Central among the 106 films screened at the 15th edition of the Durham, North Carolina-based Full Frame Documentary Film Festival were films addressing socio-political problems. Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare, from Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke, was the best of them. It is a balanced but penetrating analysis that illuminates the wrong-headedness of our present system, posing the question, Has health care in the US become a disease management system, rather than a system that treats not just symptoms but the underlying causes of disease? Paying physicians for the
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There was plenty to look forward to at the 11th Tribeca Film Festival. More than 30 documentaries played in competition and non-competition sections, many making their North American, International or World Premieres. Amidst the discoveries were films continuing their successful festival runs-including Malik Bendjelloul's Searching for Sugar Man from Sundance and Chris Kenneally's Side by Side from Berlinale. Anticipation on high, I was disappointed to find that I'd have to stream most of these films at home. Perhaps it was because of the festival's increasing popularity that access to
PBS series on Latinos highlights the conference.
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
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.