Step | |
---|---|
Directed by | Amanda Lipitz |
Produced by | |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Casey Regan |
Edited by | Penelope Falk |
Music by | |
Production company | Stick Figure Productions |
Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 83 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1.2 million [1] |
Step (sometimes stylized STEP) is a 2017 American documentary film directed by Amanda Lipitz, focusing on a girls' Baltimore high school dance team. It won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Inspirational Filmmaking at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2017 AFI Docs Festival. [2] It was released in theaters on August 4, 2017.
Step is the true-life story of a girls’ high-school step team set against the background of the heart of Baltimore. These young women learn to laugh, love and thrive – on and off the stage – even when the world seems to work against them. Empowered by their teachers, teammates, counselors, coaches and families, they chase their ultimate dreams: to win a step championship and to be accepted into college. This all female school is reshaping the futures of its students’ lives by making it their goal to have every member of their senior class accepted to and graduate from college, many of whom will be the first in their family to do so. [3]
The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States on August 4, 2017. [2] The film made $145,000 from 29 theaters in its opening weekend, and then $185,000 from 278 theaters in its second. [4]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 95% based on 79 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Step tells an irresistibly crowd-pleasing story in a thoroughly absorbing way -- and while smartly incorporating a variety of timely themes." [5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". [6] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. [4]
Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post remarks that the film "...fires on every cylinder, investing viewers in personal stories that couldn’t have higher stakes and inviting them on a journey that pays off in ways expected and utterly surprising." [7]
Chicago 10: Speak Your Peace is a 2007 American animated documentary written and directed by Brett Morgen that tells the story of the Chicago Eight. The Chicago Eight were charged by the United States federal government with conspiracy, crossing state lines with intent to incite a riot, and other charges related to anti-Vietnam War and countercultural protests in Chicago, Illinois during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Man on Wire is a 2008 documentary film directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center. It is based on Petit's 2002 book, To Reach the Clouds, released in paperback with the title Man on Wire. The title of the film is taken from the police report that led to the arrest of Petit, whose performance lasted for almost an hour. The film is crafted like a heist film, presenting rare footage of the preparations for the event and still photographs of the walk, alongside re-enactments and present-day interviews with the participants, including Barry Greenhouse, an insurance executive who served as the inside man.
Cameraperson is a 2016 autobiographical collage documentary film. The film is an account by director Kirsten Johnson about her life and career as a cinematographer. It relies on footage shot by Johnson across the years in numerous different countries.
Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country is a 2008 Danish documentary film directed by Anders Østergaard. It follows the Saffron Revolution against the military regime in Burma. The "VJ" in the title stands for "video journalists." Some of it was filmed on hand-held cameras. The footage was smuggled out of the country, physically or over the Internet. Other parts of it were reconstructed, which caused controversy.
The September Issue is a 2009 American documentary film directed by R.J. Cutler about the behind-the-scenes drama that follows editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and her staff during the production of the September 2007 issue of American Vogue magazine.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is a 2010 documentary film about the life and career of comedian Joan Rivers, also featuring Melissa Rivers, Don Rickles and Kathy Griffin.
Searching for Sugar Man is a 2012 documentary film about a South African cultural phenomenon, written and directed by Malik Bendjelloul, which details the efforts in the late 1990s of two Cape Town fans, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Craig Bartholomew Strydom, to find out whether the rumoured death of American musician Sixto Rodriguez was true and, if not, to discover what had become of him. Rodriguez's music, which had never achieved success in his home country of the United States, had become very popular in South Africa, although little was known about him there.
Life Itself is a 2014 American biographical documentary film about Chicago film critic Roger Ebert, directed by Steve James and produced by Zak Piper, James and Garrett Basch. The film is based on Ebert's 2011 memoir of the same name. It premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was an official selection at the 67th Cannes Film Festival. The 41st Telluride Film Festival hosted a special screening of the film on August 28, 2014. Magnolia Pictures released the film theatrically in the United States and simultaneously via video on demand platforms on July 4, 2014.
Mother of George is a 2013 drama film directed by Andrew Dosunmu and tells the story of a newly married Nigerian couple in Brooklyn who own and manage a small restaurant while struggling with fertility issues. The film was produced by Patrick S. Cunningham and Rhea Scott.
The Square is a 2013 Egyptian-American documentary film by Jehane Noujaim, which depicts the Egyptian Crisis until 2013, starting with the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 at Tahrir Square. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards. It also won three Emmy Awards at the 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, out of four for which it was nominated.
Seymour: An Introduction is a 2014 American documentary film. Directed by Ethan Hawke, the film documents the career of Seymour Bernstein, a classical pianist who abandoned his rising career as a concert pianist at age 50 to retreat to a more modest, private life as a music educator and composer. The film premiered at the 2014 Telluride Film Festival, and was released on March 13, 2015, by IFC Films. As of May 2023, it has a 100% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
Red Army is a 2014 American-Russian documentary film directed, produced, and written by Gabe Polsky, executive produced by Jerry Weintraub and Werner Herzog. It premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and was released in limited theaters by Sony Pictures Classics on January 23, 2015. The film tells the story of the Soviet Union national ice hockey team through the eyes of team captain Slava Fetisov, in particular the famed 1990s five-man unit known as The Russian Five.
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 adaptation 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.
Meru is a 2015 documentary film chronicling the 2011 first ascent of a new climbing route up the prow of the dramatic Shark's Fin on the northeast side of Meru Peak in the Indian Himalayas. The route required a complex range of alpine climbing, big wall climbing, and aid climbing techniques, and had rebuffed many famous climbers, including the team of Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk who are featured in the film. It was co-directed by the husband and wife team of Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, and won the 'U.S. Audience Documentary Award' at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
The Biggest Little Farm is a 2018 American documentary film, directed by John Chester. The film profiles the life of John Chester and his wife Molly as they acquire and establish themselves on Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark, California.
Mike Wallace Is Here is a 2019 biographical documentary film directed by Avi Belkin. It was produced by Rafael Marmor, Peggy Drexler, John Battsek, Avi Belkin, and Chris Leggett, under the banner of Drexler Films, Delirio Films and Rock Paper Scissors Entertainment. The film follows the life and career of American journalist Mike Wallace, using never-before-seen archival footage of the journalist preparing for and speaking about his work.
Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes is a 2018 American documentary film, directed and produced by Alexis Bloom. It follows the rise and fall of conservative media mogul Roger Ailes. Alex Gibney serves as an executive producer under his Jigsaw Productions banner.
Anita: Speaking Truth to Power is a 2013 American documentary film, written, directed, and produced by Freida Mock. It follows Anita Hill, a lawyer who testified against Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court nomination, exposing the problem of sexual harassment around the world.
Try Harder! is a 2021 American documentary film, directed and produced by Debbie Lum. It follows students at Lowell High School as they apply and hope for admission to the college of their dreams.
The Princess is a 2022 British documentary film about Diana, Princess of Wales, directed by Ed Perkins. The film is produced by Lightbox in association with Sky and HBO Documentary Films.