“Back in 1976, when I brought Harlan County to the first festival here, it was a very different place,” says Barbara Kopple, whose new feature documentary on three generations of Woodstock, My Generation, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. “It was small and informal, and every filmmaker saw everyone else’s work. “It’s changed quite a bit,” Kopple continues, “but what was wonderful then is wonderful now—you meet extraordinary people, and you see films you wouldn’t otherwise see.” Indeed, the 25th Toronto Festival, which ran from September 7-16, bears few overt traces of the
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Since its formation in 1990, The Film Foundation has been committed to fostering greater awareness of the urgent need to preserve motion picture history. Through such national efforts as the annual Film Preservation Festival on American Movie Classics, the foundation raises funds and distributes them directly to its member archives—Academy Film Archive, George Eastman House, Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, UCLA Film and Television Archive—and to its affiliated organizations—the National Center for Film and Video Preservation at the AFI and the National Film Preservation Foundation
Winner A Sense of SmellAustralian Film, Television & Radio School (AFTRS)Producer/director/writer: Edwina ThrosbyDirector of Photography: Erika Addis23 min. A Sense of Smell follows a young woman to her native Paris. By talking to Parisians, she discovers that her sense of smell is the key to unlocking her memories. EDWINA THROSBY has studied documentary at the Australian Film, Television & Radio School and will graduate in 2000 with an MA with honors in this field. Honorable Mention Grandfathers and RevolutionsGriffith University Queensland College of ArtExecutive producer: Ian LangProducer
Charles Guggenheim joins an elite assemblage of IDA Career Achievement Award winners that include Walter Cronkite, Bill Moyers, Ted Turner, Shiela Nevins, Albert Maysles, Frederick Wiseman and Henry Hampton. Guggenheim has earned 12 Oscar® nominations from his peers; only Walt Disney earned as many. Guggenheim took top honors for Nine From Little Rock (1964), RFK Remembered (1969), The Johnstown Flood (1989) and A Time for Justice (1994), an incisive chronicle of the civil rights movement. There are no obvious boundaries around his interests or his approach to storytelling. Guggenheim has
SUGIHARA Conspiracy of KindnessProducer: Diane Estelle VicariDirector/Writer: Robert Kirk This documentary tells the remarkable story of Chiune Sugihara, who, in the face of the Nazi onslaught in Europe, and at great risk to his career and life, single-handedly saved more than 2,000 lives, using his power as a diplomat to rescue fleeing Jewish refugees. The Tree WomanExecutive Producers: Susanne Becker & Guenter MyrellProducer: Christian BauerDirector/Writer: Ziri RideauxTangram Film/ZDF The Tree Woman tells the story of 24-year-old Julia Butterfly Hill, who risked her life to save a 1,500
Editor’s note—This issue, we introduce a pilot feature, “Tales from the Trenches,” in which we invite an IDA member to share with fellow filmmakers a cautionary tale or a lesson learned on the long road from conception to delivery. This month, Jilann Spitzmiller, who made Homeland with her husband, Hank Rogerson, writes about fundraising, the film vs. video conundrum, and heeding the hawk. Homeland airs November 16 on PBS and will also be featured at the Native American Film and Video Festival in New York City November 13-19. It was a rainy February in Los Angeles. Hank—my husband and
Dear IDA Members: With this issue of International Documentary we celebrate the first IDA Awards of a new century. So it is fitting that at this moment IDA recognize the rich heritage of the documentary and look ahead to its future. This year IDA presents the Career Achievement Award to Charles Guggenheim in his 50th year as a filmmaker. During those five decades, he has produced more than 80 documentaries on subjects as diverse as American architecture, the Johnstown flood, D-Day, the civil rights movement and the First Amendment. Three of his films are on permanent display at the Harry S
In the months ahead, jazz will receive unprecedented television exposure through the landmark, nineteen-hour series by Ken Burns, simply called Jazz. Burns’ new series is the final part of his trilogy on the American Experience that began with The Civil War and continued with Baseball. The Jazz series is scheduled to air nationally on PBS in January 2001. Jazz, however, has long caught the interest of documentary filmmakers and audiences alike. This vital American art form has helped inspire dozens, even hundreds, of documentaries over the years. Perhaps it is the ever-recurring motif of jazz
Feature Documentaries Bach in Auschwitz Executive Producer: Sheila Nevins Producers/Directors: Sege Lalou and Michel Daëron Cinemax Reel Life They were called “the ladies of the orchestra”: forty women whose musical talents spelled the difference between life and death at Auschwitz. In Bach in Auschwitz, twelve surviving orchestra members remember what it was like to “play for time,” serenading their Nazi captors—and fellow prisoners—during the darkest chapter of modern history. Face to Face: The Schappell Twins Producers/Directors: Katherine Drew, Ellen Weissbrod and Amy Briamonte Face to
The year 2000 saw Toronto’s Hot Docs Film Festival truly come of age. The success of the screenings, coupled with an auspicious debut for the Toronto Documentary Forum (TDF), made this first week in May a new staple of the documentary calendar year. Credit goes to the festival and forum organizers, especially Chris McDonald, Rudy Buttignol. Michaelle MacLean Amy Briamonte and the Amsterdam Forum’s Jolanda Klorenbeek who worked very hard to create a positive atmosphere for screenings and discussion. The Canadian Independent Film Caucus, a national association of Canadian documentary filmmakers