We are becoming part machine.
That is the startling observation of Emmy-winning filmmaker Kirsten Johnson, who has been thinking deeply about the ramifications of artificial intelligence for human culture. The director of Cameraperson and Dick Johnson Is Dead will deliver a keynote at the IDA’s Getting Real conference in Los Angeles this week, addressing what she sees as a fundamental truth about AI that sets it apart from human endeavors: AI “lacks a body,” and as such is disengaged from the fate of humanity.
Johnson joins the latest edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to discuss her feelings about AI – its areas of promise, but also the way in which the emerging technology is going to fundamentally alter our experience. She notes that more people are already creating new images through generative AI prompts – e.g., “Make me a photo of a frog in a pinstripe suit balancing...
That is the startling observation of Emmy-winning filmmaker Kirsten Johnson, who has been thinking deeply about the ramifications of artificial intelligence for human culture. The director of Cameraperson and Dick Johnson Is Dead will deliver a keynote at the IDA’s Getting Real conference in Los Angeles this week, addressing what she sees as a fundamental truth about AI that sets it apart from human endeavors: AI “lacks a body,” and as such is disengaged from the fate of humanity.
Johnson joins the latest edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to discuss her feelings about AI – its areas of promise, but also the way in which the emerging technology is going to fundamentally alter our experience. She notes that more people are already creating new images through generative AI prompts – e.g., “Make me a photo of a frog in a pinstripe suit balancing...
- 4/16/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
American Cinematheque Launches Major New L.A. Documentary Festival This Is Not a Fiction (Exclusive)
The American Cinematheque is kicking off a robust new Los Angeles nonfiction film festival dubbed This Is Not a Fiction, running from April 10-18. The festival opens with docuseries “Thank You, Good Night: The Bon Jovi Story,” with Jon Bon Jovi in-person at the Aero Theatre for the L.A. premiere screening.
The event will include in-person tributes to distinguished documentary filmmakers including Barbara Kopple, Joe Berlinger, Brett Morgen, Bill Morrison, Kirsten Johnson, Terry Zwigoff, Jeff Tremaine and Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, as well as a virtual Q&a with Frederick Wiseman.
Other premieres will include “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus,” “Power,” “Strong Island,” “Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg,” a restoration of “Lumumba: Death of a Prophet” and “Incident,” plus special presentations of Morgan Neville’s “Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces” and “Girls State.” A celebration of the 15th anniversary of “30 for 30” will feature a panel...
The event will include in-person tributes to distinguished documentary filmmakers including Barbara Kopple, Joe Berlinger, Brett Morgen, Bill Morrison, Kirsten Johnson, Terry Zwigoff, Jeff Tremaine and Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, as well as a virtual Q&a with Frederick Wiseman.
Other premieres will include “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus,” “Power,” “Strong Island,” “Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg,” a restoration of “Lumumba: Death of a Prophet” and “Incident,” plus special presentations of Morgan Neville’s “Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces” and “Girls State.” A celebration of the 15th anniversary of “30 for 30” will feature a panel...
- 3/19/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Kristen Stewart has elaborated on the “unique format” of her upcoming Susan Sontag project, in which she is playing the US writer, philosopher and political activist.
“Sontag will be made over such a long period of time. It’s a hybrid documentary, research project, experiment, film-within-a-film type thing,” said the US actor. ”We started it last year at the festival. I don’t know when we’ll finish – it’s an open-ended process.”
US filmmaker Kirsten Johnson is directing project, which is being produced by UK-Australia outfit Brouhaha Entertainment, as first revealed by Screen ahead of last year’s Berlinale.
“Sontag will be made over such a long period of time. It’s a hybrid documentary, research project, experiment, film-within-a-film type thing,” said the US actor. ”We started it last year at the festival. I don’t know when we’ll finish – it’s an open-ended process.”
US filmmaker Kirsten Johnson is directing project, which is being produced by UK-Australia outfit Brouhaha Entertainment, as first revealed by Screen ahead of last year’s Berlinale.
- 2/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
Documentaries about the impact of war claimed two of the top prizes as the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam handed out awards Thursday night.
1489, directed by Armenian filmmaker Shoghakat Vardanyan, won Best Film in International Competition. The film revolves around the disappearance of the director’s 21-year-old brother, Soghomon Vardanyan, who went missing in the early days of the renewed fighting in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area Armenians refer to as Artsakh.
The award comes with a €15,000 cash prize. The jury members of the International Competition were Emilie Bujès, Francesco Giai Via, Tabitha Jackson, Ada Solomon, and Xiaoshuai Wang.
‘1489’
Jurors called 1489, “A film that acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence. Cinema as a tool of survival—to allow us all, to look at the things we would rather not see.
1489, directed by Armenian filmmaker Shoghakat Vardanyan, won Best Film in International Competition. The film revolves around the disappearance of the director’s 21-year-old brother, Soghomon Vardanyan, who went missing in the early days of the renewed fighting in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area Armenians refer to as Artsakh.
The award comes with a €15,000 cash prize. The jury members of the International Competition were Emilie Bujès, Francesco Giai Via, Tabitha Jackson, Ada Solomon, and Xiaoshuai Wang.
‘1489’
Jurors called 1489, “A film that acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence. Cinema as a tool of survival—to allow us all, to look at the things we would rather not see.
- 11/17/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Shoghakat Vardanyan’s “1489,” which follows the director’s family after her brother goes missing while serving in the Armenian army, won documentary festival IDFA’s best film prize Thursday.
The jury of the International Competition section said the film “acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence.”
The jury added that it was “cinema as a tool of survival — to allow us all to look at the things we would rather not see, and ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”
The best directing award went to Mohamed Jabaly for “Life Is Beautiful,” in which the Palestinian filmmaker documents his life in 2014 when he was visiting Norway and was prevented from returning home to Gaza because the border was closed.
“Life Is Beautiful”
The jury members said the film was “a...
The jury of the International Competition section said the film “acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence.”
The jury added that it was “cinema as a tool of survival — to allow us all to look at the things we would rather not see, and ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”
The best directing award went to Mohamed Jabaly for “Life Is Beautiful,” in which the Palestinian filmmaker documents his life in 2014 when he was visiting Norway and was prevented from returning home to Gaza because the border was closed.
“Life Is Beautiful”
The jury members said the film was “a...
- 11/16/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Three documentaries have been selected to to participate in the inaugural Diane Weyermann fellowship program, which will kick off Sept. 15 at Maine’s 19th edition of the Camden Intl. Film Festival.
The projects are: “The Last Nomads,” a co-production of Serbia, Montenegro and France, directed and produced by Biljana Tutorov, co-directed by Petar Glomazić, and co-produced by Quentin Laurent; “The Production of the World,” a co-production of Canada and USA, directed by Brett Story and produced by Jeff Reichert; and “Untitled Project,” a production of India, directed and produced by Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya.
Each doc will receive $100,000 in unrestricted grants plus 18 months of creative support through retreats and mentorship via Ciff’s Points North Institute, the non-fiction creative hub based in Camden, Maine.
The fellowship was established to honor Weyermann, the former chief content officer at Participant and former director of the Sundance Institute’s documentary film program.
The projects are: “The Last Nomads,” a co-production of Serbia, Montenegro and France, directed and produced by Biljana Tutorov, co-directed by Petar Glomazić, and co-produced by Quentin Laurent; “The Production of the World,” a co-production of Canada and USA, directed by Brett Story and produced by Jeff Reichert; and “Untitled Project,” a production of India, directed and produced by Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya.
Each doc will receive $100,000 in unrestricted grants plus 18 months of creative support through retreats and mentorship via Ciff’s Points North Institute, the non-fiction creative hub based in Camden, Maine.
The fellowship was established to honor Weyermann, the former chief content officer at Participant and former director of the Sundance Institute’s documentary film program.
- 9/16/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Documentary veterans Natalie Bullock Brown, Kirsten Johnson, Mary Lampson and Jacqueline Olive are the inaugural documentary film fellows for the documentary film in the public interest research initiative by Harvard’s Shorenstein Center.
As the first cohort of doc film fellows, the foursome will join the center for the fall 2023 semester. There, each fellow will conduct research and do public education activities about questions facing the documentary film field and civic information.
Led by Shorenstein Center’s director Nancy Gibbs and doc filmmaker Sara Archambault, the initiative, which was established in March, will work to examine the challenges facing the documentary field and their impacts on civic life and information.
“In this challenging moment for media and our information ecosystem, we are excited that the Shorenstein Center can provide the support and infrastructure to drive renewed and creative thinking about complex issues in the documentary film space,” says Gibbs.
Archambault...
As the first cohort of doc film fellows, the foursome will join the center for the fall 2023 semester. There, each fellow will conduct research and do public education activities about questions facing the documentary film field and civic information.
Led by Shorenstein Center’s director Nancy Gibbs and doc filmmaker Sara Archambault, the initiative, which was established in March, will work to examine the challenges facing the documentary field and their impacts on civic life and information.
“In this challenging moment for media and our information ecosystem, we are excited that the Shorenstein Center can provide the support and infrastructure to drive renewed and creative thinking about complex issues in the documentary film space,” says Gibbs.
Archambault...
- 9/5/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Paulina Urrutia with Augusto Góngora in Maite Alberdi’s The Eternal Memory: “Raul Ruiz and Augusto are alive in the film. So the film is resurrecting them, too. Cinema as a way of resurrection.”
The first time I spoke with Maite Alberdi was in 2021 on Zoom from Santiago, Chile for a conversation on The Mole Agent, so I was happy to meet her in person last week at the Crosby Street Hotel invited screening of her latest film, The Eternal Memory, as Nancy Buirski’s plus-one. Following the Q&a, moderated with great flair by Kirsten Johnson, Maite and I had the chance to reconnect at the reception.
Maite Alberdi with Anne-Katrin Titze on the No poster: “It’s the same graphics that Pablo Larrain used for his film.”
Augusto Góngora, famous for his television culture program and during the Pinochet regime, his clandestine work to archive what was really going on in Chile,...
The first time I spoke with Maite Alberdi was in 2021 on Zoom from Santiago, Chile for a conversation on The Mole Agent, so I was happy to meet her in person last week at the Crosby Street Hotel invited screening of her latest film, The Eternal Memory, as Nancy Buirski’s plus-one. Following the Q&a, moderated with great flair by Kirsten Johnson, Maite and I had the chance to reconnect at the reception.
Maite Alberdi with Anne-Katrin Titze on the No poster: “It’s the same graphics that Pablo Larrain used for his film.”
Augusto Góngora, famous for his television culture program and during the Pinochet regime, his clandestine work to archive what was really going on in Chile,...
- 8/20/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
In The Art of Documentary, host and Oscar-nominee Jim LeBrecht takes listeners — and potential documentarians — on a journey with six filmmakers, who reveal not just what drew them to the medium but how they’re helping to reshape it.
The executive producer and sound engineer, best known for co-directing the Oscar-nominated disability rights doc Crip Camp with Nicole Newnham, kicks off each of the six episodes of the Film Academy original podcast by asking his guests about the incident that lit their fuse as documentarians. In the conversations that ensue, the filmmakers — Danny Cohen (Anonymous Club), Bing Liu (All These Sons), Chase Joynt and Aisling Chin-Yee (No Ordindary Man), Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson), Garrett Bradley (Time) and Roger Ross Williams (Life, Animated) —unpack how their unique perspectives and identities shape their creative narratives and careers.
The discussions yield insights into how far documentary has come from its often exploitative cinéma vérité roots.
The executive producer and sound engineer, best known for co-directing the Oscar-nominated disability rights doc Crip Camp with Nicole Newnham, kicks off each of the six episodes of the Film Academy original podcast by asking his guests about the incident that lit their fuse as documentarians. In the conversations that ensue, the filmmakers — Danny Cohen (Anonymous Club), Bing Liu (All These Sons), Chase Joynt and Aisling Chin-Yee (No Ordindary Man), Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson), Garrett Bradley (Time) and Roger Ross Williams (Life, Animated) —unpack how their unique perspectives and identities shape their creative narratives and careers.
The discussions yield insights into how far documentary has come from its often exploitative cinéma vérité roots.
- 7/6/2023
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Kaouther Ben Hania’s “Four Daughters,” winner of the L’Oeil d’Or Award for best documentary at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has been acquired for U.S. distribution. Kino Lorber will open the film theatrically this Fall, following stops on the international festival circuit, and followed by a digital and home video release on all major platforms.
“Four Daughters” was the sole Arab film in Main Competition at Cannes this year, and Sharon Waxman of TheWrap wrote that it “takes us into the intimate, inner circle of family ties to tell a larger story of our time.” The picture concerns the story of Tunisia’s Olfa Hamrouni and her daughters, detailing a family history through interviews and reenactments to deconstruct how the two eldest kids were radicalized to the point of joining Isis.
“We were immediately captivated by Kaouther Ben Hania’s powerful documentary Four Daughters, a...
“Four Daughters” was the sole Arab film in Main Competition at Cannes this year, and Sharon Waxman of TheWrap wrote that it “takes us into the intimate, inner circle of family ties to tell a larger story of our time.” The picture concerns the story of Tunisia’s Olfa Hamrouni and her daughters, detailing a family history through interviews and reenactments to deconstruct how the two eldest kids were radicalized to the point of joining Isis.
“We were immediately captivated by Kaouther Ben Hania’s powerful documentary Four Daughters, a...
- 6/22/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
One bonus of a Max subscription is access to part of the Criterion Collection, which amasses classic films from both the U.S. and abroad. While the Criterion Channel houses a much larger inventory of films, the Criterion Collection available on Max is seriously impressive.
It includes some of the finest foreign films by directors Fellini, Truffaut, and Kurosawa. Various Hitchcock films are also available, as is the work of two renowned British directors: Michael Powell’s beautiful “The Red Shoes” and David Lean’s romantic heartbreaker “Brief Encounters.”
Many of Chaplin’s most famous silent films are here, including one of his masterpieces, “The Gold Rush” (1925) and the 1942 version, which includes a musical score and new narration.
The streamer’s subscription starts at $9.99 — and for film buffs, the Criterion library is a cinematic education.
7-Day Free Trial $9.99+ / month Max via amazon.com
Get 20% Off Your Next Year of Max When...
It includes some of the finest foreign films by directors Fellini, Truffaut, and Kurosawa. Various Hitchcock films are also available, as is the work of two renowned British directors: Michael Powell’s beautiful “The Red Shoes” and David Lean’s romantic heartbreaker “Brief Encounters.”
Many of Chaplin’s most famous silent films are here, including one of his masterpieces, “The Gold Rush” (1925) and the 1942 version, which includes a musical score and new narration.
The streamer’s subscription starts at $9.99 — and for film buffs, the Criterion library is a cinematic education.
7-Day Free Trial $9.99+ / month Max via amazon.com
Get 20% Off Your Next Year of Max When...
- 6/7/2023
- by Fern Siegel
- The Streamable
Documentary fans might be forgiven for nurturing a dream – that Cannes would follow the recent example of Venice and Berlin and award its top prize to a nonfiction film. Complete the documentary Triple Crown – the Golden Lion, the Golden Bear and the Palme d’or.
Alas, it wasn’t to be. On Saturday night, Cannes gave the gilded frond to a narrative-fiction film, as it generally does, Anatomy of a Fall. But perhaps the important thing is, the jury could have made the trifecta happen. Two documentaries appeared in main competition – Wang Bing’s Jeunesse (Youth) and Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters (Les Filles d’Olfa) – ending a nearly 20-year span in which no nonfiction film had been accorded the prestige of a competition slot. As they say about the lottery,...
Alas, it wasn’t to be. On Saturday night, Cannes gave the gilded frond to a narrative-fiction film, as it generally does, Anatomy of a Fall. But perhaps the important thing is, the jury could have made the trifecta happen. Two documentaries appeared in main competition – Wang Bing’s Jeunesse (Youth) and Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters (Les Filles d’Olfa) – ending a nearly 20-year span in which no nonfiction film had been accorded the prestige of a competition slot. As they say about the lottery,...
- 5/30/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Two films by Arab women directors are sharing the L’Oeil d’or (Golden Eye) prize for the best documentary in Cannes. Four Daughters (Les Filles d’Olfa) by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania and The Mother of All Lies (La Mère de tous les mensonges) by Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir were announced as the winners at a joint ceremony this morning at the Palais in Cannes.
“It’s huge,” Ben Hania told Deadline after the announcement. “I’m very happy and I’m also very happy to share this prize with Asmae from Morocco. And I think that it means something for the region, for the storytellers, for us women directors… It’s so special.”
Both Ben Hania and El Moudir were on hand for the presentation at the Salon des Ambassadeurs. It the second prize in two days for El Moudir. On Thursday, she won best director in...
“It’s huge,” Ben Hania told Deadline after the announcement. “I’m very happy and I’m also very happy to share this prize with Asmae from Morocco. And I think that it means something for the region, for the storytellers, for us women directors… It’s so special.”
Both Ben Hania and El Moudir were on hand for the presentation at the Salon des Ambassadeurs. It the second prize in two days for El Moudir. On Thursday, she won best director in...
- 5/27/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has launched an Academy Originals podcast, “The Art of Documentary.”
The new podcast is hosted by Oscar-nominee and “Crip Camp” documentarian Jim LeBrecht. The six-episode season will include LeBrecht sitting down with documentary filmmakers, as they reveal to the host and the audience their filmmaking processes.
“The Art of Documentary,” will chronicle “how a filmmaker approaches their subject and how they engage with it,” according to the press release. The podcast will highlight how the various documentarians work to find new filmmaking approaches, all in an effort to tell their stories in innovative ways. LeBrecht and guests will discuss how they achieve special access and how far they’ll go to get their story — even if that means taking dangerous risks.
The first episode features an interview with “Anonymous Club” documentarian Danny Cohen. The remaining five episodes will include interviews with filmmakers including Bing Liu,...
The new podcast is hosted by Oscar-nominee and “Crip Camp” documentarian Jim LeBrecht. The six-episode season will include LeBrecht sitting down with documentary filmmakers, as they reveal to the host and the audience their filmmaking processes.
“The Art of Documentary,” will chronicle “how a filmmaker approaches their subject and how they engage with it,” according to the press release. The podcast will highlight how the various documentarians work to find new filmmaking approaches, all in an effort to tell their stories in innovative ways. LeBrecht and guests will discuss how they achieve special access and how far they’ll go to get their story — even if that means taking dangerous risks.
The first episode features an interview with “Anonymous Club” documentarian Danny Cohen. The remaining five episodes will include interviews with filmmakers including Bing Liu,...
- 5/17/2023
- by Charna Flam
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes Docs, the Marché du Film sidebar dedicated to documentary film, has unveiled the line-up of its Doc Day, which unspools on May 23, as the final event in at Cannes Docs.
Veteran U.S. cinematographer and documentary filmmaker Kirsten Johnson, president of Cannes Festival’s Œil d’or Jury which hands out an award to the best doc in Cannes’ Official Selection, will open the morning session in a conversation with writer, director and producer Guetty Felin.
Entitled “Cinema and the Pleasures of the Impossible,” it will explore the many ways filmmaking creates possibilities to search for the invisible, to bring life to the dead and to time travel in their lives.
“It’s an exciting and side-stepping angle compared to usual industry talks,” explains the head of Cannes Docs Pierre-Alexis Chevit, “which we really like at Cannes Docs, because that is what we’re trying to do: Offer talks...
Veteran U.S. cinematographer and documentary filmmaker Kirsten Johnson, president of Cannes Festival’s Œil d’or Jury which hands out an award to the best doc in Cannes’ Official Selection, will open the morning session in a conversation with writer, director and producer Guetty Felin.
Entitled “Cinema and the Pleasures of the Impossible,” it will explore the many ways filmmaking creates possibilities to search for the invisible, to bring life to the dead and to time travel in their lives.
“It’s an exciting and side-stepping angle compared to usual industry talks,” explains the head of Cannes Docs Pierre-Alexis Chevit, “which we really like at Cannes Docs, because that is what we’re trying to do: Offer talks...
- 5/12/2023
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Seeing Kristen Stewart bounce between the acclaimed Princess Diana drama “Spencer,” which landed her a Best Actress Oscar nomination to David Cronenberg’s sci-fi thriller “Crimes of The Future” sure has been an interesting ride. However, it looks like the actress has found another promising project for her dance card and, oddly enough, will allow her to flex her comedic chops, harkening back to the days of 2009’s “Adventureland.”
Read More: Kristen Stewart Will Play Susan Sontag In Kirsten Johnson’s Upcoming Meta Documentary, Which Starts Filming At Berlin 2023
Deadline reports that Stewart is joining the cast of the road-trip comedy “Sacramento,” which will be directed and co-written by Michael Angarano.
Continue reading Kristen Stewart Joins Michael Angarano’s Road-Trip Comedy ‘Sacramento’ at The Playlist.
Read More: Kristen Stewart Will Play Susan Sontag In Kirsten Johnson’s Upcoming Meta Documentary, Which Starts Filming At Berlin 2023
Deadline reports that Stewart is joining the cast of the road-trip comedy “Sacramento,” which will be directed and co-written by Michael Angarano.
Continue reading Kristen Stewart Joins Michael Angarano’s Road-Trip Comedy ‘Sacramento’ at The Playlist.
- 4/13/2023
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
Here’s something for Kristen Stewart fans as they await her latest films “Love Lies Bleeding” and “Love Me,” andher feature directorial debut, “The Chronology Of Water.” Stewart directs “Boygenius – The Film,” a visual companion to the female supergroups “The Album,” out today.
Read More: Kristen Stewart Will Play Susan Sontag In Kirsten Johnson’s Upcoming Meta Documentary, Which Stars Filming At Berlin 2023
The video serves as a triptych music video for three songs of the band’s new album, “$20,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” and “True Blue.” Each song/sequence stars one bandmate in particular.
Continue reading ‘Boygenius – The Film’: Kristen Stewart Directs A Visual Counterpart To The Bands’ ‘The Record,’ Out Today at The Playlist.
Read More: Kristen Stewart Will Play Susan Sontag In Kirsten Johnson’s Upcoming Meta Documentary, Which Stars Filming At Berlin 2023
The video serves as a triptych music video for three songs of the band’s new album, “$20,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” and “True Blue.” Each song/sequence stars one bandmate in particular.
Continue reading ‘Boygenius – The Film’: Kristen Stewart Directs A Visual Counterpart To The Bands’ ‘The Record,’ Out Today at The Playlist.
- 3/31/2023
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Beginning with the thesis statement “does anything really last,” Ian Chaney’s obsessive inquiry The Arc of Oblivion wonders if the act of archiving is really a folly. This leads to exploring natural methods of archiving around us, from limestone layers to synthesizing digital data into DNA. Chaney starts with a problem facing indie filmmakers and obsessive autobiographers: hard drives and digital video fail easily. Although not explored by Chaney, master filmmakers like Martin Scorsese insist on making physical 35mm prints of films they shot digitally and storing them in salt mines rather than on corruptible servers or digital physical media.
A sweeping, often playful odyssey, The Arc of Oblivion seeks out expert help in exploring the nature of archiving, including the gatekeepers who decide what is important to keep record of. Haunted by the spirit of lost footage he filmed one evening while on his parents’ farm––while he...
A sweeping, often playful odyssey, The Arc of Oblivion seeks out expert help in exploring the nature of archiving, including the gatekeepers who decide what is important to keep record of. Haunted by the spirit of lost footage he filmed one evening while on his parents’ farm––while he...
- 3/30/2023
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI, and sign up for our weekly email newsletter by clicking here.NEWSKristen Stewart in Olivier Assayas's Personal Shopper (2016).The next film directed by Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson and Dick Johnson is Dead) will star Kristen Stewart as…Susan Sontag. Based on Ben Moser’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Sontag: Her Life, the project will have some hybrid-doc elements, as we might expect from Johnson: according to Screen Daily, Johnson will film an interview with the actress about her preparation for the role at the Berlinale, where Stewart is jury president.Richard Ayoade will direct and star in an adaptation of George Saunders’s The Semplica Girl Diaries, with casting currently underway.New Spanish Cinema luminary Carlos Saura died last week aged 91. His best-known films depicted and critiqued life under the Franco dictatorship, like La Caza...
- 2/15/2023
- MUBI
Christian Petzold is no stranger to the Berlin International Film Festival. Three of his last four films debuted at that prestigious event. And he’s about to unveil yet another feature in Berlin, with the world premiere of “Afire.”
Read More: Kristen Stewart Will Play Susan Sontag In Kirsten Johnson’s Upcoming Meta Documentary, Which Starts Filming At Berlin 2023
As seen in the trailer for “Afire,” the film follows the story of two friends who go on a holiday on the Baltic coast.
Continue reading ‘Afire’ Trailer: Christian Petzold Returns To Berlin With A New Romantic Drama at The Playlist.
Read More: Kristen Stewart Will Play Susan Sontag In Kirsten Johnson’s Upcoming Meta Documentary, Which Starts Filming At Berlin 2023
As seen in the trailer for “Afire,” the film follows the story of two friends who go on a holiday on the Baltic coast.
Continue reading ‘Afire’ Trailer: Christian Petzold Returns To Berlin With A New Romantic Drama at The Playlist.
- 2/14/2023
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Kristen Stewart is continuing her streak of portraying celebrities in her new film.
Screen Daily reports the actress will be playing writer Susan Sontag in a new biopic from director Kirsten Johnson, via Variety.
Read More: Rita Ora’s Star-Studded Single ‘You Only love Me’ Includes Sharon Stone, Kristen Stewart And Others
The new project will be based on the biography “Sontag: Her Life” by Ben Moser with a script from Johnson and Lisa Kron. UK-Australia-based Brouhaha Entertainment is set to produce the movie which begins filming at the Berlin Film Festival.
“We’re using Berlin as a moment to kick off the project and do documentary footage of Kristen as the head of the jury and talking to her about how she’s going to become Sontag,” said Gabrielle Tana, Brouhaha Entertainment co-founder. “It will be a drama, but with a documentary aspect to it. Kirsten has a wonderful approach to storytelling,...
Screen Daily reports the actress will be playing writer Susan Sontag in a new biopic from director Kirsten Johnson, via Variety.
Read More: Rita Ora’s Star-Studded Single ‘You Only love Me’ Includes Sharon Stone, Kristen Stewart And Others
The new project will be based on the biography “Sontag: Her Life” by Ben Moser with a script from Johnson and Lisa Kron. UK-Australia-based Brouhaha Entertainment is set to produce the movie which begins filming at the Berlin Film Festival.
“We’re using Berlin as a moment to kick off the project and do documentary footage of Kristen as the head of the jury and talking to her about how she’s going to become Sontag,” said Gabrielle Tana, Brouhaha Entertainment co-founder. “It will be a drama, but with a documentary aspect to it. Kirsten has a wonderful approach to storytelling,...
- 2/10/2023
- by Anita Tai
- ET Canada
Kristen Stewart is no stranger to biopics, with “Seberg” in 2019 and “Spencer” in 2021. Now she has another to add to her upcoming projects, but this one has a meta twist. Variety reports (via Screen Daily) that Stewart will star as the writer and intellectual Susan Sontag in Kirsten Johnson‘s next film, the director’s follow-up to 2016’s “Cameraperson‘ and 2020’s “Dick Johnson Is Dead.”
Read More: ‘The Chronology Of Water’: Kristen Stewart’s Feature Directorial Debut Is A Swimming Memoir With Imogen Poots Set To Star
Johnson will base “Sontag” off Ben Moser‘s 2019 biography “Sontag: Her Life,” with Johnson co-writing a script with Lisa Kron.
Continue reading Kristen Stewart Will Play Susan Sontag In Kirsten Johnson’s Upcoming Meta Documentary, Which Starts Filming At Berlin 2023 at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘The Chronology Of Water’: Kristen Stewart’s Feature Directorial Debut Is A Swimming Memoir With Imogen Poots Set To Star
Johnson will base “Sontag” off Ben Moser‘s 2019 biography “Sontag: Her Life,” with Johnson co-writing a script with Lisa Kron.
Continue reading Kristen Stewart Will Play Susan Sontag In Kirsten Johnson’s Upcoming Meta Documentary, Which Starts Filming At Berlin 2023 at The Playlist.
- 2/10/2023
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Kristen Stewart’s next role continues her trend of portraying influential real life women, although this project will feature a meta twist.
The actor is set to portray Susan Sontag in “Sontag,” which will be directed by Kirsten Johnson. Screen Daily first reported the project. The feature is based on the biography “Sontag: Her Life” by Ben Moser, and will be written for the screen by Johnson and Lisa Kron. UK-Australia-based Brouhaha Entertainment will produce the project, which is set to start filming at the Berlin Film Festival, where Stewart is the jury president.
“We’re using Berlin as a moment to kick off the project and do documentary footage of Kristen as the head of the jury and talking to her about how she’s going to become Sontag,” said Gabrielle Tana, who co-founded Brouhaha Entertainment and is producer on the project. “It will be a drama, but with a documentary aspect to it.
The actor is set to portray Susan Sontag in “Sontag,” which will be directed by Kirsten Johnson. Screen Daily first reported the project. The feature is based on the biography “Sontag: Her Life” by Ben Moser, and will be written for the screen by Johnson and Lisa Kron. UK-Australia-based Brouhaha Entertainment will produce the project, which is set to start filming at the Berlin Film Festival, where Stewart is the jury president.
“We’re using Berlin as a moment to kick off the project and do documentary footage of Kristen as the head of the jury and talking to her about how she’s going to become Sontag,” said Gabrielle Tana, who co-founded Brouhaha Entertainment and is producer on the project. “It will be a drama, but with a documentary aspect to it.
- 2/10/2023
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
On the heels of collaborating with David Cronenberg and Olivier Assayas last year, Kristen Stewart has found a new project. It’s quite an enticing amalgamation of talent: Cameraperson and Dick Johnson is Dead director Kirsten Johnson will direct Stewart in the tentatively titled Sontag, in which the actress will play the legendary Susan Sontag.
Screen Daily has the first details on the project, which will actually begin shooting at the Berlin International Film Festival this month, where Stewart is president of the international jury. As one might expect from Johnson, the project will not take the form of a standard biopic, rather capturing four chapters in the writer, philosopher, and activist’s life. Based on Ben Moser’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Sontag: Her Life and co-written by Johnson and Lisa Kron, the film is backed by Brouhaha Entertainment.
“We’re using Berlin as a moment to kick off the...
Screen Daily has the first details on the project, which will actually begin shooting at the Berlin International Film Festival this month, where Stewart is president of the international jury. As one might expect from Johnson, the project will not take the form of a standard biopic, rather capturing four chapters in the writer, philosopher, and activist’s life. Based on Ben Moser’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Sontag: Her Life and co-written by Johnson and Lisa Kron, the film is backed by Brouhaha Entertainment.
“We’re using Berlin as a moment to kick off the...
- 2/10/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
US documentary filmmaker Kirsten Johnson will direct, with filming commencing at the Berlinale.
Kristen Stewart is to play US writer, philosopher and political activist Susan Sontag in an upcoming feature for UK-Australia production outfit Brouhaha Entertainment, with US filmmaker Kirsten Johnson to direct.
Four chapters in the tumultuous life of the celebrated and controversial 20th century intellectual will be depicted in the drama, which is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Sontag: Her Life by Ben Moser. The feature has the working title of Sontag.
New Yorker Sontag, who passed away in 2004, is known for her widely influential critical works such as Against Interpretation,...
Kristen Stewart is to play US writer, philosopher and political activist Susan Sontag in an upcoming feature for UK-Australia production outfit Brouhaha Entertainment, with US filmmaker Kirsten Johnson to direct.
Four chapters in the tumultuous life of the celebrated and controversial 20th century intellectual will be depicted in the drama, which is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Sontag: Her Life by Ben Moser. The feature has the working title of Sontag.
New Yorker Sontag, who passed away in 2004, is known for her widely influential critical works such as Against Interpretation,...
- 2/10/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Hard hitting social issue documentaries are getting more difficult to make and sell with each passing year. But despite the market’s fondness for true crime and celebrity-driven nonfiction content, the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program (Dfp) isn’t wavering when it comes to its support of docu filmmakers telling stories dealing with social impact topics including human rights, racial justice, gender equity, democracy, LGBTQ rights, environmental sustainability, freedom of expression, and civic empowerment.
This month marks the 20th anniversary of the Dfp, which was established by the late Diane Weyermann in October 2002. In the last two decades the Dfp has supported more than 1,000 projects from all over the world via the fund and/or its Edit, Story, and Producers labs. Docus that have received financial and instructional support from the Dfp include Garrett Bradley’s “Time,” Roger Ross Williams’ “God Loves Uganda,” Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson,” Bing Liu’s “Minding the Gap,...
This month marks the 20th anniversary of the Dfp, which was established by the late Diane Weyermann in October 2002. In the last two decades the Dfp has supported more than 1,000 projects from all over the world via the fund and/or its Edit, Story, and Producers labs. Docus that have received financial and instructional support from the Dfp include Garrett Bradley’s “Time,” Roger Ross Williams’ “God Loves Uganda,” Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson,” Bing Liu’s “Minding the Gap,...
- 10/28/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
This review originally ran January 24, 2022, for the film’s Sundance Film Festival premiere.
There’s a Jewish phrase that people often say after someone dies: “May their memory be a blessing.” It represents different things to different people, but is intended as an active remembrance, a way to both honor and extend the virtue of the deceased. Ondi Timoner’s deeply moving documentary, “Last Flight Home,” ends with a version of this phrase. But every scene serves as an example of its many meaningful facets.
Timoner’s films — including two Sundance Grand Jury Prize winners, “Dig!” and “We Live in Public” — tend to be searching and intense, but none have ever dug more deeply than this one. Last year, when her father Eli was 93 and failing swiftly, he declared that he wanted to end his life on his own terms. Because his home state of California has a Death with Dignity law,...
There’s a Jewish phrase that people often say after someone dies: “May their memory be a blessing.” It represents different things to different people, but is intended as an active remembrance, a way to both honor and extend the virtue of the deceased. Ondi Timoner’s deeply moving documentary, “Last Flight Home,” ends with a version of this phrase. But every scene serves as an example of its many meaningful facets.
Timoner’s films — including two Sundance Grand Jury Prize winners, “Dig!” and “We Live in Public” — tend to be searching and intense, but none have ever dug more deeply than this one. Last year, when her father Eli was 93 and failing swiftly, he declared that he wanted to end his life on his own terms. Because his home state of California has a Death with Dignity law,...
- 10/6/2022
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
As police brutality and the militarization of law enforcement continue to be debated in America, it’s increasingly important to investigate the way those issues have shaped the nation’s past. “Riotsville U.S.A.,” Sierra Pettengill’s documentary that explores the model towns that were set up in the 1960s to train police officers for violent confrontation with rioters, seeks to fill an essential gap in that discourse. The film premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is currently gearing up for a September theatrical release, with the first trailer premiering exclusively on IndieWire today.
According to the official synopsis from Magnolia Pictures, “Riotsville, U.S.A.” tells the story of a turning point in American history where the protest movements of the late 1960s came into conflict with increasingly militarized police departments. Focusing on unearthed military training footage of Army-built model towns called “Riotsvilles,” where military and police were trained to respond...
According to the official synopsis from Magnolia Pictures, “Riotsville, U.S.A.” tells the story of a turning point in American history where the protest movements of the late 1960s came into conflict with increasingly militarized police departments. Focusing on unearthed military training footage of Army-built model towns called “Riotsvilles,” where military and police were trained to respond...
- 8/16/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
This list was updated on June 7, 2022 in celebration of this year’s Pride month. It was first published on August 25, 2017.
The last few years have not only brought LGBTQ films and stories further into the mainstream, but queer films have dominated awards seasons and found commercial success in unlikely places. This has been more than a long time coming: The New Queer Cinema was a major influence on the indie film boom of the ’90s, and set the bar high for the many queer films to follow.
No longer limited by minuscule budgets, films with gay and lesbian stories have flourished in the first two decades of the 21st century. There is something about the scrappy DIY aesthetic that will always be essentially queer — and the films below reflect a notable shift in the ambition and scope of contemporary queer films. While there may not be a new wave of...
The last few years have not only brought LGBTQ films and stories further into the mainstream, but queer films have dominated awards seasons and found commercial success in unlikely places. This has been more than a long time coming: The New Queer Cinema was a major influence on the indie film boom of the ’90s, and set the bar high for the many queer films to follow.
No longer limited by minuscule budgets, films with gay and lesbian stories have flourished in the first two decades of the 21st century. There is something about the scrappy DIY aesthetic that will always be essentially queer — and the films below reflect a notable shift in the ambition and scope of contemporary queer films. While there may not be a new wave of...
- 6/7/2022
- by Jude Dry and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Tizian Büchi ’s Like An Island won the 22,000 grand jury prize.
Tizian Büchi ’s Like An Island won the 22,000 grand jury prize of the international competition at Switzerland’s documentary film festival Visions du Réel on April 17. It is the first time a Swiss director has won the prize since 2013.
Chinese filmmaker Wenqian Zhang’s debut feature Long Journey Home was awarded the jury prize of the Burning Lights competition, winning a cash prize 11,000.
Additionally, Swiss-Japanese filmmaker Julie Sando secured a double win with the Zonta Prize for a film by a female filmmaker and the jury prize in the...
Tizian Büchi ’s Like An Island won the 22,000 grand jury prize of the international competition at Switzerland’s documentary film festival Visions du Réel on April 17. It is the first time a Swiss director has won the prize since 2013.
Chinese filmmaker Wenqian Zhang’s debut feature Long Journey Home was awarded the jury prize of the Burning Lights competition, winning a cash prize 11,000.
Additionally, Swiss-Japanese filmmaker Julie Sando secured a double win with the Zonta Prize for a film by a female filmmaker and the jury prize in the...
- 4/19/2022
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
Ukrainian filmmakers and producers discussed the act of resisting war through images during an online talk Thursday at international documentary film festival Visions du Réel.
The panel was made up of producer Illia Gladshtein and director Nadia Parfan, whose film “Heat Singers” screened at the festival in 2019, Maksim Nakonechnyi, whose debut film “Butterfly Vision” will be in the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes next month, and photographer and director Artem Iurchenko.
Nakonechnyi has been shooting in Ukraine since the first days of the war and Parfan returned from an artist’s residence in Egypt in the wake of the Russian invasion to document what was happening in her country. Iurchenko, who is based in Paris, has been traveling across Europe in his car since the start of the war, transporting refugees, equipment, medical and humanitarian aid to and from Ukraine. A monumental print of his photograph of a Ukrainian...
The panel was made up of producer Illia Gladshtein and director Nadia Parfan, whose film “Heat Singers” screened at the festival in 2019, Maksim Nakonechnyi, whose debut film “Butterfly Vision” will be in the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes next month, and photographer and director Artem Iurchenko.
Nakonechnyi has been shooting in Ukraine since the first days of the war and Parfan returned from an artist’s residence in Egypt in the wake of the Russian invasion to document what was happening in her country. Iurchenko, who is based in Paris, has been traveling across Europe in his car since the start of the war, transporting refugees, equipment, medical and humanitarian aid to and from Ukraine. A monumental print of his photograph of a Ukrainian...
- 4/16/2022
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Opening her masterclass at doc film festival Visions du Réel in Switzerland, cinematographer and filmmaker Kirsten Johnson – an Emmy and Sundance award winner for “Dick Johnson Is Dead” – started by naming each and every member of the technical crew on set.
“What I often find upsetting with cinema is that we forget to acknowledge all the people it takes to make these moments together. I learnt that through being a cameraperson, and I’m interested in understanding why we want to reduce it to just one person, because there’s something beautiful about the fact that all of these humans, collectively, help us be here today,” she said, employing her favorite word to describe her work, “Cameraperson,” which is also the title of second feature film.
Over three decades, Johnson has worked on some 60 films as a cinematographer, for the likes of Michael Moore and Laura Poitras, made a couple...
“What I often find upsetting with cinema is that we forget to acknowledge all the people it takes to make these moments together. I learnt that through being a cameraperson, and I’m interested in understanding why we want to reduce it to just one person, because there’s something beautiful about the fact that all of these humans, collectively, help us be here today,” she said, employing her favorite word to describe her work, “Cameraperson,” which is also the title of second feature film.
Over three decades, Johnson has worked on some 60 films as a cinematographer, for the likes of Michael Moore and Laura Poitras, made a couple...
- 4/16/2022
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel has opened in Nyon with a homage to Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius, who was killed while filming in Ukraine last week.
The 45 year old, best known for his conflict-zone documentary “Mariupolis,” which was screened at the 2016 edition of the fest and has been added to this year’s lineup, was a festival regular.
Ukraine will be the focus of a round table at the festival’s online Industry Talks on April 14 entitled “Filming in Resistance,” where Ukrainian filmmakers and producers will join the debate live from Ukraine to discuss the act of resistance through images.
The programming of doc films in A-list festival lineups will also be at the heart of Industry Talks on April 10 with an A-list panel, including Frédéric Boyer, artistic director of the Tribeca Film Festival, Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, U.S. programmer and selection committee member of the Venice Film Festival,...
The 45 year old, best known for his conflict-zone documentary “Mariupolis,” which was screened at the 2016 edition of the fest and has been added to this year’s lineup, was a festival regular.
Ukraine will be the focus of a round table at the festival’s online Industry Talks on April 14 entitled “Filming in Resistance,” where Ukrainian filmmakers and producers will join the debate live from Ukraine to discuss the act of resistance through images.
The programming of doc films in A-list festival lineups will also be at the heart of Industry Talks on April 10 with an A-list panel, including Frédéric Boyer, artistic director of the Tribeca Film Festival, Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, U.S. programmer and selection committee member of the Venice Film Festival,...
- 4/7/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Belgium-based Iranian filmmaker Vida Dena’s debut feature documentary follows two Syrian girls adjusting to life in Brussels.
Paris-based sales agent Cat&Docs has acquired international rights to Visions du Réel competition title My Paper Life about two Syrian girls adjusting to a new life in Belgium.
The debut feature documentary of Belgium-based Iranian filmmaker Vida Dena will world premiere at the Swiss documentary film festival, running from April 7-17 in the lakeside town of Nyon.
My Paper Life centres on the two eldest daughters of a Syrian refugee family living in Brussels and their growing collection of drawings and dreams.
Paris-based sales agent Cat&Docs has acquired international rights to Visions du Réel competition title My Paper Life about two Syrian girls adjusting to a new life in Belgium.
The debut feature documentary of Belgium-based Iranian filmmaker Vida Dena will world premiere at the Swiss documentary film festival, running from April 7-17 in the lakeside town of Nyon.
My Paper Life centres on the two eldest daughters of a Syrian refugee family living in Brussels and their growing collection of drawings and dreams.
- 4/7/2022
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
Festival line-up includes 84 world premieres.
Elizabeth, the feature documentary directed by the late Roger Michell, heads the programme of the 53rd edition of Switzerland’s Visions du Réel (VdR) film festival.
The film will play as a special screening out of competition at the non-fiction festival in Nyon. Elizabeth looks at the life of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving female head of state in history.
Elizabeth comes to VdR following a world premiere at Belgium’s Ostend Film Festival earlier this month.
It is produced by Kevin Loader for the UK’s Free Range Films, with Embankment Films handling sales...
Elizabeth, the feature documentary directed by the late Roger Michell, heads the programme of the 53rd edition of Switzerland’s Visions du Réel (VdR) film festival.
The film will play as a special screening out of competition at the non-fiction festival in Nyon. Elizabeth looks at the life of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving female head of state in history.
Elizabeth comes to VdR following a world premiere at Belgium’s Ostend Film Festival earlier this month.
It is produced by Kevin Loader for the UK’s Free Range Films, with Embankment Films handling sales...
- 3/17/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Festival line-up includes 84 world premieres.
Elizabeth, the feature documentary directed by the late Roger Michell, will have its world premiere at the 53rd edition of Switzerland’s Visions du Réel (VdR) film festival.
The film will play as a special screening out of competition at the non-fiction festival in Nyon. Elizabeth looks at the life of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving female head of state in history.
It is produced by Kevin Loader for the UK’s Free Range Films, with Embankment Films handling sales and Signature distributing in the UK and Ireland.
It is one of 84 world premieres on the VdR line-up,...
Elizabeth, the feature documentary directed by the late Roger Michell, will have its world premiere at the 53rd edition of Switzerland’s Visions du Réel (VdR) film festival.
The film will play as a special screening out of competition at the non-fiction festival in Nyon. Elizabeth looks at the life of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving female head of state in history.
It is produced by Kevin Loader for the UK’s Free Range Films, with Embankment Films handling sales and Signature distributing in the UK and Ireland.
It is one of 84 world premieres on the VdR line-up,...
- 3/17/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel (VdR), which revealed its industry program last week, has unveiled its full lineup as it prepares to welcome participants both in person and online. A total of 160 films will be screened throughout the fest, which runs from April 7 through to April 17 in half a dozen venues in and around the city of Nyon.
While the event is back in its physical form, organizers have learned from the past two editions and decided to keep a strong online presence. “We realized it’s a way of expanding the spectrum of people taking part. It’s not about replacing the theaters, but most of the films won’t be released so I feel it’s our job to go beyond and reach the people who cannot attend physically,” the festival’s artistic director Emilie Bujès told Variety.
A selection of around 50 films will be accessible...
While the event is back in its physical form, organizers have learned from the past two editions and decided to keep a strong online presence. “We realized it’s a way of expanding the spectrum of people taking part. It’s not about replacing the theaters, but most of the films won’t be released so I feel it’s our job to go beyond and reach the people who cannot attend physically,” the festival’s artistic director Emilie Bujès told Variety.
A selection of around 50 films will be accessible...
- 3/15/2022
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
The only Oscar-nominated documentary without a distributor has finally found a home.
HBO Documentary Films has acquired the Academy Award-nominated documentary short, When We Were Bullies, from longtime HBO collaborator Jay Rosenblatt. The documentary debuts Wednesday, March 30 at 9 Et/Pt on HBO, and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
The short begins with a mind boggling coincidence from 25 years ago. That ultimately leads filmmaker Rosenblatt to track down his fifth grade class to see what they remember from a bullying incident that occurred 50 years ago. Weaving together a collage of archival material, found footage, stop-motion animation and interviews with classmates and a teacher from the time, the film is a highly personal look back at a Brooklyn schoolyard incident that resonated for decades.
“When We Were Bullies has found the perfect home. I am honored to have another one of my films air on HBO,...
HBO Documentary Films has acquired the Academy Award-nominated documentary short, When We Were Bullies, from longtime HBO collaborator Jay Rosenblatt. The documentary debuts Wednesday, March 30 at 9 Et/Pt on HBO, and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
The short begins with a mind boggling coincidence from 25 years ago. That ultimately leads filmmaker Rosenblatt to track down his fifth grade class to see what they remember from a bullying incident that occurred 50 years ago. Weaving together a collage of archival material, found footage, stop-motion animation and interviews with classmates and a teacher from the time, the film is a highly personal look back at a Brooklyn schoolyard incident that resonated for decades.
“When We Were Bullies has found the perfect home. I am honored to have another one of my films air on HBO,...
- 3/3/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Independent film supporter Rooftop Films announced the 2022 Filmmaker Fund winners February 28, exclusively on IndieWire.
The prestigious Water Tower Feature Film Cash Grant was awarded to “The 40-Year-Old Version” writer-director-producer-star Radha Blank, for her upcoming untitled dark dramedy.
Environmental director Eleanor Mortimer also won a Water Tower grant for an untitled deep sea taxonomy documentary, which “follows biologists through the intricate process of discovering deep-sea species as they piece together the unknown ecosystems of the largest biome on the planet.”
The $15,000 grants are made possible by generous support from the Laurence W. Levine Foundation.
The Rooftop Filmmakers Fund grants are available to Rooftop Films alumni directors who have previously had their work screened during the annual Summer Series in New York City. Blank screened her debut feature, “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” with Rooftop Films in 2020 at the Queens Drive-In. Mortimer screened her award-winning short film “Territory” at Rooftop Films in 2016.
This year,...
The prestigious Water Tower Feature Film Cash Grant was awarded to “The 40-Year-Old Version” writer-director-producer-star Radha Blank, for her upcoming untitled dark dramedy.
Environmental director Eleanor Mortimer also won a Water Tower grant for an untitled deep sea taxonomy documentary, which “follows biologists through the intricate process of discovering deep-sea species as they piece together the unknown ecosystems of the largest biome on the planet.”
The $15,000 grants are made possible by generous support from the Laurence W. Levine Foundation.
The Rooftop Filmmakers Fund grants are available to Rooftop Films alumni directors who have previously had their work screened during the annual Summer Series in New York City. Blank screened her debut feature, “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” with Rooftop Films in 2020 at the Queens Drive-In. Mortimer screened her award-winning short film “Territory” at Rooftop Films in 2016.
This year,...
- 2/28/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Most of us eventually have to think about the death of our elderly parents. Even though it's 'natural' (generally children outlive their parents), both the practical considerations and the emotional toll can make many of us not want to think about this sad fact of life. Cinematographer and documentarian Kirsten Johnson, being a storyteller, decided to take a different route. And how lucky we are that she did, as the work she created from that love and curiousity is surely one of the best documentaries of recent years. Criterion's release of Dick Johnson is Dead might seem a little fast (just two years since its premiere at Sundance), and yet one could argue - well, I would argue - that we need it. Johnson's exploration...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 1/31/2022
- Screen Anarchy
NewFest, New York’s LGBTQ+ film and media organization, on Friday unveiled the spring lineup for “NewFest Presents,” its monthly screening series taking place in-person at The LGBT Community Center in NYC, and streaming virtually through NewFest’s Virtual Screening Room nationwide. The announcement was made today by NewFest’s executive director David Hatkoff and director of programming Nick McCarthy.
NewFest Presents will showcase three new feature films from February through April 2022, with talent joining for in-person screenings. The films are Michiel Thomas’ true crime documentary Gemmel & Tim, exploring the lives and untimely passing of two gay Black men and the impact this had on the LGBTQ+ community; Nicola Mai’s narrative and documentary hybrid feature Caer, exploring the epidemics of U.S. incarceration and deportation, and making room for the women at the center of the violence to tell their own...
NewFest Presents will showcase three new feature films from February through April 2022, with talent joining for in-person screenings. The films are Michiel Thomas’ true crime documentary Gemmel & Tim, exploring the lives and untimely passing of two gay Black men and the impact this had on the LGBTQ+ community; Nicola Mai’s narrative and documentary hybrid feature Caer, exploring the epidemics of U.S. incarceration and deportation, and making room for the women at the center of the violence to tell their own...
- 1/28/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Filmmakers Daniel Fradin and Kyle Rosenbluth today announced the launch of their bicoastal production company, Frank and Beans Pictures, which will focus on producing documentaries, narrative films, and branded content. The announcement comes as their EarthX-winning documentary short, Arctic Summer, premieres online as a Vimeo Staff Pick, following an extended run on the festival circuit.
Fradin and Rosenbluth are currently in development on the documentary Post No Bills, their first narrative feature Baby Boy Man, and Driverless, a sci-fi thriller they’re collaborating on with producer David Sweeney of Sweeney Entertainment. Baby Boy Man is billed as a comedy examining Broadway in the 1990s, with Driverless, scripted by Fradin, looking to examine a young female journalist who uncovers sinister secrets within the driverless car space. Fradin is also currently in post-production on his short film, A Funny Thing Happened to Bennie Baron.
Fradin and Rosenbluth met as undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania,...
Fradin and Rosenbluth are currently in development on the documentary Post No Bills, their first narrative feature Baby Boy Man, and Driverless, a sci-fi thriller they’re collaborating on with producer David Sweeney of Sweeney Entertainment. Baby Boy Man is billed as a comedy examining Broadway in the 1990s, with Driverless, scripted by Fradin, looking to examine a young female journalist who uncovers sinister secrets within the driverless car space. Fradin is also currently in post-production on his short film, A Funny Thing Happened to Bennie Baron.
Fradin and Rosenbluth met as undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania,...
- 12/9/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
See our comprehensive guide to where to stream the best films of 2021.
Adrienne (Andy Ostroy)
I hadn’t seen any of Adrienne Shelly’s work at the time of her death, but you couldn’t follow the film world in 2006 without hearing about what happened. News sites first latched onto the assumption of suicide only to discover what happened was murder—the culprit found, arrested, and confessed shortly afterwards. And amidst that tragic whirlwind during the final two months of that year, Shelly’s latest film as writer-director-star, Waitress, was in submission at Sundance. It would eventually bow at the festival, find distribution, become an overnight indie darling, and spawn a Broadway musical adaptation with songs by Sara Bareilles. She unfortunately never...
See our comprehensive guide to where to stream the best films of 2021.
Adrienne (Andy Ostroy)
I hadn’t seen any of Adrienne Shelly’s work at the time of her death, but you couldn’t follow the film world in 2006 without hearing about what happened. News sites first latched onto the assumption of suicide only to discover what happened was murder—the culprit found, arrested, and confessed shortly afterwards. And amidst that tragic whirlwind during the final two months of that year, Shelly’s latest film as writer-director-star, Waitress, was in submission at Sundance. It would eventually bow at the festival, find distribution, become an overnight indie darling, and spawn a Broadway musical adaptation with songs by Sara Bareilles. She unfortunately never...
- 12/3/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Gotham Awards were handed out on November 29 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. So who won at these annual indie film kudos from The Gotham Film and Media Institute, which streamed on YouTube and Facebook? Scroll down for the complete list of winners in all categories.
Netflix’s “The Lost Daughter” and “Passing” went in as the two most nominated films with five apiece, but that didn’t automatically mean they were the front-runners. Categories at these awards are judged by panels of just a handful of industry insiders, often leading to unexpected, under-the-radar winners. You can’t count anyone out at an event where unique juries review all the nominated material.
Seersvp now for November 30: Film producers panel with ‘Being the Ricardos,’ ‘Belfast,’ ‘The Power of the Dog,’ ‘tick, tick… Boom!’
That means these awards can be quite idiosyncratic — they’re independent thinkers, and not...
Netflix’s “The Lost Daughter” and “Passing” went in as the two most nominated films with five apiece, but that didn’t automatically mean they were the front-runners. Categories at these awards are judged by panels of just a handful of industry insiders, often leading to unexpected, under-the-radar winners. You can’t count anyone out at an event where unique juries review all the nominated material.
Seersvp now for November 30: Film producers panel with ‘Being the Ricardos,’ ‘Belfast,’ ‘The Power of the Dog,’ ‘tick, tick… Boom!’
That means these awards can be quite idiosyncratic — they’re independent thinkers, and not...
- 11/30/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
An array of the most acclaimed documentaries of the last 50 years bear the stamp of one singular talent: Joan Churchill, filmmaker and cinematographer.
Her first credit, in 1970, came as a camera operator on Gimme Shelter, the classic documentary about the Rolling Stones at Altamont directed by the Maysles Brothers and Charlotte Zwerin. She’s been shooting films ever since, including Jimi at Berkeley (1971); Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll (1987); Kurt & Courtney (1998); Biggie & Tupac (2002); Shut Up & Sing, the 2006 doc about the Dixie Chicks, and the Oscar-nominated Last Days in Vietnam (2014).
She also co-directed a number of award-winning films with her former husband Nick Broomfield, including Soldier Girls (1981); Lily Tomlin (1986); Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003), and 2011’s Sarah Palin: You Betcha!
In honor of her career in cinema, Churchill is being recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award at Doc NYC, the country’s largest all-documentary festival, which opens today.
Her first credit, in 1970, came as a camera operator on Gimme Shelter, the classic documentary about the Rolling Stones at Altamont directed by the Maysles Brothers and Charlotte Zwerin. She’s been shooting films ever since, including Jimi at Berkeley (1971); Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll (1987); Kurt & Courtney (1998); Biggie & Tupac (2002); Shut Up & Sing, the 2006 doc about the Dixie Chicks, and the Oscar-nominated Last Days in Vietnam (2014).
She also co-directed a number of award-winning films with her former husband Nick Broomfield, including Soldier Girls (1981); Lily Tomlin (1986); Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003), and 2011’s Sarah Palin: You Betcha!
In honor of her career in cinema, Churchill is being recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award at Doc NYC, the country’s largest all-documentary festival, which opens today.
- 11/11/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The Critics Choice Association has announced nominees for the sixth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards.
The awards cover documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms. The awards gala takes place Nov. 14 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“Ascension” and “Summer of Soul, both from first-time documentarians, led the nominations with six each. “Becoming Cousteau” and “The Rescue” both received five nods each.
“This has been and continues to be a fantastic year for documentary storytelling. And the number of first-time feature documentarians in the mix of nominees, alongside proven veterans, shows that nonfiction cinema continues to have a very bright future,” said Christopher Campbell, President of the Critics Choice Association Documentary Branch. “Our world, from its most amazing wonders to its greatest challenges, is being reflected back on the screen so immediately and creatively by today’s filmmakers, and it’s a tremendous honor for us to recognize all of their achievements.
The awards cover documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms. The awards gala takes place Nov. 14 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“Ascension” and “Summer of Soul, both from first-time documentarians, led the nominations with six each. “Becoming Cousteau” and “The Rescue” both received five nods each.
“This has been and continues to be a fantastic year for documentary storytelling. And the number of first-time feature documentarians in the mix of nominees, alongside proven veterans, shows that nonfiction cinema continues to have a very bright future,” said Christopher Campbell, President of the Critics Choice Association Documentary Branch. “Our world, from its most amazing wonders to its greatest challenges, is being reflected back on the screen so immediately and creatively by today’s filmmakers, and it’s a tremendous honor for us to recognize all of their achievements.
- 10/18/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
The Critics Choice Association (Cca) has announced the nominees for the sixth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards (Ccda). This year’s winners will be revealed at a gala on Sunday, November 14, 2021, in Brooklyn, NY. The awards honor the best achievements in nonfiction released in theaters, on TV, or on major digital platforms.
Both films by first-time documentarians, “Ascension” and “Summer of Soul” lead this year’s nominations with six each. “Ascension,” a look at the Chinese dream across social classes, is also up for Documentary Feature, Director (Jessica Kingdon), First Feature, Cinematography, Editing, and Score. Meanwhile, “Summer of Soul” is up for Documentary Feature, Best Director (Ahmir “Questlove’ Thompson), First Documentary, Editing, Archival Documentary, and Music Documentary.
“Becoming Cousteau” and “The Rescue” also picked up five nominations each.
Last year, “Dick Johnson Is Dead” took home the Cca’s top award for Best Documentary as well as the Best Director award for Kirsten Johnson.
Both films by first-time documentarians, “Ascension” and “Summer of Soul” lead this year’s nominations with six each. “Ascension,” a look at the Chinese dream across social classes, is also up for Documentary Feature, Director (Jessica Kingdon), First Feature, Cinematography, Editing, and Score. Meanwhile, “Summer of Soul” is up for Documentary Feature, Best Director (Ahmir “Questlove’ Thompson), First Documentary, Editing, Archival Documentary, and Music Documentary.
“Becoming Cousteau” and “The Rescue” also picked up five nominations each.
Last year, “Dick Johnson Is Dead” took home the Cca’s top award for Best Documentary as well as the Best Director award for Kirsten Johnson.
- 10/18/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
2022 is on the horizon, and rest assured: Criterion continues. Their new year starts auspiciously with a mix of old and new, first-timers and returning champ side-by-side. Worth noting off the top they’re continuing their 4K rollout with John, Paul, George, and—who else—Ringo in 2,160 pixels, A Hard Day’s Night presented in Dolby Vision Hdr and retaining supplements from Criterion’s 2014 Blu-ray.
New additions are Jane Campion’s The Piano, also in 4K; Garrett Bradley’s Time, by most consensus the greatest documentary of the last five years; Thomas Vinterberg’s The Celebration, which they have (rightly) crowned modern European cinema’s Yeezus; and Kirsten Johnson’s Dick Johnson is Dead, about which more here. Not to armchair-quarterback here when we say this is an outstanding selection for its breadth of form: two docs, two established classics in ultra HD, and one of the most groundbreaking films of the...
New additions are Jane Campion’s The Piano, also in 4K; Garrett Bradley’s Time, by most consensus the greatest documentary of the last five years; Thomas Vinterberg’s The Celebration, which they have (rightly) crowned modern European cinema’s Yeezus; and Kirsten Johnson’s Dick Johnson is Dead, about which more here. Not to armchair-quarterback here when we say this is an outstanding selection for its breadth of form: two docs, two established classics in ultra HD, and one of the most groundbreaking films of the...
- 10/15/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Netflix’s awards hopefuls Robert Greene’s “Procession” and Alonso Ruizpalacios’ “A Cop Movie” are heading to Manhattan’s Paris Theater as part of its “New Directions in Documentary” series.
Both hybrid features, which are vying for a spot on this year’s Academy Award doc shortlist, will screen alongside previously celebrated form-bending docus in the upcoming series beginning Oct. 15.
Since 2019 Netflix has operated the 571-seat venue, which the streaming company uses year-round for exclusive theatrical engagements, premieres, special events, retrospectives, and filmmaker appearances.
Curated by Paris Theater programmer David Schwartz, the five-day public event will highlight and celebrate docus that combine elements of fiction and non-fiction into the fabric of their storytelling.
“ ‘Procession’ and ‘A Cop Movie’ are exciting and inventive movies that heighten the documentary form,” says Schwartz. “They find innovative ways to explore truth through deeply personal and dramatic subjects. Their work transcends the formulaic with rigorous fidelity to vision,...
Both hybrid features, which are vying for a spot on this year’s Academy Award doc shortlist, will screen alongside previously celebrated form-bending docus in the upcoming series beginning Oct. 15.
Since 2019 Netflix has operated the 571-seat venue, which the streaming company uses year-round for exclusive theatrical engagements, premieres, special events, retrospectives, and filmmaker appearances.
Curated by Paris Theater programmer David Schwartz, the five-day public event will highlight and celebrate docus that combine elements of fiction and non-fiction into the fabric of their storytelling.
“ ‘Procession’ and ‘A Cop Movie’ are exciting and inventive movies that heighten the documentary form,” says Schwartz. “They find innovative ways to explore truth through deeply personal and dramatic subjects. Their work transcends the formulaic with rigorous fidelity to vision,...
- 10/5/2021
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Olivia Colman, Josh O’Connor, Kate Winslet collect awards.
The Crown gave Netflix its first ever best drama series win at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, with the streaming giant also beating out regular awards rival HBO for the first time by taking the biggest overall Emmy haul.
The Queen’s Gambit earned Netflix another first win in the best limited or anthology series category and Ted Lasso provided Apple TV+ with its first big Emmy showing as best comedy series.
Starting with 129 nominations, Netflix took 10 awards during Sunday’s ceremony to add to the 34 it had scored during earlier Creative Arts Emmy events,...
The Crown gave Netflix its first ever best drama series win at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, with the streaming giant also beating out regular awards rival HBO for the first time by taking the biggest overall Emmy haul.
The Queen’s Gambit earned Netflix another first win in the best limited or anthology series category and Ted Lasso provided Apple TV+ with its first big Emmy showing as best comedy series.
Starting with 129 nominations, Netflix took 10 awards during Sunday’s ceremony to add to the 34 it had scored during earlier Creative Arts Emmy events,...
- 9/20/2021
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
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