An essay on two favorite docs.
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While most of the trades were focused on the Tribeca Film Festival, the documentary industry from Canada, Europe, the US and beyond were gathering for the 13th annual Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival and accompanying Toronto Documentary Forum. Even if there wasn't much buzz stateside, you could hear it emanating from across the Canadian border. The 10-day festival, which ran from April 28 to May 7, presented 101 Canadian and international documentaries to 50,000 revelers--a whopping 25 percent increase in audience attendance from last year. That number doesn't count
'The Ground Truth,' 'The Blood of my Brother' and Iraq in FRagments'
Last August and September, we witnessed the disastrous attack and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The images were so overwhelming, they forced us to think about ourselves and where we would be and what we would do if something like this were to happen to us. Katrina pushed issues of poverty, race and class in our face and stimulated a dialogue of societal responsibility. Nancy Buirski, the founder, CEO and artistic director of Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, wanted to explore the issues that arose from the disaster as a theme at this year's festival. "We usually look for issues that are
A review of '5 Films by Frederick Wiseman.'
'American Blackout,' 'The Bridge,' 'Jonestown' and more!
Flash back to the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles on November 9, 1990. Jack Haley Jr. is standing at the podium, joshing with the crowd at the Sixth Annual International Documentary Association Distinguished Documentary Achievement Awards Gala. He summons Frederick Wiseman to the stage to accept the IDA Career Achievement Award. It was a memorable moment. At an earlier press conference, then IDA President Harrison Engle described Wiseman as "an innovative chronicler of culture who invented an original way to tell stories." It all began in 1965, when Wiseman decided to document the uneven
" I wanted Hurricane on the Bayou to go beyond our previous films emotionally. It's such a huge tragedy with such heartbreak. I felt we had an obligation to tell this story right, so people understand the dimensions of the tragedy... I love New Orleans and the bayou. I think it's the most unique city and region in America. If we lose it and lose the wetlands of Louisiana, we have lost part of America that is irreplaceable." - Greg MacGillivray The seeds for Hurricane on the Bayou were planted about two and a half years ago when the Audubon Nature Institute in Louisiana contacted Greg
What are the differences between shooting documentaries for the IMAX screen and for television? Of all the filmmakers, Howard Hall is probably among the most qualified to answer that question. Hall learned to scuba dive at age 16, primarily because of his fascination with underwater wildlife. He studied zoology and earned a degree from San Diego State University. He launched his career shooting still photos and writing articles for magazines and books about the behavior of marine life. Hall shot his first 16mm film around 1978 using a Bell & Howell camera that he had modified for underwater
Iranian-American citizen had been conducting interviews with women's rights activists.