A few months ago, while flipping channels, I came across an intriguing documentary short that grabbed and held my attention. In a voiceover narrative, a man--the director, I assumed--recounted the very personal story of the death of his seven-year-old brother. The haunting memory of this experience was loosely organized around the Kübler-Ross model of the five stages of grief that accompanies loss: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance, but expanded beyond those into an additional seven sections (i.e., Collapse, Sorrow, Communication). Afterwards, I discovered that the film was
Latest Posts
After watching the news about a Springfield, Missouri abortion clinic that was about to close last week because it finally lost a long legal battle against a new state law that requires abortion providers to obtain hospital privileges within 30 miles of their clinics or face charges punishable by up to 15 years in prison, I sat down to watch Tony Kaye's Lake of Fire. His new abortion-themed documentary is being billed as the "definitive work on the subject of abortion." This busy commercial and music video director spent 16 years and over $6 million of his own money making this 152-minute film
The head of 'American Experience' looks at the history documentary genre over the past 25 years.
A report on the 2009 Robert Flaherty Film Seminar
A new report from the Center for Social Media: "Honest Truths: Documentary Filmmakers on Ethical Challenges in Their Work."
Steven Okazaki reflects on his documentary career.
A report on the 2007 United Nations Association Film Festival
What advice do senior documentary filmmakers have for new filmmakers interested in pursuing internships and first jobs in documentary media? To prepare for a workshop on this topic, I conducted an informal survey of eight high-level independent filmmakers in Boston and New York. All are well-established, with their own companies and major theatrical and broadcast credits. All work with interns and production assistants. And all were willing to take time out of their busy schedules to talk, because they share a common frustration: Good help is hard to find. Which means opportunities are out
First Amendment principles cited in Federal court decision.
IDA Founder Linda Buzzell tells the story of how IDA began.