For more guidance, here are 10 Twitter TIps for filmmakers from @thompowers:
1) Refine your profile: Make your Twitter name short and easy to remember. Because Twitter traffics in 140 character messages, every letter counts when people re-Tweet you. Use the profile bio to steer readers to your web site or Facebook page. Get a catchy image for your icon. If you decide to change/shorten your Twitter handle, you can do it without losing your followers. A big decision is whether to create a handle for one specific film or you as a filmmaker. I think the latter strategy is longer-lasting. Also readers prefer to follow a person more than a promotional feed.
2) Communicate w/ popular users in the film world: See the STF list of Top 100 Twitter users in the documentary world; and Twitter’s list of documentary streams. You can catch the attention of other users by mentioning them in Tweets, like “Watch our new trailer… cc: @thompowers”
The new Stranger Than Fiction season will start with a screening of BROOKLYN CASTLE by Katie Dellamaggiore
Stranger Than Fiction this week announced the lineup for its Fall 2012 season, which kicks off with a special Thursday, Sept. 27 screening of Katie Dellamaggiore’s BROOKLYN CASTLE, which premiered at South by Southwest this year and earned the festival’s doc audience award. Also in the lineup is Matthew Heineman and Susan Fromke’s ESCAPE FIRE: THE FIGHT TO RESCUE AMERICAN HEALTHCARE; Don Argott & Sheena M. Joyce’s THE ATOMIC STATES OF AMERICA; Gary Conklin’s GORE VIDAL: THE MAN WHO SAID NO; and several other films. The season’s closing night, Nov. 20, will feature Jonathan Caouette’s latest feature, WALK AWAY RENEE. Season passes for STF are available for $99—$75 if you’re already an IFC member—which will get you free popcorn at each screening, a DVD from distributor Docurama Films, the ability to share your pass with a friend if you can’t make a show, and a guaranteed-seat at the often sold-out screenings, as long as you show up at least 15 minutes before showtime.
News about programming at the Toronto International Film Festival, which runs Sept. 6-16, is still trickling out. The festival released the full list of its Mavericks program, which features on-stage dialogues with film industry figures. The festival also released additional details on its Docs Conference, specifically that HBO Documentary Films President Sheila Nevins would be delivering the event’s keynote address.
The Los Angeles Times Saturday, Aug. 25 reported that Syrian documentary filmmaker Orwa Nairabiya, 35, had been missing since Thursday, Aug. 23, and that his friends and family feared that he had been detained by security forces with the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Nairabiya is a founder of the annual DOX BOX International Documentary Film Festival, which this past March was canceled by organizers in protest of the government’s violent suppression of political dissidents. Observers said Nairabiya’s disappearance was likely tied to the government’s crackdown on pro-democracy artists.
The season premiere of Independent Lens will feature Macky Alston’s film LOVE FREE OR DIE.
PBS documentary show Independent Lens on Tuesday, August 14 announced a partial lineup for its 2012-13 season, set to begin on October 29. The new season also marks the show’s move to Mondays, following a Thursday timeslot that filmmakers had protested as partially responsible for a sharp drop in viewership for both Independent Lens and POV.
The new season will kick off with LOVE FREE OR DIE, director Macky Alston’s portrait of Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay person in that church to become a bishop. Also in the fall season will be Brad Lichtenstein’s AS GOES JANESVILLE, about a Wisconsin town struggling to adapt to the closure of a GM plant and SOLAR MAMAS, Jehane Noujaim and Mona Eldaief’s look at India’s Barefoot College, which gives impoverished women the education and skills they need to succeed. The show’s second half of the season will contain several festival heavies, including Eugene Jarecki’s THE HOUSE I LIVE IN; DETROPIA by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady; and AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY by Alison Klayman.
The New York Film Festival on Friday, August 17 revealed the main slate lineup for its 50th edition, set to run September 28 – October 14. A fair number of docs were included in the list, including Paolo and Vittorio Taviani’s CAESAR MUST DIE, which won the Golden Bear prize at this year’s Berlinale. Making its world premiere at the festival will be a new film from Alan Berliner, FIRST COUSIN ONCE REMOVED, about poet and translator Edwin Honig’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
The Patrick Shen-directed film LA SOURCE is among those docs screening at LA’s DocuWeeks program.
The Los Angeles component of DocuWeeks, the theatrical documentary showcase overseen by the International Documentary Association (IDA) began on Friday, August 10, and is set to run through August 30. Susan King of the Los Angeles Times profiled the film program, taking a closer look at Patrick Shen’s film LA SOURCE, about a Haitian hoping to provide his village clean water. Christopher Campbell of the Documentary Channel blog also noted the launch of the LA portion of the DocuWeeks program, but took a closer look at the New York City DocuWeeks program, which is set to run through August 23.
The film world this week lost director Mel Stuart, a filmmaker perhaps best known for directing the 1971 version of the film WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, but who also won awards for his work as a documentary producer and editor. Adam Benzine of Realscreen provided a rundown of Benzine’s impressive body of doc work, and he was also remembered on the IDA blog by Thomas White.
The friends of director John Maringouin (BIG RIVER MAN, RUNNING STUMBLED) have rallied to raise funds to help pay for desperately needed cancer treatment. While almost $36,000 has been raised thus far, Maringouin needs at least almost $60,000 as a down payment just to get the surgery scheduled. If interested in making a contribution, or to learn more about Maringouin, please click here.
The Toronto International Film Festival announced its full doc lineup last week.
The Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday, July 31 officially announced its full doc lineup, after the festival’s gala and special screening were announced the previous week. At Realscreen, Adam Benzine spoke with our own Thom Powers—TIFF’s doc programmer—about this year’s selections, which are intended to highlight newer names to the doc world. Benzine also produced a pretty comprehensive rundown of some films to look out for at the festival. But the LA Times’ Nicole Sperling noted that the festival will feature new films from some heavy hitters as well, including the prolific Alex Gibney, PBS stalwart Ken Burns and Britain’s Julian Temple. Gibney’s new film, MEA MAXIMA CULPA, focuses on the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal, while Burns’ new work, THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE, examines the wrongful conviction of several boys charged with the rape of a Central Park jogger. At the Documentary Bog, Jay Cheel hunted down the trailers for several of the films bowing at TIFF.
The doc world this week lost one of its most enigmatic and inspiring heroes in Chris Marker, born Christian Francois Bouche-Villeneuve, the director of such films as SANS SOLEIL and LA JETEE. The range of tributes that hit the web after are a tribute to the wide-ranging impact and influence that Marker had on the filmmaking world. At the New York Times, Dennis Lim penned a great obit for Marker, noting his forward thinking approach to filmmaking in describing him as a “transmedia artist long before the term was coined.” Ronald Bergan of The Guardian also wrote an obit for Marker, describing him as the inventor of the cinematic essay. Realscreen’s Kevin Ritchie rounded up some tributes from other accomplished filmmakers that began to populate the web and social media as news of Marker’s passing spread. At the Documentary Channel blog, Christopher Campbell did the same. Zachary Wigon at Filmmaker Magazine also wrote a heartfelt encomium for Marker. For those interested in seeing at least some of Marker’s work, LA JETEE is available for viewing at the Short of the Week website.
Docuweeks kicked off its 16th year in New York City on August 3. The program will run until August 23 here, and from August 10-30 in Los Angeles. Ernest Hardy of The Village Voice provided an in-depth look at the film program, which is presented by the International Documentary Association. Christopher Campbell also has a nice overview, complete with trailers for several of the film. And Basil Tsiokos of the What Not to Doc blog noted a handful of films on his must-see list.
