Matti Mattson, the 93-year-old veteran who fought with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, took the stage on Tuesday to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd at Stranger Than Fiction (pictured). The occasion was the 25th anniversary screening of THE GOOD FIGHT, co-presented by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives. Mattson praised the filmmakers for capturing the spirit of the times when over 3,000 American soldiers volunteered to fight against the fascist forces in Spain. The filmmaking trio of Noel Buckner, Mary Dore, and Sam Sills were joined by the film’s consulting historian David Paskin in a Q&A to discuss the making of the film. They noted that the film was among the last round of projects to be funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities under the administration of President Carter. It took over five years to complete and entailed over 100 interviews. Twenty-five years later that investment of energy is still paying dividends as a historical record. Among the STF audience were filmmakers who have previously presented their own work in the series including George Stoney, Ngawang Choephel, and David Leitner.
This year marks the 15th anniversary since HOOP DREAMS premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the audience award for Best Documentary. Roger Ebert described this film as “one of the great moviegoing experiences of my lifetime.”
To celebrate this special anniversary, STF will screen HOOP DREAMS on Monday November 9th. Due to the length of the film – the screening will commence at 7pm. Filmmaker Peter Gilbert will be in attendance. Tickets now on sale here.
Last Tuesday night, STF (with co-presenter SXSW) hosted the sold out New York premiere of Damani Baker and Alex Vlack’s STILL BILL, an intimate and engaging portrait of music icon Bill Withers. Withers is one of those iconic figures whose name some people don’t recognize until you mention that he penned and performed songs like “Lean on Me”, “Ain’t No Sunshine”, and “Lovely Day”. But STILL BILL is not just your standard biopic of a music industry legend, it’s an examination of an artist who stopped publishing and performing at the height of his career and a man who wonders whether he still has something to say in today’s world. Withers’ common sense philosophy of life suffuses his ruminations on his career – ruminations shared both with the camera, and with friends like Cornell West and Tavis Smiley who drop by for an impromptu visit. Withers’ classic songs are woven in throughout the portrait through archival performances that compliment Withers’ reflections on his life and whether he wants to get back in the saddle again.
Another sold out house greeted Erik Gandini’s VIDEOCRACY. Fresh off the heels of the Toronto International Film Festival and the Hamptons Film Festival, Erik made a brief stop in NY to present the film. The Q&A included insights into Erik’s approach to both the subject matter and filmmaking process. In plugging last Tuesday’s screening, Time Out NY wrote “you must must must see this documentary” – they were right! To read more about the film, you can visit Robyn Hillman-Harrigan’s piece in Flavorpill.
Last Tuesday, STF screened Alexander Sebastien Lee’s THE REAL SHAOLIN to an audience that was equal-parts documentary lovers and martial-arts enthusiasts. A crowd-pleaser at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, THE REAL SHAOLIN follows two Chinese and two Western students of martial-arts over months of difficult lessons and life-changing experiences, revealing just how much hard work goes into those dazzling moves. The film not only transports us to a different country, but to a different state of mind, where everything is sacrificed for athletic mastery. For the Westerners Orion and Eric, adjusting to the foreign mindset is an added challenge. For Yuan and Zhu, the stakes are even higher, as they have no other prospects. Alexander Sebastien Lee (visiting all the way from Beijing, China) explained the challenging multi-year process of filming and editing this project, and also shared some martial arts philosophies that he picked up along the way. The Q&A was capped off with the audience singing “Happy Birthday” to STF host Thom Powers. It was a somewhat excruciating experience for Thom, leading him to dictate a new STF rule: STF audiences can only sing this song to 10 year olds (like Doug Pray’s daughter during the screening of BIG RIG) or 98 year olds (like film subject Ruth Gruber during last week’s screening of AHEAD OF TIME).
Matti Mattson, the 93-year-old veteran who fought with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, took the stage on Tuesday to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd at Stranger Than Fiction (pictured). The occasion was the 25th anniversary screening of THE GOOD FIGHT, co-presented by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives. Mattson praised the filmmakers for capturing the spirit of the times when over 3,000 American soldiers volunteered to fight against the fascist forces in Spain. The filmmaking trio of Noel Buckner, Mary Dore, and Sam Sills were joined by the film’s consulting historian David Paskin in a Q&A to discuss the making of the film. They noted that the film was among the last round of projects to be funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities under the administration of President Carter. It took over five years to complete and entailed over 100 interviews. Twenty-five years later that investment of energy is still paying dividends as a historical record. Among the STF audience were filmmakers who have previously presented their own work in the series including George Stoney, Ngawang Choephel, and David Leitner.
This year marks the 15th anniversary since 
Last Tuesday night, STF (with co-presenter 
Another sold out house greeted Erik Gandini’s 
Last Tuesday, STF screened Alexander Sebastien Lee’s