You’re a filmmaker. You’ve made one or two films, maybe even more. Or maybe you’re working on your first one and trying to figure out how to build a sustainable career. For now, you’re struggling: struggling to make ends meet, to find work that utilizes your skills, to keep your head above water while also finding the time, the energy, and the resources to work on your next project. If this sounds like you, welcome to the club. You’re not alone. Producer and director Esther Robinson led a panel discussion at Doc NYC about how to sustain yourself financially, while […]...
- 11/22/2016
- by Audrey Ewell
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
For one week in November, virtually the entire documentary film community will gather in New York City for the Doc NYC film festival, where this year’s most acclaimed non-fiction films will screen. With all that talent and experience gathered in one place, Doc NYC has decided to channel it toward a new eight-day conference focusing on the tools and skills needed to fund, create and distribute documentary films.
Read More: ‘Weiner,’ Yes; ‘The Eagle Huntress,’ No: The 15 Documentaries on the Doc NYC Short List
Doc NYC Pro is geared toward documentary professionals looking to advance their careers and filmmaking skills and will be comprised of talks, panels, masterclasses and pitch sessions featuring filmmakers and decision makers behind films like “Weiner,” “O.J.: Made in America,” “Amanda Knox” and “Cartel Land.”
Each day of Doc NYC Pro will begin with a “morning manifesto,” featuring speakers Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour”), Josh Kriegman and...
Read More: ‘Weiner,’ Yes; ‘The Eagle Huntress,’ No: The 15 Documentaries on the Doc NYC Short List
Doc NYC Pro is geared toward documentary professionals looking to advance their careers and filmmaking skills and will be comprised of talks, panels, masterclasses and pitch sessions featuring filmmakers and decision makers behind films like “Weiner,” “O.J.: Made in America,” “Amanda Knox” and “Cartel Land.”
Each day of Doc NYC Pro will begin with a “morning manifesto,” featuring speakers Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour”), Josh Kriegman and...
- 10/14/2016
- by Casey Coit
- Indiewire
The top coin getter (an impressive quarter of a million dollars) from last year’s The MacArthur Foundation grants, we’re thinking our third time at predicting this among the line-up will be a charm. As is the case with most docus, the production phase can be a lengthy and difficult to determine one, but we’re thinking this extra time will help shake the foundations of Park City. As we mentioned before, Yance Ford’s Strong Island has received all-round support from docu groups including Cinereach, Idfa Forum and the Sundance Institute.
Gist: In April 1992, William Ford, a black 24-year-old teacher argued with a white 19-year-old mechanic about the quality of a repair job. This common scenario turned deadly when the mechanic retrieved a .22 caliber rifle from the shop office and shot Ford once in the chest. Though he was unarmed, the mechanic claimed self-defense. When a Grand Jury decided not to pursue charges,...
Gist: In April 1992, William Ford, a black 24-year-old teacher argued with a white 19-year-old mechanic about the quality of a repair job. This common scenario turned deadly when the mechanic retrieved a .22 caliber rifle from the shop office and shot Ford once in the chest. Though he was unarmed, the mechanic claimed self-defense. When a Grand Jury decided not to pursue charges,...
- 11/25/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
It’s been a couple months since the last edition of What’s Up Doc? placed Michael Moore’s surprise world premiere of Where To Invade Next at the top of this list and in the meantime much shuffling has taken place and much time has been spent on various new endeavors (namely my Buffalo-based film series, Cultivate Cinema Circle). Finally taking its rightful place at the top, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hagedus’ Unlocking the Cage is in the midst of being scored by composer James Lavino, according to Lavino’s own personal site. Though the project has been taking shape at its own leisurely pace, I’d expect to see the film making its festival debut in early 2016.
Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...
Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...
- 11/5/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
The fall festival rush is upon us. Locarno is currently ramping up. Venice has released their line-up and Thom Powers and the Toronto International Film Festival team have dropped a bomb with a previously unannounced new feature from powerhouse docu-provocateur Michael Moore. It is truly a miracle that the production of a film such as Moore’s upcoming Where To Invade Next (see still above) managed to go completely undetected by the filmmaking community until it was literally announced to world premiere at one of the largest film festivals in the world. Programmed as a one of the key films in the Special Presentations section at Tiff, the film sees Moore telling “the Pentagon to ‘stand down’ — he will do the invading for America from now on.” Also announced to premiere at Tiff was Avi Lewis’ This Changes Everything, which has slowly been rising up this list, as well as...
- 8/7/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
It’s been a surprisingly interesting month of moving and shaking in terms of doc development. Just a month after making his first public funding pitch at Toronto’s Hot Docs Forum, legendary doc filmmaker Frederick Wiseman took to Kickstarter to help cover the remaining expenses for his 40th feature film In Jackson Heights (see the film’s first trailer below). Unrelentingly rigorous in his determination to capture the American institutional landscape on film, his latest continues down this thematic rabbit hole, taking on the immensely diverse New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights as his latest subject. According to the Kickstarter page, Wiseman is currently editing the 120 hours of rushes he shot with hopes of having the film ready for a fall festival premiere (my guess would be Tiff, where both National Gallery and At Berkeley made their North American debut), though he’s currently quite a ways away from his $75,000 goal.
- 7/6/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Well folks, after a rather long and brutal winter (at least for me here in Buffalo), we are finally heading into the wonderful warmth of summer, but with that blast of sunshine and steamy humidity comes the mid-year drought of major film fests. After the Sheffield Doc/Fest concludes on June 10th and AFI Docs wraps on June 21st, we likely won’t see any major influx in our charts until Locarno, Venice, Telluride and Tiff announce their line-ups in rapid succession. In the meantime, we can look forward to the intriguing onslaught of films making their debut in Sheffield, including Brian Hill’s intriguing examination of Sweden’s most notorious serial killer, The Confessions of Thomas Quick, and Sean McAllister’s film for which he himself was jailed in the process of making, A Syrian Love Story, the only two films world premiering in the festival’s main competition.
- 6/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
It should come as no surprise that Cannes Film Festival will play host to Kent Jones’s doc on the touchstone of filmmaking interview tomes, Hitchcock/Truffaut (see photo above). The film has been floating near the top of this list since it was announced last year as in development, while Jones himself has a history with the festival, having co-written both Arnaud Desplechin’s Jimmy P. and Martin Scorsese’s My Voyage To Italy, both of which premiered in Cannes. The film is scheduled to screen as part of the Cannes Classics sidebar alongside the likes of Stig Björkman’s Ingrid Bergman, in Her Own Words, which will play as part of the festival’s tribute to the late starlet, and Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna’s Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans (see trailer below). As someone who grew up watching road races with my dad in Watkins Glen,...
- 5/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Now that the busy winter fest schedule of Sundance, Rotterdam and the Berlinale has concluded, we’ve now got our eyes on the likes of True/False and SXSW. While, True/False does not specialize in attention grabbing world premieres, it does provide a late winter haven for cream of the crop non-fiction fare from all the previously mentioned fests and a selection of overlooked genre blending films presented in a down home setting. This year will mark my first trip to the Columbia, Missouri based fest, where I hope to catch a little of everything, from their hush-hush secret screenings, to selections from their Neither/Nor series, this year featuring chimeric Polish cinema of decades past, to a spotlight of Adam Curtis’s incisive oeuvre. But truth be told, it is SXSW, with its slew of high profile world premieres being announced, such as Alex Gibney’s Steve Jobs...
- 2/27/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Turkey or no turkey, these next couple of days lucky filmmakers who’ve been selected to screen as part of the Sundance Film Festival will get the invitation notice straight from John Cooper and the Park City programming team, and thus, those that we’re betting have made the cut have also inched up the list a bit. One of those that seem an obvious choice to premiere at the fest is director Steve Hoover and producer Danny Yourd’s Crocodile Gennadiy. Following up their Grand Jury Prize winning Blood Brother with incredible turnaround time, our new most anticipated film tracks the delicate operations of Gennadiy Mokhnenko, a Ukrainian activist, orphanage manager and savior of countless children whose addict parents favor injected cold medicine and alcohol over them. Part heartwrenching domestic drama, part sleuth thriller, the film looks to use the Ukrainian uprising as a backdrop to highlight its protagonist...
- 11/27/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
There is nothing new in the subject matters covered in Yance Ford’s debut. Gun violence. Authorities taking a blind eye approach. A family and community torn. Pretty much sight unseen (although a peak at the trailer helps), I’d be surprised if I’ll personally be able to withstand the emotionally walloping that Strong Island promises to deliver. Forget about dry eyes. We’ve been anticipating this docu since we first heard of the person (Filmmaker Mag’s Scott Macaulay Top 25 Faces profile), and ever since then, it’s been collecting massive support from the Sundance Institute, Cinereach, Idfa Forum and just last month, a major helping hand from the MacArthur Foundation Documentary Grant. We’re wishful that this lands at the top of ’15.
Gist: Tracing the impacts of the 1992 shooting death of William Ford, Jr., an unarmed African American, and the devastation of the Ford family when his killer goes unpunished.
Gist: Tracing the impacts of the 1992 shooting death of William Ford, Jr., an unarmed African American, and the devastation of the Ford family when his killer goes unpunished.
- 11/14/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
In the upcoming issue of Filmmaker, Esther Robinson writes about directors who work in pairs. Robinson’s focus is on how two directors is better than one when it comes to navigating the development and financial aspects of being a director, and she surveys a number of them on how they structure their work. But then there’s the also the basic question: how do they actually do it? Is everything discussed jointly? Does one talk to the actors and the other direct the camera? Is one more dominant in production and the other in post? In this short clip, Jen and […]...
- 10/17/2014
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
In the upcoming issue of Filmmaker, Esther Robinson writes about directors who work in pairs. Robinson’s focus is on how two directors is better than one when it comes to navigating the development and financial aspects of being a director, and she surveys a number of them on how they structure their work. But then there’s the also the basic question: how do they actually do it? Is everything discussed jointly? Does one talk to the actors and the other direct the camera? Is one more dominant in production and the other in post? In this short clip, Jen and […]...
- 10/17/2014
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
“Transparency benefits everybody.” That’s Joe Swanberg, whose recommended Happy Christmas opens today, talking about distribution dealmaking, but he might just as well have been talking about all aspects of his career and financial life. Indeed, Swanberg is nothing but transparent in this long interview with producer, director and ArtHome founder Esther Robinson focused specifically on making a living as a writer/director — precisely the subject most directors won’t issue a comment on. The interview was conducted for Robinson’s current piece in the new print edition of Filmmaker, “Still on the Job,” in which she revisits several directors featured in an […]...
- 7/25/2014
- by Esther B. Robinson
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
“Transparency benefits everybody.” That’s Joe Swanberg, whose recommended Happy Christmas opens today, talking about distribution dealmaking, but he might just as well have been talking about all aspects of his career and financial life. Indeed, Swanberg is nothing but transparent in this long interview with producer, director and ArtHome founder Esther Robinson focused specifically on making a living as a writer/director — precisely the subject most directors won’t issue a comment on. The interview was conducted for Robinson’s current piece in the new print edition of Filmmaker, “Still on the Job,” in which she revisits several directors featured in an […]...
- 7/25/2014
- by Esther B. Robinson
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
In an article by Esther Robinson in our upcoming Summer issue, Barry Jenkins speaks to the delicate work-work balance incurred by many a filmmaker — that is to say, what he does to financially support his filmmaking career, and how that job tends to detract from passion projects. Jenkins is fortunate enough that his particular day job, as ringleader of the production company Strike Anywhere, allows him to regularly create content, even if of the branded and not feature-length variety. Over at Fandor, resident video essayist Kevin Lee takes a look at Strike Anywhere’s catalogue, and the work Jenkins has produced in the six […]...
- 7/16/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In an article by Esther Robinson in our upcoming Summer issue, Barry Jenkins speaks to the delicate work-work balance incurred by many a filmmaker — that is to say, what he does to financially support his filmmaking career, and how that job tends to detract from passion projects. Jenkins is fortunate enough that his particular day job, as ringleader of the production company Strike Anywhere, allows him to regularly create content, even if of the branded and not feature-length variety. Over at Fandor, resident video essayist Kevin Lee takes a look at Strike Anywhere’s catalogue, and the work Jenkins has produced in the six […]...
- 7/16/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Applications are now being accepted through June 6 for the Women In Film Foundation’s 2014 Film Finishing Fund grants. Women In Film will give up to $15,000 in cash, in-kind and consultation grants for the selected entries. Since its inception 29 years ago, the Film Finishing Fund has awarded more than $2 million worth of grants to over 170 films from all over the world. The Film Finishing Fund has an impressive track record selecting films for completion that went on to win major awards, distribution and network deals, including:-Cynthia Wade’s Freeheld, the 2008 Academy Award-winner for Best Documentary Short Subject-Freida Lee Mock’s Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision, the 1994 Academy Award-winner for Best Documentary-Esther Robinson’s A Walk Into The Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory, 2007 Teddy Award Winner at the Berlin Film Festival-Maryam Keshavarz’s Circumstance, the 2011 Sundance Audience Award winnerWinners will be announced in October 2014. More info on.
- 3/17/2014
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking has announced the five nominees for its fourth annual Cinema Eye Heterodox Award, sponsored by Filmmaker Magazine. The Cinema Eye Heterodox Award honors a narrative film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production. The five films nominated for the 2014 Heterodox Award are: Andrew Bujalski's "Computer Chess," Randy Moore’s "Escape From Tomorrow," James Franco and Travis Matthews’ "Interior. Leather Bar.," Kleber Mendonça Filho’s "Neighboring Sounds" and Carlos Reygadas’ "Post Tenebras Lux." "The 2014 Cinema Eye Honors Heterodox nominees prove once again that the contested space between narrative and documentary is the ideal cinematic environment to delve deep into our most modern tensions," said Esther Robinson, Chair of the Cinema Eye Honors. "Bringing us to settings as diverse as rural Mexico, dystopian Disneyland, and a forgotten leather bar, these films break convention to move...
- 11/25/2013
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
As we come close to concluding our list of Sundance predictions for ’14, it’s worth pointing out just how indispensable the backing of organizations such as the Sundance Institute, Cinereach, Idfa Forum, countless other documentary organizations (and we include Filmmaker Magazine here as well) in their efforts to assure the quality, originality, survival and success of docu films from docu filmmaker of the old and new guard. All of the above represents the kind of love that Yance Ford’s Strong Island has received over the years. Ford who has been kept busy with her day job as the Series Producer of Pov (we heart PBS and obviously this channel) received some coin from Sundance back in 2012 and we think that it has a good chance at breaking the ’14 line-up.
Gist: In April 1992, William Ford, a black 24-year-old teacher argued with a white 19-year-old mechanic about the quality of a repair job.
Gist: In April 1992, William Ford, a black 24-year-old teacher argued with a white 19-year-old mechanic about the quality of a repair job.
- 11/21/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Aj Schnack and Nathan Truesdell are well known in the documentary community; they work with Esther Robinson and others to stage the Cinema Eye Honors every year. They're also filmmakers in their own right. Both filmmakers had two films at this year's Hot Docs. Schnack co-directed, with True/False co-director David Wilson, the Branson, Missouri doc "We Always Lie to Strangers." Truesdell produced the short "Dear Valued Guests," directed by Jarred Alterman and Paul Sturtz (the other co-director of True/False). They both worked together on the Iowa Republican Caucus film "Caucus," which had its world premiere at Hot Docs. Schnack is the film's director; Truesdell produced the film. The film takes us back to the winter of 2011/2012, when a hearty handful of Republican hopefuls were vying for the presidential nomination. These were the days when Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann's popularity surged and then plummeted, pizzaman Herman Cain and Texas Governor Rick Perry both.
- 5/7/2013
- by Bryce J. Renninger
- Indiewire
The Cinema Eye Honors is a cozy event, packed with documentary filmmakers who go way back. Held at the sleek Museum of the Moving Image in New York, the group attending the sixth annual Honors ceremony is jovial, encouraging, and accepting -- exemplified by the range of attire. Co-chair Esther Robinson recounted the numerous phone calls from people asking what to wear and summarized the evening’s garb: “Well, Michael Moore wears a sweatshirt, and I wear a gown, so anything in between.” Moore took the stage twice, once to present the legacy award to D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus for “The War Room,” and once to accept the prize on behalf of Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi for the Outstanding Feature, “5 Broken Cameras.” Moore championed this Palestinian documentary at his own film festival this past year. The evening began with toasts to two figures in the documentary world that...
- 1/10/2013
- by Maggie Lange
- 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
Along with Jonathan Caouette, Ingrid Kopp, Thom Powers, Esther Robinson, Morgan Spurlock, and John Vanco I’ll be co-hosting a benefit screening of John Maringouin’s Big River Man on Tuesday, September 4, at the IFC Center at 7:30Pm. All proceeds will go towards the filmmaker’s surgery fund and an urgently needed lung operation. Additionally, IFC will be donating an additional 50% of the box towards the fund as well as 100% of all income from membership sales and renewals purchased that evening. I’ve posted about Maringouin’s situation previously, and, with days left, the fund still needs monies to reach its $60,000 goal, which will enable a down payment on Maringouin’s surgery.
Here’s information on Big River Man and Maringouin:
In February 2007 Martin Strel began an insane attempt to be the first person to swim the entire length of the world’s most dangerous river, the mighty Amazon.
Here’s information on Big River Man and Maringouin:
In February 2007 Martin Strel began an insane attempt to be the first person to swim the entire length of the world’s most dangerous river, the mighty Amazon.
- 8/31/2012
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Here’s the just issued press release announcing the nominees for the 2011 Heterodox Award, given by Cinema Eye Honors and sponsored by Filmmaker.
New York – The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking today announced the five nominees for its second annual Cinema Eye Heterodox Award, sponsored by Filmmaker Magazine. The 2012 Heterodox Award will be presented at the Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking on January 11 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, New York.
The Cinema Eye Heterodox Award honors a narrative film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production. These films illuminate the formal possibilities of nonfiction filmmaking while raising provocative questions about on-going documentary orthodoxy and the perceived boundaries between narrative and nonfiction filmmaking. Last year’s inaugural Heterodox Award went to Matt Porterfield’s Putty Hill.
“As more and more nonfiction films integrate artistic fictional devices and narrative structures, and...
New York – The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking today announced the five nominees for its second annual Cinema Eye Heterodox Award, sponsored by Filmmaker Magazine. The 2012 Heterodox Award will be presented at the Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking on January 11 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, New York.
The Cinema Eye Heterodox Award honors a narrative film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production. These films illuminate the formal possibilities of nonfiction filmmaking while raising provocative questions about on-going documentary orthodoxy and the perceived boundaries between narrative and nonfiction filmmaking. Last year’s inaugural Heterodox Award went to Matt Porterfield’s Putty Hill.
“As more and more nonfiction films integrate artistic fictional devices and narrative structures, and...
- 1/3/2012
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
At an awards ceremony at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, Cinema Eye handed out honors to the best of this year’s documentary films. The top award, the Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking, when to Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop, produced by Jaime D’Cruz. Laura Poitras was named Outstanding Director for The Oath, and Jeff Malmberg Outstanding Debut for his Marwencol. Matt Porterfield’s Putty Hill won the first Filmmaker-sponsored Heterodox Award. One of the most moving moments of the night was a tribute to editor Karen Schmeer, who was killed last year in a hit-and-run, and one of the most inspiring was the Legacy Award given to Albert Maysles and Muffie Meyer. Maysles, who is 84, quipped, “There must be someone in the audience with money for my next 25 films. (The highlight of my evening was taking their picture and having Maysles correct my frame.
- 1/20/2011
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
It was a wonderful night celebrating documentary filmmaking at the fourth annual Cinema Eye Honors, held in the beautifully renovated Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, N.Y. on January 18th. Hosted by filmmakers Aj Schnack (Kurt Cobain: About a Son) and Esther Robinson (A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory), the nominees comprised of some of the best documentary films of 2010, truly a celebration of nonfiction filmmaking rather than a competition. David Schwartz, the chief curator of the Museum, relayed the thoughts of many filmgoers who say that “the best films at festivals are the documentaries.” The night kicked off with musical accompaniment by the Quavers and an excerpt of Utopia in Four Movements, performed by Sam Green. His excerpt was at both funny and poignant, touching upon a mix of history and comedy, segueing between 1960s ideas of the future world to...
- 1/19/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Definition of Heterodox
1: contrary to or different from an acknowledged standard, a traditional form, or an established religion : unorthodox, unconventional
2: holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines — Merriam Webster Dictionary
There’s a funny responsibility that comes with inaugurating an award.
That’s what I discovered during the creation of the first Cinema Eye Heterodox Award, sponsored by Filmmaker. The award will be announced tonight along with all the other prizes at Cinema Eye’s Museum of the Moving Image ceremony, and if you haven’t heard, here’s an excerpt from the press release:
“Filmmakers have always been at the forefront of raising important questions about the construction of truth, but the borders between fiction and non-fiction film are both slippery and oft times guarded with provincial and outmoded thinking,” said Cinema Eye Co-Chair Esther Robinson, “The Cinema Eye Honors hopes to puncture this border, by honoring a...
1: contrary to or different from an acknowledged standard, a traditional form, or an established religion : unorthodox, unconventional
2: holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines — Merriam Webster Dictionary
There’s a funny responsibility that comes with inaugurating an award.
That’s what I discovered during the creation of the first Cinema Eye Heterodox Award, sponsored by Filmmaker. The award will be announced tonight along with all the other prizes at Cinema Eye’s Museum of the Moving Image ceremony, and if you haven’t heard, here’s an excerpt from the press release:
“Filmmakers have always been at the forefront of raising important questions about the construction of truth, but the borders between fiction and non-fiction film are both slippery and oft times guarded with provincial and outmoded thinking,” said Cinema Eye Co-Chair Esther Robinson, “The Cinema Eye Honors hopes to puncture this border, by honoring a...
- 1/18/2011
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
SXSW Film Announces 2010 Award Winners
Complete Coverage of SXSW 2010
Austin, Texas – March 16, 2010 – The Jury and Audience Award-winners of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival were announced tonight at the Festival’s closing Awards Ceremony hosted by comedian Eugene Mirman in Austin, Texas. Feature Films receiving Jury Awards were selected from the Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature categories. Films in these categories, as well as the Spotlight Premieres, Emerging Visions, Midnighters, Lone Star States and 24 Beats Per Second categories were also eligible for the 2010 SXSW Film Festival Audience Awards. Only Narrative and Documentary Feature Audience Awards were announced tonight. Spotlight Premieres, Emerging Visions, Lone Star States, 24 Beats Per Second and Midnighters Audience Awards will be announced separately on Monday, March 22.
SXSW also announced the Jury Award-winners in Shorts Filmmaking, and Film Design Awards, and Special Awards, including the SXSW Chicken & Egg Emergent Narrative Woman Director Award and the SXSW Wholphin Award.
Complete Coverage of SXSW 2010
Austin, Texas – March 16, 2010 – The Jury and Audience Award-winners of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival were announced tonight at the Festival’s closing Awards Ceremony hosted by comedian Eugene Mirman in Austin, Texas. Feature Films receiving Jury Awards were selected from the Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature categories. Films in these categories, as well as the Spotlight Premieres, Emerging Visions, Midnighters, Lone Star States and 24 Beats Per Second categories were also eligible for the 2010 SXSW Film Festival Audience Awards. Only Narrative and Documentary Feature Audience Awards were announced tonight. Spotlight Premieres, Emerging Visions, Lone Star States, 24 Beats Per Second and Midnighters Audience Awards will be announced separately on Monday, March 22.
SXSW also announced the Jury Award-winners in Shorts Filmmaking, and Film Design Awards, and Special Awards, including the SXSW Chicken & Egg Emergent Narrative Woman Director Award and the SXSW Wholphin Award.
- 3/18/2010
- by Jeff Bayer
- The Scorecard Review
Austin, Texas – March 16, 2010 – The Jury and Audience Award-winners of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival were announced tonight at the Festival’s closing Awards Ceremony hosted by comedian Eugene Mirman in Austin, Texas. Feature Films receiving Jury Awards were selected from the Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature categories. Films in these categories, as well as the Spotlight Premieres, Emerging Visions, Midnighters, Lone Star States and 24 Beats Per Second categories were also eligible for the 2010 SXSW Film Festival Audience Awards. Only Narrative and Documentary Feature Audience Awards were announced tonight. Spotlight Premieres, Emerging Visions, Lone Star States, 24 Beats Per Second and Midnighters Audience Awards will be announced separately on Monday, March 22. SXSW also announced the Jury Award-winners in Shorts Filmmaking, and Film Design Awards, and Special Awards, including the SXSW Chicken & Egg Emergent Narrative Woman Director Award and the SXSW Wholphin Award. Details can be found at www.
- 3/17/2010
- by Dave Campbell
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Though SXSW 2010 is only at the halfway point, the music portion is about to kick into high gear and many film folks are leaving town. The awards ceremony was held last night, and Jeff Malmberg's Marwencol and Lena Dunham's Tiny Furniture won jury awards for best feature-length documentary and narrative, respectively.
Audience awards went to For Once in My Life (documentary) and Brotherhood (narrative). As if often the case, I haven't seen any of the winners, so can't comment further on them, but we do have a review for Marwencol up on the site, which is linked below.
Here's the announcement provided by the festival:
Austin, Texas - March 16, 2010 - The Jury and Audience Award-winners of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival were announced tonight at the Festival's closing Awards Ceremony hosted by comedian Eugene Mirman in Austin, Texas. Feature Films receiving Jury Awards were...
Audience awards went to For Once in My Life (documentary) and Brotherhood (narrative). As if often the case, I haven't seen any of the winners, so can't comment further on them, but we do have a review for Marwencol up on the site, which is linked below.
Here's the announcement provided by the festival:
Austin, Texas - March 16, 2010 - The Jury and Audience Award-winners of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival were announced tonight at the Festival's closing Awards Ceremony hosted by comedian Eugene Mirman in Austin, Texas. Feature Films receiving Jury Awards were...
- 3/17/2010
- Screen Anarchy
In the new issue of Filmmaker, Esther Robinson penned "The Big Art/Little Debt Plan," which discusses the relation of filmmakers to risk, their films, and their money. She reached out to several filmmakers by email, and their responses helped shape her article. We are running several of the responses Esther received here on the blog. Below is the one from Paola Mendoza, director of Entre Nos. What strategies did you employ to stay no/low debt during your production? My strategy was pretty simple I refused to go into debt. While making art is the essence of who I am, I cannot make art at the expense of my future and my family’s future. If I cannot find a creative way to tell stories without spending my money irresponsibly than I...
- 2/7/2010
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In the new issue of Filmmaker, Esther Robinson penned "The Big Art/Little Debt Plan," which discusses the relation of filmmakers to risk, their films, and their money. She reached out to several filmmakers by email, and their responses helped shape her article. We are running several of the responses Esther received here on the blog. Here is Jonathan Goodman Levitt's. What strategies did you employ to stay no/low debt during your production? I've had to take on a lot of more roles myself than would be ideal for the film, or for me personally. Life has been pretty much on-hold during the course of making this film, which has been an ongoing struggle. I had a colleague/friend shoot a few interviews so that I could focus on engaging with...
- 2/6/2010
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In the new issue of Filmmaker, Esther Robinson penned "The Big Art/Little Debt Plan," which discusses the relation of filmmakers to risk, their films, and their money. She reached out to several filmmakers by email, and their responses helped shape her article. We are running several of the responses Esther received here on the blog. Below is the one from Dan Cogan of Impact Partners. What drives most filmmakers, and especially documentary filmmakers, is their deep passion to tell a story. It's not about money or about a career for many filmmakers — it's about the story. This is very much a good and a bad thing. The passion is the good part — the refusal to think about money or budgets in a practical way is a bad thing. Many...
- 2/5/2010
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In the new issue of Filmmaker, Esther Robinson penned "The Big Art/Little Debt Plan," which discusses the relation of filmmakers to risk, their films, and their money. She reached out to several filmmakers by email, and their responses helped shape her article. We are running several of the responses Esther received here on the blog. Below is the one from Thomas Woodrow, producer, Bass Ackwards. With the current environment/budgets you are seeing, do think there will be more financing gaps than usual? If yes, do you think this might create an uptick in personal debt (both for you and the filmmaker) to fill the gap? If no, how are gaps traditionally-weathered/weathered-in-this-moment? The most straightforward solution is simply to make...
- 2/4/2010
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In the new issue of Filmmaker, Esther Robinson penned "The Big Art/Little Debt Plan," which discusses the relation of filmmakers to risk, their films, and their money. She reached out to several filmmakers by email, and their responses helped shape her article. We are running several of the responses Esther received here on the blog. Below is the one from Mynette Louie, producer, Children of Invention. With the current environment/budgets you are seeing, do think there will be more financing gaps than usual? If yes, do you think this might create an uptick in personal debt (both for you and the filmmaker) to fill the gap? If no, how are gaps traditionally-weathered/weathered-in-this-moment? Gaps are definitely tougher to fill these days...
- 2/3/2010
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Click here to read select stories from the Winter issue. Terry Gilliam talks about his new film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus; Tom Ford discusses his debut feature, A Single Man; Don Argott highlights what's considered the heist of the century in The Art of the Steal. Also, Esther B. Robinson weights risk vs. responsibility while making your films; Shari Carpenter highlights a software for script supervisors, ScriptE; Jon Reiss tells us how to choose a fulfillment house and the need for awareness about digital archiving. Plus, Anthony Kaufman's Industry Beat & Lance Weiler's Culture Hacker columns.
- 1/18/2010
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Carl Ballantine, who performed feats of bumbling comic magic on Vaudeville and on television, the movies and in Las Vegas, died Tuesday of natural causes at his Hollywood home. He was 92.
Perhaps Ballantine's most famous role was as confident con artist and torpedoman Lester Gruber on 1962-66 ABC comedy "McHale's Navy."
Ballantine, born Meyer Kessler on Chicago's South Side, learned magic tricks at age 9 from his barber. By 13, he was performing and supporting his family.
One night, a trick went haywire and he threw out some funny lines to cover things. The audience loved it, the club owner told him to "keep it up" -- and the Amazing Ballantine was born.
Ballantine caught the end of Vaudeville and the early days of television. He played the Palace in New York City, the Hippodrome in Baltimore and many other huge venues of the day.
On TV, he did magic on the shows of Garry Moore,...
Perhaps Ballantine's most famous role was as confident con artist and torpedoman Lester Gruber on 1962-66 ABC comedy "McHale's Navy."
Ballantine, born Meyer Kessler on Chicago's South Side, learned magic tricks at age 9 from his barber. By 13, he was performing and supporting his family.
One night, a trick went haywire and he threw out some funny lines to cover things. The audience loved it, the club owner told him to "keep it up" -- and the Amazing Ballantine was born.
Ballantine caught the end of Vaudeville and the early days of television. He played the Palace in New York City, the Hippodrome in Baltimore and many other huge venues of the day.
On TV, he did magic on the shows of Garry Moore,...
- 11/4/2009
- by By Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Over on the main page check out select stories from our Fall issue. (mag hits stands next week) There's interviews with Lars von Trier on his latest film, Antichrist (which opens this weekend), Oren Moverman talks about his much anticipated directorial debut, The Messenger and we profile Larry Fessenden's Glass Eye Pix company. Also, Esther B. Robinson tells us how filmmakers can be successful during a recession, Anthony Kaufman learns how filmmakers are turning a profit with VOD and I look at the mammoth book about the greatest movie never made: Stanley Kubrick's film on Napoleon. And remember, you can always buy the latest issue digitally (click here, it's only $9). You also get our archives up to 2005 for free. Enjoy.
- 10/19/2009
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Lots to of changes to report at the Cinema Eye Honors. Held in the spring for the first two years of its existence, in 2010 the awards dedicated to nonfiction film will take place in January. The calendar move will change the identity of the event from a footnote to the long awards season to a potential pre-Oscar indicator. Also, filmmaker Esther B. Robinson and newly installed San Francisco Film Society programmer Rachel Rosen will join Cinema Eye Founder Aj Schnack as co-chairs of the event, and former co-chair Thom Powers will now chair the Nominations Committee. Finally, the nominees for January's awards will be announced at the Sheffield Doc/Fest in England in November, thus somewhat internationalizing the affair. Coverage of past Cinema Eyes. ...
- 8/20/2009
- by Karina Longworth
- Spout
New York -- The lineups for the Tribeca Film Festival World Narrative and World Documentary Feature Film Competition and Spotlight section slate were unveiled Monday, along with the potentially controversial move to eliminate the New York section of the fest.
Filmmakers including Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Apted, John Dahl, Ed Burns and Shane Meadows will be featured in the selection, along with such stars as America Ferrera, Ray Romano, Bruce Springsteen, Tea Leoni and Debra Messing.
The Tribeca fest was founded in 2002 in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks to support New York artists and the local economy. While there still will be an award for best New York film, the decision to cut the local section might be seen as a move away from the fest's roots and original mission.
"We've spread New York films across all the sections, and we support New York filmmakers, but we didn't want it to seem like, 'Here's the New York festival, and here's the rest,'" said Nancy Schafer, Tff managing director and programmer.
Executive director Peter Scarlet noted that the festival has been international from its inception. "We try to get the best damn films we can," he said.
Schafer and Scarlet said this year's lineup offers a particularly strong selection of films from Latin America, with such titles as "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" (O Ano Em Que Meus Pais Sairam de Ferias) and "Born and Bred" (Nacido y Criado).
The announced films from the sixth annual fest come from 25 countries and include 10 world premieres. "The festival, while young, continues to attract films expressing compelling views from filmmakers from around the globe and around the corner," Tff co-founder Jane Rosenthal said.
One of the highest-profile entries among the 18 World Narrative competition films is "Entourage" star Kevin Connolly's black comedy "Gardener of Eden," starring Giovanni Ribisi and Erika Christensen, from producer DiCaprio. Other highlights include Pascale Ferran's French D.H. Lawrence adaptation "Lady Chatterley," billed as "sensual yet never vulgar"; Paolo Virzi's biopic "Napoleon and Me" (Lo e Napoleone), starring Daniel Auteuil as the famed emperor; and Jose Antonio Negret's Colombian kidnapping thriller "Towards Darkness" (Hacia la Oscuridad), starring Ferrera.
The 16 World Documentary films in competition include John Reiss' graffiti docu "Bomb It" and the Afghani murder mystery "Taxi to the Dark Side," from director Alex Gibney ("Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room"). Esther Robinson examines her uncle, Andy Warhol's one-time lover, in "A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory," and Paul Taylor looks at a South African AIDS orphanage in "We Are Together" (Thina Simunye), featuring a performance by Alicia Keys and Paul Simon.
The 17 Spotlight films include writer-director-star Julie Delpy's romantic comedy "2 Days in Paris" (Deux Jours a Paris); Burns' romance "Purple Violets," starring Patrick Wilson and Messing; and Zak Penn's casino mockumentary "The Grand," starring Woody Harrelson and Romano.
Other high-profile Spotlight films are Jim Brown's folk music docu "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song," featuring Bob Dylan and Springsteen; Meadows' '80s punk coming-of-age tale "This Is England"; Apted's soccer docu "The Power of the Game"; and Dahl's hitman comedy-drama "You Kill Me," starring Ben Kingsley and Leoni.
The fest, which will unveil 159 features during the next few weeks, runs April 25-May 6.
Filmmakers including Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Apted, John Dahl, Ed Burns and Shane Meadows will be featured in the selection, along with such stars as America Ferrera, Ray Romano, Bruce Springsteen, Tea Leoni and Debra Messing.
The Tribeca fest was founded in 2002 in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks to support New York artists and the local economy. While there still will be an award for best New York film, the decision to cut the local section might be seen as a move away from the fest's roots and original mission.
"We've spread New York films across all the sections, and we support New York filmmakers, but we didn't want it to seem like, 'Here's the New York festival, and here's the rest,'" said Nancy Schafer, Tff managing director and programmer.
Executive director Peter Scarlet noted that the festival has been international from its inception. "We try to get the best damn films we can," he said.
Schafer and Scarlet said this year's lineup offers a particularly strong selection of films from Latin America, with such titles as "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" (O Ano Em Que Meus Pais Sairam de Ferias) and "Born and Bred" (Nacido y Criado).
The announced films from the sixth annual fest come from 25 countries and include 10 world premieres. "The festival, while young, continues to attract films expressing compelling views from filmmakers from around the globe and around the corner," Tff co-founder Jane Rosenthal said.
One of the highest-profile entries among the 18 World Narrative competition films is "Entourage" star Kevin Connolly's black comedy "Gardener of Eden," starring Giovanni Ribisi and Erika Christensen, from producer DiCaprio. Other highlights include Pascale Ferran's French D.H. Lawrence adaptation "Lady Chatterley," billed as "sensual yet never vulgar"; Paolo Virzi's biopic "Napoleon and Me" (Lo e Napoleone), starring Daniel Auteuil as the famed emperor; and Jose Antonio Negret's Colombian kidnapping thriller "Towards Darkness" (Hacia la Oscuridad), starring Ferrera.
The 16 World Documentary films in competition include John Reiss' graffiti docu "Bomb It" and the Afghani murder mystery "Taxi to the Dark Side," from director Alex Gibney ("Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room"). Esther Robinson examines her uncle, Andy Warhol's one-time lover, in "A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory," and Paul Taylor looks at a South African AIDS orphanage in "We Are Together" (Thina Simunye), featuring a performance by Alicia Keys and Paul Simon.
The 17 Spotlight films include writer-director-star Julie Delpy's romantic comedy "2 Days in Paris" (Deux Jours a Paris); Burns' romance "Purple Violets," starring Patrick Wilson and Messing; and Zak Penn's casino mockumentary "The Grand," starring Woody Harrelson and Romano.
Other high-profile Spotlight films are Jim Brown's folk music docu "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song," featuring Bob Dylan and Springsteen; Meadows' '80s punk coming-of-age tale "This Is England"; Apted's soccer docu "The Power of the Game"; and Dahl's hitman comedy-drama "You Kill Me," starring Ben Kingsley and Leoni.
The fest, which will unveil 159 features during the next few weeks, runs April 25-May 6.
- 8/18/2008
- by By Gregg Goldstein
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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