| Weiner | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by |
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| Produced by |
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| Cinematography | Josh Kriegman |
| Edited by | Eli B. Despres |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Sundance Selects Showtime |
Release dates |
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Running time | 96 minutes [1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,702,489 [2] |
Weiner is a 2016 American fly-on-the-wall political documentary film by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg about Anthony Weiner's campaign for Mayor of New York City during the 2013 mayoral election.
The documentary follows congressman Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin, shortly after his 2011 resignation when scandalous photos of Weiner mysteriously appeared on his Twitter account. [3] The photos led to a tumultuous spiral as more and more pictures of the congressman in various states of undress began to leak to the public. [4] The documentary revolves around Weiner's attempted comeback from his initial resignation during his 2013 campaign in the Democratic Party primary for Mayor of New York City. His campaign goes well at first, with many New Yorkers willing to give him a second chance as evidenced in polls putting him at or near the top of a tight mayoral race. [5]
During the filming of the documentary, however, additional leaked photos and evidence of online sexual activity surface, including explicit text conversations with women and a teenaged child that occurred well after his 2011 resignation from Congress. The mood of the campaign switches from exuberance to pain. Intimate views are captured of Weiner, his wife and his campaign staff struggling with the new revelations and the media firestorm that ensues. Weiner's wife, an adviser to Hillary Clinton, comes under fire during the scandal. [6] The relationship between the couple becomes strained, and in a couple of instances, the camera is asked to leave the room. [7] [8] Weiner's campaign manager quits when a press conference is held in which Weiner comes clean about his sexting, and his campaign begins to take a downward spiral. Weiner comes in fifth place in the polls, garnering only 4.9% of the popular vote. [9]
People documented in the film include:
The film also features archival footage from:
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016. It was released theatrically in the United States in May 2016 and broadcast on Showtime in October 2016. Starting in June 2014, the film began releasing internationally in the UK, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Australia, and Japan, and television broadcasts in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Israel, Belgium, and Holland.[ citation needed ] The film received an R rating from the MPAA for language and some sexual material.
Upon release, Anthony Weiner declined to endorse the film and claimed he had no intention of ever seeing the final product, saying "I already know how it ends."
After the film was released, Weiner claimed that "Kriegman had assured him verbally and in emails that he would not use Abedin in the film without her consent", and that Abedin never granted permission for Kriegman to use the footage. When asked if he will sue the filmmakers, Weiner didn't give a definitive answer. The filmmakers disputed Weiner's claim, stating that they clearly "had consent from everyone who appears in the film, including Anthony and Huma." [10]
The film received near universal acclaim by critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 97% of 177 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10.The website's consensus reads: "Weiner uses sharp insight and untrammeled access to offer a portrait of a political and personal collapse that's as queasy as it is undeniably compelling." [11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". [12]
Wendy Ide of The Observer gave it four out of five stars, writing: "Edited to perfection, this is like watching the slow-motion footage of a building collapsing. Weiner’s long-suffering wife, Huma Abedin … is a key sympathetic presence in the film. But it is Weiner himself, a likable narcissist with an Olympic capacity for vanity and self-delusion, who is every documentary-maker's dream subject." [13]
Brian Lowry of CNN wrote: What Weiner makes painfully clear is the collateral damage of Weiner's actions, not merely on his wife but those who believed in and devoted their energy to his campaign. To that extent, it's possible to share his politics and still see him as a fatally flawed vessel for them. [14]
The film performed decently, earning a worldwide box office total of $1,751,120 on an unknown budget. Of that $1,751,120, the film made $1,675,196 domestically and $75,924 internationally. On a per-theater average, the film made about $16,835 per screen. [15]
| Award | Category | Recipients and Nominees | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards | Best Edited Documentary Feature | Eli B. Despres | Nominated |
| Austin Film Critics Association | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Australian Film Critics Association [25] | Best Documentary Film (Local or International) | Weiner | Nominated |
| Awards Circuit Community Awards | Best Documentary Feature Film | Weiner | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Central Ohio Film Critics Association | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Champs-Élysées Film Festival | Prix du jury | Weiner | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Chlotrudis Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Cinema Eye Honors Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking | Weiner | Nominated |
| Outstanding Achievement in Editing | Eli B. Despres | Nominated | |
| Cinema Eye Audience Choice Prize | Weiner | Nominated | |
| The Unforgettables | Huma Abedin, Anthony Weiner | Won | |
| Critics' Choice Documentary Awards | Best First Documentary (Theatrical Feature) | Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg | Won |
| Best Documentary Feature | Weiner | Nominated | |
| Best Political Documentary | Weiner | Nominated | |
| Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Denver Film Critics Society | Best Documentary Film | Weiner | Nominated |
| Detroit Film Critics Society | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary | Josh Kriegman & Elyse Steinberg | Nominated |
| Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Won |
| Florida Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association | Documentary of the year | Weiner | Nominated |
| Georgia Film Critics Association | Best Documentary Film | Weiner | Nominated |
| Gotham Awards | Audience Award | Weiner | Nominated |
| Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated | |
| Grierson British Documentary Awards | Best Cinema Documentary | Weiner | Won |
| Hamburg Film Festival | Political Film Award | Weiner | Nominated |
| Houston Film Critics Society Awards | Best Documentary Feature | Weiner | Nominated |
| Indiana Film Journalists Association | Best Documentary | Weiner | 2nd place |
| Indiewire Critics Poll | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Best First Feature | Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg | Nominated | |
| International Documentary Association | Best Feature | Weiner | Nominated |
| Iowa Film Critics Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | 3rd place |
| Jerusalem Film Festival | Best International Film | Weiner | Nominated |
| Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Montclair Film Festival | David Carr Award for Truth in Non-Fiction Filmmaking | Weiner | Won |
| Bruce Sinofsky Prize for Documentary Feature | Weiner | Nominated | |
| New Hampshire Film Festival | Audience Choice – Documentary | Weiner | Won |
| North Carolina Film Critics Association | Best Documentary Film | Weiner | Nominated |
| North Texas Film Critics Association | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | 2nd Place |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Documentary Film | Weiner | Nominated |
| San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Won |
| Sarasota Film Festival | Special Jury Prize - Unprecedented Look at Politics in Crisis | Weiner | Won |
| Seattle Film Critics Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| St. Louis Film Critics Association | Best Documentary Feature | Weiner | Nominated |
| Sundance Film Festival | U.S. Grand Jury Prize – Documentary | Weiner | Won |
| Television Critics Association | Outstanding Achievement in News and Information | Weiner | Nominated |
| Utah Film Critics Association Awards | Best Documentary Feature Film | Weiner | 2nd place |
| Village Voice Film Poll | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
| Women Film Critics Circle Awards | Worst Male Images in a Movie | Weiner | Nominated |
| Zurich Film Festival | Best International Documentary Film | Weiner | Nominated |
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