I don’t normally post about awards or festivals, (mainly because I’m never at any of them) but I thought it was worth mentioning that The Cinema Eye awards, brainchild of About a Son director AJ Schnack, celebrated its first year by honouring some great docs. I’m glad to see Billy the Kid and King of Kong mentioned, and I’m extremely excited to see Manda Bala in the near future. Anyone who was left unsatisfied by the Academy Awards approach to honouring non-fiction should be pretty happy with these results. Here’s the list of winners as posted on Schancks blog:

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)
Directed by Jason Kohn
Produced by Joey Frank, Jared Goldman and Jason Kohn

Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Alex Gibney
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE

Outstanding Achievement in Production
Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor & Mikael Rieks
GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Heloisa Passos
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)

Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Doug Abel, Jenny Golden & Andy Grieve
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Animation
The Team from Curious Pictures
CHICAGO 10

Outstanding International Feature
THE MONASTERY - MR. VIG & THE NUN
Directed by Pernille Rose Gronkjær
Produced by Sigrid Dyekjær

Outstanding Debut Feature
Jennifer Venditti
BILLY THE KID

Audience Choice Prize
THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS
Directed by Seth Gordo

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It seems as though THINKFilm has been behind almost all of the big documentary releases lately, and now they’ve just added another strong title to their long list. Werner Herzog’s ‘Encounters at the End of the World’ is to receive a joint release by THINKFilm and Image Entertainment, in association with The Discovery Channel Films. BONUS! I’ve yet to see the film, but have high hopes. In fact, I haven’t even seen a trailer! What’s the deal? It premiered at last years Toronto International Film Festival, but I haven’t really heard much about it since then. I’m just hoping that the Arctic is as obscene as the jungle. The film is set to hit theatres this June and will work its way to DVD shortly thereafter. I’m f’n pumped!

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Review by Max Piesner

In this documentary by Linda Goode Bryant and Laura Poitras we are introduced to Olde Town, a traditionally African American neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio which has fallen on poor times. Ambitious young gay couples have begun buying up the dilapidated houses, renovating them to sell for a profit. The resulting rise in property taxes and the introduction of new historic preservation by-laws are pushing residents out of homes that have been owned by their families for generations. One such newly introduced regulation stipulates that longtime resident, Jim, most remove a colorful African-style sign from above his front door while his newer neighbors are permitted to fly rainbow flags from their properties, hence the film’s title. …

[continue reading “Flag Wars - DVD Review”]

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It’s almost that time again. This years Hot Docs festival will take place April 17-27 in the magical metropolis of Toronto, Ontario. I hope to catch a few more films than I did last year, and it looks like there’s going to be some great stuff to choose from thanks to the ’special presentations’ list just released on the official Hot Docs website. Some stand out films include Errol Morris’ ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ and James Marsh’s ‘Man on Wire’. Check out the full list below and let us know what films you are interested in.

ALL TOGETHER NOW

D: Adrian Wills | 85 MIN | Canada | World Premiere
World Premiere
This not-to-be-missed, behind-the-scenes story of the Cirque du Soleil’s latest spectacle, Love, inspired by the Beatles’ music, features fabulous stock footage of the Beatles and cameos by Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono.

BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON)

D: Ellen Kuras, Thavisouk Phrasavath | 95 MIN | USA | Canadian Premiere
Filmed over 20 years, this epic story of one family’s incredible journey from war-torn Laos to the mean streets of New York City offers a poetic, deeply personal look at the hidden, human face of war’s “collateral damage”.

BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER

D: Christopher Bell | 106 MIN | USA | International Premiere
Is it still cheating if everyone’s doing it? This engaging and provocative examination of America’s steroid culture offers illuminating insight into the ethical and health issues of this current worldwide phenomenon.

THE BLACK LIST

D: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders | 87 MIN | USA | International Premiere
The term “blacklist” gets poignantly redefined. African-Americans, including Chris Rock, Rev. Al Sharpton, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Toni Morrison, share directly with the camera their vividly personal and politically controversial views on black America.

CITIZEN HAVEL

D: Pavel Koutecky, Miroslav Janek | 118 MIN | Czech Republic | North American Premiere
An absorbing and unprecedented study, this masterful observational film follows Vaclav Havel from 1992, on the cusp of his election as president of the newly formed Czech Republic, through his return to civilian life in 2003.

FOOTBALL UNDERCOVER

D: David Assmann, Ayat Najafi | 86 MIN | Germany | International Premiere
Winner of Berlin International Film Festival’s Teddy Award!
The first official friendly match between the Iranian women’s soccer team and a local Berlin team is the background for incredible bureaucracy, hypocrisy, irony and personality…but it’s the girl power - Iranian style - that prevails.

THE FORGOTTEN WOMAN

D: Dilip Mehta | 90 MIN | Canada, India | World Premiere
Shot entirely in India, this visually stunning and powerful call for human rights exposes the dire situation of millions of widows who are forced into isolation and poverty by age-old traditions. Co-presented with Filmi - South Asian Film Festival.

GREEN PORNO

D: Jody Shapiro, Isabella Rossellini | 6 MIN | USA | Canadian Premiere Isabella Rossellini gets buggy and vividly enlightens us on the sex life of insects. Selections from the GREEN PORNO series will screen prior to opening night presentations as well as with select Special Presentations.

HER NAME IS SABINE

D: Sandrine Bonnaire | 85 MIN | France | Canadian Premiere
Winner of Cannes’ FIPRESCI Award (Director’s Fortnight)!
French actress Sandrine Bonnaire uses intimate home movie footage to create a loving portrait of Sabine, her 38-year-old autistic sister, and to trace her behavioural decline while living in institutional care.

HOLD ME TIGHT, LET ME GO

D: Kim Longinotto | 100 MIN | UK | Canadian Premiere
Winner of Britdoc’s Best British Feature Documentary!
For the 40 trouble children who call it home, Mulberry Bush is their last chance. Expelled from school for extreme behaviour, they are given three years at the Oxford boarding school to turn their lives around.

MAN ON WIRE

D: James Marsh | 90 MIN | UK | Canadian Premiere
Winner of Sundance’s World Cinema Jury Prize (Documentary)!
Grand Jury and Audience awards winner at Sundance, MAN ON WIRE grippingly recounts the incredible and inspiring “art crime” committed by Philippe Petit, who conspired to tightrope walk between the Twin Towers in 1974.

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

D: Errol Morris | 118 MIN | USA | Canadian Premiere
Winner of Berlin International Film Festival’s Jury Grand Prix – Silver Bear!
Hot Docs Outstanding Achievement alumnus Errol Morris offers an elegant, penetrating analysis of the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

STRANDED, I’VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS

D: Gonzalo Arijon | 123 MIN | France | Canadian Premiere
Winner of IDFA’s Joris Ivens Award!
October 1972: A plane carrying 45 members of the Uruguayan rugby team crashes into the Andes. Thirty-five years later, all 16 survivors reunite at the crash site to tell one of the greatest survival stories of all time.

TRIAGE: DR. JAMES ORBINSKI’S HUMANITARIAN DILEMMA

D: Patrick Reed | 88 MIN | Canada | Canadian Premiere
TRIAGE chronicles the return of the former president of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders to Somalia and Rwanda, where he confronts his past and the tragedy he faced in choosing who would live and who would die. Co-presented with Dignitas International.

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The longer I get away from blogging, the less likely it seems I return to it. I’ve been keeping myself pretty busy as of late, so I haven’t been entirely faithful to my new years resolution of more posts here at The Documentary Blog. However, I think my excuse is less my busy schedule, but rather the fact that I really am not a natural born blogger. I guess I enjoy watching movies more than blogging about them. Sean recently suggested a good idea; group three or four news stories together into one giant post once or twice a week. I think I might give that a go for a while, see how it turns out. I’m also going to try and get back to posting more trailers and video clips and trying to get to some more reviews. Good thing I’m not getting paid to do this!

So here’s some interesting tidbits for you to chew on:

Werner Herzog in conversation with Errol Morris

A great interview posted at the Believer in which Herzog and Morris bury the hatchet, analyze eachothers work and discuss some unfinished projects.

A clip from Errol Morris’ Vernon, Florida

A clip from Les Blank’s ‘Burden of Dreams’ in which Herzog discusses the obscenity of the jungle.

Hell’s Angel’s Plotted to Assassinate Mic Jagger?

Not that surprising. What is surprising is the fact that they decided to attack by sea, resulting in a capsized boat. I remember listening to the Gimme Shelter commentary track in which Albert Maysles talks about their brush with the Angels and their attempt to intimidate them into dropping the infamous knife fight footage from the film. Obviously they were unsuccessful.

Harry Potter Documentary ‘We Are Wizards’ Premeire’s at SXSW

I don’t know if I care enough about Harry Potter to even laugh at others that do. However, this films seems well shot and it looks as though it focuses more on fan art/films/music and how fans connect with things they love. Could be interesting.

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As some of you may know, last week we held a contest here at The Documentary Blog. All you had to do was send an email naming your favourite Christo art piece and your favourite Maysles Christo film and you would be entered into a draw to win one of three signed ‘The Gate’s’ art prints. Well the response was great, and we have our winners!

Congratulations to:

Glenn Marcus
Alyssa Rock
Ashley Brzozowicz

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest. Hopefully we can have some more contests in the future!

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In 1979, world renowned artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude would propose a thrilling new art project to the city of New York. ‘The Gates’ would involve the placement of several thousand orange gates throughout Central Park, lining the walkways of the world famous landmark. The idea was met with a great deal of resistance, ultimately ending in a resounding ‘no’. Luckily for us, the Maysles brothers, Albert and David, were there to capture it all on film. The project was then put on indefinite hold, and then, over 25 years later, the big apple had a massive change of heart when newly elected Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an art fan, announced that he had granted permission to Christo and Jeanne-Claude to bring their Gates to Central Park.

What makes the Maysles ‘Christo and Jeanne-Claude’ films so interesting is the argument posed within each one of their installments; what is art? Although Christo is a well respected and trained artist, the large scale temporary pieces he’s so well known for seem to draw much criticism over whether or not he’s simply wasting everyone’s time and money. One of my favourite films of the series, ‘The Running Fence’, sees Christo defending his project, an eight foot high fabric fence which ran nearly twenty five miles through two counties in Northern California, in front of a city council meeting that’s made up of land owners who seem polarized by the idea of allowing his fence to run through their property. Most claim that it simply isn’t art and question the purpose of spending so much money on such a silly thing. Meanwhile, a fifty-something year old housewife takes the stand, comparing Christo’s art to the meals she spends so much time putting together for her family at dinner time. Just because they’re temporary doesn’t mean she doesn’t consider them art. …

[continue reading “The Gates - Review”]

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As some of you may know, tomorrow night Albert Maysles and Antonio Ferrera’s ‘The Gate’s’ will premiere on HBO. The film chronicle’s the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s temporary New York City art installment called…The Gates! I’m sure you remember; they put over seven thousand orange gates along Central Park’s walkways, much to the joy of most and the dismay of some. As is the usual case with Christo’s large temporary art projects, they tend to polarize folks. Either way, I’ve seen the film and it’s just as good as The Maysles previous Christo collaborations, but here’s the exciting news; The Documentary Blog will be giving away three signed art prints of Christo’s Gates! That’s right, all you have to do is email me at jcheel@cogeco.ca and let me know which of Christo’s art installations is your favourite. Names will be drawn randomly and prizes sent out as soon as the contest is over! I’d say we’ll give it about a week. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at the previously mentioned address. Also, stay tuned for my review of ‘The Gates’ coming up sometime tomorrow! Big thanks to Joanna at Deep Focus!

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I was in grade 6 in 1991; the year punk broke. Guns ‘N Roses, Poison and Aerosmith were just some of the names you’d typically find on any 13-16 year old’s mixed cassette tapes. (Recorded over top of the DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, Bel Biv Devoe and C+C Music Factory tracks that were now passe.) It was also the year that the kids at school suddenly started trading in their skull and crossbones t-shirts and metallica novelty wallets for pajama tops, cardigan sweaters and converse all-stars. Grunge was all the hype and Seattle single handedly erased the mixed tapes of kids across the world, replacing big shot ball busting stadium rock acts with the likes of Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog, and of course, Nirvana. AJ Schnack’s ‘About a Son’ is not just a documentary about Kurt Cobain, but a nostalgic look back at a time that definitely doesn’t feel like more than a decade ago.

The film is based around a series of interviews conducted by Michael Azerrad while researching his official Nirvana biography, ‘Come As You Are’. Azerrad was sure to document all of his encounters with Kurt on cassette tape, and has since held on to these priceless pieces of music history until he found a trust worthy filmmaker to help him release them. Enter AJ Schnack, director of ‘Gigantic: A Tale of Two John’s’, and his unique approach to helping tell Kurt’s story. The film wouldn’t contain any footage of Nirvana, nor would it contain a single Nirvana song. Kurt would, in a way, narrate the doc, accompanied by scenic shots of the very locations he grew up in; Aberdeen, Olympia, and Seattle. The soundtrack would consist of the music which inspired Kurt’s own songwriting. Those bands which he so openly supported and promoted, opening the minds of millions of kids to the underground punk rock and indie music he grew up with. …

[continue reading “Kurt Cobain: About a Son - DVD Review”]

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Finally, a film I’ve been seemingly waiting forever to see is hitting DVD. AJ Schnack’s ‘About a Son’ will see it’s way into all of our homes via Shout Factory on February 19th. I know my fellow Film Junk podcast co-host Greg had a chance to see this at the Toronto International Film Festival and had nothing but good things to say about it.

I was a pretty huge Nirvana fan in my teens, and still remain to be in my late twenties, even if I have sort of moved on to other things. I’m hoping About a Son will satisfy any curiosities I may have regarding Cobain and his seemingly anti-social, cynical views on music and the world. Even if you’re not a fan of Nirvana’s music, you must admit the role they played in inspiring teens around the world, giving them a bit of a push towards discovering some of the more underground musicians they consistently raved about. Artists such as Flipper, Daniel Johnston, The Vaselines and The Buzzcocks were always on the lips of the three (sometimes four) members of Nirvana, and I must admit to checking out the aforementioned bands through this exact means of discovery.

Anyways, if you’re interested in Nirvana and have a hankering for some inventive documentary film making, check out AJ’s ‘About a Son’ this month.

Source: Pitchfork Media

About a Son Trailer

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