Rebel Hearts (film) explained

Rebel Hearts
Director:Pedro Kos
Starring:Anita Caspary
Helen Kelley
Corita Kent
Pat Reif
Music:Ariel Marx
Distributor:Discovery+
Runtime:99 minutes[1]
Country:United States
Language:English

Rebel Hearts is a 2021 American documentary film, directed, produced, and edited by Pedro Kos. The film follows nuns at the Immaculate Heart College.

It had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 29, 2021. It was released in a limited release on June 25, 2021, prior to digital streaming on Discovery+ on June 27, 2021.

Synopsis

The film follows a group of progressive nuns at the Immaculate Heart College, including Anita Caspary, Helen Kelley, and Corita Kent as they made sure women received degrees, and transformed the education system.

Production

Shawnee Isaac-Smith had the idea of making a documentary film revolving around the nuns at Immaculate Heart College, and conducted over 50 interviews with the nuns, however, ran into difficulty securing financing.[2] [3] Isaac-Smith saved the interviews until she found the right creative partners, which would ultimately be twenty years later, when Pedro Kos and Kira Carstensen would join as producer, and director, respectively.[4] [5] Once Kos joined the production, production resumed and they shot additional footage for the film.[6]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 29, 2021.[7] Shortly after, Discovery+ acquired distribution rights to the film.[8] It also screened at AFI Docs on June 23, 2021.[9] [10] It was released in a limited release on June 25, 2021, prior to digital streaming on June 27, 2021, on Discovery+.[11]

Critical reception

Rebel Hearts received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 90% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 21 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.80/10.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rebel Hearts. Sundance Film Festival. January 7, 2021.
  2. Web site: Keeping the Faith: An interview with Rebel Hearts' Pedro Kos and Shawnee Isaac-Smith. POV Magazine. Pat. Mullen. January 29, 2021. June 20, 2021.
  3. Web site: Crafting a Hero's Journey Out of the Feminist Nuns Who Took on the Vatican. No Film School. Oakley. Anderson-Moore. February 4, 2021. June 20, 2021.
  4. Web site: A Conversation With Pedro Kos (REBEL HEARTS). Hammer to Nail. Christopher. Reed. February 12, 2021. June 20, 2021.
  5. Web site: AFI Docs shows us where the histories are buried, and why that matters more than ever. The Washington Post. Ann. Hornaday. June 19, 2021. June 20, 2021.
  6. Web site: AFI Docs 2021 Interview: Pedro Kos on a Revolution Inside the Catholic Church in "Rebel Hearts". Moveable Fest. Stephen. Saito. June 25, 2021. June 25, 2021.
  7. Web site: Sundance Film Festival Lineup Features 38 First-Time Directors, Including Rebecca Hall and Robin Wright. Variety. Peter. Debruge. December 15, 2020. January 7, 2021.
  8. Web site: 'Rebel Hearts', The Sundance Documentary About 1960s Activist L.A. Nuns, Lands At Discovery+. Deadline Hollywood. Patrick. Hipes. March 3, 2021. March 3, 2021.
  9. Web site: AFI Docs Festival Slate Includes 'Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain'. Variety. Pat. Saperstein. May 26, 2021. May 26, 2021.
  10. Web site: Rebel Hearts. AFI Docs. June 20, 2021.
  11. Web site: 'Rebel Hearts' Trailer: Sundance Documentary Pits Defiant Nuns Against the Vatican — Exclusive. IndieWire. Anne. Thompson. June 4, 2021. June 4, 2021.
  12. Web site: Rebel Hearts (2021). Rotten Tomatoes. June 25, 2021.