Tag Archives: Sara Bernstein

Rudy Valdez Agrees to Overall Unscripted Deal with Imagine Documentaries

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Rudy Valdez has a new unscripted partner…

The Latino documentary filmmaker has agreed to an overall unscripted deal with Imagine Documentaries.

Rudy ValdezAs part of the agreement, Valdez will develop, direct and executive produce new nonfiction projects for the studio through his Bluff Road Films banner.

The two-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker started his career as a camera operator on the Peabody Award-winning, Sundance series Brick City and went on to direct his passion project on HBO’s The Sentence.

Shot and directed by Valdez over the course of a decade, this feature documentary tells the very personal story of his sister’s plight in the criminal justice system, while tackling subjects like mandatory minimums and sentencing reform.

“It has been wonderful to work with Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, and the entire Imagine Documentaries team through the years,” said Valdez. “They have entrusted me with telling a variety of stories and have always supported my vision and approach. This new partnership will allow us to continue to create inspiring projects together and for me to expand, not only in the stories that I am able to tell, but also in my efforts to create a platform that fosters new voices. Along with this new deal, I’m excited to announce the launch of my production company, Bluff Road Films. Steered by an intimate storytelling approach, my team and I will aim to amplify unheard voices. Having the support of Imagine as we ramp up our efforts and take on new projects is invaluable.”

His most recent projects include Sony Pictures Classic’s Carlos and Choir on Disney+.

Both projects are produced by Imagine Entertainment and will premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Festival.

Carlos, the definitive feature documentary of Carlos Santana, follows the artist’s lifelong journey from 14-year-old street musician to 10-time Grammy winning global sensation.

Choir is a six-part docuseries, following the Detroit Youth Choir after their star turn on America’s Got Talent.

“As longtime collaborators of the extraordinary Rudy Valdez, Imagine is thrilled to formalize our unique creative partnership with Rudy and further bolster his prolific documentary impact,” said Bernstein, president of Imagine Documentaries.

Christy Turlington to Form Part of Apple TV+’s New Documentary Series “The Supermodels”

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Christy Turlington will be sashaying her way onto Apple TV+…

The 51-year-old half-Salvadoran American will be appearing in the streamer’s latest documentary series The Supermodels.

Christy Turlington

Hailing from Imagine Documentaries and directed by Barbara Kopple, the series will feature access to and interviews with Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista, who will all executive produce alongside Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes and Kopple.

Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista

The Supermodels will revisit the quartet’s modelling careers and how they disrupted the 90s’ fashion scene.

The series comes out of Imagine Documentaries first-look agreement with Apple.

Director Kopple has previously won two Academy Awards in 1976 for Kentucky miners’ strike film Harlan County, USA and in 1991 for American Dream about the Hormel strike in Austin, Minnesota.

Campbell said it was a “dream come true to bring it to life”. “We hope our journey seen in the  docuseries will encourage, motivate and inspire young people around the world. We look forward to this great adventure ahead with director Barbara Kopple,” she wrote on Instagram.

Crawford added that the series plans to “explore the dynamic personalities” and “shifts in media and culture that helped shape and define this iconic era”. “I’m excited to reunite with my friends to both celebrate and examine the way supermodels transcended the traditional perceptions and limits of modeling in the fashion industry through time,” she added on the social media app.

Thalia Directing the HBO Documentary Series “15: A Quinceañera Story”

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Thalia is shining a spotlight on a special rite of passage four young Latinas…

The 46-year-old Mexican Latin Grammy-winning singer and actress is directing the HBO special, 15: A Quinceañera Story, alongside Emmy winner Matthew O’Neill.

Thalia

The collection of four short documentary films will debut on the premium cable channel on December 19-22.

Thalia’s husband, music industry veteran Tommy Mottola, is executive producing the project.

The films follow five Latina girls from different cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds as they transition to adulthood, all observing the traditional rite of passage of the quinceañera, a celebration of their 15th birthdays.

The short films will premiere on four consecutive nights, airing simultaneously on HBO and HBO Latino. O’Neill and Xochitl Dorsey also produced, along with HBO’s senior producer Sara Bernstein and executive producer Sheila Nevins.

“As a Latina, I’m proud to share our culture and shine a spotlight on these dynamic, talented and beautiful young women featured in these four films,” Thalia Sodi said in a statement. “These young women are fierce and determined and represent the rising generation of American Latinas who are helping define the future of our country,” added Mottola.

“The featured young women are examples of the breadth and diversity of the Latina experience in America,” commented O’Neill. “We’re proud to celebrate them and their communities as they contend with the complicated realities of growing up in America today.”

The quinceañera girls profiled include Zoey, a young Mexican-American living south of Los Angeles who was assigned male gender at birth and celebrates with her trans-madrinas (godmothers) who never had quinceañeras of their own; and Rosi, an American growing up in Florida with a mother from Guatemala and a father from Cuba, who combines all three of her cultures for a quinceañera in Havana, where she chooses to celebrate because her beloved grandfather cannot get a visa to the U.S.

Also profiled is Ashley, an amateur East L.A. boxer whose mother is a “Dreamer” and whose father has been deported. Nervous about her quinceañera and her first official fight, she also struggles with the reality that her coach is undergoing deportation procedures. The final film centers on Jackie and Nina, two best friends from San Antonio, who decide to honor their multi-generational Mexican American heritage by mixing their joint quince with their love of escaramuza, a traditional Mexican horse-dancing display.