+ PREMIERES
RAPINOE
Rebeca Huntt’s intimate portrait of athlete and activist Megan Rapinoe enjoyed a buzz-worthy premiere on opening night of the Toronto International Film Festival (including a standing ovation)! Megan and Rebeca sat down for some wonderful interviews, including for a multi-page spread in the September issue of The Hollywood Reporter, and for POV Magazine. Here are quotes from some of our favorite reviews:
“Rebeca Huntt’s revealing portrait of the athlete and activist Megan Rapinoe, is not like other celebrity documentaries…Huntt’s compassionate yet piercing eye gives us a fuller look at who she is than ever before.” – Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap
“Engaging and inspiring, thanks to Huntt’s relaxed approach and Rapinoe’s typically radiant presence.” – Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
“[RAPINOE] chronicles the dramatic, surprising, and at times exhilarating life of its main subject while offering small but important morsels of intimacy that are not typical for safe, biopic-type documentaries of this nature.” – J Don Birnam, Next Best Picture
We’re excited to share that HBO has acquired the North American rights to the film! More details to come next year.
EDWARD SAID: BETWEEN WORLDS
Maiken Baird’s all-archival profile on Palestinian scholar Edward Said premiered at TIFF on Saturday to a rapt audience. Out of the festival, EDWARD SAID: BETWEEN WORLDS received exciting press coverage and reviews:
“A brilliant feat of editing…EDWARD SAID: BETWEEN WORLDS deepens our understanding, crafting tangible links between the personal and the political…It’s a necessary document, arriving at the right time when the culture in general is questioning the jaundiced eyes that have viewed Eastern cultures for centuries.” – Murtada Elfadl, Variety
“A reverential work of resurrection…Thoughtful and admirably comprehensive…the documentary is as rigorously detailed as it is moving and emotional.” – Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap
“Maiken Baird’s profile of Edward Said…makes you wish there were more people like him: intense, passionate, awesomely articulate and, most impressively, someone not unyielding, but, rather, a man who could surprise when he shifted his point of view.” – Susan G. Cole, POV
The Hollywood Reporter and POV also published interviews with director Maiken Baird and producer Sarah Mowaswes about working with the archive and how the film speaks to the current political moment.
Follow the film’s Instagram and TikTok for updates!
+ NOW STREAMING
We’re excited to announce that BABY DOE is now available on Apple TV, Prime Video and other platforms! This award-winning documentary delves into the complex issues of pregnancy denial, reproductive rights and maternal mental health with sensitivity and nuance.
Thirty years ago, Gail Ritchey, a young woman from a conservative Christian community in rural Ohio, gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods. Now a devoted mother of three, her quiet suburban life shatters when DNA evidence links her to the infamous cold case of “Geauga’s Child,” leading to her arrest for murder.
Director: Jessica Earnshaw
Producer: Holly Meehl Chapman
Watch BABY DOE here. Follow the film on Instagram and visit the website for more information and updates.
Check out this recent insightful piece about Michael Premo’s HOMEGROWN in Mother Jones!
What begins as activism quickly escalates as three conservatives join a widening conflict over identity, power, and the future of American democracy. With a patient and unflinching approach, HOMEGROWN follows a father-to-be in New Jersey, an Air Force veteran in New York City, and a charismatic activist from Texas crisscrossing the country during a period of profound national fracture from the summer of 2020 through the spring of 2025. As the country accelerates toward political crisis, we witness democratic norms crumbling not through a single event, but from hundreds of personal choices made by ordinary people.
HOMEGROWN is available to rent or own via Gathr. Learn more on the film’s website.
+ AWARDS
We’re thrilled to share that two Impact Partners films are nominated for Grierson Awards! SONGS FROM THE HOLE is nominated for Best Arts and Music Documentary, and THE SHEPHERD AND THE BEAR is nominated for Best Cinema Documentary. Congratulations to the film teams! See the full list of nominees here.
+ FESTS
IP films are continuing their fall festival tours…
After opening Camden International Film Festival last night, THE ILLUSION OF AN EVERLASTING SUMMER next heads to San Sebastian International Film Festival and Mill Valley Film Festival.
EDWARD SAID: BETWEEN WORLDS and ONE IN A MILLION will both screen at Zurich Film Festival and Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. BETWEEN WORLDS will also stop at New York Film Festival and Hamptons International Film Festival.
In October, ONE IN A MILLION and SEIZED will screen at Woodstock Film Festival, and ILLUSION OF AN EVERLASTING SUMMER and EDWARD SAID will be at the Chicago International Film Festival. We hope you get the chance to see some of these films this fall!