Average White Band: Soul Searching

Runtime: 100'

Expected release: October 2025

Production stage: Post-production

Budget: €771,000 (70% in place)

1st feature: No

Looking for: Festivals, buyers, distributors, gap fiancing

Synopsis:

How a group of lads from working class Scotland became one of the most admired soul and funk bands in the history of music, winning over the likes of Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, James Brown and a future US President – “Those boys could jam,” recalls Barack Obama. And as one of the most sampled bands in hip hop, Average White Band’s music continues to be hugely influential today.

Director’s Profile:

Anthony Baxter is a multi-award-winning director based in Scotland.His work include the BAFTA-winning Eye of the Storm, his poignant profile of artist James Morrison, which was broadcast in prime time on BBC2 and on more than 200 PBS stations in the United States. FLINT: Who Can You Trust? is the “monumental” (The Guardian) account of one of the worst man-made disasters in American history. A Dangerous Game is a searing indictment of the profound ecological and social impact of luxury golf resorts around the world.Baxter’s iconic You’ve Been Trumped, in which a small Scottish community battles against the future American President, won a dozen international awards and was distributed globally through Netflix. The sequel, You’ve Been Trumped Too, follows Donald Trump’s initial Presidential campaign, and had its premiere at IDFA.

Producer’s Profile:

Richard Phinney is an award-winning journalist, producer and filmmaker. He produced and wrote the award-winning theatrical documentaries You’ve Been Trumped (2011), A Dangerous Game (2014), You’ve Been Trumped Too, and FLINT (2020) and won a Scottish BAFTA for his work on Eye of the Storm.

Stacy Robinson has 20 years of experience writing and producing documentaries for CNBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, OWN, and numerous cable networks. She wrote and directed the\ Emmy Award winning documentary on Ida B. Wells and the Birth of Gospel Music for PBS, and received a National Emmy nomination for her work as Co-Director of We Are Witnesses: Chicago. She is currently Artistic Director of the Kartemquin Films, with its legacy of award-winning documentaries (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters, Life Itself etc.) spanning over five decades. Kartemquin also champions filmmakers in developing their craft, and aligns with partners who understand that documentaries are powerful vehicles for truth that can transform the world around us.