The International Documentary FilmFestival Amsterdam, (IDFA,) at 15 years old, has become the major annual event for European documentary filmmakers, and is no longer a secret among North American doc producers and programmers. "It's an extraordinary festival," said Steve James, whose much-acclaimed Stevie went on to win the Joris Ivens Award for best long-form documentary. This was James' fourth time attending IDFA, which was held in late November. "It's so much more than a chance to see docs from all over the world. In fact, it was at an earlier IDFA that I got the idea for this film. I was
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At this year's DOCtober, 19 of the 21 films screened were shot on Digital Video (DV) and blown up to film. At the recent AFI Fest, 11 of the 12 docs in competition were shot digitally and transferred to film. The digital future is here—still imperfect, but readily available and getting more affordable. In my ongoing effort to conquer a case of technophobia, I decided to investigate why some prints that originate from DV look so much better than others. An illuminating case study is that of Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe's Lost in La Mancha, the unsettling and compelling story of the "unmaking" of
Groundbreaking documentaries and animation shorts... over 4,000 awards in countless festivals, including ten Oscars and five Palmes d'or at Cannes... That's the visible part of the iceberg north of the 45th parallel, the tip of institution that has become a cinema icon. The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is unique—a first-class producer of documentaries and auteur animation, funded largely by the Government of Canada, whose role is to produce and distribute films in the national interest. The NFB is the steward of a catalogue of over 10,000 titles—ranging from documentaries, animation
In the lobby of an oft-used auditorium at Stanford University, tables sheathed in white cloth and brimming with sandwiches, crudités, hors d'oeuvres and cold drinks line the room. Guests browse about, waiting for the heavy double doors of the theatre to open. You'd think it was Oscar night, or at least a gala event at a major film festival, but it's the lavish opening night for the small, but influential United Nations Association Film Festival. And thanks to its founder and executive director, Jasmina Bojic, it has the feel and glamour of a major festival, but also the warmth and welcome that
I was an undergraduate when I saw Mike Rubbo's Sad Song of Yellow Skin and decided to become a documentary filmmaker. I felt as if a truck had blindsided me. After class, I could hardly catch my breath. Twenty years later, I watched Sad Song of Yellow Skin for the second time. I didn't know if I was going to be disappointed because I didn't specifically recall what had moved me about the film. And that is exactly what captivates me now as a filmmaker: How can we take viewers on a nuanced journey of discovery and move audiences through texture and subtlety? While I remembered Rubbo's film as a
In an effort to encourage documentary makers to screen their works in theaters, the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced in December a tougher policy on theatrical exhibition requirements for both documentary features and short subjects for the 76th awards, which will honor achievements for the year 2003. In addition to the seven-day theatrical run in either Los Angeles County or Manhattan in New York City, a documentary must have a theatrical run of at least two days in each of at least four additional cities. And while the seven-day qualifying run
Dear IDA Members: It is always tempting to take a look back at the year just completed and bask in the glow of whatever successes can be conjured up. For IDA, there have been many successes over the past year, but many opportunities remain ahead in the coming year. And they are huge. We will be calling on your active participation in a variety of areas this coming year. The Documentary Credit Coalition's Scrap with Scripps The Scripps Networks owns and operates The Food Network, Homes & Garden Television, Fine Living and DIY Network. They do not give credits on the shows they commission. The
Dear Readers, Documentary filmmaking takes us to strange places, foreboding places, wondrous places. In the name of the truth we venture behind enemy lines, down rough-hewn, saturnine streets, and scariest of all—to some—into the stygian recesses of our own pasts. Nature, wildlife and science documentary-making carries a special badge of honor. Imagine plumbing the depths of the ocean, deeper than any deep sea diver—let alone documentary filmmaker—has ever delved, with hundreds of pounds of equipment and just 12 minutes of film in the magazine, and significant vulnerability to severe
Remember CNN when it was born? The networks called it the "Chicken Noodle Network." But it was a revolution that changed news forever. Back then, the idea was a network that would make the world a smaller place, providing storytelling and context that would facilitate understanding. But news doesn't really work that way. It tends to be instantaneous, fact-driven and fairly black-and-white. Documentaries are a different matter; the world is a very complex place, and global conflicts are fueled by prejudice, misunderstanding and ignorance. Black-and-white news doesn't always clarify the story
Preservation & Scholarship Award: Imperial War Museum