A new documentary about “The Power of the Dog” director Jane Campion has been picked up for sales by WestEnd Films and Cinephil.
Directed by César Award-winning “Since Otar Left…” helmer Julie Bertuccelli, “Jane Campion, The Cinema Woman” is screening as part of the Cannes Classics line-up.
The New Zealand director was the first woman to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes, for “The Piano,” and this year won the best director Oscar for her Netflix western “The Power of the Dog.” Bertuccelli’s documentary on the 68-year-old filmmaker, which spans 40 years, is described as “the portrait [Campion] deserves, in a film that is unapologetically subjective and offbeat, very much mirroring [Campion’s] own trailblazing journey in cinema and life.”
The film is produced by Academy Award nominee Estelle Fialon, and crew members include editors Laure Gardette and Svetlana Vaynblat (“Flickering Ghosts of Loves Gone By”), as well as César Award-winning sound editor and mixer Olivier Goinard.
Directed by César Award-winning “Since Otar Left…” helmer Julie Bertuccelli, “Jane Campion, The Cinema Woman” is screening as part of the Cannes Classics line-up.
The New Zealand director was the first woman to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes, for “The Piano,” and this year won the best director Oscar for her Netflix western “The Power of the Dog.” Bertuccelli’s documentary on the 68-year-old filmmaker, which spans 40 years, is described as “the portrait [Campion] deserves, in a film that is unapologetically subjective and offbeat, very much mirroring [Campion’s] own trailblazing journey in cinema and life.”
The film is produced by Academy Award nominee Estelle Fialon, and crew members include editors Laure Gardette and Svetlana Vaynblat (“Flickering Ghosts of Loves Gone By”), as well as César Award-winning sound editor and mixer Olivier Goinard.
- 5/6/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Hedi won best film, while Matt Johnson won best director for Operation Avalanche.
The Tunisian-French-Belgian co-production Hedi by Mohamed Ben Attia has won the best film award, the Golden Athena, at the 22nd Athens International Film Festival (September 22-October 2).
The film was co-produced by Tanit Films, Nomadis Images and the Dardenne brothers production outlet Les Films du Fleuve.
Majd Mastoura stars in the lead role as a young man who tries to break loose from his dominant mother and some of Tunisia’s more conservative social norms.
The film debuted at Berlin Film Festival 2016, winning the best first film award and a best actor prize for Mastoura.
The Aiff awards were decided by a five-member international jury presided over by the BFI programmes curator Nicola Gallani. The jury included German film critic Julia Teichmann (Film Dienst), French producer Sylvia Perel and her compatriot film critic Bernard Nave (Jeune Cinema).
Matt Johnson won the best director trophy for [link...
The Tunisian-French-Belgian co-production Hedi by Mohamed Ben Attia has won the best film award, the Golden Athena, at the 22nd Athens International Film Festival (September 22-October 2).
The film was co-produced by Tanit Films, Nomadis Images and the Dardenne brothers production outlet Les Films du Fleuve.
Majd Mastoura stars in the lead role as a young man who tries to break loose from his dominant mother and some of Tunisia’s more conservative social norms.
The film debuted at Berlin Film Festival 2016, winning the best first film award and a best actor prize for Mastoura.
The Aiff awards were decided by a five-member international jury presided over by the BFI programmes curator Nicola Gallani. The jury included German film critic Julia Teichmann (Film Dienst), French producer Sylvia Perel and her compatriot film critic Bernard Nave (Jeune Cinema).
Matt Johnson won the best director trophy for [link...
- 10/3/2016
- by alexisgrivas@yahoo.com (Alexis Grivas)
- ScreenDaily
By Patrick Shanley
Managing Editor
When it comes to this year’s Academy Awards, no word is more buzzworthy than “diversity”. For the second year in a row the Oscars have nominated only white actors in their four main acting categories, sparking backlash and, as a result, inciting the Academy to announce new changes to tackle its “diversity problem”.
Amidst another year of #OscarsSoWhite trending on Twitter, however, the fact that 2015 has been an exceptionally strong year for women has been largely overlooked. Three of this year’s best picture nominees (Brooklyn, Room, Mad Max: Fury Road) are female-centric and feature strong female protagonists in the center of the action. In fact, even outside of those films and their performances, a number of women are nominated for best picture as producers, as well. Kristie Macosko Krieger is nominated for Bridge of Spies, Blye Pagon Faust is nominated for Spotlight, Dede Gardner...
Managing Editor
When it comes to this year’s Academy Awards, no word is more buzzworthy than “diversity”. For the second year in a row the Oscars have nominated only white actors in their four main acting categories, sparking backlash and, as a result, inciting the Academy to announce new changes to tackle its “diversity problem”.
Amidst another year of #OscarsSoWhite trending on Twitter, however, the fact that 2015 has been an exceptionally strong year for women has been largely overlooked. Three of this year’s best picture nominees (Brooklyn, Room, Mad Max: Fury Road) are female-centric and feature strong female protagonists in the center of the action. In fact, even outside of those films and their performances, a number of women are nominated for best picture as producers, as well. Kristie Macosko Krieger is nominated for Bridge of Spies, Blye Pagon Faust is nominated for Spotlight, Dede Gardner...
- 2/4/2016
- by Patrick Shanley
- Scott Feinberg
Update: Eat That Question – Frank Zappa In His Own Words has gone to the Sony fold in a sub-$1m worldwide deal with Submarine excluding France and Germany ahead of Monday’s world premiere.
Thorsten Schütte’s Documentary Premieres selection uses rare archival footage taken from Zappa’s 30-year career in entertainment. Particular emphasis is placed on his eccentric manner of dealing with the media.
The film has also been pre-selected for Germany’s Lola film awards and will screen in the Berlinale next month.
Spc brokered the deal with Josh Braun, Dan Braun and David Koh of Submarine on behalf of the filmmakers.
Estelle Fialon of Les Films du Poisson (France) and Jochen Laube of Ufa Films (Germany), produced. Arte France and Swr co-produced.
Thorsten Schütte’s Documentary Premieres selection uses rare archival footage taken from Zappa’s 30-year career in entertainment. Particular emphasis is placed on his eccentric manner of dealing with the media.
The film has also been pre-selected for Germany’s Lola film awards and will screen in the Berlinale next month.
Spc brokered the deal with Josh Braun, Dan Braun and David Koh of Submarine on behalf of the filmmakers.
Estelle Fialon of Les Films du Poisson (France) and Jochen Laube of Ufa Films (Germany), produced. Arte France and Swr co-produced.
- 1/23/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
This year’s Oscar race could make history with two possible best picture nominees directed by women — Ava DuVernay’s Selma and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken. If both women are nominated for best director, that would also be a historical moment. But though these accomplishments in the narrative field are possible, more women directors are breaking into the documentary categories. Four of the 15 shortlisted documentaries feature women at the helm: Jennifer Grausman (co-directed with Sam Cullman and Mark Becker) with Art and Craft, Tia Lessin (co-directed with Carl Deal) with Citizen Koch, Laura Poitras with Citizenfour and Rory Kennedy with Last Days in Vietnam. Additionally, three of the eight shortlisted documentary shorts feature female directors: Ellen Goosenberg Kent with Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, Aneta Kopacz with Joanna and Lucy Walker with The Lion’s Mouth Opens. More often than not, women directors tend to...
Managing Editor
This year’s Oscar race could make history with two possible best picture nominees directed by women — Ava DuVernay’s Selma and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken. If both women are nominated for best director, that would also be a historical moment. But though these accomplishments in the narrative field are possible, more women directors are breaking into the documentary categories. Four of the 15 shortlisted documentaries feature women at the helm: Jennifer Grausman (co-directed with Sam Cullman and Mark Becker) with Art and Craft, Tia Lessin (co-directed with Carl Deal) with Citizen Koch, Laura Poitras with Citizenfour and Rory Kennedy with Last Days in Vietnam. Additionally, three of the eight shortlisted documentary shorts feature female directors: Ellen Goosenberg Kent with Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, Aneta Kopacz with Joanna and Lucy Walker with The Lion’s Mouth Opens. More often than not, women directors tend to...
- 12/16/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
‘Stories We Tell,’ ‘Blackfish’ out of the Oscar 2014 race: Academy’s Documentary Branch ‘anti-female’? (Photo: Sarah Polley [with camera] directing ‘Stories We Tell’) Besides Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, among the other glaring Oscar 2014 absentees were Robert Redford and Golden Globe-winning composer Alex Ebert for All Is Lost; Joel and Ethan Coen’s well-received Inside Llewyn Davis from the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay shortlists; Daniel Brühl and his movie, Ron Howard’s Rush, which was completely shut out; two Weinstein Company releases that were also completely shut out, Lee Daniels’ The Butler and Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, and their respective stars Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, and Michael B. Jordan; Guillermo del Toro-Charlie Hunnam’s Pacific Rim and Marc Forster-Brad Pitt’s World War Z from any of the technical categories; and finally, Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell and Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s...
- 1/22/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Palestine’s Omar and Bangladesh’s Television among best feature nominees in the upcoming Asia Pacific Screen Awards.Scoll down for full list of nominations
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s Television is one of six films in the running to win best feature at the 7th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSAs) - the first film from Bangladesh to ever be nominated.
Television directly deals with issues of modernity versus tradition in rural Bangladesh, making it a film well worth debating within the context of the APSAs, which celebrate both quality cinema and the cultural importance of film.
Television closed the Busan International Film Festival last year. If it wins Apsa’s highest accolade it will have impressed the jury more than Omar from Palestine; With You, Without You from Sri Lanka; Like Father, Like Son from Japan; The Turning;, an anthology film from Australia and The Past, directed by one of Apsa’s most high-profile regular contenders, Iranian...
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s Television is one of six films in the running to win best feature at the 7th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSAs) - the first film from Bangladesh to ever be nominated.
Television directly deals with issues of modernity versus tradition in rural Bangladesh, making it a film well worth debating within the context of the APSAs, which celebrate both quality cinema and the cultural importance of film.
Television closed the Busan International Film Festival last year. If it wins Apsa’s highest accolade it will have impressed the jury more than Omar from Palestine; With You, Without You from Sri Lanka; Like Father, Like Son from Japan; The Turning;, an anthology film from Australia and The Past, directed by one of Apsa’s most high-profile regular contenders, Iranian...
- 11/11/2013
- by Sandy.George@me.com (Sandy George)
- ScreenDaily
Picture sold by Wild Bunch has enjoyed healthy international career, drawing 3 million cinemagoers worldwide.
Gilles Bourdos’ Renoir, revolving around the impressionist artist’s obsession with a young model who re-fired his passion for painting as an old man, has been selected as France’s 2014 Foreign Language Oscar candidate.
Based on the true story of the relationship between Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Andrée Heuschling, the sumptuously shot picture unfolds against the backdrop of the artist’s estate in the South of France during World War Two.
Heuschling would marry Renoir’s son, the film director Jean Renoir, appearing in a number of his early silent films but the picture mainly focuses on how the beautiful young woman enraptured the elderly artist.
The film, which premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard in 2012, sold some 500,000 tickets at home and another 3 million internationally. It grossed more than $2m in the Us making it one of the most successful foreign language films there this...
Gilles Bourdos’ Renoir, revolving around the impressionist artist’s obsession with a young model who re-fired his passion for painting as an old man, has been selected as France’s 2014 Foreign Language Oscar candidate.
Based on the true story of the relationship between Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Andrée Heuschling, the sumptuously shot picture unfolds against the backdrop of the artist’s estate in the South of France during World War Two.
Heuschling would marry Renoir’s son, the film director Jean Renoir, appearing in a number of his early silent films but the picture mainly focuses on how the beautiful young woman enraptured the elderly artist.
The film, which premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard in 2012, sold some 500,000 tickets at home and another 3 million internationally. It grossed more than $2m in the Us making it one of the most successful foreign language films there this...
- 9/16/2013
- ScreenDaily
The winner of the 2012 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature was Searching for Sugar Man, directed by Malik Bendjelloul and produced by Simon Chinn. Released in July 2012, it grossed $3,536,058 in box office sales. By year-end 2012, the other four finalists took in a total of $1,724,657. This breaks down as follows: The Gatekeepers, director Dror Moreh and produced by Philippa Kowarsky and Estelle Fialon ($1,418,694); How to Survive a Plague, directed by David France and produced by Howard Gertler ($132,055); 5 Broken Cameras, co-directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi ($101,940); and The Invisible War, directed by Kirby …...
- 3/25/2013
- by David Rosen
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
On Wednesday evening, documentary Branch governor Michael Moore hosted the “Oscar Celebrates: Docs” event at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, CA. Moore won the 2002 Documentary Feature Oscar for “Bowling for Columbine” and also was nominated in 2007 for “Sicko.”
“Oscar Celebrates: Docs” spotlighted the work of the nominated filmmakers in the Documentary Short Subject and Documentary Feature categories. The program included clips from all of the nominated documentaries in both categories, and a panel discussion with filmmakers from each group.
Of this group of filmmakers, Moore said he was honored to be in the company of this international group making nonfiction cinema. He happily shared with the audience that all the voting members of the Academy voted in both documentary categories. “There were no groups or panels deciding the winners. The Academy sent all the voters these provocative, powerful and emotional films on DVD.”
Moore also touched on the 800lb gorilla in the room.
“Oscar Celebrates: Docs” spotlighted the work of the nominated filmmakers in the Documentary Short Subject and Documentary Feature categories. The program included clips from all of the nominated documentaries in both categories, and a panel discussion with filmmakers from each group.
Of this group of filmmakers, Moore said he was honored to be in the company of this international group making nonfiction cinema. He happily shared with the audience that all the voting members of the Academy voted in both documentary categories. “There were no groups or panels deciding the winners. The Academy sent all the voters these provocative, powerful and emotional films on DVD.”
Moore also touched on the 800lb gorilla in the room.
- 2/21/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Vol. I Issue 7
Send us links to your sizzle reels and film sites.
The Invisible War promotes change in Us Air Force
The following is from the NY Times, January 24, 2013:
“The Invisible War, a documentary about rape and sexual assault in the military that was recently nominated for an Oscar in the documentary feature category, has been credited with both persuading more women to come forward to report abuse and with forcing the military to deal more openly with the problem. In November, General Welsh met with all of the Air Force’s wing commanders and had them watch the film with him, according to an Air Force spokesman."
Academy Announces Producer Credit for Four Documentary Features
The Documentary Branch Executive Committee has determined the individual nominees for four of the contending films in the Documentary Feature category:
The Gatekeepers
Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky and Estelle Fialon
How to Survive a Plague
David France and Howard Gertler
The Invisible War
Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering
Searching for Sugar Man
Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn
The nominees for the fifth film in this category, “5 Broken Cameras,” were previously announced.
This is the result of rules made by the branch to be sure that regardless what the filmmakers claim on their application, a producer credit (and Oscar nomination or Award) can no longer go to the person who “just” comes in with the funds to make the film or the finishing funds. The Academy wants to be sure that the producers actually “produce” the film and not buy an Oscar. This reverses a long history of Oscars going to producers who provide few services other than writing a check. The branch also for the first time has nominated three people prior to the rule change this year; only two people could receive a documentary feature nomination. In a future issue we will closely look at this Academy rule and how it effects documentaries producer nominations.
5 Broken Camerasa film by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
Academy Nominated Documentary Feature
5 Broken Cameras is a first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil’in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. Shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, the film was assembled by Burnat and Israeli co-director Guy Davidi. The film is structured around the violent destruction of each one of Burnat’s cameras, the filmmakers’ collaboration follows one family’s evolution over five years of village turmoil. Burnat watches from behind the lens as olive trees are bulldozed, protests intensify, and lives are lost. “I feel like the camera protects me,” he says, “but it’s an illusion.”
Of the five nominated documentary feature films this year, 5 Broken Cameras is the weakest selection. 5 Broken Cameras subject is a rehash of a familiar story, Jews and Palestinians. It lacks
the clever concept of the rediscovery of a lost rock and roller which is the warm fuzzy nominee. The other films cry out “Issue” from the bungled attempts of the government to effectively and compassionately deal with the AIDS epidemic, to the terrible inequalities in dealing with sexual harassment in the military. 5 Broken Cameras takes on an all too familiar story of West Bank non-Jewish Israelis protesting in various ways about Israel’s attempt to live peacefully with a neighbor whose leaders have promised to destroy it. So Israel is building a wall. What’s a country to do? Burnat’s neighbors collaborate with terrorists who keep trying to kill Israelis with random missiles, bombs and other weapons. The very young Israeli soldiers act like any force asked to maintain order when they are attacked or threatened. They use their weapons to protect themselves.
5 Broken Cameras could have been documenting, for example, the Civil Rights struggle in the American South during the 1960s or the protests in Chicago in 1968, during the Democratic convention. Yes, it is all terrible. Yes, people are hurt, injured and other bad things happen. The filmmakers never show any effort on the part of West Bank citizens to talk with the Israeli government or people. None of Burnat’s neighbors are trying to find ways to bring about a peaceful resolution. This film is about continuous civil unrest that has been going on for a lifetime. It is predictable, it is tragic and, at times, it is very moving. Yet the struggle continues since the parties seem unwilling to talk to each other to find a way to make peace. The filmmakers also use footage from other peoples’ cameras covering the violence, uncredited either in the official credits of the film or on screen when during sequences. This is propaganda at its best or to be nice, advocacy journalism.
Filmmakers documenting wars and struggles can get hurt, emotionally, physically. In some cases conflicts they become targets and the broken cameras are a brilliant metaphor for this struggle. It is a shame that the film is so one sided. While deeply personal and moving, it could have stronger if it would have helped the parties see the benefits of working for peace or the fruitlessness of this approach. An alternative perspective would have been helpful to include.
The Filmmakers
A lifelong inhabitant of the central West Bank village of Bil’in, Emad Burnat is a freelance cameraman and photographer with experience filming for Al-Jazeera and Palestinian television. He has contributed to several documentaries, including Bil’in My Love, Palestine Kids, Open Close, and Interrupted Streams.
Born in Jaffa, Guy Davidi is a documentary filmmaker and teacher who has been directing, editing, and shooting films since the age of 16. His short documentaries include In Working Progress, Keywords, and Women Defying Barriers; his first feature film, Interrupted Streams, premiered in 2010 at the Jerusalem Film Festival.
Credits:
Director: Guy David and Emad Burnat
Producers: Emad Burnat, Christine Camdessus, Guy David
Screenplay: Guy David and Emad Burnat
Camera: Emad Burnat
Additional Cinematography: Guy David
Sound Design:
Music: Le Trio Joubran
Editor: Guy Davidi, Veronique Lagoarde-Segot
Production Companies: Burnat Films, DVD Films, Alegría Productions
Distribution: Kino Lorber
Searching for Sugar Man directed by Malik Bendejelloul
Academy Award Nominated Documentary Feature
Searching for Sugar Man tells story of Rodriguez, a 1970s singer/songwriter who never made “star.” Discovered in a Detroit bar in the late 1960s by two celebrated producers struck by his soulful melodies and prophetic lyrics, he recorded an album which they believed would secure his reputation as the greatest recording artist of his generation. The album bombed and the singer disappeared into obscurity amid rumors of a gruesome on-stage suicide. But a bootleg recording found its way into apartheid South Africa and, over the next two decades, he became a phenomenon there. The film follows the story of two South African fans who set out to find out what really happened to their hero. Their investigation leads them to a story which illustrates why documentaries are far more interesting than fiction films.
This film, which I first saw projected, puzzles me. I have since watched it again on DVD. Despite its numerous awards and critical acclaim, with more “wins” or nominations than any of the other documentary features, I never was able to get emotionally engaged with Mr. Rodriguez or the individuals searching for him. In scene after scene we hear from his fans how his music inspired them, moved them and particularly how his music worked for those people in South Africa when the country was dealing with apartheid. While I did not make the connection, it is evident that the audience and the characters in the film do. They are moved by the story, the music and the lyrics.
I am baffled by Rodriguez. We almost never see him in close up. We rarely see his eyes or in to his soul. They are hidden by sunglasses. Who is this man? Why do people embrace him? Oddly, while I am watching this film for the first time, I asked a friend sitting next to me, “Is this for real?” “Is this a put on?” Like the film Exit Through the Gift Shop I had the feeling that I was part of an elaborate fictional film. After the screening, I look on the Internet to see if Rodriguez exists. I find the Rodriguez website but I am still not convinced. I did not find the 1969 album Cold Fact, but I do find references to it from the 1990s.
After the second viewing, I relented a bit. I find that it is a moving story. Nicely edited and the shooting while still distant, works. It does lend an air of mystery to the film. While the content is not earth shattering we can admire this work. The music and the lyrics have power and it is clear that audiences find the film entertaining. I continue to be torn between the five films. So my advice is to screen themand make up your own mind.
Trailer:http://www.sonyclassics.com/searchingforsugarman/
Credits:
Director, Screenwriter: Malik Bendejelloul
Producers: Malik Bendejelloul, Simon Chinn
Executive Producers: John Battsek
Camera: Camilla Skagerströn
Sound: no credit
Original Music: Rodriguez
Editor: Malik Bendejelloul
Production Companies: Red Box Films, Passion Pictures, Canfield Pictures (In association with)
Distribution (Us): Sony
________________________________________________________________________
WGA Documentary Award Nominations
Documentary Screenplay
The Central Park Five, Written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects
The Invisible War, Written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Searching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendjelloul; Sony Pictures Classics
We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, Written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media
West of Memphis, Written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics
Documentary – Current Events
The Anthrax Files(Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk; PBS
A Perfect Terrorist(Frontline); Written by Thomas Jennings; PBS
Lost in Detention(Frontline), Written by Rick Young; PBS
Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode One(Frontline), Written by Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria; PBS
Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode Three(Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode Four(Frontline), Written by Marcela Gaviria and Martin Smith; PBS
Documentary – Other Than Current Events
The Amish(American Experience), Written by David Belton; PBS
Clinton(American Experience), Written by Barak Goodman; PBS
Death and the Civil War(American Experience), Written by Ric Burns; PBS
The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time(Nova), Telescript by Randall MacLowry, Story by Joseph McMaster and Randall MacLowry; PBS
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap(Nova), Telescript by Josh Rosen and Julia Cort, Story by Joseph McMaster and Josh Rosen; PBS
Johnny Carson: King of Late Night(American Masters), Written by Peter T. Jones; PBS
________________________________________________________________________
Credits: Editing by Jessica Just for SydneysBuzz
________________________________________________________________________
Block Doc Workshops in Los Angeles February 2013 Ida Doc U
The International Documentary Association will be hosting Documentary Funding and Documentary Tune-Up Workshops with Block on February 9/10. http://www.documentary.org/news/february-documentary-producing-workshops-mitchell-block
Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).
Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.
______________________________________________________________________
©2013Mwb All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. All information and designs on the Sites are copyrighted material owned by Block. Reproduction, dissemination, or transmission of any part of the material here without the express written consent of the owner is strictly prohibited.All other product names and marks on Block Direct, whether trademarks, service marks, or other type, and whether registered or unregistered, is the property of Block.
Send us links to your sizzle reels and film sites.
The Invisible War promotes change in Us Air Force
The following is from the NY Times, January 24, 2013:
“The Invisible War, a documentary about rape and sexual assault in the military that was recently nominated for an Oscar in the documentary feature category, has been credited with both persuading more women to come forward to report abuse and with forcing the military to deal more openly with the problem. In November, General Welsh met with all of the Air Force’s wing commanders and had them watch the film with him, according to an Air Force spokesman."
Academy Announces Producer Credit for Four Documentary Features
The Documentary Branch Executive Committee has determined the individual nominees for four of the contending films in the Documentary Feature category:
The Gatekeepers
Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky and Estelle Fialon
How to Survive a Plague
David France and Howard Gertler
The Invisible War
Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering
Searching for Sugar Man
Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn
The nominees for the fifth film in this category, “5 Broken Cameras,” were previously announced.
This is the result of rules made by the branch to be sure that regardless what the filmmakers claim on their application, a producer credit (and Oscar nomination or Award) can no longer go to the person who “just” comes in with the funds to make the film or the finishing funds. The Academy wants to be sure that the producers actually “produce” the film and not buy an Oscar. This reverses a long history of Oscars going to producers who provide few services other than writing a check. The branch also for the first time has nominated three people prior to the rule change this year; only two people could receive a documentary feature nomination. In a future issue we will closely look at this Academy rule and how it effects documentaries producer nominations.
5 Broken Camerasa film by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
Academy Nominated Documentary Feature
5 Broken Cameras is a first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil’in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. Shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, the film was assembled by Burnat and Israeli co-director Guy Davidi. The film is structured around the violent destruction of each one of Burnat’s cameras, the filmmakers’ collaboration follows one family’s evolution over five years of village turmoil. Burnat watches from behind the lens as olive trees are bulldozed, protests intensify, and lives are lost. “I feel like the camera protects me,” he says, “but it’s an illusion.”
Of the five nominated documentary feature films this year, 5 Broken Cameras is the weakest selection. 5 Broken Cameras subject is a rehash of a familiar story, Jews and Palestinians. It lacks
the clever concept of the rediscovery of a lost rock and roller which is the warm fuzzy nominee. The other films cry out “Issue” from the bungled attempts of the government to effectively and compassionately deal with the AIDS epidemic, to the terrible inequalities in dealing with sexual harassment in the military. 5 Broken Cameras takes on an all too familiar story of West Bank non-Jewish Israelis protesting in various ways about Israel’s attempt to live peacefully with a neighbor whose leaders have promised to destroy it. So Israel is building a wall. What’s a country to do? Burnat’s neighbors collaborate with terrorists who keep trying to kill Israelis with random missiles, bombs and other weapons. The very young Israeli soldiers act like any force asked to maintain order when they are attacked or threatened. They use their weapons to protect themselves.
5 Broken Cameras could have been documenting, for example, the Civil Rights struggle in the American South during the 1960s or the protests in Chicago in 1968, during the Democratic convention. Yes, it is all terrible. Yes, people are hurt, injured and other bad things happen. The filmmakers never show any effort on the part of West Bank citizens to talk with the Israeli government or people. None of Burnat’s neighbors are trying to find ways to bring about a peaceful resolution. This film is about continuous civil unrest that has been going on for a lifetime. It is predictable, it is tragic and, at times, it is very moving. Yet the struggle continues since the parties seem unwilling to talk to each other to find a way to make peace. The filmmakers also use footage from other peoples’ cameras covering the violence, uncredited either in the official credits of the film or on screen when during sequences. This is propaganda at its best or to be nice, advocacy journalism.
Filmmakers documenting wars and struggles can get hurt, emotionally, physically. In some cases conflicts they become targets and the broken cameras are a brilliant metaphor for this struggle. It is a shame that the film is so one sided. While deeply personal and moving, it could have stronger if it would have helped the parties see the benefits of working for peace or the fruitlessness of this approach. An alternative perspective would have been helpful to include.
The Filmmakers
A lifelong inhabitant of the central West Bank village of Bil’in, Emad Burnat is a freelance cameraman and photographer with experience filming for Al-Jazeera and Palestinian television. He has contributed to several documentaries, including Bil’in My Love, Palestine Kids, Open Close, and Interrupted Streams.
Born in Jaffa, Guy Davidi is a documentary filmmaker and teacher who has been directing, editing, and shooting films since the age of 16. His short documentaries include In Working Progress, Keywords, and Women Defying Barriers; his first feature film, Interrupted Streams, premiered in 2010 at the Jerusalem Film Festival.
Credits:
Director: Guy David and Emad Burnat
Producers: Emad Burnat, Christine Camdessus, Guy David
Screenplay: Guy David and Emad Burnat
Camera: Emad Burnat
Additional Cinematography: Guy David
Sound Design:
Music: Le Trio Joubran
Editor: Guy Davidi, Veronique Lagoarde-Segot
Production Companies: Burnat Films, DVD Films, Alegría Productions
Distribution: Kino Lorber
Searching for Sugar Man directed by Malik Bendejelloul
Academy Award Nominated Documentary Feature
Searching for Sugar Man tells story of Rodriguez, a 1970s singer/songwriter who never made “star.” Discovered in a Detroit bar in the late 1960s by two celebrated producers struck by his soulful melodies and prophetic lyrics, he recorded an album which they believed would secure his reputation as the greatest recording artist of his generation. The album bombed and the singer disappeared into obscurity amid rumors of a gruesome on-stage suicide. But a bootleg recording found its way into apartheid South Africa and, over the next two decades, he became a phenomenon there. The film follows the story of two South African fans who set out to find out what really happened to their hero. Their investigation leads them to a story which illustrates why documentaries are far more interesting than fiction films.
This film, which I first saw projected, puzzles me. I have since watched it again on DVD. Despite its numerous awards and critical acclaim, with more “wins” or nominations than any of the other documentary features, I never was able to get emotionally engaged with Mr. Rodriguez or the individuals searching for him. In scene after scene we hear from his fans how his music inspired them, moved them and particularly how his music worked for those people in South Africa when the country was dealing with apartheid. While I did not make the connection, it is evident that the audience and the characters in the film do. They are moved by the story, the music and the lyrics.
I am baffled by Rodriguez. We almost never see him in close up. We rarely see his eyes or in to his soul. They are hidden by sunglasses. Who is this man? Why do people embrace him? Oddly, while I am watching this film for the first time, I asked a friend sitting next to me, “Is this for real?” “Is this a put on?” Like the film Exit Through the Gift Shop I had the feeling that I was part of an elaborate fictional film. After the screening, I look on the Internet to see if Rodriguez exists. I find the Rodriguez website but I am still not convinced. I did not find the 1969 album Cold Fact, but I do find references to it from the 1990s.
After the second viewing, I relented a bit. I find that it is a moving story. Nicely edited and the shooting while still distant, works. It does lend an air of mystery to the film. While the content is not earth shattering we can admire this work. The music and the lyrics have power and it is clear that audiences find the film entertaining. I continue to be torn between the five films. So my advice is to screen themand make up your own mind.
Trailer:http://www.sonyclassics.com/searchingforsugarman/
Credits:
Director, Screenwriter: Malik Bendejelloul
Producers: Malik Bendejelloul, Simon Chinn
Executive Producers: John Battsek
Camera: Camilla Skagerströn
Sound: no credit
Original Music: Rodriguez
Editor: Malik Bendejelloul
Production Companies: Red Box Films, Passion Pictures, Canfield Pictures (In association with)
Distribution (Us): Sony
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WGA Documentary Award Nominations
Documentary Screenplay
The Central Park Five, Written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects
The Invisible War, Written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Searching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendjelloul; Sony Pictures Classics
We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, Written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media
West of Memphis, Written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics
Documentary – Current Events
The Anthrax Files(Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk; PBS
A Perfect Terrorist(Frontline); Written by Thomas Jennings; PBS
Lost in Detention(Frontline), Written by Rick Young; PBS
Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode One(Frontline), Written by Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria; PBS
Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode Three(Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode Four(Frontline), Written by Marcela Gaviria and Martin Smith; PBS
Documentary – Other Than Current Events
The Amish(American Experience), Written by David Belton; PBS
Clinton(American Experience), Written by Barak Goodman; PBS
Death and the Civil War(American Experience), Written by Ric Burns; PBS
The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time(Nova), Telescript by Randall MacLowry, Story by Joseph McMaster and Randall MacLowry; PBS
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap(Nova), Telescript by Josh Rosen and Julia Cort, Story by Joseph McMaster and Josh Rosen; PBS
Johnny Carson: King of Late Night(American Masters), Written by Peter T. Jones; PBS
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Credits: Editing by Jessica Just for SydneysBuzz
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Block Doc Workshops in Los Angeles February 2013 Ida Doc U
The International Documentary Association will be hosting Documentary Funding and Documentary Tune-Up Workshops with Block on February 9/10. http://www.documentary.org/news/february-documentary-producing-workshops-mitchell-block
Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).
Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.
______________________________________________________________________
©2013Mwb All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. All information and designs on the Sites are copyrighted material owned by Block. Reproduction, dissemination, or transmission of any part of the material here without the express written consent of the owner is strictly prohibited.All other product names and marks on Block Direct, whether trademarks, service marks, or other type, and whether registered or unregistered, is the property of Block.
- 1/31/2013
- by Mitchell Block
- Sydney's Buzz
Oh yes it still hurts that Ben Affleck was not given a Best Director Oscar nomination, yet his fantastic film "Argo" continues its ascension to Oscar glory! The film took home the top prize at the Producers Guild of America Awards taking home the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.
So guess which film will win the Oscar Best Picture? Yup, it will be "Argo!" Why? Well, Hollywood really loves movies about them and "Argo" is about a movie of a fake movie in order to help free some Americans trapped in Iran during the hostage crisis.
And, the PGA award is a significant Academy Awards precursor. Only seven times in 24 years has the PGA winner failed to win a Best Picture Oscar. So "Argo" has a strong chance.
I'm also happy that "Searching for Sugar Man" won the Documentary category, and not so happy...
So guess which film will win the Oscar Best Picture? Yup, it will be "Argo!" Why? Well, Hollywood really loves movies about them and "Argo" is about a movie of a fake movie in order to help free some Americans trapped in Iran during the hostage crisis.
And, the PGA award is a significant Academy Awards precursor. Only seven times in 24 years has the PGA winner failed to win a Best Picture Oscar. So "Argo" has a strong chance.
I'm also happy that "Searching for Sugar Man" won the Documentary category, and not so happy...
- 1/27/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Tonight the Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced this year’s winning motion picture and television productions at the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. In addition to the competitive awards, the PGA recognized several producers with honorary awards including Bob and Harvey Weinstein (Milestone Award), Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), J.J. Abrams (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Russell Simmons (Visionary Award), and Bully (Stanley Kramer Award). The 2013 Producers Guild Awards were chaired by Michael De Luca. The 2013 Producers Guild nominated films and television programs are listed below in alphabetical order by category, along with producers. The producers’ names for each nominated production are listed in alphabetical order and may not reflect the order of screen credits. The winners are indicated in bold and with an asterisk (*). The theatrical motion picture...
- 1/27/2013
- by vmblog@hollywoodnews.com (Vitale Morum)
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Producers Branch Executive Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has determined the individual nominees for “Amour” in the Best Picture category for the Oscars. They are producers Margaret Menegoz, Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka and Michael Katz. The Documentary Branch Executive Committee also has determined the individual nominees for four of the contending films in the Documentary Feature category: “The Gatekeepers” Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky and Estelle Fialon “How to Survive a Plague” David France and Howard Gertler “The Invisible War” Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering “Searching for Sugar Man” Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn The nominees for the fifth film in this category, “5 Broken Cameras,” were previously announced. Oscars® for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar® Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation...
- 1/26/2013
- by vmblog@hollywoodnews.com (Vitale Morum)
- Hollywoodnews.com
Vol. I Issue 6
Send us links to your sizzle reels and film sites.
Note: See Issues 1, 2, 3, and 4 for reviews and clips of the Academy documentary films and short films. Additional reviews of the documentary features follow in this issue.
Best documentary feature
5 Broken Cameras Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
The Gatekeepers Nominees to be determined *See note below
How to Survive a Plague Nominees to be determined
The Invisible War Nominees to be determined
Searching for Sugar Man Nominees to be determined
Best documentary short subject
Inocente Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine
Kings Point Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider
Mondays at Racine Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan
Open Heart Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern
Redemption Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill
Best animated short film
Adam and Dog Minkyu Lee
Fresh Guacamole Pes
Head over Heels Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly
Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare David Silverman
Paperman John Kahrs
Best live action short film
Asad Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura
Buzkashi Boys Sam French and Ariel Nasr
Curfew Shawn Christensen
Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw) Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele
Henry Yan England
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) from a documentary
Before My Time from The documentary feature Chasing Ice Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
Note: *Nominees to be determined* The Documentary Brand gives the nomination to the individual(s) most involved in the key creative aspects of the filmmaking process. A maximum of two persons may be designated as nominees, one of whom must be the credited director who exercised directorial control, and the other of whom must have a producer or director credit. If a producer is named, that individual must have performed a major portion of the producing functions, in accordance with Academy producer criteria. No more than two statuettes will normally be given in the Documentary Feature category. All individuals with a “Producer” or “Produced by” credit on films that reach the semifinal round will automatically be vetted.
The Documentary Branch Executive Committee will determine which producers, if any, are eligible to receive an Oscar. In the unlikely event of a dispute, filmmakers may appeal the committee’s decision. In extremely rare circumstances, a third statuette may be awarded.
Production companies or persons with the screen credit of executive producer, co-producer or any credit other than director or producer shall not be eligible as nominees for the motion picture.
DGA Documentary Award Nominations
Kirby Dick The Invisible War
This is Mr. Dick’s first DGA Award nomination.
Malik Bendjelloul Searching For Sugar Man
This is Mr. Bendjelloul’s first DGA Award nomination.
Lauren Greenfield The Queen of Versailles
This is Ms. Greenfield’s first DGA Award nomination.
David France How To Survive A Plague
This is Mr. France’s first DGA Award nomination.
Alison Klayman Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry
This is Ms. Klayman’s first DGA Award nomination.
Two Academy Nominated Documentary Features
& One Academy Short Listed Documentary Reviewed
The Gatekeepers, directed by Dror Moreh
Documentary Feature Nominee
Six former heads of Israel’s domestic secret service agency, the Shin Bet, share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions in The Gatekeepers, a film by Dror Moreh. These six heads of the Shin Bet stood at the center of Israel's decision-making process in all matters pertaining to security. They worked closely with every Israeli prime minister, and their assessments and insights had—and continue to have—a profound impact on Israeli policy. The Gatekeepers is an exclusive account of their successes and failures.
I find The Gatekeepers remarkable. Not for its craft but for its concept and vision. Imagine
J Edger Hoover talking about his tenure at the FBI, his successes and his failures, his interactions with the Presidents and members of Congress, and his critical self-evaluation of his mission and how his agency’s work affected our nation. Imagine. Dror Moreh accomplished this feat when he convinced these six surviving members of the Shin Bet, to speak on camera.
The film provides a historical perspective of Israel that is both candid and critical of the successive governments in this rare Middle Eastern democracy. The Shin Bet was created in 1949 by David Ben-Gurion’s government to focus on the internal affairs of Israel and evolved into dealing with counterterrorism and intelligence gathering in the West Bank and Gaza.
These intelligence heads, like ours, report to the President/Prime Minister. They are not part of the military complex. It is this context that gives this work its power. We hear the story of Israel’s struggle to protect itself from both its internal and external enemies; the bombers, terrorists, agents and others who worked to destroy this small country. These men are not glamorous or like the fictional heads of the spy agencies we have seen in James Bond and Bourne films. They are bald or balding grandfather-types. Articulate, highly educated, calm and yet we know that they protected Israel from its enemies even if they had them killed.
This is one of the strongest of the nominated docs. It raises significant issues of personal responsibilities. Despite the lack of oversight we don’t feel that this is an organization gone amuck like the Catholic Church not protecting children or the Us Military not protecting its members from sexual harassment. We see these articulate men as guardians and protectors of their nation steadfastly doing their duty within the confines of their moral beliefs. What is scary about The Gatekeepers is that clearly there could have been abuses and wrongs done by the Shin Bet if these six had less character or their mission was redefined by the government without regard to moral or ethical standards. The film on reflection is troubling for regardless of how the spectator might feel about Israel it forces us to look at this conflict through the lenses of these six guardians and we can only wonder what they don’t tell us about what they did in the name of their country.
Credits:
Director: Dror Moreh
Camera: Avner Shahaf
Producers: Dror Moreh, Estelle Fialon, Philippa Kowarsky
Co Producer: Anna Van Der Wee
Sound: Amos Zipori
Sound Design: Aex Claude
Music: Ab Ovo, Jérôme Chassagnard, Régis Baillet
Editor: Oron Adar
Production Companies: Dror Moreh Productions, Les Films du Poisson, Cinephil
In Co-Production with: Mac Guff, Wild Heart Productions, Arte France, Iba, Ndr, Rtbf
With the support of: Cnc, Media, Région Ile-de-France, Procirep, Angoa, The Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts – Cinema Project
Distribution: Sony Classics
Trailer: http://www.sonyclassics.com/thegatekeepers/
The House I Live In, directed by Eugene Jarecki
Short Listed Documentary Feature for Academy Award nomination
The House I Live In looks at how America has waged war on some of its poorest citizens, costing countless lives, destroying families, and inflicting untold damage on future generations of Americans. It posits that over the last forty years, the War on Drugs has accounted for more than 45 million arrests and shows how America became the world’s largest jailer, damaging poor communities at home and abroad. Yet today drugs are cheaper, purer and more available than ever before. It shows that drug abuse is a public health issue. Despite this, it is treated by our society as a criminal matter and a vast machine has been created that feeds on the men and women who are incarcerated. Because of this, the prisoners are not offered help or a cure for their underlying problems, so they return to prison in a never ending cycle.
Eugene Jarecki, whose previous films looked at the military industrial complex (Why We Fight and The Trials of Henry Kissinger), won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at Sundance in both 2005 and 2010. The film tackles difficult material. Material that has been in scores of documentaries and television shows over the years. Yet Jarecki, using his personal experience, a wealth of interviews and strong case studies, builds a compelling case for changing the sentencing guidelines for crack (and cocaine) and for dealing with both addiction and the underlying causes of addiction. Jarecki is a skillful filmmaker who has picked a vast and complex subject and has created a work that while rich in content moves along at a good pace although it might have been stronger if it had tried to do less. The film editor Paul Frost and the composer Robert Miller do an excellent job building strong sequences with evocative music. It was nicely shot by Sam Cullman and Derek Hallquist. Richard Abramowitz’s Abramorama handled the distribution and was successful getting the work out which is never easy for such an issue oriented film.
Credits:
Director, Producer, Screenwriter: Eugene Jarecki
Producers: Melinda Shopsin, Sam Cullman, Christopher St. John
Executive Producers: Eugene Jarecki, Nick Fraser, Joslyn Barnes, Danny Glover, Russell Simmons, Roy Ackerman, John Legend, Sally Jo Feifer, Nick Fraser
Camera: Sam Cullman, Derek Hallquist
Sound: Matthew Freed, Art Jaso
Music: Robert Milller
Editor: Paul Frost
Production Companies: Charlotte Street Films, Zdf Enterprises, Independent Television Services, BBC, Aljazeera Documentary Channel, Vpro, Special Broadcasting Service Corporation, Louverture Films, Nhk
Distribution (Us): Abramorama Entertainment, Snag Films
How to Survive a Plague, directed by David France
Documentary Feature Nominee
How to Survive a Plague by writer and filmmaker David France tells the story of how two coalitions came together to lobby for effective treatments and funding for treatments of AIDS in the late 1980s when it was evident that the Us government and its health and other agencies were not being very effective dealing with the AIDS epidemic. The coalitions, Act Up and Tag (Treatment Action Group) helped to make AIDS more treatable. While there is still no cure for AIDS and thousands of people globally still die from the virus, it is now possible to prolong life with treatments that have been developed.
Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time. With access to never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs. Faced with their own mortality an improbable group of young men and women, many of them HIV-positive took on Washington and the medical establishment.
While there have been a handful of outstanding films dealing with the AIDS epidemic including Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, The Broadcast Tapes of Dr. Peter and Silverlake Life, to name a few, How to Survive a Plague picks up on the story begun in the landmark Common Threads and updates the struggle, looking at the quest to find a treatment and possibly a cure for this vicious disease. The film weaves together stories of activism and shows how a small determined group can effect change not just nationally but globally. While the film is not as well made as Common Threads or Dr. Peter, it’s powerful. The archival footage manages to capture some of the key figures of Act Up and Tag showing actions as they take place. Instead of relying on talking heads to tell this amazing story, it is presented with footage shot as the story unfolded. This footage and its solid editing distinguishes this film from so many of the works that have tried to tell this story.
Few documentaries have such powerful antagonists, the government, incompetence, a lack of urgency on the part of the medical community and fear. Throw in homophobia and it is evident that the dramatic actions of these heroes saved hundreds of thousands of possible victims from this mostly sexually spread plague.
My only serious criticism of this documentary is its failure to be clearer that the plague continues, that there is no cure for HIV/AIDS and that the community continues to give a false sense of hope. Currently the Cdc states:
” ..estimates that 1,148,200 persons aged 13 years and older are living with HIV infection, including 207,600 (18.1%) who are unaware of their infection1. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, while the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. Still, the pace of new infections continues at far too high a level—particularly among certain groups.
HIV Incidence(new infections): The estimated incidence of HIV has remained stable overall in recent years, at about 50,000 new HIV infections per year.2 Within the overall estimates, however, some groups are affected more than others. Msm (men who have sex with men) continue to bear the greatest burden of HIV infection, and among races/ethnicities, African Americans continue to be disproportionately affected.”
This information could have been contained in the last few minutes of this powerful work, to inspire and warn the audience that testing is critical and that safe sex is still the only way to contain AIDS.
The Filmmaker
David France, Director, Producer
David France is an award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author who has been writing about AIDS since 1982 and today is one of the best-known chroniclers of the epidemic. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, GQ, and New York magazine, where he is a contributing editor, and has received the National Headliner Award and the GLAAD Media Award, among others. Several films have been inspired by his work, most recently the Emmy-nominated Showtime film Our Fathers, for which he received a WGA nomination. He is at work on a major history of AIDS, due from Alfred A. Knopf in 2013. Based on decades of reporting, How to Survive a Plague is his directorial debut.
Credits
Director: David France
Writers: David France, Todd Woody Richman, Tyler H. Walk
Producers: David France, Howard Gertler
Executive Producers: Dan Cogan, Joy A. Tomchin
Co-Producer: Todd Woody Richman
Camera: Derek Wieshahn
Sound: Stuart Deutsch, Topher Reifeiss
Original Music: Stuart Bogie
Editor: Todd Woody Richman, Tyler H. Walk
Production Companies: Public Square Films, Ninety Thousand Words
Distribution (Us): Sundance Selects
Short Notes and Update:
The International Documentary Association in Los Angeles presents Doc U: The Doc Reporter
Navigating the Intersection of Documentary and Journalism
Moderated by: Karin Skellwagen (The Brooks Institute)
With Panelists:
Sarah Burns (The Central Park Five)
Michael Donaldson (Partner, Donaldson & Callif)
David France (How To Survive A Plague)
For information: http://doc-u-jan-2013-la.eventbrite.com/
Sundance Announces 2013 International Documentary Competition:
Fallen City/ China (Director: Qi Zhao) — Fallen City spans four years to reveal how three families who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to embark on a journey searching for hope, purpose, identity, and to rebuild their lives in a new China torn between tradition and modernity. North American Premiere
Fire in the Blood/ India (Director: Dylan Mohan Gray) — In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Western governments and pharmaceutical companies blocked low-cost antiretroviral drugs from reaching AIDS-stricken Africa, causing 10 million or more unnecessary deaths. An improbable group of people decided to fight back. North American Premiere
Google and the World Brain/ Spain, United Kingdom (Director: Ben Lewis) — In the most ambitious Internet project ever conceived, Google is working to scan every book in the world. Google says it is building a library for mankind. But some are trying to stop it, claiming that Google may have other intentions. World Premiere
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear/ Georgia, Germany (Director: Tinatin Gurchiani) — A film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call. She follows those who prove to be interesting enough through various dramatic and funny situations. North American Premiere
The Moo Man/ United Kingdom (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. World Premiere
Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer/ Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere
A River Changes Course/ Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World Premiere
Salma/ United Kingdom, India (Director: Kim Longinotto) — When Salma, a young girl in South India, reached puberty, her parents locked her away. Millions of girls all over the world share the same fate. Twenty-five years later, Salma has fought her way back to the outside world. World Premiere
The Square (Al Midan)/ Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere
The Stuart Hall Project/ United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere
The Summit/ Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers' code, he might still be alive. International Premiere
Who is Dayani Cristal?/ United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere. Day One Film
Producer’s Guild Announces Nominations for the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures and Non-Fiction Television:
A People Uncounted(Urbinder Films)
Producers: Marc Swenker, Aaron Yeger
The Gatekeepers(Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Estelle Fialon, Philippa Kowarsky, Dror Moreh
The Island President(Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Producers: Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen
The Other Dream Team(The Film Arcade)
Producers: Marius Markevicius, Jon Weinbach
Searching For Sugar Man(Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn
Nominations for the Award for Outstanding Producer of
Non-Fiction Television:
American Masters(PBS)
Producers: Prudence Glass, Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations(Travel Channel)
Producers: Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandy Zweig
Deadliest Catch(Discovery Channel)
Producers: Thom Beers, Jeff Conroy, Sean Dash, John Gray, Sheila McCormack, Bill Pruitt, Decker Watson
Inside the Actors Studio(Bravo)
Producers: James Lipton, Shawn Tesser, Jeff Wurtz
Shark Tank(ABC)
Producers: Rhett Bachner, Becky Blitz, Mark Burnett, Bill Gaudsmith, Yun Lingner, Brien Meagher, Clay Newbill, Jim Roush, Laura Skowlund, Paul Sutera, Patrick Wood
BAFTA Short and Documentary Feature Nominations (British Academy of Film and Television Arts, London)
Documentary Feature
The ImposterBart Layton, Dimitri Doganis
Marley Kevin Macdonald, Steve Bing, Charles Steel
McCullin David Morris, Jacqui Morris
Searching for Sugar Man Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn
West of Memphis Amy Berg
Short Animation
Here to Fall Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath
I’m Fine Thanks Eamonn O'Neill
The Making of Longbird Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson
Short Film
The Curse Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries
Good Night Muriel d'Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir
Swimmer Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw
Tumult Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews
The Voorman Problem Mark Gill, Baldwin Li
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca)
Documentary Feature Nominations
Bully
The Imposter
Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugar Man (Winner)
The Central Park Five
West of Memphis
________________________________________________________________________
Credits: Editing by Jessica Just for SydneysBuzz
________________________________________________________________________
Block Doc Workshops in Los Angeles February 2013 Ida Doc U
The International Documentary Association will be hosting Documentary Funding and Documentary Tune-Up Workshops with Block on February 9/10. http://www.documentary.org/news/february-documentary-producing-workshops-mitchell-block
Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).
Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.
______________________________________________________________________
©2013Mwb All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. All information and designs on the Sites are copyrighted material owned by Block. Reproduction, dissemination, or transmission of any part of the material here without the express written consent of the owner is strictly prohibited.All other product names and marks on Block Direct, whether trademarks, service marks, or other type, and whether registered or unregistered, is the property of Block.
Send us links to your sizzle reels and film sites.
Note: See Issues 1, 2, 3, and 4 for reviews and clips of the Academy documentary films and short films. Additional reviews of the documentary features follow in this issue.
Best documentary feature
5 Broken Cameras Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
The Gatekeepers Nominees to be determined *See note below
How to Survive a Plague Nominees to be determined
The Invisible War Nominees to be determined
Searching for Sugar Man Nominees to be determined
Best documentary short subject
Inocente Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine
Kings Point Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider
Mondays at Racine Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan
Open Heart Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern
Redemption Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill
Best animated short film
Adam and Dog Minkyu Lee
Fresh Guacamole Pes
Head over Heels Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly
Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare David Silverman
Paperman John Kahrs
Best live action short film
Asad Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura
Buzkashi Boys Sam French and Ariel Nasr
Curfew Shawn Christensen
Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw) Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele
Henry Yan England
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) from a documentary
Before My Time from The documentary feature Chasing Ice Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
Note: *Nominees to be determined* The Documentary Brand gives the nomination to the individual(s) most involved in the key creative aspects of the filmmaking process. A maximum of two persons may be designated as nominees, one of whom must be the credited director who exercised directorial control, and the other of whom must have a producer or director credit. If a producer is named, that individual must have performed a major portion of the producing functions, in accordance with Academy producer criteria. No more than two statuettes will normally be given in the Documentary Feature category. All individuals with a “Producer” or “Produced by” credit on films that reach the semifinal round will automatically be vetted.
The Documentary Branch Executive Committee will determine which producers, if any, are eligible to receive an Oscar. In the unlikely event of a dispute, filmmakers may appeal the committee’s decision. In extremely rare circumstances, a third statuette may be awarded.
Production companies or persons with the screen credit of executive producer, co-producer or any credit other than director or producer shall not be eligible as nominees for the motion picture.
DGA Documentary Award Nominations
Kirby Dick The Invisible War
This is Mr. Dick’s first DGA Award nomination.
Malik Bendjelloul Searching For Sugar Man
This is Mr. Bendjelloul’s first DGA Award nomination.
Lauren Greenfield The Queen of Versailles
This is Ms. Greenfield’s first DGA Award nomination.
David France How To Survive A Plague
This is Mr. France’s first DGA Award nomination.
Alison Klayman Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry
This is Ms. Klayman’s first DGA Award nomination.
Two Academy Nominated Documentary Features
& One Academy Short Listed Documentary Reviewed
The Gatekeepers, directed by Dror Moreh
Documentary Feature Nominee
Six former heads of Israel’s domestic secret service agency, the Shin Bet, share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions in The Gatekeepers, a film by Dror Moreh. These six heads of the Shin Bet stood at the center of Israel's decision-making process in all matters pertaining to security. They worked closely with every Israeli prime minister, and their assessments and insights had—and continue to have—a profound impact on Israeli policy. The Gatekeepers is an exclusive account of their successes and failures.
I find The Gatekeepers remarkable. Not for its craft but for its concept and vision. Imagine
J Edger Hoover talking about his tenure at the FBI, his successes and his failures, his interactions with the Presidents and members of Congress, and his critical self-evaluation of his mission and how his agency’s work affected our nation. Imagine. Dror Moreh accomplished this feat when he convinced these six surviving members of the Shin Bet, to speak on camera.
The film provides a historical perspective of Israel that is both candid and critical of the successive governments in this rare Middle Eastern democracy. The Shin Bet was created in 1949 by David Ben-Gurion’s government to focus on the internal affairs of Israel and evolved into dealing with counterterrorism and intelligence gathering in the West Bank and Gaza.
These intelligence heads, like ours, report to the President/Prime Minister. They are not part of the military complex. It is this context that gives this work its power. We hear the story of Israel’s struggle to protect itself from both its internal and external enemies; the bombers, terrorists, agents and others who worked to destroy this small country. These men are not glamorous or like the fictional heads of the spy agencies we have seen in James Bond and Bourne films. They are bald or balding grandfather-types. Articulate, highly educated, calm and yet we know that they protected Israel from its enemies even if they had them killed.
This is one of the strongest of the nominated docs. It raises significant issues of personal responsibilities. Despite the lack of oversight we don’t feel that this is an organization gone amuck like the Catholic Church not protecting children or the Us Military not protecting its members from sexual harassment. We see these articulate men as guardians and protectors of their nation steadfastly doing their duty within the confines of their moral beliefs. What is scary about The Gatekeepers is that clearly there could have been abuses and wrongs done by the Shin Bet if these six had less character or their mission was redefined by the government without regard to moral or ethical standards. The film on reflection is troubling for regardless of how the spectator might feel about Israel it forces us to look at this conflict through the lenses of these six guardians and we can only wonder what they don’t tell us about what they did in the name of their country.
Credits:
Director: Dror Moreh
Camera: Avner Shahaf
Producers: Dror Moreh, Estelle Fialon, Philippa Kowarsky
Co Producer: Anna Van Der Wee
Sound: Amos Zipori
Sound Design: Aex Claude
Music: Ab Ovo, Jérôme Chassagnard, Régis Baillet
Editor: Oron Adar
Production Companies: Dror Moreh Productions, Les Films du Poisson, Cinephil
In Co-Production with: Mac Guff, Wild Heart Productions, Arte France, Iba, Ndr, Rtbf
With the support of: Cnc, Media, Région Ile-de-France, Procirep, Angoa, The Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts – Cinema Project
Distribution: Sony Classics
Trailer: http://www.sonyclassics.com/thegatekeepers/
The House I Live In, directed by Eugene Jarecki
Short Listed Documentary Feature for Academy Award nomination
The House I Live In looks at how America has waged war on some of its poorest citizens, costing countless lives, destroying families, and inflicting untold damage on future generations of Americans. It posits that over the last forty years, the War on Drugs has accounted for more than 45 million arrests and shows how America became the world’s largest jailer, damaging poor communities at home and abroad. Yet today drugs are cheaper, purer and more available than ever before. It shows that drug abuse is a public health issue. Despite this, it is treated by our society as a criminal matter and a vast machine has been created that feeds on the men and women who are incarcerated. Because of this, the prisoners are not offered help or a cure for their underlying problems, so they return to prison in a never ending cycle.
Eugene Jarecki, whose previous films looked at the military industrial complex (Why We Fight and The Trials of Henry Kissinger), won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at Sundance in both 2005 and 2010. The film tackles difficult material. Material that has been in scores of documentaries and television shows over the years. Yet Jarecki, using his personal experience, a wealth of interviews and strong case studies, builds a compelling case for changing the sentencing guidelines for crack (and cocaine) and for dealing with both addiction and the underlying causes of addiction. Jarecki is a skillful filmmaker who has picked a vast and complex subject and has created a work that while rich in content moves along at a good pace although it might have been stronger if it had tried to do less. The film editor Paul Frost and the composer Robert Miller do an excellent job building strong sequences with evocative music. It was nicely shot by Sam Cullman and Derek Hallquist. Richard Abramowitz’s Abramorama handled the distribution and was successful getting the work out which is never easy for such an issue oriented film.
Credits:
Director, Producer, Screenwriter: Eugene Jarecki
Producers: Melinda Shopsin, Sam Cullman, Christopher St. John
Executive Producers: Eugene Jarecki, Nick Fraser, Joslyn Barnes, Danny Glover, Russell Simmons, Roy Ackerman, John Legend, Sally Jo Feifer, Nick Fraser
Camera: Sam Cullman, Derek Hallquist
Sound: Matthew Freed, Art Jaso
Music: Robert Milller
Editor: Paul Frost
Production Companies: Charlotte Street Films, Zdf Enterprises, Independent Television Services, BBC, Aljazeera Documentary Channel, Vpro, Special Broadcasting Service Corporation, Louverture Films, Nhk
Distribution (Us): Abramorama Entertainment, Snag Films
How to Survive a Plague, directed by David France
Documentary Feature Nominee
How to Survive a Plague by writer and filmmaker David France tells the story of how two coalitions came together to lobby for effective treatments and funding for treatments of AIDS in the late 1980s when it was evident that the Us government and its health and other agencies were not being very effective dealing with the AIDS epidemic. The coalitions, Act Up and Tag (Treatment Action Group) helped to make AIDS more treatable. While there is still no cure for AIDS and thousands of people globally still die from the virus, it is now possible to prolong life with treatments that have been developed.
Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time. With access to never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs. Faced with their own mortality an improbable group of young men and women, many of them HIV-positive took on Washington and the medical establishment.
While there have been a handful of outstanding films dealing with the AIDS epidemic including Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, The Broadcast Tapes of Dr. Peter and Silverlake Life, to name a few, How to Survive a Plague picks up on the story begun in the landmark Common Threads and updates the struggle, looking at the quest to find a treatment and possibly a cure for this vicious disease. The film weaves together stories of activism and shows how a small determined group can effect change not just nationally but globally. While the film is not as well made as Common Threads or Dr. Peter, it’s powerful. The archival footage manages to capture some of the key figures of Act Up and Tag showing actions as they take place. Instead of relying on talking heads to tell this amazing story, it is presented with footage shot as the story unfolded. This footage and its solid editing distinguishes this film from so many of the works that have tried to tell this story.
Few documentaries have such powerful antagonists, the government, incompetence, a lack of urgency on the part of the medical community and fear. Throw in homophobia and it is evident that the dramatic actions of these heroes saved hundreds of thousands of possible victims from this mostly sexually spread plague.
My only serious criticism of this documentary is its failure to be clearer that the plague continues, that there is no cure for HIV/AIDS and that the community continues to give a false sense of hope. Currently the Cdc states:
” ..estimates that 1,148,200 persons aged 13 years and older are living with HIV infection, including 207,600 (18.1%) who are unaware of their infection1. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, while the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. Still, the pace of new infections continues at far too high a level—particularly among certain groups.
HIV Incidence(new infections): The estimated incidence of HIV has remained stable overall in recent years, at about 50,000 new HIV infections per year.2 Within the overall estimates, however, some groups are affected more than others. Msm (men who have sex with men) continue to bear the greatest burden of HIV infection, and among races/ethnicities, African Americans continue to be disproportionately affected.”
This information could have been contained in the last few minutes of this powerful work, to inspire and warn the audience that testing is critical and that safe sex is still the only way to contain AIDS.
The Filmmaker
David France, Director, Producer
David France is an award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author who has been writing about AIDS since 1982 and today is one of the best-known chroniclers of the epidemic. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, GQ, and New York magazine, where he is a contributing editor, and has received the National Headliner Award and the GLAAD Media Award, among others. Several films have been inspired by his work, most recently the Emmy-nominated Showtime film Our Fathers, for which he received a WGA nomination. He is at work on a major history of AIDS, due from Alfred A. Knopf in 2013. Based on decades of reporting, How to Survive a Plague is his directorial debut.
Credits
Director: David France
Writers: David France, Todd Woody Richman, Tyler H. Walk
Producers: David France, Howard Gertler
Executive Producers: Dan Cogan, Joy A. Tomchin
Co-Producer: Todd Woody Richman
Camera: Derek Wieshahn
Sound: Stuart Deutsch, Topher Reifeiss
Original Music: Stuart Bogie
Editor: Todd Woody Richman, Tyler H. Walk
Production Companies: Public Square Films, Ninety Thousand Words
Distribution (Us): Sundance Selects
Short Notes and Update:
The International Documentary Association in Los Angeles presents Doc U: The Doc Reporter
Navigating the Intersection of Documentary and Journalism
Moderated by: Karin Skellwagen (The Brooks Institute)
With Panelists:
Sarah Burns (The Central Park Five)
Michael Donaldson (Partner, Donaldson & Callif)
David France (How To Survive A Plague)
For information: http://doc-u-jan-2013-la.eventbrite.com/
Sundance Announces 2013 International Documentary Competition:
Fallen City/ China (Director: Qi Zhao) — Fallen City spans four years to reveal how three families who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to embark on a journey searching for hope, purpose, identity, and to rebuild their lives in a new China torn between tradition and modernity. North American Premiere
Fire in the Blood/ India (Director: Dylan Mohan Gray) — In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Western governments and pharmaceutical companies blocked low-cost antiretroviral drugs from reaching AIDS-stricken Africa, causing 10 million or more unnecessary deaths. An improbable group of people decided to fight back. North American Premiere
Google and the World Brain/ Spain, United Kingdom (Director: Ben Lewis) — In the most ambitious Internet project ever conceived, Google is working to scan every book in the world. Google says it is building a library for mankind. But some are trying to stop it, claiming that Google may have other intentions. World Premiere
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear/ Georgia, Germany (Director: Tinatin Gurchiani) — A film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call. She follows those who prove to be interesting enough through various dramatic and funny situations. North American Premiere
The Moo Man/ United Kingdom (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. World Premiere
Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer/ Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere
A River Changes Course/ Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World Premiere
Salma/ United Kingdom, India (Director: Kim Longinotto) — When Salma, a young girl in South India, reached puberty, her parents locked her away. Millions of girls all over the world share the same fate. Twenty-five years later, Salma has fought her way back to the outside world. World Premiere
The Square (Al Midan)/ Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere
The Stuart Hall Project/ United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere
The Summit/ Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers' code, he might still be alive. International Premiere
Who is Dayani Cristal?/ United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere. Day One Film
Producer’s Guild Announces Nominations for the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures and Non-Fiction Television:
A People Uncounted(Urbinder Films)
Producers: Marc Swenker, Aaron Yeger
The Gatekeepers(Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Estelle Fialon, Philippa Kowarsky, Dror Moreh
The Island President(Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Producers: Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen
The Other Dream Team(The Film Arcade)
Producers: Marius Markevicius, Jon Weinbach
Searching For Sugar Man(Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn
Nominations for the Award for Outstanding Producer of
Non-Fiction Television:
American Masters(PBS)
Producers: Prudence Glass, Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations(Travel Channel)
Producers: Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandy Zweig
Deadliest Catch(Discovery Channel)
Producers: Thom Beers, Jeff Conroy, Sean Dash, John Gray, Sheila McCormack, Bill Pruitt, Decker Watson
Inside the Actors Studio(Bravo)
Producers: James Lipton, Shawn Tesser, Jeff Wurtz
Shark Tank(ABC)
Producers: Rhett Bachner, Becky Blitz, Mark Burnett, Bill Gaudsmith, Yun Lingner, Brien Meagher, Clay Newbill, Jim Roush, Laura Skowlund, Paul Sutera, Patrick Wood
BAFTA Short and Documentary Feature Nominations (British Academy of Film and Television Arts, London)
Documentary Feature
The ImposterBart Layton, Dimitri Doganis
Marley Kevin Macdonald, Steve Bing, Charles Steel
McCullin David Morris, Jacqui Morris
Searching for Sugar Man Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn
West of Memphis Amy Berg
Short Animation
Here to Fall Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath
I’m Fine Thanks Eamonn O'Neill
The Making of Longbird Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson
Short Film
The Curse Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries
Good Night Muriel d'Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir
Swimmer Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw
Tumult Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews
The Voorman Problem Mark Gill, Baldwin Li
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca)
Documentary Feature Nominations
Bully
The Imposter
Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugar Man (Winner)
The Central Park Five
West of Memphis
________________________________________________________________________
Credits: Editing by Jessica Just for SydneysBuzz
________________________________________________________________________
Block Doc Workshops in Los Angeles February 2013 Ida Doc U
The International Documentary Association will be hosting Documentary Funding and Documentary Tune-Up Workshops with Block on February 9/10. http://www.documentary.org/news/february-documentary-producing-workshops-mitchell-block
Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).
Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.
______________________________________________________________________
©2013Mwb All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. All information and designs on the Sites are copyrighted material owned by Block. Reproduction, dissemination, or transmission of any part of the material here without the express written consent of the owner is strictly prohibited.All other product names and marks on Block Direct, whether trademarks, service marks, or other type, and whether registered or unregistered, is the property of Block.
- 1/17/2013
- by Mitchell Block
- Sydney's Buzz
Earlier this week The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced the nominations for their annual awards for theatrical motion picture, animated motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 2013 Producers Guild Awards.
This was an incredible year for films, and most of the movies nominated here deserve to be. Out of all the films listed here, I'd like to see Zero Dark Thirty or Silver Linings Playbook take the top prize for motion picture, Paranorman for animated film, Game of Thrones for TV drama, and Curb Your Enthusiasm for TV Comedy. In case you missed them, here they are! Look them over and let us know what films you'd like to see win!
Ten nominations in the theatrical motion picture category include:
Argo (Warner Bros.)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)
Django Unchained (The Weinstein Company)
Life of Pi (20th Century Fox)
Lincoln (DreamWorks)
Les Misérables (Universal)
Moonrise Kingdom...
This was an incredible year for films, and most of the movies nominated here deserve to be. Out of all the films listed here, I'd like to see Zero Dark Thirty or Silver Linings Playbook take the top prize for motion picture, Paranorman for animated film, Game of Thrones for TV drama, and Curb Your Enthusiasm for TV Comedy. In case you missed them, here they are! Look them over and let us know what films you'd like to see win!
Ten nominations in the theatrical motion picture category include:
Argo (Warner Bros.)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)
Django Unchained (The Weinstein Company)
Life of Pi (20th Century Fox)
Lincoln (DreamWorks)
Les Misérables (Universal)
Moonrise Kingdom...
- 1/5/2013
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
The Producers Guild of America has revealed the 10 films Wednesday nominated for the Darryl F. Zanuck producer of the year award for theatrical motion pictures.
From A to Z – literally, from Argo to Zero Dark Thirty, the nominees include the year final contenders Lincoln, Life of Pi, Les Miserables and Django Unchained as well as the producers of Beasts of the Southern Wild, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook and Skyfall, the 23rd and most successful James Bond movie.
Skyfall is also the first James Bond movie that has earned a nomination.
In the animated film producer’s category are the producers of Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, Rise of the Guardians and Wreck-It-Ralph.
The Producers Guild Awards will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on January 26th and will be a closely watched indicator of Oscar sentiment. Eight of the movies are also in the running for best picture...
From A to Z – literally, from Argo to Zero Dark Thirty, the nominees include the year final contenders Lincoln, Life of Pi, Les Miserables and Django Unchained as well as the producers of Beasts of the Southern Wild, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook and Skyfall, the 23rd and most successful James Bond movie.
Skyfall is also the first James Bond movie that has earned a nomination.
In the animated film producer’s category are the producers of Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, Rise of the Guardians and Wreck-It-Ralph.
The Producers Guild Awards will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on January 26th and will be a closely watched indicator of Oscar sentiment. Eight of the movies are also in the running for best picture...
- 1/3/2013
- by Nick Martin
- Filmofilia
Daniel Craig's third outing as James Bond nominated for prize traditionally regarded as Academy Awards signpost
The latest James Bond film, Skyfall, could be making a late run for recognition at this year's Oscars after being named among the top 10 films of 2012 by the Producers Guild of America (PGA).
The guild also named awards season frontrunners Argo, Les Miserables, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook in its list of nominees for the Darryl F Zanuck award for outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures.
Most of the other contenders have also been feted by various critics' groups in the runup to the Academy Awards at the Dolby theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on 24 February. Quentin Tarantino's blood-spattered spaghetti western homage, Django Unchained, is starting to look a good bet for Oscar nominations after picking up another nod in the wake of its five Golden Globe nominations last month.
Ang Lee's...
The latest James Bond film, Skyfall, could be making a late run for recognition at this year's Oscars after being named among the top 10 films of 2012 by the Producers Guild of America (PGA).
The guild also named awards season frontrunners Argo, Les Miserables, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook in its list of nominees for the Darryl F Zanuck award for outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures.
Most of the other contenders have also been feted by various critics' groups in the runup to the Academy Awards at the Dolby theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on 24 February. Quentin Tarantino's blood-spattered spaghetti western homage, Django Unchained, is starting to look a good bet for Oscar nominations after picking up another nod in the wake of its five Golden Globe nominations last month.
Ang Lee's...
- 1/3/2013
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has announced the nominees in both motion picture and television for the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards. "Skyfall" made the cut as one of the nominees of the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.
Winners will be announced on January 26th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Here's the complete list of nominees (including television); for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:
Theatrical Motion Picture Nominees
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
.Argo. (Warner Bros.)
Producers: Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Grant Heslov
.Beasts of the Southern Wild. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Josh Penn
.Django Unchained. (The Weinstein Company)
Producers: Reginald Hudlin, Pilar Savone, Stacey Sher
.Les Misérables. (Universal Pictures)
Producers: Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
.Life of Pi. (Fox 2000 Pictures)
Producers: Ang Lee, Gil Netter,...
Winners will be announced on January 26th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Here's the complete list of nominees (including television); for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:
Theatrical Motion Picture Nominees
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
.Argo. (Warner Bros.)
Producers: Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Grant Heslov
.Beasts of the Southern Wild. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Josh Penn
.Django Unchained. (The Weinstein Company)
Producers: Reginald Hudlin, Pilar Savone, Stacey Sher
.Les Misérables. (Universal Pictures)
Producers: Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
.Life of Pi. (Fox 2000 Pictures)
Producers: Ang Lee, Gil Netter,...
- 1/2/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
No Dark Knight Rises, Batman fans.
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards. The categories include: The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures; The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures; and The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television. The documentary film category and other television category nominations were already announced by the Guild in November 2012.
All 2013 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 26th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year, the Producers Guild will also present special honors to Bob and Harvey Weinstein (Milestone Award), Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), J.J. Abrams (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Russell Simmons (Visionary Award) and Bully (Stanley Kramer Award).
The 2013 Producers Guild Awards Chair is Michael De Luca.
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards. The categories include: The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures; The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures; and The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television. The documentary film category and other television category nominations were already announced by the Guild in November 2012.
All 2013 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 26th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year, the Producers Guild will also present special honors to Bob and Harvey Weinstein (Milestone Award), Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), J.J. Abrams (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Russell Simmons (Visionary Award) and Bully (Stanley Kramer Award).
The 2013 Producers Guild Awards Chair is Michael De Luca.
- 1/2/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Producers Guild of America has announced its nominations for best productions of the year, in what is often looked to as an indicator for how the Academy Awards may go.
The guild selected 10 films — most of them common guesses for the group that could make up the Oscar list of the best films of 2012: Argo, Lincoln, Les Misérables, among others.
The one surprise: Skyfall. No 007 film has ever cracked the Best Picture list, but if this nomination is any indication, that could change when the Oscar nods are revealed Jan. 10.
Check out the full list …
The Darryl F. Zanuck...
The guild selected 10 films — most of them common guesses for the group that could make up the Oscar list of the best films of 2012: Argo, Lincoln, Les Misérables, among others.
The one surprise: Skyfall. No 007 film has ever cracked the Best Picture list, but if this nomination is any indication, that could change when the Oscar nods are revealed Jan. 10.
Check out the full list …
The Darryl F. Zanuck...
- 1/2/2013
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
The Producers Guild of America has nominated five documentary motion pictures. The documentary field is large and competitive this year, so any spotlight will help Oscar voters make tough choices. Never have so many worthy docs been produced and released into the indie marketplace. The Academy doc branch has already submitted their Oscar short list of 15 which should be announced shortly. The International Documentary Association awards will be announced on December 7 (stay tuned for our report). This week's Oscar Talk podcast delves into the doc race. The PGA nominees are: "A People Uncounted" (Director Aaron Yeger; Producers Yeger, Tom Rasky, Marc Swenker, Stephen Chandler Whitehead), "The Gatekeepers" (Dror Moreh; Moreh, Estelle Fialon, Philippa Kowarsky), "The Island President" (Jon Shenk; Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen), "The Other Dream Team" (Marius Markevicius; Markevicius, Jon Weinbach) and "Searching for Sugar Man"...
- 11/30/2012
- by Anne Thompson and Sophia Savage
- Thompson on Hollywood
Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all North American rights to the documentary, The Gatekeepers by Dror Moreh (Sharon). The film, a co-production between Dmp Les Films du Poisson and Cinephil, is produced by Dror Moreh, Estelle Fialon and Philippa Kowarsky. The film recently premiered at the Jerusalem International Film Festival.
The deal was negotiated with Sony Pictures Classics by Philippa Kowarsky, on behalf of Cinephil Sales.
For the first time ever, six former heads of Israel’s domestic secret service agency, the Shin Bet, share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions. Since the Six Day War in 1967, Israel has failed to transform its crushing military victory into a lasting peace. Throughout that entire period, these heads of the Shin Bet stood at the center of Israel’s decision-making process in all matters pertaining to security. They worked closely with every Israeli prime minister,...
The deal was negotiated with Sony Pictures Classics by Philippa Kowarsky, on behalf of Cinephil Sales.
For the first time ever, six former heads of Israel’s domestic secret service agency, the Shin Bet, share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions. Since the Six Day War in 1967, Israel has failed to transform its crushing military victory into a lasting peace. Throughout that entire period, these heads of the Shin Bet stood at the center of Israel’s decision-making process in all matters pertaining to security. They worked closely with every Israeli prime minister,...
- 7/31/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all North American rights to the documentary, The Gatekeepers by Dror Moreh ( Sharon ). The film, a co-production between Dmp Les Films du Poisson and Cinephil, is produced by Dror Moreh, Estelle Fialon and Philippa Kowarsky. The film recently premiered at the Jerusalem International Film Festival. The movie is described as follows: For the first time ever, six former heads of Israel's domestic secret service agency, the Shin Bet, share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions. Since the Six Day War in 1967, Israel has failed to transform its crushing military victory into a lasting peace. Throughout that entire period, these heads of the Shin Bet stood at the center of Israel's...
- 7/30/2012
- Comingsoon.net
Sony Pictures Classics bought all North American rights to the The Gatekeepers, the documentary directed by Dror Moreh (Sharon) in which the title characters–six former heads of Israel’s Shin Bet domestic secret service agency–share insights on their actions and decisions as they set internal security policy for Israel. The film is a co-production between Dmp Les Films du Poisson and Cinephil. Moreh produced it with Estelle Fialon and Philippa Kowarsky. The deal comes just after the film premiered at the Jerusalem International Film Festival. The Shin Bet heads discuss the motivations behind their successes and failures over the years, as they ponder why Israel has been unable to turn its victory in the Six Day War of 1967 into lasting peace and how they controlled all efforts to keep their citizens secure in the wake of continued hostility from their neighbors. The former Shin Bet heads worked closely with every Israeli prime minister,...
- 7/30/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
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