Movie Review of ‘The September Issue’ – 2009
The September Issue covers the preparation of Vogue Magazine’s annual style-setting issue, and profiles the book’s prima fashionista, Anna Wintour, who is arguably the most influential taste-maker in the world. R.J. Cutler follows Wintour into editorial meetings, fashion shows in Europe and to her own home, where she asks her teenage daughter’s opinion about fashion […]
Read MoreDocumentary Retroview: THE END OF AMERICA (2008)
The End Of America presents the ten step blueprint that Hitler and other dictators used to subvert democratic process and put an end to personal freedoms. It compares, step by step, events leading up to establishment of the Third Reich with what has happened in the United States in recent years. Very convincing. Very scary. Should be required viewing for anyone old enough to vote or join the army.
Read MoreFOOD INC (2008)- Documentary Review
Food, Inc. is an alarming expose of the way food is produced and distributed in the United States. Interviewing investigators, journalists and farmers, filmmaker Robert Kenner shows how almost everything we eat is produced and distributed by a very few huge multinational corporations, such as Monsanto and Tyson, and that quality of nutrition is secondary […]
Read MoreLADY BUDS – Documentary Review
Chris J. Russo’s engaging and informative first feature documentary, Lady Buds, is an enlightening and exasperating tell all about the troubles currently impacting the lives and careers of women who are working in the weed trade in Northern California. The film chronicles the struggles of six independent female cannabis growers and distributors who were once […]
Read MoreMovie Review: BLACK WIDOW
Australian director Cate Shortland, known for her femme-centric films that explore the woman — as opposed to human – condition, presents Black Widow‘s two of the MCU’s beloved and well defined comic book blam! pow! take no prisoners female warriors as deeply traumatized women — sisters, in fact — whose troubled backstories — entailing what is essentially intensive child abuse — have rendered them to be emotionless killing machines
Read MoreINTERVIEW – Miranda de Pencier on THE GRIZZLIES
Canadian filmmaker Miranda de Pencier is an award-winning actress, producer and director. She’s the founder of Northwood Entertainment. The Grizzlies, which premiered at TIFF and for which she won the DGC Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, is her feature film directorial debut. She discusses making the film, the need for authenticity and the current status of women in film.
Read MoreTHE LOUISIANA FILM PRIZE: NORTH AMERICA’S MOST UNUSUAL FILM FEST
Now readying for its ninth edition, the Louisiana Film Prize has just put out the call for submissions for its 2020 competition to be held in Shreveport, Louisiana, from Oct 1 to 3. The Louisiana Film Prize is unique among 8,500 annual film festivals staged across North America. It is actually invites filmmakers to produce a short film to be entered into competition for a $50,000 cash award, given without restrictions on use. It is the world’s largest award presented for a short film, and it is the only one that requires production of a film specifically for the competition.
Read More63 UP – Documentary Review
For those who’ve followed filmmaker Michael Apted’s entire UP Series, it’s a treat to catch up with the subjects’ latest developments in 63 UP, the eighth and likely final episode in the series. Apted refers to the series as an exploration of the British class system, and asks all whether they think the original premise for the series — “give me a child at the age of seven and I’ll show you the man” — is true. The now familiar subjects’ responses are varied, authentic and provocative.
Read MoreFilmmaker Michael Apted: Leading Up to 63 UP
Michael Apted helms both documentaries and narrative features, and has won numerous awards for both kinds of films. But he is best known for his career-defining Up Series, a unique documentary project that has been in progress since 1964. In the Beginning At the inception of the Up Series, Apted was working as a researcher […]
Read MoreCritics Choice Documentary Awards 2019 Nominees Announced
The Critics Choice Association will once again be honoring the finest achievements in documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms, as determined by the voting of qualified CCA members (Full disclosure: I am a CCA member) . THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM leads this year with seven nominations, including Best Documentary Feature, John Chester for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Score, Best Narration, and Best Science/Nature Documentary.
Read MoreTHE PROPOSAL – Documentary Review
Filmmaker and artist Jill Magid became personally committed to unveiling the the legacy of legendary Mexican architect Luis Barragan (1902-1988), whose entire work record and artifacts — diaries, blueprints, photos of everything, personal memorabilia and other belongings, and copyrights — had been purchased by a powerful and wealthy Swiss conglomerate, Vitra, and were entirely withheld from public access.
Read MoreEbertfest 2019: A Glorious Celebration of Cinema
Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, aka Ebertfest, is unique in its pure and glorious celebration of cinema. The annual four-day program, which just completed its 21st edition, consists of but a dozen films, making Ebertfest quite compact, as film festivals go. But, this joyful movie event has enormous heart. It emanates influence and inspires empathy far beyond Champaign, Illinois, the college community in which it has found its soulmate.
Read MoreWomen Make Movies initiates the #WontBeErased Screen In
The Trump administration’s determination to define gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth, would eradicate federal recognition and civil rights protections of approximately 1.4 million transgender Americans. In response and as a counter measure, Women Make Movies has initiated the #WontBeErased Screen In, an online streaming program of enlightening LGBTQ films, curated to honor and celelbrate our trans, intersex and gender non-conforming family, friends and colleagues. This collection, essential for fostering the work of diversity, inclusion and tolerance, is streaming for free for two weeks, beginning today.
Read MoreDocumentaries on the 2018 Awards Circuit – Critics Choice Documentary Awards
The official announcement of nonfiction nominees for the Third Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards (CCDA) kicks off this year’s race for nonfic recognition, and what a race it is. Throughout the year, documentary production and distribution have soared, making 2018 the year of trending nonfiction.
Read MoreReview: I AM NOT A WITCH
Masterfully bewitching storytelling, a superb performances by first-time actor Maggie Mulubwa and a fine ensemble cast, exquisite cinematography that reveals nuanced emotions in close ups and captures broad sweeps of the arid landscape, and outstanding editing skills that balance satire and serious social commentary have brought <em>I Am Not A Witch</em> into contention for Oscar gold as the UK’s submission for best foreign film. Rungano Nyoni’s cinematic style is unique and fascinating. <em>I Am Not A Witch</em> is a must see. And, it warrants a second watch, as well.
Read MoreFork Films Picks 16 Documentaries for Funding
Abigail Disney’s Fork Films is dividng $625,000 in grants among 16 new documentaries that align with the company’s dedication to promoting peacebuilding, human rights, and social justice. All are directed and or produced by women. Selected from 500 applicants, the chosen films address topics ranging from refugee and immigration stories, to incarceration, civil rights, disability rights and media depictions of transgender people, as well as other timely topics. The unprecedented number of applications indicates growing demand for nonfiction storytelling in this turbulent time. Fork Films is committed to supporting voices not prioritized in mainstream media, and has given out nearly $5,000,000 in grant and investments to more than 100 documentaries to date.
Read MoreDocumentary Distribution 101: The Film Festival Effect
Developing audiences for documentaries can be a daunting task. Successful documentary distribution depends on audience demand, on convincing audiences that they want to purchase a ticket for a nonfiction film rather than for a narrative feature, even the weekly blockbuster with the title hat has been inked indelibly on their psyche by big budget, aggressive and effective marketing. How does film festival exposure help documentaries to gain audience, and does a documentary’s success on the festival circuit translate into wider distribution?
Read MoreDARK MONEY — Documentary Review
Kimberly Reed’s well-researched and compelling documentary is an explosive expose about the tremendous threat the influence of concealed corporate funding of political campaigns poses to the democratic process and the legitimacy of our elections. Dark Money is a political thriller, a cautionary tale that shows how independent candidates for public office are targeted and defeated by special interest groups hiding behind nonprofit organizations that are funded by wealthy and influential individuals and/or corporations — the Koch brothers, for example — who are basically buying elections and gaining the control necessary to guide the making future laws and to determine policies of the United States regarding everything from land use to diplomacy and alliances with foreign nations.
Read MoreKING CORN (2007) — Documentary Retroview
If you believe you are what you eat, you’ll no doubt be shocked to learn that you’re mostly corn. Aaron Woolf’s documentary reveals that most Americans eat mostly food products derived from or containing corn. In King Corn, Woolf follows young eco-activists Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis–who met and became investigative cohorts while undergrads at Yale–as they plant and harvest an acre’s worth of corn, and then to trace their crop as it is processed into the food products that nurture the increasingly obese and unhealthy–and always hungry–American population.
Read MoreBIGGER STRONGER FASTER (2008) – Documentary Retroview
Chris Bell uses his personal story as a platform for consideration of doping in America. The film shows that famous hunks like Hulk Hogan, Sly Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were dopers, and shows that the use of steroids is not only addictive, but also dangerous to both health and reputation.
Read MoreA FILM UNFINISHED (2010) — Documentary Retroview
Yael Hersonski’s A Film Unfinished is a remarkable holocaust documentary comprised primarily of previously unedited historic footage that was shot by Nazi filmmakers, ostensibly chronicling daily life in the infamous Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. Most of the footage — 60 minutes of silent images — was discovered in East German archives, long after WWII ended. It was generally considered to be historic record — albeit from the Nazi perspective — of life within the walled district (read that as prison) where German authorities and their Polish sympathizers forced Jews to await their fate.
Read MoreHITLER’S HOLLYWOOD — Documentary Review
Filmmaker Rudiger Suchsland’s Hitler’s Hollywood is a compilation documentary that uses clips from films produced during the Nazi regime to show how the movies were used to indoctrinate the masses and influence their behavior. The theme and point of view are unique. With its fascinating developmental arc, the film delivers a complete and well-conceived treatise about how the Nazis used movies to influence the masses and how movie production reflected public mood and the zeitgeist during the Nazi regime. It provokes thought about how movies produced today have similar impact on our social expectations and behavior. There are some valuable lessons to be had.
Read MoreCORMAN’S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL (2011) — Documentary Retroview
If you have any interest in Hollywood history and love Tinsel Town lore, this comprehensive biodoc about the life and career of Roger Corman will entertain and fascinate you — even if you’re not a big fan of the B-movie genre. Expect to see Hollywood’s A-List of stars who attribute their success to the legendary ‘King of B-movies.’ pay tribute to Corman, now in his 80s.
Read MoreIDFA 2017: The Female Gaze is Gone
It’s hard not to appreciate what the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, otherwise known as IDFA, has accomplished during the decades since it was co-founded by Ally Derks, who is rightly revered in the documentary film realm. But Ally Derks has moved on, and IDFA is changing its outlook. This year, the festival dropped its The Female Gaze program and is, apparently, no longer focusing on ongoing issues of gender parity faced by the international community of women filmmakers.
Read MoreClaire Ferguson talks Storytelling, Trauma and Team Work in DESTINATION UNKNOWN
In Destination Unknown, British documentary filmmaker Claire Ferguson’s interviews with Holocaust survivors captures on film the most intimate and painful memories of traumas experienced in the Nazi death camps and the ongoing suffering they have caused throughout the victims’ lives. The survivors’ vivid descriptions are supported by archival footage. The combination of current testimony from surviving elders with images of what they lived through is absolutely devastating. Destination Unknown is an important addition to the canon of Holocaust films. Read what filmmaker Claire Ferguson has to say about making the film and the responsibilities of documentary filmmakers.
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