A Good Man (2011)

A Good Man follows acclaimed director/choreographer Bill T. Jones (Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin, Still/Here, FELA!) as he and his company create their most ambitious work, an original dance-theater piece in honor of Abraham Lincoln's Bicentennial. Through two tumultuous years, we witness raw moments of frustration as Jones struggles to communicate his vision to his dancers and collaborators, as well as moments of great exhilaration when movement transcends the limitation of words. Jones and his company come face to face with America's unresolved contradictions about race, equality and the legacy of our 16th President. Initially an indictment of The Great Emancipator, the work evolves into a triumph of hope for our struggling democracy, with Jones revealing that Lincoln was "the only white man I was allowed to love unconditionally." Premiering on the heels of Jones's Tony Award for FELA! and 2010 Kennedy Center Honor, A Good Man is a window into the creative process and, indeed, the creative crisis of one of our nation's most enduring, provocative artists as he explores what it means to be a good man, to be a free man, to be a citizen. A Good Man is a co-production of Kartemquin Films, American Masters, Independent Television Service (ITVS) and Media Process Group, in association with Ravinia Festival.