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Seeking Mavis Beacon

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Seeking Mavis Beacon
Film poster
Directed byJazmin Jones
Written byJazmin Jones
Produced byGuetty Felin
Starring
  • Jazmin Jones
  • Olivia McKayla Ross
CinematographyYeelen Cohen
Edited by
  • Jon Fine
  • Jazmin Jones
  • Yeelen Cohen
Music byFatima Al Qadiri
Production
companies
Distributed byNeon
Release dates
  • January 20, 2024 (2024-01-20) (Sundance)
  • August 30, 2024 (2024-08-30) (United States)
  • September 27, 2024 (2024-09-27) (Canada)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$52,897[1][2]

Seeking Mavis Beacon is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Jazmin Jones,[3] which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.[4] The film is distributed by Neon[5] and is Jones' directorial debut.[3]

Premise

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The film follows investigators Jazmin Jones and Olivia McKayla Ross on their search to find Renée L'Esperance, the Haitian model[6] for Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, an educational software program developed in the 1980s.[7]

Cast

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  • Jazmin Renée Jones
  • Olivia McKayla Ross

Production

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Seeking Mavis Beacon was produced by BelleMoon Productions founder Guetty Felin and Neon,[8] in association with Field of Vision. The film was also associate produced by Olivia McKayla Ross.[8]

Release

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The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in the NEXT category.[9] The film was released by Neon on August 30, 2024.

Critical reception

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Initial reception was generally positive.[10][11] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 44 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Director Jazmin Jones' exploration of one of the internet's strangest cases occasionally lapses into self-indulgence, but the personalized approach ultimately yields a one-of-a-kind documentary experience."[12] Metacritic calculated a weighted average of 72 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[13]

Murtada Elfadl from Variety wrote the documentary was "format defying... affecting and haunting,"[14] noted that it explores "a range of philosophical and sociological considerations, from the notion of 'coded bias' to how they personally use technology to communicate and find community."[14]

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References

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  1. ^ "Seeking Mavis Beacon". The Numbers. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  2. ^ "Seeking Mavis Beacon". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Team, The Deadline (2024-01-26). "'Seeking Mavis Beacon' Director Jazmin Renee Jones And Olivia McKayla Ross Undertake A Quest To Find An Unsung Cultural Icon — Sundance Studio". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  4. ^ "Seeking Mavis Beacon: Jazmin Jones on the Ethics of Her Incredibly Meta Doc". www.moviemaker.com. 2024-01-26. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  5. ^ Gyarkye, Lovia (2024-01-23). "'Seeking Mavis Beacon' Review: An Enlightening Debut Doc Dives Into the Past to Ponder the Digital Future". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  6. ^ "Seeking Mavis Beacon is a wild Sundance doc about the search for a lost tech icon". Engadget. 27 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  7. ^ Piñon, Natasha (2021-10-10). "She taught a generation to type. But who is the real Mavis Beacon?". Mashable. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  8. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (2022-02-24). "'Seeking Mavis Beacon' Documentary in the Works at Neon". Variety. Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  9. ^ "Program Guide | 2024 Sundance Film Festival". festival.sundance.org. Archived from the original on 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  10. ^ "Seeking Mavis Beacon is a wild Sundance doc about the search for a lost tech icon". Engadget. 27 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  11. ^ Slater, Shane (2024-01-27). "Sundance Film Festival Review: 'Seeking Mavis Beacon' is a Fascinating Detective Story". Awards Radar. Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  12. ^ "Seeking Mavis Beacon". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  13. ^ "Seeking Mavis Beacon". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  14. ^ a b Elfadl, Murtada (2024-01-21). "'Seeking Mavis Beacon' Review: Thoughtful Doc Pursues an Elusive Black Icon". Variety. Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
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