New York-based distributor, First Run Features, is set to theatrically début six new American-made documentaries this winter.
Opening Friday, January 8 at the Cinema Village is Waiting for Armageddon, directed by award-winning filmmakers, Kate Davis, David Heilbroner and Franco Sacchi. This 2009 release, which premiered at the New York Film Festival, is about America's 50-million strong Evangelical community. This population, which spans most of the country, is convinced that the world's future is foretold in Biblical prophecy. The filmmakers explore, among other things, the politically powerful alliance between Evangelical Christians and the State of Israel and how Armageddon theology has had profound consequences both politically, and between various faiths, in the US and Israel. Armageddon, the film, is handled with a determinedly, non-judgmental approach; there is no narration, nor do the filmmakers seek to demonize anyone, allowing the subjects to speak for themselves. This is an extremely important document for dialogue and, in fact, the night before the film premieres at Cinema Village, an interfaith roundtable will be presented, in conjunction with New York University, at the Puck Building on the 7th of January. There will be influential community leaders, religious leaders and other interfaith-based organizations coming together for discussion. Clips from the film will be used as a catalyst for conversation. (Keep checking this site and the film's Facebook page for upcoming info.) The event will be open and free to the public; seating is limited to 120, including press. Filmmakers and other special guests will also be on hand at most theater screenings in New York throughout the week. The film will then head to Boston and Providence, RI, later in January. Also, co-director, David Heilbroner has a first-person guest blog post on the Huffington Post today about the film. Check it out here. Thus far, there are over 200 comments attached to that post! The film is supported, in part, by the Foundation for Jewish Culture, with outreach support from the Fledgling Fund.
On January 29th, Nicole Opper's Off and Running will premiere at the IFC Center, with special guest hosts almost every night and the filmmaker present at the theater for Q&As. Set in Brooklyn, Opper's feature début is a collaboration with her main subject, Avery Klein-Cloud (pictured above); the partnership garnered them the Writers Guild of America Documentary Screenplay Award at this year's SILVERDOCS and the film also received jury prizes for Outstanding Doc at Outfest and Philadelphia's Q Fest. The film premiered at the '09 Tribeca Film Festival (where it was a top-ten audience fave) and will have its national broadcast début on PBS' P.O.V. 2010 series, airing next November. There is already quite a groundswell of excitement and support for this film in many different communities throughout the nation, particularly here in New York City, and many of independent film's most prestigious and important organizations have been behind it from the start--Tribeca All Access, ITVS, P.O.V., the IFP, DocuClub and New York Women in Film and Television, among others. Opper was also named one of FILMMAKER Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film this year. Off and Running tells the story of the Klein-Cloud family, a white female couple who are raising three children in a loving Jewish household. Before meeting, they had each adopted a child, Tova adopting Rafi, a mixed-race boy, Travis adopting Avery, an African-American girl; after many years together, they also adopted, Zay-Zay, a Korean boy. As Avery nears the end of her high school career and is getting ready for college, she starts to have an urgent need to contact her birth mother, curious about the African-American roots she's never explored. This begins somewhat of a rocky journey, one familiar to us all, as she searches for her true north and tries to gather together all the disparate elements of her identity--African American, Jew, transracial adoptee, athlete, sister, daughter. Click here to see the trailer and read more. Also check back on this site for other up-and-coming extracurricular activities associated with the film. Also coming soon, an extended interview with Opper to add to my arsenal of chats with kick-ass female directors. (There is a book coming, I promise.)
Opening across the country beginning February 5 is Judith Erlich and Rick Goldsmith's The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. This doc is the co-winner of this year's Freedom of Expression Award from the National Board of Review and was one of their picks for five best docs of the year. It also won a special jury prize at the IDFA and is a contender for this year's best doc Oscar prize. Daniel Ellsberg, a high-level Pentagon official and Vietnam War strategist leaked 7,000 pages of top secret documents to the New York Times in 1971 when he concluded that the war was based on decades of lies and falsehoods perpetrated by the US government. This was a watershed moment in history that led directly to the Watergate scandal, Nixon's resignation from the presidency, and the end of the Vietnam War. It was then-Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, who called Ellsberg "the most dangerous man in America."
Opening in New York on February 26 at the Cinema Village and then in San Francisco, Berkeley, Seattle, Washington, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, Denver and Atlanta beginning on March 5, Prodigal Sons will launch its nationwide theatrical run. This film, since its festival opening in Telluride in September 08, has had a really magical festival run, and the film's director, Kimberly Reed, has had a chance to see first-hand how audiences respond to her riveting and open-hearted personal documentary story. The film breaks fresh ground in almost every way. Like Opper's family story, this one is so distinct and individual, dealing with issues most of us might feel we're very far away from, but in fact, transcends its boundaries of circumstance to leave us feeling like we've met another family we can admire and love, a family closer to our own than we would have first thought. Journalists and juries and audiences have adored this film from all corners of the globe. There's a full press archive on the site here if you want to link and read some items (or all of them). Reed, a transgender woman, returns to the small town in Montana where she grew up. She initially took a camera in tow with DP and co-producer, John Keitel, because the trip home was to go to her high school reunion--the first time her classmates would meet her as Kim, instead of the young Paul McKerrow who graduated with them, star athlete, honor student and all-around stud. But the story goes to the heart of the matter very quickly when she comes back together with her estranged brother, Marc, a man who's gone through many changes in as many profound ways as Kim has, and whom she hasn't seen in almost 10 years. Look for Reed and the film to be featured in an article in the February issue of Details Magazine with an essay written by Rick Moody. There will be several press and media events surrounding this film leading up to its run with social engagement and outreach partners, including a Film Talk interview with Reed in mid-February. (Carol McKerrow, Marc McKerrow, Kimberly Reed, pictured.)
Opening in New York on March 12 will be Tales from the Script, Peter Hanson's from-the-horse's-mouth ode to screenwriting, with encounters and anecdotes from Shane Black (Lethal Weapon), John Carpenter (Halloween), Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption), William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver), and others. Sharing never-before-told behind the scenes stories, the writers describe their collaborations (or lack thereof) with the likes of Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. There will be a companion book published by IT Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, that will be in stores in late January.
Lastly, opening on the 26th of March in New York and, then, nationwide in April is Dancing Across Borders, a new feature doc which chronicles the story of Sokvannara Sar, a dancer discovered by arts patron, Anne Bass, on a trip to Angkor Wat, Cambodia in 2000 and brought to the ballet stage here in America. The film explores Sy's relationship with his new milieu, the world of American ballet, and his new culture. The film was directed by Bass and was photographed by Bob Elstrom, Anthony Forma and Tom Hurwitz.
Wunnerful, wunnerful that all these independent docs are getting a crack at getting their name on a movie marquee. Good start to the new year.
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