Category
Film Festivals
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01.24.11Sundance Review: Beats, Rhymes & LifeI went into Beats, Rhymes and Life with extreme trepidation. Like many people of my generation A Tribe Called Quest hold an extremely special place in our hearts and were a huge component to the soundtrack of our youth. I was uneasy about the film being made at all; any film about a band that means so much to a huge group of people has high expectations to meet and has a near impossible task of pleasing everyone. Often these films can fall short of the mark, and where a film on any other subject would be allowed certain leeway, documentaries ...
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01.22.11Sundance Review: Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975Made entirely of 16mm footage filmed by Swedish journalists between 1967-1975, Black Power Mixtape is their journey through the culture and figureheads of the Black Power Movement. Left in a basement until now, the footage is absolutely stunning and this is combined with a gorgeous soundtrack provided by Questlove of The Roots. There are numerous documentaries about this period and the culture, but what makes Black Power Mixtape stand out is just how classy it is. In audio commentary throughout the film, we hear from artists and activists involved in or influenced by the movement. The lack of talking heads keeps ...
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12.02.10Sundance 2011 Non-Competition Lineups announcedThe full Sundance lineup has now been announced and below are the documentaries showing out of competition. The new Documentary Premieres category sees 8 films from some of the biggest names in documentary filmmakers - all of which look incredible. The other films at the festival fall into the Premieres, Native Showcase and New Frontier categories. Kevin McDonald's Life in a Day project is under the Premieres category; twenty minutes of the film was shown at Sheffield Doc/Fest last month and it was stunning. In New Frontier is John Akomfrah's The Nine Muses and !Women Art Revolution by Lynn Hershman, ...
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12.01.10Sundance 2011 Films in Competition announcedToday the list of films in competition at the 2011 Sundance was announced. Of those were the 28 documentaries that make up the US and World Cinema documentary competitions. We'll go into more depth with each of the films on the site as we get closer to the festival, but an initial look shows a fantastic mixture of first-time filmmakers alongside big names such as James Marsh, Marshall Curry and David Sington. Last year saw a large number of heavyweight directors at the festival and so it will be great to see such a variety of filmmakers and subject matter. However, ...
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11.17.10CPH:DOX Festival: Day Four/Wrap UpThis final report comes to you a little bit late, thanks to a case of jet lag and post-trip laziness. Yes, I'm back from Copenhagen and while I certainly enjoyed my time in Denmark, it's great to be home. My final day at CPH:DOX felt fairly relaxed yet I still managed to check out four final films. It wasn't all movies though; somewhere during a lull in my schedule I hit up one of the main streets for some shopping, picking up a sweet pair of Hummel shoes. It was actually a second attempt; the previous day a display just ...
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11.13.10CPH:DOX Festival: Day ThreeDay three was a full one! Six films in total (two of which were shorts) and one delicious waffle made for an enjoyable Friday. The fact that the theatres are so close to the hotel is a good thing but it also means that I don't get to see as much of the city walking from theatre to theatre. Still, the little I have explored has been quite beautiful. I've also sampled the Denmark versions of both McDonalds and Burger King and I can say with confidence that there is a subtle difference. The fries are slightly greasier and the ...