Giving Voice

Giving Voice
Official poster
Directed by
Produced by
  • James D. Stern
  • Fernando Villena
  • Karen Bove
  • Schoen Smith
  • Craig Pilligan
CinematographyJonathan Narducci
Edited by
  • Rose Corr
  • Wes Lipman
  • Alexander Hadden
Music byBryan Senti
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
  • January 26, 2020 (2020-01-26) (Sundance)
  • December 11, 2020 (2020-12-11) (United States)
Running time
87 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Giving Voice is a 2020 American documentary film, directed and produced by James D. Stern and Fernando Villena. The film follows the 2018 edition of the annual August Wilson Monologue Competition[2] entered by thousands of high school students for the opportunity to perform on Broadway. Viola Davis, John Legend, Constanza Romero and Nicholas Caprio serve as executive producers.

The film had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Festival Favorite award. It was released on December 11, 2020, by Netflix.

Synopsis

Thousands of high school students enter the yearly August Wilson monologue competition for the opportunity to perform on Broadway. Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Jack Viertel, Gerardo Navarro, Nia Sarfo, Freedom Martin, Cody Merridith, Callie Holley and Aaron Guy appear in the film.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on January 26.[3] Shortly after, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film.[4] It was released on December 11, 2020.[5]

Reception

At the Sundance Film Festival, the film won the Festival Favorite Award.[6] Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% rating from 16 professional critic reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10.[7]

In December 2020, the film was named as a New York Times Critic's Pick.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Giving Voice". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (May 7, 2021). "Here Are the Winners of the 14th Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition". Playbill. New York City. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  3. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (December 4, 2019). "Sundance Unveils Female-Powered Lineup Featuring Taylor Swift, Gloria Steinem, Abortion Road Trip Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  4. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (June 18, 2020). "Netflix Picks Up Sundance Award Winning Docu 'Giving Voice'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  5. ^ Billington, Alex (November 19, 2020). "Official Trailer for 'Giving Voice' Doc Film About Student Monologues". First Showing. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  6. ^ Hipes, Patrick (February 4, 2020). "'Giving Voice' Wins Sundance's Festival Favorite Award". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  7. ^ "Giving Voice (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  8. ^ Daniels, Robert (December 14, 2020). "'Giving Voice' Review: August Wilson Is Uplifting a New Generation". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2021.