EXCLUSIVE: Esteemed documentary filmmaker Dawn Porter is set to make her narrative feature debut with NOBODY: The Bert Williams Story, a biopic of the vaudeville performer of the same name.
The news comes amid her NAACP Award nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Documentary for Luther: Never Too Much, her doc on the life and career of the iconic R&B singer Luther Vandross.
Highlighting the life and career of one of the most influential Black entertainers of the early 20th century, NOBODY explores Williams’ extraordinary rise from Bahamian immigrant to central figure in America’s vaudeville circuit. His passion and talents were undeniable as he sang, danced, and pantomimed in clubs, cabarets, and theaters across the country. Williams became the first Black American to take a lead role on the Broadway stage and the best-selling Black recording artist before 1920. But his career came at a price, challenging his sense of identity and humanity, with Williams often torn between breaking boundaries and the painful choices that bring success.
“Inspired by actual rarely-before-seen silent film footage, I plan to use a documentary verite approach to Bert’s story,” Porter told Deadline, “watching as Bert makes the choices that will propel him to fame and fortune. By using narrative techniques, we explore Bert’s inner sense of his own identity.”
D’Angela Proctor (Terri McMillan Presents: Tempted by Love, Keyshia Cole: This Is My Story), Elliott Williams (Skin in the Game, City of Dogs) and Sam Feuer (The First Grader, The Green Prince) will produce with Lauren Embrey (Playground) and Micky Levy (Rails & Ties, She’s Not Gone) on board as executive producers. Production starts in New York this fall.
Known for her thought-provoking documentaries that explore social justice issues and the human experience, Porter’s body of work also includes The Sing Sing Chronicles, John Lewis: Good Trouble, Trapped, The Lady Bird Diaries, and Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court. Her work has premiered on ESPN, Netflix, HBO, PBS, and Discovery, earning the Sundance Special Jury Social Impact Prize, a Peabody Award, an IDA Documentary Career Achievement Award, and nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards and Emmys.
Porter is represented by CAA.
