Cinema Eye has named 10 filmmakers and 20 films that have been voted as the top achievements in documentary filmmaking during the past 10 years. Founded in 2007 to “recognize and honor exemplary craft and innovation in nonfiction film,” Cinema Eye polled 110 members of the documentary community to determine the winning films and filmmakers just as the organization kicks off its tenth year.
Read More: Behind the Scenes of Cinema Eye’s Secret Field Trip for Nominees
Among the films chosen are Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Act of Killing,” Laura Poitras’ Oscar-winning “Citizenfour” and Banksy’s “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” Poitras and Oppenheimer were both also named to the list of the top documentary filmmakers, joining Alex Gibney, Werner Herzog and Frederick Wiseman, who recently won an honorary Oscar and will be saluted at the annual Governors Awards on November 12.
“It’s fantastic that he is being recognized by the Academy for a...
Read More: Behind the Scenes of Cinema Eye’s Secret Field Trip for Nominees
Among the films chosen are Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Act of Killing,” Laura Poitras’ Oscar-winning “Citizenfour” and Banksy’s “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” Poitras and Oppenheimer were both also named to the list of the top documentary filmmakers, joining Alex Gibney, Werner Herzog and Frederick Wiseman, who recently won an honorary Oscar and will be saluted at the annual Governors Awards on November 12.
“It’s fantastic that he is being recognized by the Academy for a...
- 9/21/2016
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Robert Green, Margaret Brown, Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq have been selected as fellows for Sundance Institute’s new ‘Art Of Nonfiction’ initiative.
The Fellowship is an addition to the Documentary Film Program (Dfp) providing filmmakers resources to build sustainable creative practices for their documentary work.
Director of Sundance Institute’s Dfp Tabitha Jackson developed the Fellowship and Cinereach provides editorial and financial support for the launch. Applications were accepted by invitation only.
Robert Greene’s Kate Plays Christine is about to receive its world premiere at Sundance. The other recipients are Margaret Brown for The Order Of Myths and Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq for These Birds Walk.
“This initiative represents our renewed thinking about how we, as a funder and creative resource, can experiment with our programmes to better serve the needs of filmmakers who are experimenting with their own work,” said Jackson.
“We hope this more robust infrastructure of support will bring the community...
The Fellowship is an addition to the Documentary Film Program (Dfp) providing filmmakers resources to build sustainable creative practices for their documentary work.
Director of Sundance Institute’s Dfp Tabitha Jackson developed the Fellowship and Cinereach provides editorial and financial support for the launch. Applications were accepted by invitation only.
Robert Greene’s Kate Plays Christine is about to receive its world premiere at Sundance. The other recipients are Margaret Brown for The Order Of Myths and Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq for These Birds Walk.
“This initiative represents our renewed thinking about how we, as a funder and creative resource, can experiment with our programmes to better serve the needs of filmmakers who are experimenting with their own work,” said Jackson.
“We hope this more robust infrastructure of support will bring the community...
- 1/18/2016
- ScreenDaily
SundanceNow Doc Club, the streaming video subscription service that specializes in documentaries, has announced that online availability of its "Black Lives on Film" program of 11 documentaries, curated in honor of Black History Month. The lineup includes a number of films we've profiled on this blog over the years, including "The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975," "The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords," Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed" (available for the first time online), "King: A Filmed Record," "The Loving Story," "The Order of Myths" and several more. It truly is a solid group of documentary films, all of...
- 2/12/2015
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
She heartbreakingly depicted the demons wrestled by a troubled singer/songwriter in Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (2005), explored the line that divides in the festive backdrop of Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama with The Order of Myths (2008) and regionally doesn’t ventured too far, positing viewers in eye of the “after” storm with the massively, messy debacle that is the Bp oil spill.
The Great Invisible sees Margaret Brown weave together various points of view in the first comprehensive study of what occurred in the months and years following the toxic April 2010 date. With each new film, Brown continues to explore her Southern roots and her own style of poetic filmmaking. I sat down with Brown at the Cinetic Media offices in Manhattan to discuss what makes her third docu feature not only a national story but a personal one and what the aftermath...
The Great Invisible sees Margaret Brown weave together various points of view in the first comprehensive study of what occurred in the months and years following the toxic April 2010 date. With each new film, Brown continues to explore her Southern roots and her own style of poetic filmmaking. I sat down with Brown at the Cinetic Media offices in Manhattan to discuss what makes her third docu feature not only a national story but a personal one and what the aftermath...
- 11/3/2014
- by Justin Ambrosino
- IONCINEMA.com
Just in time for Halloween, Daniel Radcliffe gets some special powers and couple of appendages growing from his temples in Radius’ Horns, which will be this week’s biggest rollout among specialty newcomers. The title received a warm welcome at a Cinema Society event attended by its stars this week in New York. This week’s newbies are dominated by nonfiction fare, though with some exceptions. Kino Lorber is opening French/Swiss maestro Jean-Luc Godard’s Goodbye To Language following a successful festival run. It has been critically acclaimed, and the company is expecting it to be a box office winner too. The 2014 Best Documentary winners from South by Southwest and Tribeca are going head-to-head in their theatrical debuts. Radius’ The Great Invisible (SXSW) opened in limited release Wednesday in an exclusively theatrical rollout, and The Orchard is bowing Point And Shoot (Tribeca) in a single NYC run. Submarine Deluxe...
- 10/31/2014
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline
Margaret Brown's documentary The Great Invisible stands as a Very Important Film, and not just because of its impressive pedigree. Collectively, the creative team behind Invisible is responsible for the films The Order of Myths, God Loves Uganda, Night Catches Us, Food Inc., and dozens more socially conscious works. Invisible traces the history behind and fallout from British Petroleum's incalculably devastating rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Unfortunately, given both its content and the media's collective failure to fully report the (ongoing) story, the film only intermittently has a pulse. It's meant to be a multi-layered look at the issue, focusing on several rig workers who survived the blast, an elderly African...
- 10/29/2014
- Village Voice
TWC-Radius announced on Wednesday that it had acquired the SXSW Grand Jury Award-winning doc “The Great Invisible” from Participant Media and will release it late this year. The film, from writer/director Margaret Brown (“The Order of Myths”), “tells the story of the modern South – the fishermen, the oilmen, and the survivors – through the lens of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.” Also read: Radius Exec Tom Quinn on ‘Snowpiercer,’ VOD and Longform Desire: ‘I'm a Binge Viewer in the Worst Way’ In 2010, the Gulf Coast was devastated by the explosion of Bp's new oil rig, the Deepwater Horizon, which...
- 8/20/2014
- by Jordan Zakarin
- The Wrap
The Los Angeles Film Festival has revealed its jurors for the 2014 summer festival, its 20th, which runs from Wednesday, June 11 to Thursday, June 19 in downtown Los Angeles. The narrative jury:Writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton, whose "Short Term 12" won the Laff Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature in 2013Veteran producer Stuart Cornfeld ("Zoolander," "The Fly") Film critic Ella Taylor (NPR, Elle) The documentary jury:Editor Lynzee Klingman ("Hearts and Minds") Director Margaret Brown ("The Great Invisible," "The Order Of Myths")Film critic and author Justin Chang (Variety) The La Muse jury:Composer-singer-songwriter Kathryn Bostic ("Middle of Nowhere," "Dear White People")Writer-director,-producer Maryam Keshavarz ("Circumstance") Nicole Bernard, Executive Vice President at Laff sponsor Fox Audience Strategy Director Kevin Bray ("Walking Tall") The shorts jury:Writer-actor-director Todd Berger ("It’s a Disaster,"...
- 6/9/2014
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
April 20, 2014 will be the fourth anniversary of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which caused a spill of an estimated 176 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This horrific incident seriously altered the lives of the men who worked on the rig -- and the families of the 11 who lost their lives -- as well as the communities who once survived off jobs based on healthy waters in the Gulf. In The Great Invisible, director Margaret Brown (The Order of Myths, Be Here to Love Me) explores the aftereffects of the explosion and oil spill from multiple viewpoints.
Doug Brown, the chief mechanic for Transocean on the Deepwater Horizon (owned by Transocean, but leased by Bp), gave the director some video he filmed on the rig before the disastrous night. He and another victim of the explosion, along with their wives, talk about their experience that...
Doug Brown, the chief mechanic for Transocean on the Deepwater Horizon (owned by Transocean, but leased by Bp), gave the director some video he filmed on the rig before the disastrous night. He and another victim of the explosion, along with their wives, talk about their experience that...
- 3/11/2014
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
Documentarian Margaret Brown's new movie, The Great Invisible, depicts the response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and resultant oil spill from multiple viewpoints. Brown has deep ties to Alabama, one of the states hit hard by the oil spill, and used to call Austin home as well. Her previous film work includes the acclaimed 2004 Townes Van Zandt documentary Be Here to Love Me and 2008's The Order of Myths (Jette's Cinematical review), a look at segregated Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile that went on to win an Independent Spirit Award.
The Great Invisible is showing as part of SXSW's Documentary Competition, and will have its world premiere at the fest. (The music is from Austin composer David Wingo.) Director Brown recently participated in this interview (via email) with me.
Slackerwood: Once you chose to document the response to the Deepwater Horizon spill, what was your approach? How did you pick the interview subjects?...
The Great Invisible is showing as part of SXSW's Documentary Competition, and will have its world premiere at the fest. (The music is from Austin composer David Wingo.) Director Brown recently participated in this interview (via email) with me.
Slackerwood: Once you chose to document the response to the Deepwater Horizon spill, what was your approach? How did you pick the interview subjects?...
- 3/5/2014
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
The Great Invisible
Director: Margaret Brown
Producer: Jason Orans
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
We’ve been hyping the talents of Margaret Brown the moment she introduced Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt and her follow up sophomore film The Order of Myths to docuphiles. In the oven for a little while now, we’re thinking The Great Invisible might play as a socially conscious Jennifer Baichwal type doc film where the discourse is found in what is being said, but more importantly what is being spoken in a visual sense.
Gist: Margaret Brown’s new documentary is an investigation into the personal stories behind the tragic 2010 Bp Oil Spill. The film uncovers how government and corporate interests respond in the wake of an environmental crisis, and the way this affects a region and culture so rooted in nature.
Release Date: SXSW selected the film for their Documentary Comp section.
Director: Margaret Brown
Producer: Jason Orans
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
We’ve been hyping the talents of Margaret Brown the moment she introduced Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt and her follow up sophomore film The Order of Myths to docuphiles. In the oven for a little while now, we’re thinking The Great Invisible might play as a socially conscious Jennifer Baichwal type doc film where the discourse is found in what is being said, but more importantly what is being spoken in a visual sense.
Gist: Margaret Brown’s new documentary is an investigation into the personal stories behind the tragic 2010 Bp Oil Spill. The film uncovers how government and corporate interests respond in the wake of an environmental crisis, and the way this affects a region and culture so rooted in nature.
Release Date: SXSW selected the film for their Documentary Comp section.
- 2/11/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
We jumped the gun with our predictions list in 2012 including The Great Invisible among our hopefuls – but forgive the pun, we hope that Margaret Brown shores up in ’14. Brown turned heads in 2004 with Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt, and that alone pretty much wowed all festival programmers including the Sundance folk, who made sure she received red carpet in a tent status for 2008′s The Order of Myths. A filmmaker with Alabama in her blood, we can imagine that the subject came to the filmmaker and not the other way around. After receiving funding/support/coin from Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, Cinereach and the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund (2011). Everything indicates that the better part of the year she was deep in post-production for what should be an affecting, visually sturdy portrait.
Gist: Margaret Brown’s new documentary is an investigation into the personal...
Gist: Margaret Brown’s new documentary is an investigation into the personal...
- 11/19/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
#26. The Great Invisible - Margaret Brown For the record I'm horrible at predicting what docs show up Sundance, but we're hopeful that after showing The Order of Myths in 2008 that Margaret Brown will be back spilling her third doc into the U.S Docu Comp. section. The Great Invisible received a production grant through the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and recently received some love from the Cinereach folks. Gist: The Great Invisible looks at the global oil economy through the lens of characters that work in the oil and fishing industries on the Gulf Coast. This look into the personal stories behind the tragic 2010 Bp Oil Spill and uncovers how government and corporate interests respond in the wake of an environmental crisis, and the way this affects a region and culture so rooted in nature. Producer: Jason Orans (Goodbye Solo, Dare, Night Catches Us)(Ioncinema.com Preview Page // IMDb...
- 11/9/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo's Jessica Oreck, Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)'s Jason Kohn and The Order of Myths/Be Here to Love Me's Margaret Brown are among the filmmakers of thirteen projects in all to receive some serious coin from the Cinereach folks -- indie and doc filmmaker staples such as Matt Wolf, Liza Johnson, Dee Rees, Ramin Bahrani, Alistair Banks Griffin and Maryam Keshavarz have all benefitted from this organization's help. Here are the Winter 2011 grant recipients include two fiction, ten nonfiction and one hybrid works-in-progress of which we'll be keeping a close eye out for at this year's Tiff, Doc Fests and next year's Sundance: The Angola ProjectDir. Jeremy Xido | Angola | Nonfiction | In Research & DevelopmentA post-colonial western-meets-road film about the fevered reconstruction of the Benguela Transcontinental Railway and the African and Chinese lives that are intertwined because of it. Diamond, Silver & GoldDir. Jason Kohn | USA | Nonfiction...
- 4/5/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Filed under: Documentaries, Reviews, Cinematical
History doesn't document itself. But in a time when almost everyone has a video camera of some kind, at least in their phone, and so many of us comment on every little thing through a blog or a Facebook status or a Tweet (now considered worthy of archiving by the Library of Congress), it does seem like this is true. Just imagine how many more comprehensive and detailed history books could be written and cable series produced if all this technology existed during the other 50,000 years of human record? What if you could compile a documentary out of video footage captured around the nation the day George Washington was elected President or the day the U.S. Civil War ended?
The thing is, most past events would also require today's speed of information to get the sort of history produced as '11/4/08,' a collaborative...
History doesn't document itself. But in a time when almost everyone has a video camera of some kind, at least in their phone, and so many of us comment on every little thing through a blog or a Facebook status or a Tweet (now considered worthy of archiving by the Library of Congress), it does seem like this is true. Just imagine how many more comprehensive and detailed history books could be written and cable series produced if all this technology existed during the other 50,000 years of human record? What if you could compile a documentary out of video footage captured around the nation the day George Washington was elected President or the day the U.S. Civil War ended?
The thing is, most past events would also require today's speed of information to get the sort of history produced as '11/4/08,' a collaborative...
- 10/24/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- Moviefone
Filed under: Documentaries, Reviews, Cinematical
History doesn't document itself. But in a time when almost everyone has a video camera of some kind, at least in their phone, and so many of us comment on every little thing through a blog or a Facebook status or a Tweet (now considered worthy of archiving by the Library of Congress), it does seem like this is true. Just imagine how many more comprehensive and detailed history books could be written and cable series produced if all this technology existed during the other 50,000 years of human record? What if you could compile a documentary out of video footage captured around the nation the day George Washington was elected President or the day the U.S. Civil War ended?
The thing is, most past events would also require today's speed of information to get the sort of history produced as '11/4/08,' a collaborative...
History doesn't document itself. But in a time when almost everyone has a video camera of some kind, at least in their phone, and so many of us comment on every little thing through a blog or a Facebook status or a Tweet (now considered worthy of archiving by the Library of Congress), it does seem like this is true. Just imagine how many more comprehensive and detailed history books could be written and cable series produced if all this technology existed during the other 50,000 years of human record? What if you could compile a documentary out of video footage captured around the nation the day George Washington was elected President or the day the U.S. Civil War ended?
The thing is, most past events would also require today's speed of information to get the sort of history produced as '11/4/08,' a collaborative...
- 10/24/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- Cinematical
Good things come to those who wait and for those who feel as though they've suffered through a year of largely uninspired films up to now will likely breathe a sigh of relief at the sound of names like Darren Aronofsky, Sofia Coppola and Peter Weir. 'Tis the season for Jim Carrey to take a pay cut to star in a gay romance like "I Love You Phillip Morris" or Javier Bardem is whispering sweet nothings to spirits in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu's "Biutiful" rather than Julia Roberts.
There is the naughty -- Kristen Stewart stripping in "Welcome to the Rileys," the would-be terrorists of the Brit comedy "Four Lions," or the evil Santa in "Rare Exports" -- and the nice -- the tap-dancing lovers in "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench," the glory of James Franco's daredevil surviving "127 Hours" and Colin Firth's verbally-challenged royal conquering his stutter in "The King's Speech.
There is the naughty -- Kristen Stewart stripping in "Welcome to the Rileys," the would-be terrorists of the Brit comedy "Four Lions," or the evil Santa in "Rare Exports" -- and the nice -- the tap-dancing lovers in "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench," the glory of James Franco's daredevil surviving "127 Hours" and Colin Firth's verbally-challenged royal conquering his stutter in "The King's Speech.
- 10/22/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival handed out its jury awards last night, in a reportedly swift ceremony held at NYC's W Union Square hotel. The winners of the narrative competition were chosen and presented by a group including actresses Hope Davis and Cheryl Hines, actor Aaron Eckhart, writer John Ridley (U Turn) and directors Gary Winick (13 Going on 30), Gary Ross (Pleasantville) and John Hamburg (I Love You, Man). The German drama Die Fremde (When We Leave) took the top prize, called The Founders Award, while the film's star, Sibel Kekilli, won Best Actress. Other narrative honors went to director Kim Chapiron (Dog Pound), actor Eric Elmosnino (Gainsbourg, Je t'Aime...Moi Non Plus) and the Italian film Mine vaganti (Loose Cannons), which received a special jury mention "for making us laugh, cry and immediately want to book a trip to Southern Italy."
Documentary winners Monica & David, Budrus and director Clio Barnard (The Arbor...
Documentary winners Monica & David, Budrus and director Clio Barnard (The Arbor...
- 4/30/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- Cinematical
The juror panel at the Tribeca Film Festival is going to look like the red carpet at a major Hollywood premiere.
Several celebrities, including Jessica Alba, Whoopi Goldberg, Aaron Eckhart and Brooke Shields, were asked to serve on the six competitive festival categories. They will announce the winning films, filmmakers and actors in their respective categories at the Tff Awards Night Party, which will be held on April 29. The 2010 Tribeca Festival runs from April 21 to May 2 in New York City.
“This year’s jury features the same impressive range and depth as our films playing in competition. They are distinctive and accomplished storytellers, artists and entrepreneurs from the worlds of film, theater, culture, fashion, television and new media – all of whom share a passion for film, a thirst for discovery and a spirit of independence,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival.
Here’s a list of all...
Several celebrities, including Jessica Alba, Whoopi Goldberg, Aaron Eckhart and Brooke Shields, were asked to serve on the six competitive festival categories. They will announce the winning films, filmmakers and actors in their respective categories at the Tff Awards Night Party, which will be held on April 29. The 2010 Tribeca Festival runs from April 21 to May 2 in New York City.
“This year’s jury features the same impressive range and depth as our films playing in competition. They are distinctive and accomplished storytellers, artists and entrepreneurs from the worlds of film, theater, culture, fashion, television and new media – all of whom share a passion for film, a thirst for discovery and a spirit of independence,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival.
Here’s a list of all...
- 4/13/2010
- by Sean O'Connell
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Tribeca Film Festival announced Tuesday morning the 35 jurors for its six competition categories.
Filmmakers, actors, screenwriters, journalists and media figures such as Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Cheryl Hines, America Ferrera, Alicia Keys, Zach Braff, Hope Davis, Gary Ross, Whoopi Goldberg and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey will participate on the juries.
"This year's jury features the same impressive range and depth as our films playing in competition," fest co-founder Jane Rosenthal said. "They are distinctive and accomplished storytellers, artists and entrepreneurs from the worlds of film, theater, culture, fashion, television and new media -- all of whom share a passion for film, a thirst for discovery and a spirit of independence."
Winners in the world narrative, world documentary, New York narrative, New York documentary, narrative short and documentary and student short film categories will be announced at the awards night party April 29. Together, the six juries will award $130,000 in cash and prizes,...
Filmmakers, actors, screenwriters, journalists and media figures such as Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Cheryl Hines, America Ferrera, Alicia Keys, Zach Braff, Hope Davis, Gary Ross, Whoopi Goldberg and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey will participate on the juries.
"This year's jury features the same impressive range and depth as our films playing in competition," fest co-founder Jane Rosenthal said. "They are distinctive and accomplished storytellers, artists and entrepreneurs from the worlds of film, theater, culture, fashion, television and new media -- all of whom share a passion for film, a thirst for discovery and a spirit of independence."
Winners in the world narrative, world documentary, New York narrative, New York documentary, narrative short and documentary and student short film categories will be announced at the awards night party April 29. Together, the six juries will award $130,000 in cash and prizes,...
- 4/13/2010
- by By Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Peabody Awards, among the most distinguished honors in media, have been around since before the Web, and before television. Indeed, this year marks the 69th edition of the Peabodys, which operate out of University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Yesterday's announcement of the 2010 awards include a bevy of documentaries, including two from PBS' Independent Lens series: Vanessa Gould's Between the Folds and Margaret Brown's The Order of Myths. Other docs to snag a Peabody include Brick City, the Sundance Channel series by Mark ...
- 4/1/2010
- by twhite
- International Documentary Association
ABC's "Modern Family," Fox's "Glee," HBO's "In Treatment" as well as Kermit the Frog and Craig Ferguson were among the 36 recipients of Peabody Awards unveiled this morning by the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The winners, chosen by the Peabody board as the best in electronic media for 2009, were named in a ceremony in the Peabody Gallery on the University of Georgia Campus.
The latest Peabody winners reflect great diversity in genre, sources of origination and content. The recipients included the aforementioned "Modern Family," ABC's droll, perceptive comedy about a multicultural extended family; HBO's "Thrilla in Manila," a doc that probes the hype, mythology and meaning of the politically charged Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fights in the early 1970s; and "The Great Textbook War," a fair, balanced radio doc from West Virginia Public Broadcasting about a 1974 skirmish that presaged "cultural wars" still raging in America.
The latest Peabody winners reflect great diversity in genre, sources of origination and content. The recipients included the aforementioned "Modern Family," ABC's droll, perceptive comedy about a multicultural extended family; HBO's "Thrilla in Manila," a doc that probes the hype, mythology and meaning of the politically charged Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fights in the early 1970s; and "The Great Textbook War," a fair, balanced radio doc from West Virginia Public Broadcasting about a 1974 skirmish that presaged "cultural wars" still raging in America.
- 3/31/2010
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Here's the latest Austin-related film news. We saved the Quentin Tarantino bit for last, so don't forget to keep reading after the jump.
Tickets are now on sale for Alamo Drafthouse at Lake Creek's Evil Dead triple-feature on Friday, March 26. Did the tickets actually go on sale starting on Ash Wednesday? I can't verify that but if it's true, that's pretty cool. In fact, it's groovy. If you haven't ever watched all three movies back to back (to evil back), I highly recommend it, especially in a theater full of fans.Over at The Auteurs, you can now watch five films -- for free -- that have played the True/False Film Festival. One of those films is The Order of Myths, directed by then-Austinite Margaret Brown, about Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama. Get yourself a Moon Pie and settle down to see this one -- here's my review from...
Tickets are now on sale for Alamo Drafthouse at Lake Creek's Evil Dead triple-feature on Friday, March 26. Did the tickets actually go on sale starting on Ash Wednesday? I can't verify that but if it's true, that's pretty cool. In fact, it's groovy. If you haven't ever watched all three movies back to back (to evil back), I highly recommend it, especially in a theater full of fans.Over at The Auteurs, you can now watch five films -- for free -- that have played the True/False Film Festival. One of those films is The Order of Myths, directed by then-Austinite Margaret Brown, about Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama. Get yourself a Moon Pie and settle down to see this one -- here's my review from...
- 2/18/2010
- by Contributors
- Slackerwood
Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what's new and upcoming in the world of independent film. This week: a special festival edition. Pictured, clockwise from upper left: One Too Many Mornings, International Film Festival Rotterdam, El Sol, Red White & Blue.
Fest Scene. As our extensive coverage of Sundance 2010 reflects, the festival has kicked off the year in style, inspiring genuine enthusiasm for new American independent films. Sundance is not the only place to discover exciting new work, though, and relatively few of the festival's selections win distribution deals, leaving everyone else to fend for themselves.
Enter The Film Collaborative, a new "non-profit, full-service provider." As reported by indieWIRE, the outfit "aims to provide a range of what it describes as 'affordable' distribution, educational and marketing services to independent filmmakers, but it will not take film rights." The latter is an important point for filmmakers, obviously. The Film Collaborative says...
Fest Scene. As our extensive coverage of Sundance 2010 reflects, the festival has kicked off the year in style, inspiring genuine enthusiasm for new American independent films. Sundance is not the only place to discover exciting new work, though, and relatively few of the festival's selections win distribution deals, leaving everyone else to fend for themselves.
Enter The Film Collaborative, a new "non-profit, full-service provider." As reported by indieWIRE, the outfit "aims to provide a range of what it describes as 'affordable' distribution, educational and marketing services to independent filmmakers, but it will not take film rights." The latter is an important point for filmmakers, obviously. The Film Collaborative says...
- 1/29/2010
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
Movie blogging is cool and all, but I would argue that cinema's best use of the Internet is making rare fare available to the audience at large. That's slowly but surely starting to happen, and Crm (Cinetic Rights Management) is adding to the pile with a new arthouse deal. Teaming up with a bunch of arthouse film distributors, Crm will slip content online through their FilmBuff label, hitting desinations like iTunes and Hulu.
The plan is to make "award-winning and critically acclaimed films" available, and they've listed four titles thus far. There's Ti West's Trigger Man (Scott called it a "watchable curiosity"), Olivier Assayas' Demonlover (Jeffrey M. Anderson called it a "hopped-up, arty cover for a standard issue Hollywood thriller"), Mike Akel's Chalk (Jette said it was "a great illustration of how a movie can truly blossom with the right crowd"), and Margaret Brown's doc The Order of Myths...
The plan is to make "award-winning and critically acclaimed films" available, and they've listed four titles thus far. There's Ti West's Trigger Man (Scott called it a "watchable curiosity"), Olivier Assayas' Demonlover (Jeffrey M. Anderson called it a "hopped-up, arty cover for a standard issue Hollywood thriller"), Mike Akel's Chalk (Jette said it was "a great illustration of how a movie can truly blossom with the right crowd"), and Margaret Brown's doc The Order of Myths...
- 9/4/2009
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
New Yorker assets were auctioned off on March 12 by Technicolor. Meanwhile The Cinema Guild will launch a new home video label with two titles originally slated to go through New Yorker Home Video. The first release will be Christian Petzold’s Yella on March 31, and the second will be Alexander Sokurov’s Alexandra on April 28. The Cinema Guild will take over the distribution of three other titles, recently released through New Yorker Home Video, The Order of Myths and The Unforeseen - both Independent Spirit Award winners, and Primo Levi’s Journey.
Cinetic Rights Management recently closed a deal with Cinema Guild to help distribute their video titles online. This will begin in April with titles such as The Unforeseen. The films will be released on portals such as iTunes, Amazon VOD, Hulu, SnagFilms, Joost, and more.
Zeitgeist Films also made a related deal, acquiring the company’s Three Monkeys.
It is New Yorker Films' sincere hope that the purchaser of their assets will be a well qualified distributor with the intention and ability to manage and distribute the films in a manner consistent with New Yorker Film's 43 year history in the independent film world.
Cinetic Rights Management recently closed a deal with Cinema Guild to help distribute their video titles online. This will begin in April with titles such as The Unforeseen. The films will be released on portals such as iTunes, Amazon VOD, Hulu, SnagFilms, Joost, and more.
Zeitgeist Films also made a related deal, acquiring the company’s Three Monkeys.
It is New Yorker Films' sincere hope that the purchaser of their assets will be a well qualified distributor with the intention and ability to manage and distribute the films in a manner consistent with New Yorker Film's 43 year history in the independent film world.
- 3/13/2009
- Sydney's Buzz
Mickey Rourke added to his award season haul and stole the show at the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday with a hilarious and rambling acceptance speech.
A starstudded crowd at the Santa Monica, California ceremony gave the 56-year-old actor a standing ovation when he stepped onstage to collect the Best Male prize for his role as a washed-up grappler in The Wrestler.
During a bizarre speech, he dedicated the award to his beloved pet dog Loki, who died this week (15Feb); threatened to beat up comedian Rainn Wilson, who had impersonated him in an earlier skit; forgot the name of his The Wrestler co-star Marisa Tomei; and broke his microphone.
He said, "That little blond dude who did that thing (Wilson), I'm going to beat your ass when I get out of here... I've got thousands of letters about my dog that died six days ago. Loki, Loki, this is for you baby."
And he needed help from the audience when he forgot to thank Tomei, who played a stripper in the film. He said, "My memory ain't that good. I want to thank....." and paused, prompting the crowd to yell "Marisa". He responded by saying, "Melissa? Marisa? Marisa Tomei. She had to do all this bare-a**ed. Not many girls can climb the poll. She climbed the poll and she did it well."
The Wrestler also lifted the Best Feature award and the Best Cinematography prize for Maryse Alberti.
There were also big wins for Best Female Melissa Leo, Best Supporting Female Penelope Cruz, Best Supporting Male James Franco and Best Director Tom McCarthy.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Best Feature: The Wrestler
Best Director: Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)
Best First Feature: Synecdoche, New York
Best Screenplay: Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Best First Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
Best Female Lead: Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
Best Male Lead: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Best Supporting Female: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Best Supporting Male: James Franco (Milk)
Best Cinematography: Maryse Alberti (The Wrestler)
Best Documentary: Man On Wire
Best Foreign Language Film: The Class
Robert Altman Award: Director Charlie Kaufman and the ensemble cast of Synecdoche, New York
Someone To Watch Award: Lynn Shelton (My Effortless Brilliance)
Truer Than Fiction Award: Margaret Brown (The Order Of Myths)
Producers Award: Heather Rae (Frozen River and Ibid)...
A starstudded crowd at the Santa Monica, California ceremony gave the 56-year-old actor a standing ovation when he stepped onstage to collect the Best Male prize for his role as a washed-up grappler in The Wrestler.
During a bizarre speech, he dedicated the award to his beloved pet dog Loki, who died this week (15Feb); threatened to beat up comedian Rainn Wilson, who had impersonated him in an earlier skit; forgot the name of his The Wrestler co-star Marisa Tomei; and broke his microphone.
He said, "That little blond dude who did that thing (Wilson), I'm going to beat your ass when I get out of here... I've got thousands of letters about my dog that died six days ago. Loki, Loki, this is for you baby."
And he needed help from the audience when he forgot to thank Tomei, who played a stripper in the film. He said, "My memory ain't that good. I want to thank....." and paused, prompting the crowd to yell "Marisa". He responded by saying, "Melissa? Marisa? Marisa Tomei. She had to do all this bare-a**ed. Not many girls can climb the poll. She climbed the poll and she did it well."
The Wrestler also lifted the Best Feature award and the Best Cinematography prize for Maryse Alberti.
There were also big wins for Best Female Melissa Leo, Best Supporting Female Penelope Cruz, Best Supporting Male James Franco and Best Director Tom McCarthy.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Best Feature: The Wrestler
Best Director: Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)
Best First Feature: Synecdoche, New York
Best Screenplay: Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Best First Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
Best Female Lead: Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
Best Male Lead: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Best Supporting Female: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Best Supporting Male: James Franco (Milk)
Best Cinematography: Maryse Alberti (The Wrestler)
Best Documentary: Man On Wire
Best Foreign Language Film: The Class
Robert Altman Award: Director Charlie Kaufman and the ensemble cast of Synecdoche, New York
Someone To Watch Award: Lynn Shelton (My Effortless Brilliance)
Truer Than Fiction Award: Margaret Brown (The Order Of Myths)
Producers Award: Heather Rae (Frozen River and Ibid)...
- 2/22/2009
- WENN
By Stephen Saito
Jason Bateman and Sandra Oh braved the early call time this morning in Los Angeles to announce this year's nominees for the Spirit Awards. The awards will take place on February 21st, and will be broadcast live and uncut on IFC at 5pm Et/2pm PT. Here are the nominees:
Best Feature
"Ballast"
Producers: Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh
"Frozen River"
Producers: Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae
"Rachel Getting Married"
Producers: Neda Armian, Jonathan Demme, Marc Platt
"Wendy and Lucy"
Producers: Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani
"The Wrestler"
Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin
Best Director
Ramin Bahrani, "Chop Shop"
Jonathan Demme, "Rachel Getting Married"
Lance Hammer, "Ballast"
Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Thomas McCarthy, "The Visitor"
Best First Feature
"Afterschool"
Director: Antonio Campos
Producers: Sean Durkin, Josh Mond
"Medicine for Melancholy"
Director: Barry Jenkins
Producer: Justin Barber
"Sangre de Mi Sangre"
Director: Christopher Zalla
Producers: Per Melita, Benjamin Odell
"Sleep Dealer"
Director: Alex Rivera
Producer: Anthony Bregman
"Synechdoce, New York"
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel
John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
"In Search of a Midnight Kiss"
Writer/Director: Alex Holdridge
Producers: Seth Caplan and Scoot McNairy
"Prince of Broadway"
Director: Sean Baker
Writers: Sean Baker, Darren Dean
Producer: Darren Dean
"The Signal"
Writer/Directors: David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry
Producers: Jacob Gentry and Alexander Motiagh
"Take Out"
Writer/Directors/Producers: Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou
"Turn the River"
Writer/Director: Chris Eigeman
Producer: Ami Armstrong
Best First Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"
Lance Hammer, "Ballast"
Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Jonathan Levine, "The Wackness"
Jenny Lumet, "Rachel Getting Married"
Best Screenplay
Woody Allen, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, "Sugar"
Charlie Kaufman, "Synecdoche, New York"
Howard A. Rodman, "Savage Grace"
Christopher Zalla, "Sangre de Mi Sangre"
Best Female Lead
Summer Bishil, "Towelhead"
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"
Tarra Riggs, "Ballast"
Michelle Williams, "Wendy and Lucy"
Best Male Lead
Javier Bardem, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"
Sean Penn, "Milk"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Best Supporting Female
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Rosemarie DeWitt, "Rachel Getting Married"
Rosie Perez, "The Take"
Misty Upham, "Frozen River"
Debra Winger, "Rachel Getting Married"
Best Supporting Male
James Franco, "Milk"
Anthony Mackie, "The Hurt Locker"
Charlie McDermott, "Frozen River"
JimMyron Ross, "Ballast"
Haaz Sleiman, "The Visitor"
Best Cinematography
Maryse Alberti, "The Wrestler"
Lol Crowley, "Ballast"
James Laxton, "Medicine for Melancholy"
Harris Savides, "Milk"
Michael Simmonds, "Chop Shop"
Best Documentary
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
Director: Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
"Encounters at the End of the World"
Director: Werner Herzog
"Man on Wire"
Director: James Marsh
"The Order of Myths"
Director: Margaret Brown
"Up the Yangtze"
Director: Yung Chang
Best Foreign Film
"The Class" (France)
Director: Laurent Cantet
"Gomorrah" (Italy)
Director: Matteo Garrone
"Hunger" (UK/Ireland)
Director: Steve McQueen
"Secret of the Grain" (France)
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
"Silent Light" (Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany)
Director: Carlos Reygadas
Robert Altman Award (Given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast)
"Synecdoche, New York"
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams
Someone to Watch Award
Barry Jenkins, "Medicine for Melancholy"
Nina Paley, "Sita Sings the Blues"
Lynn Shelton, "My Effortless Brilliance"
Truer Than Fiction Award
Margaret Brown, "The Order of Myths"
Sacha Gervasi, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil"
Darius Marder, "Loot"
Producers Award
Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, "Treeless Mountain" and "I'll Come Running"
Jason Orans, "Goodbye Solo" and "Year of the Fish"
Heather Rae, "Frozen River" and "Ibid"...
Jason Bateman and Sandra Oh braved the early call time this morning in Los Angeles to announce this year's nominees for the Spirit Awards. The awards will take place on February 21st, and will be broadcast live and uncut on IFC at 5pm Et/2pm PT. Here are the nominees:
Best Feature
"Ballast"
Producers: Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh
"Frozen River"
Producers: Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae
"Rachel Getting Married"
Producers: Neda Armian, Jonathan Demme, Marc Platt
"Wendy and Lucy"
Producers: Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani
"The Wrestler"
Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin
Best Director
Ramin Bahrani, "Chop Shop"
Jonathan Demme, "Rachel Getting Married"
Lance Hammer, "Ballast"
Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Thomas McCarthy, "The Visitor"
Best First Feature
"Afterschool"
Director: Antonio Campos
Producers: Sean Durkin, Josh Mond
"Medicine for Melancholy"
Director: Barry Jenkins
Producer: Justin Barber
"Sangre de Mi Sangre"
Director: Christopher Zalla
Producers: Per Melita, Benjamin Odell
"Sleep Dealer"
Director: Alex Rivera
Producer: Anthony Bregman
"Synechdoce, New York"
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel
John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
"In Search of a Midnight Kiss"
Writer/Director: Alex Holdridge
Producers: Seth Caplan and Scoot McNairy
"Prince of Broadway"
Director: Sean Baker
Writers: Sean Baker, Darren Dean
Producer: Darren Dean
"The Signal"
Writer/Directors: David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry
Producers: Jacob Gentry and Alexander Motiagh
"Take Out"
Writer/Directors/Producers: Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou
"Turn the River"
Writer/Director: Chris Eigeman
Producer: Ami Armstrong
Best First Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"
Lance Hammer, "Ballast"
Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Jonathan Levine, "The Wackness"
Jenny Lumet, "Rachel Getting Married"
Best Screenplay
Woody Allen, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, "Sugar"
Charlie Kaufman, "Synecdoche, New York"
Howard A. Rodman, "Savage Grace"
Christopher Zalla, "Sangre de Mi Sangre"
Best Female Lead
Summer Bishil, "Towelhead"
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"
Tarra Riggs, "Ballast"
Michelle Williams, "Wendy and Lucy"
Best Male Lead
Javier Bardem, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"
Sean Penn, "Milk"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Best Supporting Female
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Rosemarie DeWitt, "Rachel Getting Married"
Rosie Perez, "The Take"
Misty Upham, "Frozen River"
Debra Winger, "Rachel Getting Married"
Best Supporting Male
James Franco, "Milk"
Anthony Mackie, "The Hurt Locker"
Charlie McDermott, "Frozen River"
JimMyron Ross, "Ballast"
Haaz Sleiman, "The Visitor"
Best Cinematography
Maryse Alberti, "The Wrestler"
Lol Crowley, "Ballast"
James Laxton, "Medicine for Melancholy"
Harris Savides, "Milk"
Michael Simmonds, "Chop Shop"
Best Documentary
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
Director: Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
"Encounters at the End of the World"
Director: Werner Herzog
"Man on Wire"
Director: James Marsh
"The Order of Myths"
Director: Margaret Brown
"Up the Yangtze"
Director: Yung Chang
Best Foreign Film
"The Class" (France)
Director: Laurent Cantet
"Gomorrah" (Italy)
Director: Matteo Garrone
"Hunger" (UK/Ireland)
Director: Steve McQueen
"Secret of the Grain" (France)
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
"Silent Light" (Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany)
Director: Carlos Reygadas
Robert Altman Award (Given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast)
"Synecdoche, New York"
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams
Someone to Watch Award
Barry Jenkins, "Medicine for Melancholy"
Nina Paley, "Sita Sings the Blues"
Lynn Shelton, "My Effortless Brilliance"
Truer Than Fiction Award
Margaret Brown, "The Order of Myths"
Sacha Gervasi, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil"
Darius Marder, "Loot"
Producers Award
Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, "Treeless Mountain" and "I'll Come Running"
Jason Orans, "Goodbye Solo" and "Year of the Fish"
Heather Rae, "Frozen River" and "Ibid"...
- 12/2/2008
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
With six nominations each, "Ballast," a drama about survival in the Mississippi Delta, "Frozen River," a portrait of two single moms on the Canadian border, and "Rachel Getting Married," the account of a dysfunctional family wedding, led the nominees for Film Independent's Spirit Awards, announced Tuesday morning.
All three films were nominated for best feature along "Wendy and Lucy" and "The Wrestler."
Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York," a twisty, M.C. Escher-like film, was singled out as the winner of the group's Robert Altman Award, give to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast. Kaufman will share the award with casting director Jeanne McCarthy and his actors Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, and Michelle Williams when the Spirit Awards are handed out Feb. 21.
"Synecdoche" also figure in the best first feature lineup, along with Antonio Campos' "Afterschool,...
All three films were nominated for best feature along "Wendy and Lucy" and "The Wrestler."
Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York," a twisty, M.C. Escher-like film, was singled out as the winner of the group's Robert Altman Award, give to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast. Kaufman will share the award with casting director Jeanne McCarthy and his actors Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, and Michelle Williams when the Spirit Awards are handed out Feb. 21.
"Synecdoche" also figure in the best first feature lineup, along with Antonio Campos' "Afterschool,...
- 12/2/2008
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"In Mobile's Mardi Gras, the blacks and the whites get along fine." So states an elderly masked man in the opening minutes of The Order Of Myths, a documentary about the coastal Alabama city's 300-year-old Carnival celebrations, and how they reflect the state of race relations in the 21st-century South. The film's title comes from the name of an exclusive Mobile social club that marches in the Mardi Gras parade and holds debutante balls in full masquerade. But the title is also meant to refer to the illusions people hold. Mobile's demographics run 48 percent white and 48 percent black, and for centuries, the city's two halves have administered their Carnivals through separate councils, with separate courts and separate kings and queens. Yet a member of one of Mobile's secret white societies proudly boasts that unlike in New Orleans, "there's only one queen in Mobile." As a sort of...
- 7/24/2008
- by Noel Murray
- avclub.com
LONDON -- Errol Morris' Standard Operating Procedure, Chris Waitt's A Complete History of My Sexual Failures and James Marsh's Man on Wire are three of 22 documentaries selected to unspool during this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Nine of the documentaries come from the U.S., organizers said. These include Daniel O'Connor and Neil Ortenberg's Obscene, Ron Davis and Stewart Halpern's Pageant, Margaret Brown's The Order of Myths and C. Karim Chrobog's War Child.
The documentary section also includes Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World, Erik Nelson's Dreams With Sharp Teeth and Peter Geyer's Jesus Christ Savior.
The 19 films in the documentary festival sidebar, along with three docus presented as galas, will compete for the festival's best documentary prize.
This year's festival runs June 18-29, The First Edition not to take place in its traditional August dates.
Nine of the documentaries come from the U.S., organizers said. These include Daniel O'Connor and Neil Ortenberg's Obscene, Ron Davis and Stewart Halpern's Pageant, Margaret Brown's The Order of Myths and C. Karim Chrobog's War Child.
The documentary section also includes Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World, Erik Nelson's Dreams With Sharp Teeth and Peter Geyer's Jesus Christ Savior.
The 19 films in the documentary festival sidebar, along with three docus presented as galas, will compete for the festival's best documentary prize.
This year's festival runs June 18-29, The First Edition not to take place in its traditional August dates.
- 4/21/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- In The Order of Myths, filmmaker Margaret Brown returns to her hometown of Mobile, Ala., to see how the city has progressed since her youth. The answer is surprisingly little as she looks at the community through its major social event of the year: the Mardi Gras. Exotic and thoughtful, film is entertaining enough to capture a modest theatrical audience before enjoying a healthy run on cable outlets.
In this vision of the South, separate but equal is not only alive and well, it is the dominant mode of interaction. The film gets under your skin with its celebratory colors and vibrant music, and then creeps you out with its conclusions, which is probably Brown's intention, but she allows the events to speak for themselves.
The film's title refers to the oldest of a group of all-white secret fraternal societies that plan parades and parties to celebrate the holiday. Members speak to the camera only with their masks on as identities cannot be revealed. One masked man says blacks and whites get along fine in the city, but one suspects this is the case only as long as everyone knows their place.
The Mobile Mardi Gras, started in 1703, is the oldest in the country. Until 1938, blacks participated in the celebration only as dancers and torchbearers accompanying white floats. Then with the founding of the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (MAMGA), the blacks residents created their own events to go along with the white celebration staged by the Mobil Carnival Association (MCA).
Chronicling the 2007 Mardi Gras, Brown cuts back and forth between the two celebrations as if they were running on separate, parallel tracks, crossing only occasionally. To tell her story she follows five key participants: the Black King and queen; the white queen; a white debutante who claims to be liberal but is still a member of the white court; and a black activist who tells it like it is.
The points of intersection between the two worlds are seen where blacks work for wealthy white families, either as waiters for exclusive events or beloved nanny's who helped raise the children. As an insider, Brown is allowed unprecedented access, but even she is cautious not to jeopardize her welcome by asking the hard questions. Instead, she observes and let's viewers draw their own conclusions.
Polemics is not her point. She shows the pomp and circumstance of the events: the elaborate embroidery of the costumes, the balls, the coronation, and the actual parades. It is in the playing out of the traditions that Brown examines and questions the ingrained social fabric of her city. Her mother was a Mardi Gras queen in 1996 and her grandfather is still active in a mystic society, so Brown has ambivalent feelings about the events and how they are conducted.
Representing the Meaher family, one of the oldest and wealthiest in Mobile, is Helen Meaher, this year's queen. In tracing her family's history, the film shockingly reveals that her ancestor was responsible for bringing the last slave ship into this county in Mobile harbor, more than 50 years after the U.S. had outlawed the slave trade. It's a heritage that people don't speak of directly, but it is the kind of thing that hovers beneath the surface and defines all that we see.
Moving from shots of shacks that sell fried oxtails in the black neighborhood to the splendor of the white-gloved parties on the other side of town, Brown and her cinematographers Michael Simmonds and Lee Daniel always seem to have the camera in the right spot. And editors Michael Taylor, Geoffrey Richman and Brown have stitched the material together to make a lively and revealing portrait of life in the New South.
THE ORDER OF MYTHS
A NetPoint Prods. presentation in association with Lucky Hat Entertainment
Credits:
Director: Margaret Brown
Producers: Margaret Brow, Sara Alize Cross
Executive producer: Christine Mattsson
Director of cinematography: Michael Simmonds, Lee Daniel
Editors: Michael Taylor, Geoffrey Richman, Margaret Brown
Running time -- 80 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PARK CITY -- In The Order of Myths, filmmaker Margaret Brown returns to her hometown of Mobile, Ala., to see how the city has progressed since her youth. The answer is surprisingly little as she looks at the community through its major social event of the year: the Mardi Gras. Exotic and thoughtful, film is entertaining enough to capture a modest theatrical audience before enjoying a healthy run on cable outlets.
In this vision of the South, separate but equal is not only alive and well, it is the dominant mode of interaction. The film gets under your skin with its celebratory colors and vibrant music, and then creeps you out with its conclusions, which is probably Brown's intention, but she allows the events to speak for themselves.
The film's title refers to the oldest of a group of all-white secret fraternal societies that plan parades and parties to celebrate the holiday. Members speak to the camera only with their masks on as identities cannot be revealed. One masked man says blacks and whites get along fine in the city, but one suspects this is the case only as long as everyone knows their place.
The Mobile Mardi Gras, started in 1703, is the oldest in the country. Until 1938, blacks participated in the celebration only as dancers and torchbearers accompanying white floats. Then with the founding of the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (MAMGA), the blacks residents created their own events to go along with the white celebration staged by the Mobil Carnival Association (MCA).
Chronicling the 2007 Mardi Gras, Brown cuts back and forth between the two celebrations as if they were running on separate, parallel tracks, crossing only occasionally. To tell her story she follows five key participants: the Black King and queen; the white queen; a white debutante who claims to be liberal but is still a member of the white court; and a black activist who tells it like it is.
The points of intersection between the two worlds are seen where blacks work for wealthy white families, either as waiters for exclusive events or beloved nanny's who helped raise the children. As an insider, Brown is allowed unprecedented access, but even she is cautious not to jeopardize her welcome by asking the hard questions. Instead, she observes and let's viewers draw their own conclusions.
Polemics is not her point. She shows the pomp and circumstance of the events: the elaborate embroidery of the costumes, the balls, the coronation, and the actual parades. It is in the playing out of the traditions that Brown examines and questions the ingrained social fabric of her city. Her mother was a Mardi Gras queen in 1996 and her grandfather is still active in a mystic society, so Brown has ambivalent feelings about the events and how they are conducted.
Representing the Meaher family, one of the oldest and wealthiest in Mobile, is Helen Meaher, this year's queen. In tracing her family's history, the film shockingly reveals that her ancestor was responsible for bringing the last slave ship into this county in Mobile harbor, more than 50 years after the U.S. had outlawed the slave trade. It's a heritage that people don't speak of directly, but it is the kind of thing that hovers beneath the surface and defines all that we see.
Moving from shots of shacks that sell fried oxtails in the black neighborhood to the splendor of the white-gloved parties on the other side of town, Brown and her cinematographers Michael Simmonds and Lee Daniel always seem to have the camera in the right spot. And editors Michael Taylor, Geoffrey Richman and Brown have stitched the material together to make a lively and revealing portrait of life in the New South.
THE ORDER OF MYTHS
A NetPoint Prods. presentation in association with Lucky Hat Entertainment
Credits:
Director: Margaret Brown
Producers: Margaret Brow, Sara Alize Cross
Executive producer: Christine Mattsson
Director of cinematography: Michael Simmonds, Lee Daniel
Editors: Michael Taylor, Geoffrey Richman, Margaret Brown
Running time -- 80 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/30/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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