The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced four newly appointed additions to the Institute’s Board of Trustees. Tessa Thompson, Pete Nicks, Nina Fialkow, and Kimberly Steward have joined the leaders who guide the entire organization and also act in an advisory capacity. They add to the Institute’s Board of values-based leaders, building an enduring, evolving community for storytellers. The distinguished new Trustees will work closely with Board Chair Ebs Burnough and CEO Joana Vicente and bring invaluable experience.
“As Sundance Institute continues to respond to the needs of independent artists, we welcome these new members of our Board, each of whom has an incredible commitment to independent film and a long history with the Institute,” said Sundance Institute Board Chair Ebs Burnough. “Together, the Board is poised to identify new and strengthened ways to uplift independent storytellers.”
“We are so pleased to have Tessa, Pete, Nina, and Kimberly join...
“As Sundance Institute continues to respond to the needs of independent artists, we welcome these new members of our Board, each of whom has an incredible commitment to independent film and a long history with the Institute,” said Sundance Institute Board Chair Ebs Burnough. “Together, the Board is poised to identify new and strengthened ways to uplift independent storytellers.”
“We are so pleased to have Tessa, Pete, Nina, and Kimberly join...
- 10/19/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
As we approach another anniversary of August 9, those who participated in “the decision” are all but gone.
But the reminders are with us, thanks to a new book by Evan Thomas, “Road to Surrender,” the forward for which reads “To save lives, it was necessary to take lives — possibly hundreds of thousands of them.” And, of course, Christopher Nolan’s epic portrait of the man who was never allowed to forget, Robert Oppenheimer.
We can’t hide under our desks anymore, but we can view ten other works that scared the hell out of us.
“On the Beach” (United Artists)
“On the Beach” (1959)
As a little girl in 1959, I found my parents watching this black and white film on TV. Excited, I asked if it was the latest with Annette and Frankie Avalon. Uh, no. They allowed me to stay, and two hours later, I was shaken to the core.
But the reminders are with us, thanks to a new book by Evan Thomas, “Road to Surrender,” the forward for which reads “To save lives, it was necessary to take lives — possibly hundreds of thousands of them.” And, of course, Christopher Nolan’s epic portrait of the man who was never allowed to forget, Robert Oppenheimer.
We can’t hide under our desks anymore, but we can view ten other works that scared the hell out of us.
“On the Beach” (United Artists)
“On the Beach” (1959)
As a little girl in 1959, I found my parents watching this black and white film on TV. Excited, I asked if it was the latest with Annette and Frankie Avalon. Uh, no. They allowed me to stay, and two hours later, I was shaken to the core.
- 8/9/2023
- by Michele Wilens
- The Wrap
Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" is finally here, providing a unique look into the mind of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. But if Nolan's three-hour epic leaves you wanting more, here's a cool (and free) opportunity to learn some more about that period of history. The Criterion Channel has announced that from now through July 31, 2023, subscribers and non-subscribers alike will be able to watch Jon Else's 1981 documentary "The Day After Trinity" for free on the streaming service. The film, which was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Peabody Award, tells the scientist's story through archival footage and a myriad of interviews with collaborators, friends, and family members, and it's currently unavailable to stream anywhere in the United States except The Criterion Channel.
"We were fortunate enough to have made the film at a time when so many of the original Manhattan Project people were...
"We were fortunate enough to have made the film at a time when so many of the original Manhattan Project people were...
- 7/21/2023
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
What will be your first movie of 2023? If you’re reading this it’s likely you put some (let’s be honest: too much) thought into what commences the cinematic year. The Criterion Channel’s January lineup will put some good things front and center: they’re launching a 20-film cinema verité series that highlights all major figures of the form; an eight-film Mike Leigh retrospective that focuses on his little-seen, lesser-discussed BBC features produced between 1973 and 1984; a series on Abbas Kiarostami’s studies of childhood; and because you’ve either seen Eo or have it marked to watch, Jerzy Skolimowski’s three most-acclaimed films should be of equal note.
Another 2022 favorite, Il Buco, will have its streaming premiere alongside Kamikaze Hearts, the Depardieu-led Cyrano de Bergerac, and the recent restoration of Lodge Kerrigan’s Keane. The sole Criterion Edition for this month is 3 Women, while some notable recent documentaries—The American Sector,...
Another 2022 favorite, Il Buco, will have its streaming premiere alongside Kamikaze Hearts, the Depardieu-led Cyrano de Bergerac, and the recent restoration of Lodge Kerrigan’s Keane. The sole Criterion Edition for this month is 3 Women, while some notable recent documentaries—The American Sector,...
- 12/20/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Redcat’s season of performances, screenings, and exhibitions features
Genre-defying music from Dorian Wood, Joy Guidry, inti figgis-vizueta;
The Wooster Group with a new production of Bertolt Brecht;
New work from artists Lemi Ponifasio, Okwui Okpokwasili, and Monty Cole;
An exhibition by visual artist and performer Lisa Alvarado;
New York Times-bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones;
The last film of Jean-Luc Godard;
And much more…
Members Of The Press Are Invited To Attend
For Review And Consideration
Redcat Announces Its
Winter/Spring 2023 SeasonOkwui Okpokwasili. Photo by Oresti Tsonopoulos.Redcat’s season of performances, screenings, and exhibitions featuresGenre-defying music from Dorian Wood, Joy Guidry, inti figgis-vizueta;The Wooster Group with a new production of Bertolt Brecht;New work from artists Lemi Ponifasio, Okwui Okpokwasili, and Monty Cole;An exhibition by visual artist and performer Lisa Alvarado;New York Times-bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones;The last film of Jean-Luc Godard;And much more…...
Genre-defying music from Dorian Wood, Joy Guidry, inti figgis-vizueta;
The Wooster Group with a new production of Bertolt Brecht;
New work from artists Lemi Ponifasio, Okwui Okpokwasili, and Monty Cole;
An exhibition by visual artist and performer Lisa Alvarado;
New York Times-bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones;
The last film of Jean-Luc Godard;
And much more…
Members Of The Press Are Invited To Attend
For Review And Consideration
Redcat Announces Its
Winter/Spring 2023 SeasonOkwui Okpokwasili. Photo by Oresti Tsonopoulos.Redcat’s season of performances, screenings, and exhibitions featuresGenre-defying music from Dorian Wood, Joy Guidry, inti figgis-vizueta;The Wooster Group with a new production of Bertolt Brecht;New work from artists Lemi Ponifasio, Okwui Okpokwasili, and Monty Cole;An exhibition by visual artist and performer Lisa Alvarado;New York Times-bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones;The last film of Jean-Luc Godard;And much more…...
- 12/13/2022
- by Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Music
The documentary premiered at Telluride.
US-based boutique distributor and sales agent Juno Films has acquired world distribution rights to US filmmaker Jon Else’s documentary, Land Of God.
The Telluride 2021 premiere takes a look behind the curtain at the production and rehearsals of the San Fransisco opera Girls Of The Golden West. It presents the untold stories of the Latino, Black and many women who joined in the quest for riches during the California Gold Rush in the mid-1800s.
It is produced by Else and Camille Servan-Schreiber.
The deal was negotiated by Justine Jacob of Focus Law Media Group on behalf of the producers.
US-based boutique distributor and sales agent Juno Films has acquired world distribution rights to US filmmaker Jon Else’s documentary, Land Of God.
The Telluride 2021 premiere takes a look behind the curtain at the production and rehearsals of the San Fransisco opera Girls Of The Golden West. It presents the untold stories of the Latino, Black and many women who joined in the quest for riches during the California Gold Rush in the mid-1800s.
It is produced by Else and Camille Servan-Schreiber.
The deal was negotiated by Justine Jacob of Focus Law Media Group on behalf of the producers.
- 11/11/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Sffilm Festival, San Francisco’s premier celebration of film, has unveiled its 65th lineup for this year’s return to in-person festivities. The 2022 program features more than 130 from 56 countries, with 56 percent helmed by female or non-binary filmmakers and 52 percent directed by Bipoc filmmakers. The 2022 Festival will run April 21–May 1, with tickets on sale now at sffilm.org. Screenings will take place at venues across the Bay Area, including the storied Castro Theatre and Uc Berkeley’s Bampfa.
While the festival features a variety of world and North American premieres, it will also serve as a Bay Area launchpad for a number of festival favorites, like Sundance darling “Cha Cha Real Smooth” (which Apple TV+ will roll out later this year), John Boyega–starrer “892,” NatGeo volcanologist documentary “Fire of Love,” Terence Davies’ “Benediction,” Claire Denis’ “Both Sides of the Blade,” Venice Golden Lion winner “Happening,” Sundance Best Director winner...
While the festival features a variety of world and North American premieres, it will also serve as a Bay Area launchpad for a number of festival favorites, like Sundance darling “Cha Cha Real Smooth” (which Apple TV+ will roll out later this year), John Boyega–starrer “892,” NatGeo volcanologist documentary “Fire of Love,” Terence Davies’ “Benediction,” Claire Denis’ “Both Sides of the Blade,” Venice Golden Lion winner “Happening,” Sundance Best Director winner...
- 3/30/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Features: Harvey Milk, Anne Kronenberg, Tory Hartmann | Written by Judith Coburn, Carter Wilson | Directed by Rob Epstein
Back in 1984, director Rob Epstein along with narration writers Judith Coburn and Carter Wilson, worked together to bring us the acclaimed documentary film, The Times of Harvey Milk. A powerful 90 minute look at the successes and eventual tragic assassination of the trailblazing first elected gay city supervisor of San Francisco. Now, some 36 years later, Criterion, here in the UK, have brought us a spectacular release of the film, along with an array of special features.
Harvey Milk was an outspoken man, a human rights activist and the first openly gay politician in U.S history to be elected to public office. His inspiration to millions of people around the world is well-documented and it continues to this very day, some 42 years after he was killed. This Oscar winning documentary was a vital one,...
Back in 1984, director Rob Epstein along with narration writers Judith Coburn and Carter Wilson, worked together to bring us the acclaimed documentary film, The Times of Harvey Milk. A powerful 90 minute look at the successes and eventual tragic assassination of the trailblazing first elected gay city supervisor of San Francisco. Now, some 36 years later, Criterion, here in the UK, have brought us a spectacular release of the film, along with an array of special features.
Harvey Milk was an outspoken man, a human rights activist and the first openly gay politician in U.S history to be elected to public office. His inspiration to millions of people around the world is well-documented and it continues to this very day, some 42 years after he was killed. This Oscar winning documentary was a vital one,...
- 10/30/2020
- by Chris Cummings
- Nerdly
RaMell Ross’ debut feature, Hale County This Morning, This Evening, an intimate and cinematic portrait of black lives in Alabama, took the top award tonight at the 12th annual Cinema Eye Honors, winning Outstanding Nonfiction Feature. It was the second Cinema Eye Feature Honor in a row for producer Joslyn Barnes, who also produced last year’s award winner, Strong Island.
The 12th Annual Cinema Eye Honors were presented at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York and were streamed live via the Museum of the Moving Image and Cinema Eye Honors Facebook pages. Filmmaker Steve James, a winner for Outstanding Series for America to Me, was the host.
The awards capped a week of events that brought together nonfiction filmmakers from around the globe. Cinema Eye was founded in 2007 as a protest of that year’s existing awards which it claimed failed to recognize many of...
The 12th Annual Cinema Eye Honors were presented at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York and were streamed live via the Museum of the Moving Image and Cinema Eye Honors Facebook pages. Filmmaker Steve James, a winner for Outstanding Series for America to Me, was the host.
The awards capped a week of events that brought together nonfiction filmmakers from around the globe. Cinema Eye was founded in 2007 as a protest of that year’s existing awards which it claimed failed to recognize many of...
- 1/11/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
RaMell Ross’s debut feature, “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” took the top prize at the Cinema Eye Honors Thursday night in New York, winning outstanding nonfiction feature.
Bing Liu’s much-lauded skateboarding doc “Minding the Gap,” which tied the Cinema Eye record for most noms with seven, took home three trophies, including outstanding achievement in direction, editing, and debut. “Free Solo” also won three awards, with “Shirkers” nabbing two honors.
“Hale County’s” win marks the second for producer Joslyn Barnes, who also won last year for “Strong Island.” “Free Solo’s” three wins landed Jimmy Chin the title of most awarded individual in Cinema Eye history, with five awards including his two for 2015’s “Meru.”
See the full list of winners below.
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Bing Liu, “Minding the Gap”
Outstanding Achievement...
Bing Liu’s much-lauded skateboarding doc “Minding the Gap,” which tied the Cinema Eye record for most noms with seven, took home three trophies, including outstanding achievement in direction, editing, and debut. “Free Solo” also won three awards, with “Shirkers” nabbing two honors.
“Hale County’s” win marks the second for producer Joslyn Barnes, who also won last year for “Strong Island.” “Free Solo’s” three wins landed Jimmy Chin the title of most awarded individual in Cinema Eye history, with five awards including his two for 2015’s “Meru.”
See the full list of winners below.
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Bing Liu, “Minding the Gap”
Outstanding Achievement...
- 1/11/2019
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Cinema Eye Honors said that Eyes on the Prize, the landmark civil rights docuseries that first aired on public television in 1987, will receive the group’s 2019 Legacy Award. The honor will be bestowed January 10 during the 12th annual Cinema Eye Honors awards ceremony in New York.
“For me and so many others, Eyes on the Prize was a transformational cinematic experience, artfully crafting the history of a nation into an unforgettable story,” Cinema Eye board co-chair Dawn Porter said Thursday. “Countless filmmakers have been inspired by this elegant body of work.”
Created and by the late Henry Hampton’s Blackside, the 14-part Eyes on the Prize is considered the definitive documentary record of the American civil rights era, tracing the country’s long and brutal march toward equality and the fight to end decades of discrimination and segregation. It aired in two parts, the first covering the years 1954–1965 and...
“For me and so many others, Eyes on the Prize was a transformational cinematic experience, artfully crafting the history of a nation into an unforgettable story,” Cinema Eye board co-chair Dawn Porter said Thursday. “Countless filmmakers have been inspired by this elegant body of work.”
Created and by the late Henry Hampton’s Blackside, the 14-part Eyes on the Prize is considered the definitive documentary record of the American civil rights era, tracing the country’s long and brutal march toward equality and the fight to end decades of discrimination and segregation. It aired in two parts, the first covering the years 1954–1965 and...
- 12/20/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Duck and Cover! And while you’re down there, enjoy a Flaming Atomic Cocktail! Loader, Rafferty & Rafferty’s influential documentary-satire uses authentic ’50s films and songs to illuminate the lies and myths about Cold War civil defense. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be like children in the face of a horror being characterized as an inconvenience to Americans insufficiently willing to Love the Bomb. And don’t forget to Sing: “Nobody’s worried ’bout the day my Lord will come, When he’ll hit, great God a-mighty, like an atom bomb!”
The Atomic Cafe
Blu-ray
Kino Classics
1982 / Color+B&W / 1:37 Academy / 88 min. / Street Date December 4, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Harry Truman, Douglas MacArthur, Lloyd Bentsen, Richard Nixon,
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, Hugh Beaumont, James Gregory, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Nelson Leigh.
Archival Research: Pierce Rafferty, Nan Allendorfer, Victoria Peterson, David Thaxton, Jon Else, Margaret Henry, Richard Prelinger
Film Editors: Jayne Loader,...
The Atomic Cafe
Blu-ray
Kino Classics
1982 / Color+B&W / 1:37 Academy / 88 min. / Street Date December 4, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Harry Truman, Douglas MacArthur, Lloyd Bentsen, Richard Nixon,
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, Hugh Beaumont, James Gregory, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Nelson Leigh.
Archival Research: Pierce Rafferty, Nan Allendorfer, Victoria Peterson, David Thaxton, Jon Else, Margaret Henry, Richard Prelinger
Film Editors: Jayne Loader,...
- 12/15/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Independent artists Kris Bowers, Germaine Franco, Danielle Eva Schwob and Jeremy Turner are among the select few for this summer’s Music and Sound Design Labs held at Skywalker Ranch in northern California.
This is the third year that Skywalker Ranch will host the Music and Sound Design Labs, a joint initiative between the Sundance Institute’s Film Music Program and Feature Film and the Film Music Program and Documentary Film Program.
The Music and Sound Design Labs provide workshops and creative exercises for composers, directors and sound designers to collaborate on the process of designing a soundtrack for film.
“This year’s fellows include an outstanding group of composers whose work will deepen and enrich the experience of the diverse personal stories being told by these fiction and documentary filmmakers,” said Sundance Institute Film Music Program director Peter Golub.
“Skywalker Sound is the perfect space for composers, filmmakers and sound designers to come together to explore...
This is the third year that Skywalker Ranch will host the Music and Sound Design Labs, a joint initiative between the Sundance Institute’s Film Music Program and Feature Film and the Film Music Program and Documentary Film Program.
The Music and Sound Design Labs provide workshops and creative exercises for composers, directors and sound designers to collaborate on the process of designing a soundtrack for film.
“This year’s fellows include an outstanding group of composers whose work will deepen and enrich the experience of the diverse personal stories being told by these fiction and documentary filmmakers,” said Sundance Institute Film Music Program director Peter Golub.
“Skywalker Sound is the perfect space for composers, filmmakers and sound designers to come together to explore...
- 6/30/2015
- ScreenDaily
The Sundance Institute today revealed the eight documentary projects chosen to participate in their 2014 Documentary Edit and Story Labs. 20 Fellows have been selected in total to take part. Editors serving as Creative Advisors for the sessions include Joelle Alexis ("The Green Prince"), Lewis Erskine ("Freedom Riders"), Mary Lampson ("Harlan County USA"), Jonathan Oppenheim ("The Oath"), Kate Amend ("The Case Against 8"), Joe Bini ("We Need to Talk About Kevin"), Pedro Kos ("The Square"). Directors serving as Creative Advisors are Ra'anan Alexandrowicz ("The Law In These Parts"), Jon Else ("Sing Faster!") and Jesse Moss ("The Overnighters"). Tabitha Jackson, Director of the Documentary Film Program, said in a statement, "This year's Fellows reflect a range of artistry, perspective and experience that is part of a vibrant contemporary dialogue about nonfiction storytelling. It is our hope that this rigorous lab environment strengthens each project and...
- 6/19/2014
- by Nigel M Smith
- Indiewire
Not all docu films that make the cut into the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Edit and Story Labs are fortunate enough to then land a coveted spot at the festival (recent examples include Roger Ross Williams’ God Loves Uganda and Tracy Draz Tragos and Andrew Droz Palermo’s Rich Hill) but some fresh air and supportive pounding from the Institute’s Advisors surely contributes to the realization of passion projects that are buckets filled in blood, sweat and tears. Among the press release mentions below, we’ll surely be discussing them in Park City setting in a January to too far off from now. Here are the selection of 20 Fellows representing eight documentary film projects to participate in the 2014 Documentary Edit and Story Labs, June 20-28 and July 4-12 at Sundance Resort in Sundance, Utah.
Artists and projects selected for the June 20-28 Documentary Edit and Story Lab:
A Flickering...
Artists and projects selected for the June 20-28 Documentary Edit and Story Lab:
A Flickering...
- 6/19/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Sundance Institute has unveiled the 20 fellows, and their eight documentary film projects, who will participate in this Summer's 2014 Documentary Edit and Story Labs. The labs run June 20-28, and July 4-12, at Sundance Resort in Utah. Based on Sundance's immersive Lab model launched by Robert Redford in 1981, each session of Documentary Edit and Story unites directors and editors with world-class doc filmmakers. Creative advisors in June include editors Jonathan Oppenheim ("The Oath") and Mary Lampson ("Harlan County USA"), and directors Jesse Moss (this year's breakout "The Overnighters") and Jon Else ("Sing Faster!"). In July, editors Kate Amen ("The Case Against 8") and Joe Bini ("We Need to Talk About Kevin"), and directors Ross McElwee ("Photographic Memory") and Rob Epstein ("Howl") are among those onboard as creative advisors. Artists and projects selected for the June 20-28 Documentary Edit and Story Lab: "A Flickering Truth" Director: Pietra Brettkelly Editor: Jacob...
- 6/19/2014
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
One of my favorite documentaries this year, "Searching for Sugar Man," received top honors at the 2012 Ida Documentary Awards winning the Best Feature prize. The documentary about the search for the elusive musician, Rodriguez, is truly a brilliant film illuminating failed dreams and eventual redemption.
Here's the complete winners list of the 2012 Ida Documentary Awards:
Career Achievement Award
Arnold Shapiro
Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award
David France
Pioneer Award
Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program And Fund
Best Feature Award
Searching For Sugar Man
Director/Producer/Writer: Malik Bendjelloul
Producer: Simon Chinn
Executive Producer: John Battsek
Red Box Films, Sony Pictures Classics
Best Short Award
Saving Face
Director: Daniel Junge, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Producers: David Coombe, Daniel Junge, Alison Greenberg, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Sabiha Sumar
Co-Producers: Aaron Kopp, Fazeelat Aslam
Senior Producer: Lisa Heller (HBO)
Executive Producer: Sheila Nevins (HBO)
HBO Documentary Films, Milkhaus, LLC, and JungeFilm, LLC
Best Limited Series Award...
Here's the complete winners list of the 2012 Ida Documentary Awards:
Career Achievement Award
Arnold Shapiro
Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award
David France
Pioneer Award
Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program And Fund
Best Feature Award
Searching For Sugar Man
Director/Producer/Writer: Malik Bendjelloul
Producer: Simon Chinn
Executive Producer: John Battsek
Red Box Films, Sony Pictures Classics
Best Short Award
Saving Face
Director: Daniel Junge, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Producers: David Coombe, Daniel Junge, Alison Greenberg, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Sabiha Sumar
Co-Producers: Aaron Kopp, Fazeelat Aslam
Senior Producer: Lisa Heller (HBO)
Executive Producer: Sheila Nevins (HBO)
HBO Documentary Films, Milkhaus, LLC, and JungeFilm, LLC
Best Limited Series Award...
- 12/8/2012
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired Us rights to The Island President, the documentary that won the Audience Award at the Toronto Film Festival. Goldwyn will release the film in February and is hopeful that it will make noise in the Oscar race. The Jon Shenk-directed film tells the story of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives and his campaign to save his country. After bringing democracy to the Maldives after three decades of despotic rule, he wages a campaign against global warming. To him it is a life or death struggle: as one of the most low-lying countries in the world, a rise of three feet in sea level would put the 1200 Maldive islands underwater and render them uninhabitable. It brings him to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009, where he makes his impassioned plea. Shenk directed Lost Boys of Sudan. The film’s produced by Richard Berge and Bonni Cohen...
- 11/7/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
For Oscar-winning filmmaker Jessica Yu’s latest film, Last Call at the Oasis, she looks at the frightening realities of the current global water crisis. Produced through the social issue giants Participant Media, Yu’s film has the makings of a must-see like An Inconvenient Truth and Food, Inc.
Filmmaker: Tell us a little about what your film is about?
Yu: Last Call at the Oasis is about the water crisis, which is global and urgent, yet largely hidden here in the U.S. The film tells stories of people who are on the front lines in dealing with water shortage or contamination, from farmers to scientists to homemakers to the real Erin Brockovich, who is still battling industrial polluters over a decade after the eponymous movie came out.
Filmmaker: What motivated you to tell this story?
Yu: Diane Weyermann from Participant Media approached me about the subject, and I was immediately obsessed.
Filmmaker: Tell us a little about what your film is about?
Yu: Last Call at the Oasis is about the water crisis, which is global and urgent, yet largely hidden here in the U.S. The film tells stories of people who are on the front lines in dealing with water shortage or contamination, from farmers to scientists to homemakers to the real Erin Brockovich, who is still battling industrial polluters over a decade after the eponymous movie came out.
Filmmaker: What motivated you to tell this story?
Yu: Diane Weyermann from Participant Media approached me about the subject, and I was immediately obsessed.
- 9/7/2011
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Chicago – Harvey Milk was the sort of grassroots political hero that would’ve never fit into our modern world of corporately controlled politics. He was a man of his word, and he had many of them. His fundamental belief in equal rights for all citizens provided the fuel for his tireless work ethic, intoxicating exuberance and extraordinary bravery.
In the opening moments of Rob Epstein’s profoundly moving 1984 documentary, “The Times of Harvey Milk,” the titular San Francisco supervisor fearlessly rides atop a car waving to supporters, well aware that he’s an open target. The footage is juxtaposed with a taped will Milk recorded a year before his assassination in November 1978, when he was gunned down by a former colleague, Dan White (the city’s Mayor Moscone was also killed in the bloodbath). Considering Milk’s status as one of the first openly gay politicians elected to public office in America,...
In the opening moments of Rob Epstein’s profoundly moving 1984 documentary, “The Times of Harvey Milk,” the titular San Francisco supervisor fearlessly rides atop a car waving to supporters, well aware that he’s an open target. The footage is juxtaposed with a taped will Milk recorded a year before his assassination in November 1978, when he was gunned down by a former colleague, Dan White (the city’s Mayor Moscone was also killed in the bloodbath). Considering Milk’s status as one of the first openly gay politicians elected to public office in America,...
- 3/25/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Linda Blackaby, Programmer for the San Francisco Film Society, had the honor of bestowing upon Lourdes Portillo SFIFF52’s Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award, which honors the achievements of a filmmaker whose work is crafting documentaries, short films, animation or work for television. In as many years as I have been attending the San Francisco International, the Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award has been given to such luminaries as Jan Svankmajer, Robert Frank, Johan van der Keuken, Faith Hubley, Kenneth Anger, Fernando Birri, Pat O’Neill, Jon Else, Adam Curtis, Guy Maddin, Heddy Honigmann and Errol Morris. Portillo—the “elegant insurgent” (as scribed by filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña in her commendable program essay)—rightfully joins that esteemed company.
- 4/29/2009
- by Michael Guillen
- Screen Anarchy
By Neil Pedley
There's something for everyone this week at the multiplex, what with Carrie and company offering something for the ladies with "Sex and the City," the Tae Kwon Do comedy "The Foot Fist Way" being an alternative for the guys, and "Savage Grace"... well, again, let's just say there's something for everyone.
"Bigger, Stronger, Faster*"
With everyone from Little League coaches to members of the U.S. Congress weighing in on the issue of performance enhancing drugs in sports, body builder (and former user) Christopher Bell injects his own story into this documentary that explores America's obsession with excellence and what it realistically takes to achieve it. Bell chronicles his own family's history of steroid use as a jumping off point to explore the wider love/hate relationship between professional athletes and performance enhancing drugs in a culture where winning is everything and there are no points for second place.
There's something for everyone this week at the multiplex, what with Carrie and company offering something for the ladies with "Sex and the City," the Tae Kwon Do comedy "The Foot Fist Way" being an alternative for the guys, and "Savage Grace"... well, again, let's just say there's something for everyone.
"Bigger, Stronger, Faster*"
With everyone from Little League coaches to members of the U.S. Congress weighing in on the issue of performance enhancing drugs in sports, body builder (and former user) Christopher Bell injects his own story into this documentary that explores America's obsession with excellence and what it realistically takes to achieve it. Bell chronicles his own family's history of steroid use as a jumping off point to explore the wider love/hate relationship between professional athletes and performance enhancing drugs in a culture where winning is everything and there are no points for second place.
- 5/26/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
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