DocuWeeks 2009 alums Severe Clear (Dir.: Kristian Fraga) and Kimjongilia (Dir.: NC Heikin) open in theaters this month, as does IDA Fiscal Sponsoree See What I'm Saying (Dir.: Hilari Scarl). Also on tap for March are a couple of Hollywood-oriented docs: Peter Hanson and Paul Robert Herman's Tales from the Script, about the art and business-and travails-of the screenwriting trade; and Don Hahn's Waking Sleeping Beauty, a chronicle of golden age of animated blockbusters, from The Little Mermaid through The Lion King. New York's Film Forum brackets the month with Felix Moeller's Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss, about Third Reich era filmmaker Veit Harlan and his troubled and troubling legacy; and The Sun Behind the Clouds, from Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, about Tibet's ongoing struggle for independence.
Opening: March 3
Venue: Film Forum/New York City
Film: Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss
Dir./Wtr.: Felix Moeller
Distributor: Zeitgeist Films
http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/harlan/
The infamous Jew Süss (1940), directed by Veit Harlan, and produced under Joseph Goebbels's Ministry of Propaganda, was the Nazis' most vicious anti-Semitic film. A drama set in 18th century Germany, it purports to tell the true story of a Jew who dresses incognito (as a Christian), corrupts a local Duke, restructures the government to bleed the people through punitive taxes, and forces himself upon a beautiful, married Christian woman (played by Kristina Söderbaum, Harlan's third wife). At the war's end, the filmmaker was prosecuted for crimes against humanity, but acquitted. Today, his children and grandchildren consider his legacy and the hard questions it continues to pose. Some have changed their name and left Germany. Others claim he was forced to direct the film and deride it as loathsome, crudely-made propaganda. Harlan is a fascinating exploration into the murky waters of a family's unique, disturbing relationship to one of history's worst crimes.
Opening: March 12
Venue: Angelika Film Center/New York City; Gaslamp Stadium/San Diego
Film: Severe Clear
Dir./Wtr.: Kristian Fraga
Distributor: Sirk Productions
http://severeclearthemovie.com/wordpress/
Severe Clear is based on the memoir by First Lieutenant Mike Scotti as well as video footage shot by him and other members of 1st Battalion, 4th Marines on the outset of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Opening: March 12
Venue: Quad Cinemas/New York City
Film: Tales from the Script
Dir.: Peter Hanson
Prods./Wtrs.: Peter Hanson, Paul Robert Herman
Distributor: First Run Features
http://www.talesfromthescript.com/
Few modern art forms are as misunderstood as the craft of screenwriting, because the collaborative nature of filmmaking and the dominance of celebrity actors and directors obscures the contributions of screenwriters. So if you're a writer eager to break into Hollywood or simply a movie buff excited to hear the stories behind your favorite films, this unique nonfiction book/documentary film project will captivate you with insights into the wild and mysterious world of Hollywood screenwriting.
Enjoy inside conversations with the men and women who dreamed up some of the world's most beloved movie characters. Learn how they surmounted the incredible odds against breaking into Hollywood, and discover the myriad ways in which they transformed their ideas into films that topped the box office, launched the careers of major stars, and earned them Oscars. The stories behind the storytellers are as exciting, surprising, and inspirational as the narratives of their celebrated films.
In addition to name-brand talents, Tales from the Script features newcomers whose stories prove that talented people can write their way into the top ranks of the movie industry.
Tales from the Script puts readers into the trenches of the Hollywood development process through colorful stories about Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Adam Sandler, Joel Silver, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and many more. Entertaining, startling, and uplifting, this collection is a pure pleasure for those who dream of writing the Great American Screenplay--it's a master class taught by those who made that dream come true.
Opening: March 18
Venue: Egyptian Theatre/Los Angeles
Film: See What I'm Saying
Dir./Prod: Hilari Scarl
Distributor: Sprint
http://www.seewhatimsayingmovie.com/
Deaf people can do anything but hear. But an all deaf rock band? An international deaf comic famous around the world but unknown to hearing people? A modern-day Buster Keaton who teaches at Juilliard but is currently homeless? A hard-of-hearing singer who is considered "not deaf enough?"
See What I'm Saying follows the journeys of four extraordinary deaf entertainers over the course of a single year as their stories intertwine and culminate in some of the most important events of their lives.
See What I'm Saying is the first American film to be fully subtitled for the country's 30 million
deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers and opens the door into deaf culture for those who are "signing impaired."
Deaf culture is unique. Out of the nearly 30 million deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans, only 10 percent have a parent who is deaf, making deaf culture one of the only heritages in the world that is rarely handed down from parents to children. Deaf culture is composed of a community of people who consider
deafness to be a difference in human experience rather than a disability. There are deaf entertainers within the community who perform mostly for deaf audiences, many of whom are trying to cross over to the mainstream. This film is about four of those entertainers.
See What I'm Saying is a powerful and unique look at deaf entertainers that touches on the human nature of these unsung artists. Its universal appeal transcends the four intertwined stories,
allowing audiences to peek inside deaf culture and see this vibrant community in a fascinating new light.
Opening: March 19
Venue: Cinema Village/New York City
Film: Kimjongilia
Dir.: NC Heikin
Distributor: Lorber Films
http://www.kimjongiliathemovie.com/index1.html
North Korea is one of the world's most isolated nations. For 60 years, North Koreans have been governed by a totalitarian regime that controls all information entering and leaving the country. A cult of personality surrounds its two recent leaders: first, Kim Il Sung, and now his son, Kim Jong Il. For Kim Jong Il's 46th birthday, a hybrid red begonia named kimjongilia was created, symbolizing wisdom, love, justice and peace. The film draws its name from the rarefied flower and reveals the extraordinary stories told by survivors of North Korea's vast prison camps, of devastating famine and of every kind of repression. All of the interviews featured took place in South Korea, where the defectors now live. Their experiences are interspersed with archival footage of North Korean propaganda films and original scenes that illuminate the contours of daily life for a people whose every action is monitored and whose every thought could bring official retribution. Along with the survivors' stories, Kimjongilia examines the mass illusion possible under totalitarianism and the human rights abuses required to maintain that illusion. Ultimately, the defectors are inspiring, for despite the extremes they have suffered, they still hold out hope for a better future.
Opening: March 19
Film: Neil Young Trunk Show
Dir./Prod: Jonathan Demme
Distributor: Abramarama
http://www.trunkshowmovie.com/
Few musical artists have shown as much interest in cataloging their history as Neil Young. Since Rust Never Sleeps in 1979, Young has been at the center of ten concert films. Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme has always exhibited a passion for music in his films and reset the standard for concert films with 1984's Stop Making Sense. The two men, both in their 60s, came together for the 2006 release Heart of Gold, which chronicled a Young concert in a historic theater as elegantly and precisely as a well-rehearsed curtain call. But Young and Demme never rest, and three years later, they are back, chronicling yet another tour. This time, the style is rough, raw and relentlessly rock 'n'
roll. Nine cameras shooting two shows in three formats (HDCAM, HDV and Super-8mm) create the ultimate Neil Young video bootleg video. The duo plans on completing their trilogy in 2012.
--David Poland
Opening: March 26
Venue: Quad Cinema/New York City
Film: Dancing Across Borders
Dir./Prod: Anne Bass
Distributor: First Run Features
http://www.dancingacrossborders.net/
From the serene countryside of Southeast Asia to the halls of New York's School of American Ballet to the stage of the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, Dancing Across Borders peeks behind the scenes into the world of dance and chronicles the intimate and triumphant story of a boy who was discovered, and who only much later discovered all that he had in himself.
Opening: March 26
Film: Waking Sleeping Beauty
Dir.: Don Hahn
Prod.: Peter Schneider
Distributor: Disney Films
http://www.wakingsleepingbeautymovie.com/
By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. The conditions produced a series of box office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits-The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King and more--over a 10-year period.
Opening: March 31
Venue: Film Forum/New York City
Film: The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom
Dirs./Prods.: Ritu Sarin, Tenzing Sonam
Distributor: Self-Distributed
http://thesunbehindtheclouds.com/
Fifty years have passed since the fall of Tibet. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual and temporal leader, has lived in exile for most of his life, trying to find a peaceful solution to the Tibet issue by giving up the goal of independence and reaching a compromise with China. But his efforts have failed to yield any positive outcome, and his people are becoming more desperate.
March 2008. Tibet erupts as the biggest uprising since China took control in 1959, spreads across the country. The Tibetan people, for one brief moment, demonstrate to the world their unhappiness under Chinese rule and their desire for freedom. But China cracks down hard on the protests. It is also the year of the Beijing Olympics.
Even as the unrest spreads in Tibet, exiled Tibetans in India, frustrated by the lack of political progress, set out on a march to their homeland, convinced that this is the only action they can take to support their
countrymen. Meanwhile, there is a huge groundswell of international sympathy for the Tibetan cause.
This is a year of dramatic possibilities for Tibet. Can the Dalai Lama's strategy of non-violence and compromise based on his Buddhist beliefs finally make a breakthrough?
In The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom, Tibetan filmmaker Tenzing Sonam and his partner, Ritu Sarin, take a uniquely Tibetan perspective on the trials and tribulations of the Dalai Lama and his people as they continue their struggle for freedom in the face of determined suppression by one of the world's biggest and most powerful nations. The filmmakers had intimate access to the Dalai Lama and followed him over the course of an eventful year, which included the 2008 protests in Tibet, the international response to it, the Beijing Olympics, and the breakdown in talks between his representatives and the Chinese government.
Set against this backdrop, the film explores the interplay between the personal and the historic, spirituality and politics, and the tension between the Dalai Lama's efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Tibet situation based on compromise and dialogue, and the impatience of a younger generation of Tibetans who are ready to take a more confrontational course.