Building on the success of 2000, the Sundance Film Festival again proved its commitment to the documentary by offering an expanded 2001 version of “House of Docs.” In a new, bigger, friendlier Main Street location -- and with a schedule running January 19-27 -- response from attendees was justifiably enthusiastic. Under the very capable leadership of Sundance Director of the Documentary Film Program, Nicole Guillemet, and her associate Meredith Lavit, documentary professionals debated, networked, questioned, drank coffee and nursed their sniffles in an environment that offered precious shelter
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As a television news reporter and anchor for the past 23 years, I’ve always been conscious of the need to try to maintain a neutral, unbiased and objective attitude toward the subject matter. There’s a long-running debate about whether anyone can be truly objective, but I’ll leave that to the J-school theoreticians. I have simply learned to catch myself when I start getting too attached to one side or another, and give myself a good slap before an irascible editor does it for me. After years of telling other people’s stories, I got a prolonged itch to use my skills to explore something
In 1973 a group of black ministers commissioned me to make a documentary about the Black church experience. Let The Church Say Amen! follows a young African American minister who enters a seminary to avoid serving in Vietnam, but becomes a devoted cleric, traveling to churches throughout the South and in Chicago to evaluate which setting best appeals to him. The film looks at segments of the African-American religious experience from an inside viewpoint, while exploring the universal situation of a young man trying to find his role in life. The documentary fulfilled my desire to make a
Editor’s Note—James T. Yee, former executive director of Independent Television Service (ITVS) and longtime advocate for independent media producers, died in March at his home in Northern California, after an 18-month battle with cancer. He was 53. I asked former IDA President and current ITVS Board member David Haugland to share his remembrance of Jim Yee with us. With the passing in March of ITVS Executive Director Jim Yee, independent filmmakers lost a long-time colleague, trusted friend and passionate advocate. As a seasoned producer, community organizer and nonprofit executive, Jim lived
After 17 years of being programmed at random times on the HBO schedule, America Undercover finally has a home in an upscale neighborhood. The anthology series will follow The Sopranos at 10 p.m. for 11 consecutive Sundays beginning March 11. Sheila Nevins, HBO Executive Vice President for Original Programming and IDA trustee, has assembled a package of provocative programs by Marc Levin, Daphne Pinkerson, Eames Yates, Antony Thomas, Shari Cookson and other leading-edge documentarians. The series opened last month with Dead Men Talking: An Autopsy Special with Dr. Michael Baden, a renowned
If you’d met me at IFFCON 2001, I’d have introduced myself as “Katie Cadigan, documentarian, in development on a film about cultural images of madness, where these images come from, and how our conception of ‘being crazy’ has little to do with the reality of so-called ‘insanity.’” Interested? Ready to write a check?? Based in San Francisco, the annual International Film Financing Conference (IFFCON) is not like other film markets that I’ve avoided for fear of being lost amid a desperate mass of wannabe producers. Professionally, I claim my films aren’t schmooze-fest-friendly. Who wants to chat
Back in the 20th century, filmmakers had to cut on film by hand or the equally arduous off-line tape method. In the early ’90s, several non-linear editing systems appeared, such as the Media 100 and Lightworks. But it was the arrival of the user-friendly Avid that captured the imagination of editors everywhere, allowing them to digitize their footage onto a computer hard drive and manipulate the material faster and with infinite possibilities. Now, in the new millennium and the current digital frontier, there’s a new kid on the block—Final Cut Pro—and documentary filmmakers are taking notice
Over the past seven years, Slamdance Film Festival has evolved from scruffy upstart, taking on Sundance, the eminence grise of Park City, with a DIY alternative in 1995, to a wiser, but still mischievous older brother, having spurred a bevy of alternaDances—Slumdance, NoDance, TromaDance, DigiDance, Slamdunk, et al—that have pitched their tents in the tony Utah resort town every January. And for Peter Baxter, Slamdance’s founder and artistic director, that’s just fine. “Generally speaking, we’re very supportive of any film festivals in Park City or anywhere, for that matter, that are
As the plane descended, I could see New York, Paris and Monte Carlo framed in the same window. It was Las Vegas—dazzling lights, towering skyscraper facades and, for one week, home to television’s foremost dealmakers. NATPE 2001 (held January 22-25), the largest television market in the United States, was holding court. Savvy television producers, new media pioneers and first-time exhibitors from all over the world converged on Vegas to pitch new television product, create co-production deals with the studios and majors, and attract television broadcasters to stylized kiosks to sell, sell
The IDA has been going through lots of changes and the positive manifestations are just beginning to emerge. The IDA party for the Oscar® nominees drew the biggest attendance ever; corporate sponsorships were also up. As a result, not only did we have a great time, but we made money on the event. All of this was due to the hard work of our new managing director, Melissa Disharoon; the event’s committee headed by Rick Trank and Ann Hassett; Lynne Littman, who put together the clips and script; and a whole host of other volunteers who made the evening sparkle. We have retained the firm of Double