My Name Is Pauli Murray

Last updated
My Name Is Pauli Murray
My Name is Pauli Murray.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
  • Talleah Bridges McMahon
  • Julie Cohen
  • Betsy West
  • Cinque Northern
Produced byTalleah Bridges McMahon
CinematographyClaudia Raschke
Edited byCinque Northern
Music by Jongnic Bontemps
Production
companies
Distributed by Amazon Studios
Release dates
  • January 31, 2021 (2021-01-31)(Sundance)
  • September 17, 2021 (2021-09-17)(United States)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

My Name Is Pauli Murray is an 2021 American documentary film, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, written by West, Cohen, Talleah Bridges McMahon and Cinque Northern. It follows the life of lawyer and activist Pauli Murray.

Contents

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021. It was released in a limited release on September 17, 2021, prior to digital streaming on Prime Video on October 1, 2021, by Amazon Studios.

Synopsis

The film follows the life of lawyer and activist Pauli Murray who was instrumental in arguing the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment outlawed discrimination based on sex. [1] Several scholars of Murray's work are featured in the film including Brittney Cooper and Rosalind Rosenberg. Rosenberg's research for the book Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray is also highlighted. [2] The film includes significant coverage of Murray's papers housed at the Schlesinger library. [3] Murray's influence on Ruth Bader Ginsburg is covered in detail throughout the film. [4]

Depiction of Murray's gender identity

My Name Is Pauli Murray features a nuanced analysis of Murray's gender identity. The film makes extensive connections between Murray's gender identity and groundbreaking feminist legal arguments. [4] Historian Rosalind Rosenberg explains in the film how a sense of "in-betweenness" contributed to the numerous innovative legal arguments presented by Murray with regards to race and gender. [4]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021. [5] Shortly after, Amazon Studios acquired distribution rights to the film. [6] It also screened at AFI Docs in June 2021. [7] It was released in a limited release on September 17, 2021, prior to digital streaming on Amazon Prime Video on October 1, 2021. [8]

Critical reception

Cohen has been quoted as noting Murray was an "unrecognized figure in so many areas" and an intent behind the creation of the film was to bring Murray's story to a wider audience. [9] My Name Is Pauli Murray received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 95% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.80/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "My Name Is Pauli Murray educates and uplifts in equal measure while paying stirring tribute to a largely unsung -- yet hugely important -- individual." [10]

Accolades

It won the prestigious Peabody Award in 2022. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauli Murray</span> American writer and activist (1910–1985)

Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray was an American civil rights activist, advocate, legal scholar and theorist, author and – later in life – an Episcopal priest. Murray's work influenced the civil rights movement and expanded legal protection for gender equality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Ziering</span> American filmmaker

Amy Ziering is an American film producer and director. Mostly known for her work in documentary films, she is a regular collaborator of director Kirby Dick; they co-directed 2002's Derrida and 2020's On the Record, with Ziering also producing several of Dick's films.

<i>My Perestroika</i> 2010 American film

My Perestroika is a 2010 American documentary film directed by Robin Hessman. It examines life during and after the USSR through the personal stories of five ordinary Russians, who speak about their Soviet childhood, the collapse of the USSR, and contemporary Russia.

<i>Prophets Prey</i> 2015 American documentary film

Prophet's Prey is a 2015 American documentary directed and written by Amy J. Berg. The film follows Warren Jeffs, the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who is now running the religion from the confines of the Texas state prison, serving out a life sentence, for the rape of young girls. The film is an adaption of the 2011 book of the same name by Sam Brower, who also serves as a producer on the film. Ron Howard serves as an executive producer under his Imagine Entertainment banner.

<i>City of Ghosts</i> (2017 film) 2017 documentary film by Matthew Heineman

City of Ghosts is a 2017 Arabic-language American documentary film about the Syrian media activist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently as they face the realities of life undercover, on the run, and in exile after their homeland is taken over by ISIS in 2014. The film was directed by Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman.

<i>RBG</i> (film) 2018 American film

RBG is a 2018 American documentary film focusing on the life and career of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States after Sandra Day O'Connor. After premiering at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the film was released in the United States on May 4, 2018. The film was directed and produced by Betsy West and Julie Cohen.

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Marina Zenovich, celebrating the life and career of comedian Robin Williams, who died in 2014. An HBO production, it features interviews with Whoopi Goldberg, David Letterman, Billy Crystal, among others. It also includes outtakes and little known clips from Williams' stand-up routines.

<i>Hale County This Morning, This Evening</i> 2018 American film

Hale County This Morning, This Evening is a 2018 American documentary film about the lives of black people in Hale County, Alabama. It is directed by RaMell Ross and produced by RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes, Su Kim, and is Ross's first nonfiction feature. The documentary is the winner of 2018 Sundance Film Festival award for U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Vision, 2018 Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Documentary Feature and the Cinema Eye Honors Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. After its theatrical run, it aired on the PBS series Independent Lens and eventually won a 2020 Peabody Award.

<i>David Crosby: Remember My Name</i> 2019 documentary film

David Crosby: Remember My Name is a 2019 documentary about the musician David Crosby. It was directed by A.J. Eaton and produced by Cameron Crowe. The title is a play on the title of Crosby's 1971 album If I Could Only Remember My Name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alysa Nahmias</span> American director, producer, and writer

Alysa Nahmias is an American filmmaker and the founder of Ajna Films.

Betsy West is an American producer, filmmaker, and video journalist. With Julie Cohen, she has directed four biographical documentary films focusing on American women: RBG (2018), My Name is Pauli Murray (2021), Julia (2021) and Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down (2022). She received the Cinema for Peace Award for Women's Empowerment for her film RBG. She is the Fred W. Friendly Professor of Professional Practice in Media Society Emeritus, at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Diane Hope Weyermann was an American film producer who was the chief content officer of Participant Media, a film and television production company.

<i>Time</i> (2020 film) 2020 American film

Time is an Academy Award-nominated 2020 American documentary film produced and directed by Garrett Bradley. It follows Sibil Fox Richardson, fighting for the release of her husband, Rob, who was serving a 60-year prison sentence for engaging in an armed bank robbery.

Bedlam is a 2019 American feature-length documentary directed, produced, and written by Kenneth Paul Rosenberg. Produced, and written by Peter Miller, co-produced by Joan Churchill and Alan Barker, edited by Jim Cricchi, with additional editing by James Holland, it immerses us in the national crisis surrounding care of people with serious mental illness through intimate stories of patients, families, and medical providers.

<i>A Thousand Cuts</i> 2020 Filipino-American film by Ramona S. Diaz

A Thousand Cuts is a 2020 Philippine-American documentary film about Maria Ressa, the founder of the online news site Rappler. Directed by Ramona Diaz, it explores the conflicts between the press and the Filipino government under President Rodrigo Duterte.

<i>Julia</i> (2021 film) 2021 American film

Julia is a 2021 American documentary film directed and produced by Julie Cohen and Betsy West. The documentary chronicles the life of Julia Child. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard serve as executive producers.

Into the Deep is a Danish documentary film that premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2020. It was directed by Emma Sullivan and filmed in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was planned to be released on Netflix, but the release was postponed indefinitely when some participants stated that they had not given their consent to participate in the film. Before a subsequent release, Netflix, Plus Pictures and Sullivan agreed to re-edit the film to remove those participants who did not wish to appear. It was released globally on September 30, 2022.

<i>Rebel Hearts</i> (film) 2021 film

Rebel Hearts is a 2021 American documentary film, directed, produced, and edited by Pedro Kos. The film follows nuns at the Immaculate Heart College.

<i>Procession</i> (film) 2021 American documentary film

Procession is an 2021 American documentary film, directed and edited by Robert Greene. It follows six men, who suffered abuse by priests, looking for peace.

<i>Lucy and Desi</i> 2022 documentary film

Lucy and Desi is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Amy Poehler in her documentary directorial debut. The film explores the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.

References

  1. ↑ Schulz, Kathryn. "The Civil-Rights Luminary You've Never Heard Of". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  2. ↑ "Nonfiction Book Review: Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  3. ↑ "Collection: Papers of Pauli Murray, 1827-1985 | HOLLIS for". hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  4. 1 2 3 "'RBG' filmmakers shine spotlight on legal icon Pauli Murray at Sundance". NBC News. February 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  5. ↑ Debruge, Peter (December 15, 2020). "Sundance Film Festival Lineup Features 38 First-Time Directors, Including Rebecca Hall and Robin Wright". Variety . Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  6. ↑ D’Alessandro, Anthony (February 25, 2021). "Amazon Picks Up Global Rights To Participant Documentary 'My Name Is Pauli Murray' From 'RBG' Filmmakers". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  7. ↑ Saperstein, Pat (May 26, 2021). "AFI Docs Festival Slate Includes 'Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain'". Variety . Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  8. ↑ Grobar, Matt (June 30, 2021). "'My Name Is Pauli Murray' Teaser, Release Dates: Amazon Doc From 'RBG' Filmmakers Spotlights Trailblazer In Fight For Social Justice". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  9. ↑ "'My Name Is Pauli Murray': Directors of 'RBG' Follow Up With Tale of Ginsburg's Greatest Influence (Video)". www.yahoo.com. February 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  10. ↑ "My Name Is Pauli Murray (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  11. ↑ Peabody Awards
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.