The American Film Institute (AFI) has appointed producer Michael Lumpkin–who’s been executive director of the International Documentary Association for the past six years–as director of AFI DOCS, the Institute’s annual documentary festival in Washington, DC. Also announced today is the return of AT&T as the festival’s presenting sponsor.
With nearly three decades of experience in the film community as a producer, documentarian and IDA exec director, Lumpkin brings a versatile perspective to AFI DOCS, a well-rounded appreciation for the impact of the art form and a thorough understanding of AFI.
“I’m honored to be joining one of the world’s top film organizations and expanding the rich history and proud tradition of AFI DOCS,” said Lumpkin. “Six wonderful years at IDA solidified my passion for documentary films, and I look forward to bringing that passion to AFI.”
Lumpkin had previously served for more than 25 years as both executive director of Frameline and festival director for the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. He has also been a member of Frameline’s board of directors and co-produced the highly acclaimed documentary The Celluloid Closet. He has participated as a juror for the Sundance Film Festival and served in an advisory capacity for numerous film festivals around the world.
Review: Malcolm Washington Makes His Feature Directing Debut With “The Piano Lesson”
An heirloom piano takes on immense significance for one family in 1936 Pittsburgh in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." Generational ties also permeate the film adaptation, in which Malcolm Washington follows in his father Denzel Washington's footsteps in helping to bring the entirety of The Pittsburgh Cycle — a series of 10 plays — to the screen.
Malcolm Washington did not start from scratch in his accomplished feature filmmaking debut. He enlisted much of the cast from the recent Broadway revival with Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), his brother, John David Washington (Boy Willie), Ray Fisher (Lymon) and Michael Potts (Whining Boy). Berniece, played by Danielle Brooks in the play, is now beautifully portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler. With such rich material and a cast for whom it's second nature, it would be hard, one imagines, to go wrong. Jackson's own history with the play goes back to its original run in 1987 when he was Boy Willie.
It's not the simplest thing to make a play feel cinematic, but Malcolm Washington was up to the task. His film opens up the world of the Charles family beyond the living room. In fact, this adaptation, which Washington co-wrote with "Mudbound" screenwriter Virgil Williams, goes beyond Wilson's text and shows us the past and the origins of the intricately engraved piano that's central to all the fuss. It even opens on a big, action-filled set piece in 1911, during which the piano is stolen from a white family's home. Another fleshes out Doaker's monologue in which he explains to the uninitiated, Fisher's Lymon, and the audience, the tortured history of the thing. While it might have been nice to keep the camera on Jackson, such a great, grounding presence throughout, the good news is that he really makes... Read More