Documentaries about the first TV couple and a chef on a mission proved fruitful for Imagine documentaries this year.
The four-year-old arm of Imagine Entertainment has earned eight Emmy Award nominations for two feature-length documents: Amy Poehler’s “Lucy and Desi” and Ron Howard’s “We Feed People.” The gestures are the first for the company led by Howard and Brian Grazer Documentaries.
Imagine Documentary Co-chairs Sarah Bernstein and Justin Wilkes diverse That recognition by a group of non-fiction peers is satisfying and satisfying at the same time.
“You always ask yourself, ‘Do these awards really mean anything? ‘ said Wilkes. ‘And the answer is yes. They do. It means something because it means that the community as a whole is saying, “Hey, this business is really special.”
Bernstein added that the nominations “show the filmmakers we want to work with that they are in great company with this wonderful group of talented filmmakers that we have been fortunate enough to collaborate with.”
Poehler’s “Lucy and Desi” earned six nominations in categories including Outstanding Non-Fiction Directing, Writing, and Best Documentary. On the prolific influence of married couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on the entertainment industry, “Lucy and Daisy” is Poehler’s first documentary directing effort.
The 102-minute film details the on-screen side of the legendary duo, diving deep into the lesser known aspects of their careers and Paul’s pioneering career as a studio head. After debuting at the Sundance Film Festival, the docu was released on Amazon Prime Video in March. In the directing category, Buehler was nominated along with veteran documentary filmmaker Andrew Rossi (“The Andy Warhol Diaries”) as well as top Hollywood leaders including Judd Apatow (“George Carlin’s American Dream”) and Peter Jackson (“The The Beatles: Get Back”).
“It’s an absolute reflection of how hard Amy worked on this film and how committed she was to it,” Wilkes said of Bowler’s directorial gesture. “She’s obviously a great storyteller. She’s run other (novelist) projects and she’s definitely written other projects. So I grew out of that sensitivity in the story first, and was able to apply all of those skills nicely to Lucy and Daisy.” We see that this branch accepted it as its own and celebrated it.”
Howard’s “We Feed People” earned two nominations for cinematography-realistic and best documentary. The docu examines the 10-year evolution of Michelin-starred celebrity chef Jose Andrés and his non-profit organization World Central Kitchen, which manufactures and delivers food to people in need around the world in the wake of natural disasters and the public health crises caused by global warming.
The National Geographic doc premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March and debuted on Disney Plus in May. As of this year, the Academy of Television has halted the controversial practice of double-dipping awards, and has ordered that any documentary film placed on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ booth for consideration for an Oscar shortlist “will be considered a theatrical film and therefore ineligible for an Emmy competition.”
Directors, networks, and production companies, such as Imagine, had to pick Sophie’s Choice with their documentaries this year. For Bernstein and Wilkes, offering “Lucy and Desi” and “We Feed People” to consider Emmy rather than Oscar was inconsequential.
“Lucy and Daisy are all about TV,” Wilkes said. “From the beginning everyone felt that the audience for this movie was ultimately a TV audience because of what it was about. For WE FEED THE PEOPLE, it was a real conversation about the immediacy of the story and the relevance of the story, especially given what Jose did in Ukraine.”
Bernstein added, “There is an urgent need for a World Central kitchen right now. It is quite contemporary.”
(Pictured: Amy Poehler during the production of “Lucy and Daisy”)
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