Short docs, such as Oscar-winning film INOCENTE, face changes in awards rules from AMPAS.
Writing for The Wrap, Steve Pond this week reported that the Academy for Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) had turned their attention to an overhaul of rules governing the short documentary award. Similarly to the changes visited by the Academy last year on the feature documentary award, the new changes were intended to open voting up to more Academy members. Guy Lodge of HitFix also had coverage of the new changes.
Scott Macaulay of Filmmaker Magazine profiled Tugg, the online platform that allowed viewers to organize theatrical screenings of films. Writing for Indiewire, Erin Whitney reported that Tugg and Codeblack Films were working to make the film FREE ANGELA & ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS available at theaters across the country. In a post for the Reel Politik column at Indiewire, Anthony Kaufman highlighted a viral video being used to promote the film.
If you can’t wait for Tugg to do its work, you’re in luck. This week Stranger Than Fiction is hosting a screening of FREE ANGELA on Tuesday, April 2 at 8 p.m. at the IFC Center. Director Shola Lynch will be in attendance and will hold and audience Q&A following the screening. For more information or to buy tickets, go here.
Continue reading…
Among the films included in POV's upcoming season are HERMAN'S HOUSE from director Angad Singh Bhalla
POV this week announced the lineup for its 26th season, which includes a solid lineup of festival darlings such as 5 BROKEN CAMERAS from directors Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi; HERMAN’S HOUSE from director Angad Singh Bhalla; and ONLY THE YOUNG from directors Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims, among several other great titles. Adam Benzine of Realscreen covered the announcement, as did Alison Willmore of Indiewire.
Canada’s Hot Docs festival also announced it’s full lineup this week; you can check out the full schedule for the festival, set to run April 25 – May 5 in Toronto, by going here. Realscreen’s Adam Benzine also had coverage of the announcement.
Continue reading…
William and the Windmill from director Ben Nabors won the grand jury prize for feature documentary film at SXSW this year.
The South by Southwest Film Festival handed out awards on Tuesday, with the grand jury prize for feature documentary going to WILLIAM AND THE WINDMILL from director Ben Nabors. The film WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS from directors AJ Schnack and David Wilson took home the special jury prize for directing. Later in the week THE SHORT GAME from Joshua Greenbaum nabbed the doc audience award. Adam Benzine of Realscreen had the news, while Scott Macaulay of Filmmaker Magazine listed all of the festival’s winners. At Indiewire, Eric Kohn reviewed WILLIAM AND THE WINDMILL, while Mary Anderson Casavant of Filmmaker Magazine spoke with Schnack and Wilson about STRANGERS.
In other SXSW news, Basil Tsiokos shared part one of his recap of docs screening at the festival. Brian Anthony Hernandez of Mashable recapped the Alex Winter-helmed doc on Napster, DOWNLOADED. The AP’s Michael Brick recapped the premiere of the Snoop Lion (nee Dogg) biopic REINCARNATED from director Andy Capper. Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times reported on the Kathleen Hanna doc from Sini Anderson, THE PUNK SINGER. At The Daily Beast, Marlow Stern took a look at Michal Marczak’s FUCK FOR FOREST.
Alison Willmore of Indiewire reported that video hosting site Vimeo would debut a VOD service for filmmakers, splitting the revenues 90/10 in favor of the filmmakers. Sean Holmquest of the POV blog spoke with Vimeo’s Blake Whitman about the new initiative.
Continue reading…
The film WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS premiered at this year's SXSW festival.
It’s far too easy for jaded cynics from the coasts to think of the U.S.’s “heartland” (a conception that itself is a complicated one) as a monolithic culture of guns, jingoism and intolerance. A studied rebuke to the dismissive idea of the flyover state, WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS from directors AJ Schnack and David Wilson challenges any number of these presumptions in its investigation of Branson, Missouri–a town with a population of about 10,000 that channels some 7.5 million tourists through it on an annual basis.
Branson, situated in the highland region of the Ozarks, appropriates the neon flash of Broadway and Vegas, but promises an ideal of wholesome entertainment bereft of uncouth language or nudity–essentially anything that could easily be considered offensive by social conservatives. In the tradition of much escapist entertainment, performances in Branson’s theaters seem infused with a Stepford-esque aesthetic that belies complicated realities: a saccharine ode to the American flag and the U.S. armed forces is presented without consideration for the terrible costs of war.
Continue reading…
AATSINKI: THE STORY OF ARCTIC COWBOYS from fimmaker Jessica Oreck is one of the films in competition at Tribeca this year.
Festival news was thick this week. The Tribeca Film Festival this week announced its lineup in two parts. At Filmmaker Magazine, Scott Macaulay had the first bit of news, which included the documentaries in competition, while his colleague Nick Dawson had the second chunk of news about spotlights, special screenings and more. At About.com, Jennifer Merin focused her attention to the docs in competition and the docs in the viewpoints section. At Realscreen, Adam Benzine covered the news similarly, noting the competition films and others getting a premiere. In a post for Indiewire, Anthony Kaufman highlighted some of the docs screening at Tribeca that he thought noteworthy.
Canada’s Hot Docs also announced 28 films screening as part of their Special Presentations program. Back at Realscreen Adam Benzine covered the news, while Etan Vlessing of The Hollywood Reporter pointed out some of the premieres in the announcement.
Full Frame, which runs in Durham, North Carolina, April 4-7 had news of its lineup this week, and that it would open with the Dawn Porter film GIDEON’S ARMY; Kelly Anderson of Realscreen had the details.
Continue reading…
