Area 2

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: JAMES SORRELS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: BOB HERCULES & KEITH WALKER
EDITOR: FABIÁN CABALLERO

AREA 2 is an investigative documentary film in post-production exploring the Chicago police torture saga through stories of a broad spectrum of people connected to it, many of whom have never shared their extraordinary perspectives before. Executive produced by the Peabody Award winning Bob Hercules and Keith Walker. To learn more or to make a tax-deductible donation please contact: “james (at) area2film.com”.

James Sorrels
Director, Producer

Before James began development on AREA 2 in 2013, he wrote and directed a mini-series that appeared on Chicago Access Network TV (CAN-TV) as well as numerous award-winning short films. While working for years as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and paralegal, he honed the investigative skills that have helped him uncover previously unreleased material concerning the Chicago police torture saga. In 2017 the Points North Institute at the Camden International Film Festival selected James for its fellowship and Kartemquin Films awarded AREA 2 an Emerging Fund grant by the Sage Foundation. His screenplay The Buzzkills was a finalist in the 2011 PAGE International Screenwriting Contest. In 2002 he graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in psychology and history.

Bob Hercules
Executive Producer, Producer

Bob is a Peabody Award-winning filmmaker whose work has been seen widely on PBS, BBC, Netflix, Amazon, IFC, and in film festivals around the world. He is also co-owner of Media Process Group, a Chicago-based production company. Hercules’ co-directed Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and went on to win 19 awards on three continents and a Peabody Award in 2018. The film was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and aired on PBS’ American Masters and on the BBC’s Storyville series in 2017. Hercules also made two films focusing on dance: Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance and Bill T. Jones: A Good Man. The Joffrey film, narrated by Mandy Patinkin, tells the full story of the groundbreaking ballet company and their many rises and falls. It premiered in January 2012 at the Dance on Camera Film Festival at Lincoln Center and aired on PBS’ American Masters in 2012. A Good Man aired on American Masters in 2011 and played at many film festivals including IDFA, Silverdocs, Full Frame, DOXA and the Southern Circuit.

Keith Walker
Executive Producer, Co-DP

Keith is a gifted visual storyteller with over 30 years of experience as a D.P. Most recently he was D.P. on Little Richard: I Am Everything (Sundance 2023). Keith was the Emmy-nominated D.P. for Dawn Porter’s John Lewis: Good Trouble for CNN films. In 2018 Walker received a Peabody Award for his D.P. work on Bob Hercules’ Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise. He also D.P.’d Mavis (the Mavis Staples story) for HBO Films in 2016. In 2011 Keith was D.P. on Bill T. Jones: A Good Man, directed by Bob Hercules and Gordon Quinn. Keith is known as Oprah Winfrey’s “favorite D.P.” He has shot numerous segments for her over the years including her revelatory interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and her 2022 interview with Adele for CBS.

Fabián Caballero
Editor

Fabián is an Argentine-Bolivian documentary film editor based in Ventura, CA. He takes an interest in projects highlighting the personal stories of those impacted by geopolitics and international relations. Most recently, he edited Bernardo Ruiz's documentary film, El Equipo, set to air on Independent Lens in the fall of 2023. Other past work includes co-editing Barbara Kopple’s Emmy-nominated Desert One (2019), a film about the United States’ failed mission to rescue the American hostages held in the U.S. Embassy in Iran. He was also a co-editor on The Interpreters, an Emmy-nominated film about the struggle of Iraqi and Afghan interpreters who worked with U.S. forces during both wars.