International production company Park Pictures director Savanah Leaf enlisted the help of poet and educator Nikki Giovanni to narrate a compelling call to vote, in the Biden for President campaign ad “Dream.” “There has to be something called thinking,” the poet states, listing the reasons why Americans nationwide should vote in the Tuesday, November 3 presidential election: “because you are not a coward”, or “because someone died for you to have a right to vote”, and more.
Leaf intersperses the reading with the COVID-19-altered reality of many Americans, from a nurse leaving a night shift and a family Zoom get-together, to a father homeschooling his child and a candlelight vigil for one of many innumerable deaths. The director most recently launched Change The Lens alongside industry filmmakers and creators, working to increase the number of Black filmmakers at all levels of commercial and film production–at least as many as reflected in industry headquarters within the U.S. and England, where Black people make up 15% of the general population.
Credits:
Poem by Nikki Giovanni
Director: Savanah Leaf
Production Company: Park Pictures
EP: Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Justin Pollock
DP: Jody Lee Lipes
Producer: Ashley Bearden
Agency: The Win Company
Editor: Dan De Winter @ Work
Colorist: Damien Van Der Cruyssen @ Mill NYC
Music: Siren Song – Flying Lotus
Mix: Sonic Union
Finishing: Nice Shoes Online
ABOUT PARK PICTURES
Founded in 1998 by Executive Producer Jacqueline Kelman Bisbee and renowned filmmaker/cinematographer Lance Acord, bicoastal/London-based Park Pictures has an auspicious track record of discovering and mentoring new filmmaking talent and infusing all projects with big screen production values. Park Pictures has forged strong partnerships with agencies and clients by engaging all members of its team in creative problem solving.
Park Pictures has earned the highest accolades for their work, including an Oscar, three Emmys, and numerous Cannes Lions. Park Pictures won the 2014 Emmy for Outstanding Commercial for Apple “Misunderstood,” the 2019 Emmy for Outstanding Commercial for Nike “Dream Crazy,” and the Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for The Sentence. The company additionally earned the Cannes Lions Palme d’Or in 2019, the highest honor production companies can receive.
After winning an Academy Award in 2010 for the company’s first narrative film, live-action short “The New Tenants” starring Vincent D’Onofrio, Park Pictures founded the Park Pictures feature division, headed by Producer Sam Bisbee, Jacqueline Kelman Bisbee and Lance Acord. Park Pictures Features has produced ten feature films, nine of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Most recently, Park Pictures showcased three films at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, including the closing night movie Hearts Beat Loud, the Sundance Next Fest program film An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, and the documentary feature The Sentence. The Sentence earned the annually-coveted Audience Award and was acquired by HBO for US television and streaming rights. Hearts Beat Loud, starring Nick Offerman, sold to Gunpowder & Sky for U.S. distribution and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions for international distribution.