Sony Pictures Classics Takes Global Rights On SXSW-Winning Documentary ‘Who We Are: A Chronicle Of Racism In America’

Anthony D'Alessandro
·2 min read
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Sony Pictures Classics has taken worldwide rights to the documentary film Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, directed by Emily Kunstler & Sarah Kunstler and written by Jeffery Robinson. The movie won the Documentary Spotlight Audience Award at SXSW this year.

The distributor plans an awards-qualifying run for this year with a theatrical release on January 14, 2022, and expand throughout the month of February, Black History Month.

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The documentary interweaves lecture, personal anecdotes, interviews and shocking revelations as criminal defense/civil rights lawyer Robinson draws a stark timeline of anti-Black racism in the U.S. from slavery to the modern myth of a post-racial America.

Who We Are is produced by Robinson, Emily and Sarah Kunstler, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Andrea Crabtree, Vanessa Hope, Susan Korda, Katharine Nephew and Jayashri Wyatt, and executive produced by Ted Hope.

“Who We Are opens our eyes to our history as a nation and people unlike any movie that has come before,” said Sony Pictures Classics in a statement. “Jeffery Robinson rivets us to the truth. As directed by Emily and Sarah Kunstler, this is that rare, thrilling movie experience meant to be seen on the big screen. It is a privilege to be bringing the movie to audiences worldwide.”

“We recently saw a large number of our elected officials vote to make Juneteenth a national holiday while also advocating for laws restricting what can be taught about the causes and aftermath of Juneteenth. The unvarnished truth about the role anti-Black racism has played and is playing in our country is needed now more than ever. Our Who We Are team is thrilled that Sony Pictures Classics will help us bring accurate, verifiable information to our youth, our leaders, and our broader community,” said Robinson.

“Jeffery Robinson is an electrifying storyteller who invites audiences of all races to view the history of anti-Black racism in America, and the erasure of this history, as a crime perpetrated on all of us,” said Emily Kunstler. “It has been an honor for Sarah and me to work with Jeffery on this film, and we are proud to partner with Sony Pictures Classics to bring Jeffery’s work to the widest possible audience.”

The deal was negotiated by ICM Partners on behalf of the filmmakers.

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