CNN Films

CNN Films

Company type	Division
Industry	Motion picture Film distribution
Founded	2012;13 years ago (2012)
Headquarters	United States
Products	Films
Owner	Warner Bros. Discovery
Parent	CNN
Website	cnn.com/cnnfilms

Cable News Network Films (known as CNN Films) is a motion picture division of CNN under Warner Bros. Pictures, originally launched in 2012. ^[1] Its first film, Girl Rising premiered in spring 2013 in the United States. ^{[2] [3]}

History

On October 8, 2012, CNN announced the creation of CNN Films. CNN says that it will acquire and commission original feature-length documentaries that will "examine an array of political, social, and economic subject matters." It also signed development deals with documentary directors Alex Gibney and Andrew Rossi. ^{[4] [5]} Since its creation, it already acquired the rights for Girl Rising, a 100-minute documentary narrated by Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Kerry Washington, and Selena Gomez. ^[6]

While the documentaries will initially air on CNN, the network reportedly plans to enter them in film festivals and distribute them to theaters as well.

At the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, CNN announced the acquisition of three documentaries. It acquired the rights to air Life Itself , a film adaptation of Roger Ebert's 2011 memoir, in television. The project will be directed by Steve James and executive produced by Martin Scorsese and Steven Zaillian. It is scheduled to air in 2014. ^[7] The two other untitled projects are expected to air on CNN in 2013. One, from directors Michael Tucker and Petra Epperleini, centers on 9/11 and reconstructs the events at Ground Zero; the other, from director Andrew Rossi, focuses on the transformation of higher education, examining the costs and relevance of college. ^[8]

CNN Films bought the television rights of Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare which premiered on March 10, 2013, on CNN. The film was directed by Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke. The film premiered on January 19, 2012, at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and was theatrically released on October 5, 2012. ^{[9] [10]}

CNN Films acquired Penny Lane's Our Nixon, and CNN premiered the film in August 2013, while Cinedigm released it theatrically. ^{[11] [12] [13]} The network has also then acquired the domestic television broadcast rights of the Sundance film selection Robert Stone's Pandora's Promise and aired it on CNN in November 2013 while it was theatrically released five months before. ^{[14] [15]}

On December 10, 2020, CNN Films teamed up with the BBC to produce a documentary about the development and manufacturing of vaccines for the COVID-19 pandemic. The documentary that is not a film is produced by British virologist-turned-filmmaker Catherine Gale who also directs with American independent filmmaker and medical journalist Caleb Hellerman, and will air in 2021 on CNN in the United States under the title Race for the Vaccine and BBC Two in the United Kingdom under the title Vaccine: The Inside Story. ^[16]

Filmography

Title	Release date	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Ref(s)
Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie	June 7, 2013	Seth Kramer Daniel A. Miller Jeremy Newberger	Daniel A. Miller	Seth Kramer Daniel A. Miller Jeremy Newberger
Girl Rising	June 16, 2013	Richard E. Robbins	Aminatta Forna Edwidge Danticat Maaza Mengiste Zarghuna Kargar Marie Arana Mona Eltahawy Manjushree Thapa Sooni Taraporevala Loung Ung	Martha Adams Richard E. Robbins Tom Yellin	[6]
Blackfish	July 19, 2013	Gabriela Cowperthwaite	Gabriela Cowperthwaite Eli B. Despres	Manny Oteyza Gabriela Cowperthwaite	[17]
Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare	March 10, 2013	Matthew Heineman Susan Froemke	Matthew Heineman Susan Froemke	Matthew Heineman Susan Froemke	[9]
The Flag	September 4, 2013	Michael Tucker Petra Epperlein
Our Nixon	August 1, 2013	Penny Lane	—	Brian L. Frye Penny Lane	[11]
Pandora's Promise	November 7, 2013	Robert Stone	TBA	Jim Swartz Susan Swartz	[14]
An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story	December 5, 2013	Al Reinert
Sole Survivor	January 9, 2014	Ky Dickens	Ky Dickens	Susan Aurinko Alexis Jaworski Amy McIntyre
41ON41	June 15, 2014	Lisa Lax Nancy Stern Winters		Lisa Lax Nancy Stern Winters
Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger	June 27, 2014	Joe Berlinger		Joe Berlinger Caroline Suh
Life Itself	July 4, 2014	Steve James	TBA	Garrett Basch	[18]
Documented	June 29, 2014	Jose Antonio Vargas Ann Lupo	Jose Antonio Vargas	Jose Antonio Vargas
Lady Valor: The Kristin Beck Story	September 4, 2014	Mark Herzog Sandrine Orabona		Mark Herzog Christopher Cowen
More than a Game	October 24, 2014	Kristopher Belman	Kristopher Belman Brad Hogan	Kristopher Belman Harvey Mason, Jr. Kevin Mann Matthew Perniciaro
Ivory Tower	November 20, 2014	Andrew Rossi	Andrew Rossi	Andrew Rossi Kate Novack
Dinosaur 13	December 11, 2014	Todd Douglas Miller	TBA	Todd Douglas Miller
Sunshine Superman	May 22, 2015	Marah Strauch	Marah Strauch	Marah Strauch Eric Bruggemann
Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me	June 28, 2015	James Keach	—	James Keach Trevor Albert
Fresh Dressed	September 3, 2015	Sacha Jenkins	Sacha Jenkins	Nasir Jones Marcus A. Clarke	[19]
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine	September 4, 2016	Alex Gibney	Alex Gibney	Alex Gibney
The Hunting Ground	November 22, 2015	Kirby Dick	Kirby Dick	Amy Ziering
Holy Hell	September 1, 2016	Will Allen	—	Will Allen Tracey Harnish Alexandra Johnes
We Will Rise	October 12, 2016
Enlighten Us: The Rise and Fall of James Arthur Ray	December 3, 2016	Jenny Carchman	—	Allyson Luchak
Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago	January 1, 2017	Peter Pardini	—	Chicago
Unseen Enemy	April 7, 2017	Janet Tobias	Janet Tobias	Janet Tobias Peter Klein Rogger Lopez Michael Erhenzwei
Elián	August 24, 2017	Ross McDonnell Tim Golden	Tim Golden	Alex Gibney Trevor Birney
The Reagan Show	September 4, 2017	Pacho Velez Sierra Pettengill	Francisco Bello Josh Alexander	Dan Cogan Amy Entelis Houston King Regina Scully
Legion of Brothers	September 24, 2017	Greg Barker	—	Amy Entelis Vinnie Malhotra
Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent	November 12, 2017	Lydia Tenaglia	—	Susan Porretta
Trophy	January 14, 2018	Shaul Schwarz Christina Clusiau	—	Lauren Haber Julia Nottingham
RBG	May 4, 2018	Betsy West Julie Cohen		Betsy West Julie Cohen
Three Identical Strangers	June 29, 2018	Tim Wardle		Becky Read Grace Hughes-Hallett
American Jail	July 1, 2018	Roger Ross Williams	Roger Ross Williams	Roger Ross Williams Femke Wolting Bruno Felix
Love, Gilda	September 21, 2018	Lisa Dapolito		Bronwyn Berry Lisa Dapolito James Tumminia
Apollo 11	March 1, 2019	Todd Douglas Miller	—	Todd Douglas Miller Thomas Petersen Evan Krauss
Scandalous	November 15, 2019	Mark Landsman
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice	January 1, 2020	Rob Epstein Jeffrey Friedman	—	James Keach Michele Farinola Rob Epstein Jeffrey Friedman
John Lewis: Good Trouble	September 27, 2020	Dawn Porter	—	Erika Alexander Ben Arnon
Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street	May 31, 2021	Salima Koroma	—	Salima Koroma	[20]
LFG	June 24, 2021	Andrea Nix Fine Sean Fine	—	Andrea Nix Fine Sean Fine Abby Greensfelder	[21]
Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story	June 27, 2021	Laura Fairrie	—	John Battsek Lizzie Gillett Stuart Ford Amy Entelis Courtney Sexton Mark Bell Bonnie Voland Andrew Ruhemann	[22]
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain	July 16, 2021	Morgan Neville	—	Morgan Neville Caitrin Rogers	[23]
The Lost Sons	September 26, 2021	Ursula Macfarlane	—	Amy Entelis Courtney Sexton Ross M. Dinerstein Liesel Evans Gagan Rehill	[24]
Julia	November 5, 2021	Julie Cohen Betsy West	—	Julie Cohen Betsy West Justin Wilkes Sara Bernstein Ron Howard Brian Grazer Alex Prud'homme Bob Spitz	[25]
The Hunt for Planet B	November 20, 2021	Nathaniel Kahn	—	Nathaniel Kahn Bonnie Hlinomaz Sandra Evers-Manly Carleen Beste Matt Mountain Lawrence B. Benenson Gerry Ohrstrom Alberto Conti	[26] [27]
Citizen Ashe	December 3, 2021	Rex Miller Sam Pollard	—	Rex Miller Steven Cantor Anna Godas Jamie Schultz Beth Hubbard Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe	[28]
Carole King & James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name	January 2, 2022	Frank Marshall	—	Frank Marshall	[29]
Navalny	April 11, 2022	Daniel Roher	—	Daniel Roher	[30]
Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down	July 15, 2022	Julie Cohen Betsy West	—	Lisa Espramer Sam Jinishian	[31]
Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia	March 5, 2023	Salima Koroma	—	Ken Druckerman Banks Tarver Amy Entelis Courtney Sexton Dylan Abruscato Brandon Teitel Olivia Snyder-Spak Kevin Vargas	[32]
Little Richard: I Am Everything	April 21, 2023	Lisa Cortés	—	Lisa Cortés Robert Friedman Liz Yale Marsh Caryn Caputosto Mike Powers Gus Wenner Jason Fine	[33]
Blue Carbon: Nature’s Hidden Power	April 21, 2024	Nicolas Brown	—	—	[34]
Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid!	October 5, 2024	Matt Tyrnauer	—	Matt Tyrnauer Ryan Rothmaier Corey Reeser Susan Mccue Graham High	[35]
Luther: Never Too Much	January 1, 2025	Dawn Porter	—	Trish D Chetty Ged Doherty Jamie Foxx Datari Turner Leah Smith	[36] [37] [38]
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story	February 2, 2025	Ian Bonhôte Peter Ettedgui	Ian Bonhôte Peter Ettedgui Otto Burnham	Robert Ford Lizzie Gillett Ian Bonhôte	[39]
Prime Minister	June 13, 2025	Lindsay Utz Michelle Walshe	—	Cass Avery Leon Kirkbeck Gigi Pritzker Rachel Shane Katie Peck Clarke Gayford	[40]

References

1. "CNN To Start Documentary Film Unit". HuffPost. October 8, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
2. Benzine, Adam (October 8, 2012). "CNN launches feature docs division with 'Girl Rising'". Real Screen. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
3. "CNN Announces Creation Of CNN Films". Foxtel. Archived from the original on May 19, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
4. Lieberman, David (October 8, 2012). "CNN Creates Unit To Acquire Documentary Films For Theaters And TV". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
5. Flint, Joe (October 8, 2012). "CNN's creation of film unit is step in right direction". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
6. Raftery, Liz (October 8, 2012). "Girl Rising to Help Launch CNN Films". TV Guide. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
7. Patten, Dominic (January 18, 2013). "Sundance: CNN Films Makes Buying Debut; Announces Trio Of Documentaries". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
8. Miller, Daniel (January 18, 2013). "Sundance 2013: CNN Films Announces Three Documentaries". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
9. Patten, Dominic (March 1, 2013). "CNN Films Acquires 'Escape Fire' U.S. TV Rights; Healthcare Doc To Air In March". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
10. "CNN Films: 'Escape Fire' Debuts on CNN on March 10 at 8pm ET". CNN. March 1, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
11. Guthrie, Marisa (April 24, 2013). "CNN Films Snaps Up Richard Nixon Documentary (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
12. Fleischer, Matthew (April 24, 2013). "CNN Films acquires SXSW doc 'Our Nixon' to air on the network in August". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
13. "CNN Films and Cinedigm Acquire 'Our Nixon'". CNN. April 24, 2013. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
14. Fleischer, Matthew (April 30, 2013). "CNN continues acquisition spree with 'Pandora's Promise'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
15. "CNN Films Announces Acquisition of 'Pandora's Promise' for Fall 2013 Broadcast". CNN. April 30, 2013. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
16. Brian Steinberg (December 10, 2020). "CNN Films, BBC Team on Documentary Showing Race to Create Coronavirus Vaccine". Variety . Retrieved December 11, 2020.
17. Kaufman, Amy (January 25, 2013). "'Blackfish' has SeaWorld in hot water". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
18. Koziarki, Ed M. (February 5, 2013). "James starts doc production on Roger Ebert's memoir". Reel Chicago. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
19. "Sacha Jenkins Talks Art, Culture and 'The Burning of Kingston'". The Boom Box. July 8, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
20. Hipes, Patrick (May 11, 2021). "CNN Sets May Airdate For 'Dreamland: The Burning Of Black Wall Street' From LeBron James' SpringHill – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
21. Day-Ramos, Dino (March 8, 2021). "HBO Max Sets Docu 'LFG' Following U.S. Women's National Soccer Team's Fight For Equality; First Teaser Released". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
22. Wiseman, Andreas (August 9, 2019). "Jackie Collins Doc 'Lady Boss' Lined Up By AGC Studios, CNN Films, BBC Arts & 'Searching For Sugar Man' Outfit Passion Pictures". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved May 31, 2021.
23. Rubin, Rebecca (April 23, 2021). "Anthony Bourdain Documentary 'Roadrunner' Hitting Theaters This Summer". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
24. Rubin, Rebecca (January 14, 2021). "CNN Films to Develop Stranger-Than-Fiction Documentary 'The Lost Sons'". Variety. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
25. Wiseman, Andreas (April 17, 2020). "Sony Classics Acquires World Rights To Julia Child Doc By 'RBG' Directors, Imagine & CNN Films". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
26. "The Hunt for Planet B". CNN Creative Marketing. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
27. "THE HUNT FOR PLANET B | From Director Nathaniel Kahn". The Hunt for Planet B. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
28. "CNN Films and HBO Max Partner to Bring Citizen Ashe to Screens; Film is Produced by Dogwoof, Rexpix and Stick Figure Productions". CNN. July 15, 2021. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
29. Petski, Denise (October 19, 2021). "Carole King & James Taylor Documentary From Frank Marshall Set For CNN & HBO Max". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved October 19, 2021.
30. Pedersen, Erik (January 13, 2022). "Alexei Navalny Documentary Set From CNN Films & HBO Max". Deadline Hollywood .
31. Lang, Brent (January 26, 2022). "'RBG' Filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen to Direct Gabby Giffords Documentary". Variety . Retrieved April 22, 2022.
32. Carey, Matthew (February 3, 2023). "'Glitch: The Rise And Fall Of HQ Trivia' First Look: CNN Films Doc Presses Play On Wildly Popular Game App That Exploded Then Imploded". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
33. "'CNN Films, HBO Max Commission LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING (w.t.) Produced By Bungalow Media + Entertainment". CNN. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022.
34. https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2024/03/20/cnn-films-blue-carbon-natures-hidden-power-premieres-on-sunday-april-21-at-9pm-et-pt-on-cnn/
35. "James Carville Documentary 'Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid' Acquired by CNN Films (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. August 30, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
36. "Luther: Never Too Much". CNN Creative Marketing. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
37. "CNN Films' Luther: Never Too Much Rings in New Year's Day Premiere". CNN Press Room. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
38. "CNN Films and OWN Acquire Dawn Porter's Luther: Never Too Much". CNN Press Room. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
39. "CNN Films Brings the Television Premiere of "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story" to CNN on Sunday, February 2 at 8pm ET/PT". CNN Press Room. January 8, 2025. Archived from the original on February 15, 2025. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
40. Fleming Jr, Mike (May 7, 2025). "New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Docu 'Prime Minister' Acquired By Magnolia, HBO Docu Films & CNN Films After Prize-Winning Sundance Bow". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 7, 2025.

External links

• Official website