Journalism and news are great places to visit, say many documentary makers, but not places they want to make a career in. It's impossible to say just how many documentary producers came out of journalism, and debatable if there really is even much of a difference between the worlds. But the revolving door clearly has been spinning for many years, at least in one direction. Especially in recent years, with the growing hunger for current affairs documentaries on TV and in theaters, more journalists than ever before seem to be flocking towards docs. For many of those who make the jump into
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The restored version of Chris Marker and Pierre Lhomme's 'Le Joli Mai' opens September 13 in New York.
Ken Jacobson recently came on board as IDA's director of educational programs and strategic partnerships—a new position created to accommodate a critical pillar of IDA's core mission: education. Ken comes to us from the Palm Springs International Film Festival and ShortFest, where he served as education/outreach coordinator and programmer. Over the years he has taught both film and video production and cinematic history, at every level from high school thought continuing education, and has made documentaries as well. He is a graduate of Stanford University's prestigious Documentary Film and
'Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction' opens September 11 in New York City.
We recently offered up some tips for how to incorporate archival footage into your documentary, which can really come in handy when you want to reference an event that happened in the past. But what about those times you need to represent a concept that is more abstract? Increasingly, documentarians are turning to graphic designers and animators to create sequences, images and graphs that might be difficult to depict otherwise. Don’t have aerial footage of orca pods cleverly evading their captors? Need to visually explain the growing disparity of income inequality since the 1950s? It might be
The Locarno International Film Festival combines a spectacular lakeside setting in Switzerland, near the Italian border, and an easy-going resort vibe with an eclectic program of provocative films. The third oldest festival in Europe—this year was its 66th edition—and better known there than in the US, Locarno has a diverse mix of innovative and traditional film that draws locals, international film enthusiasts and industry pros. The city takes it all in good spirits: Shop windows, trash cans and rentable bicycles flash the leopard spots of the festival's symbol, and residents turn out in
'First Cousin Once Removed' airs September 23 on HBO.
'Latino Americans,' a three-part series, airs Tuesdays, September 17 through October 1, on PBS.
Jacob Kornbluth's 'Inequality for All' opens the IDA Documentary Screening Series on September 26.