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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 Briefs | St. Clair Bourne Tribute At STF; New Face At Hot Docs

[Mark Rabinowitz] Once again, it's time for a few doc news nuggets. Stranger Than Fiction pays tribute to the late filmmaker St. Clair Bourne on October 28th and Hot Docs names a new director for the Toronto Documentary Forum.

stclair.jpgStranger Than Fiction To Tribute St. Clair Bourne
Next Tuesday, weekly doc screening series Stranger Than Fiction is guaranteed to be a special experience for all attending. A Tribute to St. Clair Bourne, will feature a special screening of Bourne's documentary "Making 'Do the Right Thing'" and guest speakers Danny Glover, Bourne's sister Judith Bourne and editor Sam Pollard. Saint, as his friends called him, passed away quite suddenly of a pulmonary embolism last December at the age of 64. Those of us lucky enough to have known him were and still are shocked by his untimely death and I urge you all to try and attend this special evening.

At the risk of getting a little too personal here, Saint was an old friend and comrade of my mother Joanne Grant from the days of the Movement and was, for a while, producing a documentary project she was directing. She passed away, also before her time, in January of 2005. Tickets can be bought here.

» Continue reading "Doc Briefs | St. Clair Bourne Tribute At STF; New Face At Hot Docs"


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 Alert: Flaherty NYC Series Kicks Off Tonight!!!

259.jpg [Mark Rabinowitz] Tonight, October 13th, marks the kick off of the new monthly screening series, Flaherty NYC at Anthology Film Archives. Created by The Robert Flaherty Seminar, the new series will feature works from the 2008 Robert Flaherty Film Seminar, The Age of Migration, according to the Flaherty website and the fall 2008 schedule will showcase films by Flaherty Seminar guest artists, Oliver Husain (left, Canada/Germany), Alison Kobayashi (Canada), and Lee Wang (USA). Each session will include post-screening discussions with the filmmakers.

Tonight's session spotlights Mr. Husain and features the New York City premiere of six of his short docs and tickets can be purchased here.



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"


Berends Back Home, George Still In Custody

[Mark Rabinowitz] Word spread quickly yesterday that filmmaker Andrew Berends was released on Wednesday and according to the Help Andy blog, was escorted to the airport and basically kicked out of Nigeria with no explanation as to why. According to the blog, he was still in possession of a valid Nigerian work visa. He was never formally charged with a crime, but his translator Samuel George was required to return to State Security Services (SSS) offices on Friday, along with a third man. From the blog:

» Continue reading "Berends Back Home, George Still In Custody"


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"


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"


Berends Still In Custody-How To Help

BerendsNigeria02sep08.jpg[Mark Rabinowitz] A few days ago I wrote about filmmaker Andrew Berends and his detention, along with his interpreter Samuel George, in Nigeria. At the time, he had been arrested, temporarily released and ordered to return, which he did. Berends has now been in custody since August 31st, barring his 36 hour release. According to the blog set up to monitor the situation, Berends has not been visited by a US consular official, despite their knowledge of the situation and despite letters to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice from both of Berends' home state senators, Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer.

The State Security Service (SSS) has confiscated Berends' passport, telephone, equipment and film and continues to interrogate the filmmaker under charges of spying. Berends entered the country legally in April, 2008. Here's how you can take action including how to contact Senators Clinton and Schumer.



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 | "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"


Style, Substance And The Documentary: The Debate Continues

[Mark Rabinowitz] Over at All These Wonderful Things, AJ Schnack posts about his favorite (and worthy) topic, craft in documentary films, this time using Lynne Hershman Leeson's excellent "Strange Culture" as a subject as written about in Shaun Huston's post on PopMatters. There are two main questions surrounding this film, one of which being "when is a doc not a doc and does 'Strange Culture' take too many liberties with re-enactments for it to be called a documentary?" The other one, which AJ seems more concerned with is about the art in the filmmaking process itself, to wit:

» Continue reading "Style, Substance And The Documentary: The Debate Continues"


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"


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!""


Doc-Linkage: IndiePix Studios; Kanye West; German Genetic Doping Doc; Schnack Ponders

[Mark Rabinowitz] A "here a doc, there a doc, everywhere a doc doc" survey of what's going on today in the world of documentaries and to be honest, we're all over the place!

IndiePix announces new Studios, Harrington In Charge
indieWIRE reports on the launch of IndiePix Studios and industry vet Ryan Harrington's move from Tribeca's Gucci Fund to the new venture. IndiePIx is the founding sponsor of the Cinema Eye Honors and a shining light in the doc world. For those of you who like documentaries (and face it, if you're here, you like) this is great news. IndiePix has been a staunch advocate for non-fiction cinema and has been at the forefront of exploring new ways to get docs into theaters, homes and online.
DISCLAIMER: IndiePix is a supplier of films to SnagFilms, parent of indieWIRE.
NOTE: According to the indieWIRE story, Harrington will "maintain some role" at the Gucci Fund.

Kanye Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is
According to UK music mag NME (New Music Express), the outspoken star will be visiting "homes of the returned veterans to discuss stories about the war and how they are adjusting to life back home," along with MTV VJ Sway Calloway for a documentary entitled "Choose Or Lose & Kanye West Present: Homecoming." Apparently, West will leave each veteran with a financial gift, be that college tuition, rent money or paying off their debt. Dude. That's seriously cool. I wonder what you would call a larger agency with trillions of dollars whose responsibility it is to take care of America's returning veterans....? Oh right! The U.S. government! Kanye shows up W again.

» Continue reading "Doc-Linkage: IndiePix Studios; Kanye West; German Genetic Doping Doc; Schnack Ponders"


34x25x36: An Interview With Trish Dalton

[Mark Rabinowitz] Over at Hip Slope Mama, Melissa Lopata has interviewed doc producer Trish Dalton about the upcoming screening of Jesse Epstein's 34x25x36, the third short doc in a series of films about body image (all directed by Epstein). Despite a few errors (It's Alexandra Berger, not Alison Burger), this is a nice piece about a filmmaking team that's making interesting and provocative films.



An Oldie But a Goodie: A Non-Significant Bullet

[Mark Rabinowitz] Yes, this is not the newest item, but it seems as if every time I mention this to someone, they haven't seen this fantastic clip from the BBC. In it Werner Herzog gets.... Just watch it. It's only 2:10 long and well worth it. Werner is an exceptional man, really.