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Doc Linkage | IDA Awards-All XY; "Chisholm '72" For Next Week's STF

[Mark Rabinowitz] Here, for your reading pleasure, is another lovely collection of letters and manybe the occasional number, as they are put together into an order which may (or may not) make some sense about documentary films and whatnot.

IDA Doc Nods: Whither The Women?
The International Documentary Association announced their annual award nominees earlier this week and while AJ Schnack was applauding them for nominating five noteworthy and known films, others have been wondering where the female doc directors are. While it's true that "Trouble the Water" by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin was not nominated, were there other docs directed or co-directed by women that deserved a nod? Weigh in, won't you?

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | IDA Awards-All XY; "Chisholm '72" For Next Week's STF"


Doc News & Linkage | Cuban Films In Manila; Herzog Honored; Posh Doc?; Esther Goes Off on TONY!

[Mark Rabinowitz] Welcome to the last full week of the 2006-2008 election campaign. Whew! I don't know about you, but I am tired, but not too tired to keep my foot on the pedal and push on through to Tuesday night. But I digress.... I scoured the various doc sites and Google Alerts and picked out a few things I thought you, my faithful readers, might be interested in reading. They involve Werner Herzog, Cuba, Posh Spice and filmmaker Esther B. Robinson ("A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory"). How's that for a cross-section?

Another Career Honor For Werner
Werner Herzog, one of the world's greatest living filmmakers, will receive the International Documentary Association's Career Achievement Award at the annual IDA Documentary Awards Ceremony on December 5, 2008 at the Directors Guild of America Theater in Los Angeles and I wish I could attend! Previous recipients have included Sheila Nevins, Michael Apted, Ken Burns, Albert Maysles, Haskell Wexler and Michael Moore and while I'd argue that Werner deserved his before Moore, I won't nit pick too much! I you still haven't seen Werner's "Encounters at the end of the World," please do. It's a beautiful film. On a tengential note, what is it, do you think, that makes people feel comfortable referring to him in print as Wener? Or is it just me?

» Continue reading "Doc News & Linkage | Cuban Films In Manila; Herzog Honored; Posh Doc?; Esther Goes Off on TONY!"


Doc Linkage | EFA Doc Winner; New Doc Club Films

[Mark Rabinowitz] Today's links bring you back to Europe for an award announcement and then to the Web for some hot and sweaty (not really) Doc Club action. Dig it, Cats and Kittens!

EFA Doc Award Winner
So...two days ago I posted the European Film Academy doc nominations (they were announced on Thursday, October 16th). The release noted that "the winner will be presented at the 21st European Film Awards Ceremony on Saturday, 6 December, in Copenhagen." Silly me, I took that to mean that the winners would also be announced then. However, today I checked my email and found this press release that announced the doc winner as being "René," by Czech director Helena Trestikova. Ok, then.

rene_01.jpg

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | EFA Doc Winner; New Doc Club Films"


Doc Linkage | State Of Russian Indies; EFA Doc Nods; Vérité Fest Winds Up

[Mark Rabinowitz] I trolled hither and thither amongst all the myriad ones and zeros to bring you, my doc faithful, this three very special international edition of Doc Linkage. Included are a look at the current state of Russian independent cinema, the nominees for the EFA's doc award and the wrapping up of this year's Cinéma Vérité Festival in Tehran. I hope you like them!

A Look at the State of the Russian Indie Landscape
Albina Kovalyova, writing for Russia Profile presents a revealing look at the current state of Russian independent cinema, laying out some of the obstacles to indie filmmaking in a country with a rich cinematic history. It turns out that the modern film funding and distribution bodies are not exactly excited about indies or experimental films and this includes most of what we would call creative docs. Much of the article is comprised of descriptions of three festivals, the second of which is hosted by Kinoteatr Doc. Kovalyova describes the festival as focusing on "Russian documentaries that differ from the majority of television reportage often thought of as defining the genre. Unlike the narrator-driven television documentaries, here the emphasis is placed on telling a story from the perspective of the protagonists."

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | State Of Russian Indies; EFA Doc Nods; Vérité Fest Winds Up"


"Snag The Vote" Launches At SnagFilms

[Mark Rabinowitz] SnagFilms (the co-presenter of this blog) recently launched the “Snag The Vote: Elections ‘08 Film Festival”, a 60+ collection of "election-themed" films, including the world premiere of "Inside The Bubble," director Steve Rosenbaum’s insiders’ view of the 2004 Kerry campaign. While the press release refers to the films as "election-themed," a more accurate description might be "issue-oriented" or simply "topical," as the films are not all directly related to the 2008 or any other election. What the series does do, however, is break the films up into eight categories, including: Economy, National Security & Iraq War, Healthcare, Education, Environment, Electoral Process, Government Ethics & Partisanship, Immigration and Individual Rights. In the lead up to what is arguably the post important election in more than 70 years, it would behoove us all to educate ourselves about the pressing issues of the day so that we can make an informed decision and help others to do the same!

Some of the films included are Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern's latest film "The End of America" (2008, available 10/21), "Call It Democracy" (Matthew Kohn, 2005) and Steve Rosenebaum's "Inside the Bubble" (2008). For more on these and the rest of the slate, head on over to SnagFilms.



Doc Linkage | "Front Runners" Review; Vérité Fest In Iran

[Mark Rabinowitz] A collection of some of the doc goings on around the web, including a review of Caroline Suh's "Frontrunners" and a preview of a doc fest in Tehran.

"Frontrunners" Review
The folks over at indieWIRE, courtesy of Reverse Shot (and I have been known to, erm...disagree with their tastes at times, have run a pretty good and fair review of Caroline Suh's "Frontrunners." Of course any election-themed film, even if it does take place in a high school, takes on extra resonance during election time but even if you have a little bit of election fatigue, I suggest you see this film. It's a pretty interesting look at just how much of a miniaturized mirror of adult life high school can be.

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | "Front Runners" Review; Vérité Fest In Iran"


Doc Linkage | Academy Names Short Doc Shortlist; AMPAS Doc Series Screens Gay Films

[Mark Rabinowitz] So, here's a couple of AMPAS-themed nuggets to get you through this unseasonably (in the Northeast at least) warm afternoon. Oh and a happy belated Birthday to indieWIRE's co-founder and editor in chief, Eugene Hernandez! He was 21, yesterday! Take a bow, young man!

Short Doc Shortlist Released
The Academy has announced the short list for the Short Documentary Oscar® to be awarded on February 22nd. Here's the list of the films in alphabetical order from the AMPAS press release: “The Conscience of Nhem En," “David McCullough: Painting with Words,” “Downstream,” “The Final Inch,” “Smile Pinki,” “Tongzhi in Love,” “Viva La Causa” and “The Witness from the Balcony of Room 306.” More details about the films, including directors and brief descriptions can be found in this Reuters piece.

AMPAS Doc Series Spotlights Recent Gay Films
The Envelope, the L.A. Times' awards blog, is reporting that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will screen two gay-themed films as part of their Contemporary Documentaries series on October 15th at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. 2007 Oscar® winner for doc short, "Freeheld" by Cynthia Wade will screen before Daniel Karslake's "For the Bible Tells Me So," with a Q&A with Karslake to follow.

For more information: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; (310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org/events



Doc Linkage | Top Doc Schools; Newman's Docs; Brush Leaves Full Frame

[Mark Rabinowitz] As Public Enemy one said: What goes on? Well, first up is a piece from The Independent on some of the top school programs specifically for docs. Then we move on to a couple of pieces from AJ Schnack: One about the history of Paul Newman's involvement with documentaries and a second about another vacancy at a doc festival. Carry on, faithful readers!

Top Doc Shops
The Independent (Yes, that Independent) Magazine has a recent post in which Caitlin Graham writes about the top schools for documentary studies, writing "Although many of the best programs present opportunities to learn a bit about non-fiction filmmaking, it is rare to find one that focuses solely on the craft." Her list includes the Duke Center for Documentary Studies, The Documentary Center at George Washington University, The New School - Documentary Media Studies and the Maine Media Workshops' Documentary Filmmaking courses. The list of ten is presented un-ranked and rather artificially (it seems) split between university degree programs and non-degree instiututions. Why not top ten of both? I mean, does un-ranked mean that Graham picked the top 5 of each type? From what I can see, there are 7 programs located at universities/colleges and 3 that are not. My relatively minor criticisms aside, it's nice to see someone doing the research and maybe kick-starting a more in-dept listing.

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | Top Doc Schools; Newman's Docs; Brush Leaves Full Frame"


Doc Linkage | Stewart's NYFF Vids; Ogilvie Moves Shop

[Mark Rabinowitz] Some of the things that are piquing my interest around the 'Net, lately. I think they're cool or interesting or noteworthy so therefore, so should you. My blog (sorta), my rules. Word.

Loving the Jamie Stewart Videos
Jamie Stewart's short videos are one of the things I most look forward to during the New York Film Festival. Omnipresent with his camera and skull cap, Stewart's films are highly imaginative, mixing in a bit of his life (real and imagined) with audio and video footage of the various press conferences and can always be counted on to entertain. Many times I've sat, slack-jawed and muttered "how'd he do that?" under my breath. Then again, I'm a bit of a slack-jawed yokel when it comes to creative video editing. I can't even figure out how to overlay credits on my clips in iMovie. Check out Jamie's videos from this year at FILMMAKER Magazine and his films from previous years at his company's site, Mutiny Company.

Liz Ogilvie Moves To Indiepix
Veteran doc fixture (and all around fun Scot) Liz Ogilvie is moving from Docurama to Indipix, continuing that latter company's series of high profile moves, or so says AJ Schnack. She will kick off her gig as Indiepix Head of Marketing at the upcoming Hamptons International Film Festival, according to Schnack. First free drink in East Hampton is on me, Liz!



Doc Linkage | New Indian Doc Market; Update On Samuel George; Pittsburgh Docmaker

[Mark Rabinowitz] A few stories bouncing around the Interweb, today. A new market for docs, a call to help colleagues in trouble and spotlight on a Pittsburgh filmmaker.

Doc Market To Launch In Panaji
According to Indiaglitz.com, the upcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is setting up a market especially for the buying and selling of short films and docs. According to the site, the market will be run by the Indian Documentary Film Producers Association and the festival's organizers, Entertainment Society of Goa. The festival runs in the Goan city of Panaji from November 22 through December 3.

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | New Indian Doc Market; Update On Samuel George; Pittsburgh Docmaker"


Doc Linkage | Moore's Largesse Expands; "Viva La Causa" Screens; Money For Canadian Docs

[Mark Rabinowitz] What's the buzz? I'll tell you what's a happening!

Moore Increases New Film's Free Availability
Following up on one of our links earlier this month, Michael Moore is extending the free release of his latest film, "Slacker Uprising" to include iTunes. The film will be available free for a month, after which it wil be released via Netflix and Amazon.

Southern Poverty Law Center To Premier Chavez Doc
MarketWatch reports on the Southern Poverty Law Center's latest documentary, Alonso Filomeno Mayo and Bill Brummel's "Viva La Causa," about Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta's successful California grape boycott. The film is 40 minutes long and "will be distributed with teaching resources to an estimated 50,000 educators, free of charge, over the next two years. Millions of students will see the film," according to the story.

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | Moore's Largesse Expands; "Viva La Causa" Screens; Money For Canadian Docs"


Doc Linkage | A Preview Of STF's Coming Season, Nevins To Be Feted

[Mark Rabinowitz] A brief collection of some of the documentary-related goings on around the Internets, including Stranger Than Fiction's new season and a tribute to Sheila Nevins.

Stranger Than Fiction Kicks Off Tomorrow
The new Fall season of the highly respected Thom Powers curated Stranger Than Fiction documentary screening series kicks off tomorrow at the IFC Center in Manhattan's West Village and the New York Sun has a piece in today's paper which offers a nice snapshot of the series as a whole, this coming season and the documentary market in general. For one thing, Powers thinks that the doc market's doing pretty well, with 7 films grossing over $1,000,000. Read the piece and let me know what you think!

All Hail Sheila!
indieWIRE reports that the doyenne of documentaries, HBO Documentary Films president Sheila Nevins will be honored by the IFP at the 18th annual Gotham Awards on December 2nd in New York. Nevins and the rest of the excellent HBO docs folks have done a fabulous job in producing non-fiction films and then bringing them into millions of homes via the pay cable network.



Doc Linkage | Allen Talks Docs At IFW, An Overlooked TIFF Gem, And An Influential BBC Doc

[Peter Knegt] Here's some links to some doc-related news and views across the internet, including news from Independent Film Week at indieWIRE.com, an unsung TIFF doc and some news out of the UK regarding potential new evidence in the Omagh bombing of 1998.

SnagFilms CEO Talks Future
indieWIRE's Eric Kohn reports from Independent Film Week, specifically an appearance by SnagFilms CEO Rick Allen, who revealed plans to premiere several new documentaries online. As SnagFilms' library continues to expand, the company will stream two documentaries in conjunction with screenings of both films at the Hamptons International Film Festival next month, and the company is hosting an online sidebar of festival films. The company also announced deals with Spout.com and CINELAN.

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | Allen Talks Docs At IFW, An Overlooked TIFF Gem, And An Influential BBC Doc"


Varda Tops iW Doc Poll At TIFF

[Peter Knegt]indieWIRE took a poll of film critics and bloggers regarding their thoughts on the Toronto International Film Festival. Critics and bloggers were asked to list their top three choices in each category -- best film, best performance and best documentary. First choice selections were given three points, second choice received two points and third choice received one point. We tallied the results, and given the nature of this blog, I figured a more in-depth look at the choices for documentary was warranted.

» Continue reading "Varda Tops iW Doc Poll At TIFF"


Doc Linkage | Berends Still In Custody; Finneran Leaving AFI; Prolific TIFF Doc Blog

[Mark Rabinowitz] Ah yes, another collection of ones and zeros masquerading as news about documentaries and the doc world. Berends still in custody, Finneran moving on and the TIFF doc blog goes into overdrive.

Berends Still In Custody
Filmmaker Andrew Berends and his Nigerian interpreter Samuel George are still in custody, according to the blog keeping track of the situation. There is an email from Andy here, where he says he enjoyed a brief respite from the interrogation over the weekend, but it has been confirmed that he and George are back in custody as of Monday afternoon. There is information on the blog on how to call or email Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton (Andrew's home state senators) and ask them to pressure the US State Department to pressure Nigeria into releasing Andrew and Samuel. I did. It only takes a minute!

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | Berends Still In Custody; Finneran Leaving AFI; Prolific TIFF Doc Blog"


Documentary Club, Round II

[Mark Rabinowitz] The Documentary Club that has been mentioned a few times on this blog and which had its first round of doc discussions in August has extended the time for members (What!? You're not a member? Get thee to the site and sign up!) to vote on the next two films to watch and discuss. The are: Aaron Woolf's "King Corn," James D. Sculock's "Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders," Terry Zwigoff's "Crumb," Jamie Johnson's "Born Rich" and Seth Gordon's "King of Kong."

Me? I voted for "Maxed Out" or rather my wallet did and "Crumb."

As an odd aside, when I did an IMDb search on "King Corn," the first result was "Media of Ron Jeremy" and then...oh hell, take a look:

KingCorn-porn.jpg

I get it. "corn" and "porn" rhyme, so when I was looking for "King Corn," the IMDb search engine decided I was actually looking for The Porn King. Not exactly precise searching results, are they?



Doc Linkage | Rosenbaum on "The 9/11 Generation"; Moore Goes Gratis

[Mark Rabinowitz] A collection of some of the goings on across the InterWeb, including an interesting 1st person piece at indieWIRE.com and Michael Moore's latest distribution plan.

First Person 9/11
Over at indieWIRE, the co-presenter of Docsider, filmmaker Steven Rosenbaum ("7 Days in September") writes a first person piece on the 9/11 generation. It's a lovely and moving piece Reading it, I found myself going back to that day and replaying it, or parts of it, in my head. At any given time I can only remember pieces of that day and those that followed and much of what I do remember is painful, but Rosenbaum's piece certainly sparks some curiosity in me and not only to see his film, which I will endeavor to do this weekend, but maybe to write up my own recollections, if only for myself. I think maybe we all should. It turns out that seven years isn't very long at all.

Michael Moore To Release "Slacker Uprising" For Free
According to Agence France Press and other outlets, Michael Moor is releasing his new film, "Slacker Uprising," free at SlackerUprising.com, beginning on September 23rd. The DVD will be released in October through Netflix and Amazon. In a prepared statement, Moore said, according to AFP: "I've been very blessed and fortunate to have so many people come to my movies over these two decades, I decided the way to say thanks was to make one that the fans can have for free, as a show of my profound appreciation of their support."

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | Rosenbaum on "The 9/11 Generation"; Moore Goes Gratis"


SnagFilms Kicks Off Annual 9/11 Remembrance Slate

[Mark Rabinowitz] Beginning tomorrow, September 5th and continuing through September 12th, SnagFilms (one of this blogs presenters) will be presenting its first annual "September 11th Remembrance in Film" lineup, with a slate of five docs, including Steven Rosenbaum's "7 Days in September," National Geographic's "Afghanistan Revealed," Beth Murphy's "Beyond Belief," Glenn Holsten's "Saint of 9-11," and Danny Schechter's "We Are Family."

Clearly this is not meant to be a comprehensive documentary look at the events of 9/11 and the slate was apparently put together at a moment's notice but considering how much "conspiracy theory" dreck is out there, this isn't bad.

On the subject of 9/11, the Republican National Convention just aired a video apparently titled: "World Stood Still" that contained horrific video from 9/11, including both towers exploding and falling and a voiceover talking about "bodies falling." After the video, MSNBC cut to Tom Brokaw and Chuck Todd who had a little bit to say about the convention and then back to Keith Olbermann who, visibly upset (he mentioned that he'd lost several friends on the day), proceeded to excoriate the GOP and his own network for airing the video.

Keeping that in mind, I have a question or two for all of my readers: Has the definitive 9/11 doc been made or are we still waiting? Is it too soon? How much 9/11 is too much?



Doc Linkage | Less Paris; More Petit

[Mark Rabinowitz] Paris Hilton is pissed about something or other and "Man on Wire" keeps going strong!

Catch Her While You Can!
Paris Hilton and her "people" have apparently cajoled the Toronto International Film Festival into reducing the number of screenings of Adria Petty's "Paris, Not France," from three to one, according to multiple sources, including SpoutBlog's Karina Longworth and Risky Biz Blog's Steven Zeitchik. I have to tell you, this makes me even more curious to see this film because as Karina and Steven have mentioned, what could there possibly be in this film that would embarrass Hilton into getting the fest to reduce the number of screenings? The mind fairly explodes with the idea....
parisnotfrance.jpg

Man on Wire Passes $1.5 Million
James Marsh's brilliant and beautiful "Man on Wire" has passed the $1.5 million mark and is still going strong. Additionally, NYC and LA audiences are getting an added treat starting on Friday, September 5th, as Michael Sporn's "The Man Who Walked Between The Towers" the Jake Gyllenhaal-narrated, award-winning animated adaptation of Mordicai Gerstein's Caldecott Medal-winning children's book.



Doc Linkage | Filmmaker Detained; More TIFF Doc Picks

[Mark Rabinowitz] An emotionally mixed collection of links today, going from the heady stuff of local and international arrests to TFF previews and a DNC Doc from Schnack et. al.

Filmmaker Andrew Berends Arrested In Nigeria, Journalist Amy Goodman Arrested in St. Paul
AP and many other outlets are reporting that New York doc maker Andrew Berends has been arrested in Nigeria and "was held for 36 hours before being accused of spying and temporarily released." His passport was confiscated. According to the New York Times, Berends is hardly the first journalist to be arrested in Nigeria in recent times. "In April, four members of a Seattle-based film crew were arrested while filming in the Delta and held for six days on spying charges," reported the Times, continuing, "In May, a CNN journalist was detained while in the main Delta city of Port Harcourt and questioned by the S.S.S. for five days before being released." A blog has been set up to keep folks up to date on Berends' situation.

So as not to get on too high of an American free speaking horse, I'd like to point out (to paraphrase) It can happen here. Amy Goodman of Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now and two of her producers were arrested by riot police in Minneapolis, yesterday. They have since been released, but still face charges. Apparently other journos and filmmakers have received similar treatment. The videos of two of the arrests are below and they're pretty terrifying.

Nicole Salazar:

Amy Goodman:

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | Filmmaker Detained; More TIFF Doc Picks"


Doc Linkage | TIFF Doc Picks, Where Is AJ?, "I.O.U.S.A." Makes Waves

[Mark Rabinowitz] A look at some of today's doc news on the Internets, including "I.O.U.S.A." making waves and some doc tastemakers choose some films to catch in Toronto.

TIFF Doc Pics: What Should You See?
Over at the Toronto International Film Festival's Doc blog (required reading for you doc heads out there) TIFF doc programmer Thom Powers is ramping up the posts on the way to the festival, which kicks off on September 4th and he's asking some notable folks in the film world (still waiting for your call, Thom!) for their top doc picks from the upcoming fest. He kicked off the series on August 19th with Tom Hall, the director of programming at the most excellent Sarasota Film Festival and blogger at the Back Row Manifesto. \Other folks surveyed include doc it out's Agnes Varnum, filmmaker and D-Word founder Doug Block, American Museum of the Moving Image chief curator David Schwartz and a pair of Chicago scribes, Ray Pride and Jonathan Rosenbaum. Most often mentioned film? Agnès Varda's "Les Plages des Angnès".

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | TIFF Doc Picks, Where Is AJ?, "I.O.U.S.A." Makes Waves"


Doc Linkage | "Bird's Nest Preview"; "Trouble" Reviews; 34x25x36 on You Tube

[Mark Rabinowitz] What's a happ'nin around the Internets, these days? Oh, just some reviews, some new distribution ideas and other bits n' bobs. Check 'em out, yo!

"Bird's Nest" Pre-Release Olympics-Sized Tease-o-Rama!
Agnes Varnum and indieWIRE are reporting on how Icarus Films are offering a preview on Amazon Unboxed of their upcoming doc "Bird's Nest" by Christoph Schaub & Michael Schindhelm about the 5-year design and construction of the Olympic stadium in Beijing. I keep hearing about a Beta test that works for Macs, but I can't find it! Would love to hear how the film is, as the trailer's really cool. See?

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | "Bird's Nest Preview"; "Trouble" Reviews; 34x25x36 on You Tube"


infinicine Interview: D-Word's Doug Block

[Mark Rabinowitz] Keeping on the theme of the ever changing word of distribution (are we ever not on that theme around here?) I figure I should point out a new site that recently launched called infinicine (clever name, no? And no, it's not pronounced "infini-scene.") and their latest post is an interview with D-Word founder and filmmaker Doug Block. Doug's a smart guy and has been at this streaming/day-and-date doc thing for longer than many of you have been the doc addicts I know you are and he has definite thoughts on some of the new models being tried out, to wit:

"Is having a 50/50 split of advertising revenue a good deal? It sounds like one, but there's no way of telling in advance how much advertising your film will generate and how much revenue that will ultimately bring in. And I don't see any companies offering sizable minimum guarantees in the way that theatrical distributors often do."

» Continue reading "infinicine Interview: D-Word's Doug Block"


Heads Up: The TIFF Doc Blog Returns!

[Mark Rabinowitz] While we link to it on our sidebar, I haven't yet really mentioned the excellent doc blog being run by Toronto International Film Festival doc programmer Thom Powers with posts by Powers and many other fine writers. Some of the most recent posts include Dan Stone writing about his TIFF '08 doc "At the End of the World" about eco-warrior Paul Watson and Jeffrey Levy-Hinte writing about his doc "Soul Power," about the 3-day concert "Zaire '74" held alongside the Muhammad Ali-George Foreman fight in uh, Zaire...in erm.. 1974.

Knowing Thom and his passion for documentaries, there's a lot more to come, I am sure!



Doc Club Pics First Two Docs: "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" And "Future By Design"

[Mark Rabinowitz] Do remember that online doc club that I wrote about a couple of times? No? WTF, dudes? Read up on it here and here, then continue. I'll wait. Done? Ok. Well, they've picked their first two films and are even screening one on the main page of the club! How cool is that? Seems John Heyn and Jeff Krulik have given the club permission to stream "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" for a limited time. How cool is that? The other film up for discussion is William Gazecki's "Future By Design." So head over the club and discuss film with some of your contemporaries, like Docurama's Liz Ogilvie, director David Redmon and doc Jane of All Trades Tamara Krinsky. Oh and me.



Doc Linkage | New Gibney Film; AJ Goes Off On Think's Owner; Aaron Rose Talks; Alterna-funding

[Mark Rabinowitz] Once again, I go spanning the globe to bring you the wild and wacky happenings in the world of documentaries! (Notice how I ripped off not one but two NYC-area sportscasters, there? Cool, right? Word.)

Thank You Driver, For Getting Me Here
Over at parent (sister? brother? 3rd cousin twice removed?) publication indieWIRE, Jason Guerrasio's production report details Alex Gibney's latest, "The Magic Bus" (working title). In 1964, Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters took a bus ride from La Honda, California to the New York World's Fair and brought 16mm cameras along. Cool, right? Well, Gibney's got ahold of 40 hours of footage and is crafting a doc centered on the journey. Personally, I think he should re-create the trip with some of today's "Merry Pranksters." Move over, I'm driving.

Bergstein Offers Us Cake, Schnack Throws It In His Face
Over at his marvelous blog All These Wonderful Things, AJ Schnack writes what is billed as a commentary but amounts to an open letter to ThinkFilm owner David Bergstein. In it he links to this Hollywood Reporter piece profiling Bergstein containing what is becoming a rather infamous quote that amounts to a big "fuck you" to the people owed money by his company. On an odd note, the Reporter piece quotes Bergstein's age as 46, which would have him being born in 1961 or 1962. How then is the following sentence from the piece possible: "In the late 1970s he became an investment banker, seeking undervalued stocks." At 16 he was an investment banker?

On a tangential note, if I get one more pop-up from the Reporter's site asking me to participate in a survey, I'm going to fucking explode. Seriously guys, knock it off!

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage | New Gibney Film; AJ Goes Off On Think's Owner; Aaron Rose Talks; Alterna-funding"


Doc Linkage | Cameras In Court, Rare Docs

[Mark Rabinowitz] A roundup of some of the doc news, features and blog posts currently floating around on the Internets.

Indiana Says Yea To Cameras In Court
The Indiana State Supreme Court has ruled that filmmaker Karen Grau shall be allowed to film in the courtroom of Lake County Juvenile Court Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura for six one-hour segments set to air on MSNBC next year. According to the Chicago Tribune, Grau filmed an eight-week reality series for MTV two years ago in Bonaventura's court, documenting the trips of 16 Indiana juvenile delinquents through the justice system. According to the story opponents claim that lawyers could "play up" to the cameras (and we wouldn't want lawyers to play up, whatever that means) and "that cameras could intimidate witnesses and jurors and that jurors may infer that one witness is more important than another based on whether cameras are present for their testimony."

Personally, I see this as a victory for filmmakers and civil liberties. There has been too much chicanery and abuse of power in the courts and cameras can only shine a light on over zealous jurists. As for the juries, if juries are judging witnesses on something other than their testimony, we have MUCH larger problems that cameras in the courtroom. What do you all think?

Some Rare Docs To Seek Out
Over at the Columbia University Press blog, Jonathan Kahana, author of the recently published "Intelligence Work: The Politics of American Documentary" writes about hard to find classic docs, including Cinda Firestone's "Attica" (1974), Chris Marker's "Letter From Siberia" (1957) and of course, Craig Gilbert's seminal "An American Family" (1973). What, no "Seventeen"?

Seriously though, documentaries have been around for some time and there are many pre-DVD docs that need rescuing. Who's gonna step up? I'm looking at you, Benten Boys.



Doc Linkage: Stealing America The Beautiful, BritDoc Pix And "Looooouuuuuu!"

[Mark Rabinowitz] A roundup of some of the doc news and features currently floating around as ones and zeros.

Louuuuuuuuuu
Following up on something I wrote about last week, indieWIRE reports on Lou Reed's Q&A following Monday night's screening of Julian Schnabel's "Lou Reed's Berlin." I'm not sure "a horrifically lyrical rendition of children's screams for several minutes," "a seminal bummer depicting the tortured lives of two drug addicts" and "...joy in performing even the most agonizing of songs" are really the best advertisements for the film, but Schnabel is a fine director and DP Ellen Kuras ("4 Little Girls," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") ain't no slouch, either so if you're a Reed fan, it might be worth a trip.

America The...Hackneyed?
While over at ReverseShot's ReverseBlog, Michael Koresky takes aim ("hackneyed and juvenile") at Darryl Roberts' "America the Beautiful," which opens tomorrow, August 1st. Ouch.

» Continue reading "Doc Linkage: Stealing America The Beautiful, BritDoc Pix And "Looooouuuuuu!""


And The Mystery Doc Is.....Hoops! Hoop Dreams Comes To Hulu

[Mark Rabinowitz] Steve James' "Hoop Dreams," widely considered among the more egregious oversights by the Academy, is the mystery doc screening today on Hulu that we referred to in yesterday's post. The winner of a "box of absolutely nothing?" Sidetrack Films' Jared Moshe! (Although we're not entirely sure we agree with his "Alf" comparison....)

Over at Hulu's blog, company CEO Jason Kilar waxes rhapsodic about the film and a 1997 chance meeting with James at Boston's Logan Airport, ending with "Steve James, if you are reading this, thank you again for such an incredible film." Well, I am willing to bet Steve's been sent this link ad infinitum today, but just in case he hasn't Jason, you can rest assured, I'll let him know!

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Photo L to R: Morgan Spurlock and Steve James at this year's SXSW FIlm Festival ©Mark Rabinowitz



Hulu Mystery Doc...Care To Guess?

[Mark Rabinowitz] As part of their Days of Summer programming, Hulu is presenting a "mystery" selection each day, running from June 16th through August 29th. So far the offerings have been what one might call, erm...diverse. They started off quite well, with "Lost in Translation," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Nova," TV's "Angel," "Raising Arizona" and ....uh...."Alf"... However, Nova not withstanding, nary a doc is to be seen. Until tomorrow. Billed as: "A doc famously snubbed by Oscar," Docsider.com wants your guesses as to what this film might be. For the first person who guesses correctly, we here at Docsider HQ have a brand spanking new box of absolutely nothing!

You will, however, get your name immortalized on this blog once the film has been announced. I mean, whaddaya want for nuthin', brownies?

We are planning some real contests in the future, so stay tuned!