Authors — Paula Bernstein
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Trailer Watch: Award-Winning Life, Animated, More Than a “Film About Autism”
Directed by Academy Award-winner Roger Ross Williams, Life, Animated, won the directing award in the U.S. documentary competition at Sundance earlier this year before making the festival circuit. Based on the bestselling book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind, the documentary tells the inspirational story of Owen Suskind, a young man with autism who connects to the world through animated Disney films. The film, which just got its first trailer (above), follows Owen as he takes his first steps towards independence. Interweaving classic Disney sequences with scenes from Owen’s life, the film’s original animation provides access to Owen’s amazing imagination. “Owen’s world and […]
by Paula Bernstein on Jun 14, 2016 -
Filmmaker Stephen Elliott Investigates a “Rigged” Film Festival Submission Process and Launches the Lo-Fi Los Angeles Fest
Stephen Elliott is an author, filmmaker, and founding editor of the respected literary web site, The Rumpus. He co-wrote and directed the James Franco-starring About Cherry, which premiered at The Berlin International Film Festival in 2012 before screening at other festivals. And the film The Adderall Diaries, based on his memoir of the same name, premiered at Tribeca in 2015. With these credentials, he (rightly?) assumed that his own second feature, Happy Baby, based on his novel of the same name, had a reasonable chance of getting accepted into one of the more than 15 film festivals he submitted to. But, it […]
by Paula Bernstein on Jun 10, 2016 -
DOC NYC Expands Industry Program for 7th Edition
DOC NYC, billed as America’s largest documentary film festival, will expand its industry-focused programs for the seventh edition of the film festival. The New York-based festival will run from November 10-17, with the Visionaries Tribute luncheon taking place on November 10. “For six years, we’ve carefully nurtured our industry offerings to establish a must-attend gathering,” said DOC NYC artistic director Thom Powers in a statement. “Last year saw major growth under the new banner of DOC NYC PRO, the new conference location at Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas and its new lounge. This is a vital networking hub for doc makers to get their future films […]
by Paula Bernstein on Jun 10, 2016 -
How The Northwest Film Forum is Re-Defining the Role of the Regional Film Center
At a time when both traditional theatrical film exhibition and nonprofit operations are confronting new obstacles, Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum is re-defining the role of the regional independent film center. The recent promotion of 27-year-old Courtney Sheehan, from Artistic Director to Executive Director marks a new direction for the 20-year-old film center. Since Sheehan joined the organization as program director in 2013, The Northwest Film Forum has increased box office and ramped up audience engagement, donated hundreds of hours of venue rental space and staff time to community groups, and created new partnerships. Recent program partnerships include KEXP, Civilization, Fandor, Brick Lane Records, the University of Washington, the […]
by Paula Bernstein on Jun 8, 2016 -
Watch: The Art of Slow Motion in Film
In the latest episode in “The Discarded Image” video essay series (above), filmmaker and video essayist Julian Palmer tackles the art of slow-motion. “The world moves at a rapid pace. Our lives slip through our fingers. We have no control of time – except, of course, if you’re a filmmaker,” intones Palmer, who adds that “filmmakers intuitively manipulate the speed of the image.” The video highlights various examples of how slow-motion is used to heighten emotion in tense or violent situations, focus in on details viewers might otherwise miss, and also how it can help “to get inside the head […]
by Paula Bernstein on Jun 8, 2016 -
Watch: Quentin Tarantino Had the Last Laugh
Laughter doesn’t immediately come to mind when you think of Quentin Tarantino’s body of work. But as video essayist Candice Drouet reveals in her latest video essay Tarantino Had The Last Laugh (above), Tarantino’s characters laugh more than you may recall….and the effect is quite menacing. The four-minute supercut features every instance a Quentin Tarantino character or the director himself laughs in one his films. The result is less hilarious than insidious as anyone familiar with the works referenced will understand the context of these laughs. More often than not, these characters are laughing at another character’s suffering or before or after they have inflicted suffering.
by Paula Bernstein on Jun 7, 2016 -
Watch: Coen Brothers Documentary on VICE Guide to Film
George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, John Turturro, and composer Carter Burwell are among the talking heads who analyze the filmmaking brothers’ oeuvre in VICE Guide to Film‘s recent episode on the Coen Brothers (above). The segment, which amounts to an extended video essay, breaks down scenes from some of their most memorable films and delves into their collaboration process. Discussing the directing duo, Turturro says, “It’s like a two-headed monster.” Previous episodes of the show have focused on the work of Kelly Reichardt, Gus Van Sant, John Carpenter, Todd Haynes, and other directors.
by Paula Bernstein on Jun 6, 2016 -
Watch: Bill Plympton’s Hitler’s Folly for Free
Academy Award-nominated animator Bill Plympton has released his latest feature film, Hitler’s Folly, for free on the Internet. Running 67 minutes, the controversial mockumentary, which mixes live-action with bits of animation, re-imagines Adolf Hitler as a successful animator and artist. “This is a very very provocative and kind of wacky look at the movie industry and also Hitler’s career if he became a cartoonist,” explains Plympton in the introduction to the film (which you can watch above). Plympton wrote, directed, designed and animated the film, which stars Nate Steinwachs (Goddess of Time) and Dana Ashbrook (Twin Peaks). Reviewers have not been kind to the film, with […]
by Paula Bernstein on Jun 6, 2016 -
Five Questions with Namour Director Heidi Saman
Two years ago, Filmmaker featured Heidi Saman on our annual list of “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” The filmmaker and associate producer at NPR Radio’s Fresh Air had just concluded a successful Kickstarter campaign for her debut feature Namour and was beginning to prep for production. What a difference two years makes. Namour will have its world premiere in the LA Muse section of this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival, where it debuts on June 5. The story of Steven, a young Arab-American valet at a slick L.A. restaurant, caught between his dead-end job and the demands of his immigrant family, Namour references such disparate films as The Graduate and Taxi […]
by Paula Bernstein on Jun 4, 2016 -
Five Questions with Tracktown Directors Alexi Pappas and Jeremy Teicher
It’s rare, if not unheard of: a first-time feature film director who is also an Olympic athlete. Such is the case with competitive long distance runner Alexi Pappis, who, along with her boyfriend Jeremy Teicher (one of Filmmaker‘s 25 New Faces of 2013), co-wrote and co-directed Tracktown, a new feature film which will have its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 4. In addition, Pappas, who will compete for Greece at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Brazil, stars as Plumb Marigold, a young Olympic hopeful trying to find balance in life. Filmed and set in the real-life “Tracktown,” […]
by Paula Bernstein on Jun 3, 2016
