In this episode, we’re throwing it back to a creator talk from the 2021 Festival, with one of the filmmakers behind the documentary My Name is Pauli Murray.
Co-directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West received an Academy Award nomination for their documentary RBG, on the life and career of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was from RBG that they first learned about their next subject – the late Pauli Murray – a non-binary Black lawyer, priest, poet, and LGBTQ and civil rights activist who was instrumental in shaping landmark litigation—and consciousness—around race and gender equity.
Speaking to Canadian writer/director Kevin Eastwood, Cohen details the daunting process of unpacking Murray’s life and work via hundreds of documents and audio recordings; and, ultimately, how they gave shape to the multifaceted identity of this civil rights and women’s movement trailblazer in a way that’s accessible for a contemporary audience.
This conversation was recorded on October 7, 2021.
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