One of South America’s signature non-fiction events, Brazil’s It’s All True International Documentary Film Festival, kicks off its 18th edition this Thursday, April 4 and runs through Sunday, April 14 in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The event then goes on tour, presenting films in Brasilia (April 16-21) and Campinas (April 23-28), all for free. Featuring more than eighty films from over twenty-five countries, the festival includes competitions for international and Brazilian features and shorts, an overview of recent international work, special sidebars, and two retrospectives – one on seminal Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov and the other on 1980s’ Brazilian documentarian Silvio Tendler. Continue reading
Category Archives: Film Festivals
It’s All True 2013 Overview
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Full Frame 2013 Overview
The 16th edition of Durham NC’s acclaimed non-fiction showcase, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, opens this Thursday, April 4, with Dawn Porter’s Sundance award-winning GIDEON’S ARMY, and continues through Sunday, April 6, presenting nearly a hundred programs of new and retrospective films, as well as panels and other events. Among the special series this year are a tribute to filmmaker Jessica Yu, which includes screenings of her past notable work, as well as the world premiere of her new short about sustainability in Mozambique, THE GUIDE; and “Stories About Stories,” a thematic sidebar of films exploring truth and storytelling in documentaries, including classics like Orson Welles’ F FOR FAKE, Amir Bar-Lev’s MY KID COULD PAINT THAT, and even Larry Charles’ BORAT, as well as Sarah Polley’s recent STORIES WE TELL.
Director of Programming Sadie Tillery and her team have curated a typically impressive lineup of recent non-fiction titles, many which I’ve covered out of other festivals like Toronto, IDFA, Sundance, and SXSW over the past several months. Beyond these films, Full Frame is presenting several docs which are making their debuts here, which I’ll spotlight below: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2013 in Brief, Part Three
This post wraps up my coverage of this year’s Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – previous postings may be found here (a pointer to my Indiewire coverage of several Greek titles and works-in-progress) and here (highlights from three fest sections). Below are thoughts on a number of the remaining sections, “Recordings of Memory,” “Habitat,” and “Human Rights.” Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, In Brief, Recommendations
In the Works: 2013 Wallabout Film Festival
For the past few years, the undergraduate course I teach at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute culminates in the Wallabout Film Festival, a one-day event that is completely organized by my students – from programming to party planning and everything in between. This year’s Wallabout, the 5th anniversary edition, will take place at indieScreen on Thursday, April 18, showcasing student short films from Pratt and around the world.
Earlier this week, my students launched a crowdfunding campaign on a new platform, Crowdtilt, to raise much-needed funds for Wallabout. With less than a month to go, they (and I) would welcome any contributions, and would appreciate it if w(n)td readers spread the word about the campaign via social media or email to anyone who might be interested in supporting student filmmakers and film festivals. And, of course, if readers are in Brooklyn on April 18, consider coming to Wallabout!
Filed under Film, Film Festivals, In the Works, Recommendations
Cleveland International Film Festival 2013: Documentary Overview
One of the country’s best-regarded regional film events, the Cleveland International Film Festival, opens next Wednesday, April 3 and runs through Sunday, April 14. I’ve only attended CIFF once, and was impressed by the dedication of its audience, who eschew parties to cram as many films as possible into their schedules. Showing remarkable audience growth over the past several years, this year’s edition, its 37th, has expanded its programming selections, offering nearly 180 feature length and more than 160 short films. Included among these are more than 70 feature length docs, appearing in various sidebars – from the LGBT-oriented “10% Cinema” to the femme focused “Women of the World” – and part of a number of competitions, highlighted below: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2013 in Brief, Part Two
Earlier this week, I posted a pointer to my Indiewire article on different aspects of this year’s Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, including the Docs in Progress selections, several of the Greek films, and the awards. In this and one additional post later this week, I’ll cover a number of other titles screened in the TDF’s various sections. First up, highlights from “Views of the World,” “Stories to Tell,” and “Portraits – Human Journeys.” Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, In Brief, Recommendations
In Theatres & On VOD: ROOM 237
Coming to theatres and VOD this Friday, March 29: ROOM 237
Rodney Ascher’s creative exploration of cinephilic obsession centered around THE SHINING made its debut at Sundance last year. It’s gone on to screen at Cannes, New York, Toronto, Fantastic Fest, and Chicago, among others. In addition to theatrical engagements, the doc will be available on VOD via iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Playstation, XBOX, Vudu, and Time Warner.
I previously profiled the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2013 in Brief, Part One
I just returned from the mother(and father)land last night, having spent five days in Greece for the 15th anniversary Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. It was my second year attending the event for Indiewire, and my article is now up here, covering the awards, the Docs in Progress section, and several of the Greek films – THE GROCER, pictured, represents all three. I plan on posting here later this week with thoughts on additional films screened.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, In Brief, Recommendations
Cinéma du Reél 2013 Overview
Paris’ documentary festival, Cinéma du Réel, opens tomorrow, Thursday, March 21, and runs through Sunday, March 31. Since 1979, the event has promoted non-fiction film at the famed Le Centre Pompidou and other locations around Paris. This year’s edition includes nearly forty new feature length documentaries, plus scores of shorts, retrospective screenings, panels, installations, and other special events. Although I’m not attending, the following offers some highlights from this year’s program: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
SXSW 2013: Docs in Brief, Part Three: Other Sections
My coverage of non-fiction films from the just completed SXSW wraps up with this look at a few films each from four of the non-competitive sections of the festival, Visions, Special Events, SXGlobal, and 24 Beats Per Second – I previously wrote about Competition and Documentary Spotlight titles. Once again, I didn’t have the opportunity to see all the films in these sections that I was hoping to, and would single out a few that were also on my list – THE GREAT HIP HOP HOAX, THE PUNK SINGER, and BAYOU MAHARAJAH – that I’d like to catch elsewhere. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, In Brief, Recommendations
