Steve Jobs, ‘Teenage Hackers’ Lead CNN Films’ Documentary Slate

Movies follow virus hunter Dr. Larry Brilliant, chef Jeremiah Tower and self-help personality James Arthur Ray

CNN will premiere five new documentary films in 2016, the network announced Tuesday prior to its upfront presentation this coming May. Each film is a co-production with CNN Films and is expected to premiere in theaters prior to their broadcasts on CNN.

“The visionary talents of these filmmakers, the ambition of the topics, and the prominence of the premieres for these selections, all reinforce our continued commitment to the high quality, long-form content of CNN Films,” said Jeff Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide.

The five films are as follows:

“Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine,” directed by Oscar winner Alex Gibney. An objective, candid biography of the Apple legend, the film reveals the essence of the late innovator, unraveling his mystery and explaining the near mythical endurance of his values that continue to shape the culture of Silicon Valley and the technology industry to this day. The documentary premieres at SXSW this weekend.

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“Unseen Enemy,” directed and produced by the Emmy winner Janet Tobias, will explore the lurking pathogens – the unseen human enemies of virulent viruses and bacteria – that could generate the next global pandemic. Among others, the film trails virus hunter Dr. Larry Brilliant, a bio-surveillance expert who served as part of the team of WHO scientists that led the efforts that eventually eradicated smallpox, and an innovator who has led teams in the development of mobile applications for disease warning systems. The film will also feature Dr. Peter Piot, a microbiologist and director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who is credited with being the co-discoverer of the virus that causes Ebola infection in humans, and is the founding director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. “Unseen Enemy” is slated to reach theaters this fall.

“Sunshine Superman,” directed by visual artist turned feature filmmaker Marah Strauch, is the heart-pounding portrait of Carl Boenish, who is known as “the father of BASE jumping.” Boenish’s passion for skydiving and fearless falling led him to try ever more spectacular and dangerous feats of foot-launched flight. In 1984, the Boenishes – his wife, Jean, was drawn to BASE jumping through his love for it – together broke the Guinness World Record on Norway’s “Troll Wall,” the tallest vertical rock in Europe. Told through a mix of the Boenishes’ own archival footage, filmed re-enactments, and aerial filmed photography, the documentary captures both the thrill of BASE flight and the spiritual exhilaration of stepping out into the air. “Sunshine Superman” is scheduled to debut in theaters this May.

There’s also an untitled documentary about James Arthur Ray, who is known as ‘the rock star of personal transformation.” Award-winning filmmaker Jenny Carchman directed the movie, which explains how the son of a poor Oklahoma minister transformed himself into a charismatic self-help personality and owner of a multi-million dollar business drawing adherents including the likes of Oprah Winfrey. In 2009, tragedy occurred during an exclusive retreat in a sweat lodge led by Ray in Sedona, Arizona, and three participants died.  Ray’s world collapsed and he was eventually convicted of negligent homicide, spent two years in prison, lost his business, and was shunned from the self-help industry. The film, told through new, candid interviews, as well as archival footage and photographs, explains Ray’s meteoric rise and fall and captures his attempt to return to the $11 billion dollar industry in which he was once so prominent.

Finally, Lydia Tengalia has directed an untitled biographical documentary that promises to take viewers on the life’s journey of the self-taught, celebrated chef Jeremiah Tower. Tower, who rose to prominence at Alice Water’s famed Chez Panisse, later founded San Francisco’s legendary Stars restaurant in 1985.  Considered by many to be the birthplace of ‘California cuisine’ or ‘nouvelle cuisine,’ Stars was among the most profitable restaurants in the United States during its years of eminence among celebrities and gourmands.  Stars gave rise to spinoff restaurants in Napa Valley, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, and launched the careers of celebrated chefs in restaurants around the world.  In 2014, Tower, now in his 70s, left what many assumed was a permanent retirement to become the new executive chef of New York’s fabled, yet troubled, Tavern on the Green. The film is expected to premiere in theaters in 2016.

Recent CNN Films broadcast premieres include Joe Berlinger‘s Whitey Bulger documentary “Whitey: United States of America v James J. Bulger”; Andrew Rossi’s “Ivory Tower,” which explores the value of a traditional college education; Todd Miller’s “Dinosaur 13,” about paleontologist Peter Larson’s multi-year odyssey to bring his history-making find of the Tyrannosaurus rex “Sue” to the world; and “Life Itself,” director Steve James’ intimate portrait of beloved film critic Roger Ebert.

Additionally, CNN Films recently teamed with CNN Digital Studios on a series of three short documentary films that will stream exclusively across CNN’s digital platforms beginning March 11, with a second series of short films expected to debut in the fall.

The first film is “The 414s: The Original Teenage Hackers,” which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and airs on Wednesday night. The film follows three Milwaukee teenagers who began experimenting on their personal computers and eventually became hackers who called themselves “the 414s” as an homage to the telephone area code associated with their hometown.

The three eventually hacked into at least a dozen commercial networked computer systems, and inspired by that summer’s “WarGames” movie, the boys began to try even bigger targets that drew the attention of the FBI. “The 414s” inspired no fewer than six pieces of Congressional legislation that endure today.

The second film in this series, Sarah Feeley’s “Raising Ryland,” debuts on March 18. It’s told from the perspective of two parents who, after coming face-to-face with their child’s pain and the startling statistic that the attempted suicide rate among transgender people is 41%, decide with the guidance of child development experts to support and affirm the gender identity of their five-year old child. The film shows Ryland’s parents’ deep love for their son and their fierce instinct to protect him.

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