I love working with myth, magic and the unknown. Since the 1960s, we’ve all seen tabloid programs about the unknown, but I wanted to try something different. On the strength of the 1999 broadcast of Sasquatch Odyssey: The Hunt for Bigfoot on TLC, we successfully pitched a two-hour, six-segment limited series about obsessed individuals who pursue monsters and creatures, real or imagined, around the world. Monster Hunters was essentially the equivalent of shooting half a season of a regular travel/adventure documentary series, with rigorous travel to Puerto Rico, England, New Jersey, Tasmania
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Land in the American West was once advertised as free for the taking. Under the Homestead Act of 1863, nearly two million families came to settle virgin territory—the frontier. Last year, PBS station WNET/Thirteen and Wall to Wall Television (U.K.) selected three modern families from over five thousand applicants to travel back in time and live the homesteading experience, in a “hands-on” history experiment. Could 21st century pioneers endure the hardships of the past? How would this experience compare to films and television programs such as Little House on Prairie? The year in which our
Sundance 2002 was a relatively sober affair, in the wake of 9/11 and in the midst of a recession—fewer parties, less swag, more security. Even the sponsors went for simplicity over splash. But docs continue to thrive above it all, with founder Robert Redford announcing at the get-go plans for a Sundance Documentary Channel. The House of Docs, in its third year, continued to flout its presence and prowess as a nonfiction Woodstock, with the most prominent names behind the camera—makers, producers, distributors, programmers, commissioning editors—assembled for ten days of confabs and klatches
While overall reports of the 2002 Sundance Film Festival have remarked on a quieter, more somber air in Park City, there was much warmth and activity to be found at the House of Docs. Providing opportunities for festival filmmakers to meet both formally and informally with resource advisors, press, buyers and organizational directors, the House offered lively roundtable discussions and special presentations. One of the most interesting sessions was the “Filmmaker-to-Filmmaker” discussion on “Subjects and Aftermath.” In a year of landmark events, it’s easy to forget that on a personal scale
As part of the year-long celebration of the Sundance Institute’s 20th anniversary, Sundance20 premiered in January on the Sundance Channel. This rare, behind-the-scenes look at the summer Filmmakers Lab, which was directed by Doug Pray ( Scratch, Hype), follows three young filmmakers who participated in the June 2001 Lab and features interviews with lab staff and creative advisors. This was the first time that the Lab process was opened up to cameras. “The Filmmakers Lab is an experience that is quite private,” Pray maintains. “It really puts filmmakers [known as “Fellows”] on the spot
The ancient houses that overhang Amsterdam’s misty canals seem to exist in another world from New York. The clanging trams proclaim good order and a reassuring sense of calm. Yet the calamity of the New York’s twin towers cast its shadow over the festival. Terrorism, and how documentarists should respond to it, was the first topic for discussion as old friends met. And later it became the subject of several seminars. International Documentary FilmFestival Amsterdam (IDFA) remains arguably Europe’s premier documentary fest for several reasons: First, for its imaginative choice of more than 200
Best Documentary Feature Children UndergroundProducer/director: Edet BelzbergExecutive producers: Sheilah Kitt McKinnon and Michel NegroponteCinematographer: Wolfgang HeldEditor: Jonathan OppenheimDistributor: Cinemax Reel Life Today, more than 20,000 children live on the streets of Romania’s cities and towns, a tragic legacy of former President Nicolae Ceaucescu’s regime, during which he outlawed the use of contraception and abortion in an effort to increase the nation’s work force. In Children Underground, Edet Belzberg lets the subjects speak for themselves, telling their own stories of
Chris Marker’s Le Joli Mai was made in Paris in 1962, as France’s war with Algeria was finally coming to an end. This seminal work was greatly influential in steering me towards the documentary form. Marker, who wrote the film’s eloquent narration, lays out his purpose at the start. He wants to see Paris “as if for the first time, without memories or habits. One would like to track it with a telescope and a microphone.” For the next two hours he does exactly that, plunging the viewer into virtually every aspect of Parisian life. The film has been rightly praised for being an early example of
Dear IDA Members, As I mentioned last issue, this is a particularly banner occasion for the Academy Awards—and for documentary in general. IDA celebrates its 20th anniversary, as does the Sundance Institute, which this year launches the Sundance Documentary Channel. And the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences commemorates 60 years of honoring the documentary form with a special presentation during the telecast. And the Documentary Branch, which has been sought after and fought for over the past few decades, is finally a reality. Speaking of the Sundance Documentary Channel, we are
As Michael Donaldson mentions in his column, the Oscars® telecast spotlighted 60 years of Best Documentary honors with a stellar tribute, produced by filmmaker Penelope Spheeris; in this issue Jason Lyons looks at the new Documentary Branch, formed last year, and former IDA President Chuck Workman, an Academy Award® winner for his short Precious Images, reflects on how the documentary field has evolved over the past 20 years, both in and out of the Academy. As I write this column, in early March, ABC, the longtime broadcaster of the Academy Awards, is mulling over the possibility of