Whether you’re going to Sundance or following from afar, the line-up of 40 or so documentaries can be daunting. This year, I’ve been privileged to see roughly half the titles in private screenings. Here’s my tip sheet of 10 titles in alphabetical order:
BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-1975: When Shola Lynch brought CHISHOLM 72 to STF, she talked about tapping into European archives for footage. Well, there’s more where that came from. Swedish filmmaker Göran Hugo Olsson uncovers a mother load from his country and gives us generous samplings. Like any good mixtape, this one is full of discoveries. If it arouses your interest, plunge into Henry Hampton’s EYES ON THE PRIZE II.
BOBBY FISCHER AGAINST THE WORLD: For years, the story of Bobby Fischer has beguiled and eluded filmmakers. I recall Bennett Miller, in between making THE CRUISE and CAPOTE, speaking publicly about his Fischer fascination at a Moth event devoted to “the story that got away”. Now director Liz Garbus delivers the goods. She draws out strong new interviews from Fischer’s contemporaries, combined with riveting archival footage.
THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD: Exposing product placement may not be new. Back in the late 80s, Mark Crispin Miller wrote a memorable expose, published in the anthology “Seeing Through Movies.” But Morgan Spurlock has a knack for giving us fresh and hilarious perspective on things we take for granted. His talents are well-suited to start a wider conversation about the world of sponsorship that permeates our lives.
This winter season mixes current sensations with rarities and timeless classics. The best and most affordable way to experience STF is with a Winter Season Pass. Purchase by Jan 10 to receive the early bird special: $99 for 11 films. Follow this link to order, look for CLIENT 9 and click on 8:00 pm.
Week one kicks off with celebrated films on consecutive nights. On Jan 10, CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER screens as a Monday special including a Q&A with director Alex Gibney. On Tues, Jan 11, ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE, winner of the Sundance Film Festival World Documentary Prize, will serve as the official Opening Night of winter season, chronicling a journalist’s personal search for truth in Cambodia. STF will take a special Wednesday night spot on Jan 19 to feature GREY GARDENS with filmmakers Albert Maysles and Muffie Meyers, being honored the previous night with the Cinema Eye Honor Legacy Award. Karen Schmeer, the award-winning editor killed in a 2010 car accident, will be honored at STF on Feb 15 with FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL that she edited for director Errol Morris. Friends of Schmeer will pay tribute to her in the Q&A. The season concludes on March 15 with Barbara Kopple presenting her Oscar-winning classic HARLAN COUNTY, USA.
Ok, I don’t want the headline to mislead, I should say that films about Jack Kevorkian and Barack Obama are coming to STF. I’m pleased to announce the Closing Night film for STF’s spring season will be KEVORKIAN, being co-presented by HBO Documentary Films. This will be the film’s first public sneak preview. Directed by Matthew Galkin (who chronicled the Pixies in “loudQUIETloud”), KEVORKIAN follows the infamous Dr. Death following his release from prison as he makes a quixotic run for Congress in the 2008 elections. (His district in Oakland County, MI happens to be where I grew up). Recently, Kevorkian was back in the spotlight being portrayed by Al Pacino in the critically acclaimed HBO movie. Don’t miss this opportunity to discover the complexity of the real man.
Once the spring season comes to an end, you’ll only need to wait another week for a fresh dose of STF. On June 15, we’ll show Jeff Deutchman’s innovative project, drawing upon footage from all over the world, to chronicle the day Obama was elected, a work fittingly titled “11/4/08.” Having premiered at SXSW, the film reflects the grass roots support – in particular of youth – that swept Obama to victory. Looking back on the day gives us a measure for where we find ourselves now and gives cause for anticipating the upcoming Congressional elections in November.
As I try to jot down a few thoughts after midnight, I have renewed respect for journalists who cover festivals on a regular basis. I must confine myself to summaries.
In Cannes’ opening days, docs in the Special Screenings section have made a strong showing. I heard reports of people being turned away from premieres in theaters with 300-400 seats of both Sabina Guzzanti’s DARQUILA: ITALY TREMBLES and Patricio Guzman’s NOSTALGIA FOR LIGHT. I caught up with them in market screenings on Saturday.
NOSTALGIA FOR LIGHT continues Guzman’s long effort to chronicle Chile after the coup d’etat that killed Salvador Allende in 1973. The filmmaker’s work began with the epic BATTLE FOR CHILE that belongs in the documentary canon and continued through films such as OBSTINATE MEMORY and SALVADOR ALLENDE. I will admit to feeling like I’d had my fill of this topic after recent works by other filmmakers such as SUGAR CURTAIN (TIFF 06); A PROMISE TO THE DEAD (TIFF 07) and CALLE SANTA FE (which received the top prize when I sat on the jury at CPH:DOX 07). But in this new work Guzman finds a novel approach by training his eye on Chile’s Atacama desert where astronomers come to “touch the stars” thanks to unique conditions that make it an ideal place for a telescope.
Guzman takes an essayistic approach, speaking in his own voice over carefully composed shots that make us alert to the play of light, the sound of wind and the texture of the earth. To study the stars is to study the past, explains one astronomer. He adds that “everything takes place in the past including this conversation – even if by millionths of a second.” Outside the observatories in the desert, a different search for the past is conducted as a group of older women who dig for bodies of “the disappeared” from Pinochet’s regime. Guzman skillfully weaves these two threads together, particularly in a wordless scene near the end that welled up my jaded eyes.
DRAQUILA: ITALY TREMBLES brings a more whimsical approach in the hands of Guzzanti, an experienced Italian provocateur whose previous film VIVA ZAPATERO chronicled her battle against Silvio Berlusconi’s media empire. This time she’s taking Berlusconi to task for his response to the 2009 earthquake in the town of L’Aquila. DRAQUILA has moments of feeling like the Daily Show with plenty of comic graphics and sound effects to illustrate its points. But Gazzanti is no lightweight. She doggedly follows a trail of corruption, greed and abuses of power. For fans of Erik Gandini’s film VIDEOCRACY that raised curiosity about Berlusconi when it played at TIFF and STF last year, DRAQUILA offers a vast catalogue of his malfeasances. She makes the case that Berlusconi took advantage of the L’Aquila crisis in order to consolidate power when his popularity was sinking. In the words of one L’Aquila resident, Italy is a “shit dictatorship” only using television instead of torture. The film has already made waves covered in the New York Times.
On the plane to Cannes, I treated myself to John Galassco’s delightful MEMOIRS OF MONTPARNASSE recounting his glory days in 1920s Paris. “To be able to live well on very little money is the best basis for an appreciation of beauty anywhere,” wrote Galassco. That axiom is hard to apply at Cannes where prices seem skewed toward millionaires.
Yet, the festival remains a gathering place for dedicated art house purveyors. Streaming off my plane at the Nice airport, I spotted numerous familiar faces: Richard Pena, Marian Masone (Film at Lincoln Center); Anne Thompson, Eric Kohn (Indiewire); Richard Corliss (Time Magazine); Tom Quinn, Dori Begley (Magnolia); Jeff Deutchman, Lizzie Nastro (IFC Films); Sheryl Mousley (Walker Art Center); and assorted freelancers. Not to mention, Oliver Stone who has WALL STREET 2 premiering on Friday and is reportedly finishing a doc on Latin American politics called SOUTH OF THE BORDER.
Over the next eight days, I’ll join them in the hunt for cinematic treasure, darting from screenings to meetings and, yes, a few parties. Last year, my bounty included L’ENFER DE HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT from the official selection and TURTLE: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY from the concurrent market screenings – that both wound up at the Toronto International Film Festival.
In my five years of attending, the non-fiction presence has shown a steady increase, including an annual Doc Brunch now in its third year. Among the premieres I’m most anticipating are:
OVER YOUR CITIES, GRASS WILL GROW – examining the world of the artist Anselm Kiefer from director Sophie Fiennes whose collaboration with Slavoj Zizek PERVERTS GUIDE TO CINEMA I presented at TIFF in 2006.
Whether you’re going to Sundance or following from afar, the line-up of 40 or so documentaries can be daunting. This year, I’ve been privileged to see roughly half the titles in private screenings. Here’s my tip sheet of 10 titles in alphabetical order:
This winter season mixes current sensations with rarities and timeless classics. The best and most affordable way to experience STF is with a Winter Season Pass. Purchase by Jan 10 to receive the early bird special: $99 for 11 films. 
Ok, I don’t want the headline to mislead, I should say that films about Jack Kevorkian and Barack Obama are coming to STF. I’m pleased to announce the Closing Night film for STF’s spring season will be 
Once the spring season comes to an end, you’ll only need to wait another week for a fresh dose of STF. On June 15, we’ll show Jeff Deutchman’s innovative project, drawing upon footage from all over the world, to chronicle the day Obama was elected, a work fittingly titled “
On the plane to Cannes, I treated myself to John Galassco’s delightful