International production company Park Pictures short documentary film THE HEART STILL HUMS, co-directed by roster director Savanah Leaf and actress Taylor Russell (Netflix’s Lost In Space, Waves), was awarded the 2020 Best Short Documentary Award at the BlackStar Film Festival.
THE HEART STILL HUMS follows five women based in Sacramento, CA, through varying stages of young motherhood. The young mothers navigate the turbulence of accessing hard-won resources through nonprofits or, in the hardest circumstances, seeking foster or adoptive families for their children.
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The film has already garnered sweeping critical praise and film festival accolades, including the Palm Springs ShortFest Best Documentary Short Award. The award arrives on the heels of a momentous few months for Savanah Leaf, having officially signed to Park Pictures’ roster, along with the launch of her co-led initiative “Change the Lens,” a pledge to ensure the representation of black filmmakers within the commercial and music video film industry is reflective of the greater population.
About Park Pictures
Founded in 1998 by Executive Producer Jacqueline Kelman Bisbee and renowned filmmaker/cinematographer Lance Acord, bicoastal/London-based Park Pictures has an auspicious track record of discovering and mentoring new filmmaking talent and infusing all projects with big screen production values. Park Pictures has forged strong partnerships with agencies and clients by engaging all members of its team in creative problem-solving.
Park Pictures has earned the highest accolades for their work, including an Oscar, three Emmys, and numerous Cannes Lions. Park Pictures won the 2014 Emmy for Outstanding Commercial for Apple “Misunderstood,” the 2019 Emmy for Outstanding Commercial for Nike “Dream Crazy,” and the Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for The Sentence. The company received the Cannes Lions Palme d’Or in 2019, the highest honor production companies can receive.
After winning an Academy Award in 2010 for the company’s first narrative film, live-action short “The New Tenants” starring Vincent D’Onofrio, Park Pictures founded the Park Pictures feature division, headed by Producer Sam Bisbee, Jacqueline Kelman Bisbee, and Lance Acord. Park Pictures Features has produced ten feature films, nine of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Most recently, Park Pictures showcased three films at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, including the closing night movie Hearts Beat Loud, the Sundance Next Fest program film An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, and the documentary feature The Sentence. The Sentence earned the annually-coveted Audience Award and was acquired by HBO for US television and streaming rights. Hearts Beat Loud, starring Nick Offerman, sold to Gunpowder & Sky for U.S. distribution and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions for international distribution.