It is a rare delight to attend a feature film festival, such as Sydney's (15-19 June 1998), that takes documentaries seriously. Nearly every program began with one, and received such unusual consideration that late comers were not allowed into the auditorium until the documentary had ended. This good order was characteristic of an event whose primary purpose is to offer Australians an opportunity to enjoy and catch up with world cinema. It is not trying to be a Cannes or even a Berlin. There are no stars, no distributors and no prizes (except for Australian films). In summary, no "hype." What
Latest Posts
Documentary film is not immune from the impact of social change. This is especially evident in a country where politics and social structure have undergone radical change. In the Republic of Korea, documentaries have reflected military dictatorship, independence from Japanese colonial rule, democratization and the more profound political developments of the 1990s throughout the world. Today the challenge for South Korean documentary is paramount to meeting the challenges of the 21st century. Prior to the 1990s, two major trends were apparent in Korean documentaries, as was the case elsewhere
In and Out of Sardinia. From the moment I stepped onto Sardinian soil, to the moment the plane lifted off 8 days later, I was treated to one of the most extraordinary weeks of my life. I had come to the island for an ethnographic film festival, and although I was expecting to make some extra-curricular side-trips and discoveries, I was not prepared for the enduring impression that week would make. I spent the weekend before the festival with new friends I'd met through the Internet while searching for information on the launeddas, a Sardinian musical instrument where a single player uses
Known widely as the creator and executive producer of Eyes on the Prize, Henry Hampton was serving as Director of Broadcasting and Information, for the Unitarian Universalist Association, when in 1965 he participated in a civil rights march in Selma, Alabama. The experience so moved him that three years later he founded Blackside, a Boston-based company, whose productions would become some of the most significant documentary contributions of the last three decades. Serving as Blackside's president, and chiefly responsible for film and TV concept development, marketing and corporate development
When Sheila Nevins accepted the IDA Career Achievement Award at our annual Gala in late October, she referred to herself as "colloquial." By definition, "colloquial" means both "familiar" and "popular." Good choice of words—for Sheila, and for documentaries. This hasn't always been the case for documentaries. As our guest scholar for IDC3, Peter J. Bukalski , stated in his "Milestones in the History of Documentary" for the IDC3 Handbook, "Greater numbers of documentaries are being produced and seen today than at any time in history." He also cautioned us that "the huge contemporary audience
Once a best-of-the-years's-movies event for Canadian film lovers, the Toronto International Film Festival has burgeoned into a must-attend site for new cinema. Last September, tens of thousands of people jammed screenings to sample from more than 300 films. Woven into the programming of world cinema were a score of documentaries, primarily from North America and Western Europe. The festival featured nine in a special section, Reel to Real, but also included them in other sections, including Masters (big names), Perspective Canada, and Midnight Madness (specialty films). Documentaries in the
Jon Alpert is a nine-time Emmy® Award-winning independent producer, remembered by many as a contributing correspondent to NBC's Today Show for more than a decade. His skills as a video camera-toting investigative journalist, coupled with his relentless and single-minded determination, have gotten him into perilous world hot spots well ahead of the formidable network news divisions. Between 1974 and 1979, Alpert co-produced five one-hour documentaries for public television. The earliest, Cuba: The People, presented the first American television coverage inside Cuba in ten years. In 1976, he won
The 44th Robert Flaherty Film Seminar, like those proceeding it, was neither a film festival nor a film conference, although it mixed essential aspects of both into its own unique week-long schedule of screenings and discussions for its ninety three participants. Its August 7-13 setting was the secluded and bucolic campus of Wells College, which fronts Cayuga Lake in the upstate village of Aurora, New York. In the August heat, the College's swimming pier was the frequent venue for continuing discussions and cooling off. The Flaherty Seminar's uniqueness is a mixture of elements: participants
Activist and critic, teacher and mentor, producer of more than 50 films and videos, George C. Stoney has made invaluable contributions to the documentary's impact on our society since the 1930s. After graduating from college, he joined FDR's New Deal as Southeast Regional Information Director for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), in 1940, where he focused his efforts on building public support for programs to assist sharecroppers and tenant farmers. His work included hundreds of lectures at churches, union halls and Rotary clubs, where he screened The River, the classic documentary by
1995 America and Lewis HineProduced by Daniel Y. Allentuck and Nina Rosenblum;Directed by Nina Rosenblum George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey Written, produced and directed by George Stevens, Jr. Sixteen Days of GloryWritten, produced, and directed by Bud Greenspan The Times of Harvey MilkProduced by Richard Schmiechen;Co-produced/directed by Robert Epstein 1986 Jacques Cousteau: The First 75 YearsProduced by John Soh Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de MayoProduced and directed by Susana Munoz and Lourdes Portillo ShoahProduced and directed by Claude Lanzman Soldiers in HidingExecutive