Showtime, MTV Documentary Films Partner on Alexandra Pelosi’s ‘American Selfie’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Brent Lang
·2 min read

Showtime Documentary Films will debut Alexandra Pelosi’s “American Selfie: One Nation Shoots Itself” just before the presidential election.

A major Oscar campaign is being planned for the documentary. “American Selfie” looks at one of the most chaotic and transformative years in American history, one marked by a once-in-a-generation pandemic, as well as a financial collapse and a galvanizing social justice movement. Pelosi began 2020 by embarking on a cross-country expedition to look at the present, polarized state of the union. She got more than she bargained for.

According to an official longline: “Pelosi’s journey begins taking the temperature of America in a massively consequential election year, yet as unthinkable perils engulf the land, she bravely captures the rising tensions among warring factions that eventually spill over and erupt into protests in the streets.”

The film also represents bit of corporate synergy. It was produced by Sheila Nevins for MTV Documentary Films, the division the executive went to launch 2019 after a four-decade run at HBO. Both Showtime and MTV are owned by ViacomCBS.

Many of Pelosi’s films, such as “The Words That Built America,” a look at the 230th anniversary of the United States Constitution, and “Journeys with George,” a deep dive into George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign, premiered on HBO when Nevins was overseeing the cable channel’s documentaries.

“The purpose of this film was to take the temperature of how people feel about America today — to take a selfie of how America looks in 2020,” Pelosi said in a statement. “It’s an artifact of this moment in time and I’m immensely grateful to Sheila Nevins, MTV Documentary Films and Showtime for bringing this film to audiences at such an urgent time.”

The film will premiere Oct. 23 at 9 p.m.

Pelosi’s thirteen documentaries include “Outside the Bubble: On the Road with Alexandra Pelosi” and “Meet the Donors: Does Money Talk?” She is also an author, and began her career at NBC News, serving as a field producer.

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