The UMF Emery Community Arts Center plans to present “Truth Tellers,” a documentary by Maine filmmaker Richard Kane on artist and activist Robert Shetterly who has painted 255 portraits of Americans, past and present, who had the moral courage to confront issues of social, environmental and economic justice. The screening is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, March 24, at the Emery Performance Space. It is free and open to the public.
“These Americans Who Tell the Truth” have been exhibited throughout the U.S. for almost two decades. The documentary is both a story of Shetterly’s art and activism and a history lesson in what it means to be a citizen of a democracy. I
Among the truth tellers covered in the film are Bayard Rustin, Bill McGibben, Kelsey Juliana, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Sherri Mitchell, Maulian Dana, Bill Bigelow, Zyahna Bryant, Bree Newsome Bass, Fannie Lou Hammer, John Lewis, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Reggie Harris and more.
“Truth Tellers” director, producer and cinematographer is Richard Kane, an independent director whose work is focused on the intersection of art and contemporary American life.
The documentary was written by Judith Dwan Hallet, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, former Senior Producer/Writer at National Geographic, who has been making films for 50 years, and received many distinguished awards including Woman of Vision Creative Excellence Award from Women in Film and Video in Washington DC and an Emmy from The National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in recognition for her significant contributions to the broadcast industry.
Additional cinematography was provided by veteran Bob Elsfrom, who has shot and directed documentaries for half a century and won multiple Emmys and Academy Award nominations. His resume includes the likes of PBS, Frontline and National Geographic and a feature film with Brian De Palma and Robert De Niro.
For more information contact Ann Bartges, director of UMF Emery Community Arts Center at [email protected] or 207-778-7461.
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