BY SIDNEY LUMET

by Nancy Buirski

SYNOPSIS

Film legend Sidney Lumet (1924-2011) tells his own story in a never-before-seen interview shot in 2008. With candor, humor and grace, Lumet reveals what matters to him as an artist and as a human being. The documentary features clips from Lumet’s films – 44 films made in 50 years – including Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, 12 Angry Men, Network and Before the Devil Knows Your Dead. Peabody and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Nancy Buirski (Afternoon of a Faun, The Loving Story) combines these elements to create a portrait of one of the most accomplished, influential and socially conscious directors in the history of cinema. By Sidney Lumet reveals the spiritual and ethical lessons at the core of his work. First and foremost a storyteller, Lumet’s strongly moral tales capture the dilemmas and concerns of a society struggling with essentials: how does one behave to others and to oneself?

DETAILS

113 mins

2015

USA

English

TRAILER

CREDITS

Directed by Nancy Buirski

A Production of Augusta Films, American Masters Pictures

In Association with RatPac Documentary Films, Steven Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation, Matador and Anker Productions, Inc.

Produced by Nancy Buirski and Christopher Donnelly

Edited by Anthony Ripoli

Executive Produced by Michael Kantor, James Packer, Brett Ratner, Bobby Kondrat, Jack Turner

Produced by: Scott Berrie, Joshua Green, Thane Rosenbaum, Robyn Yigit Smith

BIOGRAPHY

DIRECTOR - NANCY BUIRSKI

Nancy Buirski is the founder and was the director of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the acclaimed international festival based in Durham, NC. Buirski produced five collections of documentary shorts in collaboration with Docurama and The Katrina Experience, a collection of feature-length documentaries for libraries and schools. She served as the executive producer of Pangea Day Film Content. She is currently the producer of Althea and Harlem Woodstock and she produced Time Piece, an innovative cross-cultural omnibus documentary combining stories of Turkish and American filmmakers. Following The Loving Story, Buirski directed Tanaquil Le Clercq: Afternoon of a Faun. Prior to her work in film, she was a documentary photographer, writing and photographing Earth Angels: Migrant Children in America, and the foreign picture editor at The New York Times.

SELECT FESTIVALS

CANNES 2015〡TRIBECA 2016〡FULL FRAME 2016〡AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL 2016〡HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2016〡

PRESS

It is beautifully constructed, not as a chronological biography of a directorial legend but as a thematic exploration of his work.
- RogerEbert.com

"Makes the case for Lumet not only as one of the Hollywood greats, but also one of its rare filmmakers of conscience- a passionate storyteller whose films wrestle with dilemmas of decency, justice, and fairness."
- Entertainment Weekly