Matters of Race

Orlando Bagwell returned to filmmaking after establishing Ford Foundation’s Just Films fund, a $50 million initiative supporting the next generation of filmmakers. Over a nearly 10-year tenure at Ford, Bagwell supported several critically-acclaimed films from across the globe including Mother of George, The House I Live In, Detropia, American Promise, and Time Is Illmatic. With the launch of LakeHouse Films, Bagwell continues his highly distinguished career of over 25 years as a documentary filmmaker in which he has been honored with 4 Emmy Awards, numerous Emmy nominations, three Peabody Awards, two DuPont Awards, and several Grand Prize recognitions at prestigious film festivals worldwide. Serving in a range of positions from Producer/Director to Executive Producer, Orlando has been the creative force behind a variety of projects from biographical documentaries —Citizen King, A Hymn for Alvin Ailey, Malcolm X: Make It Plain— to social-issue films — Matters of Race, The Great Depression and two episodes in the landmark Eyes on the Prize series, to name a few. Through LakeHouse Films, Orlando is currently serving as an Executive Producer on 3 1⁄2 Minutes, a documentary examining the “stand your ground” law in light of the shooting death of teen Jordan Davis. In connection with 3 1⁄2 Minutes, Orlando produced a NY Times’ OpDoc, When Music Turns Deadly, that was presented at Film Independent’s annual showcase.