‘My Name Is Pauli Murray’ Filmmakers On A Towering Mind Who Changed America – Contenders Documentary
The late African American civil rights activist, author and legal scholar Pauli Murray spent a lifetime taking on the system—fighting inequality, institutionalized racism and gender bias.
Just how successful Murray became in waging those battles emerges in the Amazon Studios documentary My Name Is Pauli Murray, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and produced and co-written by Talleah Bridges McMahon.
“I was really moved by really Pauli’s tenacity,” McMahon said during a panel discussion of the film at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary awards-season event. “[Pauli] had so many obstacles in the way, starting from being a young child who was going to a segregated school. And at a very young age Pauli understood that to be unjust. Pauli could see the difference between the schools for Black children and how few resources they had compared to the white students. And it wasn’t long before Pauli set...
Just how successful Murray became in waging those battles emerges in the Amazon Studios documentary My Name Is Pauli Murray, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and produced and co-written by Talleah Bridges McMahon.
“I was really moved by really Pauli’s tenacity,” McMahon said during a panel discussion of the film at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary awards-season event. “[Pauli] had so many obstacles in the way, starting from being a young child who was going to a segregated school. And at a very young age Pauli understood that to be unjust. Pauli could see the difference between the schools for Black children and how few resources they had compared to the white students. And it wasn’t long before Pauli set...
- 11/21/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Why did I not know about Pauli Murray?
That is the overwhelming response of viewers to the new documentary My Name Is Pauli Murray, directed by the Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated team behind Rbg, Julie Cohen and Betsy West.
As West put it in a tweet Friday, “Some people are furious, some dumbfounded that they weren’t taught about #PauliMurray.”
The documentary, now streaming on Amazon Prime, corrects a historical injustice by introducing audiences to a “Black, queer, gender-nonconforming” person who broke barriers at every stage of their life. As a law student, Murray’s innovative thinking laid the conceptual framework for overturning Plessy v. Ferguson, the 1896 Supreme Court decision that had validated the notion of “separate but equal” accommodations for Blacks and whites.
“During most of Pauli’s lifetime it was fairly difficult and radical to be fighting for racial equality,” Cohen tells Deadline. “It was fairly difficult and radical...
That is the overwhelming response of viewers to the new documentary My Name Is Pauli Murray, directed by the Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated team behind Rbg, Julie Cohen and Betsy West.
As West put it in a tweet Friday, “Some people are furious, some dumbfounded that they weren’t taught about #PauliMurray.”
The documentary, now streaming on Amazon Prime, corrects a historical injustice by introducing audiences to a “Black, queer, gender-nonconforming” person who broke barriers at every stage of their life. As a law student, Murray’s innovative thinking laid the conceptual framework for overturning Plessy v. Ferguson, the 1896 Supreme Court decision that had validated the notion of “separate but equal” accommodations for Blacks and whites.
“During most of Pauli’s lifetime it was fairly difficult and radical to be fighting for racial equality,” Cohen tells Deadline. “It was fairly difficult and radical...
- 10/2/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
“Through Our Eyes,” a new docuseries out July 22 on HBO Max, proves kids don’t just say the darndest things, they sometimes say the most profound.
The four-parter from Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind “Sesame Street,” is the organization’s first docuseries. Each episode captures the lives of kids who experience some of the most challenging issues facing families today: homelessness, climate displacement, incarceration and having a veteran parent whose caregiver is their other parent.
“He’s like, ‘Just because my mom did a bad thing doesn’t make her a bad person,’” Sesame Workshop executive VP creative and production Kay Wilson Stallings tells Variety, recalling a remark by Nnadji, a boy in the “Apart” episode.
“To focus on what it was exactly that these parents did to find themselves incarcerated is not what’s important,” she adds. “What’s important is to show how these children and families are...
The four-parter from Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind “Sesame Street,” is the organization’s first docuseries. Each episode captures the lives of kids who experience some of the most challenging issues facing families today: homelessness, climate displacement, incarceration and having a veteran parent whose caregiver is their other parent.
“He’s like, ‘Just because my mom did a bad thing doesn’t make her a bad person,’” Sesame Workshop executive VP creative and production Kay Wilson Stallings tells Variety, recalling a remark by Nnadji, a boy in the “Apart” episode.
“To focus on what it was exactly that these parents did to find themselves incarcerated is not what’s important,” she adds. “What’s important is to show how these children and families are...
- 7/22/2021
- by Haley Bosselman
- Variety Film + TV
AFI Docs, the annual nonfiction film festival in the D.C. region, returns on Tuesday as a hybrid of in-person events and virtual screenings, a format mandated by ongoing safety concerns over Covid-19. While the ability to host at least some screenings at the AFI Silver Theater parallels the reopening of movie venues in general, this year’s festival reflects ongoing caution and a deference for health and safety. The selections themselves point more to “personal stories and personal reflections,” in the words of Sarah Harris, the director of programming for AFI Docs, at a time when people are just now rediscovering human connection. “A lot of what the country needs is healing,” Harris said. “We are coming out of the pandemic, coming out of a lot of political trauma in D.C. We are looking to have that healing through this form of art.” The event includes 77 films from 23 countries,...
- 6/21/2021
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street and other award-winning educational programming, will unveil its first documentary series next month, when Through Our Eyes premieres on HBO Max.
Through Our Eyes, described by the Workshop as spotlighting “the perspectives of children as they experience some of the most challenging issues facing families today – homelessness, parental incarceration, military caregiving, and climate displacement,” debuts Thursday, July 22.
In four 30-minute films designed for adults and as a co-viewing experience for kids ages 9 and older, Through Our Eyes will be directed by award-winning and award-nominated filmmakers, several of whom have explored their episode’s topic through previous work. The series is produced by Sesame Workshop.
“Sesame Workshop has always worked to understand the most crucial needs of children and families,” said Kay Wilson Stallings, Sesame Workshop’s Executive Vice President of Creative & Production, “creating content that helps equip, inspire and build resilience to better prepare them for life.
Through Our Eyes, described by the Workshop as spotlighting “the perspectives of children as they experience some of the most challenging issues facing families today – homelessness, parental incarceration, military caregiving, and climate displacement,” debuts Thursday, July 22.
In four 30-minute films designed for adults and as a co-viewing experience for kids ages 9 and older, Through Our Eyes will be directed by award-winning and award-nominated filmmakers, several of whom have explored their episode’s topic through previous work. The series is produced by Sesame Workshop.
“Sesame Workshop has always worked to understand the most crucial needs of children and families,” said Kay Wilson Stallings, Sesame Workshop’s Executive Vice President of Creative & Production, “creating content that helps equip, inspire and build resilience to better prepare them for life.
- 6/8/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Amazon Studios has acquired worldwide rights to My Name Is Pauli Murray, the Participant, Drexler and Storyville Films documentary which made its world premiere at Sundance.
Fifteen years before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat, a full decade before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned separate-but-equal legislation, attorney and priest Pauli Murray was already knee-deep fighting for social justice. Murray shaped landmark litigation—and consciousness—around race and gender equity. As an African American youth raised in the segregated South—who was also wrestling with broader notions of gender identity—Murray understood, intrinsically, what it was to exist beyond previously accepted categories and cultural norms.
The docu was directed by Oscar-nominated Rbg filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen and produced by Talleah Bridges McMahon. Rbg about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was nominated for two Oscars: Best Documentary Feature and Diane Warren’s song “I’ll Fight...
Fifteen years before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat, a full decade before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned separate-but-equal legislation, attorney and priest Pauli Murray was already knee-deep fighting for social justice. Murray shaped landmark litigation—and consciousness—around race and gender equity. As an African American youth raised in the segregated South—who was also wrestling with broader notions of gender identity—Murray understood, intrinsically, what it was to exist beyond previously accepted categories and cultural norms.
The docu was directed by Oscar-nominated Rbg filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen and produced by Talleah Bridges McMahon. Rbg about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was nominated for two Oscars: Best Documentary Feature and Diane Warren’s song “I’ll Fight...
- 2/25/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
“My Name Is Pauli Murray,” the documentary about the non-binary Black activist, lawyer and poet, has sold out of Sundance to Amazon Studios. The film is directed by “Rbg’s” Julie Cohen and Betsy West.
The documentary tells the life story of Pauli Murray and how they influenced everyone from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Thurgood Marshall. It includes Murray’s writings as well as newly discovered photographs, video footage and audio interviews, chronicling how Murray spent their life grappling with gender norms and identifying as non-binary.
Murray is known for their 1950 book “States’ Laws on Race and Color,” which Marshall and others considered to be a key document in the fight against racial segregation. Murray was also the first Black person to receive a doctorate from Yale Law School, and was named a co-author in Ginsburg’s brief for her landmark Reed v. Reed victory at the Supreme Court that...
The documentary tells the life story of Pauli Murray and how they influenced everyone from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Thurgood Marshall. It includes Murray’s writings as well as newly discovered photographs, video footage and audio interviews, chronicling how Murray spent their life grappling with gender norms and identifying as non-binary.
Murray is known for their 1950 book “States’ Laws on Race and Color,” which Marshall and others considered to be a key document in the fight against racial segregation. Murray was also the first Black person to receive a doctorate from Yale Law School, and was named a co-author in Ginsburg’s brief for her landmark Reed v. Reed victory at the Supreme Court that...
- 2/25/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Amazon Studios has acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film “My Name Is Pauli Murray,” about the trailblazing LGBTQ and civil rights activist, which premiered this year at Sundance.
Participant, Drexler Films and Storyville Films produced the doc, directed by Oscar nominees Betsy West and Julie Cohen (“Rbg”).
The film follows the overlooked history of Murray, a gender-nonconforming scholar and ordained minister who championed the rights of people of color, women and the queer community. West and Cohen were introduced to Murray by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg while making “Rbg,” which was nominated for the best documentary feature Academy Award in 2019.
“We’re incredibly honored to bring Pauli Murray’s inspiring story to light at such a timely point in American history,” said Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke. “As a pioneer for race and gender equity, Pauli’s extraordinary achievements will surely strike a chord amongst our global audiences.
Participant, Drexler Films and Storyville Films produced the doc, directed by Oscar nominees Betsy West and Julie Cohen (“Rbg”).
The film follows the overlooked history of Murray, a gender-nonconforming scholar and ordained minister who championed the rights of people of color, women and the queer community. West and Cohen were introduced to Murray by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg while making “Rbg,” which was nominated for the best documentary feature Academy Award in 2019.
“We’re incredibly honored to bring Pauli Murray’s inspiring story to light at such a timely point in American history,” said Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke. “As a pioneer for race and gender equity, Pauli’s extraordinary achievements will surely strike a chord amongst our global audiences.
- 2/25/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Everyone should know who Pauli Murray is, and it’s baffling that more of us don’t. That’s the most effective aspect of the biographical documentary My Name is Pauli Murray: it does its best to leave audiences with the burning desire not only to know Murray’s history as a Black trans pioneer and incomparable mind, but to share Murray’s legacy with others. Directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West (the team behind Rbg) pull from a physical archive of Murray’s extensively self-documented life to tell the nearly unbelievable story of an insatiable law student turned civil rights activist turned professor turned priest (and canonized Episcopalian saint!) whose accomplishments still feel markedly ahead of their time.
Born in 1910 in Baltimore, Maryland and raised by their maternal grandparents, and a favorite aunt who encouraged their learning and preference for pants over skirts, Murray would make quick work of...
Born in 1910 in Baltimore, Maryland and raised by their maternal grandparents, and a favorite aunt who encouraged their learning and preference for pants over skirts, Murray would make quick work of...
- 2/10/2021
- by Shayna Warner
- The Film Stage
While making the Oscar-nominated documentary “Rbg,” directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen came upon the incredible story of one of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s greatest influences: civil and women’s rights activist Pauli Murray. Now, three years after “Rbg” premiered at Sundance, they are back with “My Name Is Pauli Murray,” which tells of a life made for the big screen.
“After ‘Rbg’ debuted, we did some research and went, ‘Whoa!'” West said during a Q&a in TheWrap’s Virtual Sundance Studio presented by Nfp and National Geographic. “This woman is so much more…[someone] who influenced Rbg and Thurgood Marshall and who, as an activist did so many groundbreaking things before anyone else.”
Cohen said that Murray was an “underrecognized figure in so many areas” — a Black, non-binary activist and civil rights worker, whose 1950 book “States’ Laws on Race and Color” was considered by Marshall and other activists...
“After ‘Rbg’ debuted, we did some research and went, ‘Whoa!'” West said during a Q&a in TheWrap’s Virtual Sundance Studio presented by Nfp and National Geographic. “This woman is so much more…[someone] who influenced Rbg and Thurgood Marshall and who, as an activist did so many groundbreaking things before anyone else.”
Cohen said that Murray was an “underrecognized figure in so many areas” — a Black, non-binary activist and civil rights worker, whose 1950 book “States’ Laws on Race and Color” was considered by Marshall and other activists...
- 2/1/2021
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
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