Congratulations go out to “Abbott Elementary” for its nine Emmy nominations, which include, Philly’s own Quinta Brunson for Best Leading Actress in a Comedy Series. Along with Sheryl Lee Ralph who has scored her third consecutive Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as, Barbara Howard in the comedy series.
Sheryl has been having some exciting moments coming her way, and with her new film “The Fabulous Four” coming out, all eyes are on her. The American comedy film directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse and written by Ann Marie Allison and Jenna Milly stars Susan Sarandon, Bette Midler, Megan Mullally, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Bruce Greenwood, Timothy V. Murphy, and Michael Bolton.
In the film, three friends travel to Key West, Florida, to be bridesmaids at a surprise wedding of their friend from college. “The Fabulous Four” is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 26, 2024.
*****
At 15, he took a life; three days later, his brother’s life was taken. A documentary visual album, “Songs from the Hole” follows James “JJ ’88” Jacobs through a musical opus of hip hop and soul, inspired by his innermost struggles as a person who has both committed and experienced violent harm, as he serves a double-life prison sentence. The film interweaves the collective storytelling of its non-fiction participants with imagined representations of memories, dreams, and spiritual dialogues set to its protagonist/co-creator’s original music.
Director, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor, Writer Contessa Gayles is a non-fiction director, DP, editor, and Emmy-nominated producer. She tells stories about identity, socio-political movement, healing, Black liberation, and radical imagination. Contessa’s feature-length documentary visual album, “Songs from the Hole” world premiered at SXSW 2024 and won the Visions Audience Award. Her work has been supported by Impact Partners, Field of Vision, Open Society Foundation, and the IDA. She is a former Firelight Media, Chicken & Egg Pictures, and Soros Media Justice Fellow.
Contessa was a guest on The New World View with David Barnes and Yanina Carter on WURD this past weekend. This film is raw and real. The music takes you on JJ’s journey as a youngster, growing up and life without the freedom to move freely but the freedom to speak and lyricize his thoughts. Nicely done.
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