Jennifer Baichwal is an accomplished Canadian filmmaker whose ever-searching documentaries have taken up such diverse subjects as photography (The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams’ Appalachia), literary biography (Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles), the metaphysics of lightning strikes (Act of God), and the devastating underside of mass Western consumption (Manufactured Landscapes). In her latest film, Payback, loosely based on the prolific Booker Prize–winning author Margaret Atwood’s book-length study of debt as a structuring principle of life, language, and contemporary culture (the subtitle for her tome is The Shadow Side of Wealth), Baichwal investigates the disparate ways in which the idea of indebtedness has come to define everything from blood feuds to labor practices, prison terms to environmental clean-up efforts.
What does it mean to say we “owe” someone? How are debts created? Under what conditions do we seek justice or retribution, or attempt...
What does it mean to say we “owe” someone? How are debts created? Under what conditions do we seek justice or retribution, or attempt...
- 4/27/2012
- by Damon Smith
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
A documentary on the American author triggered a memory of a disturbing night at the writer's apartment that had been suppressed for 40 years
In 1998, at the Edinburgh Film Festival, I was happily watching the documentary Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles, when the weirdest thing happened to me. While the 87-year-old author was being interviewed in his apartment in Tangier, I had a strange feeling of deja vu. An African mask on the wall triggered the sense that I had been in that apartment before. Was that possible? Maybe I had seen a photo of it somewhere. I had come to the film without any pre-conceived notions, nor did I know much about Bowles, merely that he had written The Sheltering Sky, a book I had not read. I had seen Bernardo Bertolucci's film adaptation of it, which I had not much liked. That was the...
In 1998, at the Edinburgh Film Festival, I was happily watching the documentary Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles, when the weirdest thing happened to me. While the 87-year-old author was being interviewed in his apartment in Tangier, I had a strange feeling of deja vu. An African mask on the wall triggered the sense that I had been in that apartment before. Was that possible? Maybe I had seen a photo of it somewhere. I had come to the film without any pre-conceived notions, nor did I know much about Bowles, merely that he had written The Sheltering Sky, a book I had not read. I had seen Bernardo Bertolucci's film adaptation of it, which I had not much liked. That was the...
- 12/29/2009
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
NEW YORK -- Zeitgeist Films has nabbed all U.S. rights to Jennifer Baichwal's a documentary Manufactured Landscapes, following photographer Edward Burtynsky's quest to document the current industrial revolution in China and Bangladesh.
The film takes a look at the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, the Three Gorges Dam, and the impact of huge factories and globalization. "It'll make you think twice about the next appliance you buy," Zeitgeist co-president Emily Russo said.
Landscapes, which won the best Canadian feature award at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, will be released domestically in the summer.
Nick de Pencier, Daniel Iron and Baichwal produced the project. Zeitgeist released Baichwal's 1998 docu Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles
Zeitgeist's Russo negotiated the deal with Sheena Macdonald of Rhombus Media.
The film takes a look at the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, the Three Gorges Dam, and the impact of huge factories and globalization. "It'll make you think twice about the next appliance you buy," Zeitgeist co-president Emily Russo said.
Landscapes, which won the best Canadian feature award at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, will be released domestically in the summer.
Nick de Pencier, Daniel Iron and Baichwal produced the project. Zeitgeist released Baichwal's 1998 docu Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles
Zeitgeist's Russo negotiated the deal with Sheena Macdonald of Rhombus Media.
- 11/17/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.