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[Past event] Thursday, October 29, 6:30PM CST

Masterwork: Industry Conversations is a new series of interviews with long established and award-winning filmmakers to learn in-depth details about their journey in the filmmaking world, followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

Bob Hercules and Keith Walker form the dynamic partnership of cinematographer and producer/director at Media Process Group (MPG) in Chicago. Through 3 decades, Walker and Hercules have kept their production partnership strong. In this edition of Masterwork, they will share their experiences to help viewers understand the challenge and the rewards of partnership.

The original vision of MPG was to have a profit-making production company support their desire to produce independent documentaries. Now in their 35th year – an unimaginable feat back in 1985 – the Hercules and Walker partnership has stood the test of time, budgets, workloads and the loss of their third partner.

The duo filmed Obama’s momentous “homecoming” in Kenya and his diplomatic stops in South Africa, Ethiopia and Chad resulting in the documentary, SENATOR OBAMA GOES TO AFRICA. Their documentary MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to win 17 awards on three continents including a Peabody Award. In 2019, FLANNERY, a film executive-produced by Bob Hercules, won the prestigious Ken Burns/Library of Congress Award and their newest documentary, MIKVA: DEMOCRACY IS A VERB, is slated to run on WTTW in 2020.

Besides his work with MPG, Keith Walker has shot six episodes of WHO KILLED MALCOLM X for Netflix, GOOD TROUBLE: THE STORY OF JOHN ROBERT LEWIS, ALL THE QUEEN’S HORSES, and MAVIS! – THE MAVIS STAPLES STORY. He also shot the ABC White House Primetime special OPRAH – CHRISTMAS AT THE WHITE HOUSE and ABC Primetime special OPRAH’S THE DREAM LIVES ON MARTIN LUTHER KING.

The interview will be followed by an opportunity to view a documentary directed by Bob Hercules, Mikva! Democracy is a Verb. The documentary tells the story of Abner Mikva's rise from an impoverished childhood to an epic career as a legislator in Springfield IL and Washington DC, to Federal Judge and White House Counsel. His work is being carried on by his legacy organization, the Mikva Challenge.

View Mikva! Democracy is a Verb on October 29 at 8PM CT on WTTW via over-the-air broadcast, online, through the PBS apps for mobile, smart TVs, and streaming devices.

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