Doc U: A Conversation with Steve James
Producer-Director of Hoop Dreams

Monday, March 21, 2011
7:30 p.m.
The Cinefamily, 611 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

March's Doc U features an in-depth conversation with Steve James, the producer-director of Hoop Dreams, the landmark documentary hailed by critic Roger Ebert as "the great American documentary." In conversation with IDA's Eddie Schmidt, James will discuss his career, process and work, including his most recent film, The Interrupters, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

 $15 IDA MEMBERS/$20 NON MEMBERS. ONLINE TICKETS SALES COMING SOON.

Special Support for Doc U provided by:

Los Angeles County Arts Commission
Axis Pro
HBO Archives
Indie Printing
Members and Supporters of IDA

DocuDay LA and DocuDays NY starts tomorrow

DocuDay is IDA's all-day, back-to-back screenings of this year's Oscar® nominated documentary films. 

DocuDay LA - There's only a few more hours left of online ticket sales for DocuDay LA (tickets on sale until 4 p.m. PST today). Tickets and passes will also be available at the door.  To purchase tickets and passes to DocuDay LA, visit the event page.

DocuDays NY - This event is free for IDA Members.  To reserve you ticket, visit the Paley Center for Media's website. 

Not an IDA Member?  It's easy to join, click here to learn how.

In the days leading up to DocuDay LA and DocuDays NY, we at IDA will be introducing--and in some cases, re-introducing--our community to the filmmakers whose work has been nominated for an Academy Award for either Best Documentary Feature or Best Documentary Short Subject. As we did in conjunction with last summer's DocuWeeks^TM Theatrical Documentary Showcase, we have 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, and the impact of an Academy Award nomination.

So, to continue this series of conversations, here is Jaimie D'Cruz, producer, of Exit Through the Gift Shop, (Dir.: Banksy), which is nominated in the Documentary Feature category.

Synopsis: This is the inside story of street art--a brutal and revealing account of what happens when fame, money and vandalism collide. Exit Through the Gift Shop follows an eccentric shopkeeper-turned-amateur filmmaker as he attempts to capture many of the world's most infamous vandals on camera, only to have a British stencil artist named Banksy turn the camcorder back on its owner, with wildly unexpected results. One of the most provocative films about art ever made, Exit Through the Gift Shop is a fascinating study of low-level criminality, comradeship and incompetence.
By turns shocking, hilarious and absurd, this is an enthralling modern-day fairytale... with bolt-cutters.

IDA: How did you get started in documentary filmmaking?

Jaimie D'Cruz: I started out as a journalist, writing and editing an underground music and street culture magazine called Touch. With great access to so many interesting people and incredible untold stories, it seemed like a natural progression from writing to making films. It was actually quite a difficult transition because the people who commission documentaries for British television are not particularly interested in untold stories from the underbelly, and are much more interested in formats and celebrities.

IDA:What inspired you to make Exit Through the Gift Shop?

JD: The idea for Exit came from Banksy. Despite being notoriously secretive andobsessively anonymous, and having turned down an apparently endless queue of filmmakers over the years, he had inexplicably found himself allowing an eccentric Frenchman called Thierry Guetta to follow him around with a camera. When Banksy realised that Thierry was not quite the filmmaker he purported to be, he decided that he ought to try to make Thierry's street art documentary himself.

IDA: What were some of the challenges and obstacles in making this film, and how did you overcome them?

JD: Getting Thierry's tapes off him in the first place was quite a challenge--but not as challenging as watching them. We started off with two ideas: that Thierry's years of filming street artists would yield a priceless treasure trove of documentary footage, and that if Thierry was to do his own art show, the results might be interesting. Both ideas proved to be sound ones, but not in the way we originally imagined.

IDA: How did your vision for the film change over the course of the pre-production,production and post-production processes?

JD: The vision for the film was constantly evolving during production. There was no real pre-production period--though I guess you could argue that Thierry's 10 years of filming street artists all over the world was a kind of unconventional (and unintentional) pre-production period. As far as my own involvement went, we hit the ground running, filming Thierry's debut art show and delving into his boxes (and boxes) of tapes. I actually started off by shooting a load of talking-heads interviews with people, none of which ended up in the film. So this was very much a film made in the edit, with no real preconceived plan. We were working with a huge amount of existing footage, none of which was labelled or in any kind of order, so we were constantly surprised, entertained and challenged by the material we came across. And we didn't shoot the master interviews with Thierry until quite late on, as we had to go through the lengthy process of building a story from 10 years of footage before we could work out what questions we needed to ask Thierry. Thierry's revelations during these interviews (for example, he never watched his own material) would then re-inform sequences we had already cut, and this would in turn inspire further questions. And of course when Thierry embarked on his own art career, the results were wildly unexpected, to put it mildly. We were cutting a film which follows Thierry becoming an artist while Thierry was in the process of becoming a genuinely notorious artist. It was not so much art imitating life as art running furiously to try to keep up with life.

IDA:  As you've screened Exit Through the Gift Shop--whether on the festival circuit, or in screening rooms, or in living rooms--how have audiences reacted to the film? What has been most surprising or unexpected about their reactions?

JD: Audience reactions have been incredible wherever we have shown the film. Having spent two years hidden away in a blacked-out room making the film in conditions of complete secrecy, it was a bit scary to show the film to anyone at all, to be honest--and a genuine revelationto find that people actually liked it! The most unexpected thing about the audience reaction has been the intensity of the speculation that the film isn't real. It reminds me of that old comedy line, "Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean people aren't following me..." Exitdoes tell an unbelievable story, but it's all completely true.

IDA: Where were you when you first heard about your Academy Award nomination?

JD: I was with a few close members of the team watching on a laptop as the nominations were announced live from LA--this was around lunchtime in the UK. The longest fiveminutes of my life began when the nominations fanfare ended without them actually mentioning the Feature Doc category! As we Googled frantically, a friend called from LA to tell us we'd been nominated, but of course we didn't believe him till we saw it officially listed on the Academy website.

IDA: Although it's only been a month since the announcement, how do you anticipate this nomination will impact your career as a filmmaker?

JD: I have no idea yet, but I do hope it means that I will now be able to get more interest in films from the underbelly, which are still the only stories that interest me. 

IDA: What docs or docmakers have served as inspirations for you?

JD: Errol Morris's The Thin Blue Line was a revelation when I went to see it in the cinema back in 1989. The way he peels away layer after layer to reveal the story without overtly coming down on one side or the other was amazing and powerful, as was his then revolutionary use of dramatized sequences and music. I also love Andrew Jarecki's Capturing the Friedmans. Funnily enough I think Capturing the Friedmans shares some similarities with Exit in that it is largely based on existing footage, and it leaves you feeling baffled.

Exit Through the Gift Shop will be screening Saturday, February 26, at 10:30 p.m. as part of DocuDay LA at the Writers Guild of America Theater in Beverly Hills, and at 1:45 p.m. at DocuDayNY at The Paley Center for Media in Manhattan.

Doc U Attracts Three New Sponsors:

Axis Pro, HBO Archives and Indie Printing

All of us at the IDA are so delighted to have three new sponsors for our Doc U program. Doc U, which is also supported by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, is IDA's series of educational seminars and workshops for aspiring and experienced documentary filmmakers. Because IDA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we rely on the support of our sponsors, members, donors and grantors.  Without them our work to support documentary filmmakers wouldn't be possible!

Here's more about our generous Doc U sponsors:

Axis Pro is a world-wide leader in errors and omission liability coverage with over 25 years of experience in the media, entertainment and film industries.  Axis Pro has created a special insurance coverage program for IDA Members. For more information about Axis Pro and the IDA Program, click here. 

HBO Archives is a full-service stock footage library culled from images shot around the globe by HBO producers for more than three decades. Their collection and production outtakes are available for licensing in documentary projects.  To view available footage, visit the HBO Archives website.

Indie Printing is a Downtown Los Angeles Printing company, which was formed in 2003. They pride themselves in being an eco-friendly printing company, and take pride in their commitment to quality, reliability and 5 star service. And they support documentary filmmaking!  Visit the the Indie Printing website to learn more.

Interested in supporting the IDA by being a sponsor?  Contact Cindy Chyr at cindy@documentary.org or 213.534.3600 x7400.

In the days leading up to DocuDay LA and DocuDays NY, we at IDA will be introducing--and in some cases, re-introducing--our community to the filmmakers whose work has been nominated for an Academy Award for either Best Documentary Feature or Best Documentary Short Subject. As we did in conjunction with last summer's DocuWeeks^TM Theatrical Documentary Showcase, we have 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, and the impact of an Academy Award nomination.

So, to continue this series of conversations, here are Kirk Simon and Karen Goodman, directors/producers of Strangers No More, which is nominated in the Documentary Short Subject category.

Synopsis: In the heart of Tel Aviv, there is an exceptional school where children from 48 different countries and diverse backgrounds come together to learn. Many of the students arrive at Bialik-Rogozin School fleeing poverty, political adversity and even genocide. Here, no child is a stranger. Strangers No More follows several students' struggles to acclimate to life in a new land while slowly opening up to share their stories of hardship and tragedy. With tremendous effort and dedication, the school provides the support these children need to recover from their past. Together, the bond between teacher and student, and amongst the students themselves, enables them to create new lives in this exceptional community.

IDA: How did you get started in documentary filmmaking? 

Kirk Simon: I studied film at Hampshire College; my classmates included Buddy Squires and Ken Burns. I spent as much time working in still photography as I did in film. 

Karen Goodman: I began making films when I was 14--I attended an arts camp in the Berkshires and made my first film there with a Super 8 camera my father gave me. In high school I worked after school as an intern at Public Access TV, where we used 1/2 portable video--“portapak"--to cover events.

IDA: What inspired you to make Strangers No More?  

KS: Just walking into the school for the first time made me want to pull out a camera. The school has kids from 48 countries, so there is great diversity--and great diversity in the stories to tell. The school is truly a place where education conquers all. 

KG: The moment I set foot in the school, I knew there was an important and inspiring story about the possibility for peace and tolerance through education that had to be told. The children's message of hope--despite the trauma of their backgrounds--captured my heart.

IDA: What were some of the challenges and obstacles in making this film, and how did you overcome them?  

KS: The hardest challenge was gaining the trust of the kids. Many have stories of incredible hardship, as they came to the school escaping war, poverty and genocide. So some were closed off and did not want to talk about their past. It was not a film that could be made in one or two trips. It took many months to gain the confidence of the children in the school. 

KG: Gaining the trust of these fragile children was a challenge. Many had come to the school orphaned; some had witnessed the execution of their parents in wartime; nearly every child, as the principal Karen Tal says in the film, "was running away from something." It took time to gain the trust of the teachers, who were understandably protective, and for the students to share their stories. We made at least half a dozen trips to Israel, and before long [the teachers and students] began to miss us when we weren't there.

KS:  I don't think my vision changed during the production of the film; it was simply difficult to capture the heart-wrenching stories of the children who attend the school. So it was more a matter of trying to achieve what one thought was possible. 

KG: The film did not change dramatically, but rather was a process over time in which we began to focus on three particular kids whose stories we felt rendered an image of this amazing community. We wanted to find a new student and follow the experience of coming to the Bialik school with no academic background whatsoever and watch him or her grow. At the same time, we wanted to follow the story of an older student whose life had been changed. So over time, we discovered these stories. It wasn't until the very end of the editing process that we decided to use very limited archival footage to give a sense of the context of the students backgrounds.

IDA:  As you've screened Strangers No More--whether on the festival circuit, or in screening rooms, or in living rooms--how have audiences reacted to the film? What has been most surprising or unexpected about their reactions? 

KS:  The most surprising reaction is that the film presents a glimpse of an Israel that audiences aren't familiar with. If you read The New York Times or similar media, the stories that come from Israel are ones of conflict and war, so a story of educators coming together to help kids is an unusual one. 

KG: The reaction to the film has been inspiring. In Israel it has been front-page news. Elsewhere, people and organizations have come forth wanting to know how they can help the school and donate funds, and there has been lots of interest in the educational world about using Bialik as role model.

IDA:  Where were you when you first heard about your Academy Award nomination?  

KS: I was sitting in my apartment in Manhattan. I had watched the morning news shows where the major categories of the Oscar were announced. I then went to the AMPAS website and started to hit the refresh button. It wasn't long before my phones were ringing and I was receiving texts like crazy. I knew it must be good news. 

KG: I was sitting in New York City looking out at Central Park, awaiting the moment when the Internet would bring the announcement…Trembling.

IDA:  What docs or docmakers have served as inspirations for you?

KS: I am equally inspired by the great documentary photographers as by the filmmakers. For photographers: Helen Levitt, Paul Strand, Garry Winogrand, Robert Frank and Henri Cartier-Bresson. On the film side: Ricky Leacock, Don Pennebaker, the Maysles and Barbara Kopple. 

KG: All of the "gods" of cinema vérité--the Maysles, Richard Leacock, DA Pennebaker. Also a lesser known Canadian filmmaker, Mike Rubbo, whom I took a workshop with many years ago. His film Waiting for Fidel--about an interview he was sent to Cuba by the CBC to get, but never did--had a huge impact on me. Also, all the great documentary photographers from the Farm Security Administration--Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange--and those from the Photo League including my mentor, Jerome Liebling.

Strangers No More will be screening Saturday, February 26, at 9:00 a.m. as part of DocuDay LA at the Writers Guild of America Theater in Beverly Hills, and Sunday, February 27, at 1:30 p.m. at DocuDay NY at The Paley Center for Media in Manhattan.

Homegirl Café will be the food vendor for this Saturday's DocuDay Los Angeles event at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills.  They will be serving up delectable sandwiches, snacks and baked goods from the Cafe and Homeboy Bakery. 

Homegirl Café and Homeboy Bakery are divisions of Homeboy Industries.  Both the Café and Bakery employ formerly incarcerated and gang affiliated women and men; and provide them with critical hands-on training and employment skills.

To purchase tickets and passes to DocuDay Los Angeles, visit the event page.

With Waste Land, Killing in the Name and Sun Come Up scoring the Oscars nods out of DocuWeeks 2010, other Showcase alums have made their presence felt elsewhere. In the recently concluded Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Montana, Thomas Bursteyn's This Way of Life captured the Best Feature Prize, while Steam of Life, from Joonas Berghall and Mika Hotakainen, took the Artistic Vision Award. Elsewhere among the IDA community, Darwin, produced by former IDA executive director Sandra Ruch and Documentary magazine contributing editor Taylor Segrest (also credited as writer), earned the Artistic Vision Award; Nick Brandestini directed.

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