There's buzz, of both the insect and human variety, surrounding a new documentary about Burt Shavitz, the co-founder of natural skincare product line Burt's Bees. Out now, Jodi Shapiro's film Burt's Buzz traces Shavitz's inspiring life, following his journey from army photographer to a simple man selling honey out of a big, yellow bus. Left with a bounty of beeswax, Shavitz started making candles and other products from the extras. This small time business eventually grew into the golden-hued company people know today. But Shavitz's story doesn't stop there. His life is now a bizarre ballet focused on being the face of the company,...
- 6/10/2014
- by Kelli Bender
- PEOPLE.com
What would you do if you started a multimillion-dollar company almost by accident? More importantly, how would you be?
Jody Shapiro's documentary Burt's Buzz, his third as director, shows one man's response to those conditions, following Burt Shavitz, the heavily whiskered face of personal care company Burt's Bees.
Now approaching 80, Shavitz lives in much the same way he did before founding his company, except that his image is now an internationally recognized logo, and he has the resources to travel and employ a full-time assistant. There's much more footage of Burt than his bees — for insight into the role of bees in industrial agriculture, you'd do better with Markus Imhoof's 2012 doc More Than Honey — but Shavitz actually is the guy that...
Jody Shapiro's documentary Burt's Buzz, his third as director, shows one man's response to those conditions, following Burt Shavitz, the heavily whiskered face of personal care company Burt's Bees.
Now approaching 80, Shavitz lives in much the same way he did before founding his company, except that his image is now an internationally recognized logo, and he has the resources to travel and employ a full-time assistant. There's much more footage of Burt than his bees — for insight into the role of bees in industrial agriculture, you'd do better with Markus Imhoof's 2012 doc More Than Honey — but Shavitz actually is the guy that...
- 6/4/2014
- Village Voice
Hitting theaters on June 6 and On Demand a day earlier is the new documentary Burt's Buzz centered on Burt Shavitz, the face and co-founder of Burt's Bees. You know, the lip balm, lotion and whatever else all of us have used at some point in our lives. Produced and Directed by Jody Shapiro, the doc is said to explore Burt's life and just watching the trailer I feel something of a kinship with the man and his final statement: "A good day is when no one shows up and you don't have to go anywhere." Of course, hard work breeds interest and Burt is a celebrity, a moisturizing celebrity at that... a not-too-common category of stardom. The film looks like a rather simple story of a reclusive man that found fame in a weird roundabout way and is dealing with it however he knows best. I don't expect there to...
- 4/23/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
In his documentary "Burt's Buzz," Jody Shapiro tells the story of the man behind the Burt's Bees label, Burt Shavitz. Shavitz's story is amazing. After growing up in a middle class family in New York, Burt grew a beard and took to the land in middle age. In Maine, he took up beekeeping and sold honey in gallon containers by the side of the road. After a bit, he met a young woman. They fell in love and developed a brand of personal care products that prided themselves on using ingredients from the earth, and they took the Maine craft fair circuit by storm. After scaling up to a few retail stores in quaint small cities, Burt was bought out of the business and his partner eventually sold it for millions of dollars. Now, he's just a spokesperson. While many in America don't know that the man behind the beard is a real person,...
- 9/13/2013
- by Bryce J. Renninger
- Indiewire
Independent film distributor FilmBuff, together with Everyday Pictures Inc., announced today the early 2014 theatrical and video-on-demand release of award-winning filmmaker Jody Shapiro's documentary "Burt's Buzz." "Burt's Buzz" offers an insightful character-portrait of Burt Shavitz, founder of the iconic personal care company "Burt's Bees." The documentary examines the life and times of Shavitz from beekeeper modesty in rural Maine to global fame. Filmmaker Shapiro, who follows the long-bearded legend through the ebb and flow of his private and public life, has said he is, "absolutely thrilled that Burt's Buzz will now be part of the FilmBuff family," and that knowing, “the importance that VOD now plays when releasing a documentary, I couldn't be more excited to bring Burt’s unique story to both cinemas and homes across the Us.” "'Burt's Buzz' is not only a character driven, human story about a remarkable man, but also provides an incredible lens into one of the.
- 9/9/2013
- by Ramzi De Coster
- Indiewire
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