Category Archives: Film

Coming to theatres (as part of the International Documentary Association’s Oscar-qualifying DocuWeeks) at NYC’s IFC Center this Friday, August 10 and at LA’s Laemmle NoHo 7 on Friday, August 17: RICKY ON LEACOCK

Jane Weiner’s nearly 40-years-in-the-making tribute to her mentor made its world premiere at Brazil’s It’s All True. The film next screened at Bologna’s Biografilm, where the organizers created an award in Leacock’s name.

Richard Leacock, who died early last year, is recognized as one of the most influential documentarians in the world for his revolutionary work in creating low-cost, portable camera and sound recording equipment, and his related work with Robert Drew, DA Pennebaker, and Albert Maysles in developing cinema verité. Just as he learned from the acclaimed Robert Flaherty, working as his cameraman for the documentary hybrid LOUISIANA STORY, novice filmmaker Jane Weiner approached Leacock in 1972 to learn from him as she made a documentary about him. The result, filmed intermittently over the next four decades, and including not only Leacock, but Pennebacker, Drew, and influential French film figures like the Cinématheque Française’s Henri Langlois and master filmmaker Jean Rouch, is clearly a personal labor of love for Weiner. Eschewing conventional approaches to biography, with a linear recitation of the subject’s birth, early life, significant achievements, and death, Weiner instead works with the free-flowing nature of the footage she captured over the years to impart to the viewer “the feeling of being there,” Leacock’s signature. Bookended with Leacock preparing dinner for friends sometime in the 70s, the film travels through his past and future to reveal his life through intimate and engaging interviews and fantastic clips from his work, revealing fascinating details about the origins of observational documentary that his colleagues and he made possible. As such, it’s a must-see for documentary filmmakers and fans, who should recognize and reflect on these pioneers and their achievements.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, August 7: 13 FAMILIES: LIFE AFTER COLUMBINE

Nicole Corbin, Steve LuKanic, and Mark David Katchur’s profile of the families of the Columbine school shooting victims premiered last Spring at a special screening hosted by the Denver Film Society. It also screened this past November at the ArcLight Documentary Festival in Hollywood.

Twelve students and one teacher were killed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold on April 20, 1999 in one of the deadliest school shootings in US history. Corbin, LuKanic, and Katchur present a respectful portrait of these victims through those who were affected most by their violent deaths – their parents, siblings, and other family members. Reflecting on the incidents of that day, and how they learned that their loved ones were lost, these families share the grief and, for some, anger, that many are still processing more than a decade later – some through public support of gun control, others in more quiet ways. At the same time, the subjects offer viewers a personal and deep appreciation for the victims – their personalities and characters – and the impact their deaths had on the families. Perhaps most interestingly, multiple interviewees note the strength they gained from other families, all going through the same process together, as well as the typically unaddressed effect the trauma had on surviving siblings. Despite a tendency to rely on talking heads and an overuse of music, the documentary is affecting and unfortunately all too relevant, given the continued incidents of school shootings and gun deaths – while the film explicitly notes the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, the tragic DARK KNIGHT RISES shooting in Aurora CO that claimed twelves lives last month serves as sad evidence that lessons have not yet been learned from the Columbine tragedy.

Coming to PBS’ ITVS series Global Voices this Sunday, August 5: THE COLLABORATOR AND HIS FAMILY

Ruthie Shatz and Adi Barash’s intimate portrait of a Palestinian family seeking political asylum in Israel made its world premiere at Visions du Réel last year. Its festival circuit has included Hot Docs, Antenna, DMZ Docs, Planete Doc, DocAviv, DocLisboa, and Yamagata, picking up awards at the latter three.

I wrote about the film out of Hot Docs here.

Coming to NYC’s Film Forum next Wednesday, August 8: MEET THE FOKKENS

Rob Schröder and Gabriëlle Provaas’ portrait of two sexworker siblings made its premiere last year at IDFA. Additional festivals have included Planete Doc, Hot Docs, and Silverdocs.

I included the film in my Hot Docs coverage here.