Lucy J. Mukerjee Joins Firelight Media As Documentary Lab Director; Buffalo 8 Takes North America On ‘Jacob The Baker’; Jane Seymour Set For Alicia Coppola’s Short ‘And You Are?’ – Film Briefs

EXCLUSIVE: Lucy J. Mukerjee has joined Stanley Nelson and Marcia Smith’s media company Firelight Media, geared toward nonfiction cinema by and about communities of color, as the new director of its flagship Documentary Lab.

An 18-month fellowship that provides emerging filmmakers of color with customized mentorship from prominent leaders in the documentary world, as well as funding, professional development workshops and networking opportunities, the Documentary Lab has thus far helped to advance the careers of over 100 filmmakers, including Dawn Porter, Yoruba Richen and Peter Nicks.

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Mukerjee succeeds Sabaah Folayan, who for the past year has served as the Lab’s Interim Director. She comes to Firelight Media with over 20 years of experience producing films, programming festivals, and overseeing artist development programs. Her previous roles include Senior Programmer at Tribeca Festival, Director of Programming at Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Festival and NewFest New York’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival, and Programming Director at Tasveer South Asian Film Festival, as well as several other leadership roles for festivals and artist program initiatives. Mukerjee is also the co-founder of the Programmers Of Colour Collective, a global professional development group for BIPOC film curators calling for programming inclusion on-screen, on-stage, and on-staff at film festivals around the world.

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EXCLUSIVE: Buffalo 8 has acquired North American rights to the drama Jacob the Baker starring and based on the works of Noah benShea, the scholar, poet, philosopher and Pulitzer Prize-nominated author behind the Jacob books who was once described by Larry King as a “Zen Mark Twain.”

The film directed by Gev Miron, which was shot around the world, follows the lives of people who are struggling with universal life issues, all of whom reach out to Jacob the Baker for help. The diverse international tales are woven through a central story, following a cynical young reporter with her own struggle, who is sent to interview benShea on the evening of a stage appearance. What the reporter and all who asked for Jacob’s help discover is life-changing for each of them.

Dara Emery (My Sisters), Marta Pozzan (No Way Out) and Liron Levo (This Must Be the Place) star in the pic written by benShea, Wendy Kout and Miron. Number Nine Media and Indian Paintbrush (The French Dispatch) produced the film, with Summer Xinlei Yang co-producing, and Academy Award-winning producer Mark Johnson (Rain Man) serving as an advisor on the project. Buffalo 8 negotiated the film’s deal with CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers.

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EXCLUSIVE: Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jane Seymour (The Kominsky Method) has signed on to star in And You Are?, the second short film written and directed by actress Alicia Coppola (Why Women Kill).

The most unlikely of buddy films, And You Are? tells the story of Lynn (Seymor), a grandmother suffering from dementia who only has the past to prove she exists, and her transgender grandson Max (Zach Barack), who desperately wants to erase his past as it never proved his true existence. Starring alongside Seymour and Barack as Lynn’s caregiver, Sherry, is Diana Lu.

Sherry Thomas (Barry) handled the film’s casting and is producing, with Nancy Kirhoffer (The Trial of the Chicago 7) serving as exec producer. Seymour is repped by Innovative Artists and attorney Paul Mayersohn; Coppola by Leslie Allan-Rice Management, A3 Artists Agency and attorney Derek Kroeger; Barack by The Park Noack Agency; and Lu by A3 Artists Agency and Vanguard Management Group.

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