Stranger Than Fiction – named by Time Out NY as the city’s “Best Documentary Programming” – launches its ninth year with a special sneak preview on Wed. Sept.18 of MUSCLE SHOALS, about the renowned Alabama recording studios, featuring a Q&A with director Greg “Freddy” Camalier and FAME recording studio founder Rick Hall. STF fall season has its official opening night on Tuesday, September 24, 2013 with LINSANITY, about basketball sensation Jeremy Lin, featuring a Q&A with director Evan Jackson Leong. STF takes place at the IFC Center Tuesday nights at 8:00 pm for eight weeks. Each event includes a discussion with the filmmakers, followed by a gathering at a nearby bar. The fall season closes on November 12 with a rare screening of SHOTGUN FREEWAY: DRIVES THROUGH LOST L.A., a film essay about Los Angeles that was the 1996 directorial debut of Morgan Neville (20 FEET FROM STARDOM), who will attend.
Season passes are now on sale through Sept. 18 at the early bird rate of $80 for 9 films ($70 for IFC Center members). Season pass holders are assured a seat, even in the case of a sold out show, as long as they arrive 15 minute before showtime; plus a free DVD courtesy of Docurama; free popcorn at every STF show; and the ability to transfer your pass to a friend if you can’t make it. The full season schedule appears below.
“This season has a strong blend of sneak previews, classic revivals, plus ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW (pictured) that fulfills the label of ‘stranger’ even if it is fiction,” said Artistic Director Thom Powers, who also programs for the Toronto International Film Festival, DOC NYC and SundanceNOW.com. New works being previewed before their wider release include BIG MEN (Oct 1) about oil drilling in Africa; THE NEW PUBLIC (Oct. 22) about an experimental Brooklyn school; and CALVET (Nov. 5) about an artist whose work is currently showing at Manhattan’s Monkdogz gallery. Classic docs in the program include the Oscar-nominated CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (Oct. 15), about a controversial criminal case, with dir Andrew Jarecki in person to discuss new developments in the story; and the Oscar-winning BORN INTO BROTHELS (Oct. 29) about kids in Calcutta’s red-light district learning photography. One outlier in the season is a sneak preview of ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW (Oct. 8) that employs documentary observational techniques to tell a surreal fictional satire, shot surreptitiously inside of Disney World.
Continue reading…
Canadian ilmmaker John Greyson was arrested in Egypt while researching a potential film.
Canadian filmmaker John Greyson, along with doctor and potential film subject Tarek Loubani, were arrested in Egypt this week while considering beginning work on a documentary film about Loubani’s work. Adam Benzine of Realscreen had details of his arrest, as did Sean Tepper of the Toronto Star. The Documentary Organization of Canada called on its government to aid in winning the release of the pair.
Director Bill Siegel talked with WYNC interviewer Leonard Lopate this week about his new film THE TRIALS OF MUHAMMAD ALI, which hit theaters this week. Noel Murray of The Dissolve and Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times turned in reviews of the film.
At the Tribeca Institute website Ron Mwangaguhunga wondered if documentaries could save newsweeklies, noting the recent launch of Time Magazine’s new doc unit, Red Border Films. In a piece for the POV blog, Heather McIntosh provided a rationale for new interest in docs from CNN, Time and Al Jazeera America.
Continue reading…
Critically regarded film CUTIE AND THE BOXER was released in theaters this week.
Zachary Heinzerling’s profile of Ushio Shinohara and his wife Noriko, CUTIE AND THE BOXER, reached theaters this week. Anthony Kaufman wrote about the film and its place in the oeuvre of “art” docs for his Docutopia post at the SundanceNOW site, while A.O. Scott reviewed the film for The New York Times. Nigel M. Smith interviewed Heinzerling for Indiewire, while Sara Vizcarrondo penned her own review of the film for the International Documentary Association (IDA) website.
Madeline Raynor of Indiewire reported on the news that Time had created a new digital documentary unit called Red Border Films. Georg Szalai of The Hollywood Reporter also had the news, as did Adam Benzine of Realscreen. Christine Haughney provided coverage at The New York Times.
Adam Benzine of Realscreen had details on the Toronto International Film Festival Doc Conference, while the festival itself posted a schedule on its website. Peter Knegt of Indiewire reported on the addition of 75 titles to TIFF’s lineup.
Continue reading…
Al Jazeera America this week announced the creation of a doc unit.
The Qatari government-funded news channel Al Jazeera America this week announced the launch of a new documentary film unit, with former National Geographic TV executive Kathy Davidov joining the outfit as senior executive producer. Adam Benzine reported on the development for Realscreen, as did Indiewire’s Alison Willmore.
Werner Herzog made waves this week with the release of a documentary on the dangers of texting and driving. Nick Dawson covered the news for Filmmaker Magazine, while Donald Melanson did the reporting for Engadget and Matt Hamblen did the same for Computerworld.
The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship has opened its call for submissions for the 2014 fellowship, setting a September 30 deadline for applications. Scott Macaulay of Filmmaker Magazine reported on the fellowship, created to honor editor Karen Schmeer who was killed in 2010 by the driver of a car fleeing a robbery.
Continue reading…
written by Nikki Erlick
Forty years after the enactment of Title IX, ESPN Films and espnW celebrates the landmark amendment with the documentary series Nine for IX, featuring nine documentaries – all directed by women – that explore the triumphs, challenges, and legacies of some of the world’s greatest female athletes.
The series continues this week with RUNNER. The documentary offers a personal look at the very public successes and struggles of track star Mary Decker, whose talent, ambition, and resilience drove her to shatter world records, but whose shocking fall at the 1984 Olympics became a defining moment in her career. RUNNER revisits Decker’s astonishing rise to fame and her legendary rivalry with fellow competitor Zola Budd through interviews with the athletes and footage of the races.
Shola Lynch, the award-winning director of RUNNER, competed on an athletic scholarship in college, experiencing firsthand the benefits of Title IX. She said that when ESPN approached her to direct a film for Nine for IX, she immediately thought of Mary Decker. A competitive track runner herself, Lynch viewed Decker as “the person we all wanted to emulate,” particularly admiring her ability to outrun the strong Soviet team.
“I wanted to revisit what happened in 1984 because I remembered it from being fifteen and watching it on television,” Lynch said. “I think that what happened was unfortunate – the fall, the cry, the criticism. There is a lot of blame that can go around, but for that to be the defining moment of her career, when she has been the most dominant middle distance runner by her performance and time outside of the Olympics, is crazy. If retelling the story helps us see her in another way, then I think that’s a good thing.”
Continue reading…
