| Listening to Kenny G | |
|---|---|
 Promotional release poster | |
| Directed by | Penny Lane |
| Produced by | Gabriel Sedgwick |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Naiti Gámez |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Charlie Rosen |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | HBO |
Release dates | |
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Listening to Kenny G is a 2021 American documentary film, directed by Penny Lane. It is about the jazz musician Kenny G.
Initially, Bill Simmons, the creator of HBO’s Music Box series, invited Penny Lane to make a music documentary. Lane chose Kenny G as the subject of the film because he is "a musician who is objectively popular, by way of record sales, but is also hated by the 'critical class'." Kenny G himself had no control of the content of the film. [1]
Listening to Kenny G premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. [2] The film screened at the Hamptons International Film Festival. [3] It aired on HBO as part of Bill Simmons' Music Box anthology. [4] [5] It debuted on December 2, 2021 on HBO and was also available to stream on HBO Max. [6] It was screened as the opening night film at DOC NYC 2021. [7] It was released on December 11, 2021 on Binge in Australia. [8]
The New Yorker listed Listening to Kenny G as one of the best films of 2021. [9] Richard Brody of The New Yorker wrote, "By listening attentively to Kenny G, Lane delivers, in a buoyant, amiable way, a ferocious denunciation, one in which she herself doesn't voice a negative word—because he does most of the inadvertent, unconscious damning." [10]
Glenn Kenny of The New York Times wrote, "The movie's animating question is why a musician who has brought an abundance of pleasure to so many listeners makes so many others almost incoherently angry. Some interviewees, including Kenny G himself, imply that judgments against his work are de facto judgments of the people who love it. That's a specious conclusion, one which the movie could have unpacked better." [11]
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick, known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album Duotones brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artists of all time, with global sales totaling more than 75 million records.
Ronald Mann, credited professionally as Ron Mann, is a Canadian documentary film director.
Hiam Abbass, also spelled Hiyam Abbas, is a Palestinian and French actress and film director. She is known for her roles in films such as The Syrian Bride (2004), Paradise Now (2005), Free Zone (2005), Munich (2005), The Visitor (2007), Lemon Tree (2008), Insyriated (2017), and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). She gained prominence for her role as Marcia Roy in the HBO drama series Succession (2018–2023). She has also acted in the Channel 4 series The Promise (2011), the Lifetime miniseries The Red Tent (2014), the Hulu comedy series Ramy (2019–present), and the Hulu drama series The Old Man (2022).
Randy Lennox is a Canadian music and media executive.
Jongnic Bontemps, also known as JB is an American composer and musician who has worked on over 50 projects in film, shorts, documentary films, TV series and video games. He is the music director for 2016 skateboarding-focused drama film The Land The soundtrack features collaborations with Erykah Badu and Nas including the song "This Bitter Land". He also wrote the music for the 2018 roller skating documentary United Skates. The hip hop influenced documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Penny Lane is an American independent filmmaker, known for her documentary films. Her humor and unconventional approach to the documentary form, including the use of archival Super 8 footage and YouTube videos, have earned her critical acclaim.
Jessica Edwards is a Canadian-American filmmaker known for her documentary Mavis! about musician and civil rights figure Mavis Staples.
Karim Amer is an Egyptian-American film producer and director. He worked on The Square (2013) and The Great Hack (2019); the former was the first Egyptian film to earn an Academy Award nomination and went on to win three Emmy Awards, while the latter got nominated for an Emmy and a BAFTA Award. In 2020, he produced and directed The Vow, an HBO documentary series about the self-improvement group, NXIVM. In 2022, he produced and directed Flight/Risk for Amazon Studios, revolving around whistleblowers at Boeing.
Lance Oppenheim is an American filmmaker, documentarian, producer, and multi-instrumentalist from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His work blends cinematic genres to explore the lives of people who create homes in unconventional spaces and places. His debut feature Some Kind of Heaven (2020) was an Official Selection at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
No Ordinary Man is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt, and written by Aisling Chin-Yee and Amos Mac. It is a portrait of Billy Tipton, the jazz musician who was revealed after his death to have been transgender.
jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Coodie & Chike about the life of American rapper, record producer, and fashion designer Kanye West and, to a lesser extent, Coodie Simmons.
Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over is an American documentary film directed by Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner. It follows the life and career of Dionne Warwick.
Jagged is a 2021 American documentary film, directed by Alison Klayman. It follows the life and career of musician Alanis Morissette centering on the release of her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill.
Becoming Cousteau is a 2021 American documentary film directed and produced by Liz Garbus. It follows the life and career of Jacques Cousteau.
DMX: Don't Try to Understand is a 2021 American documentary film directed by Christopher Frierson and Clark Slater. The film follows a year in the life of American rapper DMX. It was released on HBO Max on November 25, 2021.
Icahn: The Restless Billionaire is an HBO documentary written, produced and directed by Bruce David Klein. It is an Atlas Media Corp Production.
When We Were Bullies is a 2021 short documentary film written, directed, produced, and edited by Jay Rosenblatt.
The Grab is an 2022 American documentary film directed and produced by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. It follows investigative journalists at The Center for Investigative Reporting as they uncover efforts to control the most vital resources on earth.
Silver Dollar Road is a 2023 American documentary film written, directed and co-produced by Raoul Peck, based on the ProPublica article "Kicked Off The Land" by Lizzie Presser. The film follows a water front property passed through generations in the Reels family, becomes subject to harassment by land developers. Viola Davis serves as an executive producer.
Jen Markowitz is a Canadian film and television director and producer, whose feature documentary film debut Summer Qamp was released in 2023.