American Masters
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
Marlee Matlin, the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award, looks back on her remarkable life, career, and the complexities of being the “first.”
The Body Politic
With unfettered access, cameras follow Baltimore’s new millennial mayor into office in the midst of a global pandemic and a national reckoning on policing.
- Series
- POV
- Premiere Date
- November 25, 2024
- Length
- 90 minutes
- Funding Initiative
- Open Call
Producer/Director
Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough
Gabriel is a Baltimore-based filmmaker who began as a camera assistant on projects such as A Beautiful Mind, The Sopranos, and The Wire. He served as director of photography on multiple documentaries, including A Thousand Cuts, which he also co-produced. He graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and also speaks Spanish.
Producer
Dawne Langford
Dawne Langford is a 2023 Sundance Women to Watch Adobe x Fellow and 2022-23 Sundance Producers Lab Fellow. She worked for years as a broadcast television editor. She produced independent feature documentaries, including Check It, Kandahar Journals, Finding Joseph I, and The Body Politic, premiering on POV in the fall of 2024.
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The Film
In Baltimore, Maryland, a high-stakes election for mayor occurs amidst a national reckoning on policing and race all while the COVID-19 pandemic complicates every challenge the city faces. The candidates vying for office include a millennial council member with a passion for reform, an ex-mayor trying to regain control after being forced from office, and a former cop entering the race after his brother is murdered. In a come-from-behind victory, the young reformer Brandon Scott wins the election, making him the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century. With unfettered access, cameras follow Scott into city hall and throughout his first year in office, tracking the obstacles he faces and his attempt to make lasting reform.
