“I’m just a guy who says… ‘I can do some good here.'” Discovery+ has released the first official trailer for a documentary called Citizen Penn, indeed about the actor Sean Penn. But this is about the time in 2010 he decided to gather aid workers and fly down to the Caribbean nation of Haiti to help with recovery after a massive earthquake hit the island. After a devastating 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in 2010 aid workers from around the world went to help. After a few weeks, Penn stayed much longer and created an organization called J/P HRO (now CORE) that took over managing a rescue camp. Over the past few years, CORE has expanded efforts across the U.S., most recently organizing free COVID-19 testing sites around the country and running the nation’s largest vaccination site in LA. Citizen Penn highlights the team and their current projects and history. Love him or hate him, this actually looks like a compelling, no-bullshit profile of the actor and his humanitarian work. Featuring an original score by Linda Perry, and an original song by Bono.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Don Hardy’s doc Citizen Penn, direct from Discovery’s YouTube:
Citizen Penn chronicles the moment Penn and his team of volunteers landed in Haiti, just days after the earthquake struck, and the ten years since. The film offers viewers an intimate, honest, and self-reflective look into the triumphs and challenges of those who decided to do something. 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 and 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. Citizen Penn is directed by cinematographer / filmmaker Don Hardy (aka Don Hardy Jr.), director of the doc films Sound Man: WWII to MP3, Witch Hunt, Love Hate Love, The Human Experiment, Theory of Obscurity, and Pick of the Litter previously. This premiered at the Vancouver Film Festival last fall. Citizen Penn will debut streaming on Discovery+ starting May 6th.
