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Maynard – Press Release

By June 14, 2018July 24th, 2018News, Press Releases

THE ACCLAIMED NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE CITY’S PIONEERING, PASSIONATE LEADER, MAYNARD JACKSON JR – THE OBAMA BEFORE OBAMA

MAYNARD

The Powerful and Inspiring Story of the First Black Mayor of a Major Southern City Releases on Digital HD and DVD July 3rd.

New York, NY (June 2018)The remarkable story of the unparalleled success of Maynard Jackson Jr., Atlanta’s beloved longtime leader, is told in the compelling new documentary MAYNARD. The story of the city’s first black mayor will be released on DVD and Digital HD July 3rd.

The release on DVD and digital platforms is preceded by the film’s theatrical release at the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta.

From his earliest days, Maynard Jackson Jr. was cut out for greatness. A college graduate at age 18, he burst onto the Southern political scene as a dynamic and magnetic leader. In 1968, after the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the 30-year-old announced his run for a U.S. Senate seat from Georgia against known segregationist Herman Talmadge. He lost – but two years later, he was elected mayor of Atlanta, sparking a revolution in the black community.

As the first black mayor elected in a major Southern city, he spurred African-American voter turnout and his service in office over a record three terms paved the way for the creation of diversity and inclusion practices in common use today. The “enforcer” of affirmative action transformed the reputation of Atlanta from the “heart of the confederate South” to a cosmopolitan world-class city.

MAYNARD, directed by Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated producer-director Samuel D. Pollard (Eyes on the Prize, When the Levees Broke, 4 Little Girls), tells the story of the man, the politician and the game changer and endeavors to answer the question: “How did Maynard do it?” The mayor, the film makes clear, was much more than his cute nickname, “Action Jackson” – an articulate, charismatic and compassionate leader. Among his many successes, he earned his place in Atlanta history for expanding the city’s main airport into Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (the world’s busiest) and bringing the Olympics to the city in 1996.

MAYNARD presents an intimate view of Jackson from those who knew him best, utilizing archival footage and photographs and rare interviews with family, co-workers and noted admirers. “Maynard Jackson had a voice that could melt the meanness out of the hardest heart and a gift of gab that could talk an owl out of a tree,” said President Bill Clinton during his eulogy of Jackson.

 

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About Virgil Films – Virgil Films & Entertainment was founded in 2003 by Joe Amodei to acquire, market and distribute DVD, TV and Digital product in the theatrical feature film, documentaries, special interest and sports categories. The company has built partnerships with OWN, Sundance Channel Home Entertainment, National Geographic Cinema Ventures, Pure Flix Entertainment, MLB Productions, Morgan Spurlock’s Warrior Poets and other high-profile entertainment brands since their inception. Releases from Virgil Films & Entertainment include the Oscar-nominated documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me; the award-winning documentary Miss Representation; the critically acclaimed, timeless, best-selling Forks Over Knives; and the Oscar-nominated documentary Restrepo and its sequel Korengal. They have also released the compelling I Am Chris FarleyA Brony Tale, Legends of the Knight and others. Follow them on twitter: @virgilfilms | www.VirgilFilmsEnt.com.

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