Citizen Penn (2021)
Citizen Penn chronicles the moment Sean Penn and a team of volunteers landed in Haiti just days after a 7.0 earthquake struck in 2010 and the ten years since, offering viewers an intimate, honest, and self-reflective look into the triumphs and challenges of a man who decided to do something. He got involved in a way few celebrity activists ever will. Viewers can decide for themselves whether Haiti is better off for it.
Citizen Penn premiered on Discovery+ in May 2021.
Film Synopsis
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti and changed the course of millions of lives. International aid and aid workers descended on Haiti to help in any way they could. One of those people driven to help was American actor and filmmaker Sean Penn.
Citizen Penn chronicles the moment Sean Penn and his team of volunteers landed in Haiti just days after the earthquake struck and the ten years since. For Penn, Haiti changed his life. He went there for what he thought was a two-week aid mission to drop off supplies, help doctors provide immediate medical
care, and then get out … get back to his normal life. Instead, he stayed and created an organization called J/P HRO (now CORE) that took over management duties for the largest camp for displaced people in the entire country.
This feature-length documentary delivers unparalleled access to one of America’s most polarizing figures. Citizen Penn offers viewers an intimate, honest, and self reflective look into the triumphs and challenges of a man who decided to do something. He got involved in a way few celebrity activists ever
will. Viewers can decide for themselves whether Haiti is better off for it.
Press
“If you go into it thinking that you’re going to be rolling your eyes at the ultimate self-deluded celebrity do-gooder, the movie may stop you in your tracks.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“The common complaint about celebrities delivering “woke” lectures from the comfort of their pampered lives receives a well-calculated brush-back pitch with Citizen Penn.” –Brian Lowry, CNN.com
“Perhaps some enraged hater or three will stumble across it and maybe soften their views on Penn’s very serious, very public charity work, something most of the media and much of the country has already done.” – Roger Moore, Movie Nation
100% on Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/citizen_penn
“A revealing, engaging chronicle of the actor’s activism.” – Glenn Kenny, New York Times
