MTV Documentary Films unveils Sheila Nevins’ next project with award-winning Gay Chorus Deep South
MTV Documentary Films, a division of Viacom’s MTV Studios, today announced its latest acquisition under Sheila Nevins: Gay Chorus Deep South, one of the year’s most award-winning documentaries.
Directed by David Charles Rodrigues, the critically-acclaimed film world premiered at Tribeca where it won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature before going on to win a whopping 16 additional awards at festivals across the U.S. and around the world.
Led by conductor Dr. Tim Seelig and joined by The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir; Gay Chorus Deep South is the timely story of 300 brave singers who bravely traveled from Mississippi to Tennessee through the Carolinas bringing a message of love and acceptance to those fighting intolerance. The ensuing conversations and connections offer a glimpse of a less polarized America, where the issues that divide us — faith, politics, sexual identity — are set aside by the soaring power of music, humanity and a little drag.
“The LGBTQ bias is fierce in southern states,” said Nevins. “Faced with unrelenting resistance, these brave men break barriers with song and continue to sing and raise their voices in the name of diversity.”
“If it weren’t for the films Sheila has done, I wouldn’t be a documentary filmmaker today,” said Rodrigues. “So, to have Sheila and MTV Documentary Films be a part of Gay Chorus Deep South not only means the world to me, it also means the entire world will get to experience the powerful message and voices of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.”
MTV Documentary Films will qualify the film for awards consideration and release it this Fall at a critical time when anti-LGBTQ legislation and laws continue to target basic human rights across the nation. Today, LGBTQ people can be fired and evicted in more than 30 states.
Upcoming festivals include: Nashville, Woodstock, opening night of Santa Barbara’s Call to Action Festival, opening night of The Boston Globe’s GlobeDocs, Heartland and New Orleans among others.
Executive produced by Sheila Nevins, Gay Chorus Deep South is produced and financed by Rausch Street Films, written and directed by Rodrigues, produced by Bud Johnston and Jesse Moss and written and edited by Jeff Gilbert. The director of photography is Adam Hobbs and Brian Chesky, James Goode and Tony Högqvist are also executive producers.
Sales were negotiated by Bahareh Kamali and Lance McPherson on behalf of MTV Documentary Films, Endeavor Content on behalf of the filmmakers.
MTV Documentary Films continues the rapid expansion of the global youth brand across its network of channels, platforms, live events and third-party development through MTV Studios.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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