For most people on the indie film circuit, the Sundance Film Festival marks the start of the new year. Park City is where filmmakers go to earn buzz for their projects, get some press and maybe even ink a distribution deal. On Jan. 30 I spoke with Thom Powers about the documentary films at Sundance that garnered the most chatter and the biggest checks, among other subjects.
[Q&A has been edited for content and clarity]
Rahul Chadha: It seemed like so much of the press attention around Sundance was focused on sales. The Hollywood Reporter said that four docs sold for at least seven figures and I read a report that BLACKFISH elicited a bidding war from four or five distributors. Did you get the sense that sales were better this year, and if so, why do you think that was?
Thom Powers: Some of those figures are slightly inflated. I know at least one of those films that is being reported as a million dollar sale is a little under a million dollars. But the fact remains that there were some very strong doc sales, and notably the emergence of a new player in The Weinstein Company’s RADiUS brand run by Tom Quinn and Jason Janego. Tom previously worked for Magnolia, where he worked on several successful docs such as FOOD INC. and MAN ON WIRE. Months ago RADiUS announced involvement in the new Errol Morris film about Donald Rumsfeld, THE UNKNOWN KNOWN, due out later this year. Tom told me they would be very selective about docs which left me unprepared for their recent buying streak. Their first Sundance acquisition was the opening night title 20 FEET FROM STARDOM, set in the music industry that gives it a solid commercial hook. Then RADiUS acquired INEQUALITY FOR ALL, which struck me as less obvious. But if you imagine it following in the footsteps of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH you can see the commercial appeal. Then they announced CUTIE AND THE BOXER, which has no celebrity connection and on the surface feels less obviously commercial, although it had strong word of mouth. So it seems RADiUS is trying out a wide range of docs and it’s good for the industry to have a new player in the mix. In addition to their strong showing, there was notable acquisitions by mainstay distributors including Sundance Selects, which bought DIRTY WARS and THE SUMMIT, and Magnolia Pictures, which bought BLACKFISH.
Continue reading…
Neil Barsky discusses Ed Koch's life and legacy. Photo by Cathryne Czubek.
Toward the end of Koch’s post-screening Q&A on Tuesday, an audience member asked director Neil Barsky about Edward Koch’s health. Barsky revealed that the former mayor of New York City and subject of his film had been hospitalized and was being treated for congestive heart failure. Early this morning, only days after the screening, Koch passed away at 88 years old.
It is a fitting memorial that Koch, a documentary about the mayor’s life and career, screened at Stranger Than Fiction on Tuesday and opens in limited theatrical release today. The film is filled with recent interviews and archival footage of Koch, underscoring the fact that he lived for the camera. In addition to the unflinching exploration of Koch’s celebrated and controversial political career, the film offers a rare glimpse into the personal life of the famously private mayor. Koch was masterful in his ability to construct his public image, and the documentary highlights the stark differences between the man’s public persona and private reality, exposing the nuances that have made him a fascinating figure for over 30 years.
Below is the full conversation between Barsky and STF’s Thom Powers.
Continue reading…
BLOOD BROTHER by Steve Hoover was the big winner at this year's Sundance festival.
Steve Hoover’s film BLOOD BROTHER, about American Rocky Braat who dedicates his life to working with HIV positive children living in an orphanage in India, was the big award winner at Sundance this year, taking home both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award Prize for a U.S. documentary. The Grand Jury Prize for world cinema went to Kalyanee Mam for her film A RIVER CHANGES COURSE, about several families in Cambodia. You can find a full list of Sundance award winners here. Adam Benzine of Realscreen also had an awards recap, as did Bryan Alexander of USA Today. Benzine also provided a comprehensive recap of documentary news that came out of the festival.
Perhaps the biggest news to come out of the festival was that docs were selling well. The folks at Indiewire took on the task of rounding up all the acquisitions deals that were inked during Sundance (the list includes both docs and narratives). Daniel Miller and Tatiana Siegel of The Hollywood Reporter reported that a minimum of four docs sold for at least $1 million: PUSSY RIOT–A PUNK PRAYER by directors Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin; THE SUMMIT by Nick Ryan, TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM by Morgan Neville; and BLACKFISH by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. Josh L. Dickey and Jeff Sneider of Variety also reported that the high price tags commanded by many films may have frozen out smaller indie distributors.
Continue reading…
TRUMBO tells the story of Dalton Trumbo's life through his letters.
How do you produce a documentary about a person who passed away well before the film was even conceptualized? You can include archival footage from when the subject was still alive; you can feature interviews with the subject’s surviving friends and relatives; or, you can recreate the subject’s voice through performance. Peter Askin combined all of these approaches when he directed Trumbo, his film about the famous blacklisted screenwriter. Though archival footage and sit-down interviews with family, friends, and colleagues provide critical context about Dalton Trumbo’s life and struggles, the heart of the film lies in the performances of Trumbo’s written words. Liam Neeson, Paul Giamatti, Brian Dennehy, and David Strathairn are among the actors who read letters that Trumbo wrote throughout his career, bringing his voice to life. Trumbo’s letters reveal the humor, stubbornness, and personal conviction that were necessary for his survival during his years in jail and in exile from Hollywood. By building the rest of the film around the letters, Askin has positioned Trumbo as the narrator of his own story.
After the screening, Askin joined filmmaker and friend of STF, Hugo Perez, for a discussion.
Continue reading…
LINSANITY, directed by Evan Jackson Leong, showing in Sundance's Doc Premieres section.
I asked filmmakers in Sundance’s Documentary Premieres Section to describe what attracted them to their subject and what conversations they hope their film will start. Below are responses from 5 of the 11 films. As I receive others, I’ll update this page. See previous posts on the US Documentary Competition and World Documentary Competition Thanks to Lauren Kraus for helping me compile this survey.
Lucy Walker, The Crash Reel, @lucyjwalker, @thecrashreel
I wanted to make The Crash Reel from the first moment that I met snowboarder Kevin Pearce. Kevin was training for the Olympics and vying with rival Shaun White when he sustained a severe Traumatic Brain Injury, which put him in a coma fighting for his life. No sooner did he learn to walk and talk again, he wanted to snowboard, and here’s where the story gets even more dramatic, because his brain wasn’t telling him how injured he was, and if he hits his head again he’ll die. We want to raise awareness about Traumatic Brain Injury through film and also our campaign #loveyourbrain, and to ask questions about safety and risk in Action Sports, and about head injuries in sports – but it’s a movie first and foremost, all told in compelling, thrilling verite scenes, with a lot of emotion and story and no lectures or experts in sight.
Continue reading…
