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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
Is Michael Moore Pro-Piracy: Illegal Copies of "Capitalism: A Love Story" Inspiring OWS?
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- December 6, 2011 8:21 PM
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- 0 Comments
While speaking in Ann Arbor at the Michigan Theater to promote his new book, "Here Comes Trouble," Michael Moore told a crowd they could take part in the Occupy Wall Street movement without getting their hands too dirty, by moving funds from established banks to local credit unions, or pirating Moore's film "Capitalism: A Love Story" and handing it out on the street, according to a story in Heritage Media.
Occupy Cinema Occupies Wall Street "Charging Bull"
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- December 6, 2011 12:13 PM
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- 1 Comment
Long considered off-limits for Occupy Wall Street, the famous charging bull statue in Wall Street has become a symbol of the brutal ways of American Capitalism, and as reconfigured in Adbuster's imagery, a symbol worth reclaiming and co-opting for the OWS movement. Tonight, starting at 6pm, the Occupy Cinema group has come up with an intriguing way to get around the police barricades and make Adbuster's image a reality.
Tributing Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- December 6, 2011 11:57 AM
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- 0 Comments
New York's Exit Art's Digimovies is hosting tribute screenings in honor of convicted Iranian filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof, starting tonight, with the Gotham premiere of Rasoulof's Cannes premiere "Goodbye." I've seen the film, and like Panahi's "This Is Not a Film" (currently appearing on 10 best lists) can attest to its unsparing and incisive examination of living within Iran's current oppressive political environment.
New Round of Death Penalty Docs Seek to Raise Awareness, Completion Funds
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- December 5, 2011 10:05 AM
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- 0 Comments
Time may not have run out for Kirk Bloodsworth, who was wrongfully convicted of rape and murder and spent 9 years in prison, two of which he faced execution. DNA evidence exonerated him. But time is running out for "Bloodsworth: An Innocent Man," Gregory Bayne's documentary portrait of the man (pictured) and his story of criminal injustice: If the project doesn't raise another $3,000 on Kickstarter by 5pm today, it will lose the $22,000 it has already raised.
Do Smarter Politics Make for Better Films?
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- December 2, 2011 10:16 AM
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- 0 Comments
In one of my first blog posts, in 2004, titled "Not My Passion," I took the somewhat controversial position that independent films should be evaluated by their politics. "When a movie caters to the tastes and prejudices of that [mainstream]," I wrote, "it just can't be considered 'independent.'" I recalled the argument after reading some recent remarks made to the Yale Political Union by ThinkProgress.org culture reporter and TheAtlantic.com correspondent Alyssa Rosenberg, who argues art shouldn't merely be judged on aesthetic grounds, but on political ones, as well.
Boycott Cinemark? Theater Chain Blocks "Shame"
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- December 1, 2011 3:57 PM
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- 20 Comments
Cinemark, the nation's third largest theater chain, is crippled by an old-fashioned conservative ideology that doesn't seem fitting with its function to screen the seventh art. According to the Los Angeles Times, Cinemark won't be booking Steve McQueen's blistering new film "Shame," because it has an NC-17 rating.
Will Sundance 2012 Docs Influence Debate on Poverty, Hunger, Economic Inequality?
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- November 30, 2011 4:37 PM
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- 2 Comments
With the announcement of the Sundance competition on Wednesday, the documentary program -- as usual -- is newsworthy: 16 nonfiction films representing some of the most respected filmmakers of the form. As with past Sundance docs, there is a real chance to influence the national discussion on important topics, ranging from American healthcare to nuclear power. I'll never forget trailing Al Gore through the snowy parking lot at the Library before the premiere of "An Inconvenient Truth" some years back. Docs can make a difference, and nowhere is that more apparent than at Sundance.
The Perils of VOD, or Why "Melancholia" Should Be Seen on the Big Screen
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- November 30, 2011 12:54 PM
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- 4 Comments
There are compelling reasons why VOD is a great new weapon in the arsenal of indie filmmakers and distributors. As recounted in a solid new reported piece at The Wrap/Reuters, "the indie film industry has found a life preserver" in day-and date theatrical and video-on-demand simultaneous releases. But I can't help try to pop a hole in the preserver--or at least let out some of its air--because, come on, aren't movies better when seen on the big screen? The article cites recent successes, such as "Margin Call," which is expected to double its $4 million domestic box office through on-demand rentals, and Lars von Trier's "Melancholia," which the story reports is on pace to gross $2 million via VOD.
New Anti-Piracy Campaign Is Simplistic & Racist
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- November 30, 2011 10:03 AM
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- 0 Comments
In the midst of the congressional battles over the Protect Ip Act, which many people--including me--believe will impinge on civil liberties and the freedom of the Internet, the White House is inadvertently taking sides with a new public relations campaign aimed at combating piracy through a strategy of demonization. According to a new PSA (see below), the government suggests buying pirated products aligns you with nefarious hispanic criminal gangs.
Newt Gingrich: Indie Movie Mogul?
- By Anthony Kaufman
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- November 28, 2011 12:08 PM
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- 1 Comment
I don't think Newt Gingrich will become the next president of the United States, but could he be the first great right-wing film mogul and G.O.P. propagandist? Gingrich's brushes with indie documentary filmmaking have always interested me, as have most conservative's ill-fated attempts to make quality movies. So with today's publication of an article in the National Review titled "Hollywood Gingrich," it seemed high time to examine the Gingrich movie machine.
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Most Comments
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Recent Comments
I'm sorry, Domizianoa, your comment does not work in English, at all. You cannot use machine
When I read the book, I felt so out of touch with that world, being from a hard-working middle class
Other great point: Where does freedom really stand? Not by telling the truth, or telling it as an
My very compliments to Mr. Kaufman! I am becoming a huge fan of his incredibly profound, yet simple
To Claire, and, almost all other comments: Your answer to this exceptional, clever, and truly
If you tried to tone it down, you'd lose the essence of the book. Yes, the story might not
It all boils down to the fact that there's not a real market for "middle class angst"
Anthony sir, you're an idiot probably because you have a brain of a 5 year old kid... Thank you
C'mon---with all the critical hype that MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY got, Barry Jenkins should have
This is such an embarrassing article. "All this is to say, I guess, that white people can have