White Horse Pictures is an American film, documentary and television production company founded in 2014.

White Horse Pictures
Industry
  • Documentary
  • Film
  • Television
Founded2014; 10 years ago (2014)
Headquarters
Key people
  • Nigel Sinclair (Non-Executive chairman)
  • Nicholas Ferrall (Chairman & CEO)
  • Jeanne Elfant Festa (Co-President)
  • Cassidy Hartmann (Co-President)
Websitewww.whitehorsepics.com

The company is run by four partners and producers, Nigel Sinclair, Nicholas Ferrall, Jeanne Elfant Festa and Cassidy Hartmann.

History

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White Horse Pictures was founded in 2014 by Nigel Sinclair alongside longtime business partner Guy East with partners Nicholas Ferrall, Jeanne Elfant Festa and Cassidy Hartmann.[1] Sinclair's previous documentaries had included Martin Scorsese’s, George Harrison: Living in the Material World which won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for a BAFTA, the Grammy Award-winning No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, the Academy Award-winning Undefeated and the Grammy Award-winning Foo Fighters: Back and Forth.[2]

White Horse Pictures' first documentary, A Faster Horse, directed by David Gelb, was released in 2015.[3]

In 2016, the team produced and sold worldwide The Beatles: Eight Days a Week, directed by Ron Howard and written by Mark Monroe, which won a Grammy for Best Music Film and multiple Emmy Awards. The film was Hulu's first documentary acquisition.[4][5]

White Horse Pictures subsequently produced The Apollo directed by Roger Ross Williams – which opened the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2019 to overwhelming critical acclaim – where upon release on HBO the film was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary.[6] The Apollo won Outstanding Documentary at the 72nd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.[7]

Also in 2019 was Pavarotti, directed by Ron Howard and written by Mark Monroe, which was sold to CBS Films and grossed $8,083,942, becoming one of the top 20 highest-grossing (domestic) concert films of all time.[8][9][10]

In 2020, White Horse Pictures produced The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart on HBO, directed by Frank Marshall and written by Mark Monroe where it received critical acclaim and nominations for six Emmy Awards including Outstanding Documentary, winning one.[11]

White Horse Pictures produced Lucy and Desi, directed and produced by Amy Poehler in her documentary directorial debut and written by Mark Monroe, on Amazon Prime Video where it received critical acclaim and was nominated for six Emmy Awards, winning two.[12] The 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony represented the third year in a row White Horse Pictures produced a documentary nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary.[13]

In 2024, White Horse Pictures produced the authorized documentary The Beach Boys, directed and produced by Frank Marshall, written by Mark Monroe and distributed by Disney.[14] That same year, White Horse Pictures also released the docuseries Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A. directed and produced by Jamila Wignot about the rise and fall of Stax Records.[15]

Recently, White Horse Pictures has produced an upcoming documentary about the ventriloquist and children's entertainer Shari Lewis and her famous puppet, Lamb Chop, Shari & Lamb Chop, directed Lisa D'Apolito, which debuted at Doc NYC 2023; a documentary on keyboardist, singer and songwriter Billy Preston, Billy Preston: That's The Way God Planned It directed by Paris Barclay which debuted at SXSW 2024; and an upcoming documentary on beloved actor Gene Wilder directed by Chris Smith.[16][17][18]

Filmography

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Documentary

Year Film Director Distributor
2015 A Faster Horse David Gelb FilmRise
2016 The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years Ron Howard Hulu
2019 The Apollo Roger Ross Williams HBO
Pavarotti Ron Howard CBS Films
2020 The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart Frank Marshall HBO
2022 Lucy and Desi Amy Poehler Amazon Prime Video
2024 The Beach Boys Frank Marshall Disney+

Television

Year Program Director Distributor
2024 Stax: Soulsville U.S.A. Jamila Wignot HBO

References

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  1. ^ Complex, Valerie (2022-12-13). "White Horse Pictures Reorganizes Leadership Structure; Nicholas Ferrall Named Chairman & CEO". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  2. ^ "Ron Howard To Direct New Beatles Film About The Touring Years | The Beatles". www.thebeatles.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  3. ^ Kay2015-03-05T20:47:00+00:00, Jeremy. "White Horse boards A Faster Horse". Screen. Retrieved 2024-05-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (2016-05-04). "Hulu is getting into documentaries, starting with Ron Howard's Beatles film". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  5. ^ The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years (2016) – Awards – IMDb. Retrieved 2024-06-27 – via www.imdb.com.
  6. ^ Staff, T. H. R. (2019-12-16). "Academy Unveils 2020 Oscar Shortlists". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  7. ^ Grein, Paul (2020-09-15). "'The Apollo' (About the Legendary Theater) and 'Apollo 11' Win Big on Night 1 of Primetime Emmy Awards". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  8. ^ Jr, Mike Fleming (2019-01-08). "CBS Films Acquiring Ron Howard-Directed Luciano Pavarotti Documentary". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  9. ^ Lang, Robert (2023-12-03). "The Highest-Grossing Concert Movies Of All Time At The U.S. Box Office – Photo Gallery". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  10. ^ "Pavarotti". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  11. ^ "2021 Creative Arts Emmys: See the full list of winners". EW.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  12. ^ ""Lucy and Desi" Takes Home Two Awards at 2022 Emmys - sundance.org". 2022-09-13. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  13. ^ Carey, Matthew (2022-08-15). "White Horse Pictures' Nigel Sinclair And Jeanne Elfant Festa On Their Emmy Contender 'Lucy And Desi': "The Best Team Led By The Best Director"". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  14. ^ Shafer, Ellise (2024-05-24). "Beach Boys Documentary Is Now Streaming On Disney+". Variety. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  15. ^ Thatcher, John (2024-05-16). "HBO Original Documentary Series STAX: SOULSVILLE U.S.A. Debuts May 20". Stax Museum. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  16. ^ "Paris Barclay's doc Billy Preston: That's The Way God Planned It makes debut at 2024 SXSW". BlackFilmandTV.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  17. ^ "SHARI & LAMB CHOP". DOC NYC. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  18. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (2022-04-28). "Gene Wilder Doc Set at White Horse Pictures, Library Films (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2024-05-30.