Best of the Orphan Film Symposium has appeared at STF every two years. The third edition on March 9 featured a sneak preview of a newly discovered film by Henri Cartier-Bresson, shot during the Spanish Civil War, along with other rarely seen works spanning the 20th century from left-wing newsreels to experimental animation to sublime home movies. Below are some photos from the night, courtesy of STF passholder EJ.
“That’s where I edited my first documentary,” Robert Kenner said, pointing to a building on a walk through Soho on Wednesday. That fledgling effort, filmed in 1971, focused on George Jackson, the author of “Soledad Brother” who was killed in prison. Since then, Kenner has many years of documentary work behind him, including extensive work for PBS’s “American Experience” and a collaboration on “The Road to Memphis” in the series THE BLUES produced by Martin Scorsese. Not to mention Kenner’s production crew credit in RUNNING FENCE recently seen at STF.
After nearly four decades of work, Kenner has broken through to a new level with FOOD, INC., nominated for an Academy Award. Produced by Participant Media, FOOD, INC. had made extensive penetration into the national consciousness since its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008 – distributed via theaters, VOD, in-flight and more. Now on DVD, the film was recently topping Amazon charts after being featured on Oprah a few weeks ago.
On Wednesday, Kenner paid a visit to STF where the film played strongly on the big screen. Introducing the night, STF host Thom Powers noted that it was somehow fitting to hold the screening on the day when Lent begins “because this film will make you want to give up all food.”
Last Tuesday, THE ART OF THE STEAL screened as a sneak preview at STF with the filmmakers in person. Inclement weather didn’t deter viewers from filling the theater, following the film’s critical acclaim at the Toronto and New York film festivals last fall.
Director Don Argott was joined on stage by producer Sheena Joyce and executive producer Lenny Feinberg (pictured) to discuss their muck-raking investigation into the fate of Albert Barnes’ art collection, valued in the billions. The film is the subject of a Sunday New York Times article and won attention for its poster on the Auteurs site.
This film will begin its official run at the IFC Center starting on Friday.
Last week, STF sold out two nights in a row for unforgettable films and conversations. On Tuesday was A NIGHT WITH ROSS MCELWEE, featuring the acclaimed director of SHERMAN’S MARCH presenting two early short works CHARLEEN (1977) and BACKYARD (1984) that are rarely screened. McElwee described how both films were shot around the same time while he was still a graduate student at MIT, where the faculty included Ricky Leacock and Ed Pincus. In CHARLEEN, McElwee introduces the title character who would later appear in SHERMAN’S MARCH, TIME INDEFINITE and SIX O’CLOCK NEWS, exhibiting a knack for making poetry out of everyday life. In CHARLEEN, McElwee takes a traditional observational approach without his voice over commentary that became characteristic of his work. His transition to that style came in BACKYARD where he looks at his southern family and their longtime house workers, introducing his own voice as a guide. The Film Panel Notetaker blog has a full report of McElwee’s conversation here. STF host Thom Powers began the night with a tribute to the film editor Karen Schmeer who was killed in a car accident on the previous Friday. (Photos courtesy of Joshua Weinstein) On Wednesday, STF hosted a special screening of THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE, followed by a conversation with director R.J. Cutler and Vogue creative director Grace Coddington. The audience was arguably the most fashionable looking STF audience ever. Coddington described her initial reluctance to get involved with the film. In order to woo her, Cutler gave her copies of A PERFECT CANDIDATE (that he directed) and MY ARCHITECT (shot by his DP Bob Richman). “I never did watch those,” said Coddington. See coverage on New York Magazine’s blog. (Photos courtesy of EJ)
Although I always enjoy STF greatly, once in a while there are evenings that are tinged with some additional inspiration and magic. That’s how I would describe last Tuesday’s screening of RUNNING FENCE (1978). Co-presented with the Maysles Cinema, the evening began with a moving intro by STF curator Thom Powers who mentioned that RUNNING FENCE was extra poignant to him now that two of its central people had passed away: David Maysles (Albert’s brother and collaborator) and Jeanne-Claude (Cristo’s partner and collaborator). He also pointed out that the Eagles’ song “Take It To The Limit” which features prominently in RUNNING FENCE was played at David’s memorial service in 1987 – with not a dry eye in the entire room.
Best of the Orphan Film Symposium has appeared at STF every two years. The third edition on March 9 featured a sneak preview of a newly discovered film by Henri Cartier-Bresson, shot during the Spanish Civil War, along with other rarely seen works spanning the 20th century from left-wing newsreels to experimental animation to sublime home movies. Below are some photos from the night, courtesy of STF passholder EJ.
“That’s where I edited my first documentary,” Robert Kenner said, pointing to a building on a walk through Soho on Wednesday. That fledgling effort, filmed in 1971, focused on George Jackson, the author of “Soledad Brother” who was killed in prison. Since then, Kenner has many years of documentary work behind him, including extensive work for PBS’s “American Experience” and a collaboration on “The Road to Memphis” in the series THE BLUES produced by Martin Scorsese. Not to mention Kenner’s production crew credit in 
Last Tuesday, THE ART OF THE STEAL screened as a sneak preview at STF with the filmmakers in person. Inclement weather didn’t deter viewers from filling the theater, following the film’s critical acclaim at the Toronto and New York film festivals last fall.
Last week, STF sold out two nights in a row for unforgettable films and conversations. On Tuesday was 
On Wednesday, STF hosted a special screening of 
Although I always enjoy STF greatly, once in a while there are evenings that are tinged with some additional inspiration and magic. That’s how I would describe last Tuesday’s screening of