Ye is an American rapper and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After dropping out of college to pursue a career in music, West began producing for regional artists in the Chicago area. As an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, he co-produced albums including Jay-Z's The Blueprint (2001) before signing with the label as a recording artist. West's debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004), was met with critical acclaim and yielded the Billboard Hot 100-number one single "Slow Jamz". He peaked the chart on four other occasions with the singles "Gold Digger" (2005), "Stronger" (2007), "E.T.", and "Carnival" (2024).
Kirby Bryan Dick is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best known for directing documentary films. He received Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary Feature for directing Twist of Faith (2005) and The Invisible War (2012). He has also received numerous awards from film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival and Los Angeles Film Festival.
"Through the Wire" is the debut solo single by American rapper and producer Kanye West, who wrote and recorded the song with his jaw wired shut after a car crash on October 23, 2002. The song samples Chaka Khan's 1985 single "Through the Fire" and was released on September 30, 2003 as the lead single from his debut album The College Dropout (2004). The song was also included on West’s debut mixtape Get Well Soon…. (2002).
"Jesus Walks" is a song by American rapper Kanye West. It was released on May 25, 2004, as the fourth single from his debut album The College Dropout (2004). The song contains a sample of "Walk with Me" as performed by the ARC Choir. "Jesus Walks" was acclaimed by music critics, who praised its compelling sonic atmosphere and boldness in its open embrace of faith. It was met by widespread commercial success, peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming West's fourth consecutive top-twenty hit in the United States.
"All Falls Down" is a song by American rapper Kanye West. It was released as the third single from his debut album, The College Dropout. The song was written and produced by West and features singer Syleena Johnson. The hip hop song contains an interpolation of "Mystery of Iniquity" by Lauryn Hill from her live album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0; Hill is credited as a composer.
Jeffrey Leib Nettler Zimbalist is an American filmmaker. He has been Academy Award shortlisted, has won a Peabody, a DuPont, 5 Emmy Awards with 17 Emmy nominations. He is the owner of film and television production company All Rise Films.
Bryan Fogel is an American film director, producer, author, playwright, speaker and human rights activist, best known for the 2017 documentary Icarus, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 90th Academy Awards in 2018.
The Carter is a 2009 documentary film about the American hip hop recording artist Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., better known as Lil Wayne. The film was directed by Adam Bhala Lough and produced by Joshua Krause and Quincy Jones III, and documents Lil Wayne in the period before and shortly after the release of his studio album, Tha Carter III, which achieved platinum status and critical acclaim, and sold one million copies in one week. After being shown at the Sundance Film Festival, it was subjected to a lawsuit by Carter to block distribution but eventually was released direct to DVD and iTunes, where it topped all movie charts. The film has since been banned from legal sale again but is widely bootlegged on the Internet. Despite having no formal release, it has been rated as one of the top 70 music documentaries of all time.
James Ivy Richardson II is an American performance poet, spoken word artist, songwriter, and author. He won his first Grammy Award in 2023 with his sixth album, The Poet Who Sat by the Door.
Dawn Porter is an American documentary filmmaker and founder of production company Trilogy Films. Her documentaries have screened at The Sundance Film Festival and other festivals as well as on HBO, CNN, Netflix, Hulu, PBS and elsewhere. She has made biographical documentaries about a number of historical figures including Bobby Kennedy, Vernon Jordan, and John Lewis and has collaborated with Oprah and Prince Harry.
Live Footage is an American electro-acoustic, improvisational music act. It consists of cellist and electronic musician, Topu Lyo, and drummer/keyboardist, Mike Thies.
Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah are American film directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, and producers. Coodie and Chike started directing together with their music video for Kanye West entitled "Through the Wire", which was nominated for a MTV Viewers Choice Award, and won a Source Award for Best Music Video of the Year. They have continued their music video success directing "Two Words" and the third version of "Jesus Walks" off Kanye West's The College Dropout album, Pitbull's "Culo" video, Mos Def's "Ghetto Rock" video, Erykah Badu's controversial video "Window Seat" and most recently Lupe Fiasco's "Old School Love" video. The team started directing and producing long form music content with the bonus behind the scene video on Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics album and a music documentary for Wale's The Gifted album.
Kristopher Bowers is an American composer, pianist and documentary director. He has composed scores for films, including Green Book, King Richard, The Color Purple, and The Wild Robot and television series, among them Bridgerton, Mrs. America, Dear White People, and When They See Us.
Higher Ground Productions, also known simply as Higher Ground, is an American production company which was founded in 2018 by former United States President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
"Never Let Me Down" is a song by American rapper and producer Kanye West featuring Jay-Z and J. Ivy, from West's debut studio album The College Dropout (2004). It was released as the album's eight track, produced solely by West and samples "Maybe It's the Power of Love" by Blackjack. West and Ivy each provide one verse–the latter is a poem–while Jay-Z has two verses. Music critics mostly had praise for it, but tended to view Jay's appearance in a negative light. In 2011, Billboard listed the song as the second greatest collaboration between Kanye and Jay. Although an accompanying music video wasn't ever produced for "Never Let Me Down", the audio of it was used in one of West's videos for "Jesus Walks". The song has developed a significant legacy over time, despite never being released as a single.
Dick Johnson Is Dead is a 2020 American documentary film directed by Kirsten Johnson and co-written by Johnson and Nels Bangerter. The story focuses on Johnson's father Richard, who suffers from dementia, portraying different ways—some of them violent "accidents"—in which he could ultimately die. In each scenario, the elderly Johnson plays along with his daughter's black humor and imaginative fantasies. The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Award for Innovation in Non-fiction Storytelling. It was released on Netflix on October 2, 2020.
The 2022 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 20 to 30, 2022. Due to COVID-19 pandemic protocol, it was initially intended to be an in-person/virtual hybrid festival, but on January 5, 2022, it was announced that the in-person components would be scrapped in favor of a wholly virtual festival due to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 9, 2021.
We Need to Talk About Cosby is an American documentary miniseries directed and produced by W. Kamau Bell. It explores the life and career of Bill Cosby up to his sexual assault cases, through conversations with comedians, journalists, and survivors. It premiered on January 30, 2022, on Showtime.
Aftershock is a 2022 American documentary film directed and produced by Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee. It follows Omari Maynard and Bruce McIntyre, whose partners died due to childbirth complications, which were preventable, as they fight for justice.
Words + Pictures is a production studio founded by Connor Schell and Chernin Entertainment in 2021.
