Raising Bertie

Raising Bertie is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Margaret Byrne and produced by Ian Robertson Kibbe, Margaret Byrne, and Jon Stuyvesant. It was distributed by Kartemquin Films and aired in shortened form on the 30th season of PBS's documentary series POV on August 28, 2017.[1]

Raising Bertie
Directed byMargaret Byrne
Produced byIan Robertson Kibbe
Margaret Byrne
Jon Stuyvesant
Music byEric Andrew Kuhn
CinematographyJon Stuyvesant
Edited byLeslie Simmer
Production
companies
Beti Films
Kartemquin Films
Distributed byKartemquin Films
Release date
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

North Carolina native and Grammy-nominated rapper J. Cole is one of the executive producers of the film.[2]

Release and awards

Raising Bertie premiered at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in 2016, and subsequently screened at 25 more festivals.[3] The film won multiple awards including the Documentary Feature Special Jury Award at the Atlanta Film Festival,[4] Best Director at the Atlanta Underground Film Festival,[5] Best Documentary Feature at Atlanta Docufest,[6] and Best First Time Director at the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles[7]

Critical reception

Critically, the film has been well received.[8] Kimber Myers of the Los Angeles Times called the film an "impressive directorial debut... alternates between triumph and tragedy, but there's never a moment that doesn't feel intimate and authentic."[9] In IndieWire, Bryn Gelbart called the film "astounding and powerful."[10] Alan Scherstuhl from The Village Voice called the film "essential... Charts nothing less than what it’s like to try to grow up free in the prison capital of the world,"[11] and Scott Pfeiffer of The Moving World said the film "deserves a place beside the great achievements in longitudinal film."[12]

Miriam Di Nunzio of the Chicago Sun-Times said the film "powerfully drives home what is obvious and yet what most of us fail to see: Bertie County is America. It's Chicago. It's Detroit. It's Los Angeles. It's a portrait of communities and families striving to do right by their kids, but where schools and lack of job programs fail to meet communities' most desperate needs."[13] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com said “ I never would have heard of Bertie, North Carolina if it weren’t for this movie, and using art to learn about every corner of our country seems more essential than ever.”[14]

Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter said “the experiences and challenges of the rural poor might make it into the national conversation as an abstraction, but rarely with the specificity of this intimate portrait of a black community.”[15] Brian C. Bush of The Huffington Post called the film “starkly poetic” and said it "brilliantly weaves the young men’s stories together, as they transition from their teens into manhood, engaged in a shared struggle for social and economic survival."[16]

Executive Producer Gordon Quinn said of the film, “Raising Bertie challenges us to see the value in lives too often ignored, those of rural America and emerging adults.”[17]

References
  1. "'Raising Bertie' paints portrait of hope and hardship for three young men". PBS NewsHour. August 28, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  2. Merrill, Philip (September 21, 2017). "J. Cole Signs On For 'Bertie County' Documentary". Grammy.com. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  3. "Distinctions". Kartemquin. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  4. "ATLFF '17 Jury & Audience Award Winners". Atlanta Film Festival. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  5. "Awards". Atlanta Underground Film Festival. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  6. "2016 Awards". Atlanta Docufest. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  7. "DTLA FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2016 AWARDS". Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  8. "Press". Kartemquin. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  9. "Authentic portrait of young men at risk in documentary 'Raising Bertie'". Los Angeles Times. June 22, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  10. "Watch: This Exclusive 'Raising Bertie' Clip Will Make You Cry". IndieWire. April 7, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  11. "Powerful Docs Examine Education In African-American Communities". The Village Voice. June 7, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  12. "Raising Bertie". The Moving World. June 14, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  13. "'Raising Bertie' a powerful wakeup call to school systems, society". Chicago Sun-Times. June 15, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  14. "Watch: Raising Bertie (2016)". RogerEbert.com. November 8, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  15. "'Raising Bertie': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. June 8, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  16. "Raising Bertie: Their Stories Are Our Stories". The Huffington Post. April 20, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  17. "Full Frame 2016 to host world premiere of "Raising Bertie"". Kartemquin. March 10, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
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