The International Documentary Association (IDA) this week named the nominees for its documentary awards. At Nonfics.com, Christopher Campbell noted that Jason Osder’s LET THE FIRE BURN lead nominees in major categories, while Steve Pond had coverage at The Wrap. Adam Benzine had the news at Realscreen, while Anne Thompson did the same at Indiewire. In a blog post, POV also noted their nomination for the best continuing series award.
The film THESE BIRDS WALK from directors Bassam Tariq and Omar Mullick opened in theaters on Friday, winning a Critics Pick from New York Times writer Nicolas Rapold and a solid review from Scott Tobias at The Dissolve. Robert Greene wrote his own review for Hammer to Nail, as did Omer M. Mozaffar at RogerEbert.com. In a post at Indiewire, the pair wrote a piece sharing their ideas on how to make a documentary that evades social issue cliches. Tariq and Mullick were also featured on the latest episode of Adam Schartoff’s Filmwax podcast, while Tom Roston posed five questions for the pair in a post at the POV blog. Christopher Campbell and Daniel Walber also discussed the film in the latest episode of their podcast The Realness.
The folks at the True/False blog drew attention to a recently uploaded YouTube video documenting the festivals’ panel on doc criticism from earlier this year. The video’s posting seemed to provoke a response from Sam Adams of Indiewire, who wrote a piece asking if critics really understood documentary films.
This week Stranger Than Fiction is playing host to a screening of CALVET from director Dominic Allen on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. at the IFC Center in Manhattan. Film subject Jean-Marc Calvet will be in attendance for a Q&A following the screening. For more information or to purchase tickets please go here.
Continue reading…
The nominees for the Gotham Independent Film Awards were announced this week. At Realscreen, Adam Benzine covered the nominated docs, while Peter Knegt covered both fictional and documentary nominees for Indiewire. Craig Phillips noted the Independent Lens films that snagged noms in a post at the show’s blog, and Christopher Campbell covered the announcement for Nonfics.com. Jennifer Merin also had the news at About.com.
Directer Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s film BLACKFISH aired on CNN last week. At The Wrap, Tim Kenneally reported that the film captured a key news demographic, as did Gregory Crofton of Channel Nonfiction. Writing for Nonfics.com, Christopher Campbell covered a response to the film released by Seaworld prior to the CNN airing. Alison Willmore of Indiewire interviewed Cowperthwaite, and Cowperthwaite herself held a Reddit AMA.
Writing for RogerEbert.com, Christopher Campbell posted a piece detailing the evolution of Jehane Noujaim’s film THE SQUARE on Egypt’s revolution. At Indiewire, Bryce J. Renninger explained the differences in versions of the film that played at Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival. A.O. Scott reviewed the film at The New York Times, and Anthony Kaufman examined it in his weekly Docutopia post at the SundanceNOW blog. In his Filmwax podcast, Adam Schartoff spoke with Noujaim and producer Kamir Amer, along with WHEN I WALK director Jason DaSilva and STRONGMAN director Zachary Levy. And Christopher Campbell and Daniel Walber discussed THE SQUARE and the Robert Drew classic CRISIS: BEHIND A PRESIDENTIAL COMMITMENT in their latest The Realness podcast.
This week Stranger Than Fiction plays host to BORN INTO BROTHELS from directors Ross Kaufman and Zana Briski on Oct. 29 at 8pm at the IFC Center. Following the screening, Kaufman will be in attendance for a Q&A. For more information or to purchase tickets please go here.
Continue reading…
This year's DOC NYC festival runs Nov. 14-21 in New York City.
The DOC NYC film festival, set to run Nov. 14-21 at the IFC Center and the SVA Theatre, this week announced its lineup, with this year’s event consisting of 131 films, 72 features, and some 20 panel discussions and master classes. Ramzi de Coster at Indiewire had all the details, while Kevin Ritchie of Realscreen highlighted new films from Michel Gondry and Errol Morris that would make appearances. Kate Erbland had coverage of the festival for Film School Rejects, while Basil Tsiokos penned a post at his What (Not) to Doc blog. Gordon Cox provided coverage at Variety, while Adam Schartoff spoke with DOC NYC (and Stranger Than Fiction) Artistic Director Thom Powers for a Filmwax podcast.
This week AMERICAN PROMISE from directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson hit theaters on Friday. At the POV blog, Tom Roston looked at AMERICAN PROMISE as part of a pantheon of doc films that follow their subjects for a long period of time. At Filmmaker Magazine, Brandon Harris spoke with Brewster and Stephenson on the film, and Adam Schartoff also dedicated one of his Filmwax podcasts to speaking with the pair.
Chicago production house Kartemquin Films this week issued a call for participants in its Diverse Voices in Docs program, which provides professional development and mentorship to emerging documentary filmmakers of color. They’ll also be hosting a screening of work from graduates of its inaugural 2013 program on October 30 in Chicago.
This week Stranger Than Fiction plays host to THE NEW PUBLIC from director Jyllian Gunther, a film that follows an arts-focused high school that opens in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The film screens on Tuesday, October 22 at 8 p.m. at the IFC Center in Manhattan, and will be followed by a Q&A with Gunther. For more information or to purchase tickets please go here.
Continue reading…
The short film SLOMO from director Josh Izenberg was one of several shorlisted for the Oscar this week.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) this week named the short docs named to their shortlist. Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times covered the news, as did Jon Weisman of Variety. At Nonfics.com, Christopher Campbell had the vitals on the films on the shortlist.
Realscreen’s Adam Benzine reported on the lineup at this year’s International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). Writing for DocGeeks, Alexandra Zeevalkink zeroed in on the IDFA offerings from the National Film Board of Canada. IDFA’s DocLab also announced details on the interactive titles selected for the festival,
In a thoughful piece at Nonfics.com, Christopher Campbell contemplated docs that could be construed as platforms for an evil ideology. Campbell’s piece was, at least in part, a response to a critical review of THE ACT OF KILLING from About.com writer Jennifer Merin.
This week Stranger Than Fiction is hosting a screening of Andrew Jarecki’s 2003 film CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS on Tuesday, October 15 at 8pm at the IFC Center in Manhattan. The film follows the story of a Long Island family torn apart by accusations of child molestation. Director Andrew Jarecki will be in attendance for a Q&A following the film. For more information or to purchase tickets please go here.
Continue reading…
In a writing for the Huffington Post, director Charles Ferguson announced that he was withdrawing from a planned documentary on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for CNN Films, citing indirect pressure from the Clintons and stonewalling among potential interviewees and others. James Hiler covered the development for Indiewire, while Christopher Campbell did the same for Nonfics.com. Adam Benzine had the news at Realscreen, and Daniel Goldblatt was on the story for Variety. Amy Chozick and Bill Carter reported on the story for the New York Times.
Continue reading…
