DROP DEAD CITY: NYC in Film During the 1970s – Commentary by Yael Friedman (Guest post)
Fifty years ago, New York City famously found itself at the precipice: of bankruptcy; of crumbling infrastructure, with hollowed out buildings and empty lots that gave a visual language to the city’s many woes. This disfigured urban landscape seemed to both bear witness to and play a central role in the city’s fading fortunes, its ebbing safety nets and rise in crime, its white flight and arson epidemic, the ravages of the municipal workforce and tax base, and the anger and indignation that spilled over from every open window and overflowing trash can. The wonderful recent documentary Drop Dead City by Michael Rohatyn and Peter Yost about the 1975 fiscal crisis is a fittingly dramatic retelling of this pivotal moment in the city’s history. It is, of course, titled after the famous Daily News headline from when President Gerald R. Ford allegedly told the city to “drop dead,” after Mayor Abe Beame and Governor Hugh Carey arrived in Washington, hats in hand, asking for federal aid.
Read MoreIndie Doc Advice: How To Build Audience – Julie Carmen comments
When you’re a first time documentary filmmaker whose passion project revolves around a fascinating but relatively unknown subject, how do you cut through all the current media noise to get recognition and support for your work? We’ve been working on our documentary Lico Jiménez the Ebony Liszt for going on seven years and in that time we have discovered a wide range of ways to gain support for making the film and attracting potential viewers. The efforts never stop and we are constantly exploring new strategies, but our work is paying off and we’d like to share our strategies with others who may find them helpful.
Read MoreADA: MY MOTHER THE ARCHITECT – Review by Yael Friedman
There seems to be an endless appetite for depictions of the lone genius architect, both as a mythological creature walking amongst us, and as a metaphor for just about everything. And yet one of the best movies about one may never get its due. Ada: My Mother The Architect, by Yael Melamede, about her mother, Ada Karmi-Melamede, one of Israel’s most celebrated architects, is an extraordinary film that addresses all the big questions while also portraying a human being who is very much mortal. Melamede, a veteran filmmaker and one of the creative forces behind the Oscar-nominated My Architect (2003), set out to portray a parent whose monumental creations shroud a very complex personal life and relationship with her family.
Read MoreDAHOMEY – Essay by Yael Friedman
Dahomey, the new beautiful documentary from director Mati Diop, addresses these forces that wrested history from its original owners, and interrogates what it means to try and recompense for the past. The film plays witness to an unprecedented moment – the return by France of 26 objects (26 out of many thousands) to Benin – the once Kingdom of Dahomey (1600-1904). It is the first such return of the cultural heritage colonial powers plucked from their African vassal states. The Europeans carved up a continent and removed its sacred objects (among other sins), sending them across the Atlantic to sit in sterile vitrines in grand galleries, tourists strolling by once-mighty gods. These are not ghosts but corporeal beings demanding their rightful claims, defiant and unwilling to fade into the pages of history.
Read MorePUPPY LOVE – Review by Justina Walford
Puppy Love is a loving documentary about a healthy litter of Labrador puppies that suddenly become paralyzed. Their breeder, Cindy, is advised to put them down, but she resolves to make them better, taking back every dog that falls ill from their adopters to dedicate her time and resources to their health. In fact, her goal is not only to help them walk, it is to help them thrive as intelligent and active dogs. So she and a group of tenacious women use every possible solution to bring these dogs back to health despite vets and people in the dog community having different opinions. First and foremost, if you love dogs and you love the people who go out of their way to take care of them, this is a solid film.
Read MoreCLOSE TO VERMEER – Review by Justina Walford
Suzanne Raes’ documentary,”Closer to Vermeer, delves into the enigmatic world of Johannes Vermeer, the celebrated painter behind masterpieces like “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Little is truly known about the artist himself, and that mystery has been studied and debated by scholars as long as his art has been known. This documentary’s essential story is not about Vermeer as much as Vermeer is the framework to tell an even more riveting tale. As the camera pans so intimately close to Vermeer’s paint and canvas, we see the gloves and scopes of study, gently poring over every dab of paint.
Read MoreANNA NICOLE SMITH: YOU DON’T KNOW ME – Review by Justina Walford
Ursula Macfarlane’s documentary You Don’t Know Me about the glamorous life and tragic end of supermodel and early reality star Anna Nicole Smith is a poignant journey taking us through the upheavals and complexities of a woman who seemed to have it all. For those who watched Smith’s rise and fall in real-time, there is a temptation to assume we already know the whole story. A woman whose life was so exposed to the world hid so little, but we soon learn she also used that exposure to manipulate media and those around her. Macfarlane’s film offers a nuanced perspective on Smith’s story, and successfully tries to fit the many facets of such a layered life into just under two hours.
Read MoreOn THE PUSHBACK, Purpose and Pushing Back – Emily Barclay Ford
We raced to finish The Pushback in time for our SXSW delivery deadline and then the festival was canceled the same day. Although we are sad that we did not get to premiere at the festival and in Texas, where the documentary was shot, we feel like we have to make lemonade out of lemons and find the opportunity in this moment. Due to the shutdown of other productions, there will likely be more appetite for finished content in the coming months. And with social distancing, cancellation of group events, and potentially the inability to canvas, we’re thinking that a film like ours can be a useful tool to reach people through their living rooms at a safe distance.
Read MoreWhistler Film Festival interview: Rebecca Snow on PANDORA’S BOX: LIFTING THE LID ON MEMSTRUATION
In Pandora’s Box, filmmaker Rebecca Snow deals with a central issue in women’s struggle for gender equality by revealing how for generations women have been shamed, ostracized, and silenced, because they menstruate. Pandora’s Box unmasks the global pandemic of menstrual inequity and period poverty. The powerful stories that emerge raise public consciousness of #Menstrual Equity, a global movement that is going mainstream. Pandora’s Box is among the female-directed films nominated for an AWFJ EDA Award at Whistler Film Festival 2019. Her insightful comments on the making and meaning of Pandora’s Box are fascinating.
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