Category Archives: Film

August 10, 2011 · 12:01 PM

Dear Documentary Filmmakers: Topicality

Dear Documentary Filmmakers: Have you spent years on your film only to end up w a horribly dated topic?

Non-fiction projects can take a significant amount of time to come to completion. Years can pass by as you follow your subjects and chronicle developments in their lives related to the topic you’ve chosen to pursue. The lack of adequate financial resources might lead you to take a stop-and-start approach to working on your film. At times you might wonder if you’ll ever finish your documentary. If you eventually find the time and the resources to bring it to a completed state, will the film feel fresh and interesting, or will it seem to audiences like a relic from whatever year you started the project?

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August 10, 2011 · 10:30 AM

indieWIRE @ Hulu Docs: (Loosely) Inspired By GLEE

The GLEE 3D concert film opens this weekend. While it’s not a documentary, it got me thinking about docs featuring young people performing, so the popular TV show loosely inspired this week’s indieWIRE-curated Hulu documentaries page. View all of these docs for free now!

For more information about the selections, see my iW article.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Indiewire @ Hulu Docs, Recommendations

August 9, 2011 · 12:01 PM

In Theatres and DVD/VOD: DAMN!

Coming to NYC’s Cinema Village this Friday, August 12 and to DVD/VOD on August 16: DAMN!

Aaron Fischer Cohen has brought his film on Jimmy “The rent is too damn high!” McMillan to a couple of festivals, and now brings it to theatres.

I wrote about the doc last month here.

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August 9, 2011 · 10:30 AM

In Theatres: BETTER THIS WORLD

Coming to theatres (as part of the International Documentary Association’s Oscar-qualifying DocuWeeks) this Friday, August 12 (NYC’s IFC Center) and on Friday, August 26 (LA’s Laemmle Sunset 5): BETTER THIS WORLD

Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega’s engrossing and disturbing exploration of a case of co-called domestic terrorism has been popular on the festival circuit since its world premiere at SXSW this year.

My thoughts on the film after SXSW are here.

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August 8, 2011 · 10:30 AM

In Theatres: DARWIN

Coming to theatres (as part of the International Documentary Association’s Oscar-qualifying DocuWeeks) this Friday, August 12 (NYC’s IFC Center) and next Friday, August 19 (LA’s Laemmle Sunset 5): DARWIN

Nick Brandestini’s portrait of an unusual, isolated community has already been a festival award winner.

I included the film in my roundup of docs screened at Karlovy Vary last month here.

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August 5, 2011 · 12:01 PM

In the Works: PLIMPTON! STARRING GEORGE PLIMPTON AS HIMSELF

In PLIMPTON! STARRING GEORGE PLIMPTON AS HIMSELF, directors Tom Bean and Luke Poling construct a compelling portrait of the extraordinary life of the quintessential everyman.

George Plimpton became known to the general public for being a veritable jack of all trades, spearheading what he called “participatory journalism” while writing for Sports Illustrated. Rather than simply write about the Detroit Lions, for example, he became a Detroit Lion, embedding himself in the team to gain a first-hand perspective on their culture and dynamics. He parlayed such escapades into a career as a successful author and television personality. Before, during, and after these adventures, Plimpton’s circle was a bit more rarefied – as the founding editor of The Paris Review, he helped to discover some of the leading writers of the second half of the 20th Century. The film explores the disparate sides of this complex but always strangely likable and approachable figure.

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August 5, 2011 · 10:30 AM

In Theatres: SENNA

Coming to theatres next Friday, August 12: SENNA

Asif Kapadia’s doc debut charts the story of Ayrton Senna, the legendary Formula One world champion. It’s North American premiere at this year’s Sundance, where it took home the World Cinema Audience Award, showed that the beautifully constructed film can score with non-racing fans as well as its core sports fan base.

I profiled the doc before its Sundance debut here.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Releases, Sundance

August 4, 2011 · 10:30 AM

Special Screening: AT THE EDGE OF RUSSIA

Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films next Wednesday, August 10: AT THE EDGE OF RUSSIA

Director Michal Marczak has already had success on the festival circuit with his first feature, picking up awards at Nyon, Hot Docs, and Planete Doc Review, in addition to screening at other renowned festivals like Karlovy Vary and True/False.

I wrote about the film out of True/False for indieWIRE, saying:

A newcomer plays a central role in Polish director Marczak’s stunningly shot debut doc feature. The fresh-faced Alexei arrives in remote Siberia to serve as a border guard and is put through his paces by the grizzled and more experienced older soldiers already stationed there. With no women in sight – aside from fatigue-clad girls on calendars – the men act like boys when they’re not practicing drills or digging ice shelters: singing songs, arm-wrestling, and cracking jokes to pass the time in a region that the closing titles reveal has never even had any border encroachment. Like other T/F titles FAKE IT SO REAL and fellow soldier-focused ARMADILLO, AT THE EDGE OF RUSSIA provides a fascinating portrait of a fraternity of men, passing on wisdom despite being stuck in an absurd situation.

Note: Marczak will be present for a post-screening Q&A.

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August 3, 2011 · 12:46 PM

Dear Documentary Filmmakers: Myopia

Dear Documentary Filmmakers: Behind-the-scenes docs on the making of unseen films generally have an audience of none.

If you (or a friend or colleague) have made a film that has not been seen by anyone outside of cast/crew and maybe family/friends, your doc about the making of that film is most likely a non-starter – at least as a standalone project. It’s not something you probably should be submitting to festivals or broadcasters.

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