Every day for the next week, STFdocs will survey the globe with reports on nonfiction film making from seven countries. I started collecting these reports last summer as I was preparing for the Toronto International Film Festival. In recent years, the TIFF programming team has seen bursts of documentary activity from countries where it rarely occurred before. For example, last year TIFF showed UNWANTED WITNESS from Colombia, CITIZEN JULING from Thailand, and BLIND LOVES from Slovakia. In most cases, these films never find U.S. distribution outside of festivals. Even within festivals, they have a hard time competing against better-publicized American and European work.
To deepen my own understanding, I asked associates around the world to answer four broad questions about doc production in their countries. My intention was to publish dozens of these surveys on TIFF’s Doc Blog last summer. However, my ambitious scope overwhelmed my limited time. Now I know why this kind of information hasn’t been readily accessible before. It’s taken me this long to edit and publish them. My correspondents wrote these on a volunteer basis, following my directive to give personal opinions, rather than institutional viewpoints. They should be read in that spirit. If you want to add to the discussion, please do so in the Comments section. If you’d like to report on another country, please write to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Our first survey on Australia comes from Julia Overton, who serves as the Development and Investment Manager for Screen Australia. She’s assisted in the production of over 150 films of all genres. I first met her three years ago at IDFA in Amsterdam. Since then, I’ve met her annually at Hot Docs to get debriefed on upcoming Aussie docs. My TIFF colleague Jane Schoettle also makes an annual trip to Australia to monitor its rich output. Last year, Jane programmed Megan Doneman’s doc YES, MADAM, SIR about the crusading Indian policewoman Kiran Bedi.
Last night’s STF screening was a small gem known as PARALLEL LINES. Nina Davenport’s personal account of her cross country drive back to New York post 9/11 is a courageous work. She simultaneously tackles her own fears of a forever changed and emotionally damaged New York while audaciously (perhaps naively) poking around some of the forgotten corners (and people) of America with her camera.
Nina broaches some sensitive topics with complete strangers and it is amazing how quickly they share their intimate stories of loss and tragedy. In the Q&A, she admitted that there was no special tactic in convincing people to speak on camera. “I just left the camera on while engaging people in conversation. I never turned it off until we had parted.” By adopting a non judgmental position, she is able to gain great insights into these diverse lives.
As always, the conversation continued with Nina, viewers and the STF crew at its weekly watering-hole “99 Below”.
First time documentary makers living in the United States still have one week left to apply for the Garrett Scott Documentary Development grant. The initiative pays for directors to attend the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in April to watch films, meet industry members and participate in master classes. Go to the Full Frame website for further information.
How to describe my past 10 days being a juror at the Sundance Film Festival? The 27 documentaries I saw at the festival offer their own metaphors. WE LIVE IN PUBLIC examines a group of artists living in an enclosed environment programmed by a Big Brother figure. AFGHAN STAR (pictured on left) follows a group of creative risk-takers putting everything on the line to compete for a long-shot chance at fame. BIG RIVER MAN chronicles a man promoting an ecological message by undergoing an endurance test that threatens to drive him insane. Sundance can resemble all those experiences.
Documentaries at the festival are divided into three categories. There are 16 films in the U.S. Documentary Competition; another 16 in the World Documentary Competition and, by my count, 9 docs playing out of competition. That total matches the 41 docs at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, where I serve as a programmer. I don’t know of anyone who manages to see them all. So each person’s account should be taken as a piece of a larger tapestry. An occasion like Sundance underscores the need I raised in my November essay WANTED: DOCUMENTARY CRITICS calling for more in-depth writing about the field.
The good news is that you can find thoughtful writing about Sundance docs if you know where to look. For starters, I would recommend Karina Longworth on THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE, Scott Foundas on CRUDE, and James Rocchi on WE LIVE IN PUBLIC. It’s noteworthy that all three of those films are by veteran American directors – R.J. Cutler, Joe Berlinger and Ondi Timoner, respectively. It’s harder to find discussion of newcomers and especially international directors.
Twenty-three films later (Thom beat me by six films with a final count of 29), I somehow made it to the closing night festivities of the 25th annual Sundance Film Festival. Despite the onset of extreme fatigue, I steered clear of the infamous Sundance flu (that takes down so many of the regulars) and somehow survived with enthusiasm intact. I even asked Thom if we could stay one additional day to watch a few of the winning films that we’d missed along the way (the answer was no). Sitting in NY (which is absurdly colder than Park City, Utah), I am flooded with warm memories of the amazing people I met and the great films I saw.
Here are few snapshots from closing night:
The World Doc Jury with a few significant others.
L to R: Me (Thom’s wife), Hubert Sauper (director of DARWIN’S NIGHTMARE), Gillian Armstrong (Australian director of many films, including MY BRILLIANT CAREER, LITTLE WOMEN, CHARLOTTE GRAY), our very own Thom Powers, and editor John Pleffer (Gillian’s husband).
Every day for the next week, STFdocs will survey the globe with reports on nonfiction film making from seven countries. I started collecting these reports last summer as I was preparing for the Toronto International Film Festival. In recent years, the TIFF programming team has seen bursts of documentary activity from countries where it rarely occurred before. For example, last year TIFF showed UNWANTED WITNESS from Colombia, CITIZEN JULING from Thailand, and BLIND LOVES from Slovakia. In most cases, these films never find U.S. distribution outside of festivals. Even within festivals, they have a hard time competing against better-publicized American and European work.
How to describe my past 10 days being a juror at the Sundance Film Festival? The 27 documentaries I saw at the festival offer their own metaphors. 
The World Doc Jury with a few significant others.