Royal Film Comission students Haya Qbeilat (with camera) and Hana Al-Ramli Madaba (far right) in Madaba, Jordan. Photo: Lisa Leeman If you Google "Documentary" and "Jordan," you'll find half a dozen entries about basketball superstar Michael Jordan, then a few links about Barbara Jordan, the US Congresswoman, and Jeanne Jordan, the award-winning filmmaker who, along with Steven Ascher, made the wonderful docs Troublesome Creek and So Much So Fast. But that's not why I'm doing this Google search; I'm actually on my way to Amman, Jordan, to teach a workshop on documentary filmmaking. This is the
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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 17-23. 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 David Sington, director of In the Shadow of the Moon. Synopsis: Between 1968 and 1972, 24 Americans journeyed to the Moon. They remain the only human beings to have visited another
The French director George Franju is best known for the hypnotic and poetic horror movie Eyes without a Face, but he was also a remarkable documentary filmmaker; his 1949 study of a Parisian abattoir, Le Sang des Bêtes, is one of the most haunting and visually exciting documentary films ever made. Many filmmakers have shot scenes or complete films in slaughterhouses, but what distinguishes Franju's film is its heightened aesthetics and its utter lack of sentiment. The film is quite simply sublime, in its truest sense. It has a beauty that excites pity and terror. Much of the film would be
A filmmaker reflects on her experience at the renowned film school.
This week, we at IDA are introducing our community to the filmmakers whose work will be represented in the DocuWeek TM Theatrical Documentary Showcase, August 17-23. 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 Tim Sternberg, director of Salim Baba. Synopsis: Salim Muhammad lives in North Kolkata, India, with his wife and five children. Since the age of ten, he has made a living screening discarded film scraps
Filmmaker has been detained since January.
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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 17-23. 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 Alex Gibney, director/producer of Taxi to the Darkside. Synopsis: Taxi to the Darkside examines the death of an Afghan taxi driver at Bagram Air Base from injuries inflicted by US
Traveling the film festival circuit for the past three years with my documentary Beyond the Call took some adjustment, but not much. After 18 months of living in my studio editing the film, I was ready to live anywhere else. I committed myself to a life on the road and allowed myself to go where my film would take me. I gave away my favorite ivy plant that covered my entire bedroom, a homage to a Where the Wild Things Are book illustration. I simplified the rest of my life and focused my creative attention on the potential journey ahead. When Beyond the Call was invited to premiere at the
'Crude' director Joe Berlinger won't have to turn over footage until court hears arguments in July.