Latest in Roger Ross Williams

A few years ago, as filmmaker Roger Ross Williams contemplated founding his own production company, he experienced a Field of Dreams kind of vision: "If you build it, they will come." The revelation took place far from the Iowa cornfields of the movie. "I was actually walking by this big, empty office space in…

Master of Light, winner of the Grand Jury Award for documentary feature at SXSW, tells the story of George Anthony Morton, a young artist of extraordinary ability who has overcome major obstacles to achieve success. Morton spent 10 years behind bars on drug charges, but used his time in prison to develop his talent in…

EXCLUSIVE: Polygram Entertainment, the film and television arm of Universal Music Group, is embarking on a feature documentary about iconic singer Donna Summer, with some of the biggest names in nonfiction attached to the project. Oscar-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams (Music by Prudence; Life, Animated) will…

EXCLUSIVE: Lisa Cortés, co-director of Amazon’s voter suppression documentary All In: The Fight for Democracy, is set to direct The Empire of Ebony, a documentary that explores the rise and impact of the first black media empire Ebony magazine and its sister publication, Jet. Cortés will produce the pic with Alyse…

UTA has inked Academy and Emmy Award-winning director, producer, and writer Roger Ross Williams and his production banner, One Story Up, in all areas. Williams is the first African American Director to win an Oscar with his short film Music by Prudence. His films include Life, Animated, which was nominated for an…

In 2019 filmmaker Roger Ross Williams contended for an Emmy with his VR documentary Traveling While Black, a sensory experience that told the true story of the Negro Motorist Green Book (as opposed to the 2018 Oscar-winning film, which opted for a white-centric storyline). With final 2020 Emmy voting now underway…

#blackAF creator Kenya Barris is making the move from fictionalized documentary to a real documentary on high-profile attorney Ben Crump. In the works for the past several pivotal months, the as-yet untitled film on the lawyer is set to stream on Netflix next year. Well known to cable news viewers and more than a few…

EXCLUSIVE: Gael García Bernal will don the mask and the tights of Cassandro, an independent feature from Oscar winning and two-time Emmy nominee filmmaker Roger Ross Williams. Cassandro tells the true story of Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso who rises to international stardom after he creates the…

EXCLUSIVE: Topic is partnering with Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams and on a new program titled One Story Up, in which he will select one short film from an emerging talent per month for the next 12 months that will stream exclusively on the streaming platform. The deal forged with Williams…

Thirty years ago, Levon Brooks was accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a three-year old girl in Mississippi. Despite having an alibi, he was sentenced to life in prison based on bite mark analysis. A few months, later a second young girl was raped and murdered and Kennedy Brewer, the boyfriend of the victim's…

Just because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been quiet about its inner workings—a museum fund-raising announcement here, an Oscar press release there—doesn't mean it's been quiet inside. Every once in a while, rumblings from the Wilshire Blvd. headquarters are loud enough to be heard out…

There are few cultural institutions in the United States to rival the importance of The Apollo Theater in Harlem. For going on a hundred years the 1,500-seat venue has showcased the foremost African-American talent, from Duke Ellington to Louis Armstrong, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Richard Pryor, Marvin Gaye, and…