Authors — Scott Macaulay
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Destroying 17,000 Islands at CPH:DOX
While at CPH:DOX I attended a seminar titled “An Interactive Audience” spotlighting new works in transmedia. One of the projects discussed was 17,000 Islands, a work commissioned by the festival’s own DOX:LAB, directed by Indonesia’s Edwin (Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly) and Norwegian transmedia doc director Thomas Ostbye, and produced by interactive producer Paramita Nath. The project, in which Edwin (pictured) and Ostbye make a film that is then “destroyed” by its viewers over the internet, sounded fascinating, so afterwards I pulled Edwin aside to learn more. First, here’s the description of the project from the CPH:DOX catalog: 17000 […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 12, 2012 -
The Act of Killing Takes Top Prize at CPH:DOX
The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn and Anonymous’s jaw-dropping tale of war crimes, guilt and moviemaking, took the top prize at CPH:DOX here in Copenhagen Friday night. The film, pictured above, boasts Werner Herzog and Errol Morris as executive producers and follows a group of former death squad leaders as they make Hollywood-style movies based on their murders of communists, ethnic Chinese and intellectuals following Indonesia’s military coup in 1965. Director Edwin (Postcards from the Zoo) presented the award and read the jury’s statement: “The Jury would like to award a film for its ability to show the […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 10, 2012 -
Five Questions with Magic Camp Director Judd Ehrlich
Competition in the performing arts is a staple of non-fiction television and documentary at the moment, but few works step back from the American Idol-style face-off to depict the literal beginnings of their performer subjects. One film that does is Judd Ehrlich’s Magic Camp, a documentary about Tannen’s Magic Camp, a week-long event for budding young magicians where kids learn both stagecraft and sleight-of-hand from an illustrious group of visiting professionals. Ehrlich attended Magic Camp when he was young, and when he became a documentary filmmaker — his previous credits include Mayor of the West Side and Run for Your Life — he knew he had to return to […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 9, 2012 -
The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology Director Sophie Fiennes
Originally published on November 9, 2012, this interview with Sophie Fiennes is being reposted in advance of the opening of this picture at New York’s IFC Center on Friday, November 1. “When Sophie Fiennes approached me with the idea to do a ‘pervert’s guide” to cinema,’” the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek wrote, “our shared goal was to demonstrate how psychoanalytic cinema-criticism is still the best we have, how it can generate insights which compel us to change our entire perspective. The ‘pervert’ from the title is thus not a narrow clinical category; it rather refers to perverting – turning around – our […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 9, 2012 -
Phillip Van’s Amazing Post-Sandy Blackout Photos
Filmmaker and former 25 New Face Phillip Van took his camera out during the New York blackout and came away with a beautiful series of long-exposure shots capturing the city’s architecture and workers without their customary nocturnal illumination. Here’s what he had to say via email: I shot the photos on a regular old Canon 5D. One night I had a tripod. Another I went handheld so I could travel more. The city was pitch black and ominous. Buildings felt like mausoleums. But if you stayed out long enough, your eyes adjusted to candles and shadows behind curtains and you […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 7, 2012 -
DOC NYC Previewed by Artistic Director Thom Powers
With their Stranger than Fiction series at New York City’s IFC Center, Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen have been curating, programming and advocating for documentary film going on eight years now. Their Tuesday-night events are typically packed, drawing audiences with not only great films but human interaction — Q&A’s with directors, collaborators, and even the film’s subjects. Three years ago, when Powers and Neihausen wondered why there wasn’t a major, all-doc festival in New York, they realized that the challenge of launching one was a natural fit for them. The resulting DOC NYC is now in its third year (November […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 7, 2012 -
Volunteering, Donating and Voting Post-Sandy
I live in downtown Manhattan, so in the wake of Hurricane Sandy I was without power and, for the most part, cell service. Now that power is back, I’m more online, watching TV, and more realizing of the extensive damage caused by the hurricane and of all the people still needing power, shelter and the reconstruction of their neighborhoods. If you’re able to volunteer or donate, here are some links guiding you to people and organizations assisting in what is and will be a major effort. At its NYC Service site, the City of New York has a comprehensive list […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 4, 2012 -
11 Reasons Not To Vote from Errol Morris
Here’s a short film by Errol Morris made for the New York Times in which he speaks to young voters about their voting plans, or lack thereof.
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 3, 2012 -
The Imposter, Searching for Sugar Man Top Cinema Eye Honors Noms
At an event hosted by the AFI Film Festival today, Cinema Eye Honors announced its Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking. Bart Layton’s The Imposter (pictured) and Malik Bendjelloul’s Searching for Sugar Man led the pack, with five nominations each. Both films were nominated the group’s Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking Award, joining fellow nominees Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi’s 5 Broken Cameras; Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s Detropia; Matthew Akers’ Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present, and Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims’ Only the Young. Tippet and Mims, who Filmmaker selected for our 25 New Faces of 2012, had the most […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 3, 2012 -
Adult Friend Finder: Writer/Director Sean Baker on Starlet
Dree Hemingway is a sweet porn star and Besedka Johnson — Best Actress winner at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival — is the mysteriously bitter older woman she befriends in Sean Baker’s sun-streaked relationship drama, Starlet. Interview by Scott Macaulay.
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 1, 2012
