\u201cI like to push the boundaries,\u201d says Roger Ross Williams.<\/p>\n
Williams, former Palmer Township resident who attended Northampton Community College, is an Oscar-winning director<\/p>\n
Williams headlines the Greater Lehigh Valley Filmmaker Festival, April 24 to April 26, Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas, ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, Bethlehem.<\/p>\n
Williams will screen his Oscar-nominated documentary feature, \u201cLife, Animated\u201d (2016), which won the Sundance Film Festival Directing Award and three Emmy Awards, and participate in a question-and-answer session with the audience, 1 p.m. April 26.<\/p>\n
Williams is the first African-American to receive an Oscar, for his documentary short film, \u201cMusic by Prudence\u201d (2010).<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t been back to the Lehigh Valley in a while,\u201d says Williams in a Microsoft Teams Meeting video interview April 3 from his home in the Catskills in upstate New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cWelcoming Roger Ross Williams to the Greater Lehigh Valley Filmmaker Festival is an incredible moment, not just for this event, but for the region\u2019s growing film community,\u201d states Anthony DeSanctis, Senior Programming Manager, Cinema at ArtsQuest, in a March 20 ArtsQuest press release.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an Academy Award-winning director whose work elevates powerful, human stories, Roger embodies the kind of bold, meaningful storytelling we strive to champion,\u201d DeSanctis states.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis presence creates a rare opportunity for local filmmakers and audiences alike to engage directly with a visionary artist, and we are honored to host him at ArtsQuest for a special discussion of \u2018Life, Animated\u2019 and his extraordinary career,\u201d states DeSanctis.<\/p>\n
Williams, an Easton High School graduate, attended NCC and transferred to New York University.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gave me a great foundation to go to NYU. I\u2019m a big supporter of community colleges,\u201d says Williams.<\/p>\n
Williams, 63, has a prolific body of work listed on Internet Movie Database, including 34 films and two upcoming films as producer; 26 movies and one upcoming movie as director, and seven films as writer.<\/p>\n
Williams is on the board of Docubox Kenya, a documentary fund and mentorship program in Nairobi that supports African filmmakers; the alumni advisory board of Sundance Institute; Board of Governors, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, as chair, Documentary Branch and the Documentary Diversity Committee, and the board of Tribeca Film Institute.<\/p>\n
Movies and television films that Williams has directed include: \u201cThe Super Models,\u201d 2023; \u201cStamped from the Beginning,\u201d 2023 (nominee, 2024 Primetime Emmy); \u201cLove to Love You, Donna Summer,\u201d 2023; \u201cThe 1619 Project,\u201d 2023 (winner, 2023 Primetime Emmy); \u201cCassandro,\u201d 2023; \u201cHigh on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America,\u201d 2021 (winner, 2021 Peabody Award); \u201cThe Innocence Files,\u201d 2020; \u201cThe Apollo,\u201d 2019, and \u201cGod Loves Uganda,\u201d 2013.<\/p>\n
Upcoming is a narrative feature, \u201cStrange Arrivals,\u201d that Williams is directing and producing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about an interracial couple in 1961. They were the first alien abduction,\u201d says Williams.<\/p>\n
The abduction is said to have taken place in Concord, N.H.<\/p>\n
Demi Moore and Colman Domingo star in \u201cStrange Arrivals,\u201d with production to begin in the fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a powerful story with a screenplay by Jane Anderson and Toby Ball,\u201d Williams says.<\/p>\n
Anderson is a seven-time Primetime Emmy Awards nominee and three-time winner.<\/p>\n
Of \u201cStrange Arrivals,\u201d the IMDB synopsis states: \u201cA couple experiences an alien abduction during their honeymoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have two incredible actors. They are both incredibly talented. And Colman has been on a roll. And Demi was in \u2018The Substance.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Domingo was nominated for two Oscars: actor, \u201cSing Sing,\u201d 2025, and actor, \u201cRustin,\u201d 2024.<\/p>\n
Moore was nominated for an Oscar, actress, \u201cThe Substance,\u201d 2025.<\/p>\n
Moore and Domingo play characters based on the real-life interracial husband and wife, Betty and Barney Hill.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the first time that alien abduction became a very big story,\u201d says Williams. \u201c[Steven] Spielberg met with them [Betty and Barney Hill] when he was researching \u2018Close Encounters of the Third Kind\u2019 [1977].\u201d<\/p>\n
Barney Hill appeared on the television show \u201cTo Tell the Truth\u201d in 1966, Williams notes, adding that a roadside historic marker, \u201cBetty and Barney Hill Incident,\u201d was erected in 2011 by the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Betty and Barney were married, the Civil Rights Act hadn\u2019t happened,\u201d says Williams.<\/p>\n
Barney Hill died in 1969. Betty Hill died in 2004.<\/p>\n
Williams has his own production company, One Story Up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m lucky enough to be able to make work and have it seen by people all over the world in this often challenging world of entertainment,\u201d says Williams.<\/p>\n
Of his film, \u201cLife, Animated,\u201d Williams says, \u201cThat film has had an incredible journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLife, Animated\u201d is based on journalist Ron Suskind\u2019s book, \u201cLife, Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes, and Autism\u201d (2014), about his son Owen.<\/p>\n
Says Williams:<\/p>\n
\u201cOwen Suskind couldn\u2019t communicate. But he watched classic Disney animated films. One day, his dad realized his son could speak in the voices of Disney characters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very powerful story. Owen creates a whole world of the sidekicks. The film includes animation of the sidekicks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the film\u2019s 10-year anniversary. It was 10 years ago that I was with the Suskind family at the Oscars. And it\u2019s nice to bring it home to the Lehigh Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams\u2019 sister Katherine Sallard lives in the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n
His parents Betty Williams and Willie Williams are deceased.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up singing in the choir of [Greater] Shiloh Gospel Church,\u201d says Williams. \u201cI love going back to Easton because it has had quite a revival. It was always classic with the circle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI received an honorary doctorate from Lafayette College. And my mother used to be a cleaning lady at Lafayette. \u2018My mother used to clean your toilets. And here I am standing in front of you,\u2019\u201d Williams says he said at the doctorate ceremony.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to tell stories of underdogs, being an underdog myself,\u201d says Williams. \u201cI\u2019m drawn to those stories of people who overcome great adversity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI make documentaries that push the boundaries of storytelling. And I\u2019m always challenged as a film-maker to tell stories in a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, it\u2019s a beautiful day,\u201d Williams concludes. \u201cI like gardening. I\u2019m going to go outside and prepare the garden.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greater Lehigh Valley Filmmaker Festival: Information, schedule, tickets: https:\/\/www.artsquest.org\/festivals\/more-festivals-and-experiences\/greater-lehigh-valley-filmmaker-festival\/<\/p>\n
Theatrical Movies Domestic Weekend Box Office, April 10-12: \u201cThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie\u201d continued at No. 1 for two weeks in a row with a robust $69 million in 4,284 theaters, $308.1 million, two weeks.<\/p>\n
2. \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d stayed in place, $24.5 million in 3,817 theaters, $256.6 million, four weeks. 3. \u201cThe Drama\u201d stayed in place, $8.7 million in 3,151 theaters, $30.8 million, two weeks. 4. \u201cYou, Me & Tuscany,\u201d starring Halle Bailey in the Romance Comedy, $8 million in 3,151 theaters, opening. 5. \u201cHoppers\u201d dropped one place, $4.1 million in 2,850 theaters, $157.1 million, six weeks. 6. \u201cBTS World Tour \u2018ARIRANG\u2019 in GOYANG: Live Viewing,\u201d $2.4 million in 1,189 theaters, opening. 7. \u201cFaces of Death,\u201d Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery and Charli XCX star in the remake of the 1978 horror film, $1.7 million in 1,600 theaters, opening. 8. \u201cExit 8,\u201d a Japanese psychological horror film, $1.4 million in 495 theaters, opening. 9. \u201cA Great Awakening\u201d dropped three places, $1.2 million in 1,274 theaters, $4.8 million, two weeks. 10. \u201cReminders of Him,\u201d $1 million in 1,407 theaters, $47.4 million, five weeks.<\/p>\n
Movie box office information from Box Office Mojo as of April 12 may be subject to change.<\/p>\n
Unreel, April 17<\/p>\n
\u201cNormal,\u201d R; 1 hour, 30 minutes. Ben Wheatley directs Bob Odenkirk, Ryan Allen, Billy MacLellan, Lena Headey and Henry Winkler in the Crime Thriller. A sheriff investigates a bank robbery in the town of Normal, Minn.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusboys,\u201d No MPA rating; 1 hour, 33 minutes. Jonah Feingold directs David Spade and Theo Von in the comedy. Two friends get jobs as waiters in a restaurant.<\/p>\n
\u201cLorne,\u201d MPA rated R; 1 hour, 40 minutes. Morgan Neville directs the documentary film about Lorne Michaels, who created \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d in 1975 and still produces the late-night sketch comedy show. The film includes interviews with Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Steve Martin, Mike Myers and Paul Simon.<\/p>\n
\u201cMother Mary,\u201d MPA R; 1 hour, 52 minutes. David Lowery directs Anne Hathaway, Michael Coel, Hunter Schafer and FKA Twigs in the Music, Drama, Psychological Thriller. A pop singer is betrayed by her fashion designer. The soundtrack includes original songs by Jack Antonoff, Charli XCX and FKA Twigs.<\/p>\n
\u201cLee Cronin\u2019s the Mummy,\u201d R; 2 hours, 13 minutes. Lee Cronin directs Jack Reynor, Natalie Grace and Laia Costa in the Horror film. A young daughter returns to her family eight years after disappearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican Solitaire,\u201d No MPA rating; 1 hour, 35 minutes. Aaron Davidman directs Joshua Close, Gilbert Owuor and Joanne Kelly in the Drama. A United States veteran confronts gun violence in his hometown.<\/p>\n
Movie box office information from Internet Movie Database as of April 12 may be subject to change.<\/p>\n
CONTRIBUTED PHOTORoger Ross Williams<\/p>\n
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