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EXCLUSIVE: Peacock acquired the civil rights documentation Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power ahead of its world premiere next week at the Tribeca Festival. A streaming release date for the image presented by Participant, a production of Multitude Films, in association with will be announced shortly The Atlantic and will bow as Peacock Original on the streamer.
The film, narrated through testimony and archival footage, chronicles a group of brave young black activists who risked their lives not only to secure the right to vote, but for black power in Lowndes County, AL. It was inspired by Vann R. Newkirk II’s research and writings as published in The Atlantic. He also served as consulting producer on the film, which premieres Tuesday in Tribeca’s Spotlight Documentary section.
“What struck us about the history of Lowndes County’s role in the civil rights movement was that it was locally led and that a key element of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s strategy was to leave behind a community that could continue to work for itself ‘ said directors Geeta Gandbhir and Sam Pollard. “As the fight for racial justice and racial justice continues in this country, it was important for us to find value-based partners in multitude, The Atlantic and participants, and we’re delighted to have Peacock on board to share the film with audiences.”
The Peacock Original is presented by Participant, a Multitude Films Production, in association with The Atlantic and directed by Pollard and Gandbhir. Executive producers are Jeff Skoll, the late Diane Weyermann, Fred Grinstein and Linzee Troubh. Producers are Anya Rous, Jessica Devaney and Dema Paxton Fofang.
Lowndes County is the latest in Peacock’s major foray into documentary. The streamer has it too The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks and The end is NYE in the lineup for the Tribeca Festival, which kicked off Wednesday.
“At its core, Peacock is based on meaningful storytelling. And there’s no better way to tell a story than to document a moment through the lens of those who lived it,” said Rod Aissa, VP Unscripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming.
“Our team is particularly interested in telling stories that haven’t had a proper platform yet. Rosa Parks, for example, has been covered in snippets and soundbytes for the last 60+ years, but Peacock will be the first to tell her full-length story in feature film format The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. Lowndes County and the way to black power is the little-known story of an impoverished, young black community in 1960s Alabama who take action to gain rights and power in their own town at any cost. These are the types of stories we’re interested in — real, human stories told by both new and veteran storytellers who have something to say and a unique approach.”
Mrs Rosa Parks tells the story of the civil rights icon with a focus on the intention behind her activism, her radical politics and the true extent of her courage. The SO’B Productions project is executive produced by Soledad O’Brien, Jo Honig, Patrick Conway, Yoruba Richen and Johanna Hamilton. Yoruba Richen and Johanna Hamilton are directors. Christalyn Hampton is a producer.
The end is NYE sends host Bill Nye into the most epic global catastrophes imaginable – both natural and unnatural – and then uses science to demystify them to show how we can survive, mitigate and even prevent them. The document was created by Nye, Seth MacFarlane and Brannon Braga, who co-directed and wrote with Nye. Fuzzy Door’s MacFarlane and Erica Huggins are executive producers alongside Braga and Nye.
Release dates for these documents have not been announced.