Freida Lee Mock
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Freida Lee Mock is an American filmmaker, director, screenwriter and producer. She is a co-founder of the American Film Foundation with
Terry Sanders Terry Sanders (born December 20, 1931) is an American filmmaker having produced and/or directed more than 70 dramatic features, televisions specials, documentaries and portrait films. Career Sanders co-heads the American Film Foundation and ...
. Her documentary, '' Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision'' (1994) won an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for Best Feature Documentary in 1995.


Background

Mock was the first Governor of the Documentary Branch of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...
. She received her
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
from the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, where she studied both History and Law.


Director

Mock directed a documentary ''Anita'', about Anita Hill, which premiered at the 2013
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
. She has directed the documentaries ''G-Dog'' (2012), ''Sing China!'' (2009), '' Wrestling With Angels'' (2006) (which screened again on the TV show '' P.O.V.'' in 2007) a documentary feature about playwright
Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Among his stage work, he is most known for ''Angels in America'', which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award, as well as its subsequent acclaime ...
, '' Bird by Bird with Anne'' (1999; which screened again on the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
TV show
Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrenc ...
in 2003) about author Anne Lamott, ''Return with Honor'' (1998; which screened again on the TV show ''
The American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs Documentary film, documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and peop ...
'' in 2000), '' Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision'' (1994), and the documentary shorts ''Lt. Watada'' (2011), ''Sing!'' (2001; about a Los Angeles community children's choir and which was also an Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short Film in 2002), and various episodes of the TV show '' Screenwriters: Words Into Image'' in 1982, including episodes on the screenwriters
Robert Towne Robert Towne (born Robert Bertram Schwartz; November 23, 1934 – July 1, 2024) was an American screenwriter and director. He started writing films for Roger Corman, including '' The Tomb of Ligeia'' in 1964, and was later part of the New Hollyw ...
,
Carl Foreman Carl Foreman, CBE (July 23, 1914 – June 26, 1984) was an American screenwriter and film producer who wrote the award-winning films '' The Bridge on the River Kwai'' and ''High Noon'', among others. He was one of the screenwriters who were bla ...
,
Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...
,
Eleanor Perry Eleanor Perry (née Rosenfeld; nom-de-plume Oliver Weld Bayer, October 13, 1914 – March 14, 1981) was an American screenwriter and author.''Variety'' "Eleanor Perry Obituary" March 17, 1981 Film critic Charles Champlin fondly remembered Perry ...
,
Paul Mazursky Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky (; April 25, 1930 – June 30, 2014) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards for '' ...
and
William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. Among other accolades, Goldman won two Aca ...
, all done in 1982 (the series was also a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
nominee for Best Series).


Producer

Mock's production credits include many of the documentaries she directed, such as '' Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision'', '' Sing!'', '' Bird by Bird with Annie'', '' Wrestling With Angels'', ''G-Dog'', ''Lt. Watada'', ''Sing China!'' and '' Return with Honor'', which was also presented by
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
. Early in her career, Mock produced episodes of the TV show ''National Geographic Specials'' and '' Untamed Frontier''. She has also produced the documentaries '' Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember'' (Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short in 1991), '' To Live or Let Die'' (Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short in 1983), and '' Never Give Up: The 20th Century Odyssey of Herbert Zipper'' about Vienna-born composer and musician Herbert Zipper that was also an Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short in 1996. She also produced the ''Lillian Gish: The Actor's Life for Me'' (which won a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
for Outstanding Information Special in 1989). Mock produced "The Kennedy Center Honors" biographies, which honors individuals for lifetime achievement in the performing arts --
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
,
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...
,
Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an African American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century and directed her own dance compan ...
,
Virgil Thomson Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassic ...
,
Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...
and others (the series was also a
Primetime Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to b ...
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
Winner for Best Variety Special).


Awards and accolades

Mock has received an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
(for her film '' Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision''), five Academy Award nominations (for films she either directed or produced), two prime-time
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
s, and three prime-time Emmy Award nominations. The ''Maya Lin'' award was mired in controversy as acclaimed films such as '' Hoop Dreams'' failed to receive a nomination. Film critic
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
also suggested that the nomination of ''Maya Lin'' stemmed from
cronyism Cronyism is a specific form of in-group favoritism, the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. ...
as Mock was the chair of the committee which makes the nominations (though she stepped aside for the year that ''Maya Lin'' was under consideration), and was thus close friends with many of the committee members. Event occurs at 18:15-19:07. Mock denied that the nomination in any way stemmed from cronyism and hired an attorney to respond to the press criticism. Ebert and his associate
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...
publicly apologized to Mock after seeing ''Maya Lin'', with Ebert saying "I think it's a good film and deserved to be nominated.", but other prominent critics such as
Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...
maintained that while ''Maya Lin'' was a good film it was clearly outshone by documentaries such as ''Hoop Dreams'' and '' Crumb'' which were passed up for nomination. Mock is the recipient of grants from organizations such as the
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...
, the
National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
, the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB; stylized as cpb) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to ...
, the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
, Women in Film, the Robeson Fund and numerous foundations in support of her film projects.


Selected filmography

* '' Sing!'' * '' Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision''. Academy Award Winner, Best Feature Documentary Film, 1995. * '' Never Give Up: The 20th Century Odyssey of Herbert Zipper'' * '' Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember'' * '' Return with Honor'', presented by Tom Hanks * '' To Live or Let Die'' * '' Bird by Bird with Annie''. A Film Portrait of Writer Anne Lamott *'' G-DOG'' * '' Anita: Speaking Truth to Power'' * '' Ruth: Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words''


References


External links

*
Frieda Lee Mock Biography, American Film Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mock, Freida Lee Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American people of Chinese descent American documentary film producers Directors of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni American women documentary filmmakers 21st-century American women