Keisha Nash-Whitaker, actress and producer ex-wife of Forest Whitaker, has died, her family confirmed. A cause of death was not released. She was 51.
Whitaker’s daughter True shared the news in an Instagram story, writing “goodbye mommy. I love you 4ever and beyond. the most beautiful woman in the world … thank you for teaching me every single thing I know. I’ll see you in my dreams and I’ll feel you in my heart.”
Whitaker and Nash met on the set of Blown Away in 1994. In a 2020 interview with Essence, Nash said she’d seen Whitaker’s performance in A Rage in Harlem in 1991, before the two had met. “Right away, I thought Forest had a gentle soul and a nice spirit,” she said.
The couple married in Jamaica in 1996. Whitaker filed for divorce in 2018 citing “irreconcilable differences,” according to multiple media reports. The couple shared two daughters, Sonnet,...
Whitaker’s daughter True shared the news in an Instagram story, writing “goodbye mommy. I love you 4ever and beyond. the most beautiful woman in the world … thank you for teaching me every single thing I know. I’ll see you in my dreams and I’ll feel you in my heart.”
Whitaker and Nash met on the set of Blown Away in 1994. In a 2020 interview with Essence, Nash said she’d seen Whitaker’s performance in A Rage in Harlem in 1991, before the two had met. “Right away, I thought Forest had a gentle soul and a nice spirit,” she said.
The couple married in Jamaica in 1996. Whitaker filed for divorce in 2018 citing “irreconcilable differences,” according to multiple media reports. The couple shared two daughters, Sonnet,...
- 12/7/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
“Meltdown: Three Mile Island” is the new 4-part documentary series directed by Kief Davidson, streaming May 4, 2022 on Netflix:
“…’Meltdown’ is a tale of personal bravery and corporate malfeasance as this four-part doc series tackles the near catastrophe at ‘Three Mile Island’ nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania through the lens of chief engineer and whistleblower, Richard Parks, as well as the community it impacted. Dramatic reenactments, archival footage, never-before-seen home video, and in-depth interviews bring viewers into the worst nuclear incident in US history…”
Click the images to enlarge…...
“…’Meltdown’ is a tale of personal bravery and corporate malfeasance as this four-part doc series tackles the near catastrophe at ‘Three Mile Island’ nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania through the lens of chief engineer and whistleblower, Richard Parks, as well as the community it impacted. Dramatic reenactments, archival footage, never-before-seen home video, and in-depth interviews bring viewers into the worst nuclear incident in US history…”
Click the images to enlarge…...
- 5/4/2022
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
The partial meltdown at the nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979 was a perfect coalescing of factors in two senses. First, a series of cascading mechanical and human errors brought the plant close to a catastrophe that would have potentially made much of the East Coast uninhabitable, we’re told in the new documentary “Meltdown: Three Mile Island.” Second, coming as it did both within memory of the height of Cold War paranoia and days after the release of the film “The China Syndrome,” the disaster was perfectly primed to set off anxieties about the danger of atomic energy.
“Meltdown: Three Mile Island,” a new four-part documentary on Netflix, does an elegant job of braiding those two truths — that Three Mile Island was a narrowly averted nightmare scenario and that it lives on in the public imagination as an argument against nuclear energy. It can default,...
“Meltdown: Three Mile Island,” a new four-part documentary on Netflix, does an elegant job of braiding those two truths — that Three Mile Island was a narrowly averted nightmare scenario and that it lives on in the public imagination as an argument against nuclear energy. It can default,...
- 5/3/2022
- by Daniel D'Addario
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Filmmaker Pedro Kos (Lead Me Home) has signed with CAA for representation.
Kos is an Emmy winner who most recent directed the Netflix pic Lead Me Home with Jon Shenk, watching it land an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short Subject. Shot over the course of three years in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, the short examines the epidemic of homelessness in America with a show-don’t-tell approach, featuring candid testimonials from those who rest their heads in shelters, tent cities, and anywhere a night’s sleep can be found.
Kos’ most recent documentary feature Rebel Hearts, which he wrote, directed and edited, premiered in U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. The film looking at Los Angeles’ Sisters of the Immaculate Heart—nuns who challenged the patriarchal conventions of the Catholic Church 50 years ago and are still taking a stand today—was released worldwide by Discovery+.
Kos is an Emmy winner who most recent directed the Netflix pic Lead Me Home with Jon Shenk, watching it land an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short Subject. Shot over the course of three years in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, the short examines the epidemic of homelessness in America with a show-don’t-tell approach, featuring candid testimonials from those who rest their heads in shelters, tent cities, and anywhere a night’s sleep can be found.
Kos’ most recent documentary feature Rebel Hearts, which he wrote, directed and edited, premiered in U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. The film looking at Los Angeles’ Sisters of the Immaculate Heart—nuns who challenged the patriarchal conventions of the Catholic Church 50 years ago and are still taking a stand today—was released worldwide by Discovery+.
- 4/21/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown in 1979 was a near-catastrophe, considered one of the most critical accidents in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history. A brand-new Netflix documentary, "Meltdown: Three Mile Island," is attempting to shed light on the aftereffects of the near-disaster, along with systemic drawbacks and failures that contributed to the incident. Kief Davidson is helming this four-part documentary, while "Erin Brockovich" producers Michael and Carla Shamberg are backing the project in collaboration with Moxie Pictures.
Check out the grim events that played out before the nuclear power plant accident in the trailer for "Meltdown: Three...
The post Meltdown: Three Mile Island Trailer: The World Needs to Know What Happened Here appeared first on /Film.
Check out the grim events that played out before the nuclear power plant accident in the trailer for "Meltdown: Three...
The post Meltdown: Three Mile Island Trailer: The World Needs to Know What Happened Here appeared first on /Film.
- 4/19/2022
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
A four-part Netflix documentary sheds new light on the staggering effects of the near-catastrophe at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in 1979.
The Middletown, Pennsylvania-based plant suffered a breakdown in 1979, and series “Meltdown: Three Mile Island” reexamines the series of missteps that led to the national cover-up. Academy Award–nominated director Kief Davidson (“The Ivory Game”) collaborates with “Erin Brockovich” producers Michael and Carla Shamberg and Moxie Pictures to tell the true story of what happened at Three Mile Island’s “first step in a nuclear nightmare,” as the trailer states. “Meltdown” premieres May 4.
The four-part documentary reveals how it all unfolded in real time, the impact on the community, and the personal account of chief engineer and whistleblower, Richard Parks, who had the courage to speak up and prevent a near catastrophe for the East Coast. Dramatic reenactments, archival footage, never-before-seen home video, and in-depth interviews bring viewers...
The Middletown, Pennsylvania-based plant suffered a breakdown in 1979, and series “Meltdown: Three Mile Island” reexamines the series of missteps that led to the national cover-up. Academy Award–nominated director Kief Davidson (“The Ivory Game”) collaborates with “Erin Brockovich” producers Michael and Carla Shamberg and Moxie Pictures to tell the true story of what happened at Three Mile Island’s “first step in a nuclear nightmare,” as the trailer states. “Meltdown” premieres May 4.
The four-part documentary reveals how it all unfolded in real time, the impact on the community, and the personal account of chief engineer and whistleblower, Richard Parks, who had the courage to speak up and prevent a near catastrophe for the East Coast. Dramatic reenactments, archival footage, never-before-seen home video, and in-depth interviews bring viewers...
- 4/19/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Terra Mater Factual Studios looks back on an eventful decade that made its name synonymous with high-end nature and wildlife productions, while also embracing the ever-expanding opportunities offered by the growth of streaming platforms.
The Austrian company’s productions include Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani’s acclaimed “The Ivory Game,” which exposes the dark world of ivory trafficking; Ladkani’s “Sea of Shadows,” about the efforts to save the smallest whale species in the world from extinction; and Myles Connolly and Florian Schulz’s upcoming “The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness.” CEO Walter Koehler, the former head of Austrian broadcaster Orf’s nature and wildlife unit, Universum, established Terra Mater as a subsidiary of Red Bull in 2011.
“When I opened the company 10 years ago, we started with 12 or 13 people; now we have more than 40 employees,” he says. The figure does not include the many...
The Austrian company’s productions include Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani’s acclaimed “The Ivory Game,” which exposes the dark world of ivory trafficking; Ladkani’s “Sea of Shadows,” about the efforts to save the smallest whale species in the world from extinction; and Myles Connolly and Florian Schulz’s upcoming “The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness.” CEO Walter Koehler, the former head of Austrian broadcaster Orf’s nature and wildlife unit, Universum, established Terra Mater as a subsidiary of Red Bull in 2011.
“When I opened the company 10 years ago, we started with 12 or 13 people; now we have more than 40 employees,” he says. The figure does not include the many...
- 4/23/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
In the tense new trailer for FX’s first true crime docuseries, a man becomes convinced that his father is the Zodiac Killer, the unidentified serial killer who terrorized California in the late Sixties and early Seventies. All four episodes of The Most Dangerous Animal of All will air March 6th at 8 p.m. Pt/Et on FX, and the series will be available the following day on the content hub FX on Hulu.
“I often get asked, ‘When you first suspected your father was the Zodiac Killer, why didn’t you just stop?...
“I often get asked, ‘When you first suspected your father was the Zodiac Killer, why didn’t you just stop?...
- 2/25/2020
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
In today’s TV news roundup, FX released a trailer of “The Most Dangerous Animal of All” and Quibi announced Megan Rapinoe as the host of the new docuseries “Prodigy.”
Casting
Megan Rapinoe will host new documentary series “Prodigy,“ Quibi announced. As a host, Rapinoe will provide on camera commentary and her perspective on the eight athletes who are set to become the next superstars in their respective sports. Each episode will highlight one prodigy’s athletic accomplishments, while also diving deep into their personal stories. The 2020 prodigy class includes Jalen Green, Sha’Carri Richardson, Red Gerard, Regan Smith, Matthew Boling, Tyler Adams, Korey Foreman and Chantel Navarro. Rand Getlin and Janina Pelayo serve as executive producers for the show.
Programming
Discovery announced the return of “Monster Garage” starring Jesse James coming this year. James, founder of the west coast choppers, is returning to the show looking to elevate the...
Casting
Megan Rapinoe will host new documentary series “Prodigy,“ Quibi announced. As a host, Rapinoe will provide on camera commentary and her perspective on the eight athletes who are set to become the next superstars in their respective sports. Each episode will highlight one prodigy’s athletic accomplishments, while also diving deep into their personal stories. The 2020 prodigy class includes Jalen Green, Sha’Carri Richardson, Red Gerard, Regan Smith, Matthew Boling, Tyler Adams, Korey Foreman and Chantel Navarro. Rand Getlin and Janina Pelayo serve as executive producers for the show.
Programming
Discovery announced the return of “Monster Garage” starring Jesse James coming this year. James, founder of the west coast choppers, is returning to the show looking to elevate the...
- 2/24/2020
- by Klaritza Rico
- Variety Film + TV
FX has unveiled a trailer for their first true crime docuseries, The Most Dangerous Animal Of All, which is based on The New York Times best-selling book of the same name. Executive produced by Ross M. Dinerstein (The Innocent Man) and Academy Award-nominated director Kief Davidson (The Ivory Game), the upcoming presentation explores Gary L. Stewart’s search for the father…...
- 2/24/2020
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
“Sea of Shadows” is director Richard Ladkani’s second “eco-thriller.” It’s a documentary ostensibly about scientists, activists, and law enforcement agents who are all trying to protect one of the most endangered species on Earth, but it plays more like a popcorn-friendly narrative feature thanks to the fact that Mexican drug cartels and the Chinese mafia are all intertwined in the story.
“Sea of Shadows” follows the intertwined plights of the the Vaquita porpoise and the totoaba fish in the Sea of Cortez as Mexican drug cartels erect illegal gill nets to catch totoaba to export to China, where there is a thriving illegal market for their bladders, which are purported to have medicinal properties. But those nets also catch the extremely endangered vaquita porpoise, posing a threat to the Sea’s entire delicate ecosystem.
The new genre in which the filmmaker has been working is something he and...
“Sea of Shadows” follows the intertwined plights of the the Vaquita porpoise and the totoaba fish in the Sea of Cortez as Mexican drug cartels erect illegal gill nets to catch totoaba to export to China, where there is a thriving illegal market for their bladders, which are purported to have medicinal properties. But those nets also catch the extremely endangered vaquita porpoise, posing a threat to the Sea’s entire delicate ecosystem.
The new genre in which the filmmaker has been working is something he and...
- 11/8/2019
- by Jean Bentley
- Indiewire
FX is continuing its push into the documentary business with the announcement of six new projects.
The cabler announced at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that they have ordered five new docuseries and one documentary feature. The move comes after FX launched the New York Times docuseries “The Weekly” back in June.
“FX has long sought to give artists a platform to showcase their individual, uncompromising vision and its new docuseries and features are an opportunity to extend that ambition in our collaboration with non-fiction talent,” said Nick Grad, co-president of original programming for FX Entertainment. “It’s been tremendously rewarding to partner with The New York Times and Hulu on ‘The Weekly,’ which has excelled creatively and is hitting series-high ratings. Under the guidance of FX’s Jonathan Frank and J.J. Klein, we are now honored to partner with these new teams to create docuseries and features...
The cabler announced at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that they have ordered five new docuseries and one documentary feature. The move comes after FX launched the New York Times docuseries “The Weekly” back in June.
“FX has long sought to give artists a platform to showcase their individual, uncompromising vision and its new docuseries and features are an opportunity to extend that ambition in our collaboration with non-fiction talent,” said Nick Grad, co-president of original programming for FX Entertainment. “It’s been tremendously rewarding to partner with The New York Times and Hulu on ‘The Weekly,’ which has excelled creatively and is hitting series-high ratings. Under the guidance of FX’s Jonathan Frank and J.J. Klein, we are now honored to partner with these new teams to create docuseries and features...
- 8/6/2019
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Docuseries about Tupac Shakur and his mother, the fight for Lgbtq civil rights in America and the man who possibly was the Zodiac killer lead FX’s latest documentary slate.
FX is ramping up its non-fiction slate with five new docuseries and one feature documentary, building on its latest series The Weekly, with The New York Times.
The news was revealed by Nick Grad and Gina Balian, Presidents, Original Programming, FX Entertainment at the TCA summer press tour.
Outlaw: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur, from The Defiant Ones director Allen Hughes is a five-part series looking at the mother and son. Told through the eyes of the people who knew them best, the series explores their message of freedom, equality, persecution and justice.
Pride is a six-part docuseries chronicling the fight for Lgbtq civil rights in America through the lens of history, pop culture and politics. Produced by...
FX is ramping up its non-fiction slate with five new docuseries and one feature documentary, building on its latest series The Weekly, with The New York Times.
The news was revealed by Nick Grad and Gina Balian, Presidents, Original Programming, FX Entertainment at the TCA summer press tour.
Outlaw: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur, from The Defiant Ones director Allen Hughes is a five-part series looking at the mother and son. Told through the eyes of the people who knew them best, the series explores their message of freedom, equality, persecution and justice.
Pride is a six-part docuseries chronicling the fight for Lgbtq civil rights in America through the lens of history, pop culture and politics. Produced by...
- 8/6/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Anyone who thinks making a music documentary is easy wasn’t in director Kief Davidson’s shoes when he was in Jamaica researching the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in 1976. Davidson and his crew were taken to sketchy neighborhoods in Kingston, where a police station had been shot up the night before. Arriving at a cemetery to see where one Jamaican gangster was buried, they found themselves in a midst of a turf war, surrounded by military brandishing automatic weapons. “You do exactly what the military says and you leave pretty quickly,...
- 2/6/2019
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
For all the scholarship that exists on pop history, plenty of mysteries remain: Who killed Jam Master Jay; what precisely happened on the night of Sam Cooke’s death; and what exactly was the relationship between Johnny Cash and Richard Nixon? Netflix’s new ReMastered docuseries seeks to investigate these and other tales in the months ahead, starting with its first entry, Who Shot the Sheriff?, an examination of the events leading up to — and following — the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in 1976. Here, a few things we gleaned from the hour-long doc,...
- 10/26/2018
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Netflix’s original documentary series “ReMastered” investigates high-profile events affecting major figures in music. Helmed by Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, the Zimbalist brothers and directors Kief Davidson, Barbara Kopple, Sara Dosa, Brian Oakes, Stuart Sender, B.J. Perlmutt, Kelly Duane de la Vega and Sam Cullman, each episode investigates events in the lives of artists such as Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Jam Master Jay, Sam Cooke and others.
ReMastered is a Netflix original documentary series produced by Triage Entertainment and All Rise Films.
The series will launch monthly on Netflix, with the following rollout, according to the announcement:
“Who Shot the Sheriff?” – Launches October 12
Directed by: Kief Davidson
The violent political suppression of the roots reggae movement in Jamaica told through an investigation into Jamaican politics and the CIA’s involvement in the mysterious shooting of Bob Marley.
“Tricky Dick and the Man in Black” – Launches November 2018
Directed by: Barbara Kopple...
ReMastered is a Netflix original documentary series produced by Triage Entertainment and All Rise Films.
The series will launch monthly on Netflix, with the following rollout, according to the announcement:
“Who Shot the Sheriff?” – Launches October 12
Directed by: Kief Davidson
The violent political suppression of the roots reggae movement in Jamaica told through an investigation into Jamaican politics and the CIA’s involvement in the mysterious shooting of Bob Marley.
“Tricky Dick and the Man in Black” – Launches November 2018
Directed by: Barbara Kopple...
- 9/24/2018
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix is delving into the history behind some of the most legendary names in music with ReMastered, an eight-part investigative docuseries from Emmy and Peabody Award-winning brothers Jeff Zimbalist and Michael Zimbalist, Triage Entertainment and All Rise Films.
Each of ReMastered‘s eight installments will roll out monthly on Netflix beginning October 12. Created by the Zimbalist brothers and helmed by directors Kief Davidson, Barbara Kopple, Sara Dosa, Brian Oakes, Stuart Sender, B.J. Perlmutt, Kelly Duane de la Vega and Sam Cullman, each episode seeks to reveal answers about seminal events in the lives of artists such as Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Jam Master Jay and Sam Cooke. You can watch a first-look clip above.
The episodes include “Who Shot the Sheriff?”which probes the violent political suppression of the roots reggae movement in Jamaica and the CIA’s involvement in the mysterious shooting of Bob Marley.
Each of ReMastered‘s eight installments will roll out monthly on Netflix beginning October 12. Created by the Zimbalist brothers and helmed by directors Kief Davidson, Barbara Kopple, Sara Dosa, Brian Oakes, Stuart Sender, B.J. Perlmutt, Kelly Duane de la Vega and Sam Cullman, each episode seeks to reveal answers about seminal events in the lives of artists such as Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Jam Master Jay and Sam Cooke. You can watch a first-look clip above.
The episodes include “Who Shot the Sheriff?”which probes the violent political suppression of the roots reggae movement in Jamaica and the CIA’s involvement in the mysterious shooting of Bob Marley.
- 9/24/2018
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Abramorama has picked up the U.S. theatrical rights to Bending the Arc, a documentary by directors Kief Davidson (The Ivory Game) and Pedro Kos (The Square), and plans a limited release beginning October 6 in New York. The film, which premiered at Sundance in January, revolves around three Harvard med students — Jim Kim (current President of the World Bank), Paul Farmer and Ophelia Dahl — who became pioneers of global health, literally inventing an international framework…...
- 8/16/2017
- Deadline
Bending the Arc, Kief Davidson and Pedro Kos' documentary about doctors working in a rural Haitian village, will serve as the opening film at the third annual Greenwich International Film Festival, which is set to run June 1-4 in Greenwich, Conn.
The film will screen June 2, followed by a Town Hall Panel Q&A moderated by Barbara Pierce Bush and featuring Ophelia Dahl (Partners in Health), writer/producer Cori Stern, Joia Mukherjee (Partners in Health) and Rifat Latifi, M.D., from Westchester Medical Center, discussing the state of global healthcare.
The event will kick off June 1 with its Changemaker...
The film will screen June 2, followed by a Town Hall Panel Q&A moderated by Barbara Pierce Bush and featuring Ophelia Dahl (Partners in Health), writer/producer Cori Stern, Joia Mukherjee (Partners in Health) and Rifat Latifi, M.D., from Westchester Medical Center, discussing the state of global healthcare.
The event will kick off June 1 with its Changemaker...
- 5/13/2017
- by Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
Lineup Announcements
– BAMcinématek has announced the full lineup for the ninth annual BAMcinemaFest (Jun 14 – 25, 2017), which features 24 New York premieres, one North American premiere, and two world premieres. Opening the festival on Wednesday, June 14 is the New York premiere of Aaron Katz’s “Gemini.” This year’s Closing Night selection is the New York premiere of Brooklyn filmmaker Alex Ross Perry’s fifth feature, “Golden Exits.”
Other highlights include “En el Séptimo Día,” “A Ghost Story,” “Landline,” and “Whose Streets.” Check out the full lineup here.
– The Greenwich International Film Festival is proud to announce the full film slate and programming for the 3rd annual festival running June 1 – 4, 2017 in Greenwich, Connecticut.
“Bending the Arc,” a documentary about the extraordinary team of doctors and activists whose work thirty years...
Lineup Announcements
– BAMcinématek has announced the full lineup for the ninth annual BAMcinemaFest (Jun 14 – 25, 2017), which features 24 New York premieres, one North American premiere, and two world premieres. Opening the festival on Wednesday, June 14 is the New York premiere of Aaron Katz’s “Gemini.” This year’s Closing Night selection is the New York premiere of Brooklyn filmmaker Alex Ross Perry’s fifth feature, “Golden Exits.”
Other highlights include “En el Séptimo Día,” “A Ghost Story,” “Landline,” and “Whose Streets.” Check out the full lineup here.
– The Greenwich International Film Festival is proud to announce the full film slate and programming for the 3rd annual festival running June 1 – 4, 2017 in Greenwich, Connecticut.
“Bending the Arc,” a documentary about the extraordinary team of doctors and activists whose work thirty years...
- 5/4/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
As if to make it real, Netflix’s documentary The Ivory Game has been selected as an official selection at the state-run 2017 Beijing International Film Festival, just over two weeks after China’s vow to ban the ivory trade by the end of 2017. “On December 30, we received the amazing and historic news, that China will ban ivory. It was this single most important act that may save the elephants,” said directors Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson. “We have now received word…...
- 1/14/2017
- Deadline
- 1/11/2017
- by Jazz Tangcay
- AwardsDaily.com
The Oscars can have its annual celebrity luncheon. This week, several documentarians celebrated the Cinema Eye Honors with an after-hours field trip to the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Conceived in 2008 as a bid to broaden awareness for documentary achievements, the Cinema Eyes highlight a dozen categories that range from best director to best cinematography to graphic design. However, while it began as a tonic to the five-nominee limitations that circumscribe the Oscars, the Cinema Eyes have evolved into an idiosyncratic celebration all its own. Although the awards are Wednesday night at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, the ceremony is now only the culmination of a full week of programming that includes three days of activities.
“It’s kind of like senior skip week,” said co-founder and filmmaker Aj Schnack, catching his breath on Monday night before delivering a speech to the filmmakers in attendance. “Yes,...
Conceived in 2008 as a bid to broaden awareness for documentary achievements, the Cinema Eyes highlight a dozen categories that range from best director to best cinematography to graphic design. However, while it began as a tonic to the five-nominee limitations that circumscribe the Oscars, the Cinema Eyes have evolved into an idiosyncratic celebration all its own. Although the awards are Wednesday night at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, the ceremony is now only the culmination of a full week of programming that includes three days of activities.
“It’s kind of like senior skip week,” said co-founder and filmmaker Aj Schnack, catching his breath on Monday night before delivering a speech to the filmmakers in attendance. “Yes,...
- 1/11/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
What’s this? Good news in 2016? For a change, yes: China announced yesterday that it is completely banning its ivory trade by the end of 2017, a move that will hopefully go a long way toward protecting the world’s dwindling elephant population. Especially happy with the development is “The Ivory Game” co-director Kief Davidson, who says in an email to IndieWire that he and his team are “all so blown away by the news.”
“When we set out to make this film four years ago, it really seemed like such an improbable outcome that China would go against centuries of tradition and ban ivory,” continues Davidson. “The impact of this is everything we could have had hoped for as documentary filmmakers. We’ve received so many emails in the last 24 hours from conservationists on the...
“When we set out to make this film four years ago, it really seemed like such an improbable outcome that China would go against centuries of tradition and ban ivory,” continues Davidson. “The impact of this is everything we could have had hoped for as documentary filmmakers. We’ve received so many emails in the last 24 hours from conservationists on the...
- 12/31/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
The horrific plight of wild elephants is front and center in “The Ivory Game.” Currently streaming on Netflix, Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson’s Oscar shortlisted documentary — which has been prominently backed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jane Goodall, among others — offers a ground-level view of the black market trade. Davidson recently sat down at the International Documentary Association film series (video below) to talk about the film’s journey and how he styled it as a thriller.
Read More: ‘The Ivory Game’ Trailer: Leonardo DiCaprio-Produced Doc Is a Shocking Look at Elephant Poaching
No, however much he might have liked to, he did not get to pet any elephants: “That happens in Disney movies; it’s not like that in real life,” he said. “We never really got close enough to know them, to really feel like an elephant should be a character, unfortunately.”
Davidson and cinematographer Ladkani, who...
Read More: ‘The Ivory Game’ Trailer: Leonardo DiCaprio-Produced Doc Is a Shocking Look at Elephant Poaching
No, however much he might have liked to, he did not get to pet any elephants: “That happens in Disney movies; it’s not like that in real life,” he said. “We never really got close enough to know them, to really feel like an elephant should be a character, unfortunately.”
Davidson and cinematographer Ladkani, who...
- 12/21/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The horrific plight of wild elephants is front and center in “The Ivory Game.” Currently streaming on Netflix, Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson’s Oscar shortlisted documentary — which has been prominently backed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jane Goodall, among others — offers a ground-level view of the black market trade. Davidson recently sat down at the International Documentary Association film series (video below) to talk about the film’s journey.
Read More: ‘The Ivory Game’ Trailer: Leonardo DiCaprio-Produced Doc Is a Shocking Look at Elephant Poaching
No, however much he might have liked to, he did not get to pet any elephants: “That happens in Disney movies; it’s not like that in real life,” he said. “We never really got close enough to know them, to really feel like an elephant should be a character, unfortunately.”
Davidson and cinematographer Ladkani, who have been friends for 20 years and previously shot “The Devil’s Miner,...
Read More: ‘The Ivory Game’ Trailer: Leonardo DiCaprio-Produced Doc Is a Shocking Look at Elephant Poaching
No, however much he might have liked to, he did not get to pet any elephants: “That happens in Disney movies; it’s not like that in real life,” he said. “We never really got close enough to know them, to really feel like an elephant should be a character, unfortunately.”
Davidson and cinematographer Ladkani, who have been friends for 20 years and previously shot “The Devil’s Miner,...
- 12/21/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
With its surprising Los Angeles Film Critics Association win for best animated feature, the delightful, body-switching, “Your Name,” from director Makoto Shinkai, has been elevated to Oscar contention as a result of its unique anime style and off-beat, fantasy romance.
Of course, it helps that Shinkai’s breakout hit is not only the year’s biggest box office success in Japan ($288 million), but also the fifth highest-grossing anime in history. And it’s easy to see why: it taps into Ya fantasies about vicarious excitement, romance and upward mobility. The director wants young adults to ponder why people meet and think about what it means for them.
Read More: ‘Ocean Waves’ Trailer: Studio Ghibli’s Restored 1993 Animated Film Explores Changing Friendships
Two high school students meet in their dreams: Mitsuha, who’s frustrated living in a seaside village, switches bodies with Taki, who lives in Tokyo. They instantly make contact...
Of course, it helps that Shinkai’s breakout hit is not only the year’s biggest box office success in Japan ($288 million), but also the fifth highest-grossing anime in history. And it’s easy to see why: it taps into Ya fantasies about vicarious excitement, romance and upward mobility. The director wants young adults to ponder why people meet and think about what it means for them.
Read More: ‘Ocean Waves’ Trailer: Studio Ghibli’s Restored 1993 Animated Film Explores Changing Friendships
Two high school students meet in their dreams: Mitsuha, who’s frustrated living in a seaside village, switches bodies with Taki, who lives in Tokyo. They instantly make contact...
- 12/20/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
In The Ivory Game, the Tanzania Secret Police and an underground Chinese activist are among those documented trying to bring down poachers and the ivory cartels.
"We have people that are fighting on the front line against poachers. People whose lives are on the line," explains co-director Kief Davidson in a featurette for the doc, which was recently shortlisted for Oscar consideration.
"They are prepared to shoot at you and you have to be prepared to shoot back," says an anonymous voice, over images of gun-carrying activists and poachers.
Leonardo DiCaprio is among the producers of the feature, which a is...
"We have people that are fighting on the front line against poachers. People whose lives are on the line," explains co-director Kief Davidson in a featurette for the doc, which was recently shortlisted for Oscar consideration.
"They are prepared to shoot at you and you have to be prepared to shoot back," says an anonymous voice, over images of gun-carrying activists and poachers.
Leonardo DiCaprio is among the producers of the feature, which a is...
- 12/19/2016
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 2017 Sundance Film Festival may already have announced their premieres, Spotlights, Competition and Next lineup, among other films and installations, but there’s four more features joining the festival.
Sundance Institute has added two Documentary Premieres and two archive From The Film Collection movies to next year’s lineup. The two documentaries are “Bending the Arc” and “Long Strange Trip,” with the archive films being “Desert Hearts” and “Reservoir Dogs,” which premiered at Sundance in 1986 and 1992, respectively. The 25th anniversary screening of Quentin Tarantino’s classic will be followed by an extended Q&A with Tarantino and producer Lawrence Bender.
Read More: Sundance 2017: The Lineup So Far
The archive films are selections from the the Sundance Institute Collection at UCLA, a joint venture between UCLA Film & Television Archive and Sundance Institute, established in 1997. With these additions, the festival will present 118 feature-length films, which represent 32 countries and 37 first-time filmmakers. For...
Sundance Institute has added two Documentary Premieres and two archive From The Film Collection movies to next year’s lineup. The two documentaries are “Bending the Arc” and “Long Strange Trip,” with the archive films being “Desert Hearts” and “Reservoir Dogs,” which premiered at Sundance in 1986 and 1992, respectively. The 25th anniversary screening of Quentin Tarantino’s classic will be followed by an extended Q&A with Tarantino and producer Lawrence Bender.
Read More: Sundance 2017: The Lineup So Far
The archive films are selections from the the Sundance Institute Collection at UCLA, a joint venture between UCLA Film & Television Archive and Sundance Institute, established in 1997. With these additions, the festival will present 118 feature-length films, which represent 32 countries and 37 first-time filmmakers. For...
- 12/14/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Get ready for Deadheads to converge in Park City, Utah.
The Sundance Film Festival has added Amir Bar-Lev's Grateful Dead doc Long Strange Trip to its Premieres lineup. The film, which focuses on the legendary band whose multigenerational fans are dubbed "Deadheads," will offer never-before-seen footage and interviews.
Joining Long Strange Trip as a last-minute Premieres addition is Kief Davidson and Pedro Kos' Bending the Arc, which chronicles the work of doctors and activists who banded together 30 years ago to save lives in a rural Haitian village. Their efforts spawned a global movement for the right to health for...
The Sundance Film Festival has added Amir Bar-Lev's Grateful Dead doc Long Strange Trip to its Premieres lineup. The film, which focuses on the legendary band whose multigenerational fans are dubbed "Deadheads," will offer never-before-seen footage and interviews.
Joining Long Strange Trip as a last-minute Premieres addition is Kief Davidson and Pedro Kos' Bending the Arc, which chronicles the work of doctors and activists who banded together 30 years ago to save lives in a rural Haitian village. Their efforts spawned a global movement for the right to health for...
- 12/14/2016
- by Tatiana Siegel
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Festival brass on Wednesday added two Documentary Premieres as well as a pair of favourites from the vaults – Desert Hearts and Reservoir Dogs.
Documentary Premieres are Haitian activism story Bending The Arc from Kief Davidson and Pedro Kos, and Long Strange Trip, about The Grateful Dead, from Happy Valley and The Tillman Story director Amir Bar-Lev.
Desert Hearts and Reservoir Dogs premiered at Sundance in 1986 and 1992, respectively. Quentin Tarantino and Reservoir Dogs producer Lawrence Bender will participate in a post-screening Q&A.
The archive films are selections from the Sundance Institute Collection at UCLA, a joint venture between UCLA Film & Television Archive and Sundance Institute established in 1997 that has grown to more than 4,000 holdings representing close to 2,300 titles.
The four additions boost the 2017 roster to 118 feature films representing 32 countries and 37 first-time filmmakers, including 20 in competition.
Entries were selected from 13,782 submissions including 4,068 features and 8,985 shorts. Of the feature submissions, 2,005 were from the Us and 2,063 were international. One hundred...
Documentary Premieres are Haitian activism story Bending The Arc from Kief Davidson and Pedro Kos, and Long Strange Trip, about The Grateful Dead, from Happy Valley and The Tillman Story director Amir Bar-Lev.
Desert Hearts and Reservoir Dogs premiered at Sundance in 1986 and 1992, respectively. Quentin Tarantino and Reservoir Dogs producer Lawrence Bender will participate in a post-screening Q&A.
The archive films are selections from the Sundance Institute Collection at UCLA, a joint venture between UCLA Film & Television Archive and Sundance Institute established in 1997 that has grown to more than 4,000 holdings representing close to 2,300 titles.
The four additions boost the 2017 roster to 118 feature films representing 32 countries and 37 first-time filmmakers, including 20 in competition.
Entries were selected from 13,782 submissions including 4,068 features and 8,985 shorts. Of the feature submissions, 2,005 were from the Us and 2,063 were international. One hundred...
- 12/14/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Ivory Game directors Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Kirsten Johnson's Cameraperson; Robert Kenner's Command And Control; Otto Bell's The Eagle Huntress; Gianfranco Rosi's Fire At Sea (Fuocoammare); Clay Tweel's Gleason; Nanfu Wang's Hooligan Sparrow; Raoul Peck's I Am Not Your Negro; Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani's The Ivory Game; Roger Ross Williams's Life, Animated; Ezra Edelman's O.J.: Made In America; Ava DuVernay's 13th; Keith Maitland's Tower; Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman's Weiner; James D Solomon's The Witness and Alex Gibney's Zero Days are a step closer to garnering a Best Documentary Oscar nomination.
Directors Raoul Peck, I Am Not Your Negro and Ezra Edelman, O.J.: Made in America Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Documentary Branch determined the shortlist in a preliminary round of voting on the 145 submitted titles.
Kirsten Johnson's Cameraperson; Robert Kenner's Command And Control; Otto Bell's The Eagle Huntress; Gianfranco Rosi's Fire At Sea (Fuocoammare); Clay Tweel's Gleason; Nanfu Wang's Hooligan Sparrow; Raoul Peck's I Am Not Your Negro; Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani's The Ivory Game; Roger Ross Williams's Life, Animated; Ezra Edelman's O.J.: Made In America; Ava DuVernay's 13th; Keith Maitland's Tower; Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman's Weiner; James D Solomon's The Witness and Alex Gibney's Zero Days are a step closer to garnering a Best Documentary Oscar nomination.
Directors Raoul Peck, I Am Not Your Negro and Ezra Edelman, O.J.: Made in America Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Documentary Branch determined the shortlist in a preliminary round of voting on the 145 submitted titles.
- 12/7/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The Academy documentary branch’s shortlist of 15 represents a diverse range of films from all over the world, representing strong political views as well as high artistry. However, this year also stands as the first HBO shutout in recent memory — perhaps because they didn’t campaign assertively.
Rivals PBS landed five, Independent Lens and Showtime three, Netflix two, and American Experience Films, Pov, A&E, Amazon Studios, and Espn each have one. Theatrical distributors Kino Lorber and Magnolia had two, with Sundance Selects, Sony Pictures Classics, Open Road, Janus Films, Film Rise, The Film Collaborative and The Orchard one.
But which will make the final five? Those screeners will eventually be sent to the entire Academy — who have more mainstream taste than this group of professional documentarians. For now, this more demanding group will winnow down the list.
Films on similar topics could knock each other out. For example, voters...
Rivals PBS landed five, Independent Lens and Showtime three, Netflix two, and American Experience Films, Pov, A&E, Amazon Studios, and Espn each have one. Theatrical distributors Kino Lorber and Magnolia had two, with Sundance Selects, Sony Pictures Classics, Open Road, Janus Films, Film Rise, The Film Collaborative and The Orchard one.
But which will make the final five? Those screeners will eventually be sent to the entire Academy — who have more mainstream taste than this group of professional documentarians. For now, this more demanding group will winnow down the list.
Films on similar topics could knock each other out. For example, voters...
- 12/6/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Academy documentary branch’s shortlist of 15 represents a diverse range of films from all over the world, representing strong political views as well as high artistry. However, this year also stands as the first HBO shutout in recent memory — perhaps because they didn’t campaign assertively.
Rivals PBS landed five, Independent Lens and Showtime three, Netflix two, and American Experience Films, Pov, A&E, Amazon Studios, and Espn each have one. Theatrical distributors Kino Lorber and Magnolia had two, with Sundance Selects, Sony Pictures Classics, Open Road, Janus Films, Film Rise, The Film Collaborative and The Orchard one.
PBS films — 3 are Independent Lens (Tower, I Am Not Your Negro and The Witness), one is Pov (Cameraperson) and one is American Experience (Command And Control.)
best,
Mary Lugo
But which will make the final five? Those screeners will eventually be sent to the entire Academy — who have more mainstream taste...
Rivals PBS landed five, Independent Lens and Showtime three, Netflix two, and American Experience Films, Pov, A&E, Amazon Studios, and Espn each have one. Theatrical distributors Kino Lorber and Magnolia had two, with Sundance Selects, Sony Pictures Classics, Open Road, Janus Films, Film Rise, The Film Collaborative and The Orchard one.
PBS films — 3 are Independent Lens (Tower, I Am Not Your Negro and The Witness), one is Pov (Cameraperson) and one is American Experience (Command And Control.)
best,
Mary Lugo
But which will make the final five? Those screeners will eventually be sent to the entire Academy — who have more mainstream taste...
- 12/6/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Many are called, few are chosen: The number of high-quality, awards-worthy documentaries seems to grow every year, but there’s still only 15 slots on the Oscar documentary shortlist. That will be announced December 5; the final five will be revealed on nominations morning, January 24. This year, 145 features were submitted.
This is the white-knuckle portion of the final campaign stretch, as documentary filmmakers and distributors hope their movies make it onto documentary branch voters’ viewing piles before they file their final grades. Those with the advantage are high-profile established hits and festival award-winners with the right combination of engaging accessibility, artful filmmaking, and gravitas.
So what’s looking like a strong bet? It’s a diverse list in more ways than one. Here are my picks for the Top 15, which are not listed in order of likelihood.
See more ‘Amanda Knox’: Why It Took Five Years to Unravel the Story of...
This is the white-knuckle portion of the final campaign stretch, as documentary filmmakers and distributors hope their movies make it onto documentary branch voters’ viewing piles before they file their final grades. Those with the advantage are high-profile established hits and festival award-winners with the right combination of engaging accessibility, artful filmmaking, and gravitas.
So what’s looking like a strong bet? It’s a diverse list in more ways than one. Here are my picks for the Top 15, which are not listed in order of likelihood.
See more ‘Amanda Knox’: Why It Took Five Years to Unravel the Story of...
- 11/21/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Many are called, few are chosen: The number of high-quality, awards-worthy documentaries seems to grow every year, but there’s still only 15 slots on the Oscar documentary shortlist. That will be announced December 5; the final five will be revealed on nominations morning, January 24. This year, 145 features were submitted.
This is the white-knuckle portion of the final campaign stretch, as documentary filmmakers and distributors hope their movies make it onto documentary branch voters’ viewing piles before they file their final grades. Those with the advantage are high-profile established hits and festival award-winners with the right combination of engaging accessibility, artful filmmaking, and gravitas.
So what’s looking like a strong bet? It’s a diverse list in more ways than one. Here are my picks for the Top 15, which are not listed in order of likelihood.
See more ‘Amanda Knox’: Why It Took Five Years to Unravel the Story of...
This is the white-knuckle portion of the final campaign stretch, as documentary filmmakers and distributors hope their movies make it onto documentary branch voters’ viewing piles before they file their final grades. Those with the advantage are high-profile established hits and festival award-winners with the right combination of engaging accessibility, artful filmmaking, and gravitas.
So what’s looking like a strong bet? It’s a diverse list in more ways than one. Here are my picks for the Top 15, which are not listed in order of likelihood.
See more ‘Amanda Knox’: Why It Took Five Years to Unravel the Story of...
- 11/21/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Tower co-executive producers Amy Rapp and Meredith Vieira (also with Steve Eckelman, Pamela Colloff, Luke Wilson, Sally Jo Fifer, Lois Vossen) Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Keith Maitland's Tower joins Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson's The Ivory Game, Barbara Kopple's Miss Sharon Jones!; Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowsky's Defying The Nazis: The Sharps’ War; Ava Duvernay's 13th; Dawn Porter's Trapped; Andrew Rossi's The First Monday In May; Roger Ross Williams' Life, Animated; Gianfranco Rosi's Fire At Sea (Fuocoammare); Jim Jarmusch's Gimme Danger; Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley's Landfill Harmonic; Steven Cantor's Dancer; Morgan Neville's The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma And The Silk Road Ensemble; Ron Howard's The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years as a key contender for the 89th Academy Awards Oscar shortlist.
University of Texas Austin tower: "We are really immersing you in that day.
Keith Maitland's Tower joins Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson's The Ivory Game, Barbara Kopple's Miss Sharon Jones!; Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowsky's Defying The Nazis: The Sharps’ War; Ava Duvernay's 13th; Dawn Porter's Trapped; Andrew Rossi's The First Monday In May; Roger Ross Williams' Life, Animated; Gianfranco Rosi's Fire At Sea (Fuocoammare); Jim Jarmusch's Gimme Danger; Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley's Landfill Harmonic; Steven Cantor's Dancer; Morgan Neville's The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma And The Silk Road Ensemble; Ron Howard's The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years as a key contender for the 89th Academy Awards Oscar shortlist.
University of Texas Austin tower: "We are really immersing you in that day.
- 11/20/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Clay Tweel, Kief Davidson, Richard Ladkani, Dawn Porter, Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg with Thom Powers Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In 2013, Sigourney Weaver, Chuck Close, Iman, Joel Ehrenkranz, James Franco, Agnes Gund, and Uma Thurman hosted a screening of Simon Trevor's White Gold, narrated by Hillary Clinton, produced by Arne Glimcher, on the organised poaching of elephant tusks, at the Museum of Modern Art with Albert Maysles, Barbara Kopple, Meredith Vieira, Christie Brinkley, and #Horror's Tara Subkoff in support.
The Ivory Game cinematographer/co-director Richard Ladkani Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In 2014, Kathryn Bigelow’s Last Days (Annapurna Pictures) screened at the New York Film Festival before The Crisis In Elephant Poaching panel discussion.
Following the Doc NYC Unfolding Stories panel with the directors of Gleason, Trapped, Weiner, and The Ivory Game (Leonardo DiCaprio executive producer), moderated by Thom Powers, I spoke with Richard Ladkani at the Vulcan Productions reception - two...
In 2013, Sigourney Weaver, Chuck Close, Iman, Joel Ehrenkranz, James Franco, Agnes Gund, and Uma Thurman hosted a screening of Simon Trevor's White Gold, narrated by Hillary Clinton, produced by Arne Glimcher, on the organised poaching of elephant tusks, at the Museum of Modern Art with Albert Maysles, Barbara Kopple, Meredith Vieira, Christie Brinkley, and #Horror's Tara Subkoff in support.
The Ivory Game cinematographer/co-director Richard Ladkani Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In 2014, Kathryn Bigelow’s Last Days (Annapurna Pictures) screened at the New York Film Festival before The Crisis In Elephant Poaching panel discussion.
Following the Doc NYC Unfolding Stories panel with the directors of Gleason, Trapped, Weiner, and The Ivory Game (Leonardo DiCaprio executive producer), moderated by Thom Powers, I spoke with Richard Ladkani at the Vulcan Productions reception - two...
- 11/13/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Attorney Bryan Stevenson (Ava DuVernay's 13th), Raoul Peck, and Ezra Edelman with Thom Powers Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
At the Doc NYC Short List panel discussions, moderated by Thom Powers, filmmakers Barbara Kopple (Miss Sharon Jones!); Dawn Porter (Trapped); Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman (Weiner); Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson (The Ivory Game); Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn (Amanda Knox); Clay Tweel (Gleason); Brian Oakes (Jim: The James Foley Story); Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures); Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro); Ezra Edelman (O.J.: Made In America); Clive Oppenheimer (Into The Inferno); Roger Ross Williams (Life, Animated); Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson); Gianfranco Rosi (Fire At Sea), and attorney Bryan Stevenson from Ava DuVernay's 13th gave insight into their working process.
Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson) and Gianfranco Rosi (Fire At Sea) Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Bailey and Barbato also have their HBO film Every Brilliant Thing on...
At the Doc NYC Short List panel discussions, moderated by Thom Powers, filmmakers Barbara Kopple (Miss Sharon Jones!); Dawn Porter (Trapped); Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman (Weiner); Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson (The Ivory Game); Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn (Amanda Knox); Clay Tweel (Gleason); Brian Oakes (Jim: The James Foley Story); Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures); Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro); Ezra Edelman (O.J.: Made In America); Clive Oppenheimer (Into The Inferno); Roger Ross Williams (Life, Animated); Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson); Gianfranco Rosi (Fire At Sea), and attorney Bryan Stevenson from Ava DuVernay's 13th gave insight into their working process.
Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson) and Gianfranco Rosi (Fire At Sea) Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Bailey and Barbato also have their HBO film Every Brilliant Thing on...
- 11/12/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Brett Berns and Bob Sarles's Bang! The Bert Berns Story narrator Steven Van Zandt Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Paul G Allen's Vulcan Productions' Ben Bowie and Geoff Luck's Naledi: A Baby Elephant's Tale and Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson's The Ivory Game; Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes and Olivia Neergaard-Holm's David Lynch: The Art Life and the making of Eraserhead; Claire Simon's Venezia Classici Award winner Le Concours; Scott Hamilton Kennedy's Food Evolution, narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Bang! The Bert Berns Story (featuring Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Keith Richards, Cissy Houston, Andrew Loog Oldham, Jerry Ragovoy, Ronald Isley), and the voice of Steven Van Zandt come up in my conversation with Thom Powers.
Naledi: A Baby Elephant's Tale
Jimm Lasser and Biff Butler's Long Live Benjamin (about a Capuchin monkey and artist Allen Hirsch) and Markie Hancock's Feral Love (on Central...
Paul G Allen's Vulcan Productions' Ben Bowie and Geoff Luck's Naledi: A Baby Elephant's Tale and Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson's The Ivory Game; Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes and Olivia Neergaard-Holm's David Lynch: The Art Life and the making of Eraserhead; Claire Simon's Venezia Classici Award winner Le Concours; Scott Hamilton Kennedy's Food Evolution, narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Bang! The Bert Berns Story (featuring Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Keith Richards, Cissy Houston, Andrew Loog Oldham, Jerry Ragovoy, Ronald Isley), and the voice of Steven Van Zandt come up in my conversation with Thom Powers.
Naledi: A Baby Elephant's Tale
Jimm Lasser and Biff Butler's Long Live Benjamin (about a Capuchin monkey and artist Allen Hirsch) and Markie Hancock's Feral Love (on Central...
- 11/10/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Tilda Swinton flawlessly communicates Gertrude Bell in Zeva Oelbaum and Sabine Krayenbühl's astute Letters From Baghdad Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes and Olivia Neergaard-Holm's David Lynch: The Art Life with Lynch's memories including his Mulholland Drive and The Straight Story production designer Jack Fisk; Claire Simon's Le Concours (The Graduation) on the admission process to enter La Fémis; Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson's The Ivory Game which takes off from Simon Trevor's wake-up call White Gold; Zeva Oelbaum and Sabine Krayenbühl's Letters From Baghdad, executive produced by Martin Scorsese's favourite editor Thelma Schoonmaker with Tilda Swinton are four more highlights of this year's Doc NYC.
David Lynch: The Art Life
David Lynch: The Art Life
Although the world of his childhood was no larger than two blocks, it contained it all. There is the traumatic, "otherworldly" encounter with...
Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes and Olivia Neergaard-Holm's David Lynch: The Art Life with Lynch's memories including his Mulholland Drive and The Straight Story production designer Jack Fisk; Claire Simon's Le Concours (The Graduation) on the admission process to enter La Fémis; Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson's The Ivory Game which takes off from Simon Trevor's wake-up call White Gold; Zeva Oelbaum and Sabine Krayenbühl's Letters From Baghdad, executive produced by Martin Scorsese's favourite editor Thelma Schoonmaker with Tilda Swinton are four more highlights of this year's Doc NYC.
David Lynch: The Art Life
David Lynch: The Art Life
Although the world of his childhood was no larger than two blocks, it contained it all. There is the traumatic, "otherworldly" encounter with...
- 11/9/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Just days after the Leonardo DiCaprio climate change documentary Before the Flood hit the airwaves over on the National Geographic Channel, another feature executive produced by the Oscar-winning actor – and centering on a troublesome global issue — has arrived. However, rather than offering a look at how humanity’s actions are taking a toll on the environmental, The Ivory Game captures the ongoing illegal ivory trade, which is quickly robbing the world of its elephant population. Co-directed by Richard Ladkani (The Devil’s Miner) and Oscar nominee Kief Davidson (Open Heart), the film travels across the world to unravel the struggle involved in protecting these animals from the growing threat of extinction.
Following wildlife activists, frontline rangers, intelligence operatives and high-level conservationists all combating the ivory trade in their own ways, The Ivory Game delves impressively deep into the trafficking ring surrounding ivory, shedding light on an underground global network that most are blissfully unaware of.
Following wildlife activists, frontline rangers, intelligence operatives and high-level conservationists all combating the ivory trade in their own ways, The Ivory Game delves impressively deep into the trafficking ring surrounding ivory, shedding light on an underground global network that most are blissfully unaware of.
- 11/5/2016
- by Robert Yaniz Jr.
- We Got This Covered
It’s November – a time for Thanksgiving, feasts, and the presence of relatives. If you have some time off (or are trying to grab some much-needed alone time), here is a list of films opening throughout the coming weeks, separated into categories of wide and limited runs. (Synopses are provided by festivals and distributors.)
Each week we will have more updates and information, so be sure to keep coming back. You can also check our calendar page, which has releases for the rest of the year. Eat well and keep watching!
Week of November 4 Wide
Trolls
Director: Mike Mitchell, Walt Dohrn
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Christine Baranski, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Gwen Stefani, Icona Pop, James Corden, Jeffrey Tambor, John Cleese, Justin Timberlake, Kunal Nayyar, Quvenzhané Wallis, Ron Funches, Russell Brand, Zooey Deschanel
Synopsis: After the Bergens invade Troll Village, Poppy, the happiest Troll ever born, and the overly-cautious curmudgeonly Branch set off...
Each week we will have more updates and information, so be sure to keep coming back. You can also check our calendar page, which has releases for the rest of the year. Eat well and keep watching!
Week of November 4 Wide
Trolls
Director: Mike Mitchell, Walt Dohrn
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Christine Baranski, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Gwen Stefani, Icona Pop, James Corden, Jeffrey Tambor, John Cleese, Justin Timberlake, Kunal Nayyar, Quvenzhané Wallis, Ron Funches, Russell Brand, Zooey Deschanel
Synopsis: After the Bergens invade Troll Village, Poppy, the happiest Troll ever born, and the overly-cautious curmudgeonly Branch set off...
- 11/4/2016
- by Zipporah Smith
- Indiewire
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Anthropoid (Sean Ellis)
Throw a dart at a map, and you can make a World War II movie set in whatever place you hit. Of course, pretty much any film about the Good War that doesn’t focus on the American (sometimes British) point of view of the conflict will probably seem “random” to the mainstream; one odd side-effect of Hollywood’s Oscar-baity love of the era. But there...
Anthropoid (Sean Ellis)
Throw a dart at a map, and you can make a World War II movie set in whatever place you hit. Of course, pretty much any film about the Good War that doesn’t focus on the American (sometimes British) point of view of the conflict will probably seem “random” to the mainstream; one odd side-effect of Hollywood’s Oscar-baity love of the era. But there...
- 11/4/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
If you went to a Regal Cinema during the month prelude to The Legend of Tarzan‘s release you will know the insane statistics depicting the sharp decline of living elephants throughout the world. Alexander Skarsgård told us about the problem — although I’d be surprised if you weren’t cognizant of the issue, if not the prevalence, beforehand — and the pitch to donate money for their conservation was in full force. Well, Netflix has taken the next step to ensure an even wider range of people acknowledge what could be mass extinction in just fifteen years thanks to their new documentary executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. But don’t think Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani‘s The Ivory Game is just an all-educational sound-byte-fueled heartstring tug. This thing is feet-on-the-ground investigative journalism.
Their story follows three main activists doing what they can to save the animals as well as...
Their story follows three main activists doing what they can to save the animals as well as...
- 11/3/2016
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Doc NYC Artistic Director Thom Powers at the IFC Center Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
This year's Doc NYC will open with Valentino: The Last Emperor director Matt Tyrnauer's latest, Citizen Jane: Battle For The City, and close with John Scheinfeld's Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary. Thom Powers and I covered a wide range of films including Dawn Porter's Trapped, Kirsten Johnson's Cameraperson, Werner Herzog's Into The Inferno, Roger Ross Williams's Life, Animated, Ben Bowie and Geoff Luck's Naledi: A Baby Elephant's Tale, Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes and Olivia Neergaard-Holm's David Lynch: The Art Life, Claire Simon's Le Concours, Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson's The Ivory Game, Tom Hanks, John Mayer and Sam Shepard in Doug Nichol's California Typewriter, Lara Stolman's Swim Team, Adam Irving's Off The Rails and scads more when I sat down with the...
This year's Doc NYC will open with Valentino: The Last Emperor director Matt Tyrnauer's latest, Citizen Jane: Battle For The City, and close with John Scheinfeld's Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary. Thom Powers and I covered a wide range of films including Dawn Porter's Trapped, Kirsten Johnson's Cameraperson, Werner Herzog's Into The Inferno, Roger Ross Williams's Life, Animated, Ben Bowie and Geoff Luck's Naledi: A Baby Elephant's Tale, Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes and Olivia Neergaard-Holm's David Lynch: The Art Life, Claire Simon's Le Concours, Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson's The Ivory Game, Tom Hanks, John Mayer and Sam Shepard in Doug Nichol's California Typewriter, Lara Stolman's Swim Team, Adam Irving's Off The Rails and scads more when I sat down with the...
- 11/3/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Unlike a lot of other advocacy docs—films that seek to raise awareness regarding some serious issue, often concluding with a call to action—Netflix’s The Ivory Game offers something spectacularly visual: elephants. Those trunks! Those ears! Those… tusks. A book or lengthy magazine article could perhaps better convey the same basic information, alerting people that African elephants are being illegally slaughtered for their ivory at a pace that will result in their extinction within the next two decades. (An elephant is poached every 15 minutes, on average.) Seeing the majesty of these endangered creatures in action, however, juxtaposed with the horrific sight of their mutilated carcasses, inspires visceral feelings of sorrow and anger that no amount of elegant prose can possibly match. That’s why it’s so frustrating that directors Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson apparently felt that they needed to craft a thriller—complete with pulse-pounding ...
- 11/3/2016
- by Mike D'Angelo
- avclub.com
★★★★☆ The stakes of The Ivory Game couldn't be higher. Make the wrong moves now, or fail to make the right ones, and within a generation one of the largest and most beloved land mammals on earth will be no more. The gravity of the situation faced by the African elephant will stun many of those who behold the galling facts of Kief Davidson and Richad Ladkami's revelatory documentary - this reviewer included: an astonishing 150, 000 elephants have been killed in the last five years and if this tide is not stemmed the animal risks total extinction within fifteen.
- 11/2/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The Chinese government has legitimised and stimulated the ivory trade, leading, as this angry, valuable documentary shows, to the near extinction of a species
It is obviously more than a game and this documentary directed by Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani – and exec-produced by Leonardo DiCaprio – showing on Netflix, brings a new urgency to an old subject: the ivory trade, which is threatening the world’s elephants. This threat has not been cancelled or brought under control, as I had assumed. The film persuasively argues that it is all but out of control: so much so that elephants are in danger of being wiped out in the wild in just a matter of years. One of the biggest mammals on Earth might vanish. And the market forces driving the trade stem from just one country: China, where there is a huge appetite for luxury goods made of ivory. Well-organised criminal gangs poach the elephants,...
It is obviously more than a game and this documentary directed by Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani – and exec-produced by Leonardo DiCaprio – showing on Netflix, brings a new urgency to an old subject: the ivory trade, which is threatening the world’s elephants. This threat has not been cancelled or brought under control, as I had assumed. The film persuasively argues that it is all but out of control: so much so that elephants are in danger of being wiped out in the wild in just a matter of years. One of the biggest mammals on Earth might vanish. And the market forces driving the trade stem from just one country: China, where there is a huge appetite for luxury goods made of ivory. Well-organised criminal gangs poach the elephants,...
- 10/31/2016
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
There’s an urgency to Leonardo DiCaprio’s ongoing environmental work, punctuated by two upcoming documentaries: Before the Flood, on National Geographic Channel, and Netflix’s The Ivory Game.
Nearly two decades after meeting then-Vice President Al Gore in 1998 and the creation of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, the actor is more vocal (and active) than ever, serving as the U.N. Messenger of Peace, using his Oscar win for The Revenant to speak out about climate change and joining Beyoncé and others onstage at the 2015 Global Citizen Festival. Now, DiCaprio is stepping in front of the camera in Before the Flood to showcase the ongoing (and rapid) effects of global warming. He also serves as producer on directors Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson’s undercover documentary The Ivory Game, about ivory trafficking and the depletion of African elephants -- animals that the actor’s foundation has helped protect.
More: Leonardo DiCaprio Promotes Climate Change at the...
Nearly two decades after meeting then-Vice President Al Gore in 1998 and the creation of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, the actor is more vocal (and active) than ever, serving as the U.N. Messenger of Peace, using his Oscar win for The Revenant to speak out about climate change and joining Beyoncé and others onstage at the 2015 Global Citizen Festival. Now, DiCaprio is stepping in front of the camera in Before the Flood to showcase the ongoing (and rapid) effects of global warming. He also serves as producer on directors Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson’s undercover documentary The Ivory Game, about ivory trafficking and the depletion of African elephants -- animals that the actor’s foundation has helped protect.
More: Leonardo DiCaprio Promotes Climate Change at the...
- 10/28/2016
- Entertainment Tonight
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