In July 2002, John and Janet Pierson and their two children packed their bags and moved to Taveuni, a remote Fijian island. Eleven months later, they asked filmmaker Steve James to come and make a movie about their experiences. The result is Reel Paradise. This was no ordinary tale of Americans abroad. John Pierson is a noted rainmaker for indie filmmakers, having helped to bring the work of first-time filmmakers--including Spike Lee, Michael Moore, Kevin Smith and Richard Linklater--to the screen. He was also creator and host of Split Screen, a half-hour magazine format TV show on IFC. It was
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Documentary Salon presents a tribute to the notoriously private French filmmaker.
Yauch directed and distributed docs through his company.
Dates and venues for both New York and Los Angeles programs secured.
The 55th San Francisco International Film Festival closed with the upbeat documentary Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey, the real-life Cinderella story of a one-time homeless Manila orphan who becomes the new lead singer for the rock group Journey. Ramona S. Diaz's joyful and life-affirming film was a tonic after a devastating year for the festival. In August, Executive Director Graham Leggat died of cancer. In January, his successor, former studio executive, exhibitor and distributor Bingham Ray, suffered a fatal stroke after less than three months on the job. In spite of the tragedies
Join us at the Cinefamily on Thursday, May 10 for a discussion of the changing outlook on non-fiction programming at PBS.
INPUT 2005, which was hosted by ITVS in San Francisco this past May, took place in an atmosphere of creativity and crisis. INPUT is an annual movable feast of international public service television programming, where one will see slices of life from around the world that are not likely to be found on commercial television. This year, 1,700 public television broadcasters, producers and supporters from 58 countries gathered to screen and discuss the best of 2004 public television programming worldwide, as well as to network and consider how to thrive (or even survive) in a rapidly shifting
Several PBS programs and other organizations to be severely effected by these funding cuts.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church wasn't your typical venue for a screening of short student documentaries. Then again, the East Austin Stories spring showcase wasn't your typical film-school screening. As toddlers careened around and the last bit of sunset filtered in through colorful blankets draped over the windows, two dozen documentary students debuted their films for an audience in which many faces were the same ones depicted on the screen. Myrna Meza smiled as The Juan and Only(Melissa Woodward, Laura Kincaid, Helen Gagne, Jack McWilliams, dirs.) detailed the rise of her family's