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Executive produced by Moby, ROWDY GIRL showcases the inspiring work of Renee King-Sonnen, a former Texas cattle rancher who in 2015, after a spiritual awakening, left the cruel cycle of animal agriculture. After going vegan, King-Sonnen and her husband, Tommy Sonnen, transformed her husband’s beef operation into Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, a farm animal sanctuary that seeks to rescue farm animals from factory farming. Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, located between San Antonio and Houston, in Waelder, TX, has a mission to educate the public about the cruelties of factory farming, to advocate a vegan lifestyle, and to inspire other ranchers to experience a paradigm shift and help them move from participating in the cruelty of factory farming to living with compassion towards the animals whose lives usually end in brutal death. Renee has lived on both sides of the fence, proving that there is a common ground between farmers and vegans: a shared mission of compassion and sustainability. Filmmaker Jason Goldman’s verité style documentary lovingly captures the dynamic connection between Renee, her husband Tommy and the hooved and feathered friends who inhabit Rowdy Girl Sanctuary. Director / Producer Jason Goldman stops by for a conversation on his goal in making Rowdy Girl was to work on a project that reflected his personal values and giving Renee a platform to reach a wider audience, particularly farmers who she believes can change the world by moving to more sustainable and humane care of our furry friends.
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For more go to: argotpictures.com/rowdy-girl
Argot Pictures is proud to present the US theatrical release of ROWDY GIRL, a documentary film by Jason Goldman. ROWDY GIRL will open at the Firehouse DCTV in New York on May 31st, and at Laemmle Monica in Los Angeles on June 7th. Select cities will follow.
About the filmmaker – Jason Goldman is a director/producer from New York City. His earliest filmmaking experience came under acclaimed documentarian Albert Maysles where he learned the foundation of direct cinema. He’s produced award winning shorts, feature length films, and documentaries. In 2018 he produced the award winning doc “Sidelined” in conjunction with A&E IndieFilm which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. “Rowdy Girl,” his directorial debut, was recently signed with The Film Collaborative and Impronta Films covering worldwide representation for a 2023 release. Go to: thefilmshop.org/jason-goldman
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Reviews:
“A provocative, vital and engrossing documentary” – Avi OfferNYC Movie Guru
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Vanessa Hope’s takes full advantage of her unprecedented access to the first female president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen. Thorough, incisive and bristling with tension, INVISIBLE NATION is a living account of Tsai’s tightrope walk as she balances the hopes and dreams of her nation between the colossal geopolitical forces of the U.S. and China. Hope’s observational style captures Tsai at work in her country’s vibrant democracy at home, while seeking full international recognition of Taiwan’s right to exist. At a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated the ever-present threat of authoritarian aggression, INVISIBLE NATION brings punctual focus to the struggle of Taiwan as it fights for autonomy and freedom from fear. Director and Co-Producer Vanessa Hope (William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America) joins us for a conversation on the high-wire diplomacy facing President Tsai daily, her ability to engage her constituents and determination to provide Taiwan with a future that includes freedom and self-determination.
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For more go to: abramorama.com/invisible-nation
Winner, Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary – 2024 Sonoma •One in a Million Award for Best Documentary – 2024 Sun Valley Film Festival • Winner, The Cinema for Peace Honorary Award – 2024 •Cinema for Peace Foundation
Winner, Audience Award – 2023 Middleburg Film Festival
About the filmmaker -Vanessa Hope is an award-winning producer and director who has produced multiple acclaimed films in China including Berlin International Film Festival selection, Wang Quanan’s “The Story Of Ermei” and Cannes Film Festival selection, Chantal Akerman’s “Tombee De Nuit Sur Shanghai,” part of an omnibus of films, “The State Of The World.” She has also produced and directed her own short films, including “China In Three Words” with contemporary Chinese author Yu Hua, an official selection at DOC NYC.Hope’s additional producing credits include Zeina Durra’s “The Imperialists Are Still Alive!” and Sarah and Emily Kunstler’s Academy award shortlisted feature documentary, “William Kunstler: Disturbing The Universe” and the award-winning film, “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America.” She served as Executive Producer of Paula James-Martinez’s “Born Free.” Vanessa and her husband, Ted Hope, share a company, Double Hope Films, with many independent fiction and documentary features and series in development. Vanessa is on the advisory board of the Equal Rights Amendment Coalition and the Fund for Women’s Equality. Prior to her film career, Vanessa worked on foreign policy issues at the Council on Foreign Relations with Senior Fellow and Director of Asia Studies, Elizabeth Economy. She received her B.A. from the University of Chicago in Anthropology and East Asian Studies and completed the coursework for a PhD at Columbia University before going into film.
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“Watching it, one is driven to anger and, hopefully, to action.” – Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Hammer to Nail
“Advocates for Taiwan ought to be pleased with Invisible Nation’s degree of focus, nuance, and…” – Anthony Kao, Cinema Escapist
“Although the film is not an especially illuminating portrait of Tsai, Hope makes a convincing case for why Taiwan’s fears should concern the world.” – Tim Grierson, Screen Internationa
“Taiwan’s transformation from an authoritarian state to a flourishing democracy determined to decide its own future is charted in the engrossing and highly informative documentary “Invisible Nation.” – Richard Kuipers, Variety
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Roots So Deep (you can see the devil down there)is a 4-part documentary series 
all about inventive farmers and maverick scientists building a path to solving climate 
change with hooves, heart and soil. Can an underutilized way to graze cattle, that mimics the way bison once roamed the land, help get farmers out of debt, restore our depleted soils, rebuild wildlife habitat and draw down huge amounts of carbon? Cattle have been seen as eco-villains for a long 
time. What if they can help save us from catastrophic climate change? ROOTS SO DEEP is guided by director and wrangler of scientists Peter Byck as he meets farmers on both sides of the fence – the folks 
practicing an adaptive way to graze, and their neighbors set in their family’s generations-old method of doing things. Byck’s team of outcast scientists are measuring what’s happening on both sides of the fences – exploring if this adaptive grazing could help slow down climate change. And one question looms over the whole series: even if the science shows that the adaptive way to graze is better for the land and the farmers’ pocket books, will the old school farmers change, will they adopt a different method? Will they evolve into climate heroes? Will they save our friggin’ asses from the impending climate catastrophe?
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For more go to: rootssodeep.org
Also check out: carboncowboys.org
Episode I – Mavericks & Meadowlarks – Mississippi – Meet a team of maverick scientists and the farmers they study, to find out whether cattle, long regarded as eco-villains, can help protect the environment if we ditch modern, destructive practices and instead work with nature. City folk turned first generation farmers share their journey to the farm.
Episode II – Losing is Winning – Alabama – Our first pair of Alabama farmers: Retired school teachers turned regenerative farmers on one side of the fence and a family feud and risk of losing the farm after six generations of ownership on the other, looms large over the scientific work.
Episode III – Change is Hard – Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky – Meet the rest of our farmers, including two country music superstars, while our scientists deal with the struggles and realities of messy science in real world settings on working farms.
Episode IV – One Lane Road Ahead – The science is in and we revisit all the farms to share the information with the farmers. How will they react? Will knowledge instill change?
About the filmmaker – Peter Byck is currently helping to lead a $10 million research project comparingAdaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP)grazing with conventional grazing; collaborating with20 scientistsand 10 farm families, focused on soil health & soil carbon storage, microbial/bug/bird biodiversity, water cycling and much more. The research also includes a new, 4-part docuseries called“Roots So Deep (you can see the devil down there),” directed by Byck, which is all about the inventive farmers and maverick scientists building a path to solving climate change with hooves, heart and soil. See the CNN segment onthe docu-series here. Byck is a professor of practice at Arizona State University, in both the School of Sustainability and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, where heteaches students to make short documentary filmsabout sustainability solutions. He is the director, producer and writer ofcarbon nation, a documentary film about climate change solutions. In 2020, Byck completedcarbon cowboys, a 10-part documentary short film series, focused on regenerative grazing.
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Haley Watson directorial debut MOTORCYCLE MARY, documentary short, brings 
the remarkable life of Mary McGee’s 
to the big screen with stunning never-before-seen archival footage and photographs. McGee’s racing career spanned thirty years and saw Mary shatter gender norms while mastering multiple racing disciplines. Born in Alaska on the eve of World War II, Mary’s early life is riddled with fear but despite that she conquers her apprehensive nature and discovers the art of composure—a skill that serves her to take on the racetrack. Following in her brother’s footsteps, her remarkable 
racing odyssey begins in the world of cars, where she outshines her male competitors, only to later discover her greatest sense of freedom racing motorcycles. She was the first woman to race motorcycles in the United States. Confronted by sexism and personal tragedy, Mary perseveres, pushing herself to greater and greater heights—culminating in her most hair-raising challenge: Becoming the first 
person ever to solo the grueling Baja 500 on a motorcycle. MOTORCYCLE MARY was produced by Rachel Greenwald, executive produced by two-time Oscar® winner and founder of Breakwater Studios Ben Proudfoot, and seven-time Formula One World Champion, Lewis Hamilton. MOTORCYCLE MARY will come to the big screen at the 2024 Tribeca Festival in New York where it will make its world premiere in the shorts competition on Friday, June 7th (with additional screenings June 13 and 15). Director Haley Watson joins us for a conversation on Mary McGee’s unwavering courage and fearless spirit that continues to inspire.
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For more go to: tribecafilm.com/motorcycle-mary
About the filmmaker – Haley Watson is a Los Angeles-based director and cinematographer. Haley’s recent work includes directing and producing “Motorcycle Mary,” an original short documentary set to premiere at Tribeca Film Festival 2024. The film was acquired by ESPN, to be curated into the Emmy / Peabody winning 30 for 30 series from ESPN Films. Her producing partner is the 2-time Academy Award-winning production company, Breakwater Studios. The film is executive produced by seven-time Formula One world champion – Lewis Hamilton. Haley’s keen eye for storytelling has also been proven groundbreaking research. Haley found and pitched the original story for “The Queen of Basketball,” which became the 2021 Academy Award winner for Best Short Documentary Subject. Haley began her career by working through the ranks of the camera department. While serving as a first assistant camera, she had the opportunity to work with many notable directors, such as Lynn Shelton and David Lynch. Her technical skills earned her placement in the AFI Cinematography Intensive for Women in 2019, as well as ASC’s Vision Mentorship Program in 2020 (Paired with Marshall Adams from “Better Call Saul” as her mentor). Amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Haley joined Breakwater Studios and played a pivotal role in developing an innovative remote shooting method. She applied this method as the Director of Photography for “The Beauty President,” which premiered at SXSW. Additionally, she spearheaded the establishment of Mariposa Camera, a boutique camera house in Los Angeles, demonstrating her entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to the industry. Haley has embarked on collaborative projects with other industry giants such as Microsoft, Puma, Amazon and Subaru.
