STF abuzz with COLONY

  • by Raphaela Neihausen, November 06, 2009

image 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.

image Visitin gfrom out of town, Camden International Film Festival‘s producer Leah Hurley with founder/director Ben Fowlie.
image Tatiana McCabe with filmmaker Ashley Sabine of Carnivalesque Films.
image A farmer from Norway who discovered Stranger Than Fiction on Facebook - Baard Haus Sylling.

image 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!).

image Also first-time STF attendees: documentary enthusiasts Leigh Johnson and Barry O’Flanagan.
image Amie Segal of EyePop Productions with filmmaker Paul Devlin (BLAST)
image STF passholders who are both editors: Cheree Dillon and Carla Ruff.
image 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.
image 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!
image from COLONY Related Film/Screening:
COLONY by Carter Gunn and Ross McDonnell

Comments

No Comments Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

Upcoming Screenings

Mar 16: DAVID HOLZMAN’S DIARY

image from DAVID HOLZMAN’S DIARY by Jim McBride
This landmark work blending fiction and reality made a deep impression on the 1970s generation of filmmakers. STF is pleased to show this rare big screen appearance, accompanied by a Q&A with the ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Apr 6: AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE

image from AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE by Steven Soderbergh
AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE provides an intimate portrait of master monologist Spalding Gray, as described by his most critical, irreverent and insightful biographer: Spalding Gray. Director Steven ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Apr 13: HORSES

image from HORSES by Liz Mermin
An unusual, beautifully detailed documentary following a year in the lives of three charismatic Irish racehorses.  Ireland’s horse-racing culture has produced some of the finest athletes in the ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Apr 14: FAMILY AFFAIR

image from FAMILY AFFAIR by Chico Colvard
Wednesday Night Special Description from Sundance catalogue: At 10 years old, Chico Colvard shot his older sister in the leg. This seemingly random act detonated a chain reaction that exposed ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Apr 20: THE KIDS GROW UP

image from THE KIDS GROW UP by Doug Block
In his previous documentary, the internationally acclaimed 51 BIRCH STREET, Doug Block looked at his parents’ seemingly ordinary marriage and uncovered a universal story about an archetypal, ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Apr 27: CLEANFLIX

image from CLEANFLIX by Andrew James and Joshua Ligairi
Description from Toronto International Film Festival catalogue: Mormons can be movie lovers too. The problem is that their religious leaders strongly discourage R-rated content. As one Mormon ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

May 4: PIN GODS

image from PIN GODS by Larry Locke
Inspired by the record breaking accomplishments of Walter Ray Williams, Jr., the reigning professional bowler of the year, three newcomers set out to chase their own dreams of pro bowling greatness. ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

May 11: LIFE 2.0

image from LIFE 2.0 by Jason Spingarn-Koff
Description from Sundance catalogue: Every day, across all corners of the globe, hundreds of thousands of users log onto Second Life, a virtual online world not entirely unlike our own. They enter ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

May 18: MY PERESTROIKA

image from MY PERESTROIKA by Robin Hessman
Description from Sundance catalogue: The Bolshevik revolution, the cold war, and the collapse of the Soviet Union defined the history of the twentieth century. With such a past, what does it mean ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

May 25: MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA

image from MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA by Dziga Vertov
Soviet director Dziga Vertov’s experimental film grew out of his belief, shared by his editor, Elizaveta Svilova (who was also his wife), and his cinematographer, Mikhail Kaufman (also his brother), ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Jun 1: HAYNESVILLE

image from HAYNESVILLE by Gregory Kallenberg
HAYNESVILLE: A Nation’s Hunt for Energy takes place in the Louisiana backwoods, and follows the momentous discovery of the largest natural gas field in the United States (and maybe the world). The ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Jun 8: CLOSING NIGHT FILM: TBA

image from CLOSING NIGHT FILM: TBA by
...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »