers to as a "genocidal blockade," which it estimates to have resulted in no less than ten to twelve million completely unnecessary deaths, was fought and won.

<i>The Internets Own Boy</i> 2014 American film

The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz is a 2014 American biographical documentary film about Aaron Swartz written, directed, and produced by Brian Knappenberger. The film premiered in the US Documentary Competition program category at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014.

<i>E-Team</i> 2014 film

E-Team is a 2014 American documentary film co-directed and produced by Katy Chevigny and Ross Kauffman. The film premiered in the competition category of U.S. Documentary Competition program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. Rachel Beth Anderson and Ross Kauffman won the Cinematography Award: U.S. Documentary at the festival, as well as the Candescent Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candescent Films</span>

Candescent Films is an American film production company that produces and finances documentary and narrative films that explore social issues.

<i>Lambert & Stamp</i> 2014 American film

Lambert & Stamp is a 2014 American documentary film, produced and directed by James D. Cooper. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014.

<i>Last Days in Vietnam</i> 2014 film by Rory Kennedy

Last Days in Vietnam is a 2014 American documentary film written, produced and directed by Rory Kennedy. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014.

<i>To Be Takei</i> 2014 American film

To Be Takei is a 2014 American documentary film produced and directed by Jennifer M. Kroot. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014.

The history of the 1954 to 1968 American civil rights movement has been depicted and documented in film, song, theater, television, and the visual arts. These presentations add to and maintain cultural awareness and understanding of the goals, tactics, and accomplishments of the people who organized and participated in this nonviolent movement.

<i>The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution</i> 2015 American film

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution is a 2015 American documentary film directed and written by Stanley Nelson Jr. The film combines archival footage and interviews with surviving Panthers and FBI agents to tell the story of the revolutionary black organization the Black Panther Party. It is Nelson Jr.'s eighth film to premiere at Sundance. The film was pitched at Sheffield Doc/Fest's MeetMarket in 2014 and is the first of a three-part series of documentary films about African-American history America Revisited. It will be followed by Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and The Slave Trade: Creating a New World.

Connie Field is a director of documentary features.

<i>Dark Money</i> (film) 2018 American film

Dark Money is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Kimberly Reed about the effects of corporate money and influence in the American political system. The film uses Reed's home state of Montana as a primary case study to advance a broader, national discussion on governance in an era of super PACs and Citizens United. Dark Money premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and premiered to a Montana audience at the Big Sky Film Festival in February 2018. The broadcast rights to Dark Money were purchased by PBS distribution to air the film as part of their docu-series POV in 2018.

<i>The Elephant Queen</i> 2019 documentary film

The Elephant Queen is a 2018 documentary film directed by Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble, and narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor. It tells the journey of a family of elephants in the African savannah when they are forced to leave their waterhole. The film was produced by Lucinda Englehart under the banner of Deeble & Stone.

<i>The Dissident</i> 2020 American documentary film by Bryan Fogel

The Dissident is a 2020 American documentary film directed and produced by Bryan Fogel. It follows the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi and Saudi Arabia's effort to control international dissent.

Freedom Summer was a 1964 voter registration project in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It may also refer to:

XTR is an American film production company founded in 2019 by Bryn Mooser. The company is best known for producing films Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (2020), Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020), The Fight (2020), 76 Days (2020), and Ascension (2021).

Mossville: When Great Trees Fall is a 2019 feature-length documentary film directed by Alexander Glustrom.

References

  1. "Freedom Summer: How Civil Rights Activists Braved Violence to Challenge Racism in 1964 Mississippi". Democracy Now! . Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  2. "Film revisits Freedom Summer for a new generation" . Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  3. "Sundance 2014: Documentary Premieres". 10 January 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  4. "2014 PAFF Award Winners: 'Of Good Report,' '1982,' 'Freedom Summer' Take Top Honors" . Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  5. "Sundance '14: Exploring the "Freedom Summer," 50 years on" . Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  6. "PBS Summer Slate Includes 'Freedom Summer,' Al Capone Doc". May 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  7. "Sundance Film Review: 'Freedom Summer'". 2 February 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  8. "Freedom Summer: Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter . 21 January 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  9. "REVIEW: 'Freedom Summer' a must see at Full Frame" . Retrieved May 7, 2014.