(Photo of Hugo Perez and Peter Davis)
Last night, STF hosted a tribute to Peter Davis, a filmmaker and a gentleman, a scholar and writer best known in documentary circles for his classic HEARTS AND MINDS that earned him the 1975 Oscar for Best Documentary. Much less known today is his landmark television series MIDDLETOWN, a series of six verité documentaries which aspired to create a portrait of life in America by telling stories that reflected 6 different aspects of American life: Getting a Living; Making a Home; Training the Young; Using Leisure; Engaging in Religious Practice; and Engaging in Community Activities. The series was shot entirely in Muncie, Indiana from 1979 to 1982 with a team that included Peter Davis as Executive Producer and Director, Ricky Leacock as a Director, now A-List Hollywood DP John Lindley, editor Tom Haneke and others. Originally aired in 1982, the MIDDLETOWN series has become increasingly hard to see.** Doc geeks like myself have only had the chance to see the films from the series on blurry VHS copies passed around from doc enthusiast to doc enthusiast like Russian Samizdat literature. (One hopes that a company like Criterion might someday step in to make the films available as a DVD box-set.)
For a second year, the Marche Du Film hosted a Documentary Brunch to bring together the documentary community attending the Cannes Film Festival. The brunch was presented along with the National Film Board of Canada and attended by over 125 filmmakers and industry professionals from around the world. In honor of the 70th anniversary of the National Film Board of Canada, the NFB shared a clip of their latest film CAPTURING REALITY: THE ART OF DOCUMENTARY. (Photo: Tom Perlmutter – Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Film Board of Canada, with Louise Blais – Director of Canadian Cultural Center.)
Among all the tents in Cannes International Village, my favorite is the Irish Pavilion where coffee, Guiness and Jameson’s are poured for free. On Saturday, Mr & Mrs Stranger attended the Irish Film Board’s beach side party where the country’s reputation for a good time was upheld. Here are some photos:
Our very own Thom Powers with Noah Cowan (head of TIFF Bell Lightbox).
John Cooper and Trevor Groth of the Sundance Film Festival.
Tom Bernard of Sony Pictures Classics with James D. Stern (codirector of 
It has been an absolute whirlwind two days ever since I landed 48 hours ago. My head is spinning from all the movies, parties, and blue magic of the Mediterranean! Below are some fun snapshots from the Opening Night Party for the March du Film, held at the Majestic Beach. More entries to follow as soon as I get a bit more time!