Category Archives: Documentary

Festival:
The 21st RIDM

Dates:
November 8-18

About:
More than 80 new and recent nonfiction features screen at this well-respected Montreal event

Thirteen titles vie for recognition in the Canadian Featryre Competition, including: Thierry Loa’s 20-22 OMEGA, a music-driven look at mankind’s impact on our world; Nadine Gomez’s EXARCHEIA, LE CHANT DES OISEAUX, an immersion into the Athens neighborhood that’s become a refuge for migrants; Sami Mermer and Hind Benchekroun’s XALKO, a personal reflection on a small Kurdish village whose men have migrated away; Julien Elie’s DARK SUNS, which looks at the continuing legacy of unpunished femicides in Mexico; and Dan Popa’s SYMPHONY IN AQUAMARINE, an essay about people who live or work near the ocean.

The fest’s International Feature Competition includes a dozen titles, among them: Kristina Konrad’s UNAS PREGUNTAS, a look back at how Uruguay responded to an amnesty proposal for its military leaders 30 years ago; Zhang Mengqi’s SELF-PORTRAIT: SPHINX IN 47 KM, a meditation on the disappearance of rural China due to economic migration; Donal Foreman’s THE IMAGE YOU MISSED, a personal reflection on the filmmaker’s late father, a filmmaker himself; Salomé Lamas’ EXTINCTION, a hybrid exploring questions around national identity, centered around the unrecognized state of Transnistria.

Work appearing in the fest’s Midlength Competitions includes: Shehrezad Maher’s THIS SHAKING KEEPS ME STEADY, a hybrid exploring memory and trauma in Pakistan; Toni Geitani’s THE DISAPPEARANCE OF GOYA, an exploration of Lebanon’s conflict-ridden past; and Shahab Mihandoust and Ariane Lorrain’s ZAGROS, a look at the vanishing art of carpet weaving in the mountains of Iran.

Non-competitive strands include La Bête Humaine, with Giorgio Ferrero and Federico Biasin’s BEAUTIFUL THINGS, an exploration of people and the objects of their consumption; Christine Chevarie-Lessard’s A DELICATE BALANCE, an inside look at a ballet school; and Joseph Hillel’s CITY DREAMERS, which profiles unheralded female architects; The State of the World, which offers Jonathan Durand’s MEMORY IS OUR HOMELAND, a personal exploration of what happened to Poles who were exiled to Africa after spending WWII in Siberian labor camps; and Julien Fréchette’s MY WAR, about Westerners who have joined the Kurdish defense forces; Portraits, with films like Søren Steen Jespersen and Nasib Farah’s LOST WARRIOR, about a young British Muslim couple who become involved with Al-Shabaab; and ARTifice, with Jean-Nicolas Orhon’s ENSEMBLE, an observational portrait of a Montreal orchestra.

Festival:
DOC NYC

Dates:
November 8-15

Section:
Shorts, curated by programmer Opal H. Bennett: Continue reading →

Festival:
DOC NYC

Dates:
November 8-15

Section:
DOC NYC PRO, our 8-day conference for nonfiction professionals, organized by Deborah Rudolph and Eric Johnson. Each day features two distinct, subject-themed programming tracks of panels, doubling 2017’s offerings:

THURSDAY, NOV 8: THE STATE OF DOCUMENTARY
Filmmakers, distributors and industry executives lead conversations examining the documentary world from artistic, business and financial perspectives and discuss how to succeed in today’s landscape.

THURSDAY, NOV 8: FIRST-TIME FILMMAKER
Immerse yourself in panel discussions providing specific, in-depth and enlightening studies for emerging documentary filmmakers.

FRIDAY, NOV 9: THE SHORT LIST
Listen in on a special day of conversations with the filmmakers featured in the DOC NYC Short List section that highlights 15 of the year’s standout documentaries.

FRIDAY, NOV 9: SERIES FOCUS
Find out what you need to know about how to construct, pitch, develop and create your series idea and delve into the details with a case study of one of 2018’s most acclaimed series, BOBBY KENNEDY FOR PRESIDENT.

SATURDAY, NOV 10: MASTERING YOUR CRAFT: EDITING
The first of two days focusing on the craft of nonfiction filmmaking. Saturday’s sessions will break down and delve into all aspects of documentary editing.

SATURDAY, NOV 10: SHOWCASES
Hear directly from distributors on the content they are producing and the types of projects they look for, plus a get a glimpse of content they have in their pipelines.

SUNDAY, NOV 11: MASTERING YOUR CRAFT: CINEMATOGRAPHY
In the second of two days focusing on the craft of nonfiction filmmaking, we dive deep into all aspects of documentary cinematography.

SUNDAY, NOV 11: AMERICAN SNAPSHOTS
Dive into discussions of prominent themes in the current American discourse, including race, gender, politics, religion and free speech, and how documentary films can offer a window into America in 2018.

MONDAY, NOV 12: PITCH PERFECT & IF/THEN AMERICAN SHORTS NORTHEAST
Twelve projects give their pitches to industry experts at this special daylong event.

MONDAY, NOV 12: SHORT FORM STYLINGS
Join conversations focused on how opportunities for short form content have exploded in recent years, and discover what’s next for shorts.

TUESDAY, NOV 13: SMART PRODUCING
Learn how to roll with the punches, address various challenges and be an effective producer in a competitive and complex landscape.

TUESDAY, NOV 13: POST-PRODUCTION SECRETS
Engage with a series of panel discussions with artists and industry professionals in the fields of composing, animation, graphics, post-sound and more.

WEDNESDAY, NOV 14: SHOW ME THE MONEY
Spend the day devoted to the fundamental issue of funding, addressing practical skills, sustainability, legal concerns and learning from others experiences.

WEDNESDAY, NOV 14: EVERYTHING ARCHIVAL
Join a day of in depth discussions ranging from the introductory to the expert use of archival materials, including a look at how RBG, one of the year’s most successful docs, used archival to great effect.

THURSDAY, NOV 15: MAKE YOUR CAREER
Explore ways to create a lasting, sustainable career in documentary film in this series of conversations with filmmakers and industry veterans.

THURSDAY, NOV 15: DOC LAW SCHOOL
Come to law school, with a full day devoted to legal issues and questions about making documentaries today.

More Info:
For full descriptions of individual panels, expected panelists, and updates, click on the different dat themes above. To access DOC NYC PRO programming, purchase one of DOC NYC’s several Pass options.