Last week at STF, CLEANFLIX co-director Andrew James took questions about his documentary (made with Joshua Ligairi) examining Mormon video stores that re-edit Hollywood movies for objectionable content without consent from the makers. The co-directors were both raised within the Mormon church. James has since left while Ligairi remains a member. James said that duality brought a healthy balance in the edit room.
Given that the Mormon censors had to expose themselves to forbidden imagery – such as Kate Winslet’s naked breasts in TITANTIC – to do their job, how did they justify that?, I asked. “They were taking one for the team,” said James. He explained that ultra-conservative Mormons refused to rent “cleaned up” films since the process entailed this corrupting influence.
An audience member who identified himself as Mormon praised the film for giving a well-rounded portrayal to a culture that’s often mischaracterized. James said he wanted to dispel mythology around the religion, adding, “if you’ve met a Republican, you’ve met a Mormon.”
With a new festival (www.DOCNYC.net) and a new baby (pictured on left), we’ve fallen a bit behind with our usually prompt blogging! Better late than never, here’s a quick recap of the last two weeks at STF.
Last week was a double header of Liz Mermin’s HORSES and Chico Colvard’s FAMILY AFFAIR. This week we had family night of a different sort with Doug Block’s THE KIDS GROW UP. Below are photos from all three evenings.
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.
Playing catch up on the past couple weeks of STF. On Feb 23, director Dan Klores brought his highly entertaining film WINNING TIME: REGGIE MILLER VS THE NEW YORK KNICKS. As a basketball fan, I wasn’t sure if non-fans would share my appreciation for this. But did they ever. My favorite reaction came from passholder Hemal Trivedi who admitted that she didn’t know a Knick from a knack, but the film reminded her of a rivalry closer to her own experience between India and Pakistan’s cricket teams. (Photo courtesy of Joshua Weinstein – Thom Powers, director Dan Klores and editor David Zieff) Two days later, for a Thursday night special, STF audiences braved a blizzard to turn out in full force for the Oscar-nominated BURMA VJ. Joining for the Q&A was the editor-in-chief of the Democratic Voice of Burma, Aye Chan Naing, visiting from his base in Scandanavia. Naing described his organization’s efforts to smuggle footage out of Burma for the rest of the world to have a better understanding of the country. Afterwards, I introduced him to another political exile Ngwang Choephel who brought his film TIBET IN SONG to STF last spring (photo).
On March 2, filmmaker Judith Helfand celebrated her 20th anniversary of having beaten cancer as chronicled in her film A HEALTHY BABY GIRL. The intensely personal documentary was even more poignant for the presence of Helfand’s mother and other family in the audience. During the Q&A, Helfand previewed a few outtakes that she’s contemplating for a new DVD release of the film from Docurama. (Photo courtesy of 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 week at STF, CLEANFLIX co-director Andrew James took questions about his documentary (made with Joshua Ligairi) examining Mormon video stores that re-edit Hollywood movies for objectionable content without consent from the makers. The co-directors were both raised within the Mormon church. James has since left while Ligairi remains a member. James said that duality brought a healthy balance in the edit room.
With a new festival (
Best of the 
Playing catch up on the past couple weeks of STF. On Feb 23, director Dan Klores brought his highly entertaining film 
Two days later, for a Thursday night special, STF audiences braved a blizzard to turn out in full force for the Oscar-nominated 
On March 2, filmmaker Judith Helfand celebrated her 20th anniversary of having beaten cancer as chronicled in her film 
“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