The sudden end of Participant Media came as a shock to many in the entertainment industry, but it hit documentary filmmakers particularly hard, with some concerned that backers for serious-minded, issue-driven projects are becoming ever more scarce.
Since its founding in 2004, the company — which sought to bring stories that could spark change to a wide audience — has been a staunch supporter of documentaries focused on social and justice issues, funded by the largesse of a billionaire, ex-eBay president Jeff Skoll.
None of its other nonfiction titles quite achieved the heights of 2006’s An Inconvenient Truth, released just two years after the company was formed: The Davis Guggenheim-directed film about Al Gore’s climate change slideshow rocketed to become the third-highest-grossing doc ever at the time and focused mainstream attention on climate change, inspiring studies about its impact. “That’s why we exist,” Skoll told The Hollywood Reporter in 2006, as Truth became a sensation.
Since its founding in 2004, the company — which sought to bring stories that could spark change to a wide audience — has been a staunch supporter of documentaries focused on social and justice issues, funded by the largesse of a billionaire, ex-eBay president Jeff Skoll.
None of its other nonfiction titles quite achieved the heights of 2006’s An Inconvenient Truth, released just two years after the company was formed: The Davis Guggenheim-directed film about Al Gore’s climate change slideshow rocketed to become the third-highest-grossing doc ever at the time and focused mainstream attention on climate change, inspiring studies about its impact. “That’s why we exist,” Skoll told The Hollywood Reporter in 2006, as Truth became a sensation.
- 4/19/2024
- by Katie Kilkenny
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Four documentary filmmakers have been selected to participate in Yeti’s inaugural Pretty Wild fellowship program, which supports documentaries that give a fresh perspective on the outdoors and the people and stories that live there.
The projects are: Tasha Van Zandt’s “The Arctic Women,” Mike Day’s “Baby Highlander,” Emily Cohen Ibañez’s “River” and Juliana Schatz Preston’s “Rare Bird.”
The four filmmakers, chosen from 330 submissions spanning 30 countries, are currently in Austin, Texas, for the first of two immersive retreats featured in the eight-month program.
In addition to $50,000 in unrestricted grants, each of the four selected filmmakers will receive guidance throughout the development of their films from a board of mentors. That includes the retreat in Austin, which comes to a close on March 7, as well as another retreat in September in Camden, Maine, leading up to Points North’s 20th annual Camden International Film Festival. The retreats include feedback sessions,...
The projects are: Tasha Van Zandt’s “The Arctic Women,” Mike Day’s “Baby Highlander,” Emily Cohen Ibañez’s “River” and Juliana Schatz Preston’s “Rare Bird.”
The four filmmakers, chosen from 330 submissions spanning 30 countries, are currently in Austin, Texas, for the first of two immersive retreats featured in the eight-month program.
In addition to $50,000 in unrestricted grants, each of the four selected filmmakers will receive guidance throughout the development of their films from a board of mentors. That includes the retreat in Austin, which comes to a close on March 7, as well as another retreat in September in Camden, Maine, leading up to Points North’s 20th annual Camden International Film Festival. The retreats include feedback sessions,...
- 3/7/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Cinetic Media has signed award-winning Iranian filmmaker Babak Jalali for management across all media.
Most recently, Jalali co-wrote and directed the indie drama Fremont, released by Music Box Films last August. Securing a nomination for the John Cassavetes Award at the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards, following a Jury Prize win in Deauville and one for Directing at Karlovy Vary, the film centers on mid-20s Afghan refugee Donya (Anaita Wali Zada), whose complicated feelings about her prior work as a translator for the U.S. military have left her troubled and unable to sleep. Drifting through her uninspired routine in Fremont, California, which comprises her work at a fortune cookie factory, she struggles to connect with her unfamiliar surroundings. When Donya is promoted to writing fortunes at her job, she sends a message out to the world, unsure where it will lead.
Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen White also star in the pic,...
Most recently, Jalali co-wrote and directed the indie drama Fremont, released by Music Box Films last August. Securing a nomination for the John Cassavetes Award at the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards, following a Jury Prize win in Deauville and one for Directing at Karlovy Vary, the film centers on mid-20s Afghan refugee Donya (Anaita Wali Zada), whose complicated feelings about her prior work as a translator for the U.S. military have left her troubled and unable to sleep. Drifting through her uninspired routine in Fremont, California, which comprises her work at a fortune cookie factory, she struggles to connect with her unfamiliar surroundings. When Donya is promoted to writing fortunes at her job, she sends a message out to the world, unsure where it will lead.
Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen White also star in the pic,...
- 2/20/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Cinetic Media has signed documentary filmmaker Carla Gutiérrez. It will represent Gutiérrez across all media. The news comes as Gutiérrez’s directorial debut”Frida” premieres this week at Sundance. Cinetic has been ramping up management additions of late having also recently signed Betsy West and Julie Cohen (“Rbg”) of Storyville Films, both of whom executive produced Gutiérrez’s directorial debut.
Carla Gutiérrez is an Emmy- and Eddie-nominated documentary editor. She edited the Oscar-nominated films “Rbg” and “La Corona.” Her latest film as an editor, “Julia,” about renowned chef, and television personality Julia Child, premiered at Telluride and was an official selection of the Toronto Film Festival. Gutiérrez also edited the Emmy-nominated “Pray Away.” Her work has received awards at Sundance, Tribeca, Berlinale, Outfest, the Critic’s Choice Awards, the National Board of Review Awards, and the DuPont Columbia Awards. She has been a creative adviser for the Sundance Edit Lab,...
Carla Gutiérrez is an Emmy- and Eddie-nominated documentary editor. She edited the Oscar-nominated films “Rbg” and “La Corona.” Her latest film as an editor, “Julia,” about renowned chef, and television personality Julia Child, premiered at Telluride and was an official selection of the Toronto Film Festival. Gutiérrez also edited the Emmy-nominated “Pray Away.” Her work has received awards at Sundance, Tribeca, Berlinale, Outfest, the Critic’s Choice Awards, the National Board of Review Awards, and the DuPont Columbia Awards. She has been a creative adviser for the Sundance Edit Lab,...
- 1/18/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Cinetic Media has signed directors Julie Cohen, Oren Jacoby and Betsy West. The management company will represent the Oscar-nominated filmmakers and their documentary company, Storyville Films, across all types of media.
Storyville Films was founded by Jacoby to produce documentaries and series driven by “strong personal narratives of conscience, courage and innovation.” Jacoby, Cohen and West serve as Storyville’s directors. Their production and distribution partners include Amazon, CNN Films, HBO, Imagine Entertainment, Kino Lorber, Magnolia Pictures, Netflix, Participant Media, PBS, Sony Pictures Classics and Time Studios.
Films by the Storyville partners include West and Cohen’s “Rbg,” a documentary about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that was a box office hit and earned an Oscar nomination; as well as “Julia,” a look at Julia Childs’ legacy; and “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.” Jacoby’s films include “On Broadway,” “Constantine’s Sword” and “Sister Rose’s Passion,...
Storyville Films was founded by Jacoby to produce documentaries and series driven by “strong personal narratives of conscience, courage and innovation.” Jacoby, Cohen and West serve as Storyville’s directors. Their production and distribution partners include Amazon, CNN Films, HBO, Imagine Entertainment, Kino Lorber, Magnolia Pictures, Netflix, Participant Media, PBS, Sony Pictures Classics and Time Studios.
Films by the Storyville partners include West and Cohen’s “Rbg,” a documentary about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that was a box office hit and earned an Oscar nomination; as well as “Julia,” a look at Julia Childs’ legacy; and “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.” Jacoby’s films include “On Broadway,” “Constantine’s Sword” and “Sister Rose’s Passion,...
- 12/13/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The North Road Company will partner with Two One Five Entertainment. The Peter Chernin-founded company acquired a significant stake in Oscar-winner Questlove and Black Thought’s production business. The deal will result in North Road financing future Two One Five films, television shows and other creative projects. The partnership will also see North Road supporting Two One Five with nonscripted content which will enable Two One Five to leverage its best-in-class IP portfolio while expanding its scripted slate.
North Road CEO David Nevins said, “Questlove and Black Thought have long been not only iconic musicians, but also beacons for talent. They are visionaries who have been behind some of the most impactful stories about music and Black culture and how they shaped America. We are thrilled to partner with such a uniquely creative team as they enter their next phase of growth, supporting them as they continue their excellent...
North Road CEO David Nevins said, “Questlove and Black Thought have long been not only iconic musicians, but also beacons for talent. They are visionaries who have been behind some of the most impactful stories about music and Black culture and how they shaped America. We are thrilled to partner with such a uniquely creative team as they enter their next phase of growth, supporting them as they continue their excellent...
- 11/7/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Peter Chernin’s spending continues.
The former Fox boss’ The North Road Company has invested in and acquired a “significant” stake in Two One Five Entertainment, the production company founded by Questlove and Black Thought of The Roots.
The deal includes an equity stake, project financing and support to scale the business across scripted and non-scripted content.
The company is behind Academy Award-winning documentary Summer of Soul, which was directed by Questlove and told the story of the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Other projects including The League, directed by Sam Pollard, about the Negro Baseball League, Descendant, which tells the stories of descendants of survivors of the Clotilda, the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States, directed by Margaret Brown and produced with the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions, and a Questlove-directed documentary for Hulu about Sly and the Family Stone.
The former Fox boss’ The North Road Company has invested in and acquired a “significant” stake in Two One Five Entertainment, the production company founded by Questlove and Black Thought of The Roots.
The deal includes an equity stake, project financing and support to scale the business across scripted and non-scripted content.
The company is behind Academy Award-winning documentary Summer of Soul, which was directed by Questlove and told the story of the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Other projects including The League, directed by Sam Pollard, about the Negro Baseball League, Descendant, which tells the stories of descendants of survivors of the Clotilda, the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States, directed by Margaret Brown and produced with the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions, and a Questlove-directed documentary for Hulu about Sly and the Family Stone.
- 11/7/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Veda Tunstall remembers the first time film people started poking around her hometown asking questions, and it wasn’t for the documentary that became “Descendant.”
Tunstall, a subject in Margaret Brown’s movie about the search for a long-lost slave ship near a community called Africatown, says that years before Brown showed up, other filmmakers wanted to make their own movies about hunting for the Clotilda. That didn’t go well. The community’s needs were never in mind and the story being told wasn’t their own; it was the ship’s.
The investment of time and attention that Brown and production company Participant put into “Descendant” felt different. The film also follows actual descendants who live in Africatown and examines how their ancestors’ actions can be traced across generations. The search for the slave ship was only half the story.
“We were just trying to figure out how to find other descendants,...
Tunstall, a subject in Margaret Brown’s movie about the search for a long-lost slave ship near a community called Africatown, says that years before Brown showed up, other filmmakers wanted to make their own movies about hunting for the Clotilda. That didn’t go well. The community’s needs were never in mind and the story being told wasn’t their own; it was the ship’s.
The investment of time and attention that Brown and production company Participant put into “Descendant” felt different. The film also follows actual descendants who live in Africatown and examines how their ancestors’ actions can be traced across generations. The search for the slave ship was only half the story.
“We were just trying to figure out how to find other descendants,...
- 4/5/2023
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Some were expecting Netflix to curb their acquisitions here in Park City, but, as we told you earlier this morning, never count them out of the Sundance marketplace. Before its premiere in the midnight section tonight, the Reed Hastings-Ted Sarandos-run streamer has scooped up a majority of global rights on the Australian horror movie, Run Rabbit Run, starring 2x Emmy nominated Succession actress Sarah Snook. XYZ Films, which co-funded the film, brokered the deal with Netflix on behalf of the filmmakers.
A release for the Carver Films production is planned for this year.
Directed by Daina Reid off a script by Hannah Kent, Run Rabbit Run follows fertility doctor Sarah (Snook). She firmly believes in life and death. However, after noticing the strange behavior of her young daughter, she must challenge her own values and confront a ghost from her past.
Run...
A release for the Carver Films production is planned for this year.
Directed by Daina Reid off a script by Hannah Kent, Run Rabbit Run follows fertility doctor Sarah (Snook). She firmly believes in life and death. However, after noticing the strange behavior of her young daughter, she must challenge her own values and confront a ghost from her past.
Run...
- 1/19/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Participant has announced that it is producing Food, Inc. 2 — a sequel to its Academy Award-nominated documentary Food, Inc., to be released later this year.
The original film directed by Robert Kenner offered an unflattering look inside America’s corporate controlled food industry — spotlighting the harm this system has inflicted on animals, as well as its consumers and laborers. Robert Kenner directed from a script written with Elise Pearlstein and Kim Roberts. Kenner also produced alongside Pearlstein, with Bill Pohlad, Robin Schorr, Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann serving as exec producers.
Food, Inc. was released by Magnolia Pictures in 2009 after world premiering at the Toronto Film Festival, going on to claim not only an Academy Award nom for Best Documentary, Features, but a Cinema Eye Honors Award, a Gotham Award, a News & Documentary Emmy Award and numerous other accolades, as well.
Specifics as to Food, Inc. 2‘s focus are under wraps,...
The original film directed by Robert Kenner offered an unflattering look inside America’s corporate controlled food industry — spotlighting the harm this system has inflicted on animals, as well as its consumers and laborers. Robert Kenner directed from a script written with Elise Pearlstein and Kim Roberts. Kenner also produced alongside Pearlstein, with Bill Pohlad, Robin Schorr, Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann serving as exec producers.
Food, Inc. was released by Magnolia Pictures in 2009 after world premiering at the Toronto Film Festival, going on to claim not only an Academy Award nom for Best Documentary, Features, but a Cinema Eye Honors Award, a Gotham Award, a News & Documentary Emmy Award and numerous other accolades, as well.
Specifics as to Food, Inc. 2‘s focus are under wraps,...
- 1/18/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The Oscar races for best picture, director and the four acting categories will be put into focus.
On Wednesday, Jan. 11, the SAG Awards will kick things off with their unveiling of its nominees in film and television (Variety has shared its final predictions).
Afterward, the Directors Guild of America will reveal the five directorial achievements for this year’s upcoming 75th ceremony, scheduled to take place on Saturday, Feb. 18, the day before the BAFTA Awards.
You can’t talk about the director race without Steven Spielberg being a part of it, even with the BAFTA snub from the longlist. This year, Spielberg, who won the Oscar prize twice for helming — “Schindler’s List” (1993) and “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) — finds himself in one of his most substantial positions yet for his deeply personal drama “The Fabelmans.” With three DGA wins and 12 nominations, Spielberg is both the most awarded and most nominated filmmaker in history.
On Wednesday, Jan. 11, the SAG Awards will kick things off with their unveiling of its nominees in film and television (Variety has shared its final predictions).
Afterward, the Directors Guild of America will reveal the five directorial achievements for this year’s upcoming 75th ceremony, scheduled to take place on Saturday, Feb. 18, the day before the BAFTA Awards.
You can’t talk about the director race without Steven Spielberg being a part of it, even with the BAFTA snub from the longlist. This year, Spielberg, who won the Oscar prize twice for helming — “Schindler’s List” (1993) and “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) — finds himself in one of his most substantial positions yet for his deeply personal drama “The Fabelmans.” With three DGA wins and 12 nominations, Spielberg is both the most awarded and most nominated filmmaker in history.
- 1/10/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ (Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures © 2022 20th Century Studios)
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists* spread the wealth, awarding The Banshees of Inisherin, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Women Talking three wins each. The AWFJ Eda Awards recognize the best in films overall, as well as films driven by women.
“We are particularly proud that this year’s member-determined roster of nominees included a goodly number of female contenders in non-gender specific categories. and that we have female winners in those categories, as well, including Sarah Polley who receives the Eda Award for Best Director for the multi-nominated and awarded Women Talking,” said Jennifer Merin, President of the 95 members AWFJ. “We hope to see similar results at this year’s Oscars and various guild awards. as well as with other critics awards groups.”
In 2022, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists...
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists* spread the wealth, awarding The Banshees of Inisherin, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Women Talking three wins each. The AWFJ Eda Awards recognize the best in films overall, as well as films driven by women.
“We are particularly proud that this year’s member-determined roster of nominees included a goodly number of female contenders in non-gender specific categories. and that we have female winners in those categories, as well, including Sarah Polley who receives the Eda Award for Best Director for the multi-nominated and awarded Women Talking,” said Jennifer Merin, President of the 95 members AWFJ. “We hope to see similar results at this year’s Oscars and various guild awards. as well as with other critics awards groups.”
In 2022, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists...
- 1/5/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
On Dec. 21, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its shortlists for the 2023 Oscars in 10 categories, which included advancing 15 documentary features to the next round. A total of 144 documentary features this year were eligible, and those that moved on include All That Breathes, Fire of Love and Moonage Daydream.
Among the more surprising omissions was Mars Rover doc Good Night Oppy. Members of the documentary branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees for documentary feature as well as documentary short (15 films were shortlisted from 98 qualified shorts).
A list of the 15 documentaries on this year’s Oscars shortlist follows.
All That Breathes
Winner of the Cannes Golden Eye and Sundance Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema Documentary), All That Breathes follows two brothers in New Delhi racing to save a bird falling from the sky. Shaunak Sen directs the HBO documentary. It premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival,...
Among the more surprising omissions was Mars Rover doc Good Night Oppy. Members of the documentary branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees for documentary feature as well as documentary short (15 films were shortlisted from 98 qualified shorts).
A list of the 15 documentaries on this year’s Oscars shortlist follows.
All That Breathes
Winner of the Cannes Golden Eye and Sundance Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema Documentary), All That Breathes follows two brothers in New Delhi racing to save a bird falling from the sky. Shaunak Sen directs the HBO documentary. It premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival,...
- 1/5/2023
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Barack Obama continued his annual tradition of posting his favorite movies of the year by selecting 17 standout titles from 2022. “I saw some great movies this year,” the former president posted on social media. “Here are some of my favorites. What did I miss?”
Obama’s list includes top awards contenders such as “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” but it’s also heavy on international movies such as Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave,” Celine Sciamma’s “Petite Maman” and “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” from “Drive My Car” Oscar winner Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
The full list includes: Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave,” Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King,” Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” John Patton Ford’s “Emily the Criminal,” Celine Sciamma’s “Petite Maman,” Margaret Brown’s “Descendant,” Audrey Diwane’s “Happening,” Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till,” Daniels’ “Everything Everywhere All at Once,...
Obama’s list includes top awards contenders such as “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” but it’s also heavy on international movies such as Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave,” Celine Sciamma’s “Petite Maman” and “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” from “Drive My Car” Oscar winner Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
The full list includes: Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave,” Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King,” Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” John Patton Ford’s “Emily the Criminal,” Celine Sciamma’s “Petite Maman,” Margaret Brown’s “Descendant,” Audrey Diwane’s “Happening,” Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till,” Daniels’ “Everything Everywhere All at Once,...
- 12/23/2022
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
The documentary form continued to flex its power in 2022, delivering stories and perspectives of astonishing breadth and sometimes granular artistry. What stood out were the movies that didn’t take their issues or subjects at face value, but rather sought something more resonant about the workings of the world, or even told us more about ourselves and what’s possible. Across these brilliant films, the mysterious is interrogated, the accepted is challenged, and the past is reckoned with, but what we’re always left with is the human heart’s resilience to do all that necessary interrogating, challenging and reckoning.
Also Read:
The 10 Best Films of 2022, from ‘Eo’ to ‘Rrr’ All That Breathes Rise Films
The year’s most artful documentary operates on two layers: introducing us to the modest hawk-repairing operation of two Muslim brothers in pollution-choked Delhi, where the birds just fall out of the sky, and showing...
Also Read:
The 10 Best Films of 2022, from ‘Eo’ to ‘Rrr’ All That Breathes Rise Films
The year’s most artful documentary operates on two layers: introducing us to the modest hawk-repairing operation of two Muslim brothers in pollution-choked Delhi, where the birds just fall out of the sky, and showing...
- 12/21/2022
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
The Black Reel Awards has revealed its nominations for their 23rd Annual ceremony.
Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King, about the warrior women of the country of Dahomey, and Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, about a superhero from the fictional African nation of Wakanda and a memorial to Chadwick Boseman, are tied at 14 nominations.
Two other films joined the ranks of double-digit nominations: MGM’s Till and A24’s The Inspection.
Independent studio A24 garnered 11 nominations across all categories. However, Amazon Studios landed a record three nominations in the Outstanding Independent Film category for Master, Nanny, and Emergency. Perennial powerhouse, Disney Studios nabbed the most nominations for a studio with 15.
Viola Davis landed her sixth Outstanding Actress nomination for her work in The Woman King, becoming the most recognized individual in the Actress category in Black Reel Award (Bolts) history. At the same time, director Elegance Bratton received...
Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King, about the warrior women of the country of Dahomey, and Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, about a superhero from the fictional African nation of Wakanda and a memorial to Chadwick Boseman, are tied at 14 nominations.
Two other films joined the ranks of double-digit nominations: MGM’s Till and A24’s The Inspection.
Independent studio A24 garnered 11 nominations across all categories. However, Amazon Studios landed a record three nominations in the Outstanding Independent Film category for Master, Nanny, and Emergency. Perennial powerhouse, Disney Studios nabbed the most nominations for a studio with 15.
Viola Davis landed her sixth Outstanding Actress nomination for her work in The Woman King, becoming the most recognized individual in the Actress category in Black Reel Award (Bolts) history. At the same time, director Elegance Bratton received...
- 12/16/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
The PGA Awards announced its nominees for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures today, a list noted for a number of snubs and surprises.
Seven films were recognized with nominations, including All That Breathes, Shaunak Sen’s documentary about two brothers to Delhi, India who have dedicated their lives to rehabilitating birds of prey that have fallen victim to the city’s polluted skies. It won the Best Feature honors at the IDA Documentary Awards over the weekend, so the PGA Awards nomination comes as no surprise.
However, omitted from the PGA list was All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, the strong Oscar contender from director Laura Poitras which on Friday was named Best Non-Fiction Film by the New York Film Critics Circle. Also missing out on a PGA Award nomination were Moonage Daydream, Brett Morgen’s documentary on David Bowie that is far and away the top-grossing documentary of the year in theatrical release,...
Seven films were recognized with nominations, including All That Breathes, Shaunak Sen’s documentary about two brothers to Delhi, India who have dedicated their lives to rehabilitating birds of prey that have fallen victim to the city’s polluted skies. It won the Best Feature honors at the IDA Documentary Awards over the weekend, so the PGA Awards nomination comes as no surprise.
However, omitted from the PGA list was All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, the strong Oscar contender from director Laura Poitras which on Friday was named Best Non-Fiction Film by the New York Film Critics Circle. Also missing out on a PGA Award nomination were Moonage Daydream, Brett Morgen’s documentary on David Bowie that is far and away the top-grossing documentary of the year in theatrical release,...
- 12/12/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
In the midst of a golden age for documentary films, there is no shortage of docs worthy of being seen and discussed. But the directors of only six of 2022’s standouts could be represented on The Hollywood Reporter‘s Documentary Roundtable when it convened in November: Peabody Award winner Margaret Brown (Netflix’s Descendant), Oscar nominee Matthew Heineman (Nat Geo’s Retrograde), Oscar winner Laura Poitras (Neon’s All the Beauty and the Bloodshed), first-time filmmaker David Siev (IFC’s Bad Axe), two-time Sundance grand jury prize winner Ondi Timoner (MTV’s Last Flight Home) and Emmy nominee Ryan White (Amazon’s Good Night Oppy). The sextet discussed the origins of their projects, hot-button debates in the doc community and more.
When someone asks you about your film and you have just a few seconds to hook them, what do you say?
David Siev...
In the midst of a golden age for documentary films, there is no shortage of docs worthy of being seen and discussed. But the directors of only six of 2022’s standouts could be represented on The Hollywood Reporter‘s Documentary Roundtable when it convened in November: Peabody Award winner Margaret Brown (Netflix’s Descendant), Oscar nominee Matthew Heineman (Nat Geo’s Retrograde), Oscar winner Laura Poitras (Neon’s All the Beauty and the Bloodshed), first-time filmmaker David Siev (IFC’s Bad Axe), two-time Sundance grand jury prize winner Ondi Timoner (MTV’s Last Flight Home) and Emmy nominee Ryan White (Amazon’s Good Night Oppy). The sextet discussed the origins of their projects, hot-button debates in the doc community and more.
When someone asks you about your film and you have just a few seconds to hook them, what do you say?
David Siev...
- 12/12/2022
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This history of Blaxploitation cinema, dispatches from the front lines of war, adventurous volcanologists, portraits of legendary artists, and a group of jackasses that repeatedly hit each other in the balls—just a few of the subjects and stories this year’s documentaries brought us. With 2022 wrapping up, we’ve selected the features that left us most impressed. If you’re looking for where to stream them, check out our handy guide here.
All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen)
Move over, Sandra Bullock—there’s a new Bird Box in town. The only film to have collected prizes at both Sundance and Cannes, Shaunak Sen’s taut, tender documentary has a healing power that’s sourced straight from its subjects: two brothers in Delhi who have devoted their lives to saving the Black Kite—a majestic, medium-sized, hypercarnivorous raptor of the air—from going extinct in Delhi’s fatally-polluted skies. Set...
All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen)
Move over, Sandra Bullock—there’s a new Bird Box in town. The only film to have collected prizes at both Sundance and Cannes, Shaunak Sen’s taut, tender documentary has a healing power that’s sourced straight from its subjects: two brothers in Delhi who have devoted their lives to saving the Black Kite—a majestic, medium-sized, hypercarnivorous raptor of the air—from going extinct in Delhi’s fatally-polluted skies. Set...
- 12/9/2022
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Deadline on Wednesday launched its streaming site for Contenders Film: Documentary, the award-season showcase that took place Sunday with creatives from 20 of the year’s buzziest non-fiction movies.
Click here to launch the streaming site.
Top filmmakers including Brett Morgen, Sacha Jenkins, Kathlyn Horan, Alek Keshishian, Reginald Hudlin, Ryan White, Dror Moreh, Margaret Brown and Chris Smith joined the annual panel-fest, in which Deadline’s Documentary Editor, Awards Matthew Carey guided discussions about the films, their inspiration and their impact.
This year’s lineup spanned the globe and at least two planets, with a lineup that included Sony Pictures Classics’ Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song, Turn Every Page and The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile; HBO Documentary Films’ All That Breathes, 38 at the Garden, The Janes and Moonage Daydream; Netflix’s Sr. and Descendant; Apple Original Films’ Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues, Selena Gomez: My Mind...
Click here to launch the streaming site.
Top filmmakers including Brett Morgen, Sacha Jenkins, Kathlyn Horan, Alek Keshishian, Reginald Hudlin, Ryan White, Dror Moreh, Margaret Brown and Chris Smith joined the annual panel-fest, in which Deadline’s Documentary Editor, Awards Matthew Carey guided discussions about the films, their inspiration and their impact.
This year’s lineup spanned the globe and at least two planets, with a lineup that included Sony Pictures Classics’ Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song, Turn Every Page and The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile; HBO Documentary Films’ All That Breathes, 38 at the Garden, The Janes and Moonage Daydream; Netflix’s Sr. and Descendant; Apple Original Films’ Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues, Selena Gomez: My Mind...
- 12/7/2022
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama, has established an enviable track record with Oscar voters, earning a Best Documentary Feature nomination last year with Crip Camp, and a win in 2020 for American Factory. It’s back in the Oscar race this year with Descendant, a Netflix documentary directed by Margaret Brown.
The award-winning film centers on the descendants of the Clotilda, the last slave ship known to have entered the U.S., which sailed into Mobile Bay, Alabama on the eve of the Civil War.
Related: The Contenders Documentary – Deadline’s Full Coverage
“The Obamas’ and the Netflix platform is just crucial because… these kinds of histories are being obscured and obfuscated and denied,” Brown said during an appearance at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary event. “And to have that kind of support is in defiance to those who would not like these stories to be told.
The award-winning film centers on the descendants of the Clotilda, the last slave ship known to have entered the U.S., which sailed into Mobile Bay, Alabama on the eve of the Civil War.
Related: The Contenders Documentary – Deadline’s Full Coverage
“The Obamas’ and the Netflix platform is just crucial because… these kinds of histories are being obscured and obfuscated and denied,” Brown said during an appearance at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary event. “And to have that kind of support is in defiance to those who would not like these stories to be told.
- 12/4/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary awards-season event kicks off Sunday at 8 a.m. Pt and promises to open up distant lands and even a distant planet—no passport required.
Click her to register for and watch today’s Contenders livestream.
The terrain covered by the cast and creatives from our 20 participating films astonishes with its variety and range: an enclave of Delhi, India in All That Breathes, a remote section of Paraguay in Eami, and possibly an even more remote outpost of the Brazilian rainforest in Wildcat. Moscow is the ultimate destination of Navalny, the documentary about Russia’s imprisoned and poisoned opposition leader, and Descendant takes us to a neighborhood of Mobile, Alabama settled by survivors of the last slave ship known to have navigated U.S. waters.
About 5,600 miles separate Moscow from Mobile, mere inches apart compared to the far-flung rendezvous point of Good Night Oppy, about NASA...
Click her to register for and watch today’s Contenders livestream.
The terrain covered by the cast and creatives from our 20 participating films astonishes with its variety and range: an enclave of Delhi, India in All That Breathes, a remote section of Paraguay in Eami, and possibly an even more remote outpost of the Brazilian rainforest in Wildcat. Moscow is the ultimate destination of Navalny, the documentary about Russia’s imprisoned and poisoned opposition leader, and Descendant takes us to a neighborhood of Mobile, Alabama settled by survivors of the last slave ship known to have navigated U.S. waters.
About 5,600 miles separate Moscow from Mobile, mere inches apart compared to the far-flung rendezvous point of Good Night Oppy, about NASA...
- 12/4/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
In her 2008 documentary “The Order of Myths,” director Margaret Brown explores segregated Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile, Alabama. In the process, she also deals with the last slave ship, the Clotilda, which was sunk in the Mobile Bay over 160 years ago. She never expected to return to that story — and then “Descendent” happened.
After “The Order of Myths,” Brown was drawn like a magnet to the unfolding search for the Clotilda, along with her “The Order of Myths” consultant, African American studies professor and folklorist Kern Jackson, who became the co-writer and co-producer of “Descendant.” “We never stopped talking,” Brown said.
In early 2018, in Africatown, they found the wrong ship, the Notilde, but the news went global. One morning in Los Angeles, SXSW impresario and film producer Lewis Black told Brown: “Margaret, are you crazy? You need to go back!”
He wrote her a check at breakfast and she was...
After “The Order of Myths,” Brown was drawn like a magnet to the unfolding search for the Clotilda, along with her “The Order of Myths” consultant, African American studies professor and folklorist Kern Jackson, who became the co-writer and co-producer of “Descendant.” “We never stopped talking,” Brown said.
In early 2018, in Africatown, they found the wrong ship, the Notilde, but the news went global. One morning in Los Angeles, SXSW impresario and film producer Lewis Black told Brown: “Margaret, are you crazy? You need to go back!”
He wrote her a check at breakfast and she was...
- 11/21/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Good Night Oppy, the moving story of the Mars rover that outlasted all expectations, was named Best Documentary Feature at the 2022 Critics Choice Documentary Awards. The film also earned Best Director (Ryan White), Best Score (Blake Neely), Best Narration, and Best Science/Nature Documentary awards.
The Seventh Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards selected David Siev’s Bad Axe as the Best First Documentary Feature and The Beatles: Get Back scored the Best Music Documentary award.
The CCDAs, hosted by Wyatt Cenac, took place on November 13, 2022 in New York City. This year marked the first time documentary fans were able to view the awards show live via the official Critics Choice Association’s website.
“Tonight was a whole new Doc Awards – hosting the ceremony in a new, bigger venue in Manhattan and streaming it live for the first time. We are thrilled to continue the celebration of so many groundbreaking and...
The Seventh Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards selected David Siev’s Bad Axe as the Best First Documentary Feature and The Beatles: Get Back scored the Best Music Documentary award.
The CCDAs, hosted by Wyatt Cenac, took place on November 13, 2022 in New York City. This year marked the first time documentary fans were able to view the awards show live via the official Critics Choice Association’s website.
“Tonight was a whole new Doc Awards – hosting the ceremony in a new, bigger venue in Manhattan and streaming it live for the first time. We are thrilled to continue the celebration of so many groundbreaking and...
- 11/14/2022
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
IDFA is going wild for Wildcat.
The documentary from Amazon Studios screened a couple of times over the weekend at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, to resounding effect, filmmakers Melissa Lesh and Trevor Frost tell Deadline. Screenings on Friday and Sunday took place at the Pathé Tuschinski Theatre, a glorious old movie palace that rivals Mann’s Chinese in splendor.
“To have two standing ovations in a theater like that,” Lesh commented at a party after Sunday’s event, “on the biggest screen we’ve screened on yet, and to have the audience so engaged and moved, I feel like it’s been our best screenings yet.”
The Pathé Tuschinski Theatre
Frost added, “When we were standing in the lobby as people were going into the movie theater, I just couldn’t believe how many people were around me. They said they had well over 450 people in the theater...
The documentary from Amazon Studios screened a couple of times over the weekend at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, to resounding effect, filmmakers Melissa Lesh and Trevor Frost tell Deadline. Screenings on Friday and Sunday took place at the Pathé Tuschinski Theatre, a glorious old movie palace that rivals Mann’s Chinese in splendor.
“To have two standing ovations in a theater like that,” Lesh commented at a party after Sunday’s event, “on the biggest screen we’ve screened on yet, and to have the audience so engaged and moved, I feel like it’s been our best screenings yet.”
The Pathé Tuschinski Theatre
Frost added, “When we were standing in the lobby as people were going into the movie theater, I just couldn’t believe how many people were around me. They said they had well over 450 people in the theater...
- 11/14/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Amazon Studios and Amblin Entertainment’s Good Night Oppy was named best documentary feature at the seventh annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, which were handed out Sunday night at the Edison Ballroom in Manhattan.
Overall, Good Night Oppy won a total of five awards during the night, including best director for Ryan White.
For the first time, the Critics Choice Association also chose to recognize the top three documentaries in the documentary feature category. While Good Night Oppy was the gold prize winner, the silver prize went to Fire of Love, while the bronze prize went to Navalny.
Actor and stand-up comedian Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show With Jon Stewart) served as host of the event, where documentarian Barbara Kopple (Harlan County USA, the forthcoming Gumbo Coalition) received the Pennebaker Award (formerly known as the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award) and Dawn Porter (John Lewis: Good Trouble,...
Amazon Studios and Amblin Entertainment’s Good Night Oppy was named best documentary feature at the seventh annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, which were handed out Sunday night at the Edison Ballroom in Manhattan.
Overall, Good Night Oppy won a total of five awards during the night, including best director for Ryan White.
For the first time, the Critics Choice Association also chose to recognize the top three documentaries in the documentary feature category. While Good Night Oppy was the gold prize winner, the silver prize went to Fire of Love, while the bronze prize went to Navalny.
Actor and stand-up comedian Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show With Jon Stewart) served as host of the event, where documentarian Barbara Kopple (Harlan County USA, the forthcoming Gumbo Coalition) received the Pennebaker Award (formerly known as the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award) and Dawn Porter (John Lewis: Good Trouble,...
- 11/14/2022
- by Kimberly Nordyke
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
All eyes were on nonfiction films tonight when the Critics Choice Documentary Awards took place in New York City. The ceremony highlights the best feature, short, and television documentaries, pitting blockbusters like “The Beatles: Get Back” and “Moonage Daydream” against smaller Oscar contenders like “Descendant” and “Fire of Love.” The ceremony serves as an early battleground in the Best Documentary Feature race, so it’s a can’t-miss event for Oscar watchers.
One clear winner emerged throughout the night: “Good Night Oppy.” Ryan White’s documentary about NASA’s groundbreaking Opportunity rover won five of the top prizes: Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Score, Best Science/Nature Documentary, and Best Narration. Given that the Amazon-backed documentary was competing against the likes of Judd Apatow and Brett Morgen, the sweep made a bold statement as the Oscar race heats up.
On the episodic side, “The Beatles: Get Back” won Best...
One clear winner emerged throughout the night: “Good Night Oppy.” Ryan White’s documentary about NASA’s groundbreaking Opportunity rover won five of the top prizes: Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Score, Best Science/Nature Documentary, and Best Narration. Given that the Amazon-backed documentary was competing against the likes of Judd Apatow and Brett Morgen, the sweep made a bold statement as the Oscar race heats up.
On the episodic side, “The Beatles: Get Back” won Best...
- 11/14/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
We now have a clear picture of where the Oscar race for Best Documentary Feature is headed. With Friday’s announcement of the International Documentary Association‘s (IDA) nominations, all four of the major nonfiction precursors have now weighed in. Cinema Eye Honors (Ceh) announced their nominees on November 10, Doc NYC gave us their annual shortlist on October 18, and the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards (Ccda) presented their slate on October 17. Only two films were recognized for top honors by all four of those groups: Sara Dosa‘s “Fire of Love” and Daniel Roher‘s “Navalny.”
Before we get into the full state of this year’s race, let’s understand why these four groups are so important. First off, in the last five years only one film — “The Mole Agent” (2020)– was nominated for the Academy Award without recognition from at least one of these groups first. Of the other 24 nominated films,...
Before we get into the full state of this year’s race, let’s understand why these four groups are so important. First off, in the last five years only one film — “The Mole Agent” (2020)– was nominated for the Academy Award without recognition from at least one of these groups first. Of the other 24 nominated films,...
- 11/13/2022
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
What excites you the most about being a documentary filmmaker? What documentary had a profound impact on you? When you finished your documentary, what was the hardest thing to let go of or walk away from?
These were some of the secrets revealed by four of today’s top documentary filmmakers when they joined Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022/2023 awards contenders: Margaret Brown (“Descendant”), Sara Dosa (“Fire of Love”), Alex Pritz (“The Territory”) and Trevor Frost & Melissa Lesh (“Wildcat”). Watch our lively group discussion above and click on each name to view their solo chat.
See dozens of interviews with 2022/2023 awards contenders
“I like the adrenaline rush of waking up every day and not knowing what’s going to happen,” says Brown. “That’s definitely why I do doc and not narrative. It’s exciting to figure things out on the fly. And also I really love my team.
These were some of the secrets revealed by four of today’s top documentary filmmakers when they joined Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022/2023 awards contenders: Margaret Brown (“Descendant”), Sara Dosa (“Fire of Love”), Alex Pritz (“The Territory”) and Trevor Frost & Melissa Lesh (“Wildcat”). Watch our lively group discussion above and click on each name to view their solo chat.
See dozens of interviews with 2022/2023 awards contenders
“I like the adrenaline rush of waking up every day and not knowing what’s going to happen,” says Brown. “That’s definitely why I do doc and not narrative. It’s exciting to figure things out on the fly. And also I really love my team.
- 11/12/2022
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
“You could be lynched for telling the story,” reveals director Margaret Brown while discussing her Netflix documentary “Descendant.” For our recent webchat she adds, “The people in the community were told to keep it in their family. Keep passing it down, because it’s an important family story, but it’s also a dangerous story. People were told to keep quiet for over 100 years.” We talked with Brown as part of Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022/2023 awards contenders. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
See dozens of interviews with 2022/2023 awards contenders
In “Descendant,” Brown follows descendants of the survivors from the Clotilda, the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States, as they reclaim their story. They live in the small Alabama town of Plateau, also known as Africatown. For the director, it was a story close to home. “I’m from Mobile,...
See dozens of interviews with 2022/2023 awards contenders
In “Descendant,” Brown follows descendants of the survivors from the Clotilda, the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States, as they reclaim their story. They live in the small Alabama town of Plateau, also known as Africatown. For the director, it was a story close to home. “I’m from Mobile,...
- 11/12/2022
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
The Cinema Eye Honors (Ceh) nominations announced on November 10 raise the profile of some of this year’s hottest contenders in the Oscar race for Best Documentary Feature. Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love” and Alex Pritz’ “The Territory” reaped a leading seven bids apiece, tying the record for most Cinema Eye nominations in a single year.
“The Territory” is up for the top prize, Best Nonfiction Feature, plus Debut, Production, Cinematography, Original Score, Sound Design, and the Audience Choice Prize. Dosa is one of the five women nominated for Direction this year. Her film “Fire of Love” is also nominated in the top category, Editing, Original Score, Sound Design, Visual Design, and the Audience Choice Prize.
The other four films nominated for Best Nonfiction Feature are “All That Breathes” by Shaunak Sen, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” by Laura Poitras, “Navalny” by Daniel Roher, and “A Night of Knowing Nothing” by Payal Kapadia.
“The Territory” is up for the top prize, Best Nonfiction Feature, plus Debut, Production, Cinematography, Original Score, Sound Design, and the Audience Choice Prize. Dosa is one of the five women nominated for Direction this year. Her film “Fire of Love” is also nominated in the top category, Editing, Original Score, Sound Design, Visual Design, and the Audience Choice Prize.
The other four films nominated for Best Nonfiction Feature are “All That Breathes” by Shaunak Sen, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” by Laura Poitras, “Navalny” by Daniel Roher, and “A Night of Knowing Nothing” by Payal Kapadia.
- 11/11/2022
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
The Cinema Eye Honors has announced the full slate of nominees for its 16th Annual Awards Ceremony meant to recognize outstanding artistry and craft in nonfiction filmmaking.
Two National Geographic films — Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love” and Alex Pritz’s “The Territory”— not only led all nominees with seven nominations (including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature for both), but tied the record for most nominations in a single year. Next in line is the Cannes-winning feature, “All That Breathes,” directed by Shaunak Sen, which got six nominations. The Laura Poitras-directed documentary “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” and Payal Kapadia’s “A Night of Knowing Nothing” followed with four nominations.
This year’s awards mark the first time in Cinema Eye history that five women were nominated for Outstanding Direction, with “Beba” director Rebeca Huntt and “Descendant” filmmaker Margaret Brown joining Sara Dosa, Payal Kapadia, Laura Poitras, and Shaunak Sen in the category.
Two National Geographic films — Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love” and Alex Pritz’s “The Territory”— not only led all nominees with seven nominations (including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature for both), but tied the record for most nominations in a single year. Next in line is the Cannes-winning feature, “All That Breathes,” directed by Shaunak Sen, which got six nominations. The Laura Poitras-directed documentary “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” and Payal Kapadia’s “A Night of Knowing Nothing” followed with four nominations.
This year’s awards mark the first time in Cinema Eye history that five women were nominated for Outstanding Direction, with “Beba” director Rebeca Huntt and “Descendant” filmmaker Margaret Brown joining Sara Dosa, Payal Kapadia, Laura Poitras, and Shaunak Sen in the category.
- 11/10/2022
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
“Fire of Love” and “The Territory” led all films in nominations for the 16th annual Cinema Eye Honors, awards that were established in 2007 to honor all aspects of nonfiction filmmaking.
“Fire of Love” is a documentary from Sara Dosa about scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft, set against the volcanoes they spent much of their lives studying; “The Territory” is director Alex Pritz’s look at an indigenous Brazilian tribe threatened by deforestation. Both films received seven nominations, tying the record for the most Cinema Eye noms in a single year.
Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes” received six nominations, while Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” and Payal Kapadia’s “A Night of Knowing Nothing” each received four.
In the Outstanding Nonfiction Feature category, those five films were joined by Daniel Roher’s “Navalny.”
Also Read:
‘Fire of Love,’ ‘Good Night Oppy’ Lead Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations...
“Fire of Love” is a documentary from Sara Dosa about scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft, set against the volcanoes they spent much of their lives studying; “The Territory” is director Alex Pritz’s look at an indigenous Brazilian tribe threatened by deforestation. Both films received seven nominations, tying the record for the most Cinema Eye noms in a single year.
Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes” received six nominations, while Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” and Payal Kapadia’s “A Night of Knowing Nothing” each received four.
In the Outstanding Nonfiction Feature category, those five films were joined by Daniel Roher’s “Navalny.”
Also Read:
‘Fire of Love,’ ‘Good Night Oppy’ Lead Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations...
- 11/10/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Oscar prospects for Fire of Love, The Territory, and All That Breathes got a significant boost today with the announcement of the nominations for the 16th Annual Cinema Eye Honors.
Sara Dosa’s Fire of Love and Alex Pritz’s The Territory tied with a leading seven nominations apiece, while All That Breathes, from director Shaunak Sen, was recognized in half a dozen categories. Fellow Oscar contenders All the Beauty and the Bloodshed — the Venice Golden Lion winner directed by Laura Poitras — and Payal Kapadia’s A Night of Knowing Nothing earned four nominations apiece.
In the marquee category of Outstanding Nonfiction Feature, six films will go head to head at the Cinema Eye Honors: All That Breathes; All the Beauty and the Bloodshed; Fire of Love; Navalny — Daniel Roher’s documentary on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny; A Night of Knowing Nothing, and The Territory [see the full list of nominees below].
Pritz, making his...
Sara Dosa’s Fire of Love and Alex Pritz’s The Territory tied with a leading seven nominations apiece, while All That Breathes, from director Shaunak Sen, was recognized in half a dozen categories. Fellow Oscar contenders All the Beauty and the Bloodshed — the Venice Golden Lion winner directed by Laura Poitras — and Payal Kapadia’s A Night of Knowing Nothing earned four nominations apiece.
In the marquee category of Outstanding Nonfiction Feature, six films will go head to head at the Cinema Eye Honors: All That Breathes; All the Beauty and the Bloodshed; Fire of Love; Navalny — Daniel Roher’s documentary on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny; A Night of Knowing Nothing, and The Territory [see the full list of nominees below].
Pritz, making his...
- 11/10/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Fire of Love and The Territory landed a field-leading seven mentions, including best feature, in the Cinema Eye Honors nominations, which were announced Thursday.
The Ceh organization, which celebrates nonfiction work on screens big and small, also nominated All That Breathes (six noms), All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (four noms), Navalny (three noms) and A Night of Knowing Nothing (four noms) for its top honor.
Meanwhile, in the directing category, an unprecedented five of the six nominees are women: Laura Poitras (All the Beauty and the Bloodshed), Rebecca Huntt (Beba), Margaret Brown (Descendant), Sara Dosa (Fire of Love) and Payal Kapadia (A Night of Knowing Nothing). The sixth nominee is Shaunak Sen (All That Breathes).
Poitras, with her noms for feature and direction, ties Steve James for the most Ceh noms of all time, with 13.
Alex Pritz has the most individual noms this year,...
Fire of Love and The Territory landed a field-leading seven mentions, including best feature, in the Cinema Eye Honors nominations, which were announced Thursday.
The Ceh organization, which celebrates nonfiction work on screens big and small, also nominated All That Breathes (six noms), All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (four noms), Navalny (three noms) and A Night of Knowing Nothing (four noms) for its top honor.
Meanwhile, in the directing category, an unprecedented five of the six nominees are women: Laura Poitras (All the Beauty and the Bloodshed), Rebecca Huntt (Beba), Margaret Brown (Descendant), Sara Dosa (Fire of Love) and Payal Kapadia (A Night of Knowing Nothing). The sixth nominee is Shaunak Sen (All That Breathes).
Poitras, with her noms for feature and direction, ties Steve James for the most Ceh noms of all time, with 13.
Alex Pritz has the most individual noms this year,...
- 11/10/2022
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In just 13 yearsDOC NYC has become America’s most influential documentary festival.
The nine-day affair, which runs Nov. 9-17, will feature more than 124 short docus and 112 feature-length nonfiction films that will screen at New York City’s IFC Center, Sva Theater and Cinépolis Chelsea. (The 2022 version will be both in person in New York and accessible online across the U.S.)
One key factor in the festival’s success has to do with where it falls on the calendar — one month before the AMPAS documentary branch begins voting to determine the Oscar documentary shortlist. Then there’s Doc NYC’s 15-feature film shortlist, which has become famous for including docus that eventually earn Oscar nominations and/or wins.
“Summer of Soul,” “American Factory,” “Free Solo,” “Icarus,” “O.J.: Made in America,” “Amy,” “Citizenfour,” “20 Feet From Stardom,” “Searching for Sugar Man,” and “Undefeated” are all films that won the Academy Award for...
The nine-day affair, which runs Nov. 9-17, will feature more than 124 short docus and 112 feature-length nonfiction films that will screen at New York City’s IFC Center, Sva Theater and Cinépolis Chelsea. (The 2022 version will be both in person in New York and accessible online across the U.S.)
One key factor in the festival’s success has to do with where it falls on the calendar — one month before the AMPAS documentary branch begins voting to determine the Oscar documentary shortlist. Then there’s Doc NYC’s 15-feature film shortlist, which has become famous for including docus that eventually earn Oscar nominations and/or wins.
“Summer of Soul,” “American Factory,” “Free Solo,” “Icarus,” “O.J.: Made in America,” “Amy,” “Citizenfour,” “20 Feet From Stardom,” “Searching for Sugar Man,” and “Undefeated” are all films that won the Academy Award for...
- 11/10/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Documentary filmmaker Margaret Brown returns to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama to document the search for and discovery of The Clotilda, the last known ship to arrive in the United States, illegally carrying enslaved Africans in 1860. After a century of secrecy and speculation, the 2019 discovery of the ship turns attention toward the descendant community of Africatown and presents a moving portrait of a community actively grappling with and fighting to preserve their heritage while examining what justice looks like today.
See RSVP for Film Documentary panel on November 9: ‘Descendant,’ ‘Fire of Love,’ ‘The Territory,’ ‘Wildcat’
A special jury prize winner at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, “Descendant” continues to impress critics, holding a 100 freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Are the Oscars next? See what critics are saying about the documentary, currently streaming on Netflix, below.
Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com says, “Margaret Brown’s ‘Descendant’ reckons with the power of recording and sharing history,...
See RSVP for Film Documentary panel on November 9: ‘Descendant,’ ‘Fire of Love,’ ‘The Territory,’ ‘Wildcat’
A special jury prize winner at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, “Descendant” continues to impress critics, holding a 100 freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Are the Oscars next? See what critics are saying about the documentary, currently streaming on Netflix, below.
Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com says, “Margaret Brown’s ‘Descendant’ reckons with the power of recording and sharing history,...
- 11/4/2022
- by Vincent Mandile
- Gold Derby
Five top film documentarians will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022/2023 awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Wednesday, November 9, at 4:00 p.m. Pt; 7:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Denton Davidson and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.
RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following Oscar contenders:
Descendant (Netflix)
Synopsis: Follows descendants of the survivors from the Clotilda, the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States, as they reclaim their story.
Bio: Margaret Brown received an Emmy nomination for “The Great Invisible” and...
RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following Oscar contenders:
Descendant (Netflix)
Synopsis: Follows descendants of the survivors from the Clotilda, the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States, as they reclaim their story.
Bio: Margaret Brown received an Emmy nomination for “The Great Invisible” and...
- 11/2/2022
- by Chris Beachum and Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
One of the finest moments in Margaret Brown’s Descendant, which is now streaming on Netflix, arrives by way of a drone shot that unexpectedly alerts us to where we really are. The shot begins at ground level, on a quiet street in Mobile, Alabama, and expands upward and outward to a perch high above the treeline. The view is ominous. Smoke stacks and a highway dominate this newly unfamiliar place that we thought we’d begun to know. Surroundings that the movie had somehow obscured to this point suddenly become very visible — menacingly so.
- 10/28/2022
- by K. Austin Collins
- Rollingstone.com
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
Add some new titles to the field of documentary award contenders with the announcement of the IDA Documentary Awards shortlist of 25 features and 24 shorts. Among the usual suspects also included on the Cinema Eye Honors Audience Long List are “All That Breathes,” “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” “Fire of Love,” “Mija,” “Moonage Daydream,” “Navalny,” and “The Territory.”
One dramatic IDA and Cinema Eye snub: Margaret Brown’s exploration of the legacy of Africatown, Alabama, “Descendant” (Netflix), which was included in both the Critics Choice Documentary Award nominations and the Doc NYC shortlist.
Rick Pérez, IDA’s Executive Director, stated: “This year’s Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary shortlists reflect a growing awareness that multiple perspectives are necessary to better reflect the worldwide popularity of the form and to recognize the global community of artists working in the field.”
The IDA will reveal its nominations on November 11, 2022. The...
One dramatic IDA and Cinema Eye snub: Margaret Brown’s exploration of the legacy of Africatown, Alabama, “Descendant” (Netflix), which was included in both the Critics Choice Documentary Award nominations and the Doc NYC shortlist.
Rick Pérez, IDA’s Executive Director, stated: “This year’s Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary shortlists reflect a growing awareness that multiple perspectives are necessary to better reflect the worldwide popularity of the form and to recognize the global community of artists working in the field.”
The IDA will reveal its nominations on November 11, 2022. The...
- 10/26/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
On its surface, Margaret Brown’s “Descendant” is about the rediscovery of the wreck of the last slave ship to (illegally) arrive in the United States in July of 1860, less than a year before the start of the American Civil War. As documentary subject and writer of the film Kern Jackson puts it, “The boat’s waiting to get raised up. It’s been there the entire time.” But the mystery of where the ship was sunk and the process of how it was found again aren’t nearly as interesting to Brown’s film as the tension of who will get to benefit from the slave ship Clotilda’s recovery.
“Descendant” is a single tense title, but it follows the community of Africatown, which is part of the greater Mobile, Alabama area (although it certainly isn’t zoned like a suburb), and the many descendants of the Clotilda who still live there.
“Descendant” is a single tense title, but it follows the community of Africatown, which is part of the greater Mobile, Alabama area (although it certainly isn’t zoned like a suburb), and the many descendants of the Clotilda who still live there.
- 10/25/2022
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
In 1808, the Unites States banned the importation of slaves, effectively putting an end to the transatlantic slave trade. Or so the history books have it, although the residents of Mobile, Ala.’s Africatown neighborhood know otherwise: Human trafficking continued for decades more. More than half a century later, in 1860, many of their ancestors were smuggled into the port city aboard a ship called the Clotilda by white men who’d wagered they could get away with it — and did, destroying the evidence. With no ship and no manifest, federal investigators dropped their case against the culprits, Timothy Meaher and Capt. William Foster, even though the proof was there all along, told and retold by the survivors and their families.
Director Margaret Brown honors those voices in her stunning Sundance-winning documentary “Descendant,” distinguishing between what passes for history (the version written by those in power) and the painful reality eyewitnesses have...
Director Margaret Brown honors those voices in her stunning Sundance-winning documentary “Descendant,” distinguishing between what passes for history (the version written by those in power) and the painful reality eyewitnesses have...
- 10/21/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
The last known slave ship to touch American shores arrived in Alabama in 1860, more than 50 years after the international slave trade was outlawed in the U.S. After carrying 110 captives from Dahomey (now Benin) to Mobile, the Clotilda was burned and sunk in an attempt to destroy the evidence of the crime. After emancipation, a number of the survivors of that voyage formed a community in northern Mobile, known as Africatown, where descendants still live today.
Though she grew up in Mobile, Alabama, documentary director Margaret Brown says she was never taught this local history in school. With survivors and descendants fearful of spreading their story for decades and the remains of the Clotilda lost for even longer, some believed it was a myth. But as Brown’s latest film, Descendant — premiering on Netflix and in some theaters on Friday — chronicles, the Clotilda was very real,...
The last known slave ship to touch American shores arrived in Alabama in 1860, more than 50 years after the international slave trade was outlawed in the U.S. After carrying 110 captives from Dahomey (now Benin) to Mobile, the Clotilda was burned and sunk in an attempt to destroy the evidence of the crime. After emancipation, a number of the survivors of that voyage formed a community in northern Mobile, known as Africatown, where descendants still live today.
Though she grew up in Mobile, Alabama, documentary director Margaret Brown says she was never taught this local history in school. With survivors and descendants fearful of spreading their story for decades and the remains of the Clotilda lost for even longer, some believed it was a myth. But as Brown’s latest film, Descendant — premiering on Netflix and in some theaters on Friday — chronicles, the Clotilda was very real,...
- 10/21/2022
- by Katie Kilkenny
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Margaret Brown’s dense and moving documentary “Descendant” is a feat of cinematic nonfiction storytelling, about the importance of storytelling itself. Training her cameras on Mobile, Alabama, specifically the community of Africatown, Brown draws out a tale of America itself, and all of the complicated, violent histories that continue to inform America’s present.
“Descendant,” which earned a Special Jury Prize for Creative Vision at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, is a fascinatingly multilayered film: it is an elegy wrapped around a true-crime story; an observational social-justice movie intertwined with an historical retelling that finds the universal in the specific. In braiding these strands together, Brown crafts a film that isn’t one thing or the other but instead dares to contain multitudes.
What is a descendant if not living history, their existence in the world a gift of their ancestors? Brown explores this connection as something spiritual, tangible and empowering.
“Descendant,” which earned a Special Jury Prize for Creative Vision at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, is a fascinatingly multilayered film: it is an elegy wrapped around a true-crime story; an observational social-justice movie intertwined with an historical retelling that finds the universal in the specific. In braiding these strands together, Brown crafts a film that isn’t one thing or the other but instead dares to contain multitudes.
What is a descendant if not living history, their existence in the world a gift of their ancestors? Brown explores this connection as something spiritual, tangible and empowering.
- 10/21/2022
- by Katie Walsh
- The Wrap
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.
The African Desperate (Martine Syms)
Early into Martine Syms’ The African Desperate, Mfa finalist Palace (Diamond Stingily) sits for her last exam in an upstate New York art school tucked deep in the woods. It’s the end of a three-year voyage, the kind of moment that should trigger swaths of pride and relief. But Palace, a Black student in an exceedingly white college, is frustrated, tired, on the verge of a breakdown. Her art has already shown at the Venice Biennale, a feat her all-Caucasian examiners don’t really know how to respond to. Even after they christen her a Master of Fine Arts, the mix of animosity and envy lingers acridly in the room. “There are lots of female artists...
The African Desperate (Martine Syms)
Early into Martine Syms’ The African Desperate, Mfa finalist Palace (Diamond Stingily) sits for her last exam in an upstate New York art school tucked deep in the woods. It’s the end of a three-year voyage, the kind of moment that should trigger swaths of pride and relief. But Palace, a Black student in an exceedingly white college, is frustrated, tired, on the verge of a breakdown. Her art has already shown at the Venice Biennale, a feat her all-Caucasian examiners don’t really know how to respond to. Even after they christen her a Master of Fine Arts, the mix of animosity and envy lingers acridly in the room. “There are lots of female artists...
- 10/21/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
A striking and sensitive film about how an illegal slave ship led to an Alabama community of inherited trauma but also defiance
Descendent, Margaret Brown’s documentary about the search for America’s last known slave ship, begins with a distant figure kayaking through a sun-dappled swamp. Green leaves blanket the water’s surface and the rower’s strokes are slow and meditative. Nothing to see here, just a man – a Black man, we gather, as he glides closer – in nature, accompanied by the buzz of insects and the lone egret that is keeping watch. It’s a strikingly bucolic beginning for a work about so devastating a subject. We’re in for something different here, is the film’s opening gambit. It’s an unspoken promise that Descendent lives up to.
Brown, a white native of Mobile, Alabama, returned to her hometown to record the search for the Clotilda,...
Descendent, Margaret Brown’s documentary about the search for America’s last known slave ship, begins with a distant figure kayaking through a sun-dappled swamp. Green leaves blanket the water’s surface and the rower’s strokes are slow and meditative. Nothing to see here, just a man – a Black man, we gather, as he glides closer – in nature, accompanied by the buzz of insects and the lone egret that is keeping watch. It’s a strikingly bucolic beginning for a work about so devastating a subject. We’re in for something different here, is the film’s opening gambit. It’s an unspoken promise that Descendent lives up to.
Brown, a white native of Mobile, Alabama, returned to her hometown to record the search for the Clotilda,...
- 10/21/2022
- by Lauren Mechling
- The Guardian - Film News
A new Netflix documentary tells the story of activists in Africatown, a Black community in Alabama, as they fight to reclaim their history
Margaret Brown doesn’t see herself as the director behind Descendant. “It’s not my story to tell,” she says about her Netflix documentary following activists in Africatown – a Black community in Mobile, Alabama – who rally to reclaim and preserve their history.
Many of Africatown’s citizens are descended from the Clotilda, the last recorded vessel to bring enslaved people into the United States in 1860. At the time, importing such human cargo was illegal. In her film, Brown, a Mobile-native who currently resides in Austin, Texas, interrogates the ways the narratives around the Clotilda and Africatown were recorded, framed or – like so much African American history – buried with intent.
Margaret Brown doesn’t see herself as the director behind Descendant. “It’s not my story to tell,” she says about her Netflix documentary following activists in Africatown – a Black community in Mobile, Alabama – who rally to reclaim and preserve their history.
Many of Africatown’s citizens are descended from the Clotilda, the last recorded vessel to bring enslaved people into the United States in 1860. At the time, importing such human cargo was illegal. In her film, Brown, a Mobile-native who currently resides in Austin, Texas, interrogates the ways the narratives around the Clotilda and Africatown were recorded, framed or – like so much African American history – buried with intent.
- 10/19/2022
- by Radheyan Simonpillai
- The Guardian - Film News
Laura Poitras’s documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed appears to be on more solid ground as a possible Oscar frontrunner, after the release of Doc NYC’s influential shortlist of the year’s top nonfiction films.
Atbatb made the Doc NYC cut of 15 feature films Tuesday, a day after it missed out on a nomination as Best Documentary Feature for the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards (Poitras did earn a Best Director nomination and her film was nominated as Best Political Documentary by the critics group).
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, about artist Nan Goldin and her indefatigable campaign against the Sackler family of Oxycontin ignominy, last month became only the second documentary to win the top prize in Venice. Joining the film on the Doc NYC shortlist is Fire of Love, the National Geographic documentary that has earned more than 1.5 million in worldwide release. It tells the...
Atbatb made the Doc NYC cut of 15 feature films Tuesday, a day after it missed out on a nomination as Best Documentary Feature for the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards (Poitras did earn a Best Director nomination and her film was nominated as Best Political Documentary by the critics group).
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, about artist Nan Goldin and her indefatigable campaign against the Sackler family of Oxycontin ignominy, last month became only the second documentary to win the top prize in Venice. Joining the film on the Doc NYC shortlist is Fire of Love, the National Geographic documentary that has earned more than 1.5 million in worldwide release. It tells the...
- 10/19/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Doc NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, announced the titles of its annual Short List: Features program on October 18. The Short List represents a selection of films the festival’s programming team considers to be among the year’s top contenders for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
Launched in 2012, the Doc NYC Short List: Features selection has included the eventual Oscar winner nine of the last 10 times, including last year’s champ “Summer of Soul.” The festival also boasts that they screened 44 of the last 50 Oscar-nominated features and in 2021 screened 11 of the 15 films that were named to the academy’s pre-nominees shortlist.
Among this year’s selection is a documentary everyone is watching closely, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” by Oscar winner for “Citizenfour” Laura Poitras. That film became only the second documentary to ever win the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival and then screened...
Launched in 2012, the Doc NYC Short List: Features selection has included the eventual Oscar winner nine of the last 10 times, including last year’s champ “Summer of Soul.” The festival also boasts that they screened 44 of the last 50 Oscar-nominated features and in 2021 screened 11 of the 15 films that were named to the academy’s pre-nominees shortlist.
Among this year’s selection is a documentary everyone is watching closely, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” by Oscar winner for “Citizenfour” Laura Poitras. That film became only the second documentary to ever win the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival and then screened...
- 10/18/2022
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
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