Expanded Media & Docsville Studios Team for Jesse Jackson Doc

Expanded Media and Docsville Studios have partnered to produce a documentary about civil rights leader and two-time Democratic presidential candidate Reverend Jesse Jackson.

Through exclusive access to Jackson and his family and 60 years of unseen family footage, the untitled co-production will explore Jackson’s life and career from a personal standpoint.

Award-winning filmmaker and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences member Shola Lynch (Chisholm ’72: Unbought & Unbossed, Free Angela & All Political Prisoners) will direct. Executive producers are Francis Hopkinson and Ron Burkle for Expanded Media and Nick Fraser and Simon Kilmurry for Docsville Studios, as well as Jackson’s son Yusef for the Jackson Foundation. Docsville Studios’ Lawrence Elman and William Keys are producers.

“On behalf of my entire family and especially my father, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., we are humbled and honored to partner with Expanded Media and Docsville Studios to help tell the story of his life and legacy, now 80 years in the making,” said Yusef. “Even after living most of his life in the public eye, there is so much of my father’s story and the work that he’s done to progress civil rights, social justice, public service and democracy around the world that is not widely known. We’re honored to finally have the opportunity to authentically share his story, our family’s story, and how we fit into the landscape of our country’s biggest struggles and brightest victories over the last several decades.”

“The Reverend Jesse Jackson has spent the last 60 years of his life advocating for social justice and his leadership helped to create real change in addressing racism and discrimination,” said Hopkinson, managing director of Expanded Media. “This film not only tells the story of the man in his own words but explores the personal backdrop of what his trailblazing meant for his family. That’s why it is such a unique and special film.”

“There is no doubt that Jesse Jackson is one of the most influential people of all time,” added Elman, CEO of Docsville Studios. “To be able to tell his story, in his own words, is a unique privilege, and we would like to thank the Reverend Jesse Jackson and his family for welcoming us into their lives. The huge amount of interest we have had in this project exemplifies how important this story is to the history of civil and human rights everywhere.”

Lynch said, “Despite his Parkinson’s, or maybe due to it, Jesse Jackson is going to slow down enough to talk through and reflect on his lifelong fight for racial and economic justice. When others have been killed, moved on or retired, Jackson has been tireless, even relentless. Before he can’t, with no question out of bounds, and Mrs. Jackson and their family willing to contribute, this is a rare opportunity that I could not pass up. Jesse Jackson is part of the fabric of American history and culture as an activist and agitator. Who is he really? Let’s find out.”