The Oscar® nominated HBO Documentary Film ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED, from Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (HBO and Participant’s “Citizenfour”), debuts SUNDAY, MARCH 19 (9:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
From Participant, ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED is an epic, emotional, and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, groundbreaking photography, archival family snapshots and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the opioid overdose crisis.
The critically acclaimed film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in the main competition, where it became the second documentary ever to win the Golden Lion for best film. It was the only film to play at Venice, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and New York Film Festival in 2022. The film was only the second documentary to be selected as the centerpiece for New York Film Festival.
The deeply personal and urgently political film interweaves Goldin’s past and present, from the actions of Prescription Addiction Intervention Now (P.A.I.N.) at renowned art institutions to Goldin’s photography of her friends and peers through her epic “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency,” and her legendary 1989 NEA-censored AIDS exhibition “Witnesses: Against Our Vanishing.”
In these works, Goldin captures her friendships with beauty and raw tenderness. These friendships, and the legacy of her late sister, Barbara Holly Goldin, anchor all of Goldin’s art and are integral to the film. Goldin’s early experiences in suburbia and the effect of toxic families led to her ongoing resistance against a society that oppresses the most stigmatized.
The film follows P.A.I.N., a group Goldin founded to shame museums into rejecting Sackler money, destigmatize addiction, and promote harm reduction. Inspired by Act Up, the group orchestrated protests to expose the Sacklers and the crimes of their Purdue Pharma, the makers of OxyContin.
The film garnered top film critic awards including Best Documentary from the New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and National Society of Film Critics. Additionally, ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED has been nominated for the BAFTA, Independent Spirit, ACE Eddie, and DGA awards.
HBO Documentary Films presents a Participant and Neon presentation; directed and produced by Laura Poitras; photography and slideshows by Nan Goldin; executive producers, Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Clare Carter, Alex Kwartler, Hayley Theisen; producers, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin, and Yoni Golijov.
ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED will be available to rent or own beginning on February 28th.