Photo: Civil Rights March on Washington, DC, August 28, 1963. Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration
Eyes on the Prize, the definitive documentary series on the American Civil Rights Movement, is finally coming out on DVD this Tuesday, April 6. The series, which aired on PBS in 1987 to universal acclaim and is currently airing on consecutive Thursdays this month, covers the period from 1954, the year of the murder of Emmett Till and the Montgomery bus boycott, to 1965, the year of the Selma-to-Montgomery march and the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
The late Henry Hampton created and executive-produced this monumental project through his Boston-based production company, Blackside, Inc.; although there had been documentaries on the Civil Rights Movement before, no one had ever tackled something of this scope and magnitude. The series went on to win six Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and a DuPont-Columbia Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism. In addition, Hampton earned an IDA Career Achievement Award in 1997, among many other honors, and passed away a year later.
Among the many Blackside alums who worked on Eyes on the Prize in various capacities include Orlando Bagwell, Jon Else, Sam Pollard, Michael Chin, Bob Richman and Laurie Kahn-Levitt. Bagwell, now director of the media, arts and culture division at the Ford Foundation, was instrumental in helping to secure the funding to clear the music and footage rights, which had expired in the early 2000s.
Blackside also produced Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads (1965-1985), which aired in the early 1990s. The artistic personnel of that series included Lillian Benson, Paul Stekler, Louis Massiah, Carroll Blue and Noland Walker. The rights on that series, however, are still unsecured.
Sheila Curran Benson, who produced, directed and wrote two of the episodes in Eyes on the Prize, wrote an article for the June 2005 issue of Documentary magazine about the long struggle to clear the rights to the series. For more on the series itself, click here.
On a sad note, Steve Ascher, whose wife and filmmaking partner, Jeanne Jordan, edited one of the episodes in Eyes on the Prize, reports that Robert Lavelle, who was vice president of Blackside, Inc. and was the driving force behind and editor of the Eyes on the Prize companion volumes, passed away on March 27. He had struggled with brain cancer for the past three years. "His career has been a study in passion for social justice," Ascher maintained in an e-mail to me. Lavelle had worked on companion books and outreach programs in conjunction with such documentaries as School: The Story of American Public Education, Malcolm X: Make It Plain and Local News, among others. For more information about Lavelle, click here.
Opening in theaters this month this month amid a flurry of festivals are some noteworthy docs. Connie Field's Have You Heard from Johannesburg, a sprawling, seven-part, ten-years-in-the-making series about the history of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, comes to Film Form in New York. The project is a counterpart, of sorts, to the monumental Eyes on the Prize, Blackside's definitive series on the American Civil Rights Movement, which Field herself explored in her 1994 Academy Award-nominated film Freedom on my Mind.
Also coming to the big screen are Michel Gondry's The Thorn in the Heart, a personal take on his family; When You're Strange, Tom DiCillio's doc about The Doors; and Oceans, DisneyNature's follow-up to its 2009 box office smash, Earth. Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud, director/producer and co-director, respectively, of the 2002 hit Winged Migration, helmed Oceans.
Opening: April 2
Venues: Roxie Cinema/San Francisco; Elmwood TheaterBerkeley, CA; Rafael Film Center, San Rafael, CA
Film: Breath Made Visible
Dir./Prod./Wtr.: Ruedi Gerber
Distributor: Argot Pictures
http://www.breathmadevisible.com/
Breath Made Visible is the first feature documentary about the life and career of Anna Halprin. The film takes its audience from Halprin's initial explorations of dance in her childhood to the experimental performances conducted on a dance deck under Californian redwood trees, through her spectacular tours in Europe, her withdrawal from the stage due to illness, and, finally, her triumphant return.
Opening: April 2
Venue: Village East/New York City
Film: The Thorn in the Heart
Dir./Wtr.: Michel Gondry
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
http://www.oscilloscope.net/shop/view_film.php?ID=15
The Thorn in the Heart (L'Epine dans le Coeur) is filmmaker Michel Gondry's personal look at the life of Gondry family matriarch, Michel's aunt Suzette Gondry, and her relationship with her son, Jean-Yves. Michel examines Suzette's years as a schoolteacher and her life in rural France. During the course of filming the documentary, Michel unearths new family stories and uses his camera to explore them in a subtle and sensitive way.
Opening: April 9
Venue: Anthology Film Archives/New York City
Film: It Came from Kuchar
Dir.: Jennifer M. Kroot
Distributor: Indie Pix
http://kucharfilm.com/
It Came from Kuchar is a hilarious and touching story of artistic obsession, compulsion and
inspiration.
Long before YouTube, there were the outrageous, no-budget movies of underground, filmmaking twins George and Mike Kuchar. George and Mike grew up in the Bronx in the 1950s. At the age of 12, they became obsessed with Hollywood melodramas and began making their own homespun melodramas with their aunt's 8mm camera. They used their friends and family as actors and their Bronx neighborhood as their set. Early Kuchar titles featured in this film include I Was A Teenage Rumpot and Born of the Wind.
In the early 1960s, alongside Andy Warhol, the Kuchar brothers shaped the New York underground film scene. Known as the "8mm Mozarts," their films were noticeably different than other underground films of the time. They were wildly funny, but also human and vulnerable.
Their films have inspired many filmmakers, including John Waters, Buck Henry, Atom Egoyan, Guy Maddin and Wayne Wang (all are interviewed in this film). Despite having high profile fans, the Kuchars remain largely unknown because they are only ambitious to make movies, not to be famous.
It Came from Kuchar interweaves the brothers' lives, their admirers, a history of underground film and a "greatest hits" of Kuchar clips into a mesmerizing stream of consciousness tale.
Affectionately directed by one of George's former students, Jennifer M. Kroot, It Came From Kuchar will introduce you to the amazing Kuchar brothers--two brothers who love to make movies and
continue to inspire others.
Opening: April 9
Venue: Cinema Village/New York City
Film: Nobody's Perfect
Dir.: Niko van Glasow
Distributor: Lorber Films
http://www.lorberfilms.com/nobodys-perfect/nobodys-perfect/
One of the thousands of Germans born with deformities caused by the drug Thalidomide, filmmaker Niko van Glasow confronts his disability head-on in this extraordinary documentary, which follows his search for 11 other "Thalidomiders" willing to pose naked for a book of photos. With a darkly humorous touch, and no deference to political correctness, the film explores the sensitivities and feelings of the disabled in a way rarely seen on film.
Opening: April 9
Film: When You're Strange: A Film about The Doors
Dir./Wtr.: Tom DiCillio
Prods.: John Beug, Jeff Jampol, Peter Jankowski, Dick Wolf
Distributor: Rhino Entertainment/Abramarama
http://whenyourestrangemovie.com/
When You're Strange: A Film about The Doors is the first feature documentary about
The Doors. When You're Strange uncovers historic and previously unseen footage of the illustrious rock quartet and provides new insight into the revolutionary impact of its music and legacy. Directed by award-winning writer/director Tom DiCillo and narrated by Johnny Depp, the film is a riveting account of the band's history.
The film reveals an intimate perspective on the creative chemistry between drummer John Densmore, guitarist Robby Krieger, keyboardist Ray Manzarek and singer Jim Morrison--four brilliant artists who made The Doors one of America's most iconic and influential rock bands. Using footage shot between the band's 1965 formation and Morrison's 1971 death, When You're Strange follows the band from the corridors of UCLA's film school, where Manzarek and Morrison met, to the stages of sold-out arenas.
Opening: April 14
Venue: Film Forum/New York City
Film: Have You Heard from Johannesburg
Dir./Prod.: Connie Field
Distributor: Self-distributed
http://www.clarityfilms.org/joburg/index.html
http://www.filmforum.org/films/haveyouheard.html
Have You Heard from Johannesburg is seven documentary stories, produced and directed by Connie Field, chronicling the history of the global anti-apartheid movement that took on South Africa's entrenched apartheid regime and its international supporters who considered South Africa an ally in the Cold War.
Almost 50 years ago, South Africans began to realize that their freedom struggle had to be built in nfour arenas of action: mass action, underground organization, armed struggle and international mobilization. These documentaries take viewers inside that last arena, the movement to mobilize worldwide citizen action to isolate the apartheid regime. Inspired by the courage and suffering of South Africa's people as they fought back against the violence and oppression of racism, foreign solidarity groups, in cooperation with exiled South Africans, took up the anti-apartheid cause. Working against heavy odds, in a climate of apathy or even support for the governments of Verwoerd, Vorster and P.W. Botha, campaigners challenged their governments and powerful corporations in the West to face up to the immorality of their collaboration with apartheid.
This was not just a political battle; it was economic, cultural, moral and spiritual. The struggle came to many surprising venues: it was waged in sports arenas and cathedrals, in embassies and corporate boardrooms, at fruit stands and beaches, at rock concerts and gas stations. Thousands died, but in the end, nonviolent pressures played a major part in the collapse of apartheid and thus in the stunning victory of democracy in South Africa.
The combined stories have a scope that is epic in both space and time, spanning most of the globe over half a century. Beginning with the very first session of the United Nations, and ending in 1990--when, after 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela, the best known leader of the African National Congress (ANC) toured the world, a free man.
Opening: April 16
Venue: Quad Cinema/New York City; Laemmle Sunset 5/Los Angeles
Film: The Cartel
Dir.: Bob Bowdon
Distributor: Truly Indie
http://www.thecartelmovie.com/
Teachers punished for speaking out. Principals fired for trying to do the right thing. Union leaders defending the indefensible. Bureaucrats blocking new charter schools. These are just some of the people we meet in The Cartel. The film also introduces us to teens who can't read, parents desperate for change, and teachers struggling to launch stable alternative schools for inner city kids who want to learn. We witness the tears of a little girl denied a coveted charter school spot, and we share the triumph
of a Camden homeschool's first graduating class.
Together, these people and their stories offer an unforgettable look at how a widespread national crisis manifests itself in the educational failures and frustrations of individual communities. They also underscore what happens when our schools don't do their job. "These are real children whose lives are being destroyed," director Bob Bowdon explains.
The Cartel shows us our educational system like we've never seen it before. Behind every dropout factory, we discover, lurks a powerful, entrenched and self-serving cartel. But The Cartel doesn't
just describe the problem. Balancing local storylines against interviews with education experts such as Clint Bolick (former president of Alliance for School Choice), Gerard Robinson (president of Black Alliance for Educational Options), and Chester Finn (president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute), The Cartel explores what dedicated parents, committed teachers, clear-eyed officials and tireless reformers are doing to make our schools better for our kids.
This movie will force the scales to fall from the eyes of policymakers, education officials, reformers, intellectuals, teachers, and taxpayers. Putting a human face on the harm done by the educational cartel, The Cartel takes us beyond the statistics, generalizations, and abstractions that typically frame our debates about education-and draws an unequivocal bottom line: If we care about our children's futures, we must insist upon far-reaching and immediate reform. And we must do it now.
Opening: April 16
Venue: Quad Cinema/New York City; Laemmle Sunset 5/Los Angeles
Film: Exit Through the Gift Shop
Dir.: Banksy
Distributor: Producers Distribution Agency
http://www.banksyfilm.com/
Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the Palestinian segregation wall in the West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop is the story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur filmmaker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner with spectacular results. Billed as "the world's first street art disaster movie," the film contains exclusive footage of Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Invader and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work. As Banksy puts it, "It's the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed."
Opening: April 22
Film: Oceans
Dirs.: Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud
Distributor: DisneyNature
http://disney.go.com/disneynature/oceans/
DisneyNature, the studio that brought you the 2009 box office hit Earth, returns with on Earth Day 2010 with Oceans. Nearly three-quarters of the earth's surface is covered by water, and Oceans boldly chronicles the mysteries that lie beneath. Directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud dive deep into the very waters that sustain all of mankind, exploring the playful splendor and the harsh reality of the wired and wonderful creatures that live within. Featuring spectacular, never-before-seen imagery captured the latest underwater technologies, Oceans offers an unprecedented look beneath the sea in a powerful, yet enchanting motion picture.
Opening: April 23
Venue: Quad Cinema/New York City
Film: Behind the Burly Q
Dir./Prod./Wtr.: Leslie Zemeckis
Distributor: First Run Features
http://www.behindtheburlyq.com/
Burlesque and vaudeville acts were America's most popular form of live entertainment in the first half of the 20th century--until cinema drove them from the mainstream. To add insult to injury, the art of burlesque became vilified and misunderstood, and was largely left out of our cultural history. By telling the intimate and surprising stories from its golden age through the women (and men!) who lived it, Behind the Burly Q reveals the true story of burlesque, even as it experiences a new renaissance.
Opening: April 30
Venue: Laemmle Sunset 5/Los Angeles
Film: Dirt Hands: The Art & Crimes of David Choe
Dir.: Harry Kim
Distributor: Upper Playground
http://dirtyhandsmovie.com/
Director Harry Kim spent eight tumultuous years following a young, near-schizophrenic street artist, David Choe, who devises numerous criminal schemes that make it possible for him to hitchhike across the
globe. Choe skirts the legal constraints of society to "freely" create his art. His nonchalant law-breaking style lands him in jail several times, leading to his eventual demise in solitary confinement in a Tokyo prison cell. He resurfaces with a radically religious agenda and returns home with hope to overcome his criminal temptations and repair his severed relationships.
The filmmaker (who has been friends with Choe since they met at the Korean-American teenage summer camp in 1990) captures the complexity of David's life though a collage work of archived childhood home videos, still photographs, intimate artwork, animation, and eight years of footage shot on the road with the artist.
The Peabody Awards, among the most distinguished honors in media, have been around since before the Web, and before television. Indeed, this year marks the 69th edition of the Peabodys, which operate out of University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Yesterday's announcement of the 2010 awards include a bevy of documentaries, including two from PBS' Independent Lens series: Vanessa Gould's Between the Folds and Margaret Brown's The Order of Myths. Other docs to snag a Peabody include Brick City, the Sundance Channel series by Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin about Newark, New Jersey Mayor Corey Booker and the challenges running a tough city; and Thrilla in Manila, about the storied rivalry between boxers Joe Frazier and Muhammed Ali. What follows is the list of documentaries, with descriptions from the Peabody Awards committee. For a complete list of all the winners, click here; for an article about the Peabody Awards from the September-October 2006 issue of Documentary magazine, click here.
A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains (Prods.: ABCNews; ABC)
A powerful documentary shot in the hollows and house trailers of Appalachia reminds us that not all critical problems lie in "developing" nations.
Independent Lens: Between the Folds (Dir.: Vanessa Gould; Prods.: Green Fuse
Films, ITVS; PBS)
A beautiful documentary about the art of paper folding, it makes you gasp at the possibilities-- of paper and of human creativity.
Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times (Dir.: Peter Jones; PBS)
Digging into the lives and machinations of the first family of Los Angeles newspapers, documentary filmmaker Peter Jones finds drama enough for several feature films.
Brick City (Dirs.: Mark Benjamin, Marc Levin; Sundance Channel)
In this five-hour documentary series, the struggles of Newark's young mayor and other citizens
trying to resurrect their blighted communities are sociologically instructive and dramatically compelling.
Thrilla in Manila (Dir./Prod.: John Dower; Exec. Prods.:
Darlow Smithson Productions, HBO Sports, HBO Documentary Films; HBO)
Taking its title from the last of three legendary heavyweight bouts between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, the documentary pulls no punches and lays bare misconceptions about their rivalry.
FRONTLINE: The Madoff Affair (Prods./Wtrs.: Marcela Gaviria, Martin
Smith; Exec. Prods.: RAINmedia, FRONTLINE;
PBS),
The documentary takes viewers into the very heart of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, explaining how and why it worked for so long.
Independent Lens: The Order of Myths (Dir.: Margaret Brown; Prods.: Folly
River, Inc., Netpoint Productions, Lucky Hat Entertainment, ITVS; PBS)
Margaret Brown's exploration of two Mardi Gras traditions in Mobile, Ala., one white, one black, is highly original, moving and insightful.
Iran & the West
(Prod.: Norma Percy; Exec. Prods.: Brook Lapping Productions for the BBC
in association with National Geographic Channel, France 3, NHK, VPRO, SVT,
RTBF, VRT, NRK, SRC/CBC, DRTV SBS, YLE, TVP and Press TV)
A spectacular, epic documentary that explains in fascinating, sometimes startling detail how the West and Iran arrived at the present standoff, it's imminently watchable and historically invaluable.
American Masters: Jerome Robbins--Something to
Dance About (Dir./Prod.:
Judy Kinberg; Exec. Prod.: Thirteen/WNET; PBS)
A retrospective of Robbins' life and work illustrated with dazzling performance clips and annotated with comments from noted ballet and Broadway colleagues, this brilliant documentary captured the legendary director/choreographer's "dark genius."
Cinema Libre Studio acquired the North American rights to South of the Border, the documentary from Oliver Stone, which chronicles his travels to South America in the winter of 2009, and his conversations along the way with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales (Bolivia), Lula da Silva (Brazil), Cristina Kirchner (Argentina), as well as her husband and ex-President Néstor Kirchner, Fernando Lugo (Paraguay), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), and Raúl Castro (Cuba). The film premiered at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, then screened at the New York Film Festival. Cinema Libre will premiere the film June 25 in New York City.
"Not only is it a genuine honor to work with one of the greatest American directors but his insightful documentary shows how these leaders of Latin America are being intentionally villainized by the US mass media," said Philippe Diaz, founder of Cinema Libre Studio, in a statement. "This unique dialogue needed the eye and the courage of a director like Stone to convince us that these leaders are fighting for a more humane society which means defending themselves against American corporate interests."
Said Stone: in the statement, "In January 2009, I traveled to Venezuela to interview President Hugo Chávez and better understand his portrayal in the US media. Once we began our journey, however, we found ourselves telling a larger and even more compelling story about the region, which we call South of the Border. I look forward to partnering with Cinema Libre to bring this film to an American audience, and to the opportunity it affords us to launch a national conversation around the influence of American policy on our neighbors to the South."
Latin America is somewhat familiar territory for Stone. His documentary Commandante, based on a series of interviews he conducted with Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 2002, premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. HBO was set to air it that year, but the cabler pulled out in the wake of Castro's crackdown on dissidents following a hijacking incident. Stone made a follow-up doc, Looking for Fidel, which HBO did air in 2004. Here's an interview the BBC website with Stone about those two films.
Restrepo, the Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning doc about a year on the frontlines with a platoon of US soldiers in Afghanistan, is coming to theaters this July through National Geographic Entertainment, according to Anne Thompson's blog in indieWire
National Geographic Channel had already been slated to air the film this fall, but between now and July, there are no indications that Restrepo will play the festival circuit, although according to Thompson, Sebastian Junger, the film's director and producer with Tim Hetherington, is coming out with a book, War, based on his experiences with the platoon.
According to TV Newser, Discovery Communications acquired the rights to former US VP candidate and current right wing demagogue Sarah Palin's proposed eight-part series on her native Alaska, entitled Sarah Palin's Alaska. The series, which will be executive-produced by reality TV titan Mark Burnett (Survivor; The Apprentice), will air on TLC.
"Our family enjoys Discovery's networks," said the former Alaska Governor, in a statement. "I look forward to working with Mark to bring the wonder and majesty of Alaska to all Americans."
"With a dynamic personality that has captivated millions, I can't think of anyone more compelling than Sarah Palin to tell the story of Alaska," added Burnett in the statement.
Burnett has worked with Discovery before, on the Eco-Challenge specials that ran in the 1990s, but one wonders if National Geographic was ever a candidate to air the series. After all, Palin is an analyst at Fox News Channel, whose parent company, News Corporation, owns National Geographic Channel. Wouldn't Fox want to keep her in the family, rather than lose her to a rival outlet? But more curious, as the much-touted, but undeclared, Republican candidate for President in 2012, she's already gaining lots of airtime through her well-paying analyst position, with the added bonus of free consultation from political operatives/Fox colleagues Roger Ailes and Karl Rove. This gig on TLC, while showing real promise as the biggest Alaska-based series since Northern Exposure, with the former Governor providing the celeb cred, may be cutting a little too close in giving her the opportunity to show off her media appeal in a different context, amid the all-too-long drumroll to Decision 2012.
Elsewhere in TV Land, Realscreen reports that the UK-based Burning Gold Productions is submitting the short film Chimpcam: The Movie, a spinoff from Burning Gold's The Chimpcam Project, to 2010 Wildscreen Festival Panda Awards, under the category "Best Newcomer"-namely, chimp producers Cindy, Emma, Kilimi, Lyndsey and Lucy and directors Ricky, Qafzeh, Kindia, Liberius, David and Louis. If Wildscreen has restrictions as to the number of award recipients, things are bound to get raucous among the primates.
The Chimpcam Project aired on BBC2's Natural World in January. Researchers at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland studied the intelligence of chimps through a series of experiments, one of which was to test their reaction to seeing moving images of themselves, then give them cameras to make their own film. Here's the result:
Now, the Chimpcam Project team claims this is the first movie made entirely by chimps—but there is a precedent. Over 20 years ago, Zippy the chimp debuted his Monkey-Cam on Late Night with David Letterman. See for yourself:
The 2010-2011 Awards Season will be a week shorter than this year's edition. With no Winter Olympics to compete for viewers next year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that it would move its annual Academy Awards presentation back to its last-Sunday-in-February slot--February 27, 2011, to be precise. The time period between the nominees announcement and the telecast will actually be the same-four weeks and five days.
Here's the schedule of key dates to mark in your calendars. For more information on the rules for qualifying your documentary for Academy Award consideration, click here.; and check back with IDA over the next few weeks for information about the 2010 DocuWeeks Theatrical Documentary Showcase.
September 1, 2009-August 31, 2010: Eligibility period for qualifying feature and/or short documentaries. An extension of the eligibility period to September 30, 2010, may be granted only if the film has legal contracts with exhibitors guaranteeing that it will complete both qualifying commercial runs before the extension deadline. For feature documentaries to be eligible for 83rd Academy Awards consideration, a documentary feature must complete both a seven-day commercial run in a theater in Los Angeles County, and a seven-day commercial run in a theater in the Borough of Manhattan during the eligibility period. For short documentaries, the film must complete a seven-day commercial run in a theater in either Los Angeles County or in the Borough of Manhattan, between September 1, 2009 and August 31, 2010.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010: For both shorts and features--All paperwork (including legal contracts if applicable) must be completed and received by the Academy no later than 5 p.m. PT.
2nd Week in October: Short List for Documentary Short Subject
Monday, October 18: In addition to the 30 DVDs required for the first round of balloting, filmmakers whose entries are voted onto the shortlist for Documentary Short Subject must submit another 40 DVDs, without trailers or other extraneous material, capable of playing on Region 1/NTSC DVD players, as well as either two 35mm or 70mm film prints (16mm is not acceptable) or two DCP versions of the documentary by 5 p.m. PT.
2nd or 3rd Week in November: Short List for Documentary Feature
Saturday, November 13, 2010: Governors Awards presentation
Wednesday, December 1, 2010: Official Screen Credits forms due
Wednesday, December 1, 2010: In addition to the 30 DVDs required for the first round of balloting, filmmakers whose entries are voted onto the shortlist for Documentary Feature must submit another 40 DVDs, without trailers or other extraneous material, capable of playing on Region 1/NTSC DVD players, as well as either two 35mm or 70mm film prints (16mm is not acceptable) or two DCP versions of the documentary by 5 p.m. PT.
Monday, December 27, 2010: Nominations ballots mailed
Friday, January 14, 2011: Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT
Tuesday, January 25, 2011: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater
Wednesday, February 2, 2011: Final ballots mailed
Monday, February 7, 2011: Nominees Luncheon
Saturday, February 12, 2011: Scientific and Technical Awards presentation
Tuesday, February 22, 2011: Final polls close 5 p.m. PT
Sunday, February 27, 2011: 83rd Annual Academy Awards presentation
IndieGoGo, a fundraising platform, announced at SXSW its acquisition of Distribber, a digital distribution service. This acquisition enables IndieGoGo to offer clients a full range of tools for project execution, from funding to distribution.
IndieGoGo, co-founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin and Eric Schell, and operating out of Berkeley, Calif. and New York City, was the largest online film funding platform at the end of 2009. In 2010 IndieGoGo announced its expansion--offering fundraising tools to any project trying to raise up to $100,000. This includes ideas in writing, usic, social causes, technology, events, venture and politics. Based on the concept of DIWO (Do It With Others), IndieGoGo offers all the tools needed to promote and fund projects via the masses. IndieGoGo encourages projects to offer VIP perks in exchange for contributions, allowing thousands of project owners to involve their fans in funding and creative efforts.
"Since 2008, IndieGoGo has powered fundraising campaigns for over 3,000 customers in 94 countries," said Slava, in a statement. "Now our creative clients will have an opportunity to distribute their completed works. By adding distribution to the suite of tools that IndieGoGo offers, clients can stay with one company and receive consistency in execution and service."
Distribber, based in Los Angeles, was founded in 2009 by Adam Chapnick as a digital distribution service. The innovative company is currently dedicated to empowering independent filmmakers with distribution opportunities, without loss of rights or back-end revenue. Distribber uses iTunes as an outlet for distribution, and recently added new distribution partnerships with Netflix and Amazon. In addition, a new version of the Distribber site was released today
"The IndieGoGo brand is synonymous with stellar technology, outstanding service and wide reach," said Chapnick, in a press statement. "I'm incredibly excited to provide Distribber's current and future clients access to everything IndieGoGo has to offer, and to give the IndieGoGo client base another way to monetize their projects."
In an e-mail to documentary.org, Chapnick added, "I'm absolutely thrilled. There are already a hundred ways Distribber's progress has been accelerated, and we've barely scratched the surface in exploring how the synergies will help both companies' client bases. The acquisition enables IndieGoGo to offer members a full range of tools for project execution, from funding to distribution."
The launch slate includes Africa's Lost Eden, which captures the largest relocation effort ever attempted of hundreds of zebra, wildebeest, impala, buffalo and hippos; Rebel Monkeys, which features romps with the intelligent and mischievous monkeys in the streets of Jaipur, India, where they have been given free rein; and and Expedition Wild With Casey Anderson, a series documenting the naturalist's relationship with a 800 lb grizzly bear (we assume he's studied Grizzly Man for a few tips on what NOT to do!).
Curious about what various television channels pay for programming? Check out the new site DocumentaryTelevision.com, which is authored by Aussie-turned-New Yorker media consultant Peter Hamilton. So far the site includes profiles of the various Discovery Channels, A&E and History with breakdowns on commission rates and programming needs. For those of you who have sold shows or series to these channels, we're curious if Hamilton's numbers line up with your own experiences so we know if it's a reliable resource. If you have feedback, please email me at krinskydoc@gmail.com (all info will be kept confidential).
BritDoc has announced the line up for the Good Pitch, hosted by the Tribeca Film Institute in NYC during the Tribeca Film Festival. Eight filmmaking teams will pitch their projects and associated outreach campaigns during the event on April 27th, during which the goal is to build an alliance around each film. The lucky filmmakers are: Tom Rielly (Moving Windmills), Jennifer Arnold (A Small Act), Michele Stephenson & Joe Brewster (An American Promise), Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady (Detroit Hustles Harder), Michael Collins (Give Up Tomorrow), Alexandra Codina (Monica & David), Lee Hirsch (The Bully Project) and Eugene Martin (Anderson Monarchs Soccer Club).
The Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place April 21 to May 2, has announced both the competition and non-competition films for its ninth edition. Among the 85 feature-length and 47 short films on the schedule, the fest has programmed 12 documentaries in the World Documentary Competition, two works-in-progress, six docs in the Encounters section, seven in the Discovery section and one in the Spotlight section.
In addition, the recently announced Tribeca Film Tribeca Film initiative, a comprehensive distribution and marketing platform for independent film, will release seven titles, including two documentaries, for day-and-date VOD during the festival, then expanding to theatrical, home entertainment, airline, hotel, subscription and advertising-supported digital platforms. Tribeca Enterprises has formed partnerships with leading cable, satellite and telecom providers, including Comcast, Cablevision and Verizon FiOS to reach more than 40 million households. The titles will be available on a Tribeca-branded menu for a minimum of 60 days.
And for those of you who can't make that trek to Gotham, Tribeca Film Festival Virtual Tribeca Film Festival Virtual will run online April 23 to 30 and a limited number of premium pass-buyers will be able to watch a selection of full-length 2010 TFF features, which will screen day-and-date with each film's Festival premiere. Pass-holders will also be able to view exclusive original content and 2010 TFF short films, as well as interact in real time with filmmakers, industry leaders and fellow film enthusiasts.
So, without further ado, here come the docs!
World Documentary Feature Competition
American Mystic, directed by Alex Mar. (USA)--World Premiere. Set against a vivid backdrop of American rural landscapes, Alex Mar's meditative documentary artfully weaves together the stories of three young Americans exploring alternative religion: a Wiccan in California mining country, a New Ager in upstate New York, and a Native American father and sundancer in South Dakota, all yearning for fulfilling spirituality in disparate but often strikingly similar ways.
The Arbor, directed by Clio Barnard. (UK)--World Premiere. Brilliantly blending the borders of narrative and documentary filmmaking, artist-cum-director Clio Barnard beautifully reconstructs the fascinating true story of troubled British playwright Andrea Dunbar and her tumultuous relationship with her daughter. Working from two years of audio interviews, Bernard uses classic documentary techniques, actors, theatrical performance, and Dunbar's own neighborhood to generate a unique cinematic feast while unraveling the truths of a dark family past.
Budrus, directed by Julia Bacha. (USA, Palestine, Israel)--North American Premiere. In one of the most conflicted parts of the world, a Palestinian family man unites rival parties Fatah and Hamas, Western activists, and even groups of progressive Israelis in a nonviolent crusade to save his village from being destroyed. Award-winning documentarian Julia Bacha (Encounter Point, TFF '06) captures with rawness and galvanizing intensity the power of ordinary people to peaceably fight for extraordinary changes.
Earth Made of Glass, directed by Deborah Scranton. (USA) --World Premiere. This powerful investigative documentary by the Oscar-nominated director of The War Tapes (best doc, TFF '06) skillfully weaves interviews with President Kagame of Rwanda and Jean-Pierre Sagahutu, a survivor of the horrific 1994 genocide. When a president and a citizen--bound together by a profound love of country and an unquenchable desire to see the truth revealed--fight to expose the truth behind a murder and France's hidden role in the Rwandan genocide, their stories will inspire and uplift.
Feathered Cocaine, directed by Thorkell Hardarsson and Örn Marino Arnarson. (Iceland) --World Premiere. Behind drugs, people and weapons, falcon smuggling has become the world's most mysterious and profitable illegal trade. Held in highest esteem by the wealthy elite throughout the Persian Gulf, the sporting birds have earned the label "feathered cocaine" as thieves race to ransack them from all parts of the world. This bold investigative documentary unspools the surprising links between the falcon trade and royal dynasties, the CIA and KGB, the oil industry and Al Qaeda....
Freetime Machos, directed by Mika Ronkainen. (Finland, Germany)--North American and TFF Virtual Premiere. Matti and Mikko play for Finland's worst amateur rugby team. Overworked and domesticated, the two men long for a space to revel in their masculinity and bond with other men. Following the two friends and their teammates on a quest to end the season with just a single win, award-winning writer/director Mika Ronkainen (Screaming Men) crafts a genuine and disarmingly funny love story of modern male friendship. Part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.
Into Eternity, directed by Michael Madsen. (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Italy) --International Premiere. Three miles below the earth, the people of Finland are constructing an enormous tomb to lay to rest their share of humans' 300,000 tons of nuclear waste. To avoid disaster, it must remain untouched for at least 100,000 years. In this poetic, hauntingly beautiful, and thought-provoking doc, Danish filmmaker Michael Madsen ponders how to warn future civilizations that the buried treasure of our nuclear era--unlike the pyramids and great tombs of pharaohs--must never, ever be discovered.
Monica & David, directed by Alexandra Codina. (USA)--North American Premiere. Monica and David are in love. Truly, blissfully in love. They also happen to have Down syndrome. Alexandra Codina's affectionate and heartwarming documentary is an intimate, year-in-the-life portrait of two child-like spirits with adult desires. Supported (and, for more than 30 years, sheltered) by endlessly devoted mothers, Monica and David prepare for their fairy-tale wedding and face the realities of married life afterward.
Sons of Perdition, directed by Jennilyn Merten, Tyler Measom. (USA)--World Premiere. In the polygamist community cultivated by the notorious (and now incarcerated) "prophet" Warren Jeffs, women are a commodity, children are reared to be ignorant, and free thought is surrendered. For a group of teenage boys, the desire for autonomy means banishment from their homes and families. This fascinating documentary explores the heartbreaking losses and hopeful determination of these exiles as they struggle to make new lives in mainstream America.
Thieves by Law (Ganavim ba Hok), directed by Alexander Gentelev. (Israel, Germany, Spain)--World Premiere. In an unprecedented insider first look, Thieves by Law is a front-row invitation into the living rooms and offices of some of the most controversial and elite head honchos in the Russian mafia. Rising through the criminal ranks, the balance of what's legitimate versus what's illegal, and the meaning behind those tattoos made so famous by Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises... it's all out on the table.
The Two Escobars, directed by Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist. (USA, Colombia) - World Premiere. Born in the same city in Colombia but not related, Andrés Escobar and Pablo Escobar shared a fanatical love of soccer. Andrés grew up to become one of Colombia's most beloved players, while Pablo became the most notorious drug baron of all time. While adeptly investigating the secret marriage of crime and sports, Michael Zimbalist and Jeff Zimbalist (Favela Rising, TFF '05) reveal the surprising connections between the murders of Andrés and Pablo. Part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.
The Woodmans, directed by C. Scott Willis. (USA, Italy, China)--World Premiere. The Woodmans are a family united in their belief that art-making is the highest form of expression and an essential way of life, but it's only photographer daughter Francesca who achieves worldwide acclaim--after a tragedy that would forever scar the family. With unrestricted access to all of Francesca's works and diaries, The Woodmans paints an incisive portrait of a family broken and then healed by its art. In English, Italian with English subtitles.
Works-in-Progress
Untitled Eliot Spitzer Film, directed by Alex Gibney (USA) --Work-in-Progress screening. Academy Award winner Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, TFF '07) takes an in-depth look at New York governor and "Sheriff of Wall Street" Eliot Spitzer, who many believed was on his way to becoming president. Then, shockingly, Spitzer's meteoric rise turned into a precipitous fall when he was caught seeing prostitutes. And as the Sheriff fell, so did the financial markets. With unique access to friends and enemies of the ex-governor, this documentary explores the hidden contours of this tale of hubris, sex and power.
The Western Front, directed and written by Zachary Iscol. (USA)--Work-in-Progress screening. In 2004, writer/director Zachary Iscol fought as a US Marine in Al Anbar, Iraq's most violent province. Five years later, Anbar has been transformed into one of the safest, but not because the insurgency was defeated. When Zach returns, he begins to confront the awful dilemmas he faced fighting an enemy that hid among civilians. Profoundly honest, this documentary explores these dilemmas from all sides to reveal a simple but surprising truth about the nature of war and peace.
Encounters
Climate of Change, directed by Brian Hill. (USA/UK)--North American Premiere. A group of 13-year-olds in India rally against the use of plastics. A renaissance man in Africa teaches villagers to harness solar power. Self-described "hillbillies" in Appalachia battle the big business behind strip-mining. Tilda Swinton beautifully narrates this rich and inspiring documentary--from the producers of An Inconvenient Truth--about a world of regular people taking action in the fight to save our environment. Executive produced by Participant Media and the Alliance for Climate Protection. A Tribeca Film release.
Last Play at Shea, directed by Paul Crowder and Jon Small (concert footage). (USA) -- World Premiere. The intersecting histories of a stadium, a team and a music legend are examined in a documentary that charts the ups and downs of the New York Mets and the life and career of Long Island native Billy Joel, the last performer to play Shea Stadium. Set to the soundtrack of Joel's final Shea concerts, Last Play interweaves personal Joel interviews with exclusive concert footage--featuring guests like Tony Bennett and Roger Daltrey. Part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.
My Trip to Al-Qaeda, directed by Alex Gibney. (USA)--World Premiere. Academy Award winner Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, TFF '07) collaborates with Lawrence Wright to bring Wright's titular one-man play to the screen. With equal parts Spalding Gray and An Inconvenient Truth, My Trip to Al Qaeda chronicles fundamentalist Islam's rise to power and explores Wright's struggle to maintain his objectivity as a journalist writing about Islamic terror.
RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage, directed by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn. (Canada) --World Premiere. For fans and newcomers to the legendary Canadian band Rush, this is the music documentary to experience. Directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn embark on a comprehensive exploration of this extraordinary power trio, from their early days in Toronto through each of their landmark albums to the present day. Sit back and revel in the words, music, and wonder of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.
Vidal Sassoon The Movie, directed by Craig Teper. (USA)--World Premiere. With the geometric, Bauhaus-inspired hairstyles he pioneered in the '60s and his "wash and wear" philosophy that liberated generations of women from the tyranny of the salon, Vidal Sassoon revolutionized the art of hairdressing. This fun, fast-paced documentary traces with visual gusto the life of a self-made man whose passion and perseverance took him from a Jewish orphanage in London to the absolute pinnacle of his craft.
Visionaries, directed by Chuck Workman. (USA)--World Premiere. Oscar-winning filmmaker Chuck Workman brings alive the vibrant history of the avant-garde cinema. Through interviews with filmmakers and critics including Jonas Mekas, Kenneth Anger, Su Friedrich and Amy Taubin, he reveals how this artistic movement highlights subjective vision, sensory experience and dreams over plot and storyline. Workman couples these conversations with a dazzling array of diverse extracts from experimental films that illuminate for the general audience a qualitatively different kind of moviegoing experience.
Discovery
Arias with a Twist: The Docufantasy, directed by Bobby Sheehan. (USA)--North American Premiere. A joyously uplifting celebration of the creative process and the inventive, outrageous downtown art scene of New York of the past 30 years, Arias with a Twist focuses its lens on the inspired collaboration between cabaret and drag artist Joey Arias and master puppeteer Basil Twist, whose groundbreaking 2008 show brought them some of the biggest success of their careers. Featuring never-before-seen footage of Andy Warhol, Jim Henson, Keith Haring, Grace Jones and Divine.
Gerrymandering, directed by Jeff Reichert. (USA)--World Premiere. This wake-up-call doc exposes the hidden history of our country's redistricting wars, mapping battles that take place out of public scrutiny but shape the electoral landscape of American politics for decades at time, posing a threat not just to Democrats and Republicans, but democracy as a whole. Featuring stories from nine states, Gerrymandering takes a hard look at the framework of our democracy and how it provides our politicians a perfectly legal way to control electoral outcomes.
Into the Cold, directed by Sebastian Copeland. (USA) - World and TFF Virtual Premiere. The absolute top of the earth is a place few try to reach on foot. Even fewer succeed. With the vast Arctic ice vanishing rapidly, photographer, extreme adventurer and environmental advocate Sebastian Copeland sets out to reach the North Pole on the centennial of Admiral Peary's reach in 1909. This inspiring documentary follows Copeland and his crew on their tumultuous two-month trek--not just through piercing cold and merciless terrain, but straight into the depths of the soul.
Just Like Us, directed by Ahmed Ahmed. (USA)--World Premiere. First-time director Ahmed Ahmed takes us on a hilarious tour from Dubai to Beirut, Riyadh to New York with a gaggle of other stand-up talent, including Maz Jobrani, Tom Papa, Ted Alexandro, Tommy Davidson and Omid Djalili (The Infidel). Along the way, taboos of culture and geopolitics are exploded, and a younger generation of both comedy talents and audiences is born.
Keep Surfing, directed by Björn Richie Lob. (Germany)--International Premiere. This kinetic and fast-paced documentary will put you right on the Eisbach in the heart of Munich, where river-surfing was invented 35 years ago. Stunningly shot with cameras literally on the surfboards, you can sense the exhilaration as they take to the water. With cameos by surfing legends like Nick Carroll and Kelly Slater, Keep Surfing will make you want to hit the waves!
No Woman, No Cry, directed by Christy Turlington Burns. (USA)--World Premiere. More than half a million women each year die from preventable complications during pregnancy or childbirth. In her gripping directorial debut, Christy Turlington Burns shares the powerful stories of pregnant women in four parts of the world, including a remote Maasai tribe in East Africa, a slum of Bangladesh, a post-abortion care ward in Guatemala, and a prenatal clinic in the United States.
The Other City, directed by Susan Koch. (USA)--World Premiere. There's a part of Washington, DC never seen by the tourists and ignored by the mass media. At least three percent of DC is HIV positive, a staggering rate higher than parts of Africa, but the city is also full of encouraging stories of grassroots movements to extend education, combat stigmas, and spread hope. TFF alum Susan Koch's (Kicking It, TFF '08) eye-opening documentary tells the unheard stories behind the growing epidemic in our nation's capital.
Spotlight
Joan Rivers--A Piece of Work, directed by Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg. (USA) - New York Premiere. Joan Rivers is the undisputed queen of American comedy, and at 76 years old, with a career spanning five decades, she shows no sign of slowing down. Following Rivers over the course of a year, A Piece of Work reveals the fascinating combination of vulnerability and irreverence behind the public figure in this endlessly entertaining, quintessential profile of a New York icon.
So sooner had the last Oscars been given out when a plethora of announcements from all over the distro globe came out about new theatrical acquisitions and releases. So, here's a recap:
Lorber Films has acquired the US rights to the all-time cinema classic David Holzman's Diary by Jim McBride. This landmark work from 1967 blends fiction and reality, and made a deep impression on an entire generation of filmmakers in the 1970s. This staged documentary chronicles the character David Holzman's efforts to make a film about himself. The film was one of the first to be selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, with the criteria of being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
"This film is timely right now because it is part of the very DNA of the YouTube generation," Richard Lorber said in a statement. "Jim McBride was the first to bring the immediacy and spontaneity."
Lorber Films will soon announce plans for the theatrical release of this refreshing and timeless work, but for now, in collaboration with the Stranger Than Fiction Documentary Film Series, David Holzman's Diary will be presented at a special one-night only screening of at the IFC Center in New York on Tuesday, March 16 at 8:00 p.m. L.M. Kit Carson, the man who played David Holzman, will be on hand for a post-screening Q&A.
And keeping in it in the Kino Lorber family, Winnebago Man, which premiered at SXSW 2009, was picked up by Kino International for a July premiere in New York City, with a summer and fall rollout to follow. The film, directed and produced by Ben Steinbauer and produced by Joel Heller and Malcolm Pullinger, tells the story of Jack Rebney (a.k.a. "the angriest man in the world"), who has delighted and fascinated millions of viewers with his hilariously foul-mouthed outtakes from an RV sales video--one of the first and most infamous underground videos to be passed hand-to-hand on VHS tapes, before YouTube turned it into a full-blown viral phenomenon. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer takes on the seemingly impossible task of tracking down Rebney, who is more savvy, irascible, deep, weird and cool than you could possibly imagine. In short, he is a star. The film is a hilarious, smart and unexpectedly poignant look at one man's response to unintended Internet celebrity, and ultimately a story of how a so-called "humiliation" can become a beacon of light to many.
And back to Lorber Films, which seems to be on a shopping binge lately...The company acquired three more docs on the eve of their respective premieres at SXSW 2010. Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam, by Pakistani-Canadian director Omar Majeed, follows the progression of the Muslim Punk scene, from its imaginary inception in a novel written by a white convert named Michael Muhammad Knight to a full-blown, real-life scene of Muslim punk bands and their fans. Reel Injun, from Cree-Canadian filmmaker Neil Diamond, takes an entertaining and insightful look at the Hollywood Indian, exploring the portrayal of North American Natives through the history of cinema. And Sound of Insects, the European Film Academy Award-winning documentary from Swiss filmmaker Peter Liechti, is a film meditation based on the detailed notes left behind by a man who committed suicide through self-imposed starvation. All three docs will be released theatrically this year, with Reel Injun already scheduled for a June run at New York's Museum of Modern Art.
Elsewhere in distro land, 45365, fresh from its Film Independent Spirit Award for its makers, Bill Ross and Turner Ross, makes its theatrical premiere through 7th Art Releasing this Friday, March 19 at The Downtown Independent in Los Angeles for a weeklong run, followed by gigs in Denver, Seattle, Chicago and New York City. The film, which premiered a year ago at SXSW, where it won the Jury Prize for Best Documentary, is an intimate vérité portrait of the Ross brothers' hometown of Sidney, Ohio (the zip code for which is the title of the film).
Finally, as reported in indieWIRE, Zeitgeist Films picked up two docs that screened at Sundance and are on the slate at SXSW: Laura Poitras' award-winning The Oath and Lixan Fan's Last Train Home, which picked up the Joris Ivins Award for Best Feature Documentary at IDFA.
The Oath tells the tale of two brothers-in-law, one who served as Osama bin-Laden's bodyguard, and the other who served as his driver, and their respective fates with respect to their associations with al Qaeda. Abu Jandal, the bodyguard, is a taxi driver in Yemen, and the film's charismatic and somewhat wily main character, while we meet Salim Hamdan, who had been imprisoned and put on trial in Guantamano, through his letters to Jandal.
Last Train Home follows one family over three years as they struggle in the face of a dieing rural economy, which has necessitated a mass migration of 130 million people to work in cities. These migrants go home once a year--Chinese New Year--and the wait for a ticket on the train is a nerve-wracking, often weeklong ordeal.
The Oath opens in May, and Last Train Home opens this summer.
Now we know what he was talking about.
The Oscar-winning crew discovered that popular Santa Monica sushi restaurant Hump, was serving whale. A sting operation involving tiny cameras, surveillance equipment and the whole bit revealed that the restaurant did serve Sei whale, which are endangered, to members of the OPS and several undercover federal agents
A New York Times piece reported that "armed with a search warrant, federal officials on Friday went searching for evidence from the restaurant, including marine mammal parts as well as various records and documents. The possession or sale of marine mammals is a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and can lead to a year in prison and a fine of $20,000."
“We’re going to look into the allegations and try to determine what is true,” said Hump's lawyer, Gary Lincenberg, in the story. “Until we have done that, I don’t have any other comment.”
In other Cove news, residents of the town of Taiji, Japan featured in the movie weren't necessarily giving Psihoyos and Co. a standing ovation for his win, according to this Associated Press article, entitled "Japan dolphin hunt town shrugs off 'Cove' Oscar."
The town government went as far as issuing a news statement: "There are different food traditions within Japan and around the world," the statement read. "It is important to respect and understand regional food cultures, which are based on traditions with long histories."
Especially angry was Tetsuya Endo, an associate professor at Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, featured in the film. "I feel that they should have declined the award," he said in the story and is considering legal action.