2020 Sundance Docs in Focus: TIME

TIME | Courtesy of Sundance Institute

TIME
Garrett Bradley presents a longitudinal portrait of a marriage and a family separated by incarceration.

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition

Sundance Program Description:

Fox Rich is an entrepreneur, author, and mother of six who has spent the last 21 years fighting for the release of her husband, Rob, who is serving a 60-year sentence for an offense they both committed. She is assured and committed to sharing their story. When their sons speak to growing up without their father, they do so with a softer vulnerability than Fox can concede to. But home-video diaries she records for Rob offer unfettered glimpses into years of longing, pain, and hopeful anticipation of reuniting.

Director Garrett Bradley returns to the Sundance Film Festival (ALONE won the Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction at the 2017 Festival) with her debut feature documentary, which bears witness to the work and rituals of a woman’s decades of resilience. Commanding observations are seamlessly woven with uninhibited family videos to craft a beautifully intimate family portrait that also reminds us of the systematic separation of African American families – first through enslavement and now through mass incarceration. TIME poignantly confronts and challenges expectations – this is not a story of brokenness but one of enduring love.

Some Background:

Director/Producer:

  • Garrett Bradley
    Past Sundance docs:

    AMERICA (2019, short)
    ALONE

    Bradley was a 2018 Sundance Art of Non-Fiction Fellow and participated in the Documentary Edit and Story Lab for this project.

Producers:

  • Lauren Domino
    Past Sundance docs:

    AMERICA
    ALONE

    Domino is a producer and writer based in New Orleans. She was a 2017 Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellow.

  • Kellen Quinn
    Past Sundance docs:

    MIDNIGHT FAMILY (2019)

    Quinn was also a 2017 Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellow, and was also part of the inaugural class of Impact Partners’ Documentary Producers fellows.

Co-Producer:

  • Dan Janvey
    Past Sundance docs:

    WESTERN (2015)

    The Oscar-nominated Janvey also produced fellow 2020 Sundance title WENDY, in Premieres. He previously produced Sundance alumni fiction features BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD and PATTI CAKE$, as well as the fiction short EVERY DAY.

Executive Producers:

  • Laurene Powell Jobs
    Past Sundance docs:

    THE PRICE OF FREE (fka KAILASH) (2018)
    BISBEE ’17 (2018)
    BENDING THE ARC (2017)

    Powell Jobs is also an executive producer of fellow 2020 Sundance US Documentary Competition titles A THOUSAND CUTS and BOYS STATE. She is the president and founder of the Emerson Collective, which supports social entrepreneurs who work to remove barriers to opportunities through social justice initiatives, including education and immigration reform, and is a co-owner of Concordia Studio.

  • Davis Guggenheim
    Recent past Sundance docs:

    WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? (2019)
    BISBEE ’17
    THE PRICE OF FREE
    AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER (2017)

    The Oscar-winning Guggenheim is also an executive producer of fellow 2020 Sundance US Documentary Competition titles BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS; A THOUSAND CUTS; and BOYS STATE as chief creative officer of Concordia Studio.

  • Nicole Stott
    Recent past Sundance docs:

    WHERE’S MY ROY COHN?
    BISBEE ’17
    WESTWOOD: PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST (2018)
    DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD (2015)
    CHUCK NORRIS VS COMMUNISM (2015)
    LISTEN TO ME MARLON (2015)

    Stott also serves as an executive producer of BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS; A THOUSAND CUTS; and BOYS STATE as EVP Nonfiction Films & Series for Concordia Studio. She was previously the longtime head of documentary at Passion Pictures.

  • Rahdi Taylor:

    Taylor is head of artists in residence at Concordia Studio. She previously was at the Sundance Institute for a decade, where she served as head of the Sundance Documentary Fund.

  • Kathleen Lingo
    Past Sundance docs:

    DULCE (2019, short)
    ALONE
    VERBATIM: THE FERGUSON CASE (2016, short)
    NOTES ON BLINDNESS (2014, short)

    Lingo is editorial director for film and TV for The New York Times, and previously headed up the Op-Docs series. She also produced fellow 2020 Sundance doc feature SOME KIND OF HEAVEN, in Next.

Co-Executive Producers:

  • Jonathan Silberberg
    Past Sundance docs:

    WHERE’S MY ROY COHN?
    BISBEE ’17
    THE PRICE OF FREE

    Silberberg is also an executive producer of BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS; A THOUSAND CUTS; and BOYS STATE as president of Concordia Studio. The Emmy-nominated producer was previously a longtime producer at RadicalMedia.

  • Shannon Dill
    Past Sundance docs:

    WHERE’S MY ROY COHN?
    THE PRICE OF FREE

    Dill is an Oscar winner as a producer of FREE SOLO. She also serves as co-executive producer of BOYS STATE as head of production for Concordia Studio.

Editor:

Why You Should Watch:
Drawing from two decades of home movie footage, as well as the reflections of Fox, her sons, and her mother, Bradley crafts a film that is deeply affecting in its rawness. Both personal and political in its scope, the story of Fox and Rob demonstrates the impact of systemic racial biases in prison sentencing on families of color, and the determination of this family to make it through despite the odds.

More Info:
For Sundance screening dates and times, click the film title in the first paragraph.

Leave a comment

Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.