Steven Soderbergh took center stage for STF’s Opening Night presentation of his new documentary AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE about the monologuist Spalding Gray. Soderbergh was joined in the Q&A by his editor Susan Littenberg, producer Amy Hobby and Gray’s widow Kathie Russo.
Soderbergh said he instantly agreed to the project when Russo proposed it. When the production took longer than anticipated, he bought it back from the original investors and plans for a small theatrical release in the fall.
Combing through 90 hours of archival material, the film team made a choice to only use pre-existing material and not shoot any new interviews. Soderbergh said he couldn’t imagine any fresh way to shoot new interviews. “After Errol Morris, what else can you do?” he said.
The film makes memorable use of an interview that Gray gave in 2001 during the filming of Barbara Kopple’s doc about the Hamptons. Kopple and one of her editors Jean Tsien were in the STF audience that included other notable film figures including Doug Liman, Elvis Mitchell and Gary Winick.
BEST OF THE ORPHAN FILM SYMPOSIUM returns for its third STF engagement with its most exciting line-up ever on Tuesday, March 9. (Tickets now on sale). Archivists use the term “orphan” to describe a variety of works whose origins are obscure. Every other year, NYU professor Dan Streible organizes a symposium to present the most exciting of these works and he brings a sampling to STF. Headlining this third edition is a rediscovered film shot by Henri Cartier-Bresson called “With the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain” (1937-38). Film scholar Juan Salas (who will introduce the film) recently discovered the 18-minute silent work in the collection the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives at NYU’s Tamiment Library. The original 16 mm print has been preserved and blown up to 35 mm. The STF event will mark its first public sneak preview.
Other highlights of the night include:
Bill Morrison, the acclaimed filmmaker of DECASIA, presents his 11-minute film HOW TO PRAY (2005). Read an interview with Morrison here.
THE JUNGLE (1967), a ground-breaking 22-minute film about a Philadelphia street gang, recently named to the National Film Registry
Author Farai Chideya introduces the delightful animated work SCRATCH AND CROW (1995), directed by Helen Hill, courtesy of Harvard Film Archive
THINK OF ME FIRST AS A PERSON (1960-75, Dwight Core, Sr. and George Ingmire III) sound; 35mm; 8 min. Print source: Library of Congress, Center for Home Movies Collection
CHUCK & VINCE: WEDDING OF THE YEAR, APRIL 8, 1978 (1978, Christine Wynne) 6 min. Super 8 sound home movie
Last week, STF audiences enjoyed great docs from both ends of the decade. On Monday, director Louie Psihoyos and producer Fisher Stevens (pictured here) presented their Oscar-nominee THE COVE that plays like a thriller. The pair received a rare standing ovation from the sold out audience. During the Q&A, they announced that they had just fulfilled a long held ambition to have the film distributed theatrically in Japan where it takes place. The New York Times Carpetbagger has a report on the Japan deal and Film Panel Notetaker offers a report on the Q&A. Afterwards, the crowd moved to The Dove lounge on Thompson Street (a one night departure from our usual hangout at the Alibi Lounge) to keep the conversation going.
On Tuesday, the STF screening of STARTUP.COM took us back to the start of the decade when New York City was undergoing the boom and bust of the dotcom economy. In her Q&A, co-director Chris Hegedus recalled how she had researched several Internet companies – including Prodigy featured in the recent film WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – before joining forces with collaborator Jehane Noujaim to focus on GovWorks.com.
[Melissa Hibbard files her latest report in a series, submitted Jan 28]
Winding down to the last couple of days of the festival, the docs that seem to be getting the most buzz are WAITING FOR SUPERMAN by Davis Guggenheim (AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH; IT MIGHT GET LOUD) and CATFISH by directors Henry Joos and Ariel Schulman, which I haven’t been able to see because it’s been completely sold out with wait list lines in the triple digits! Even the P&I screening was full!
With three docs about Russia I think Sundance is trying to tell us something. MY PERESTROIKA, by Robin Hessman, is a strong film that looks at the collapse of the Soviet Union defined by the history of the 20th century. The editing is incredible and Hessman’s obvious familiarity with Russian culture creates an intimate look at the nostalgia of the past and discontent with the present. Her choice of following four classmates who have all taken different paths was smart. It’s obvious that she spent a lot of time on this film. It’s well crafted, entertaining and thought provoking. Three of the characters traveled from Russia to attend the premier and as always, the audience delighted in meeting the subjects. It’s always smart to bring your subjects to Sundance.
[In her first dispatch, STF passholder Melissa Hibbard wrote about Sundance docs HIS & HERS and SECRETS OF THE TRIBE; and in her second about SPACE TOURISTS and THE RED CHAPEL. Now she dives back in for this report filed on Jan 26]:
So, first I have to say that for those of you who are filmmakers, if you haven’t been to Sundance without a film, or any festival for that matter, I encourage you to attend. It’s a great experience to attend a festival without the pressure to sell your film, yourself or your next project.
Today my head is whirling with images of aging comics, freedom fighters and graffiti artists. I started the day with JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK by powerhouse directors Ricki Stem and Annie Sundberg [pictured in Q and A]. I went in expecting not to like the film; I’m not a big fan of celebrity docs. But I have to say it was thoroughly entertaining. And more than just being entertaining, it was a revealing look into the insecurities, obsessions and fears that propel great talent to stardom. For the Q and A, Joan Rivers surprised audiences with an appearance and took questions from fans. Popping one joke after the next, she thanked the gay community for their endless support, encouraged young women comics to keep pushing boundaries and insulted the locals. She even confirmed a rumor that she has collections of ashes from all her dear friends who have died. When someone in the audience gasped, she reassured them that the ashes were resting peacefully in small Louis Vuitton cases.
Steven Soderbergh took center stage for STF’s Opening Night presentation of his new documentary AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE about the monologuist Spalding Gray. Soderbergh was joined in the Q&A by his editor Susan Littenberg, producer Amy Hobby and Gray’s widow Kathie Russo.
Bill Morrison, the acclaimed filmmaker of DECASIA, presents his 11-minute film HOW TO PRAY (2005). Read an interview with Morrison 
THE JUNGLE (1967), a ground-breaking 22-minute film about a Philadelphia street gang, recently named to the National Film Registry 
Author 
Last week, STF audiences enjoyed great docs from both ends of the decade. On Monday, director Louie Psihoyos and producer Fisher Stevens (pictured here) presented their Oscar-nominee 
[Melissa Hibbard files her latest report in a series, submitted Jan 28]
[In her