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ReelPolitik
A blog about film and politics, and the politics of filmmaking.
Anthony Kaufman is a film journalist and critic, who has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Village Voice and Slate, and contributes regularly to Variety, indieWIRE, the Wall Street Journal Online and the Utne Reader.
[Email Me]
Articles
- "Piracy May Be an Indie Filmmaker's Best Friend" (Indiewire, October 2011
- "The Decline of Indies on Netflix" (indieWIRE, Sept, 2011)
- "Secretariat" Isn't Hollywood's Only Secretly Conservative Blockbuster" (IFC News, October 2010)
- "Absurdistan: The New Iraq War Cinema" (Village Voice, April 2008)
- "Is Foreign Film The New Endangered Species?" (New York Times, January 2006)
ReelPolitik
Distributor Gets Political with Release of Healthcare Doc During Election Season
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- May 31, 2012 11:34 AM
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- 1 Comment
I wish more film distributors would follow their political leanings with the films they present. When I hear about New York leftwing Jewish indie movie executives releasing the latest Christian agit-prop drama, I always cringe. So I was happy to hear that Roadside Attractions (which has cultivated the religious right before, see "Bella") would be releasing Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke’s documentary “Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare” on October 5, just one month before this year's Presidential Election determines the fate of the free world. (Yes, folks, it's that important.)
Subjective Shots: New Takes on the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- May 30, 2012 9:18 AM
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- 0 Comments
This week, I'm launching a new weekly column at the Sundance Now website, called Docutopia, which will focus on, surprise, surprise, nonfiction cinema. Echoing some of the concerns I've addressed in my ReelPolitik blog, I see Docutopia as a place for me to delve deeper into a particular film or films, or a particular topic relating to the documentary form. For my first story, I'm exploring two of arguably the best nonfiction films of the year so far (both of which happent to revolve around the plight of Palestinians): "5 Broken Cameras," which is opening at the Film Forum today, and "The Law in These Parts," which doesn't have U.S. distribution yet, but may come out in the fall. Follow the link, "Broken Cameras and Unjust Laws," to read the entire story.
Cannes Good-Buys? Should Indie filmmakers be worried about distribution landscape
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- May 29, 2012 2:05 PM
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- 1 Comment
File this post under the politics of filmmaking (not film and politics). Looking at the acquisition landscape after Cannes got me thinking: Should filmmakers be worried? Cannes is never the business hotbed that is Sundance, but this year's number of purchases seemed to be muted. Even IFC Films, perennially the most active buyer in Cannes, only purchased four films (Wheatley's "Sightseers," Loach's "The Angel's Share," Im Sang Soo's "The Taste of Money," Kiaostami's "Like Someone in Love") as of today, when past years saw the theatrical-and-VOD distrib pick up more than half a dozen movies. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I haven't seen Magnolia pick up anything, which means either 1) there were slim pickings at the festival, or 2) the market is downscaling once again.
Torture, Beheading, Christ and Satan: New Mexican Films Stir Up Culture Wars
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- May 25, 2012 9:51 AM
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- 0 Comments
New Mexican auteur Carlos Reygadas' Cannes entry "Post Tenebras Lux" isn't on its surface a political film. But according to an Associated Press report, and taken together with the highly politicized climate surrounding violence and religion in Mexico and the U.S., it might get drawn into ongoing cultural battles. At the same time, a new film about Mexico's Cristero War called "For Greater Glory," starring Andy Garcia and Eva Langoria, which opens in U.S. theaters on June 1, has become a rallying cry for the Roman Catholic Church.
At Cannes, "Respectable Family" Indicts Iranian Society, Corruption
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- May 23, 2012 11:26 AM
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- 0 Comments
"A Respectable Family," a new Iranian film which premiered in Cannes' Directors Fortnight section this week, won't do much to calm the strident anti-artist backlash in the country, which has put acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi under arrest indefinitely, and censored, harrassed and imprisoned countless others. Directed by Massoud Bakhshi (who made the much-admired personal documentary "Tehran Has No More Pomegranates"), the film tells the story of a young man, Arash, who, after more than two decades in Paris, returns to Iran where he becomes embroiled in the dark secrets of his family's past and Iranian society.
Is "Killing them Softly" First Truly Anti-Capitalist Occupy Film?
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- May 22, 2012 10:04 AM
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- 1 Comment
"America isn't a country -- it's a business." The quote comes from Andrew Dominik and Brad Pitt's new crime film "Killing Them Softly," which premiered in Cannes for the public on Tuesday and is already being dubbed an anti-capitalist screed. The L.A. Times' Steven Zeitchik even wrote of the film, "It is arguably the first post-Occupy film -- or, perhaps, what the documentary "Inside Job" might look like if it was a fictional feature."
Economic Crisis Looms Large and Small in Cannes Films
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- May 20, 2012 7:45 PM
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- 1 Comment
Watch out for the trend pieces: By the end of the Cannes Film Festival, mark my words, people will be talking about the global economic meltdown as thematized by Cannes' top cinematic offerings. While the festival is only in its first few days, it's not hard to find a latent sense of economy strife on display, as I have reported for the Wall Street Journal Online.
Trash Docs Dump on Cannes: Filmmakers Talk Pollution at French Fest
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- May 18, 2012 3:58 PM
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- 0 Comments
Is it a coincidence that two new documentaries premiering in Cannes both take on issues of waste and pollution? While one is micro (Fatih Akin's "Polluting Paradise," which premiered today) and the other is macro (British filmmaker Candida Brady's "Trashed," premiering next Tuesday), taken together, the films mark the highest profile showings of social issue docs focusing on the way trash is ruining the planet and our personal health. For a post I did for the Wall Street Journal Online "Talking Trash at Cannes," the filmmakers spoke about what drove them to make their films and what they hope to achieve with them.
Robert Redford Collaborator Joe Ricketts Plans Racist Anti-Obama Ad Blitz
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- May 17, 2012 1:00 PM
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- 2 Comments
What must Robert Redford be thinking? On his last film, "The Conspirator," the famous liberal film pioneer partnered with Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts to bring the story of the assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln and the subsequent court hearings to the big screen. At the Toronto International Film Festival premiere, Redford gave his biggest thanks of the evening to Ricketts: "None of this would have been possible without the support, spiritually and financially, from Joe Ricketts," he said. But now Rickets, the New York Times is reporting, is behind a major plan to bring down President Obama with a racist media blitz.
Protest Songs: "Under African Skies" and the Power of Music Docs
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- May 9, 2012 11:34 AM
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- 0 Comments
There are no shortage of music docs out there, and more than a few also intermingle song with notions of political protest ("Sing Your Song," "Amandla: A Revolution in Four Part Harmony," "The Refugee All Stars"). And while I'm not necessarily a fan of the genre, I was particularly moved by two new films that tackled the role of musical artists and Apartheid-era South Africa at Sundance this year, "Searching for Sugar Man," which opens later this summer, and "Under African Skies," which is getting a limited release, starting this weekend.
Recent Comments
Just stumbled on your article. As an Iranian and a filmmaker, I appreciate your insight into
Of course, because don't we want all our movies to be politically correct and focus-group
That's a fascinating take on the subject, Harry Harrison. And thank you for pointing out that
Ah, Harry, it's funny how certain internet types reduce everything to "moron",
FACTOID: "Similarly, what qualifies Gibney to tackle wikileaks?" Um, mr. factoid, using
Documentary filmmaking, particularly of the type likely to turn up at major festivals and be
The music industry renders your argument moot: the other 86% of the population is overwhelmingly
A close friend of mine works at ITVS. I can tell you that it is a secretive place where the managers
I knew this would be more political oriented. And that's why Pitt signed onto the project. So
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I did see Moulin Rouge. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but not