The Sundance Film Festival kicks off its 40th edition when crowds gather at Park City and Salt Lake City theaters on Thursday. I started going to Sundance back in 2018. I’ve since attended in person again in 2019, 2020, and 2023. Because of Covid, I attended virtually in both 2021 and 2022. This year will be different with once again attending virtually from the Windy City. The thing about going in person is not only…
"Sundance Film Festival Kicks Off 40th Edition This Week"Tag: Betsy West
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down follows the former Arizona congresswoman and her fight to recover from an assassination attempt. I spent my Election Day watching the most recent documentary from filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West. While the film feels appropriate for the day, it’s certainly not the type that will calm one’s election anxieties. There are other films for that. That I’m watching this film within two weeks of someone targeting House Speaker Nancy…
"Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down: A Profile In Resilience"
Documentary filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West are back at it again with the story of unlikely television star Julia Child in Julia. Julia Child was a legend but she reached this point late in her life. She is proof that if you don’t find fame in your 20s or 30s, you could possibly find it in your 50s. This is exactly what she did when she called into a Boston public television statement about…
"Julia – Telluride 2021"
My Name is Pauli Murray, the newest film from Julie Cohen and Betsy West, introduces a new generation to the social justice activist. The film is a tight 91 minutes (including the credits, of course) but hits on all the main points. Going into the film, I didn’t know much about Pauli Murray. To be fair, I had never even heard of them until I saw that Cohen and West were making this documentary. In…
"Sundance 2021: My Name is Pauli Murray"