Authors — Filmmaker Staff
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“Lately It Has Been Difficult To Turn Away from Screens”: Micaela Durand and Daniel Chew on Violence, Racism and Complicity
In April, as we began to put together the Summer, 2020 issue of Filmmaker, we asked directors, cinematographers, editors and other film workers to send us their thoughts on the quarantine and their own creative lives. The responses printed here were collected from April through mid-June — personal statements that speak variously to individual filmmaking practices, films halted mid-production, politics, art and life. Read all the responses here. — Editor Lately, it has been difficult to turn away from screens. Screens that show us the casual abuse of power. Screens that instill rage and dread. These screens are important in showing […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jul 8, 2020 -
Let the Future Tell the Truth: Tesla Writer/Director Michael Almereyda and Kelly Reichardt in Conversation
In Michael Almereyda’s pre-Katrina New Orleans–shot Happy Here and Now, David Arquette’s termite control specialist is preparing to shoot a film about Nikola Tesla in his off-hours. In a delirious rant, Arquette’s character muses about the Serbian-American scientist’s quest to slow the speed of light—enough so that you could go out for a coffee and return in time to see a beam complete its journey from one end of your apartment to another. In the climax of Happy Here and Now, one of Tesla’s signature inventions, the Tesla coil, is responsible for Arquette’s film-within-a-film experiencing the worst kind of production […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jul 7, 2020 -
Sundance Film Festival Director Tabitha Jackson Outlines 2021 Plans
With the future of pre-vaccine festivals still up in the air, Sundance Film Festival’s Director, Tabitha Jackson, has sent out an announcement (not quite, as she says) as to what next year might look like. The letter is posted in full below. Dear Friends, As we plan for our 2021 Festival — my first in the Director’s chair — and with submissions now open, I wanted to give you an early insight into how we are thinking. This is not an announcement, but rather an invitation into the process of building something together this year. There are very few certainties […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jun 29, 2020 -
Spring 2020 SFFILM Westridge Grant Winners Announced
SFFILM, in partnership with the Westridge Foundation, announced the five narrative feature projects that will share $100,000 in funding via the SFFILM Westridge Grants. One of the only grants devoted to supporting narrative filmmakers in the development and screenwriting stage, the grants are awarded twice annually to U.S. filmmakers “whose stories take place primarily in the United States and focus on the significant social issues and questions of our time.” In addition to the cash grants, recipients are given support through the SFFILM Makers program along with a support and counsel from SFFILM, the Westridge Foundation and a dedicated mentor. […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jun 9, 2020 -
IFP Stands with Black Lives Matter
Independent Filmmaker Project, which is Filmmaker‘s publisher, issued yesterday the following statement: IFP stands with Black Lives Matter and we believe Black Lives Matter. As a collective team, we recognize that we can play an even greater role in supporting and amplifying the voices of Black storytellers in film and media arts. We are taking actionable steps towards developing internal leadership, staffing, outreach and programming as part of our commitment. This will be accomplished by strengthening our present partnerships and seeking new partnerships with a focus on collaborations, mentorship and education for Black storytellers. With leadership comes accountability and we […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jun 4, 2020 -
Sentient.Art.Film’s ’90s Asian American Cinema Series “My Sight is Lined with Visions” Continues
Sentient.Art.Film’s series “My Sight is Lined with Visions,” which began on May 29 and continues through June 7, highlights 1990s Asian American independent cinema. As the series continues, the second of two Q&As will take place tonight at 7 EST. From Sentient.Art.Film: Each of the films invites audiences to encounter the diversity, formal experimentation, and personally political tradition of Asian American cinematic visions. My Sight is Lined with Visions will feature a series of live online Q&As with the directors. All programs are accompanied by newly commissioned short essays by a new generation of Asian American writers and curators, with […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jun 3, 2020 -
IFP Announces 26 Projects Selected for 2020 Documentary, Narrative and Episodic Labs
The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) announced today twenty-six feature projects and series selected to participate across three labs over the next month: The IFP Filmmaker Labs’ Documentary Lab (currently running through May 22) and Narrative Lab (running June 15 – 19) for feature films by directors currently in post-production on their debut features; and the IFP Episodic Lab (running June 1 – 5), for outstanding series projects in development for TV and digital platforms from breakthrough creators. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, all labs will take place virtually. The IFP Filmmaker Labs support first-time feature filmmakers through the […]
by Filmmaker Staff on May 21, 2020 -
Hot Docs 2020 Festival Trailer Premiere: Anthony Banua-Simon’s Cane Fire
We’ve highlighted the work of nonfiction filmmaker Anthony Banua-Simon before, notably 2018’s compilation documentary short Pure Flix and Chill: The David A.R. White Story. Banua-Simon’s debut feature, Cane Fire, was set to make its world premiere at this year’s Hot Docs, and still will in its online edition. A mixture of personal and archival material, refracted through both personal and national history, informs Cane Fire. From the press kit: The Hawaiian island of Kauai is seen as a paradise of leisure and pristine natural beauty, but these escapist fantasies obscure the colonial displacement, hyper-exploitation of workers, and destructive environmental extraction that have […]
by Filmmaker Staff on May 5, 2020 -
THIS LONG CENTURY Screening 30 Experimental Shorts Online, April 9-30, Including Work From Carlos Reygadas, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and David Lowery
Today through April 30, the website THIS LONG CENTURY, which describes itself as “an ever-evolving collection of personal insights from artists, authors, filmmakers, musicians and cultural icons the world over,” is hosting two programs of experimental short work, with 30 shorts in total. The OUTSIDE program includes Lucile Hadžihalilović’s 2017 De Natura, Carlos Reygadas’s 2011 Este es mi Reino, and Deborah Stratman’s 1997 medium-length From Hetty to Nancy. The equally strong INSIDE program includes Jodie Mack’s 2012 Blanket Statement #1: Home is Where the Heart is, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s 2018 Blue, Peter Tscherkassky’s legendary 1999 Outer Space and David Lowery’s 2011 Pioneer. Streaming is free, though THIS LONG […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Apr 9, 2020 -
Watch: Agnès Varda’s Rare 2008 Los Angeles Short The Little Story of Gwen from French Brittany
The American Cinematheque has shared a rare 2008 Agnès Varda. A brisk five minutes with lots of nice Los Angeles footage, The Little Story of Gwen from French Brittany gives a biographical sketch of Gwen Deglise, now the American Cinematheque’s head programer. Varda tells her story, with stops along the way to remember Jacques Demy, Chris Marker and Patricia Mazuy’s early LA days.
by Filmmaker Staff on Apr 8, 2020
