Perspective Films, a new documentary co-production initiative led by independent producer Jess Devaney, has unveiled its inaugural slate of films, Variety can report exclusively. The subjects of Perspective’s first five documentaries include the clash between federal immigration enforcement and the citizens of Minneapolis, the war in Gaza and the invention of C-SPAN.
“Every story on this slate is about who gets to shape history — a concert that sparked a movement, a network that threw open the halls of power to the public and residents documenting state violence as it unfolds,” Devaney said. “These films bring together Oscar-winning directors, veteran producers, and a journalist reporting from inside a war zone. They are collaborators of extraordinary talent and courage, and we’re proud to partner on their visionary films.”
Devaney, Perspective’s narrative strategist and the founder of Multitude Films, joined the label in May. Her previous works include “Life After,” “Pray Away” and “Power” for Netflix, the Emmy-winning “Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power” and HBO’s “How We Get Free.”
Perspective Films was built from the Perspective Fund’s Documentary Film Support program, which, under the leadership of program officer Andrew Catauro, offers grant funding for nonfiction projects. Selected titles receive up to $375,000 toward development, filming, post-production or distribution. Perspective Films also offers guidance at every step of the filmmaking process from conception to release.
See Perspective Film’s initial slate below.
“THEY’RE HERE,” which premiered at the Venice and New York Film Festivals this year, is a documentary that unfolds like a horror film that follows Edén Villa (a pseudonym) and anonymous Minneapolis residents as they evade and resist the paramilitary occupation of their city. Told in the tradition of dystopian cinema, “THEY’RE HERE” is set in a winter landscape where masked agents abduct children, residents travel in trunks, shackled prisoners are loaded onto airplanes within eyesight of vacationers and bicyclists track the movements of an invading force. Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras and Minneapolis-based filmmaker Rachel Lauren Mueller. Produced by Rachel Lauren Mueller, Laura Poitras, Yoni Golijov. Screening at film festivals.
“THE PEOPLE’S NETWORK,” traces C-SPAN’s evolution of almost five decades from a bold experiment into an essential civic institution. After revolutionizing access to government in the age of cable, C-SPAN now faces a new era and a renewed question: how to best serve the public at a time when America needs it the most? Directed by Alyse Shorland; produced by Darcy McKinnon and Sara Archambault. In Production.
“UNTITLED GAZA DOCUMENTARY,” details embargoed until launch. Directed by anonymous. Produced, written and edited by Rabab Haj Yahya; produced by Ayah Selene and Munir Atalla. In post-production.
“FARM AID,” tells the story of Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organizing what they thought would be a one-time benefit concert for small family farmers in 1985. Forty years later, the crisis has reached another breaking point and the movement that refused to let rural America disappear is still fighting. Directed by Kathlyn Horan; produced by Academy Award nominees Julie Goldman and Christopher Clements and Emmy winner J. Daniel Torres. In production.
“UNTITLED POLICING DOCUMENTARY” explores media and cultural portrayals of policing. Directed by Academy Award-nominated director Geeta Gandbhir; produced by Academy Award-nominated producer Alisa Payne. In development.
