| Seeking Mavis Beacon | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Jazmin Jones |
| Written by | Jazmin Jones |
| Produced by | Guetty Felin |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Yeelen Cohen |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Fatima Al Qadiri |
| Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Neon |
| Release dates |
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| Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $52,897 |
Seeking Mavis Beacon is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Jazmin Jones, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film is distributed by Neon and is Jones' directorial debut.
Premise
The film follows investigators Jazmin Jones and Olivia McKayla Ross on their search to find Renée L'Esperance, the Haitian model for Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, an educational software program developed in the 1980s.
Cast
- Jazmin Renée Jones
- Olivia McKayla Ross
Production
Seeking Mavis Beacon was produced by BelleMoon Productions founder Guetty Felin and Neon, in association with Field of Vision. The film was also associate produced by Olivia McKayla Ross.
Release
The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in the NEXT category. The film was released by Neon on August 30, 2024.
Critical reception
Initial reception was generally positive. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 44 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Director Jazmin Jones' exploration of one of the internet's strangest cases occasionally lapses into self-indulgence, but the personalized approach ultimately yields a one-of-a-kind documentary experience." Metacritic calculated a weighted average of 72 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Murtada Elfadl from Variety wrote the documentary was "format defying... affecting and haunting," noted that it explores "a range of philosophical and sociological considerations, from the notion of 'coded bias' to how they personally use technology to communicate and find community."
Gallery
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Director, investigator, and co-editor Jazmin Jones
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Co-collaborator and associate producer Olivia McKayla Ross
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Producer Guetty Felin
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Production sound mixer Joakim Cohen
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Cinematographer and co-editor Yeelen Cohen
References
- "Seeking Mavis Beacon". The Numbers. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- "Seeking Mavis Beacon". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ Team, The Deadline (2024-01-26). "'Seeking Mavis Beacon' Director Jazmin Renee Jones And Olivia McKayla Ross Undertake A Quest To Find An Unsung Cultural Icon — Sundance Studio". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
- "Seeking Mavis Beacon: Jazmin Jones on the Ethics of Her Incredibly Meta Doc". www.moviemaker.com. 2024-01-26. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
- Gyarkye, Lovia (2024-01-23). "'Seeking Mavis Beacon' Review: An Enlightening Debut Doc Dives Into the Past to Ponder the Digital Future". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
- "Seeking Mavis Beacon is a wild Sundance doc about the search for a lost tech icon". Engadget. 27 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
- Piñon, Natasha (2021-10-10). "She taught a generation to type. But who is the real Mavis Beacon?". Mashable. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
- ^ Rubin, Rebecca (2022-02-24). "'Seeking Mavis Beacon' Documentary in the Works at Neon". Variety. Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
- "Program Guide | 2024 Sundance Film Festival". festival.sundance.org. Archived from the original on 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
- "Seeking Mavis Beacon is a wild Sundance doc about the search for a lost tech icon". Engadget. 27 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
- Slater, Shane (2024-01-27). "Sundance Film Festival Review: 'Seeking Mavis Beacon' is a Fascinating Detective Story". Awards Radar. Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
- "Seeking Mavis Beacon". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
- "Seeking Mavis Beacon". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Elfadl, Murtada (2024-01-21). "'Seeking Mavis Beacon' Review: Thoughtful Doc Pursues an Elusive Black Icon". Variety. Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-01-27.