CNN+ has become the new home for music documentary Dionne Warick: Don’t Make Me Over.
Acquired by CNN Films, the bio-doc on the music icon will be among the first films to premiere on CNN+, the network’s new streaming service set to debut this spring. The film joins CNN+ alongside Ethan Hawke and Martin Scorsese’s doc The Last Movie Stars on Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s love story, showing the new streaming service’s desire to beef up its documentary slate.
Dave Wooley wrote, and produced Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over as well as co-directed with David Heilbroner, following Warwick from her humble beginnings singing in her grandfather’s church to winning Amateur night at the Apollo Theater to becoming the first solo Black female artist to win a Grammy in contemporary vocal performance for 1968’s “Do You Know the Way to San Jose.” The doc also covers her influence as an activist standing up to discrimination in America.
“There have been many words to describe Dionne Warwick, however, for me, it comes down to one word: ‘genius,’” said Wolley, adding that his research for the film reveals Warwick as “a deeply ‘transformational leader.’ Her extraordinary voice is a gift that she uses for her art, and always also as an instrument for creating positive change, compassion, and social justice, wherever she is.”
“Dionne Warwick is legendary not only because of her tremendous musicality, but also because she has had an immense impact on American and global culture,” said Courtney Sexton, senior vice president for CNN Films, who acquired the doc for CNN+ along with Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development for CNN Worldwide. “From exploring her contributions to racial justice, compassion for the HIV/AIDS community, and her work to expand LGBTQ+ equality, the filmmakers have created a beautiful film that recognizes her legacy in full.”
Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over was a favorite at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, where it premiered and was awarded the Special Tribute Award and was first runner-up for the People’s Choice Award for documentaries. The film later screened at San Francisco International Film Festival; DOC NYC; Montclair Film Festival, where it received the Audience Award for Non-Fiction Feature; and, Gene Siskel Film Center’s Black Harvest Film Festival, where it was honored as Best Feature Film.
The doc’s executive producers include Raymond Schinazi, Geralyn Dreyfous, Regina K. Scully, Michelle Freeman, Wes Hall, and Artemis Rising Foundation.
Main Image: Film still courtesy of Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over provided by Davina Wooley for CNN Films.
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