| Teach Us All | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Sonia Lowman |
| Screenplay by | Sonia Lowman |
| Produced by | The Lowell Milken center for Unsung Heroes |
| Narrated by | Sarah Haufrect |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
Teach Us All is a 2017 documentary film written and directed by Sonia Lowman. It documents the inequality of schools in America, 60 years after the Little Rock Nine. The film was acquired by ARRAY and released on Netflix in 2017. [2]
Teach Us All is a documentary about the inequality of schooling in America. [3] The film is split into three parts, discussing the teachers’, students’, and communities’ role in fighting for better education. [1] It begins with an overview of the Little Rock Nine, including interviews with two of the original members of the group. [4] It also features case studies on the current state of the U.S. Education system, focusing on Little Rock, Arkansas, New York City, and Los Angeles, California.
Teach Us All is the directorial debut of filmmaker Sonia Lowman. The film caught the attention of Ava DuVernay who acquired the film through ARRAY. [5] Teach Us All premiered at the Ford Motor Company Theatre with the National Civil Rights Museum on the 60th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine. [1] [6] It was released on Netflix in September 2017. [7]
Ava DuVernay compared the film to her documentary 13th . [5] Education Week wrote, "its message that much more work needs to be done to foster racial equity in the nation’s schools would be hard to disagree with." [4] Common Sense Media wrote "the documentary strikes a hopeful note through interviews with students, teachers, administrators, and parents of all backgrounds who are trying to bring about positive change, diversity, and inclusion to our schools." [8]
Carol Denise Betts, known professionally as Niecy Nash, is an American actress, comedian, and television host. Her acting career began in the late 1990s, with appearances in the films Boys on the Side (1995) and Cookie's Fortune (1999). She garnered recognition for her portrayal of Deputy Raineesha Williams in the comedy series Reno 911!, along with hosting the Style Network show Clean House (2003—2010), for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award.
Linda Fairstein is an American author, attorney, and former New York City prosecutor focusing on crimes of violence against women and children. She was the head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002.
This Is the Life is a 2008 documentary film directed by Ava DuVernay, which chronicles the alternative hip hop movement that flourished in 1990s Los Angeles and its legendary center, the Good Life Cafe.
Ava Marie DuVernay is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. She is a recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, two NAACP Image Award, a BAFTA Film Award, and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee for an Academy Award and Golden Globe. In 2011, she founded her independent distribution company ARRAY.
Black women filmmakers have made contributions throughout the history of film. According to Nsenga Burton, writer for The Root, "the film industry remains overwhelmingly white and male. In 2020, 74.6 percent of movie directors of theatrical films were white, showing a small decrease from the previous year. In terms of representation, 25.4 percent of film directors were of ethnic minority in 2020. Of the 25.4 percent of minority filmmakers, a small percentage was female.
A Wrinkle in Time is a 2018 American science fantasy adventure film directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell, based on Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 novel of the same name. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Whitaker Entertainment, the story follows a young girl who, with the help of three astral travelers, sets off on a quest to find her missing father. The film stars Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Levi Miller, Storm Reid, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Peña, Zach Galifianakis, and Chris Pine.
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.
ARRAY is an independent distribution company launched by film maker and former publicist Ava DuVernay in 2011 under the name African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM). In 2015, the company rebranded itself as ARRAY.
Amanda Marsalis is an American film director and photographer.
Jewel's Catch One was a dance bar owned by Jewel Thais-Williams. It was located at 4067 West Pico Boulevard in the Arlington Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. Opened in 1973, it was the longest running black gay dance bar in Los Angeles. After nearly closing in 2015, it was purchased by Mitch Edelson and his father Steve Edelson - who reopened under new management. Briefly called Union after the change in management, it has since reverted to the Catch One moniker.
13th is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Ava DuVernay. It explores the prison–industrial complex, and the "intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States". The title refers to the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and ended involuntary servitude, except as punishment for convicted criminals. The film argues that this exemption has been used to continue the practice of involuntary servitude in the form of penal labor.
When They See Us is a 2019 American crime drama television miniseries created, co-written, and directed by Ava DuVernay for Netflix, that premiered in four parts on May 31, 2019. It is based on events of the 1989 Central Park jogger case and explores the lives and families of the five Black and Latino male suspects who were falsely accused then prosecuted on charges related to the rape and assault of a white woman in Central Park, New York City. The series features an ensemble cast, including Jharrel Jerome, Asante Blackk, Caleel Harris, Jovan Adepo, Michael K. Williams, Logan Marshall-Green, Joshua Jackson, Blair Underwood, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash, Aunjanue Ellis, Marsha Stephanie Blake, and Kylie Bunbury.
C. Fitz is an advertising, marketing and filmmaking professional. In her digital work she has produced social media branding campaigns winning four Webby’s for creative content. As a filmmaker, TV showrunner and film director she has won multiple awards for her scripted and unscripted work. She is also an activist and speaker.
A Love Song for Latasha is a 2019 American biographical documentary short film directed by Sophia Nahli Allison. Drawing on memories from the subject's cousin and best friend, the film reimagines the life of Latasha Harlins, a Black Los Angeles girl shot and killed by a convenience store owner in 1991. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 93rd Academy Awards.
Naomi is an American superhero drama television series created by Ava DuVernay and Jill Blankenship which is based on the comic book series of the same name co-written by Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker and illustrated by Jamal Campbell. It follows Naomi McDuffie, a comic book-loving teenager and the host of a Superman fan website who sets out to determine its origins with help from her best friend, her supporting adoptive parents, and a tattoo shop owner with a secret origin after a supernatural event occurs in Port Oswego, Oregon. The series stars Kaci Walfall, Cranston Johnson, Alexander Wraith, Mary-Charles Jones, Mouzam Makkar, Daniel Puig, Camila Moreno, Will Meyers, Aidan Gemme, and Barry Watson. It premiered on The CW on January 11, 2022, and concluded on May 10, 2022. In May 2022, the series was canceled after one season.
Thyrone Tommy is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. After writing and directing the short film Mariner (2016), Tommy received acclaim for his work on the feature film Learn to Swim (2021), both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Learn to Swim is a Canadian drama film written by Thyrone Tommy and Marni Van Dyk and directed by Tommy in his feature-length directorial debut. The film centres on a stormy romantic relationship between Dezi and Selma, two talented but troubled jazz musicians.
Stephanie Turner is an American actress and filmmaker. Turner's film Justine premiered at the 2019 Newport Beach Film Festival. Turner won Best Narrative Feature Performance at the 2019 Napa Valley Film Festival for her performance in the film. Turner was a director on Ava DuVernay's Queen Sugar on OWN.
Bantú Mama is a 2021 Dominican drama film directed by Ivan Herrera and written by Ivan Herrera and Clarisse Albrecht. Produced by Ivan Herrera, Clarisse Albrecht, Nicolas LaMadrid and Franmiris Lombert, it was filmed in the Dominican Republic, France and Senegal. The film tells the story of Emma, a French woman of African descent who manages to escape after being arrested in the Dominican Republic. She finds shelter in the most dangerous district of Santo Domingo, where she is taken in by a group of children. By becoming their protégée and maternal figure, she experiences an unimaginable change in her destiny.
Sonia Lowman is an American filmmaker who is known for documentaries such as Teach Us All,Black Boys, War & Grace, and Indomitable.