Weather Underground & Iranian radicals @ STF

• by Thom Powers, November 11, 2009

Last night flying to Copenhagen (where I hope to blog a report from CPH:DOX), I took the time to read Mark Rudd’s excellent memoir in anticipation of him coming to STF on Monday, Nov 16 for a special screening of THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND where he’ll be joined by filmmaker Bill Siegel. Last year, I had the chance to interview Rudd at the Toronto International Film Festival in conjunction with the epic work-in-progress documentary about the 1968 Columbia University student strike A TIME TO STIR. So I knew him to be thoughtful and self-critical. His book is full of lacerating reflections such as this:

COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS at STF

• by Raphaela Neihausen, November 11, 2009

After catching COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS at the Toronto International Film Festival this past September, it was great to have a chance to see it again at STF last night. Yesterday’s screening was introduced by POV series producer Yance Ford.  She discussed the Community Cinema screening events that are taking place all across the country in support of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS national broadcast on Independent Lens in January 2010.  To learn more about these nationwide screenings, click here.

The film was followed by a lively 30 minute Q&A that delved into many issues surrounding copyright, including the creative and commercial value of musical sampling. Yance was joined on stage by director Benjamin Franzen, executive producer Kembrew McLeod and DJ/musician/producer Mr. Len. Benjamin and Kembrew spoke about the complex legal process that has governed even their own filmmaking - working with a lawyer, they are in the midst of clearing all referenced clips - either by presenting a “fair use” argument or by licensing the material.  Unfortunately, the “fair use” clause that has recently emerged as a savior in documentary filmmaking has yet to be accepted in the music world.  When the panel was asked by an audience member whether they would mind their own film or music being sampled in the future - they said the details were still being worked out, but that was the spirit of the project. 

(Photo - L to R: Mr. Len, Benjamin Franzen, Kembrew McLeod and Yance Ford)

STF passholder Mar Cabra with friend (and first-time STF attendee!) Jonah Bossewitch.

Documentary students from Marymount Manhattan College attended the screening - Heather, Owen and Abbie.

COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS screening at TIFF’s free open air space last September was followed by a live performance featuring the original funky drummer Clyde Stubblefield (from James Brown’s band), the Eclectic Method video performance artists; and Chuck D of Public Enemy.  Some fun pics below:

The original funky drummer Clyde Stubblefield.

Chuck D with Clyde Stubblefield, while Eclectic Method took control of the screens.

Clyde Stubblefield and TIFF/STF programmer Thom Powers.

Chuck D with Clyde Stubblefield.

Raphaela Neihausen and Chuck D.

Related Film/Screening:
COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS by Benjamin Franzen

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15 years later: HOOP DREAMS visits STF

• by Raphaela Neihausen, November 10, 2009

“How many people here have never seen HOOP DREAMS?” asked STF host Thom Powers to the crowd gathered for the 15th anniversary screening at the IFC Center. About half the room raised their hands. Among the other half included several people with close connections to the film, starting with cinematographer Peter Gilbert who flew in from Chicago to present the film.  He paid tribute to three key figures in the audience:

1) Ira Deutchman, who was a key member of the team that released the film at Fine Line. Deutchman has written his own reminiscence on his blog at www.iradeutchman.com

2) Barbara Kopple, who had previously used Gilbert as a cameraman on her Academy Award winning film AMERICAN DREAM.  In the Q&A, Gilbert said it was partly the longitudinal experience of working on AMERICAN DREAM that inspired his team to consider following the characters in HOOP DREAMS for four years.

3) Gilbert’s son Leo, who was born during the production of HOOP DREAMS and is now in the midst of his freshman year at NYU studying - what else? - film.

For more on HOOP DREAMS, read the recent 15th anniversary reflections of Roger Ebert who calls it “the great American documentary.”

(photos courtesy of Joshua Z Weinstein, above L to R: Barbara Kopple, Peter Gilbert, Ira Deutchman and Thom Powers. )

Per the usual drill, after the film we headed over to 99 Below for drinks and more conversation.

Filmmakers David Redmon (Carnivalesque Films) and Adam Zucker (GREENSBORO: CLOSER TO THE TRUTH).

Filmmakers David Soll and Hannah Rosenzweig.

Filmmaker Shilpi Gupta (WHEN THE STORM CAME) with STF passholder DeWitt Davis (Kodak).

STF curator Thom Powers with STF passholder and filmmaker Marshall Leaman.

Lea Hjort, a New School student studying documentary.

Filmmaker and STF regular Hemal Trivedi who just returned from shooting in Islamabad, Pakistan for a month.  Welcome home, Hemal!

Related Film/Screening:
HOOP DREAMS by Steve James

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STF abuzz with COLONY

• by Raphaela Neihausen, November 06, 2009

New York City was a swarm with different kinds of bees on Tuesday night, as COLONY co-director Carter Gunn poses here at the Sixth Avenue newsstand outside the IFC Center. Inside the theater, it was a packed hive of activity for the film’s first sneak preview since its acclaimed world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The New York Times Urban Eye gave the following plug:

You’ve probably heard about the mass death of the world’s honeybees. Scientists are still debating how much to worry about it; filmmakers, though, are acting. The documentary “Colony” tackles the subject, shifting “seamlessly from macroimages of the swarming bees to close-ups of their fretting keepers who are struggling with the devastation,” Manohla Dargis writes. With its “attention to beauty, interview style and even pacing,” she compares the film to the works of Errol Morris.

In the Q&A, Gunn talked about the hazards of making the film, including 35 bee stings in one day. The screening attracted many STF newcomers, several of whom joined for the regular post-film celebration at the bar 99 Below.

Visitin gfrom out of town, Camden International Film Festival‘s producer Leah Hurley with founder/director Ben Fowlie.

Tatiana McCabe with filmmaker Ashley Sabine of Carnivalesque Films.

A farmer from Norway who discovered Stranger Than Fiction on Facebook - Baard Haus Sylling.

Dieter Cartwright and Sarah Luhtala discovered STF accidentally when they picked up a postcard at the IFC Center last week after seeing ANTI-CHRIST (hopefully they enjoyed COLONY more!).

Also first-time STF attendees: documentary enthusiasts Leigh Johnson and Barry O’Flanagan.

Amie Segal of EyePop Productions with filmmaker Paul Devlin (BLAST)

STF passholders who are both editors: Cheree Dillon and Carla Ruff.

Filmmakers Hilla Medalia (AFTER THE STORM - which won the audience award at this year’s Woodstock Film Festival) and Yoni Brook (BRONX PRINCESS).  They are also two recent guest speakers at Thom’s NYU documentary class.

STF Executive Director Raphaela Neihausen reuniting with Angela Tseng, an old colleague from her former life as a management consultant.  Angela is now floor manager at Spice Market - yum!

Related Film/Screening:
COLONY by Carter Gunn and Ross McDonnell

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LOOT wins while the Yankees lose

• by Raphaela Neihausen, November 03, 2009

LOOT made a sensational debut last night at Stranger Than Fiction with director Darius Marder in attendance. Not even the World Series stopped the theater from filling up. Winner of the jury prize at the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival, the film was introduced at STF by one of those jurors, Esther Robinson who praised the film for being full of surprises. Indeed, the most frequent comment heard after the show is that audience members didn’t think the film’s synopsis does justice to its splendors. Rather than dwell on the plot-line about World War II veterans going in search of buried wartime treasure, perhaps it’s better to take Sam Shepard’s word that it’s “a powerful evocation of fathers, sons, war and time, that sneaks up on you like a thief in the night.”  Or as Michael Tully wrote yesterday in HAMMER TO NAIL: “Darius Marder’s LOOT isn’t just proof that truth is stranger than fiction; in this case, it is infinitely richer than the very best of fiction.”  LOOT will open later this month at the IFC Center.

(Q&A photo courtesy of Tequila Minsky)

After the film, we headed to 99 Below for drinks and the remainder of the Yankees game (ouch!).

Filmmakers Margaret Brown (ORDER OF MYTHS) and Astra Taylor (EXAMINED LIFE).

Filmmaker Esther Robinson (WALK INTO THE SEA) and director of LOOT Darius Marder.

Former students from Thom’s NYU class: Evan Schlossberg and Terry Greenberg.

 

Filmmaker Jonathan Goodman Levitt (SUNNY INTERVALS AND SHOWERS) and Jesse Moss (FULL BATTLE RATTLE).

IFC General Manager John Vanco with STF curator Thom Powers.

Maria with filmmakers Ruth Somalo (her recent film TILL YOU’RE TOLD TO STOP won 3 awards at last week’s Tenerife Film Festival: Best Director, Best Documentary and Best Picture - go Ruth!) and Cathryne Czubek (GIRL AND A GUN).

Filmmaker Lee Hirsch (AMANDALA) demonstrates what happens when your iPod gets jammed into the back of a theater seat…

Related Film/Screening:
LOOT by Darius Marder

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