Seeking Mavis Beacon | |
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Directed by | Jazmin Renée Jones |
Written by | Jazmin Renée Jones |
Produced by | Guetty Felin |
Starring | Jazmin Renée Jones Olivia McKayla Ross |
Cinematography | Yeelen Nelson Cohen |
Edited by |
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Music by | Fatima Al Qadiri |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Neon |
Release dates |
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Running time | 102 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $52,897 [1] [2] |
Seeking Mavis Beacon is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Jazmin Jones, [3] which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. [4] The film is distributed by Neon [5] and is the director's directorial debut. [3]
The film follows investigators Jazmin Jones (director) and Olivia McKayla Ross (associate producer) [6] on their search to find Renée L'Esperance, the Haitian model [7] for Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, a software program developed in the 1980s. [8]
Seeking Mavis Beacon was produced by Neon and Guetty Felin, who founded the company BelleMoon Productions. [9] The film was also co-produced by Olivia McKayla Ross. [9]
The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in the NEXT category. [10]
Initial reception was generally positive. [11] [12] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 80% based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5 out of 10. The website's consensus reads, "Director Jazmin Jones' exploration of one of the internet's strangest cases occasionally lapses into self-indulgence, but the personalized approach ultimately yields a one-of-a-kind documentary experience." [13] Metacritic calculated a weighted average of 72 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [14] Murtada Elfadl from Variety wrote the documentary was "format defying... affecting and haunting", [15] noted that it explores "a range of philosophical and sociological considerations, from the notion of 'coded bias' to how they personally use technology to communicate and find community." [15]
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing is an application software program designed to teach touch typing. Released in late 1987 by The Software Toolworks, the program aimed to enhance users' typing skills through a series of interactive lessons and games.
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