One could have spent all 12 days of the 24th International Documentary FilmFestival Amsterdam (IDFA) covering any one of its programs. Eighty-eight world premieres screened across competition and non-competition sections, while other docs enjoyed their International or European premieres. Steve James was the subject of a retrospective, and he also curated his own Top 10 program. Finally, there were off-screen activities such as the IDFA talk shows, industry panels and the IDFAcademy. In a festival of over 300 films, no two experiences were the same. But almost everyone had something to say
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Recording Reality, Desiring the Real By Elizabeth Cowie Minneapolis: Visible Evidence, University of Minnesota Press $25, Paper, 217 pps. ISBN 978-0-8166-4548-0 Elizabeth Cowie's Recording Reality, Desiring the Real is a sharply focused theoretical resource organized as a series of previously published articles spanning a period from 1997 to 2007. As part of the notable Visible Evidence series of texts on documentary theory, Cowie's book emphasizes documentary storytelling as nonfiction, exploring and distinguishing this from fictional cinema, while noting its specific emergence as a
Doc U's first stop in Washington, DC asked if your doc can really change the world.
Over the past couple of weeks, we at IDA have been introducing our community to the filmmakers whose work has been 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 conclude this series of conversations, here are Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, directors/producers of The Trials of Darryl Hunt. Synopsis: North Carolina, 1984. A brutal murder leaves a white woman dead, and a young black
Passes are now on sale for this all-day event, taking place on February 25, 2012.
Museums have become a key part of the exhibition strategy for nature and science documentaries, with institutions using 3-D, IMAX and HD theaters to lure patrons in for a visit. However, museums also provide a wonderful work opportunity for filmmakers who create the multi-media pieces that are part of large traveling exhibitions. Filmmaker Maggie Burnette Stogner of Blue Bear Films just produced four short documentaries that are currently being featured within the new, worldwide traveling exhibition Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology. The project is a joint partnership between
A conversation with documentary directors on the art of the interview.
Walking toward the new IFC Center in the West Village, I passed the site of the old Bleecker Street Cinema, one of the mainstays of independent exhibition that closed in 1990 after 30 years in operation. It reminded me of the days when one felt like part of a club that met in a member's oversized, shabby living room. In contrast, the IFC Center is a plush, highly designed, velvet-and-brick womb, with high-end projection ranging from 35mm to HD Digital. It is the latest entry in a landscape of increased and improved exhibition for independent film in Manhattan below 14th Street. While Uptown
Best Feature Award winner 'Nostalgia for the Light' on how filmmaking is like jazz.
After a night filled with moving speeches, worthy honored guests, delicious food and drink, and a couple of laughs, we reflect on the ceremony and the past year in non-fiction filmmaking.