The film is a testament to the love and strength of the African American community in Harlem during the time of COVID-19. ELEGY is as much a poem for the dead as it is a tribute to the living.
SYNOPSIS
Using Mr. Owens’ funeral home to explore the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the black community, we spend time exploring the lives of those lost to the pandemic and the impact felt by their families and the entire community. We learn about the legacy left within the living, and the power of connection, renewal, and joy in the Black community.
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Director Andre Lambertson
Andre is an award-winning photojournalist and filmmaker committed to documenting stories of transformation. Lambertson has created photo essays on social issues for magazines, books, foundations, and museums, including Time, US News & World Report, Life, National Geographic, Fortune, New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, Mother Jones, and USA Today. Lambertson has received five Picture of the Year awards, the World Press Photo award, an OSI George Soros Media Fellowship, The Nation Investigative grant, and five separate Pulitzer Center grants on Crisis Reporting, including one for work on child soldiers in West Africa. His recent work includes THE WHOLE GRITTY CITY, a documentary about marching bands that help combat teen street violence in New Orleans, which aired on CBS and won a Christopher Award, and CHARM CITY, about three years of unparalleled violence in Baltimore and the people left on the frontlines, which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, was shortlisted for the 2019 Academy Awards® - Best Documentary Feature, and broadcast nationally on PBS in April 2019.
Simon joined the award-winning Big Mouth Productions team as Associate Producer in December of 2016, after working for more than a year in communications and outreach for PBS' POV series. Since joining Big Mouth, Simon has been Associate Producer on the Netflix Original documentaries BECOMING, about former First Lady Michelle Obama, and DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and won the Special Jury Award for Innovation in Non-fiction Storytelling. Simon was also Associate Producer on CHARM CITY, which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was shortlisted for the 2019 Academy Awards® - Best Documentary Feature. Additionally, Simon directs and produces films of his own, which have been featured in The New Yorker, and won awards at festivals across the country and internationally.
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Women Make Movies (WMM), Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media arts organization registered with the New York Charities Bureau of New York State and accepts charitable donations on behalf of this project. Your donation will be spent by the filmmaker(s) toward the production and completion of this media project. No services or goods are provided by Women Make Movies, the filmmaker(s) or anyone else associated with this project in exchange for your charitable donation.
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