Roger Ross Williams
From Michael J. Fox to an Iconic Sex Researcher: THR Documentary Roundtable on Trust and Truth Telling
Six directors of standout 2023 documentary features gathered at The Hollywood Reporter’s Los Angeles offices in mid-November for THR’s annual Documentary Roundtable. Among them were two revered veterans with Oscars to their name: Davis Guggenheim (2006’s An Inconvenient Truth), who helmed Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, a film about the life and struggles of the […]
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Greta Gerwig, Roger Ross Williams, Cord Jefferson, Nicolas Cage to Receive SFFILM Awards
Barbie director Greta Gerwig, filmmakers Roger Ross Williams and Cord Jefferson and Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage are set to receive honors at the SFFILM Awards Night on Dec. 4 in San Francisco, organizers said on Wednesday. The event honors achievement in film and its fundraising proceeds support the organization’s mission to “discover, nurture and showcase […]
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‘Stamped From the Beginning’ Review: Roger Ross Williams’ Absorbing but Limited Doc Recasts Black History’s Narrators
The director of 'Love to Love You, Donna Summer' and 'Cassandro' adapts Ibram X. Kendi's influential book about the roots of American racism.
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With ‘Cassandro,’ Filmmaker Roger Ross Williams Leaps Into a New Ring
Filmmaker Roger Ross Williams is known for capturing moments of intimacy and awe in documentaries like God Loves Uganda and the Oscar-nominated Life, Animated. With Cassandro, a portrait of gay lucha libre wrestling star Saúl Armendáriz (Gael García Bernal), Williams has brought that sense of warmth and showmanship to his first scripted feature. The film, […]
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Years After Becoming the First Black Director to Win an Oscar, Roger Ross Williams Says Hollywood’s Finally Calling
It’s two months into 2023, and Roger Ross Williams has just landed in his home state of New York from the Berlin Film Festival, where he debuted his latest documentary, about music superstar Donna Summer. Before that, he had alighted in Los Angeles at the Academy Museum, where he posed on the red carpet with […]
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‘Love to Love You, Donna Summer’ Review: HBO’s Queen of Disco Bio-Doc Goes Heavy on the Personal but Undersells the Music
Co-directed by Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano, Summer’s daughter, the film is an archive-based portrait of the artist whose ageless hits with producer Giorgio Moroder can still pack a dance floor.
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Sundance: Real-Life ‘Cassandro’ Gets Emotional on Red Carpet With Star Gael García Bernal, Filmmaker Roger Ross Williams
An emotional scene unfolded inside Park City’s Ray Theatre on Friday evening ahead of the world premiere of Cassandro. The Sundance Film Festival selection from Prime Video marks the narrative feature debut of acclaimed documentarian Roger Ross Williams and casts Gael García Bernal in the title role as Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from […]
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‘Cassandro’ Review: Gael García Bernal in a Tender and Uplifting Real-Life Luchador Portrait
Documentary maker Roger Ross Williams shifts into narrative features with this affectionate tribute to “exótico” wrestler Saúl Armendáriz, who turned homophobic mockery into victory cheers.
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Netflix’s ‘High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America’: TV Review
A new docuseries hosted by Stephen Satterfield and based on Jessica B. Harris' book gives African American cuisine the deep dive it deserves.
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‘The 1619 Project’ Docuseries to Debut on Hulu, Roger Ross Williams to Produce
The series is the first screen project based on materials from The New York Times Magazine and Nikole Hannah-Jones' Pulitzer Prize-winning piece that examines the impact of slavery on American history.
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‘Life, Animated’ Director Roger Ross Williams Signs With UTA
The Oscar and Emmy-winning director, producer and writer is bringing his production company, One Story Up, to the table for representation.
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Film Academy Launches Conversation Series on Race and Gender Equity
'Academy Dialogues: It Starts with Us' will feature the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Taraji P. Henson, Lulu Wang and Delroy Lindo.
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