IDA/ABCNEWS VIDEOSOURCE AWARD Sputnik ManiaDirector/Cinematographer: David HoffmanProducer: Eric ReidExecutive Producer: Jay WalkerWriters: David Hoffman, Paul DicksonEditor: John BarrettVaried Directions International The launch of Sputnik 50 years ago almost triggered World War III, if not for a private agreement among two ex-generals. Now, with the help of recently released documents from the former Soviet Union, the full story of how close we came to global nuclear war can be told for the first time. DAVID HOFFMAN is one of America's veteran documentary filmmakers. During his 40-year
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I am frequently asked by students and emerging filmmakers about how to fund their first documentary work, and it is evident that there is a disconnect between most of the film training programs and the field. Students and emerging filmmakers generally do not ask this question until they are well into production. This is a mistake. The process of selling a documentary (or fiction) work has remained unchanged since Edison and company first started cranking them out at the turn of the 20th century. My first rule of production is, Get funding before you start. It's fine to start pre-production and
Opening this month: 'Winnebago Man'; 'Countdown to Zero'; Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child'; and more!
Over the past couple of weeks, we at IDA have been introducing our community to the filmmakers whose work is represented in the DocuWeeks TM Theatrical Documentary Showcase, which runs from July 30 through August 19 in New York City and Los Angeles. We asked the filmmakers to share the stories behind their films--the inspirations, the challenges and obstacles, the goals and objectives, the reactions to their films so far. So, to conclude this series of conversations, here is Jason A. Schmidt, director/producer of The Labyrinth. Synopsis: Memory, art and hell collide as an Auschwitz survivor
In 1991, Doug Block directed The Heck with Hollywood, a documentary that follows the tumultuous journey of three independent filmmakers trying to complete their projects and find distribution. Little did he know that their stories would also reflect his own trials and tribulations trying to make personal documentaries--an effort that's even harder now in the current climate, where a substantial portion of funding for nonfiction media goes to issue-oriented docs with broad appeal. "The big thing now is urgent, timely social issues, and more and more foundations support films that affect change
Over the next couple of weeks, we at IDA will be introducing our community to the filmmakers whose work will be represented in the DocuWeek TM Theatrical Documentary Showcase, August 17-23. We asked the filmmakers to share the stories behind their films-the inspirations, the challenges and obstacles,the goals and objectives, the reactions to their films so far. So, to continue this series of conversations, here is Marcelo Bukin, director of Angel's Fire (Fuego de Angel). Synopsis: Eight-year-old Angel works in a brick factory all day long in his village near Lake Titicaca, Peru. Angel's Fire
See free screenings of 'Lost Angels' and 'A Small Act' at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
Amicus advocate and entertainment attorney Michael C. Donaldson files brief in support of Joe Berlinger.
Royal Film Comission students Haya Qbeilat (with camera) and Hana Al-Ramli Madaba (far right) in Madaba, Jordan. Photo: Lisa Leeman If you Google "Documentary" and "Jordan," you'll find half a dozen entries about basketball superstar Michael Jordan, then a few links about Barbara Jordan, the US Congresswoman, and Jeanne Jordan, the award-winning filmmaker who, along with Steven Ascher, made the wonderful docs Troublesome Creek and So Much So Fast. But that's not why I'm doing this Google search; I'm actually on my way to Amman, Jordan, to teach a workshop on documentary filmmaking. This is the
Over the next couple of weeks, we at IDA will be introducing our community to the filmmakers whose work will be represented in the DocuWeek TM Theatrical Documentary Showcase, August 17-23. We asked the filmmakers to share the stories behind their films--the inspirations, the challenges and obstacles, the goals and objectives, the reactions to their films so far. So, to continue this series of conversations, here is David Sington, director of In the Shadow of the Moon. Synopsis: Between 1968 and 1972, 24 Americans journeyed to the Moon. They remain the only human beings to have visited another