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Abigail Disney’s Fork Films, the production company and funder that has backed titles including The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales, Crip Camp and The Tale, has closed its doors, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
A handful of staff positions (fewer than 10) at the company, which put an emphasis on impact-driven documentary projects, have been terminated as a result of the closure. Disney first informed the staff of her decision in February, with the intention of shutting down entirely by September. Variety was the first to report the news.
“After much reflection, Abigail decided to close Fork Films,” a representative said in a statement. “Several Fork Films’ staff members will continue working on ‘The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,’ its release and impact campaign in the coming months. She plans to continue making films.”
Founded in 2007 by Disney, the granddaughter of...
Abigail Disney’s Fork Films, the production company and funder that has backed titles including The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales, Crip Camp and The Tale, has closed its doors, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
A handful of staff positions (fewer than 10) at the company, which put an emphasis on impact-driven documentary projects, have been terminated as a result of the closure. Disney first informed the staff of her decision in February, with the intention of shutting down entirely by September. Variety was the first to report the news.
“After much reflection, Abigail decided to close Fork Films,” a representative said in a statement. “Several Fork Films’ staff members will continue working on ‘The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,’ its release and impact campaign in the coming months. She plans to continue making films.”
Founded in 2007 by Disney, the granddaughter of...
- 10/4/2022
- by Katie Kilkenny
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Abigail Disney’s documentary and feature production company Fork Films, which is behind such projects as “Crip Camp” and her recent doc “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” is shutting down, TheWrap has learned.
A spokesperson for the company told TheWrap that fewer than 10 roles were ultimately eliminated. However, staff was informed of the decision to shutter the company back in February and had been working to wind the company down by the end of September. Further, individual stakeholders, collaborators and filmmakers were informed of the decision as of July.
Several staffers will remain to complete working on the rollout of their most recent film “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” over the coming months, according to the spokesperson. Disney plans to continue making films, the spokesperson adds.
Also Read:
‘The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales’ Review: Disney’s Magic Kingdom Takes a Hit in Sobering Documentary
Disney,...
A spokesperson for the company told TheWrap that fewer than 10 roles were ultimately eliminated. However, staff was informed of the decision to shutter the company back in February and had been working to wind the company down by the end of September. Further, individual stakeholders, collaborators and filmmakers were informed of the decision as of July.
Several staffers will remain to complete working on the rollout of their most recent film “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” over the coming months, according to the spokesperson. Disney plans to continue making films, the spokesperson adds.
Also Read:
‘The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales’ Review: Disney’s Magic Kingdom Takes a Hit in Sobering Documentary
Disney,...
- 10/3/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Abigail Disney has shut down Fork Films, the documentary and feature film company behind “Crip Camp,” “One Child Nation” and “The Tale,” a drama about sexual abuse that starred Laura Dern.
As part of the closure, fewer than 10 positions have been eliminated. Abigail, a filmmaker and philanthropist, is also the granddaughter of Roy Disney, the co-founder of The Walt Disney Company.
A spokesperson for Fork Films said the staff was notified of the closure in February, and have been working to wind down the company by Sept. 30, 2022. Disney’s most recent film, “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” which she co-directed with Kathleen Hughes, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and was recently released digitally. The film examines the issue of economic inequality and ballooning CEO compensation packages. The movie made headlines as Disney drilled down on the employment and union practices at the theme parks run by The Walt Disney Company.
As part of the closure, fewer than 10 positions have been eliminated. Abigail, a filmmaker and philanthropist, is also the granddaughter of Roy Disney, the co-founder of The Walt Disney Company.
A spokesperson for Fork Films said the staff was notified of the closure in February, and have been working to wind down the company by Sept. 30, 2022. Disney’s most recent film, “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” which she co-directed with Kathleen Hughes, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and was recently released digitally. The film examines the issue of economic inequality and ballooning CEO compensation packages. The movie made headlines as Disney drilled down on the employment and union practices at the theme parks run by The Walt Disney Company.
- 10/3/2022
- by Brent Lang and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Manhattan’s Downtown Community Television Center celebrated the opening of the media arts center’s long-anticipated nonprofit, 67-seat movie theater, Firehouse: Dctv’s Cinema for Documentary Film, on Tuesday.
The only movie theater in New York City dedicated to screening documentaries, Firehouse is an official Academy Award-qualifying theater that will screen first-run films and curated programs.
On Sept. 23, Abigail Disney and Kathleen Hughes’ self-distributed “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” about the growing inequalities in America and better pay for Disneyland cast members, will be the inaugural docu to play at Firehouse cinema. The week-long screening will serve as the film’s qualifying run in New York. Disney is set to appear in person for opening weekend Q&As.
Abigail Disney, Jon Alpert and Kathleen Hughes attend Firehouse Dctv’s Cinema for Documentary Film ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Disney said,...
The only movie theater in New York City dedicated to screening documentaries, Firehouse is an official Academy Award-qualifying theater that will screen first-run films and curated programs.
On Sept. 23, Abigail Disney and Kathleen Hughes’ self-distributed “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” about the growing inequalities in America and better pay for Disneyland cast members, will be the inaugural docu to play at Firehouse cinema. The week-long screening will serve as the film’s qualifying run in New York. Disney is set to appear in person for opening weekend Q&As.
Abigail Disney, Jon Alpert and Kathleen Hughes attend Firehouse Dctv’s Cinema for Documentary Film ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Disney said,...
- 9/21/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Clips Round-Up: The American Dream And Other Fairy Tales Shows Disney's Dark Side & More [Exclusive]
(Welcome to SlashClips, a series where we bring you exclusive clips from hot new Digital, Blu-ray, and theatrical releases you won't see anywhere else!)
In this edition:
The American Dream and Other Fairy TalesDigSection 8Railway ChildrenFor Walter and JosiahThe American Dream And Other Fairy Tales
First up, we have an exclusive clip from Abigail E. Disney's documentary "The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales," which explores income inequality through the lens of her family's namesake theme park. Co-directed by Disney (daughter of Roy E. Disney and an heir to the company) and Kathleen Hughes ("The Armor of Light"), the film is now playing in Orlando and New York. It will hit additional markets and VOD on September 23, 2022.
Here is the official synopsis:
Abigail Disney looks at America's dysfunctional and unequal economy and asks why the American Dream has worked for the wealthy, yet is a nightmare for people born with less.
In this edition:
The American Dream and Other Fairy TalesDigSection 8Railway ChildrenFor Walter and JosiahThe American Dream And Other Fairy Tales
First up, we have an exclusive clip from Abigail E. Disney's documentary "The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales," which explores income inequality through the lens of her family's namesake theme park. Co-directed by Disney (daughter of Roy E. Disney and an heir to the company) and Kathleen Hughes ("The Armor of Light"), the film is now playing in Orlando and New York. It will hit additional markets and VOD on September 23, 2022.
Here is the official synopsis:
Abigail Disney looks at America's dysfunctional and unequal economy and asks why the American Dream has worked for the wealthy, yet is a nightmare for people born with less.
- 9/20/2022
- by Max Evry
- Slash Film
It’s been a good year for several documentary filmmakers who sought and found distribution for independently made projects at major festivals. But for many nonfiction helmers, this year’s festival circuit hasn’t proven to be as fruitful as it once was.
Pre-pandemic, streaming services went to film fests to fill their slates, but now with media conglomerates consolidating, brands merging, and Netflix tightening its wallet, film fest documentary shopping sprees have slowed down. On top of mergers and economic unease, there’s been an increase in streamers like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Apple, and Disney either pre-buying docus or commissioning their own nonfiction projects.
Some of this year’s fest favorites were commissioned docus, including Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes’ ‘The Janes” (HBO), W. Kamau Bell’s “We Need to Talk About Cosby” (Showtime), Rory Kennedy’s “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” (Netflix), and Ron Howard’s “We Feed People...
Pre-pandemic, streaming services went to film fests to fill their slates, but now with media conglomerates consolidating, brands merging, and Netflix tightening its wallet, film fest documentary shopping sprees have slowed down. On top of mergers and economic unease, there’s been an increase in streamers like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Apple, and Disney either pre-buying docus or commissioning their own nonfiction projects.
Some of this year’s fest favorites were commissioned docus, including Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes’ ‘The Janes” (HBO), W. Kamau Bell’s “We Need to Talk About Cosby” (Showtime), Rory Kennedy’s “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” (Netflix), and Ron Howard’s “We Feed People...
- 9/15/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Dctv’s new documentary-dedicated theater, “Firehouse: Dctv’s Cinema for Documentary Film,” will open its doors Sept. 23. Located in Dctv’s historic Chinatown firehouse building in New York, the nonprofit theater will begin its opening week with an exclusive screening of Abigail Disney and Kathleen Hughes’ “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales.”
“I’m so excited that my new documentary, ‘The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,’ will kick off the opening of Dctv’s Firehouse Cinema,” Disney said in a statement. “I can’t wait to meet the first audiences who will be enjoying and shaping this vital new addition to New York City’s arthouse film scene.”
In addition to “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” Firehouse will also run such documentaries as Reid Davenport’s “I Didn’t See You There” and Nina Menkes’ “Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power,” which premiere Sept. 30 and Oct. 21 respectively.
“The documentary form...
“I’m so excited that my new documentary, ‘The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,’ will kick off the opening of Dctv’s Firehouse Cinema,” Disney said in a statement. “I can’t wait to meet the first audiences who will be enjoying and shaping this vital new addition to New York City’s arthouse film scene.”
In addition to “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” Firehouse will also run such documentaries as Reid Davenport’s “I Didn’t See You There” and Nina Menkes’ “Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power,” which premiere Sept. 30 and Oct. 21 respectively.
“The documentary form...
- 8/26/2022
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Producer and documentary filmmaker Abigail Disney is calling her family legacy into question again after it was revealed that the Walt Disney Company donated to Florida state representatives who supported the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Disney, who is an Emmy-winning filmmaker, activist, and the daughter of former Disney animation head Roy E. Disney and great-niece of Walt Disney, took to Twitter to condemn the corporation’s financial backing of the Parental Rights in Education bill, which prohibits “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity” in Florida primary schools.
“I could not be more unhappy with their political activities, both in terms of whom they fund and how they lobby,” Disney tweeted about the Walt Disney Company’s reported political contributions. “I would strongly support a law to require all corporations to reveal All of their funding and lobbying moves.”
The Orlando Sentinel reported that Disney has given money...
Disney, who is an Emmy-winning filmmaker, activist, and the daughter of former Disney animation head Roy E. Disney and great-niece of Walt Disney, took to Twitter to condemn the corporation’s financial backing of the Parental Rights in Education bill, which prohibits “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity” in Florida primary schools.
“I could not be more unhappy with their political activities, both in terms of whom they fund and how they lobby,” Disney tweeted about the Walt Disney Company’s reported political contributions. “I would strongly support a law to require all corporations to reveal All of their funding and lobbying moves.”
The Orlando Sentinel reported that Disney has given money...
- 3/2/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The Sundance Film Festival closed its second virtual edition on Sunday, having fielded a few breakout new films and filmmakers, as well as some big sales.
With the indie film box office in the doldrums, many of the most aggressive buyers were streaming giants, which have both an insatiable need for content and a desire to generate some awards buzz. While some of the movies received a more muted reception than in past years, when a standing ovation at Park City’s Eccles Theater was enough to trigger an all-night bidding war, there’s been no shortage of headline-making moments. Plus, a slow-burning sales market caught fire as Sundance came to a close, leaving some indie filmmakers the richer for their festival experience. Here are some key takeaways:
Peak Pandemic Politics
America has never felt more divided, and many of the films premiering at this year’s Sundance shine a light on that political chasm.
With the indie film box office in the doldrums, many of the most aggressive buyers were streaming giants, which have both an insatiable need for content and a desire to generate some awards buzz. While some of the movies received a more muted reception than in past years, when a standing ovation at Park City’s Eccles Theater was enough to trigger an all-night bidding war, there’s been no shortage of headline-making moments. Plus, a slow-burning sales market caught fire as Sundance came to a close, leaving some indie filmmakers the richer for their festival experience. Here are some key takeaways:
Peak Pandemic Politics
America has never felt more divided, and many of the films premiering at this year’s Sundance shine a light on that political chasm.
- 1/31/2022
- by Brent Lang and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
“The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” is one of the most talked-about documentaries at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, both because of its take on the widening gap between the rich and poor in the United States and because Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Roy O. Disney, is one of the directors, alongside Kathleen Hughes.
Abigail Disney’s name, and the fact that she takes aim at the company co-founded by her grandfather (who died shortly after opening Walt Disney World in Florida in 1971) gives what could have been a run-of-the-mill documentary additional dimension and spark.
Disney and Hughes sat down for an interview at TheWrap’s virtual Sundance Studio and discussed what prompted them to make the film. In a particularly candid moment, Disney expressed doubts about Bob Chapek, the company’s new CEO, who started in home video before moving on to run the consumer products and theme park divisions.
Abigail Disney’s name, and the fact that she takes aim at the company co-founded by her grandfather (who died shortly after opening Walt Disney World in Florida in 1971) gives what could have been a run-of-the-mill documentary additional dimension and spark.
Disney and Hughes sat down for an interview at TheWrap’s virtual Sundance Studio and discussed what prompted them to make the film. In a particularly candid moment, Disney expressed doubts about Bob Chapek, the company’s new CEO, who started in home video before moving on to run the consumer products and theme park divisions.
- 1/28/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
At the same moment Disney-critical documentary “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” was premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, the media giant’s controversy du jour involved the treatment of dwarfs in its upcoming live-action “Snow White” remake. “Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho!” as the lyrics go. “We dig up diamonds by the score / A thousand rubies, sometimes more / Though we don’t know what we dig ’em for.” Turns out, the employees of Disneyland can say the same, generating enormous wealth for shareholders and CEOs while earning barely enough to feed their families — a situation Abigail Disney wants to do something about.
The granddaughter of The Walt Disney Co. co-founder Roy O. Disney — and a direct beneficiary of its corporate policies — Abigail Disney doesn’t like to see the little guy exploited. Some may recognize the filmmaker (who shares credit with “The Armor of Life” collaborator Kathleen Hughes) from media appearances,...
The granddaughter of The Walt Disney Co. co-founder Roy O. Disney — and a direct beneficiary of its corporate policies — Abigail Disney doesn’t like to see the little guy exploited. Some may recognize the filmmaker (who shares credit with “The Armor of Life” collaborator Kathleen Hughes) from media appearances,...
- 1/28/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Abigail E. Disney, the granddaughter of Walt Disney Company co-founder Roy O. Disney, has spoken out against the treatment of Disney employees and the compensation of Disney executives in the past; with The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales, she and co-director Kathleen Hughes investigate the poor working conditions and hand-to-mouth living of Disneyland workers and the riches of Disney CEO Bob Iger. Editor David Cohen explains how he shaped the footage into a narrative and the constant evolution of Abigail Disney’s role in front of the camera. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your […]
The post “The Problem Is Getting More and More Urgent”: Editor David Cohen on The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Problem Is Getting More and More Urgent”: Editor David Cohen on The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/24/2022
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Abigail E. Disney, the granddaughter of Walt Disney Company co-founder Roy O. Disney, has spoken out against the treatment of Disney employees and the compensation of Disney executives in the past; with The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales, she and co-director Kathleen Hughes investigate the poor working conditions and hand-to-mouth living of Disneyland workers and the riches of Disney CEO Bob Iger. Editor David Cohen explains how he shaped the footage into a narrative and the constant evolution of Abigail Disney’s role in front of the camera. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your […]
The post “The Problem Is Getting More and More Urgent”: Editor David Cohen on The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Problem Is Getting More and More Urgent”: Editor David Cohen on The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/24/2022
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
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