Dear Readers, This past month, as violence flares up around the world and we receive more news about ongoing censorship of documentary filmmakers, we are bolstered by the organizing of our colleagues. Efforts supported by the work of informal and formal collectives include the open letter from UK Documentary Film Council rallying the independent sector, the launch of the DISCO network’s Independence Project , upcoming screenings around the world in solidarity with the film festival Palestine Cinema Days —the 10th anniversary was scheduled to start yesterday—and many more. From our vantage
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In August 2021, in my work as Director of Film Impact and Innovation at Peace is Loud, I had a conversation with Fork Films’ former Chief Creative Officer Kat Vecchio about their upcoming grantees. All of the films sounded compelling, but she highlighted one in particular, Fire Through Dry Grass, which embraced a participatory model between seasoned documentarian Alexis Neophytides and one of its protagonists, self-taught filmmaker Andres “Jay” Molina. Alexis and Jay co-directed and collaborated with the film’s participants across all phases of production. At the time, I suggested to Kat that
Editor’s Note: On October 9, the first day of Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival’s two-day Filmmaker Forum, Darcy McKinnon delivered the following keynote address advocating for the value of documentary films as a public good. As a producer, McKinnon has shepherded some of the most vibrant and iconic nonfiction work from the Gulf South in recent years. For nearly a decade, she was the Executive Director of the New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC), a nonprofit supporting community-based media in Southeast Louisiana, overseeing a bevy of youth, film industry workforce training, video
The films of New Orleans-based filmmaker Nailah Jefferson share similar grievances despite a variety of subject matter. Some of them try to remain in and protect a sense of place and abundance, as in Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Pointe a la Hache (2014). There are also stories of imagined worlds, escapism, and faraway places, such as Donyale Luna: Supermodel (2023), which was recently released on streaming service Max. And then, others unearth and rebuild a promised land and legacy that’s been burned and buried, such as Descended from the Promised Land: The Legacy of Black Wall Street
In August, ITVS welcomed new CEO and President Carrie Lozano to lead the San Francisco-based nonprofit that has, for over 30 years, funded and partnered with a diverse range of documentary filmmakers to produce and distribute stories that would otherwise be untold. Before ITVS, Lozano built her credentials with varied roles stewarding programs that provide funding, creative labs, fellowships, and artist support. Most recently, she served as the director of Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film and Artist Programs, previously as the director of IDA’s Enterprise Fund, and as an executive at Al
In the crowded landscape of UK documentary production, Grain Media is managing to steer a very difficult path. The company is completely independent and committed to making cinematic films about the issues of our day, films which they unabashedly hope will have an impact and improve the world. In a series of conversations with Documentary, von Einsiedel and his team candidly discussed the ways they work in a climate where budgets are getting much tighter and commissioners are increasingly risk-averse.
Documentary is happy to debut an exclusive clip from Sonia Kennebeck’s latest documentary Reality Winner , which will open at Laemmle Royal and NoHo in LA for special preview screenings on Wednesday, October 18, followed by a weeklong run at Laemmle Glendale. Grasshopper Film will release the film on streaming VOD starting October 31. Reality Winner , on the prosecution of former NSA translator Reality Winner for leaking a Russian election hacking document to the Intercept , is an investigative film five years in the making. Following a SXSW world premiere and subsequent festival run in 2021
Documentary is happy to debut an exclusive clip from David P. Zucker’s documentary Your Friend, Memphis , which will be available to stream on Amazon and Apple TV tomorrow, October 6. This longitudinal documentary takes a vérité approach to recording the life of a young man with cerebral palsy, whose big dreams are not matched by his family’s expectations. On the film, Zucker says, “ Your Friend, Memphis is a coming of age odyssey, following Memphis—an aspiring filmmaker with cerebral palsy—over the course of five years as he pursues a crush on his best friend and strives to build an
Memphis DiAngelis is a young man in his early 20s, living in Austin, Texas. Like many millennials, he is struggling to find a steady job and reliable income; dreaming of following his dreams of becoming a filmmaker; and pining for his best friend, Seneca. To complicate matters, Memphis has cerebral palsy, a condition that can seriously affect mobility and speech. He’s also in a difficult position: he can walk, which in Texas, disqualifies him from state support and medicare. In 2015, filmmaker David P. Zucker took a PA gig working on a Hallmarkesque film that was shooting outside Austin. On
In November 2020, a group of filmmakers met via a Directors Guild of America Zoom panel to discuss a harrowing commonality: missing films. On this panel—aptly titled “ The Unstreamables ”—were several acclaimed filmmakers, including Nancy Savoca, Ayoka Chenzira, and Ira Deutchman. Also present was Amy Heller, co-founder (along with Dennis Doros) of Milestone Films . Founded in 1990, Milestone has been an industry trailblazer in the restoration and distribution of films beyond the scope of mainstream Hollywood, frequently rediscovering films for general audiences. Its catalog is now being