Georgia-based production company engages diverse group of filmmaking talent to create socially relevant documentaries around inspirational narratives
During 2019, on the eve of the COVID pandemic, Atlanta Story Partners LLC joined the growing ranks of Georgia-based film production companies as the brainchild of established hometown professionals George Hirthler and Bob Judson.
Founded to produce “The Games In Black & White”—a feature documentary focused on the enduring friendship and extraordinary quest of Ambassador Andrew Young and Atlanta Olympic CEO Billy Payne to host the Centennial Olympic Games—Atlanta Story Partners is the co-creation of Hirthler, an Atlanta-based writer/producer, Olympic campaign strategist, author and amateur sports historian, and Emmy winning veteran filmmaker/producer/director Judson.
“Given the state of race relations in our society today, it’s increasingly important to tell empowering stories of Blacks and Whites working together to achieve shared goals,” said Hirthler, co-founder of Atlanta Story Partners who served in 1989/90 as the lead writer on Atlanta’s Olympic bid campaign. “Atlanta is uniquely equipped to tell such stories, particularly through its Civil Rights Movement and Olympic history, which is what we’ve set out to do.”
Upon establishment of the production company as an LLC, Judson and Hirthler engaged a crew and began work in early 2020, completing more than a dozen interviews before the pandemic shut down filming. Leveraging the solitude imposed by COVID, the partners fine-tuned their plans for “The Games in Black & White” while also developing other projects. By summer 2022, they resumed work with funding secured from an anonymous corporate supporter.
By the spring of 2023, with more than 30 interviews completed, Atlanta Story Partners’ focus shifted to shooting b-roll in and around Atlanta and completing hard-to-get interviews with athletes from 1996 and various international organizations who participated in the Games.
Hirthler has served as a lead writer for 10 international Olympic bids over the past 30-plus years and is the author of “The Idealist,” a fictionalized biography of Pierre de Coubertin, the French founder of the modern Olympic Movement.
Judson’s film career spans over 45 years and includes the production of hundreds of independent, network or corporate films, including “The Treasure Seekers,” a 10-hour series that launched National Geographic Channel. He has earned six Southeast Emmy Awards among numerous industry accolades.
In addition to Hirthler and Judson, the diverse Atlanta Story Partners team for “The Games in Black & White” and its planned spring 2024 premiere also includes Emmy winning producer Rohan Backfisch, producer Alahna Lark, editor Nyla Henderson, production manager Addi Laros, associate producer Mark Lannaman, production assistant Joël Lunguana, and Nicholas Wolaver as publicist, plus more than a dozen additional crew members. Producer Margaret Anthony was part of the team from early 2022 to March 2023 but departed to accept a position as creative director for NewsNation in April 2023.
In tandem with “The Games in Black & White” Atlanta Story Partners is also continuing work on two other film projects including “Genius of Sport” detailing the life of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the Modern Olympic Movement, as well as “Shu—The Story of Florence Knoll.” Additional details for both projects will be announced later in 2023.
About Atlanta Story Partners LLC
Co-founded in 2020 by George Hirthler and Bob Judson, Atlanta Story Partners LLC is a Georgia-based production company engaging a diverse group of filmmaking talent to create socially relevant documentaries around inspirational narratives. “The Games in Black & White,” a documentary about the Atlanta 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, is one of several films in development. It will feature the untold story of how the organizing committee’s leadership—championed by Ambassador Andrew Young and a team led by Olympic CEO Billy Payne—harnessed the Games as an engine of social justice and economic opportunity for their community. Thanks to funding provided by a major corporation, the film is on schedule to premiere in spring 2024. Visit AtlantaStoryPartners.com to learn more.
Media Contact:
Nicholas Wolaver for Atlanta Story Partners, Nicholas.Wolaver@gmail.com, 678-358-7476