Weiner (film)
Weiner | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by |
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Produced by |
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Cinematography | Josh Kriegman |
Edited by | Eli B. Despres |
Production company |
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Distributed by | Showtime |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1,702,489[2] |
Weiner is a 2016 American fly on the wall documentary film by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg about Anthony Weiner’s campaign for Mayor of New York City during the 2013 mayoral election.
Synopsis
The film follows Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin, beginning with his time in Congress and his 2011 resignation after photos of his bulging underwear appeared on Twitter. The bulk of the film is about his 2013 campaign in the Democratic Party primary for Mayor of New York City. At first his campaign is going well, with many New Yorkers willing to give him a second chance as reflected in polls putting him at or near the top of a crowded field. Then additional examples of his online sexual activity surface, including explicit text conversations with women that occurred well after his resignation from Congress. The mood of the campaign switches from exuberance to pain. Intimate views are captured of Weiner, his wife and his campaign staff struggling with the new revelations and the media firestorm that ensues. In a couple of instances is the camera asked to leave the room.[3][4]
People
People documented in the film include:
- Anthony Weiner
- Huma Abedin, his wife and a close aide to Hillary Clinton
- Sydney Leathers, one of Weiner’s online sex partners, who attempts to confront him on election night
Release
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016. It was released theatrically in the United States in May 2016, and broadcast on Showtime in October 2016. Internationally the film had theatrical releases in the UK, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Australia, and Japan, and television broadcasts in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Israel, Belgium, and Holland.
Reception
Critical reception
The film received near universal acclaim by critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 96% approval rating based on 160 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Weiner uses sharp insight and untrammeled access to offer a portrait of a political and personal collapse that's as queasy as it is undeniably compelling."[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[6]
Best of Lists
- Buzzfeed 11 Best Movies of 2016 [7]
- Esquire Top 10 Documentaries of 2016 [8]
- The Hollywood Reporter - Critics' Picks: The 10 Best Documentaries of the year [9]
- The Huffington Post 21 Best Movies of 2016 [10]
- IndieWire Best Movies of 2016 [11]
- GQ Best Movies of 2016 [12]>
- Newsweek 21 Best Movies of 2016 [13]
- Thrillist Best Documentaries of 2016 [14]
- DC Outlook Top 10 Movies of 2016 (#1) [15]
Accolades
Award | Category | Recipients and Nominees | Outcome |
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Academy Awards | Best Documentary Feature | Weiner | Shortlist |
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards | Best Edited Documentary Feature | Eli B. Despres | Nominated |
Austin Film Critics Association | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Australian Film Critics Association[16] | Best Documentary Film (Local or International) | Weiner | Nominated |
Awards Circuit Community Awards | Best Documentary Feature Film | Weiner | Nominated |
British Academy Film Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Central Ohio Film Critics Association | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Champs-Élysées Film Festival | Prix du jury | Weiner | Won |
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Chlotrudis Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Cinema Eye Honors Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking | Weiner | Nominated |
Outstanding Achievement in Editing | Eli B. Despres | Nominated | |
Cinema Eye Audience Choice Prize | Weiner | Nominated | |
The Unforgettables | Huma Abedin, Anthony Weiner | Won | |
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards | Best First Documentary (Theatrical Feature) | Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg | Won |
Best Documentary Feature | Weiner | Nominated | |
Best Political Documentary | Weiner | Nominated | |
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Denver Film Critics Society | Best Documentary Film | Weiner | Nominated |
Detroit Film Critics Society | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary | Josh Kriegman & Elyse Steinberg | Nominated |
Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Won |
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association | Documentary of the year | Weiner | Nominated |
Georgia Film Critics Association | Best Documentary Film | Weiner | Nominated |
Gotham Awards | Audience Award | Weiner | Nominated |
Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated | |
Grierson British Documentary Awards | Best Cinema Documentary | Weiner | Won |
Hamburg Film Festival | Political Film Award | Weiner | Nominated |
Houston Film Critics Society Awards | Best Documentary Feature | Weiner | Nominated |
Indiana Film Journalists Association | Best Documentary | Weiner | 2nd place |
Indiewire Critics Poll | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Best First Feature | Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg | Nominated | |
International Documentary Association | Best Feature | Weiner | Nominated |
Iowa Film Critics Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | 3rd place |
Jerusalem Film Festival | Best International Film | Weiner | Nominated |
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Montclair Film Festival | David Carr Award for Truth in Non-Fiction Filmmaking | Weiner | Won |
Bruce Sinofsky Prize for Documentary Feature | Weiner | Nominated | |
New Hampshire Film Festival | Audience Choice – Documentary | Weiner | Won |
North Carolina Film Critics Association | Best Documentary Film | Weiner | Nominated |
North Texas Film Critics Association | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | 2nd Place |
Online Film Critics Society Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Documentary Film | Weiner | Nominated |
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Won |
Sarasota Film Festival | Special Jury Prize - Unprecedented Look at Politics in Crisis | Weiner | Won |
Seattle Film Critics Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
St. Louis Film Critics Association | Best Documentary Feature | Weiner | Nominated |
Sundance Film Festival | U.S. Grand Jury Prize – Documentary | Weiner | Won |
Television Critics Association | Outstanding Achievement in News and Information | Weiner | Nominated |
Utah Film Critics Association Awards | Best Documentary Feature Film | Weiner | 2nd place |
Village Voice Film Poll | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards | Best Documentary | Weiner | Nominated |
Women Film Critics Circle Awards | Worst Male Images in a Movie | Weiner | Nominated |
Zurich Film Festival | Best International Documentary Film | Weiner | Nominated |
Controversy
After the film was released, Weiner claimed that "Kriegman had assured him verbally and in emails that he would not use Abedin in the film without her consent", and that Abedin never granted permission for Kriegman to use the footage. When asked if he will sue the filmmakers, Weiner didn't give a definitive answer. The filmmakers disputed Weiner's claim, stating that they clearly "had consent from everyone who appears in the film, including Anthony and Huma."[17]
References
- ↑ "WEINER (15)". British Board of Film Classification. June 8, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Weiner (2016)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
- ↑ Kohn, Eric (January 24, 2016). "Sundance Review: 'Weiner' is the Best Documentary About a Political Campaign Ever Made". IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ↑ Bakare, Lanre (January 24, 2016). "Weiner review: an unsparing portrait of politics". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ↑ "Weiner (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- ↑ "Weiner Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ↑ Willmore, Alison (December 9, 2016). "Here Are The 11 Best Movies Of 2016". BuzzFeed. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ↑ Schager, Nick (December 20, 2016). "The 10 Best Documentaries of 2016 That Are Trying to Change the World". Esquire. Hearst Communications. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ↑ THR Staff. "Critics' Picks: The 10 Best Documentaries of the Year". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ↑ Jacobs, Matthew (December 15, 2016). "The 21 Best Movies Of 2016". HuffPost. Oath. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ↑ Kohn, Eric (December 5, 2016). "16 Best Movies of 2016". IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ↑ The Editors of GQ (December 19, 2016). "The Best Movies of 2016". GQ. Condé Nast. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ↑ Schonfeld, Zach; Firger, Jessica; Goodman, Leah Mcgrath; Raeburn, Paul; Westcott, Lucy; Noriega, Margarita; Toureille, Claire; Nazaryan, Alexander; Saville, Jordan; Burleigh, Nina; Roe, Bob; Walters, John (December 15, 2016). "The 21 best movies of 2016". Newsweek. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ↑ Campbell, Christopher (January 8, 2017). "The Best Documentaries of 2016, Ranked". Thrillist. Group Nine Media. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ↑ Freeman, Peter (December 31, 2016). "DC Outlook's Top 10 Movies of 2016". DC Outlook. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ↑ "The 2017 AFCA Awards". Australian Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
- ↑ Leibovich, Mark (August 18, 2016). "Anthony Weiner Says His Wife Never Agreed to That Documentary". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
External links
- Weiner on IMDb
- Weiner at Box Office Mojo
- Weiner at Rotten Tomatoes
Awards | ||
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Preceded by The Wolfpack |
Sundance Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary 2016 |
Succeeded by Dina |