Beadie Finzie’s ONLY WHEN I DANCE is a moving portrait of two Brazilian teenagers who struggle to break out of their lives of poverty by using dance as their vehicle. Beautifully shot, this captivating story shows the sacrifices their hard-working families must make to help them achieve their dreams of dancing abroad.
Sunday afternoon, the Tribeca Film Festival hosted a “Meet & Greet” at the Union Square Ballroom for journalists, filmmakers and other affiliates attending the festival. It was a great way to meet old and new friends in a relaxed setting.
The team behind SHADOW BILLIONAIRE – director Alexis Manya Spraic and producer Sasha Alpert – a documentary about the mysterious disappearance of the very wealthy DHL shareholder Larry L. Hillblom.
On Sunday afternoon, The Nation Institute hosted a reception for THE FIXER: THE TAKING OF AJMAL NAQSHBANDI, following its screening at Tribeca and a panel discussion with director Ian Olds, film subject Christian Parenti, New Yorker writer George Packer, and former fixer Naqeeb Sherzad. The film does an excellent job shedding light on the process of war-time reporting. The reception was held fittingly at the Half King bar, known as a foreign correspondent hang-out. Hamilton Fish, head of the Nation Institute (and occasional documentary producer), presided over a crowd of journalists, filmmakers and human rights activists.
Despite a cold slowing me down over the first few days (not the swine flu, I promise!), I finally hit my stride and caught a bunch of great docs at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Marshall Curry’s RACING DREAMS was a delightful surprise. I don’t think there is a subject I care less about than NASCAR racing, so I approached this film with a dose of skepticism. Yet from the moment the film started, the next 95 minutes raced by as I became swept up in the film’s characters. Curry’s film is about more than racing (which I admit I have a higher appreciation for after watching the film). He also captures the fleeting transition from childhood to the teenage years in all its awkward glory. He was joined by the film’s three subjects for the Q&A – who unanimously agreed that he did an excellent job showing what it was like for them.
Last week STF audiences were treated to a rare 1942 classic NATIVE LAND, directed by Leo Hurwitz and Paul Strand; narrated by Paul Robeson. New York Magazine highlighted NATIVE LAND as a critic’s pick, describing it as “an unabashed ode to organized labor, with moments of sheer cinematic poetry.” Photo of Tom Hurwitz (son of NATIVE LAND filmmaker Leo Hurwitz) and Manny Kirchheimer (former colleague of Leo) who joined us for the Q&A of this special screening.
Beadie Finzie’s ONLY WHEN I DANCE is a moving portrait of two Brazilian teenagers who struggle to break out of their lives of poverty by using dance as their vehicle. Beautifully shot, this captivating story shows the sacrifices their hard-working families must make to help them achieve their dreams of dancing abroad. 
The team behind 
On Sunday afternoon, The Nation Institute hosted a reception for 
Marshall Curry’s 
Last week STF audiences were treated to a rare 1942 classic