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Sponsored Post: ICYMI Showtime Documentary Films at AFI DOCS 2021
In this year’s hybrid festival with attendees from across the nation, AFI DOCS 2021 showcased over 75 films from around globe, including Showtime Documentary Films CUSP from filmmakers Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt and THE ONE AND ONLY DICK GREGORY from writer/director Andre Gaines. Read more about the documentaries and the insightful post-screening conversations with the filmmakers.
CUSP
Like in much of America, in one small Texas town there’s not much for teenagers to do, especially during another hot summer. Three teenage girls – Autumn, Brittney and Aaloni – have lazy day hangouts, bonfire parties in fields riddled with beer and blunts or casual meetups at fast-food restaurants. Through a striking verité lens, this feature debut from Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt reveals a brave, complex and poignant portrait of girlhood and sexual violence set against a big Texas sky of possibilities, heartbreak and hope. Learn more.
Watch CUSP directors Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt:
THE ONE AND ONLY DICK GREGORY
Amid plumes of cigarette smoke, iconic comedian Dick Gregory developed a distinct and sophisticated approach to addressing racism via humor. Unexpectedly finding himself entertaining an all-white audience, his unwavering commitment to his beliefs revealed a unique ability to reach across the aisle and awakened in him a passion for affecting change. As the civil rights movement intensified throughout the 1960s, Gregory would channel his celebrity to support it more directly and would remain an activist for social and political causes throughout the course of his over sixty-year-long career. In this affectionate tribute, entertainers such as Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart and Harry Belafonte describe the complex, sincere and ever-evolving personality of Dick Gregory who, after decades clouded in a legitimate anger, would find humor again before his 2017 passing.
Watch director Andre Gaines talk about his film:
Following the festival screening, director Andre Gaines, executive producer Valerie Edwards and subject Christian Gregory participated in a special AFI DOCS conversation moderated by MSNBC Correspondent Trymaine Lee. Learn more.
This post is sponsored by Showtime Documentary Films.
