NewportFILM Outdoors Unveils 2024 Summer Screening Series Lineup, Featuring ‘Skywalkers,’ ‘Secret Mall Apartment’ and More (EXCLUSIVE)

NewportFILM Outdoors, a unique screening series that is held on the lawns and grounds of the mansions and parks that make Newport, R.I., a tourist destination, has unveiled its summer season slate of programming.

The series, which highlights notable documentaries, will kick off next week with Jeff Zimbalist’s “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” one of the breakouts of this year’s Sundance. Netflix swooped in and bought the film in one of the festival’s biggest deals — it tells the story of two daredevils’ attempt to climb a super skyscraper. Other films that will screen throughout the summer include movies about cultural or sports figures such as Elizabeth Taylor (“Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes” from HBO), Joan Baez (“Joan Baez: I Am Noise” from Magnolia Pictures), horse trainer Monty Roberts (“The Cowboy and the Queen” from Greenwich Entertainment) and big wave surfer Maya Gabeira (“Maya and the Wave”). In addition, there are documentaries on topics such as the Montreux Jazz Festival (“They All Came Out to Montreux”), women’s world cup soccer (“Copa 71”) and a father daughter dance program in a Washington D.C. jail (“Daughters” from Netflix). There are even some films with a regional connection, such as Jeremy Workman’s “Secret Mall Apartment,” which tells the story of eight people who created a secret apartment in the nearby Providence Place Mall and lived in it for four years. Filmmaker Q&As follow most screenings.

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Events will be held every Thursday this summer at venues such as Gilded Age mansions Rosecliff (the setting for the Robert Redford and Mia Farrow film version of “The Great Gatsby”), The Elms and Chateau-Sur-Mer (recently seen in “The Gilded Age”) as well as the Newport Polo Grounds and Fort Adams, a former U.S. army post established in 1799 that is now home to the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals. The lineup has been curated by NewportFILM’s founder and artistic director Andrea van Beuren.

Van Beuren stated, “Our team is looking forward to sharing these incredible films with our audiences in Newport. We have such a vibrant community here, people who are deeply committed to and grateful for our documentary offerings. Also, a note about how much we value the partnerships we’ve cultivated within the film industry, which allow us to feature these exceptional titles as part of our summer series.”

NewportFILM Outdoors 2024 Films include:

Skywalkers: A Love Story (June 27)

Salve O’Hare Lawn, Newport 

Director: Jeff Zimbalist

Producer: Jeff Zimbalist, Maria Bukhonina, Tamir Ardon, and Chris Smith

Executive Producer: Nick Spicer

Director of Photography: Renato Borrayo Serrano

Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus climb the world’s last super skyscraper, blending daring acrobatics with a tumultuous love story.  Part romance, part thriller, this film follows a daredevil couple as they take their relationship to terrifying new heights in a wild scheme to climb the world’s second highest skyscraper and perform a death-defying stunt on the spire.

The Cowboy and the Queen (July 11)

Newport Polo Grounds, Portsmouth 

Director: Andrea Nevins

Producer: Andrea Nevins, Graham Clark

Director of Photography: Geoffrey Franklin

Synopsis: When an old-time California rodeo cowboy discovers a way to train horses non-violently, he is rejected by the traditional horse industry, nearly losing his livelihood, until he meets a most unlikely fairy godmother, Queen Elizabeth II. She challenges him to prove his methods, and by winning her endorsement, she catapults him to world-wide fame. Monty Roberts’ reflections about why their experiences of World War II as children might have fomented a meeting of the minds at mid-life becomes a rumination on authoritarian norms, as well as on the cumulative effects of small acts of kindness on the greater world. Weaving present day footage, exquisite archival, and never-before-seen moments of Her Majesty found in Monty’s cluttered garage, The Cowboy and The Queen is the inspiring, cinematic origin story of a true horse whisperer and his magical, 30-year relationship with the longest reigning monarch.

Who is Stan Smith? (July 18)

Aquidneck Park, Newport 

*In partnership with the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Stan Smith in attendance*

Director: Danny Lee

Producer: Danny Lee, Philip Byron, Rebecca Halpern

Executive Producer: LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson, Donald Dell, Alexandra Dell

Director of Photography: David J. Myrick

Synopsis: From Executive Producers LeBron James and Maverick Carter, Danny Lee’s “Who is Stan Smith?” highlights Smith’s tennis accomplishments, but also covers his humanitarian feats off the tennis court: Smith’s relationship with Arthur Ashe heavily inspired his anti-racist activism, while touching upon his relationship with Black player, Mark Mathabane, whom Smith helped escape from apartheid in South Africa. More than the namesake of one of the world’s most iconic sneakers, Stan Smith has lived a champion’s life on and off the tennis court. Chronicling his rise from collegiate superstar to World No.1 and beyond, Smith blazed new paths for athletes, both as a humanitarian and fashion icon. Complete with intimate first-person accounts and dynamic archival materials, “Who Is Stan Smith?” is a powerful and inspiring portrait of the man behind the shoe that became a movement.

Joan Baez: I Am Noise (July 25)

Second Beach, Middletown 

*In partnership with Newport Folk Festival*

Director: Karen O’Connor, Miri Navasky, Maeve O’Boyle

Producer: Miri Navasky; Karen O’Connor

Executive Producer: Patti Smith, Ben Braun, Josh Braun, Terry Press, Greg Sarris

Director of Photography: Timothy Grucza, Wolfgang Held, Ben McCoy

Synopsis: “Joan Baez I Am A Noise” is an unusually intimate psychological portrait of legendary folk singer and activist Joan Baez. Neither a conventional biopic nor a traditional concert film, this immersive documentary shifts back and forth through time as it follows Joan on her final tour and delves into her extraordinary archive, including newly discovered home movies, diaries, artwork, therapy tapes, and audio recordings. Throughout the film, Baez is remarkably revealing about her life on and off stage – from her lifelong emotional struggles to her civil rights work with MLK and a heartbreaking romance with a young Bob Dylan. A searingly honest look at a living legend, this film is a compelling and deeply personal exploration of an iconic artist who has never told the full truth of her life, as she experienced it, until now.

They All Came Out to Montreux (Aug. 1)

Rosecliff, Newport 

Director: Oliver Murray

Producer: Bill Lord

Executive Producer: Quincy Jones

Director of Photography: Richard Dunton

Synopsis: Starting in 1967 with practically no knowledge of the music industry Claude Nobs’ enthusiasm, drive and passion for music turned a sleepy town on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland into a mecca for the greatest international recording artists of all time, one that shaped the history of live music forever. The production features performances at the festival from some of the 20th century’s most important musical icons including Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Muddy Waters, Santana, Nina Simone, Etta James, Carol King (Eta and Carol’s first European performance), Van Morrison, Miles Davis, Sting, David Bowie, Prince, James Brown and Wyclef Jean. Alongside these performances are interviews with Elvis Costello, Jack White, George Clinton, Carlos Santana, Buddy Guy, Keith Richards, Herbie Hancock and executive producer Quincy Jones.

Maya and the Wave (Aug. 8)

Fort Adams, Newport 

Director: Stephanie Johnes

Producer: Stephanie Johnes, Jorge Leal

Executive Producer: Adriana Banta, Julian Cautherley, Ruth Ann Harnisch, Alexandra Johnes, Jena King

Cinematography by: Stephanie Johnes, Jorge Leal, Dudu Miranda, João Pedro Plácido

Logline: After a brush with death, Maya Gabeira makes history in the male-dominated world of big wave surfing.

Synopsis:  Maya Gabeira grows up in Rio de Janeiro, begins competing in surfing at age 15, and turns pro at 17. However, her abilities are doubted by many of her big wave surfing male peers. In 2013, Gabeira suffers a devastating wipeout at Nazaré, Portugal. She nearly drowns and endures a prolonged recovery that requires back surgeries and physical therapy. Gabeira eventually returns to Nazaré and breaks the record for the largest wave ever surfed by a woman.

Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes (Aug. 15)

Chateau-sur-Mer, Newport 

Director: Nanette Burstein

Producer: J.J. Abrams, Bill Gerber, John Paul Horstmann, Timothy Moran, Rachel Rusch Rich, Sean M. Stuart, Aude Temel, Glen Zipper

Executive Producer: Nancy Abraham, Barbara Berkowitz, Nanette Burstein, Lisa Heller, Timothy R. Mendelssohn, Sara Rodriguez, Quinn Tivey

Director of Photography: Darren Lew

Synopsis: “Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes” offers an unprecedented exploration into the life of Elizabeth Taylor, Hollywood’s quintessential star. With extraordinary access to Taylor’s personal archives and 40 hours of newly unearthed, intimate audio interviews with journalist Richard Meryman, audiences are invited to rediscover, not just a mega star of Hollywood’s Golden Age, but a complex woman who navigated lifelong fame, personal identity, and public scrutiny on a global stage from early childhood. These candid conversations peel back the layers of one of cinema’s most enduring icons, revealing a woman at odds with her public image, yearning for respect and agency.

Copa 7​​1 (Aug. 22)

Miantonomi Park, Newport 

Director: Rachel Ramsay & James Erskine

Producer: Victoria Gregory, Jannat Gargi, Anna Godas

Executive Producer: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Alex Morgan

Director of Photography: Angela Neil

Synopsis: It is August 1971. Teams from England, Argentina, Mexico, France, Denmark, and Italy gathered in Mexico City for a watershed soccer tournament: lavish sponsorship, extensive TV coverage, merchandise on every street corner, and over 100,000 roaring fans turned the historic Azteca stadium into a cauldron of noise while a fawning media treated the players like rock stars. This was the greatest show on earth but, despite being one of the most ground-breaking moments in soccer history, you’ve probably never heard of it. And why? Because the players were all women, and the heroic event that unfolded has been sidelined from history – until now. “Copa 71” is the extraordinary story of an extraordinary tournament – told through the voices of those who lived it: fearless women from across the globe to whom today’s players, be they superstars like Megan Rapinoe, Lucy Bronze and Marta, or a young girl playing in her local park, owe so much.

Daughters (Aug. 29)

Great Friends Meeting House, Newport 

Director: Natalie Rae and Angela Patton

Producer: Lisa Mazzotta, Justin Benoliel, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft, James Cunningham

Executive Producer: Jessica Seinfeld, Joel Edgerton, Lydia Kives, Jackie Bisbee, Lance Acord, Harland Weiss, Dom Thomas, J.M. Harper, Morgan Clement, Hallee Adelman, Andrea van Beuren. ​​

Director of Photography: Michael “Cambio” Fernandez

Logline: Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C., jail.

Synopsis: A moving lesson in empathy and forgiveness, “Daughters” is a result of an eight-year documentary journey that filmmaker Natalie Rae and Angela Patton, an activist advocating for “at-promise” girls, embarked upon. As Aubrey, Santana, Raziah, and Ja’Ana get ready for the special event, they speak candidly about their hopes, dreams, and disappointments. There is an innate wisdom and honesty to what they share about their dads’ inconsistent presence, an awareness far beyond their years. “Daughters” meaningfully challenges many stereotypes around incarceration and serves as a poignant reminder that maintaining family bonds can be both healing and empowering. We get to witness a lot of joy, but in keeping with the film’s vérité style, Rae and Patton don’t shy away from more challenging moments, including heartbreak, skepticism, reluctance to engage, and anger. But then comes a classic dad joke, and the mood shifts again.

Secret Mall Apartment ( Sept. 5)

The Elms, Newport 

Director: Jeremy Workman

Producer: Jeremy Workman

Executive Producer:​​ Jesse Eisenberg

Director of Photography: Michael Lisnet, Jeremy Workman, Dan Kennedy

Synopsis:  In 2003, eight Rhode Island artists created a secret apartment inside the busy Providence Place Mall and lived there for four years, filming everything along the way. They snuck in furniture, tapped into the mall’s electricity, and even constructed a wall, smuggling in more than two tons of cinderblock.  Far more than just a wild prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for its inhabitants. It was a personal expression of defiance against local gentrification, a boundary-pushing work of public/private art, a clubhouse in which large-scale charitable art projects were planned, and, finally, a 750 square-foot “F you” to The Man.  Featuring never-before-seen footage of the space and revealing the identities of all the participants for the first time, “Secret Mall Apartment” is more than just a bonkers true story. Director Jeremy Workman (“Lily Topples The World”) delivers a poignant exploration of a group of artists who discovered their purpose within the most commercial and improbable places.

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