By Brigid Kelly and Thomas White When the Discovery Channel first launched in 1985 with 156,000 subscribers, the Cold War was in full bloom, Apple had introduced its first Macintosh just a year earlier, mullets and Madonna dominated pop culture and high-carb diets were in. Twenty years later, the Discovery Network is an empire of 14 channels, including Discovery Channel, that collectively reach 1.2 billion subscribers in 160 countries, and the world is a very different place. Discovery's story is one of opportunity and good timing. According to Billy Campbell, president of Discovery Networks
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'The Queen of Versailles' opens July 20 through Magnolia Pictures.
Unleashing a panoply of expert talking heads and devastating graphics that swoop in and surround us, Jessica Yu's new documentary Last Call at the Oasis makes one thing resoundingly clear: The earth is running out of water. Moreover, human beings are locked in a deadly cycle of self-sabotage when it comes to this precious fluid, and Yu is particularly successful at addressing how waste and prejudice have gone hand-in-hand in the making of this disaster. For example, purifying sewer water is one of the cheapest and most reliable methods of recycling our current supply of H20, but this potable
The respective filmmaking teams of Kirby Dick and Eddie Schmidt, along with Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt, have made two distinctly topical and prescient documentaries-- Twist of Faith and The Education of Shelby Knox--whose heartland stories grapple with religious faith in America's secular society. This year, headlines and airwaves have been full of religious issues--from the passing of Pope John Paul II and his legacy, to the legal and public fight over the Terri Schiavo case, to the conflicts and struggles in the Middle East, where religion dominates all matters. The hot-button
LA Weekly, The Village Voice, and BYOD join DocuWeeks as official Media Sponsors.
Also: Current Launches; NFB Teams with New Israeli Foundation for Cinema and Television; 'The Aristocrats'
Submit to the Short Films, Big Ideas initiative by August 23, 2012.
Stoney earned IDA’s Preservation and Scholarship Award in 1998
June is a jam-packed month on the festival circuit. Just check out the nonfiction fare alone: Sheffield Doc/Fest, Silverdocs, The Flaherty Seminar, Sunny Side of the Doc and the young and frisky Open City Docs Fest. Then there's BAM CinemaFest and Games 4 Change in New York, Frameline in San Francisco, and six hours due south, the Los Angeles Film Festival. Throw in graduations, weddings, the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals, Father's Day and Summer Solstice, and you have one hyper-combustible calendar. The Los Angeles Film Festival, with Stephanie Allain having taken the reins this year from
Catch Holy Man starting August 10 in New York and August 17 in Los Angeles!