We most often associate the radical activism of the 1960s and 1970s with people of color, students, women and veterans organizing to make systemic change. Not unrelated to those movements, that period was also a defining one for journalists. The courts solidified First Amendment rights in key cases like New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) and New York Times Co. v. United States (1971), otherwise known as the Pentagon Papers case. And, in an unusual move in 1970, a group of journalists organized to defend their right to protect confidential sources. Bringing together a network of attorneys
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The Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award was established in 2003 to honor an individual who has made "a significant impact at the beginning of his or her career in documentary film." From the first recipient, Alex Rivera, to the 2018 honoree, Bing Liu, this distinguished corps of artists have gone on to earn Academy Award nominations, Emmys, Peabodys and, for 2009 winner Natalia Almada, a MacArthur "Genius" Grant. This year's Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award honoree, Rachel Lears, is a director, writer, producer and cinematographer, with degrees and training in music, anthropology and
Since its founding in 2006, Cinereach has grown from a foundation formed to support independent filmmakers through grants, to an award-winning funder and producer dedicated to the support of filmmakers, films, producers and organizations. To learn more about the evolution, culture and unique qualities of Cinereach, this year’s IDA Pioneer Award honoree, Documentary spoke with six members of the Cinereach team: Phil Engelhorn, founder and executive director; Natalie Difford, head of filmmaker development; Leah Giblin, head of grants; Sara Kiener, head of distribution strategies; Caroline Kaplan
For Sama, shot, directed and produced by Waad al-Kateab, is a harrowing love letter to al-Kateab’s daughter Sama, who was born on the last day of 2015, during near-constant airstrikes and bombings on Aleppo by the Russian-backed Syrian dictatorial government. The movie—like other documentaries about the Syrian conflict—focuses on the incredible will of the people, even in the face or horrific events. But this film goes further than any of the others with its unapologetic portrayal of children dying, of parents in agony, of families split apart and of what it means to bring life into a world
As the storytelling for cinematic documentary has evolved over the years, and audiences become ever more comfortable with the blending of techniques, the experience of seeing a documentary on the big screen is often every bit as gratifyingly gripping as a dramatic thriller. Two British films playing at the 63rd annual BFI London Film Festival brought this home to me— both created nail-bitingly suspenseful dramatic storylines from their very different subjects. Ed Perkins' Tell Me Who I Am is essentially a two-hander in which twin brothers confront some painful, long-suppressed secrets of their
Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home. Now available on YouTube Originals, The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash, directed by Thom Zimny, explores the artistic victories, the personal tragedies, the struggles with addiction, and the spiritual pursuits that colored Johnny Cash's life. The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash is nominated for an IDA Documentary Award for Best Music Documentary. The Interpreters, from Andres Caballero and Sofian Khan, is streaming on Independent Lens through December 11. The film tells
Essential Doc Reads is a weekly feature in which the IDA staff recommends recent pieces about the documentary form and its processes. Here we feature think pieces and important news items from around the Internet, and articles from the Documentary magazine archive. We hope you enjoy! Variety's Addie Morfoot assesses the documentary landscape for gender parity, and finds more progress than elsewhere in the media arts industry--but challenges remain. But women behind the camera, including an impressive roster of female nonfiction gatekeepers at HBO, Apple, PBS and Netflix, as well as the launch
Between 2017 and 2018, Stephen K. Bannon, a former documentary film distributor (Werner Herzog's The White Diamond, Jonathan Caouette's Tarnation, Steve James' Reel Paradise), former film producer (Sean Penn's The Indian Runner), former head of the conservative media website Breitbart News, former manager of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, and until mid-2017 chief strategist for now-President Donald Trump, was considered a Shakespearean figure. Some dubbed him "Trump’s Brain." Time magazine dubbed him "The Great Manipulator." Many believed then, and still today, that Trump would never
Open City Documentary Festival was founded in 2010 at University College London by Michael Stewart, and is now directed by Chloe Trayner. The festival showcases a socially engaged selection of films from around the globe each year. This year was no exception. Around 40 films screened across six venues in five days. Not one of these seemed very far removed from the social and historical circumstances of its center of production. This year’s festival focused on "The Art of Non Fiction." While this apparent theme might seem to detract from the global political climate, the recurrent preoccupation
Roger Ross Williams grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania and then moved to New York to, as he has said, escape both racism and homophobia in his hometown. After graduating from New York University, he started his career writing for Michael Moore's 1994 television series TV Nation. He continued working in television over the next decade, including directing New York Underground, a documentary TV series produced by The New York Times and the Discovery Channel about the life in the city's subway system. In 2010, Williams became the first African-American director to win an Oscar, for his documentary