Untitled Paul Robeson Film

In Progress

UNTITLED PAUL ROBESON reclaims the life and legacy of Paul Robeson in a genre-defying documentary, rejecting conventional biography in favor of an immersive and complex character study. Drawing from Robeson’s estate archive, the film treats his legacy as a living world of inquiry. Time and space collapse through hybrid staged tableaux that use his own words, allowing Paul’s voice to guide the rhythm of the film and reveal his internal reckoning shaped by his lived experiences, artistry, activism, and courage. The narrative is shaped by moments of adversity that illuminate Robeson’s tenacity, including the Peekskill Riots of 1949, the revocation of his U.S. passport, the HUAC hearings, and his alleged poisoning in Moscow by CIA operatives. These experiences reveal the collision of artistic and political life, drawing audiences into Robeson’s decisions under pressure. Robeson’s performances from Ol’ Man River to Othello become a doorway into his political evolution. We bring these moments to life through layered polyrhythmic editing, hybrid tableaux, and resonant sound design that explores the power of Robeson’s voice. The film delivers a kaleidoscopic portrait of a powerful international artist and activist who refused neutrality, creating an intergenerational conversation on censorship, resistance, and integrity that resonates today.

The Filmmakers

Emmy, Guggenheim, and Sundance Award-winning duo Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson co-founded Rada Studio to balance their family life with their passion for the arts. Together, they have built an impressive portfolio of fiction films, documentaries, immersive XR installations, and books.

Through a Black Atlantic lens, they reimagine narratives of resistance and healing, weaving fiction, immersive, experimental, and hybrid forms that center a Black Radical tradition and the lived experiences of the Black diaspora exemplified by their genre-bending works: Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games (2023 Oscars shortlist; 2024 NAACP Award winner: Short Form Documentary) and Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (2024 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking; 2023 Oscars shortlist). Their latest film, True North (2025), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Their current slate of work continues their commitment to artistic experimentation with form, pushing the boundaries of creative nonfiction. Joe and Michèle are equally dedicated to outreach and exhibition, centering community distribution, and creating deep dialogue between participants, creators, and their communities. In 2013, the duo launched a groundbreaking three-year community engagement campaign to confront structural racism against Black boys in the education system; they were awarded the Puma Prize for one of the most effective outreach campaigns worldwide.

Today, Stephenson and Brewster are focused on mentoring Afrodescendant creators in Panama, Portugal, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States. Through their Rada Collaborative 501c3 programs, they support the next generation of independent-minded artists. Joe and Michèle are Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members, two-time shortlisted Oscar nominees, and the 2025 DOC NYC Lifetime Achievement recipients.