Ten days ago, the Toronto International Film Festival came to an end, but my memories will linger for a long time to come. Sifting through photos, here are 10 moments that stand out:
In TIFF’s Mavericks conversation section, Frederick Wiseman presented the North American premiere of his new film LA DANSE (see an excerpt of the discussion on YouTube). He had flown in that day on a red-eye from the Venice Film Festival (and the next day was flying back to Paris – what a trouper!). But that night he joined us for a directors’ dinner along with an up-and-coming filmmaker from Michigan. I eavesdropped to hear Michael Moore say how much he admired Wiseman’s early film HIGH SCHOOL. Someone asked them which was the favorite of their own works. They both said it’s impossible to choose, but they each had a special fondness for their first films, ROGER & ME and TITICUT FOLLIES, respectively.
September has been an invigorating month for hashing out independent distribution issues. In case you haven’t been closely following the reports, here are the highlights:
1) Liesl Copland’s keynote speech at TIFF’s Doc Conference addressed how to get the most out of theatrical, VOD, downloads and other formats. Part of her talk included a video on the “Social Media Revolution” that every filmmaker should take four minutes to watch on YouTube to get a sense of powerful new tools becoming available. On the topic of the theatrical experience for docs, Copland pointed to the model of Stranger Than Fiction, saying, “We can’t expect the smaller movies to go head to head with the big marketing giants. Maybe for us, for docs, we need to make sure the experience is differentiated, communal – let’s do more for the audience in that space than show the film. More ‘extra content’ at the theater, Q and A heaven. Curation.”
2) Peter Broderick’s “Declaration of Independence” at TIFF’s Doc Conference (pictured) laid out a set of principles for filmmakers who want to explore a form of hybrid distribution. In an article based on his speech, Broderick writes, “Today many filmmakers are as determined to retain ‘distribution control’ as they are to maintain ‘creative control.’ Distribution control is the power to determine the overall structure and sequence of distribution, select distribution partners, and divide up distribution rights. While single source production financing usually means the loss of some measure of creative control, single source distribution through an all-rights deal always means the loss of distribution control.”
I’m definitely intrigued by what I’ve read about the Chinese doc GHOST TOWN playing tomorrow at the New York Film Festival. Manohla Dargis writes, “ ‘Ghost Town,’ takes place in a world so removed from the pastoral it might as well be set on another planet and, in some respects, it is….directed with scrupulous attention to detail by Zhao Dayong. The China here, represented by the hard lives of different village folk… offers a grim contrast to the country racing toward the future.”
Watch a trailer, read more and buy a ticket at filmlinc.com
The Oct 5 issue of ESPN Magazine has a two-page spread on sports documentaries, naming these titles as its Top 10:
1) HOOP DREAMS (dir. Steve James)
2) WHEN WE WERE KINGS (dir. Leon Gast) – pictured
3) PUMPING IRON (dir. George Butler & Robert Fiore)
4) MURDERBALL (dir. Henry Alex Rubin & Dana Adam Shapiro)
5) BASEBALL (dir. Ken Burns)
6) DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS (dir. Stacy Peralta)
7) THE KING OF KONG (dir. Seth Gordon)
8) BLACK MAGIC (dir. Dan Klores)
9) HANDS ON A HARD BODY (dir. S.R. Bindler)
10) ENDLESS SUMMER (dir. Bruce Brown)
Let’s discuss. As much as I think HANDS ON A HARD BODY is a great film, does a contest to win a truck count as sports? Or playing video games in KING OF KONG?
For the first time ever, STF is running an “early bird special” for season passes. Up until Sept. 22, get your season pass for only $95 ($75 for IFC members). With 20+ great films in the line-up – that’s less than $5 per film! You can purchase your pass at the IFC Center box office or on-line at Movietickets (Click on “Jane” then the time “8:00 pm” then select the season pass option).
Carrying the STF card is a sign of your support for bringing great documentaries to the theater. You’ll see sneak previews months before the rest of the public, discover rare work that you might never see again, meet the filmmakers, and fraternize with NY’s documentary community. Browse the STF Archives to get a sampling of our past; and sign up for a season pass to participate in our future. If that’s not enough to motivate you, consider 10 more reasons:
1) Attend the special screening of the rarely seen cinema verite classic JANE on Tues. Sept. 22, including a special post-film reception (no public tickets are available at this time).
2) Enjoy our regular 10 week STF fall season line-up plus 2 bonus Monday night screenings (12 films total).
3) Attend any of the eight films from the Docurama library spotlighted in IFC Center’s “Weekend Classics” program (Oct. 2 – Dec. 6) – free of charge.
In TIFF’s Mavericks conversation section, Frederick Wiseman presented the North American premiere of his new film LA DANSE (see an excerpt of the discussion on YouTube). He had flown in that day on a red-eye from the Venice Film Festival (and the next day was flying back to Paris – what a trouper!). But that night he joined us for a directors’ dinner along with an up-and-coming filmmaker from Michigan. I eavesdropped to hear Michael Moore say how much he admired Wiseman’s early film HIGH SCHOOL. Someone asked them which was the favorite of their own works. They both said it’s impossible to choose, but they each had a special fondness for their first films, ROGER & ME and TITICUT FOLLIES, respectively.
September has been an invigorating month for hashing out independent distribution issues. In case you haven’t been closely following the reports, here are the highlights:
The Oct 5 issue of 
For the first time ever, STF is running an “early bird special” for season passes. Up until Sept. 22, get your season pass for only $95 ($75 for IFC members). With 20+ great films in the line-up – that’s less than $5 per film! You can purchase your pass at the IFC Center box office or on-line at