Bob Hercules
Bob Hercules is a documentary filmmaker whose work has been seen widely on PBS, BBC, Discovery Channel, IFC, Netflix, Amazon, and in film festivals around the world. He is also co-owner of Media Process Group, a Chicago-based production company. He is best known for Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise[1] (co-directed by Rita Coburn) which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and won a Peabody Award in 2018.
Hercules was raised in Gaylord, Michigan and received his B.A. from Western Michigan University and his Master of Arts degree in film from the University of Michigan. He moved to Chicago in 1984 and started his film career. Hercules honed his skills at public access television in both Ann Arbor and Chicago. He was a founder and producer of the long-running cable access series, Labor Beat, and he wrote and directed an independent video, Briefcases & Bomb Shelters, which was a critique of the Cold War concept of mutually assured destruction. He started a video production company, Media Process Group with partners David Beaton and Bruce Lixey in 1985.
Hercules’ first full-length documentary was Baseball’s Heirlooms, a chronicle of the oldest classic ballparks hosted and narrated by actor Jeff Daniels. It is still in distribution from Questar Entertainment and ran on Discovery Channel in the early 1990s.
His 1999 film, The Democratic Promise: Saul Alinsky & His Legacy[2] (co-directed by Bruce Orenstein), tells the story of the founder of community organizing and how his vision is still being carried on today. It was narrated by Alec Baldwin and broadcast on PBS in 2000.
Hercules' acclaimed 2006 feature documentary, Forgiving Dr. Mengele [3] [4] , tells the remarkable story of Auschwitz survivor and former 'Mengele twin', Eva Mozes Kor, whose decision to forgive the perpetrators as an act of self-healing sparked a firestorm of criticism. The film won the Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival and the Crystal Heart Award at the 2006 Heartland Film Festival. It is currently in home video release from First Run Features.
In 2008, Hercules directed the Barack Obama and Michelle Obama biography videos for Obama's Presidential campaign website. He also directed Obama's 2007 Presidential announcement video in Springfield, Illinois. Hercules' 2006 documentary, Senator Obama Goes to Africa, (co-produced by Keith Walker), is a chronicle of Obama's momentous 2006 trip to Africa, including an emotional visit to Kisumu, Kenya—homeland of his late father. It is currently in home video release from First Run Features.
His 2009 documentary, Radical Disciple: The Story of Father Pfleger [5] , chronicles the radical priest, Michael Pfleger, whose controversial tactics to fight racism put him at odds with the Catholic hierarchy. The film was named Best Documentary at the 2009 Big Muddy Film Festival and was the opening night film at the 2009 Black Harvest Film Festival. It was broadcast on WTTW, Chicago in 2010.
Hercules also made two films focusing on dance, Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance[6] and Bill T. Jones: A Good Man [7] [8] (co-directed by Gordon Quinn). The Joffrey film, narrated by Mandy Patinkin, tells the full story of the groundbreaking Joffrey Ballet company and their many rises and falls. It premiered in January, 2012 at the Dance on Camera Film Festival at Lincoln Center and aired on PBS’ American Masters December, 2012. A Good Man aired on American Masters in 2011 and played at many film festivals including IDFA, Silverdocs, Full Frame, DOXA and the Southern Circuit.
His film, Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise [9] [10] [11] (co-directed by Rita Coburn), premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and went on to win 19 awards on three continents and a Peabody Award in 2018. The film was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and aired on both PBS’ American Masters and BBC’s Storyville series in 2017.
Hercules’ newest film is a chronicle of the life and legacy of former Congressman, Judge and White House Counsel, Abner J. Mikva. The film, Mikva! Democracy is a Verb, aired on WTTW, Chicago in October, 2020 and was shown on over 100 PBS stations over the fall and winter of 2020.
References
- ↑ PBS; PBS (2017-02-21). "Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise". PBS. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ↑ Bruno, Robert (2004-07-02). "The Democratic Promise: Saul Alinsky and His Legacy (review)". Johns Hopkins University. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ↑ Stevens, Dana (2006-05-18). "Letting Go of the Death Camps in Forgiving Dr. Mengele". New York Times. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ↑ Gonzales, Ed (2006-05-03). "Review: Forgiving Dr. Mengele". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ↑ Ebert, Roger (2009-08-26). "A priest as social crusader and thorn in the side of the church". Roger Ebert. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ↑ DeWitt, David (2012-04-27). "Images of a Ballet Company Moving Through History". New York Times. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ↑ Wiegand, David (2011-11-30). "'Bill T. Jones: A Good Man,' review". SFGATE. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ↑ Jones, J.R. (2011-11-30). "A Good Man". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ↑ Bakare, Lanre (2016-01-27). "Maya Angelou and Still I Rise review - perceptive portrait of legendary writer". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ↑ Jaworowski, Ken (2016-10-14). "Review: 'Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise,' a Life Well Lived". New York Times. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
- ↑ Kennedy, Lisa (2016-11-28). "Review: Maya Angelou's 'And Still I Rise' Documentary Is Original Black Girl Magic". Essence. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
External links
- Mikva! Democracy is a Verb
- Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
- Senator Obama Goes to Africa
- Forgiving Dr. Mengele
- The Democratic Promise: Saul Alinsky & His Legacy
- Media Process Group
- Labor Beat
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