XY Chelsea

2019 British documentary film

Mark Monroe
Tim Travers Hawkins
Enat Sidi
Andrea B. Scott

Produced by

Thomas Benski
Isabel Davis
Julia Nottingham
Lucas Ochoa

StarringChelsea ManningEdited by

Enat Sidi
Andrea B. Scott

Music by

Johnny Hostile
Jehnny Beth

Production
companies

Showtime Documentary Films
British Film Institute
Pulse Films
Topic Studios
Field of Vision
Faliro House Productions
19340 Productions
Diamond Docs

Distributed by

Showtime
Dogwoof

Release dates

May 1, 2019 (2019-05-01) (Tribeca)
May 24, 2019 (2019-05-24) (United Kingdom)
June 7, 2019 (2019-06-07) (United States)

Running time

92 minutesCountries

United Kingdom
United States

LanguageEnglish

XY Chelsea is a 2019 American-British documentary film directed by Tim Travers Hawkins, written by Travers Hawkins, Mark Monroe, Enat Sidi, and Andrea B. Scott. Laura Poitras serves as an executive producer. The film follows Chelsea Manning, after she is released from prison.

The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on May 1, 2019. It was released in the United Kingdom on May 24, 2019, by Dogwoof, and in the United States on June 7, 2019, by Showtime.

Synopsis

The film follows Chelsea Manning, after she's released from prison, as she returns to activism, speaks to the press and runs for senate. Manning, Nancy Hollander, Vince Ward, Chase Strangio, Lisa Rein, Christina DiPasquale, Susan Manning, Janus Rose, and Kelly Wright appear in the film.

Production

In January 2018, it was announced Showtime would produce and distribute the film, with Tim Travers Hawkins directing, with Laura Poitras set to executive produce.^[1]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on May 1, 2019.^[2] Prior to, Dogwoof acquired U.K. distribution rights to the film, and set it for a May 24, 2019, release.^[3] It was released in the United States on June 7, 2019.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Reception

Critical reception

XY Chelsea holds a 65% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 23 reviews, with an average of 5.9/10.^[7] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 60 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[8]

References

^ Haring, Bruce (6 January 2018). "Showtime Backs Chelsea Manning Documentary 'XY Chelsea' Across Multiple Platforms – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
^ "XY Chelsea World Premiere At Tribeca Film Festival". Pulse Films. March 2019. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
^ Keslassy, Elsa (3 April 2019). "Dogwoof Acquires International Sales Rights to Chelsea Manning Documentary". Variety. Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
^ Newsdesk, TV (31 January 2019). "SHOWTIME to Premiere Feature Documentary XY CHELSEA". Broadway World. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
^ Stern, Marlow (7 June 2019). "Chelsea Manning's Mom's Heartbreaking Apology: 'I'm So Sorry'". Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (30 May 2019). "'XY Chelsea' Review: A Whistleblower Out of Focus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
^ "XY Chelsea (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
^ "XY Chelsea". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.