With Telluride, Venice and Toronto just days away from premiering brand new titles from the likes of Herzog, Malick, Morris, James and more, the fall festival fervor is beginning to mount, as both the New York Film Festival and the Camden International Film Festival have revealed their documentary lineups. Unsurprisingly, the offerings are A-list all around. From September 27-29, the International Documentary Association will host its Getting Real ’16 conference in Los Angeles, featuring keynotes from Ava DuVernay, Shola Lynch, and Steve James, as well as live conversations with Mark Cousins, Ezra Edelman, Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman. Interested parties can register for the event here.

A bit further down the pipeline, DOC NYC is prepping for their fall festivities by announcing that Jonathan Demme and Stanley Nelson will both receive Lifetime Achievement Awards and A&E IndieFilms’ Molly Thompson will take home the Leading Light Award from this year’s Visionaries Tribute, scheduled to take place November 10. Looking even further into the future, Anne Thompson has published her early doc Oscar predictions at IndieWire, listing GLEASON, LIFE, ANIMATED, OJ: MADE IN AMERICA, WEINER and ZERO DAYS as the current frontrunners. And while on the topic of honors and awards, the Library of Congress is currently accepting nominations for the 2016 National Film Registry.

Continue reading…

---

This week the documentary THE DOG from directors Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren reached movie theaters. At the New York Times, Manohla Dargis awarded the film a NYT Critics’ Pick, while Diane Anderson-Minshall of The Advocate also wrote on the film. Josh Modell reviewed the film for the A.V. Club, while Susan King of the Los Angeles Times spoke to the filmmakers.

The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship has opened its call for applicants for 2015. The fellowship helps emerging documentary editors to hone their craft by providing them with resources and mentorship over the course of a year. The fellowship was founded to honor Karen Schmeer, a film editor who was killed in a hit-and-run-accident in 2010.

The NYC-based Diverse Filmmakers Alliance is also in search of applicants for its inaugural year. The alliance is designed to give filmmakers feedback in an environment that is aware of and acknowledges the politics and power dynamics inherent in the relationship between a filmmaker and their subjects. For more information, or to apply, please go here.

Continue reading…

---