Authors — Paula Bernstein
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How The Award-Winning Rich Hill Made an Impact
It’s been nearly two years since Rich Hill, an observational documentary about three teens growing up in rural poverty, won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize Documentary Award at the Sundance Film Festival. But the conversation the film sparked continues today and the film’s engagement campaign is still going strong. Directed by Andrew Droz Palermo and Tracy Droz Tragos, Rich Hill invites viewers into three families’ homes where they witness first-hand the hardships and challenges the families face as they struggle to make ends meet. Following its premiere at Sundance, Rich Hill was acquired by The Orchard and Independent Lens. It was […]
by Paula Bernstein on Dec 8, 2015 -
This Animated Documentary Won the IDA Award for Best Short
Last Day of Freedom is a hand-drawn animated documentary which chronicles Bill Babbitt’s relationship with his mentally ill brother, Manny, a Vietnam veteran with PTSD who was sentenced to the death penalty after murdering a woman. Using a confessional format to tell a compelling story encompassing the treatment of veterans, PTSD, mental illness, the criminal justice system, racism and family, the film won the Best Short Award at at the International Documentary Association’s IDA Awards Saturday night. Directed by Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman, Last Day of Freedom has taken top prizes at a number of festivals, including the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, where it won the Jury […]
by Paula Bernstein on Dec 8, 2015 -
Watch the New Trailer for Michael Moore’s Where to Invade Next
The new trailer for Michael Moore’s latest documentary Where to Invade Next (above) positions the guerrilla filmmaker as “America’s secret weapon” and “the only one who can save us.” The film tracks Moore as he travels around the globe and explores social programs and policies that work well in other countries (while criticizing school lunch and highlighting other problems in the U.S.A.). Luckily, these days, Moore is feeling like a “crazy optimist.” As Moore explains in the trailer, “Three years ago, gay marriage in the United States was outlawed. Now it’s the law of the land. It really proves anything can happen.” […]
by Paula Bernstein on Dec 7, 2015 -
Why Ed Lachman Chose to Shoot Carol in Super 16mm
Carol is getting raves not just for Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett’s subtle performances, but also for Ed Lachman’s cinematography, which was inspired by mid-century street photographers such as Ruth Orkin, Esther Bubley, Helen Levitt and Vivian Maier. In a first-person story for Indiewire, the veteran cinematographer, who has worked with Werner Herzog, Sofia Coppola, Todd Solondz, Robert Altman and Steven Soderbergh, writes about why he and director Todd Haynes chose to shoot the film in 16mm in order to achieve the look of 1952. “We wanted to reference the photographic representation of a different era,” Lachman said. “They can recreate grain digitally now, but […]
by Paula Bernstein on Dec 7, 2015 -
The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund is Open for Submissions
Good news for filmmakers looking for finishing funds to complete a feature-length documentary which highlights a social issue: The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund is open for submissions through February 5, 2016. Even better, there is no application fee. The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund will provide funding to four-to-10 feature-length documentaries. In addition, The AOL Charitable Foundation Award, a subset of the Fund, gives grants to four filmmakers whose feature-length documentaries illuminate the lives of women and youth around the globe. Previous grantees of The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund include Marshall Curry’s Point and Shoot, Marc Silver’s 3 1/2 Minutes, Leslee Udwin’s India’s Daughter […]
by Paula Bernstein on Dec 7, 2015
