Giving Voice
Available on Netflix
GIVING VOICE follows a handful of the hundreds of high school students participating in a national competition to perform monologues from August Wilson's plays. It was filmed in 2018, during the 10th annual edition of the competition, which was launched by some of Wilson's friends three years after his death from cancer at the age of 60. These friends and others -- including Wilson's wife, his longtime producer, and celebrity actors like Viola Davis and Denzel Washington who performed in adaptations of his plays -- talk about what Wilson's work has meant to them personally and to the Black community as a whole. Wilson wrote a series of 10 plays about the Black experience, covering the 10 decades of the 20th century; the film includes clips of him talking about his inspiration and artistic process. Only 20 students make it from regionals to the competition finals in New York City, where the winner will earn a chance to perform on Broadway. Viewers learn about the teens' home lives and backgrounds, find out what drew them to the theater and Wilson's work in particular, and follow in their excitement over the course of the competition.
Starring Viola Davis, Gerardo Navarro, Denzel Washington
Director James D. Stern, Fernando Villena