New Zealandthe land of the Long White Cloud, home of Middle Earth, with its lush green Shire lands contrasting with the moody volcanic ranges of Mordorhad its first taste of an unadulterated, hard-core factual film festival in September 2005. DOCNZ: New Zealand International Documentary Film Festival ( www.docnzfestival.com ) offered a formidable collection of international stories, as well as a taste of the activities and creativity percolating on these local shores. New Zealand has a strong documentary filmmaking tradition that has historically been supported by TVNZ, the state-owned
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'Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey' airs April 5 on PBS' 'Independent Lens.'
The Student Academy Awards, now in its 33rd year, continues to be the best-run student film competition in the US and one of the few constants in film education. Providing four $5,000 first prizes, an additional $20,000 in awards to the second and third place winners, travel to Los Angeles, considerable press coverage, workshops and industry tours, the Student Academy Awards program is the benchmark for all other student awards. By adjudicating the cinematic production output and, by implication, the quality of the training of America's film and video programs, the Academy's program provides
A review of 'The Technique of Film & Video Editing: History, Theory and Practice, 5th Edition'
Women Behind the Camera secures another panelist.
Morgan Spurlock's 30 Days returns to F/X on Wednesday, July 26 with a premiere episode that focuses on the US prison system. Spurlock once again volunteers himself as a human guinea pig and is locked up in Henrico County Jail in Richmond, Virgina for 30 days, along the way experiencing lack of privacy, solitary confinement, limited access to visitors and work in the prison kitchen. "I was in with people who were facing anywhere from 10 years to upwards of 30 years," says Spurlock. "You hear all the time that these are ‘bad people' who we need be ‘protected' from. It was a tremendous experience
Over the next month, we at IDA will be introducing our community to the filmmakers whose work is represented in the DocuWeeks TM Theatrical Documentary Showcase, which runs from August 12 through September 1 in New York City and August 19 through September 8 in Los Angeles. 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 continue this series of conversations, here is Michèle Ohayon, director/producer/writer of S.O.S./State of Security. Synopsis: January 2001
What do recent commercials for Secret, Budweiser and Dove have in common? All have been directed by award-winning documentarians. Nonfiction Spots, founded in 1995 by Loretta "LJ" Janeski and Michael Degan, specializes in crossing over doc directors into the advertising arena. Clients include Jessica Yu, Stacy Peralta, Barbara Kopple and Paul Crowder, among others. At first glance, documentarians and television commercials might seem like strange bedfellows, but with today's focus on "real people" ads, it makes sense that more and more nonfiction directors are being tapped to helm spots. Says