Pat Cleveland's daughter sued over fashion documentary

By

Kate Dingwall

Published
Jan 2, 2017

Anna Cleveland, daughter of famed supermodel Pat Cleveland, is being sued for $350,000 after breaching her documentary film contract. Anna Cleveland was working with All in the Works LLC production company on a film that would follow her own life and career.

All in the Works filed a complaint at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York stating that Cleveland has ignored the contract and stopped filming, even though Cleveland "granted AITW the exclusive motion picture, television and related rights in her life story in furtherance of the creation by AITW of a documentary film concerning her.” Cleveland also agreed to “to be available to AITW during all option periods, to be interviewed on camera in connection with the production, assist AITW in obtaining the on-camera appearances of various third parties, and otherwise consult with AITW."

Cleveland began shooting the documentary with All in the Works early this year. The suit alleges that Cleveland was unavailable in September 2016 because of her schedule for attending international fashion week events. The film's action was set to climax during the Paris and Milan fashion weeks, but since Cleveland was out of contact, AITW says it was unable to film the critical part of the film.

The lawsuit also alleges that Anna did not make herself available for filming, and that Anna's agency, NEXT Models, coerced her into skipping out on the documentary.

Anna comes from a modelling dynasty -- her mother, Pat Cleveland, was the first African-American model to gain 'supermodel' status. Pat was the muse to many fashion legends, including Halston and Yves Saint Lauren. Anna herself quickly followed in her mothers footsteps, walking runways last season for Bottega Veneta, Moschino, Missoni, and Carolina Herrera, among others.

AITW did not file an injunction, which would required Cleveland to complete the project. Instead, the company is asking for $350,000 to recoup the damages.