There are a limited number of discounted tickets being made available to the STF community for the March 29 presentation of the Cinema Eye Honors. Last year, the first Cinema Eye Honors was one of the my favorite documentary events of 2008. This year’s edition promises to be even better, moving to the gorgeous Times Center in the New York Times building.
Top documentary makers and film industry leaders will gather to celebrate excellence and innovation in the nonfiction films of 2008. Awards
presenters include Laurie Anderson, Albert Maysles, D.A. Pennebaker and Morgan Spurlock. The diverse array of nominated films include MAN ON WIRE, WALTZ WITH BASHIR, and MY WINNIPEG. More than a typical awards show, the night will feature music DJ-ed by composer and musician Ion Furjanic (composer of MANDA BALA and JESUS CAMP) and other surprises.
The ticket price includes a post-ceremony reception with hors d’oevres and an open bar at the nearby venue, ARENA (135 West 41st St).
Tickets are normally priced at $75, but if you enter the access code “STF”, you’ll pay only $50. CLICK HERE TO ORDER TICKETS
GIRLS LIKE US. This is a great film from the late 90’s that I saw at Stranger than Fiction last night. Oh, how I love STF, I finally found a club that would have me as its member (this is a Marx Brothers reference, if you don’t get it, you can’t join the club!). The documentary made by a lovely lady couple, tracks 4 teenagers from the time they are 13-14 until they are 17-18. The girls, who all live in South Philly, speak candidly about sex, childbirth, their relationships with their family and friends and their goals in life. This film won Sundance back in the day and it’s easy to understand why. Like Trouble the Water it sort of magically captures those tragedies and joys of life, which are often rendered mundane, as people avert their eyes to experiences of “othered” social groups. The 4 girls, 2 white, 1 black and one South Asian all seemed to struggle to define themselves independently of their relationships with men. While, their parents and guardians strove to keep them on a track towards college and career. 3 of the women, now pushing 30, joined us at the IFC center after for a Q&A. They all seem to have turned out quite well and consider their experience being in the film to have been enriching and not exploitative.
Watching Alan Berliner’s rarely seen work on a big screen is a true treat. Last Tuesday evening began with his short EVERYWHERE AT ONCE and was followed by INTIMATE STRANGER – a film shot 18 years ago about his grandfather Joseph Cassuto. When asked by an audience member what his grandfather would have thought of the film, Berliner replied: “He died 35 years ago and we’re still talking about it. He’d love it!”
When talking about the making of INTIMATE STRANGER, Berliner said that the film “defined labor of love”. He spent 9 months simply reading his grandfather’s archives: Joseph Cassuto had meticulously saved every letter he had ever received or written (the magic of carbon copy). Berliner explains: “I must have inherited whatever genetics were necessary to cope. I had to go through every piece of paper, since you never know what you might find.” During this early research, he remembers finding five $100 bills in one of the tucked-away envelopes, which he describes as the film’s “first grant”.
Mr. and Mrs. Stranger headed out West for a jam-packed weekend, attending the Independent Spirit Awards and other festivities around the Oscars. Here are some souvenirs.
Me with the one and only Werner Herzog. He remembered meeting my father a few years back and insisted that I take this photo for Jack.
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Josh Braun of Submarine Entertainment sharing a laugh with Diane Weyerman of Participant Media at the Independent Spirit Awards.
Filmmaker Laura Poitras (MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY) with Cara Mertes of the Sundance Institute at the Independent Spirit Awards.
I knew the William Greaves Tribute was going to be special when I got a call on Monday from Sidney Poitier in Los Angeles. Since he couldn’t honor Greaves in person, he asked me to read a note on his behalf: “I have had the privilege of working with William Greaves and will always remember how gifted he has been in life and as a groundbreaking filmmaker…. He has given us visions of the best in ourselves and reminds us to always reach beyond our grasp.”
Greaves’s achievements were expressed through film excerpts spanning 50 years of work. The clips included EMERGENCY WARD (1959) made while Greaves was working for the National Film Board of Canada; STILL A BROTHER (1968), a feature-length film about the black middle class; THE FIRST WORLD FESTIVAL OF NEGRO ARTS (1966), featuring footage of Duke Ellington and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company in Dakar, Senegal; THE FIGHT (1974), chronicling the boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden; and SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM: TAKE ONE (1968), an experimental work, shot in Central Park, where reality and fiction overlap.
The final clip was from Greaves’s latest work-in-progress that revives 16 mm footage he took in 1971 at a gathering to remember the Harlem Renaissance. The crowd is a who’s who of Harlem speaking with living memory of Zora Neale Hurston, Marcus Garvey, Countee Cullen and other major figures. The footage was a revelation. Greaves is still seeking funds to complete the work. Any arts agency would do itself proud to pitch in.
There are a limited number of discounted tickets being made available to the STF community for the March 29 presentation of the Cinema Eye Honors. Last year, the first Cinema Eye Honors was one of the my favorite documentary events of 2008. This year’s edition promises to be even better, moving to the gorgeous Times Center in the New York Times building.
Text taken from 
Watching Alan Berliner’s rarely seen work on a big screen is a true treat. Last Tuesday evening began with his short EVERYWHERE AT ONCE and was followed by INTIMATE STRANGER – a film shot 18 years ago about his grandfather Joseph Cassuto. When asked by an audience member what his grandfather would have thought of the film, Berliner replied: “He died 35 years ago and we’re still talking about it. He’d love it!”
Me with the one and only Werner Herzog. He remembered meeting my father a few years back and insisted that I take this photo for Jack.
Josh Braun of Submarine Entertainment sharing a laugh with Diane Weyerman of 
Filmmaker Laura Poitras (MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY) with Cara Mertes of the 
I knew the William Greaves Tribute was going to be special when I got a call on Monday from Sidney Poitier in Los Angeles. Since he couldn’t honor Greaves in person, he asked me to read a note on his behalf: “I have had the privilege of working with William Greaves and will always remember how gifted he has been in life and as a groundbreaking filmmaker…. He has given us visions of the best in ourselves and reminds us to always reach beyond our grasp.”