Still in Motion

Missive from UK

Hello from Sheffield, where I'm knee-deep in the hoopla of a very bustling festival and market.  Last night at the big party at the local roller skating rink (fast becoming a Sheffield tradition), the 2010 Cinema Eye Honors announced their nominees for the ceremony that will take place at the Times Center in NYC in January.  Visit the site to read about all the nominees, and the latest and greatest on the best of nonfiction. 

Umbilically connected to New York wherever I happen to go, I wanted to say "hey," and mention a few things coming up: 

I've been part of the "getting butts in seats" brigade, aka Outreach Producer, for Four Seasons Lodge, a beautiful documentary film opening at the IFC Center this coming Wednesday, November 11.  The director, New York Times' journalist, Andrew Jacobs, some of the subjects of the film, and other crew and special guests, will be there for Q&As throughout the week, and some of our best indie film orgs will be on hand to co-host and join in the festivities for after-screening drinks shindigs.  Shooting People will host Friday night, Arts Engine / DocuClub will be with us on Sunday night, and UnionDocs will host on Monday evening.  Visit the website to get all the info you need, watch the trailer, and meet the extraordinary subjects, the last living generation of Holocaust survivors (two of them, pictured above).  Don't let the "H" word keep you away--it's an exceedingly heart-warming, uplifting and life-affirming film.  You can also visit the First Run Features site to keep abreast of where else the film will be opening across the nation.  Next up on December 11, Four Seasons Lodge will run in Los Angeles and Boston.  If you live in those cities, contact me to learn how you can help us get the word out and plan some special events around the screenings there.  The IFC Center puts up showtimes very close to the opening, so keep checking there and buy your tickets in advance.  There are discounts for groups of 10 or more.

Also on the 11th, which is Veteran's Day, The Way We Get By will have its national broadcast début on P.O.V.  The film is now also available for purchase on DVD--probably will become one of the top 10 stocking stuffers of all time, I would wager.

Rooftop Films sends news that their 2010 submissions have opened and they are welcoming entries for their summer series next year.  You can find downloadable information here or submit through Without A Box.  The superb series runs from May to September and will feature more than 200 films in various outdoor screenings throughout New York City.  All genres, formats and lengths are welcome.

On Monday, November 9, The Flaherty has a hot animation program on tap at Anthology Film Archives in the East Village.  "Experiments With Animation" will feature short works by such talents as Phil Solomon, Martha Colburn, Signe Baumane and Jeff Scher.  Go here for more info.

Okay, gotta pull myself back into the fray here.  I will be having lunch shortly with filmmaker Geoffrey Smith, director of the glorious The English Surgeon and co-director of Presumed Guilty which débuted at Toronto in September and is playing the fest here before moving on to CPH:DOX in Copenhagen next week.  It's a tremendous film and it will be fascinating to see the furor it will cause in Mexico where the story is told.  I'll have a full review soon, but watch for this one.  It will be one of the most important films of 2010.

I will have much more from Sheffield in the next couple of weeks, but back to just taking it all in--seeing great nonfiction films and getting to visit and converse with new filmmakers bringing groundbreaking talent and expertise to the field.  It's so awesome to be in the company of thousands of others who are as equally rabid about nonfiction cinema as I am.  Right now, off to Digital Bootcamp with Ingrid Kopp--woo hoo!

Pitch Fever at Sheffield Doc/Fest

Sheffield Doc/Fest Marketplace Producer, Charlie Phillips, writes to say that submissions for this year's main market event, The Meet Market, have gone "haywire," with loads of projects coming in.  There are, however, five other pitch forums that take place during the festival.

Canada's National Film Board (NFB) will have the Crossmedia Pitch.  They're looking for innovative, interactive, socially engaging projects with applications for mobile and broadband.  The theme is "Migrations," and the prize for the best pitch will be C$5,000.  The deadline for submissions is the 9th of October.

The Wellcome Trust Pitch, with a very generous prize of £10,000, is looking for documentary films, games and other online ideas around health, biology or medical themes, also with a deadline of October 9.

The Channel 4 pitch prize comes with a 10 - 12 week commitment to direct a 30-minute film with a £50,000-budget for the channel's critically-acclaimed doc strand, "First Cut."  The deadline for applications is September 25.

The Mini MeetMarket is for emerging filmmakers looking for advice on their projects-in-development and executive producers.  That deadline is October 14.

Lastly, Current TV will host a pitch forum with a prize of £5,000 for the best ideas on UK-based, investigative current affairs pieces.  The deadline is October 16.

So start shuttling all those brilliant ideas over there.  Information and other details for all pitches, plus details on the main market, are on the Sheffield site.  Click on "Marketplace."  Good luck!

Sheffield Doc Fest '09 Announces Highlights

The full film program for the 2009 Sheffield Doc/Fest won't post until early October, but the press office has released a teaser roster of films that will be showing there this year.  Added to this year's showcases will be a whole category devoted to Comedy docs and one on Cross-platform docs, in addition to the existing Music, Green, Arts and "Bent" doc strands.  There will also be a special focus on Russian nonfiction cinema. 

Sheffield is fast-becoming one of the top-tier places to go for an authentic market atmosphere, one in which filmmakers, producers, funders, programmers, sales agents and commissioning editors have highly structured time together.  The Meet Market component has been lauded by the likes of executive producer, Julie Goldman of Cactus Three, writer and Austin Film Society communications manager, Agnes Varnum and SXSW head of programming, Janet Pierson, for its organization and proficiency in making productive meetings happen between all interested parties.  And speaking of parties, they're apparently legendary there and that has a lot to do with its feisty director, Heather Croall, a party girl supreme with good strong brain matter between her ears.  The documentary world is lucky to have her.  And Marketplace Producer, Charlie Phillips, keeps everyone up-to-date on the latest and greatest by hosting Sheffield's informative blog site.

In its 16th year, Sheffield will screen more than 100 films from November 4 - 8, including 16 world, and 10 EU premieres.  Film programmer, Hussain Currimbhoy, acknowledges that, "The appetite for documentary is still voracious and changing viewing habits are proof of this with new online platforms for watching docs.  Financial crises or not, it seems like documentary is the one genre in film that is constantly evolving and responding to changes in its environment and adapting to its audience."

The Music doc strand will feature Barbara Kopple's Woodstock: Now and Then (Kopple, pictured), its EU premiere and Gabriel Noble's P-Star Rising, its UK premiere.  The Green doc strand will feature Robert Stone's Earth Days, its UK premiere, and Louis Psihoyos' The Cove.  And the inaugural Comedy strand will feature Ben Steinbauer's heart-warming Winnebago Man, its EU premiere, and Jenna Rosher's delightful and powerful, Junior, its international premiere after débuting domestically at SILVERDOCS this past June.  Some of the slated world premieres are Jawed Taiman and Sharon Ward's Addicted in Afghanistan, Michel Negroponte's I'm Dangerous With Love and Erasing David by David Bond.

Tickets for the public go on sale Monday, October 5.  Click here for more info and to keep updated on the fest's offerings.  Let's see if Cinderella can pack up her slippers and ballgown and jettison herself over the Atlantic in November.  Stay tuned for more news from Sheffield in the coming weeks.

THE ENGLISH SURGEON Opens in NYC

If you read this blog regularly (and if you don't, why not?), you'll know that I've written about this gorgeous film many times before and love, love, love it.  The film's main subject, Dr. Henry Marsh (pictured) will be in New York for opening weekend, as will its director, Geoffrey Smith.  You can read my original review after seeing it at Hot Docs in Toronto last year here.

At the Cinema Village on East 12th Street, The English Surgeon will make its US theatrical début with Marsh and Smith in attendance at the 6:30 p.m. show this Friday the 24th; the 7:10 p.m. show this Saturday the 25th; and at the 3:00 p.m. show this Sunday the 27th. 

There will also be an opening night wine and cheese reception Friday night from 8:30 to 10:30 at the Ukrainian Institute of America (the film takes place mostly in Ukraine) at 2 East 79th Street hosted by the Institute and the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America NY Metro Branch to honor both men.  The film will have its Los Angeles opening next Friday the 31st at the Laemmle's Music Hall in Beverly Hills.

It's also possible to host your own screening of the film as an individual or as part of a larger organization.  Contact Outreach Coordinator, Krystal Lord, at englishsurgeonfilm@gmail.com to discuss how she can help tailor a plan for your organization or community and to also arrange for a personal appearance by Dr. Marsh and/or Geoffrey Smith.

Smörgåsbord

A little bit of this, a little bit of that whilst I'm in the midst of Hot Docs in Toronto, fast becoming my favorite nonfiction film fest (although T/F has a special place in my heart): 

Last week, I experienced my first Tribeca Film Fest since moving to New York a bit less than two years ago (missed it last year since HotDocs overlapped) and I think it'll probably be my last unless I have a film exhibiting there or go as a spectator to catch a flick or two.  The filmmakers were, of course, thrilled to screen in New York and vie for the big cash prizes, but the whole thing left me rather cold as a journalist (the press office really needs a lot of work, folks) and rather ambivalent, truth be told, as an industry guest looking for great fare to program elsewhere.  But I gave it a fair shake in my wrap-up on IDA's e-zine which will be posted soon.  I also have a couple of reviews posted on Hammer to Nail if you care to take a gander--both films, Defamation (which opens DocAviv this week) and Antoine--are also playing up here in Toronto.  Also, look for my interview soon on Shooting People with Beadie Finzi, director of Only When I Dance, a Top-10 audience fave at its Tribeca premiere.

I'm currently working on the transcription of my wonderful interview with Alanis Obomsawin; my first stop yesterday morning was to meet with her at the National Film Board of Canada's (NFB) offices.  The 77-year-old Obomsawin is receiving Hot Docs' Outstanding Achievement Award this year for her decades-long career working in conjunction with the NFB to shine a spotlight on the stories of her people, the Abenaki Nation.  For over forty years, she has directed documentaries that chronicle the lives of the First Nations people.  There will be a retrospective of her films shown here this week, as well.  Thank you to the NFB's Melissa Than for facilitating this meeting.

Filmmaker and producer, Ron Mann, is also having a retrospective here, curated by New York-based filmmaker and writer, Astra Taylor.  Last year, Mann produced her fantastic Examined Life.  As usual, most of my festival coverage, interviews and film reviews will happen post-fest since I will be running from screening to screening every day this week (and some parties, too) to gorge on the best of international nonfiction--there is a wealth of riches here for the documentary film lover and this town is also full of people who adore going to the movies, with the long lines and packed cinemas any time of day or night to prove it.

In other news:  congratulations to AJ Schnack.  indieWIRE reports today that his new film Convention will world-premiere at this year's SILVERDOCS as its Centerpiece screening (June 15 - 22 in Silver Spring, MD).  Schnack led a superstar team of filmmakers as they captured last year's Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.  Schnack was joined by Laura Poitras, Paul Taylor (pictured with Schnack), Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar, Daniel Junge, Nathan Truesdell and David Wilson to capture the experience in grand vérité style through the eyes of the convention's organizers, reporters, police force and other denizens of the city.  I was privileged to see a bit of this at True/False a couple of months ago and I'm very excited to see the finished film and listen to the accompanying talk with all the filmmakers in attendance at the fest in June. 

I'd also like to mention one more item before I go submerge myself in films again:  Greenhouse has just opened their submissions with a deadline of June 1.  Now in its fourth year, the Tel Aviv-based Greenhouse is a program for the development of documentary films crafted by Mediterranean filmmakers from Jordan, Algeria, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey.  The program hosts between ten and twelve projects a year and the selected filmmakers are invited to participate in a year-long program, which meets three times annually, to develop an international production file and project trailer which, in turn, are presented at a pitching forum for international commissioning editors, funders, producers and distributors.  Greenhouse founders, Sigal Yehuda, Yair Lev and Sarah Assouline have shown really stellar results in a very short amount of time and have gathered together some pretty high-profile partners.  To learn more about entry requirements and submission information, click here.

More coming soon from HotDocs.  And, James McNally, we will hook up one of these days!

Let's Make This Interactive

This is what Thom Powers always says when he's ready to open up a filmmaker Q&A session to the audience.  And now he's taken this concept to the Web where everyone can join in, via the D-Word.

D-Word co-hosts, Doug Block, Ben Kempas, John Burgan and Marj Safinia send word that there is a new public forum on the site devoted to Powers' nonfiction cinema series Stranger Than Fiction hosted at New York's IFC Center by Powers and Raphaela Neihausen.  The series is in the midst of its 10th year and will host such directors as Doug Pray, Jonathan Demme and Peter Davis this spring season.

The online conversation will reflect the criticism, insider sharing and professional networking (but, alas, not the drinking) that happens every week at STF.  Now you can join in from anywhere to learn how you can start your own local film clubs and screening series and chat about a wide array of topics about the current state of making (and viewing) nonfiction cinema.

The proceedings start right before STF screens Doug Pray's Sundance premiere, Art & Copy this Tuesday.  D-Worders will discuss the intersection between documentary and advertising.  The dedicated Stranger Than Fiction strand on the D-Word site lives here.  (You might want to bookmark.)  Pour yourself a glass of wine and join the conversation.

An Englishman in New York (and DC)

Last night at Thom Powers' Stranger Than Fiction spring season opener, director Geoffrey Smith (pictured) and his subject, Dr. Henry Marsh, were there to talk about their superb collaboration in making one of the top nonfiction films of '08, The English Surgeon.  Smith reported that the evening was "brilliant, just brilliant.  Packed house and the most amount of love and awe you can imagine.  We will definitely be having a week in NYC at some point.  John Vanco [GM of the IFC Center] wants it, he just has to find a slot, so I will keep you posted."

Smith and Marsh were also fêted at Sunday night's Cinema Eye Honors with two nominations for the film, Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, and Outstanding International Feature.  (Cave and Ellis will be releasing a two-CD compilation of their soundtrack music for The English Surgeon, The Proposition and The Assassination of Jesse James this summer.)

I was lucky enough to see the film at last year's Hot Docs in Toronto where it took the top international prize for Best Feature.  Here's what I wrote after seeing it there:

The first thing I viewed was Geoffrey Smith's The English Surgeon (the subject of this beautiful piece, the brave Dr. Henry Marsh, pictured, and one of his patients, Marian Dolishny, pictured with his beloved cat).  Winner of the Best International Feature Documentary at Hot Docs, this film's assured storytelling craft serves its magnificent subjects well.  Emotionally and visually rich, the film tells the story of Dr. Marsh, an esteemed neurosurgeon based in London, his dark humor tinged with an unrelenting sense of mission and the lusty joy of, as he describes it, "the bloodsport of brain surgery."  There is obviously a profound and deep respect between director Smith and his subjects and they offer up their humanity in all its raw and glorious aspects. 

Henry Marsh has been going to Kiev for over 15 years to offer what assistance he can to doctors working within an antiquated, crumbling medical establishment,  one that ends up killing more people than it aids or saves, particularly when it comes to brain surgery.  We learn that due to negligence, by the time most people come for evaluation, there is absolutely nothing that Marsh and his Russian colleague, the beleaguered Dr. Igor Kurilets, for whom Marsh is both a mentor and benefactor, can do, the scans portending the inevitable news that these people are, indeed, living on borrowed time.  The scenes where the doctors have to sit and tell the person sitting across from them that they only have a little while to live are devastating--quiet, intense, hopeless.  Refusing to give false hope, the doctors must deliver the worst news possible to a long line of people that wait outside their offices to hear their fate.

The scene where we get to witness, from start to finish, the brain surgery on the young and devout Marian is beautiful.  Described as "horrible" and "gruesome" by some, I watched this scene with awe.  It reminded me of the ear reconstruction scene in Manda Bala and the open heart surgery scene in All That Jazz--certainly not as stylized and operatic as those, but fascinating in its portrayal of a collaboration between doctor and patient.  As Marsh says, his patients help make him "brave."  Marsh feels it's essential for the success of the operation that Marian stay awake throughout the entire process (including the first drill into the skull), so Marian can communicate with his surgeons as they work to remove the massive tumor in his brain. We are privileged to sit and watch a small miracle happen before our eyes.  And, odd to say, there are many laughs in this scene, as well.

Marsh is haunted by one failed case, in particular, and in the climax of the film, accompanied by Kurilets, pays a visit to the mother of a young girl he tried to save several years ago.  She greets the two doctors with a houseful of relatives gathered around her for emotional support, and a table laden with food.  As they share a meal (no one can really eat anything), the doctor lets her know how devastated he still is that his efforts to save her daughter, Tanya, caused more damage to the already sick little girl, violating, in his mind, medicine's most precious oath--to do no harm.  I can't even think about that quietly powerful scene without welling up.   

Incredibly, Smith shot this over just two weeks in the winter of '07 and manages to tell a deeply moving story of pathos and redemption, every shot illustrating with delicacy and grace (and loads of humor), a portrait of a true humanitarian.  Nick Fraser, the editor of BBC Storyville and with Greg Sanderson, the executive producer of the film, says, "There are very, very few films I love quite as much as this one."  I loved it, too.

For those in DC, you're in luck this week:  there will be a special screening of The English Surgeon presented by SILVERDOCS this Thursday, April 2 at 7:00 p.m. with Geoffrey Smith in person at the AFI Silver Theatre.  Click here for more info and to buy tickets.

IN A DREAM's Theatrical Release

Jeremiah Zagar's first feature film is a beauty.  It's fresh off the festival circuit (it world-premiered at SXSW last year) where it has garnered numerous awards.  I saw it at Woodstock in October where it won for Best Documentary and Best Editing; you can read my impressions here.

The film releases theatrically in the next few weeks starting with a four-city run, and will then expand to other cities in April and May.
 
Zagar's In a Dream was one of fifteen films shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and is nominated for two Cinema Eye Honors this Sunday night for Best Achievement in Music Composition (a new category) and Outstanding Achievement for a Debut Feature (which Jennifer Venditti won last year for her film, Billy the Kid). 

International Film Circuit will exhibit the film in New York at The Cinema Village, starting Friday April 10; in Philadelphia (where the Zagar family resides and where the film takes place) at the Landmark Ritz at the Bourse and in San Francisco at The Roxie, starting Friday April 17; and in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Music Hall, starting Friday April 24.  Spring is in the air and the docs are at the neighborhood cinemas--yes!

TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE To Air on HBO

Academy Award and Cinema Eye Honor recipient Alex Gibney's searing and important film airs on HBO on Monday.

In the year following 9/11, the Bush Administration's promise to root out terrorists abroad took a perverse, unsettling turn, with the U.S. military embarking on a policy of humiliation and deprivation designed to get political prisoners to talk. The appallingly inhumane tactics used by military prison guards in Abu Ghraib, Bagram and Guantanamo Bay flaunted the Geneva Conventions, while killing untold numbers of prisoners, including innocent people like Dilawar, a young Afghan taxi driver whose only "crime" was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This film portrays America's loss of dignity in its zeal to win the "War on Terrorism."  Taxi to the Dark Side premieres Monday, September 29 at 9:00 pm EST.  Don't miss it.

Woodstock, STF, DocuClub and More

The IFP's Independent Film Week wrapped up its 30th iteration last Friday with a flourish of quite positive reviews and feedback from many of the attendees.  I'm about to chat with IFP's executive director, Michelle Byrd, to get her thoughts for the event's wrap-up piece in the next issue of FILMMAKER Magazine on this ever-changing and fluid event that attempts, better than most organizations of its kind, to keep up with the ever-changing and fluid business of making independent film projects.  You can go to the magazine's blog to read more about last week's event.  (Pictured: Michelle Byrd, Christian Gaines and Geoff Gilmore at the "State of Film Festivals" panel.)

One of last week's dozens of after-school social events included the launch party for the Woodstock Film Festival's ninth year.  Founded by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto, the festival takes place in the lovely artistic colony of Woodstock, a couple of hours north of the city.  I'm planning on attending again this year, concentrating, natch, on the nonfiction fare on offer.  If you're a local, you should attend this wonderful event--intimate setting, top-notch programming and friendly, friendly, friendly.  It's the perfect place to be at the beginning of the fall season.

Some highlights of this year's film program include the world premiere of Giancarlo Esposito's Gospel Hill, the US premiere of Gavin Oconnor's Pride and Glory, a centerpiece screening of Abdellatif Kechiche's La Graine et le Mulet, the US premiere of Dan Stone's At the Edge of the World (a still from the film pictured below), world premieres of Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon's Johnny Cash's America, Wendy Key's Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight and Hannes Rossacher's Sunshine Superman: The Journey of Donovan, and several strong programs of fiction and nonfiction shorts.

Panels include "Music in Film" moderated by Doreen Ringer-Ross; "Show Me the Money" moderated by Tribeca Film Institute's Brian Newman; "Amazing Women in Film" with Maggie Renzi, Rita Taggart and Barbara Kopple; "Contemporary Trends in Indie Film" and "The Documentary Story Today" with Heidi Ewing, Kief Davidson, Ellen Kuras, Ron Mann, Brett Morgen, Morgan Spurlock and Michael Tucker.  Among many other special events, screenings and musical performances, there will be a conversation with the brilliant James Schamus, this year's Honorary Trailblazer recipient.

This week in the city: tomorrow Thom Powers launches the Fall '09 session of Stranger Than Fiction (there's a great interview with him with Arts Engine recorded during this year's Toronto fest that you can read here).  First up will be the above-mentioned At the Edge of the World, fresh from its world premiere in Toronto.  On Wednesday, join moderator Ingrid Kopp at this month's DocuClub where Jon Cofinas will show his first feature-length documentary, Committed (watch the trailer here).  On Thursday, treat of all treats, the new Maysles Cinema in Harlem will be showing Salesman (1968), and yes, Al will be there for a discussion and Q&A after the film.  Click here for this month's program information.

BILLY THE KID's Now on DVD

Jennifer Venditti's stunning debut feature is now available to order through Amazon, and the disc has lots of very, very cool extras.  You can pre-order your copy of this multiple award-winner by clicking here, or on the Amazon box to the right.  (Venditti, pictured left, in March, holding her Cinema Eye Honor for Best Debut Feature.)

Special goodies include a new anamorphic master created from hi-def elements and enhanced for wide-screen TVs; audio commentary by Venditti and actor Ryan Gosling; a new short by Venditti entitled Pieces That Don't Fit; a director interview (if you want to read mine from last year with this talented woman, click on the link to the right under Filmmaker Interviews); music selections from the film's excellent soundtrack, plus bonus tracks; the US theatrical trailer; a new essay by Miranda July (love that woman!); and snazzy packaging.  Definitely one for the library.

Films in Competition at Britdoc

One week from this Wednesday, the annual festival called Britdoc, fast becoming one of the premiere documentary festivals on the international scene, will welcome filmmakers, producers, commissioning editors, and other industry folk to Keble College at Oxford for its third iteration.  The themes this year are Comedy and Music, and they've announced their competition lineup, special guest appearances, and other programs.  I will be covering the festival this year and am very excited to attend.  (The fest's programmer, Maxyne Franklin, is also a member of the esteemed nominating committee for the Cinema Eye Honors.)  An initiative of the Channel 4 British Documentary Film Foundation, the Britdoc festival brings together filmmakers and funders in an intimate setting and, currently, stages the only international pitching forum in the UK.

In honor of the comedy theme, The Yes Men (one of the funniest and most brilliant duos to appear in  film, fiction or non- I've seen) will be showing a work-in-progress.  And as part of the special music program, the fest will be presenting Robert Flaherty's seminal Nanook of the North (this man has been a big part of my life this year!) with a live soundtrack from the Shine Synchro System.  This sounds just as cool as the screening I saw in L.A. a couple of years ago of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, accompanied by a score from Sparklehorse.

The ten British documentaries in the feature competition this year are:  Blood Trail by Richard Parry; Chosen by Brian Woods; Day After Peace by Jeremy Gilley; Heavy Load by Jerry Rothwell (we played this at the Brooklyn Fest, but no one came, alas; his Britdoc pitch from '06 where he found his American funding for this feature is actually in the film); Life After the Fall by Kasim Abid; Man On Wire by James Marsh (already a multiple-prize winner); Starstruck aka Son of Eurovision by Jamie J. Johnson; The End by Nicola Collins; Thriller in Manilla by John Dower (as a rabid boxing fan, I will not miss this); and the well-loved Young@Heart by Stephen Walker, which has already had a very successful theatrical run in the States. 

There will also be a Best of Fests strand where programmers from the major international fests bring a prize-winner, i.e., Trouble the Water from Sundance; Up the Yangtze from the IDFA; Heavy Metal in Baghdad from Berlin; Obscene from Toronto; and At the Death House Door from SXSW.  Lastly, there's the Fourdocs British Short Doc Competition featuring five stellar short-form nonfiction pieces:  The Solitary Life of Cranes by Eva Weber; My Name is Karl by Moritz Siebert; Made in Queens by Nicolas Randall; Valley of the Goats by Leon Dean; and Sanctuary by Lovejit K. Dhaliwal. 

And, an exciting side note for moi:  This week, I will have an opportunity to interview one of the most prolific and intelligent documentary filmmakers around, the UK's own Kim Longinotto.  Her voice is an important one to add to my growing canon of female doc voices, and I'm thrilled that I'll be able to speak to her in person while here in London.  Thank you to my lovely friend, Sandra W., from More4! 

More about Britdoc in the coming days. . .

Jennifer Fox's Flying on the Sundance Channel

Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman is airing on the Sundance Channel starting next Monday, May 5.  The 6-hour film is also available for purchase now on DVD.  The Los Angeles Times says, "Fox travels the globe to talk sex, marriage, babies, divorce, work, identity, oppression, socialization and abuse with her fascinating far-flung friends.  And their combined stories add up to something remarkable: a kaleidoscopic meditation on gender-as-destiny."

I love this film very much and, like a lot of women who have seen it, feel it speaks directly to me and my life.  I also got to sit and talk with Jen last summer right before her NYC theatrical run; you can read our wonderful conversation here.

The film has been screening all over the world, and next week the Sundance Channel will start airing it episodically (you will be hooked, no question).  Click here for the schedule.

Flying is also now available on DVD and it would make for an outstanding Mother's Day gift.  You can pre-order from Alive Mind today and receive a special 15% discount.  The coupon code is AFLYNPO15.

Part of the coda to this wonderful story is that Jennifer did, indeed, end up with the man of her dreams, even though, like a lot of us, she fought it every step of the way!  I saw them walking together hand-in-hand in Tribeca just the other day on their way to see a movie at the fest.

The Bad Boys of Nonfiction--and Their Enabler, the Original Silver Jew

A Message of Support from Joe Berlinger

Post-inaugural Cinema Eye Honors' comments and feedback have been, for the most part, extremely supportive and positive, with a real sense of excitement among the international nonfiction community.  Starting with a "thank you" message on my phone from Outstanding Nonfiction Feature presenter, Barbara Kopple, the next morning, to posts from attendees like Yance Ford and Jason Guerasio, the timbre of comments has been upbeat, imbued with a sense that we've started something that, it is hoped, will have a long and prosperous life.  (Pictured from left: Jared Goldman, Jason Kohn and Joey Frank, accepting for Outstanding Nonfiction Feature for their film Manda Bala (Send a Bullet).)

Thom Powers, co-chair of Cinema Eye, shared with me the following email, sent to him and AJ the next morning from filmmaker Joe Berlinger, the  presenter, with his filmmaking partner, Bruce Sinofsky, for the Outstanding Achievement in Direction (the recipient was Alex Gibney for his Taxi to the Dark Side).

I asked Joe if I could post his email in its entirety here, and he was kind enough to say, yes, go ahead.  So here it is:

Dear Thom and AJ,

As a long-standing member of the documentary community, I just wanted
to congratulate you guys on an amazing achievement with the Cinema
Eye Awards.

For years, I, too, have lamented the documentary-consuming public's
confusion of subject matter versus craft when evaluating the quality
of a nonfiction film.  In the narrative (fiction) feature world, a
poorly made film on an "important" subject would be rejected as
inferior; yet in the world of documentary evaluation, too often a
film is validated in terms of its subject matter instead of its craft.

We know this dilemma well.  In our own way, we tried to break the
mold with "Brother's Keeper" in 1992 by fusing traditional verite
filmmaking with a conscious attempt to emulate fictional narrative
techniques without compromising the "truthfulness" of the material
being presented.   At the time, we were highly criticized for
attempting this cinematic approach to nonfiction filmmaking,
including our use of a heightened visual mode; an emotionally driven
score and an editing style that followed classic narrative (fiction)
structure.  We were also taken to task for our choice of subject
matter and for purposely creating an ambiguous portrait that raised
more questions than it answered and allowing the viewer to come to
his or her own conclusion about the guilt or innocence of Delbert Ward.

Despite winning the Audience Award at the 1992 Sundance Film
Festival, distributors did not know what to make of our film (it was
also a very different theatrical landscape back then, with very few
documentaries getting theatrical exposure.)  So, we rolled up our
sleeves for a year and successfully distributed the film ourselves,
defying the naysayers by believing there was an audience for quality
nonfiction that unfolded on the big screen like narrative fiction.

The point I am trying to make is this:  as one of the early pioneers
of the current new wave of nonfiction theatrical filmmakers with two
decades of hindsight, last night's celebration of outstandingly-
crafted films and the recognition that there should be no rules for
conveying cinematic truth represented a real milestone in the
evolution of the perception of nonfiction films.

I was honored to have been a small part of the evening, and I wish
you the greatest success with this endeavor.

Joe Berlinger

An Elegant Way to Say It All

Tuesday night's ceremony at the IFC Center to celebrate the inaugural Cinema Eye Honors included an award for Outstanding Achievement in Graphics and Animation.  Congratulations, once again, to recipients Lewis Kofsky and Richard Winkler  of Curious Pictures for their work on Brett Morgen's Chicago 10.  You can see who the other nominees in this category were by clicking here.

Over at Media Rights, Shira Golding has written another excellent, extensive article, this time on Drawing Truth: Animation in Documentary.  Golding talks about the use of graphics and animation in several recent nonfiction films like Chicago 10, Judith Helfand and Daniel Gold's Blue Vinyl and Everything's Cool and Emily Hubley's feature-length directorial debut, The Toe Tactic, which just premiered at this year's South by Southwest Film Festival.  The film uses a combination of live action and animation to tell the story of a young woman's grief over her father's death.

Check out the article here.

A Magical Evening at the IFC Center

The fastest blogger in the west (even though he's still on the east coast), and founder and co-chair of the Cinema Eye Honors, AJ Schnack, has already posted the winners from last night's inaugural ceremony.

Last night was what passes for a star-studded evening in documentary and independent film at the IFC Center in the West Village.  The house was packed with nominees, special guests, presenters, filmmakers, distributors, festival programmers and nonfiction film fans.  We had nominees in from South America, Europe and South Africa and our presenter roster was absolutely stellar.  It was everything we wanted it to be--a real celebration.  With Karina Longworth twittering live from the event and a lead story off indieWIRE this morning, we were well-represented by our favorite press peeps, too.  I had such a wonderful time and am so proud of AJ and Thom--they were fantastic hosts and were supported and congratulated by every presenter and honor recipient that came up onto the stage.

Look for an edited version of the show appearing on AOL True Stories soon.  I'll continue to have updates on when the show will be broadcast.  Thank you to everyone who came out to help us launch the maiden voyage of Cinema Eye.  I feel so lucky to have been a part of it all.  Here's to a long life for the CEH!

Congratulations to Jason Kohn, Jared Goldman, Joey Frank, Heloisa Passos,  Doug Abel, Jenny Golden, Andy Grieve, Alex Gibney, Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor, Mikael Rieks, Curious Pictures, Pernille Rose Gronkjaer, Sigrid Dyekjaer, Jennifer Venditti and Seth Gordon, and to the rest of our incredible nominees.

Upcoming Season of STF Kicks Ass!

Thom Powers has managed to get an astounding line-up of presenters for the upcoming Cinema Eye Honors, so it doesn't surprise me that he's, once again, lined up a really stellar program for the next iteration of Stranger Than Fiction.

The series opens April 1 with Margaret Brown's wonderful Order of Myths.  I just saw this at True/False--you can read my review here.  Brown will be appearing in person for a Q&A.

Next up on the 8th is a sneak peek of Ondi Timoner's Join Us.  The director of Sundance's Grand Jury Prize winner, DIG!, will come with her new film about a cult recovery center.  This is the film's first NYC preview since its world premiere at last year's L.A. Film Festival.

On April 15 (yours truly's birthday and, also, alas, the dreaded Income Tax Day), there's Tracking Down Maggie: The Unofficial Biography of Margaret Thatcher.  If there's a filmmaker to do an "unofficial bio" of anyone, it would be Nick Broomfield--he'll be there for a Q&A, too.  The controversial Broomfield once again displays his relentless pursuit of an unwilling subject a la Kurt & Courtney and Heidi Fleiss Hollywood Madam.

April 22 is a TBA program and the following week on the 29th, director James Marsh will appear with The Burger and the King: The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley.  I will see anything Marsh makes--his Man On Wire, which I also saw at True/False, was absolutely the most gorgeous film I've seen, just brilliant.  It's coming to theaters this summer--do not miss it.  The Burger film is from '96 and explores the good ole' USA from Elvis' home, Graceland, to Las Vegas, Nevada through the perspective of the King's eating habits (!).

May 6 brings another TBA film and guest, and then on the 13th, the legendary Barbara Kopple (presenting our Outstanding Nonfiction Feature honor next Tuesday), brings a rarely seen film, My Generation, about the 1990s version of the Woodstock music festival.

May 20 is another TBA, followed by Jonathan Demme's The Agronomist on the 27th.  This 2003 film explores the courageous work done by Haitian radio journalist Jean Dominque with music by Wyclef Jean (whom I adore beyond belief) and Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis.  Demme will be accompanied by producers, Peter Saraf and David Wolff, and Michele Montes, Dominque's wife. 

Closing night on June 3 (summer already????!!!), Albert Maysles will appear in person with Showman from 1963 and Psychiatry in Russia from 1955.  These are two of the Maysles brothers' earliest and most rarely-seen works.  What a treat to be able to see them with the legendary filmmaker in attendance.

You'll probably want to get one of those little red cards for all this; most screenings are sure to sell out.

Cinema Eye Honors on the D-Word This Week

Check in here all this week to read more on the upcoming 1st Annual Cinema Eye Honors at the IFC Center next Tuesday, March 18.  Read the latest updates on presenters and nominees, and be sure to chime in on the conversation.  We'd love to dialogue with you and hear what you think.

The D-Word is an international online community of documentary professionals.  Thanks to Doug Block, Ben Kempas and John Burgan for hosting us!

TAXI TO THE DARKSIDE Theatrical Re-Release

Just got word from Sloane Klevin, editor of this year's Academy Award for Best Documentary, Taxi to the Dark Side, that the film is getting a post-Oscar win re-release in theaters.  Below is a list of theaters at which the film's playing for a limited run.  The film's director, Alex Gibney, also just received the True Vision Award at the True/False Film Festival last week and is a nominee for a Cinema Eye Honor for Outstanding Direction.  We also just got news that Gibney has agreed to present the Audience Choice honor at our ceremony at IFC Center on the 18th.  Click here to cast your vote!

Taxi to the Dark Side Screenings:

Laemmle Music Hall (Beverly Hills, CA)
Nickelodeon 4 Theaters (Santa Cruz, CA)
Elmwood Rialto Cinemas (Berkeley, CA)
Opera Plaza Cinema (San Francisco, CA)
Lark Theater (Larkspur, CA)
Neighborhood Flix (Denver, CO)
Mariemont 3 Theater (Cincinnati, OH)
Main Art Theater (Royal Oak, MI)
Cedar Lee Theaters (Cleveland Heights, OH)
The Avalon Theater (Washington, DC)
Quad Cinema (New York, NY)
Jacob Burns Film Center (Pleasantville, NY)
Cinemart Cinemas (Forest Hills, NY)
Coolidge Corner Theater (Brookline, MA)

Little Fest on the Prairie

Here I am, finally, in Columbia, MO, home to the True/False Film Festival hanging out with many friends and meeting new ones.  I love talking to new filmmakers--the excitement and the palpable sense of a new future unfolding for them is wonderful to see.   And this is a very sweet place to have a debut.

A real quick first post from here (third day already!) because the deal is that I still haven't mastered the art of full-court reportage/blogging while I'm attending festivals like stellar bloggers AJ Schnack and Karina Longworth.  I just really don't want to take the time to sit somewhere for a few hours and write when I can be seeing a film (never before seen) or talking to a filmmaker or hanging out at a local cafe talking about films with friends and colleagues.  Or eating corn poppers at Hot Chicks at midnight.

And I feel, too, that the films I see and the experiences I have deserve more than a rushed or perfunctory "review."  Things need time to percolate with me, anyway--drip, drip, drip, bubble, bubble. 

After an uneventful flight to Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday, I traveled a couple of hours across the state to Columbia, hopping on the filmmaker van with fellow New Yorkers, Ingrid Kopp and Jesse Epstein.  Ingrid is pulling post-screening filmmaker Q&A duties at one of the many splendid venues here (for the record, the still is from one of Ingrid's faves "Girls Rock!" playing here).

Jesse's last installment of her body image shorts, 34x25x36, is playing here in the Working Title program, as is first-time filmmaker, Stephen Hyde's Shika Shika. 

Must dash--will be able to share more when I can take a breath but I've already seen some amazing films.  Tons of people are here (this fest has grown tremendously since its debut five years ago) so need to get my spot in line for panels, screenings and other fun events.