Authors — Nick Dawson
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The Other Side of Sundance
I’m not in the Sundance rhythm yet. I’m still trying to work out out how to fit in enough writing, food and sleep into my jam-packed schedule. Before arriving, I’d decided I wouldn’t go to too many parties, but on a whim I RSVP’d to a “celebrity poker tournament,” which was to be held at the Everest Mansion, a big house up in the mountains above Park City. My rationale was that I would get to experience “the other side” of Sundance, and could maybe relax and play a little poker. The list of confirmed guests included some famous names, […]
by Nick Dawson on Jan 23, 2013 -
Concussion Acquired by RADiUS-TWC
Tonight it was announced that The Weinstein Company’s offshoot RADiUS-TWC had bought U.S. rights to Stacie Passon’s Dramatic Competition title Concussion. The debut from writer/director Passon, the film is about a fortysomething lesbian housewife (Robin Wiegert) who secretly becomes a prostitute after sustaining a head injury. Passon is on quite a roll in the past few months, having won both the euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ grant at the Gotham Awards and the Adrienne Shelly Director’s Grant in late 2012. Concussion was also chosen to participate in the IFP Narrative Labs in 2012. Multi-platform outfit RADiUS — which puts […]
by Nick Dawson on Jan 22, 2013 -
Sundance is the World, and the World Speaks English
When I was buying groceries on my first night in Park City, throughout the supermarket were out-of-towners with red lanyards around their neck stocking up on food, hoping to eat well enough not to get sick. Ahead of me at the checkout was Focus boss James Schamus, who told me he already had the flu. While I was in line, the cashier remarked how Park City was being taken over by people from New York and California. “And Belgium. There was a guy from there in here earlier in my shift. And also one from West Africa.” At Sundance, you […]
by Nick Dawson on Jan 21, 2013 -
Parting Shot – Ben Wheatley
Since his 2009 debut Down Terrace, a pitch-black comedy about a Brighton crime family in decline, the fearless writer/director Ben Wheatley has gripped audiences with his brutally bleak take on British life. His follow-up, the hitman horror Kill List, entered even more terrifying territory, but Wheatley is now back to comedy with his third feature, Sightseers. After playing at Cannes, Toronto and Sundance, Sightseers hits U.S. screens this spring through IFC Films. It may be his lightest work yet, but Sightseers’ subject matter is still pretty grisly by normal standards: It’s a blood-soaked romcom about two vacationing 30-something lovers (co-writers […]
by Nick Dawson on Jan 17, 2013 -
Romain Thomassin on Dailymotion’s Motionmaker Fund
With more than 106,000,000 unique monthly visitors and 2 billion views worldwide, Dailymotion is one of the leading video sharing sites in existence. They already offer 34 localized versions, in 16 different languages, and are steadfastly committed to providing an easy-to-use forum for high-quality and HD video to be shared online via their own users, independent content creators and premium partners. Dailymotion’s official squad of creators, known as “Motionmakers,” is free to join and grants access to benefits such as streaming in 1080p HD, 3D and live, participation in contests and festivals, priority positioning on the site and its search engine and […]
by Nick Dawson on Jan 10, 2013 -
5 Broken Cameras and Detropia Top Cinema Eye Honors
At the Museum of the Moving Image last night, Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi’s 5 Broken Cameras took the headlines at the Cinema Eye Honors by taking the top prize, Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, while Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s Detropia also took two prizes, for directing and score. Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims (2012 “25 New Faces” alums for their film Only the Young) won Best Debut Feature, while a slew of acclaimed 2012 docs such as Chasing Ice, How to Survive a Plague, Bully, The Imposter and Searching for Sugar Man picked up statuettes too. With the announcement this morning […]
by Nick Dawson on Jan 10, 2013 -
POV @ 25: Pamela Yates & Bernardo Ruiz on Outsider Status and Human Rights Filmmaking
In celebration of the 25th season of PBS’ groundbreaking documentary series POV, Filmmaker is running a four-part conversation series between two non-fiction directors with close ties to the show. A few weeks ago, award-winning director of When the Mountains Tremble Pamela Yates — whose memoir of Guatemala’s struggles, Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, revisits the footage and topics of her debut — and Bernardo Ruiz, whose film Reportero airs on POV tonight at 10:00PM, sat down to talk about a variety of issues that arise from their work. Through the course of the discussion, Yates and Ruiz share where they’ve been, where they […]
by Nick Dawson on Jan 7, 2013 -
POV @ 25: Pamela Yates & Bernardo Ruiz on Journalistic Integrity
In celebration of the 25th season of PBS’ groundbreaking documentary series POV, Filmmaker is running a four-part conversation series between two non-fiction directors with close ties to the show. A few weeks ago, award-winning director of When the Mountains Tremble Pamela Yates — whose memoir of Guatemala’s struggles, Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, revisits the footage and topics of her debut — and Bernardo Ruiz, whose film Reportero airs on POV on January 7 at 10:00PM, sat down to talk about a variety of issues that arise from their work. Through the course of the discussion, Yates and Ruiz share where they’ve been, […]
by Nick Dawson on Jan 6, 2013 -
POV @ 25: Pamela Yates & Bernardo Ruiz on Being in the Line of Fire and Collaborations
In celebration of the 25th season of PBS’ groundbreaking documentary series POV, Filmmaker is running a four-part conversation series between two non-fiction directors with close ties to the show. A few weeks ago, award-winning director of When the Mountains Tremble, Pamela Yates — whose memoir of Guatemala’s struggles, Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, revisits the footage and topics of her debut — and Bernardo Ruiz, whose film Reportero airs on POV on January 7 at 10:00PM, sat down to talk about a variety of issues that arise from their work. Through the course of the discussion, Yates and Ruiz share where they’ve been, […]
by Nick Dawson on Jan 5, 2013 -
POV @ 25: Pamela Yates & Bernardo Ruiz on Beginnings and Engagement Campaigns
In celebration of the 25th season of PBS’ groundbreaking documentary series POV, Filmmaker is running a four-part conversation series between two non-fiction directors with close ties to the show. A few weeks ago, award-winning director of When the Mountains Tremble, Pamela Yates — whose memoir of Guatemala’s struggles, Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, revisits the footage and topics of her debut — and Bernardo Ruiz, whose film Reportero airs on POV on January 7 at 10:00PM, sat down to talk about a variety of issues that arise from their work. Through the course of the discussion, Yates and Ruiz share where they’ve been, […]
by Nick Dawson on Jan 4, 2013
