Not even the dismal exchange rate, drizzle or occasional hail could dampen enthusiasm of US visitors last November to the Independent Documentary Festival at Amsterdam (IDFA), the annual cornucopia of worldwide documentary film viewing, business and discussion. IDFA continues to hold pride of place among docfests for volume and range of documentary, and for aggregating power-brokers. For the 2004 edition, more than 2,000 people could sample from hundreds of films and participate in dozens of discussions. More than 90 visitors were film festival programmers, and commissioning editors from
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Documentary.org asked Matthew O'Neill and Jon Alpert about their Oscar-nominated short film 'Redemption'
It was announced today that New York City's case against the Central Park Five filmmakers Ken Burns, David McMahon and Sarah Burns has been blocked by a federal judge. Back in October, 2012, the filmmakers received a subpoena from the City of New York for the outtakes and extra footage from the documentary. Although the lawyers for the city insisted on seeing all of the footage before the film was released to the public, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis said the city's concerns did not override the "precious rights of freedom of speech and the press." The court wrote that: Florentine’s
I first met Michael Tucker at a RealScreen Summit, where we were both participating on a panel about producing and distributing DVDs. He had flown in from Berlin, where he lives, and when I was introduced to him, he was smoking a cigarette and standing not quite behind the potted palm tree at the opening night cocktail reception. Since then I have come to know Michael Tucker. I have watched with trepidation as he self-financed and made two films about the invasion of Iraq. I have advised him to wear body armor, to which he responded, "I have a very nice German body armor and a helmet-it's the
" In every great faith and tradition one can find the values of tolerance and mutual understanding." --Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations from his 2001 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech "The Values of Tolerance" was the theme for the 2004 United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF), which took place in Palo Alto, California, October 20-24. According to the festival's founder and executive director, Jasmina Bojic, the theme was inspired by Kofi Annan's eloquent acceptance speech. UNAFF "shares the values of United Nations," says Bojic, but she is quick to emphasize that
Documentary.org talked with the filmmakers Sean and Andrea Fine, directors of the Oscar-nominated short film 'Inocente'.
The Gatekeepers, from Israeli filmmaker Dror Moreh, is one of a handful of recent works that have taken a hard look at the Israel-Palestine conflict and the occupation of the West Bank. As Israel is shifting further to the right politically, films like The Gatekeepers, The Law in these Parts and the Palestinian film 5 Broken Cameras have tried to play a countervailing force in keeping the conversation about the peace process alive. The Gatekeepers offers an unprecedented access to six former heads of Shin Bet, Israel's secret service agency, all of whom reflect deeply and openly on actions
In February 1995, I was invited by the Shoah Visual History Foundation, for which I was an interviewer, to an event at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. The museum was honoring Yukiko Sugihara, the widow of Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat who, during World War II, saved thousands of Jewish refugees through his position as ambassador to Lithuania. I knew that night that I wanted to tell the story of Chiune Sugihara to the world. I was working for Greystone Communications, a production company that produced for A&E and The History Channel, among others. I could not get Greystone's
The 2013 Sundance Film Festival straddled the second Inauguration of President Obama in the calendar, and the programming mix reflected the predominant social issues of the day. Among the more visible figures spotted roaming around Park City: Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, the driving force of Jacob Kornbluth's Inequality for All, who presided over Q&As and panels like the impassioned Berkeley professor he is; and Anita Hill, the iconic figure of the Clarence Thomas hearings from two decades ago, who was on hand to support Freida Lee Mock's Anita. Among the lesser known figures, for
The opening night address of the 28th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, delivered by festival director Roger Durling, paid tribute to his late mentor, the great underwater filmmaker Mike deGruy. Crediting deGruy with encouraging him to take on the festival, Durling delivered a moving speech about their shared history and friendship. Storyteller, adventurer and underwater camera-master, deGruy was celebrated for developing festival programs such as Field Trip to the Movies, for Santa Barbara County youth, as well as the Reel Nature strand of films within the festival. A career