What We Do

Blackbird Pictures is an independent film production company based in Indianapolis, Indiana, specializing in non-fiction and documentary storytelling. The company was founded in 2019 by filmmaker and composer Ashton Gleckman.

Blackbird Pictures’ first project, We Shall Not Die Now, premiered at the 2019 Heartland International Film Festival and featured interviews with Holocaust survivors, WW2 liberators, and figures such as Benjamin Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg Trials. The film’s main theme was composed by Benjamin Wallfisch (Blade Runner 2049), whose grandmother Anita was also featured in the documentary.

The Hills I Call Home marked the company’s sophomore feature documentary, exploring life in the small town of Beattyville, Kentucky. The film was shot during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and was released by Gravitas Ventures in early 2021.

In the summer of 2020, Gleckman began research on what would become Kennedy, an eight-part documentary series chronicling the life and legacy of President John F. Kennedy. Gleckman directed, produced, edited, and co-scored the series, with the Academy Award-winning production company RadicalMedia and The History Channel co-producing. The series premiered worldwide on The History Channel in November 2023, marking the 60th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination, and was later released on Hulu.

Upcoming projects include Sylvia, a documentary short about the life of Sylvia Likens, and The Quiet Village, a feature documentary examining Kulmhof — the first extermination camp and one of the lesser-known chapters of the Holocaust. Told through the voices of survivors, witnesses, and their descendants, The Quiet Village is narrated by Tony Award-winning actor Liev Schreiber.