Camden International Film Festival: A Case Study
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Even when the economy is robust, documentary funding is hard to come by. So, during these tough times, when a major research nonprofit organization like the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) announces a $60 million initiative for science-oriented documentary features, it's a moment to celebrate. "Film is the most powerful medium for bringing ideas, knowledge and stories to life and communicating them to any audience," said Sean B. Carroll, HHMI's vice president for science education, when he announced the project in Los Angeles this past February at the Summit on Science, Entertainment
On the divide between nature/wildlife filmmakers and human nature filmmakers.
On tax issues...and two deaths in the documentary family.
From Robin Neinstein's Souvenir of Canada Last year's Toronto International Film Festival took place one month before the US presidential election, and the tone was immediate, energized and intense. This rippled through the documentary programming, which featured many films that seemed to be direct, rapid responses to current events. One year later, the flavor at the 2005 TIFF was noticeably more reflective, with a number of documentaries dealing with issues of spirituality, identity and globalization. It was as though filmmakers were going beyond reporting just what was happening around the
'The Last Mountain' is the winner of the 2011 Pare Lorentz Award.
Bill Haney's film to receive honorary award.
Over the next couple of weeks, we at IDA will be introducing our community to the filmmakers whose work will be represented in the DocuWeek TM Theatrical Documentary Showcase, August 18-24. We asked the filmmakers to share the stories behind their films--the inspirations, the challenges and obstacles, the goals and objectives, the reactions to their films so far. So, to continue this series of conversations, here is Eddie Schmidt, producer of This Film Is Not Yet Rated (Kirby Dick is the director). Synopsis: This Film Is Not Yet Rated is an unprecedented investigation into the secret MPAA film
by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady Alfred Hitchcock said, "Drama is life with the dull bits cut out." As two filmmakers who take years to complete each project, always facing over 100 hours of material, we take these words very much to heart. To synthesize countless vérité scenes, interviews, images and characters into a well-told story is the goal we constantly chase as a directing team. We have been making films as a team for 10 years and are now working on our fifth documentary feature. While our craft and approach has changed since our first feature debut ( The Boys of Baraka; 2005; ITVS
While most attention at this time of year is focused on the Academy Award nominees, they're not the only awards handed out that honor documentaries. Here's an overview of honors and critics' picks for 2005. American Cinema EditorsBest Edited Documentary-Nominees: Grizzly Man (Joe Bini); James Dean: Forever Young (Michael J. Sheridan, ACE; Jack Tucker, ACE; Patrea Patrick and Fred Roth); March of the Penguins (Sabine Emilani). Boston Society of Film CriticsBest Documentary: Murderball (Dirs.: Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro)Runner-Up: Grizzly Man (Dir.: Werner Herzog) Broadcast Film Critics