Authors — Scott Macaulay
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Trailer Watch: Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival
A Filmmaker cover in Winter 2014 for one of our favorite and underrated films of the last few years, Enemy, Denis Villeneuve has become that rare powerhouse director who inflects a cinematically exciting signature style across diverse material. Currently shooting the sequel to Blade Runner, the director follows up his moody drug-war drama Sicario with a science-fiction tale of alien visitation. Most excitingly for us at Filmmaker, this most visually compelling of directors has hooked up with one of our favorite DPs, Bradford Young, who appeared on our 25 New Faces list back in 2009. For now, check out the […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 16, 2016 -
“If Kanye West Applies to My Rogue Film School, I Would Invite Him”: Werner Herzog Takes on Kanye West’s “Famous” Video
Director Werner Herzog brings his German-accented, customary evocation of strange wonder to a dissection of Kanye West’s “Famous” video in this clip posted over at the Daily Beast. More than just a deconstructive joke, however, Herzog turns the viewing into an instructional take on why every filmmaker needs his or her main storyline and then a parallel story the audience creates for themselves. Says Herzog, “This is very good stuff. If Kanye West applies to my Rogue Film School,” I would invite him. Related: Werner Herzog discusses his new Rogue Film School Master Class.
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 12, 2016 -
Trailer Watch: Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight
Just out from A24 is this trailer for one of our most highly anticipated films of the fall, Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight. Long time Filmmaker readers will remember that it’s been a while since Jenkins, a 2008 25 New Face and the cover of our Winter, 2009 issue for his debut feature, Medicine for Melancholy, has made a movie. He’s been among the most talented American independents to have such a long break before teeing up for his sophomore film, but it’s certainly not for lack of trying, as Jenkins has developed several powerful projects over the years. (Read this short […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 11, 2016 -
Documentary Selections Announced for the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival
Sixteen films, including new works by Steve James, Raoul Peck, Fischer Stevens and Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as a first-time feature by documentary director and producer Erin Heidenreich, were announced for the Toronto International Film Festival’s doc program today. Commented TIFF Docs Programmer Thom Powers in a press release, “Revelations abound in this year’s crop of documentaries. We gain fresh perspectives on high profile figures such as James Baldwin, Amanda Knox and The Beatles; and we meet compelling figures from the worlds of activism, music, sports and, not to be forgotten, classic burlesque.” Among the films listed above, Steve James, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 9, 2016 -
Short Film Teaser: Frank Mosley’s Spider Veins
“Loosely inspired by Ibsen’s A Doll’s House,” Frank Moseley’s ominous new short film, Spider Veins premieres this month at the Sidewalk Film Festival. Here’s the description: Two women reunite in a quiet neighborhood before a party begins. But by turns mysterious and shocking, the film’s narrative begins to unravel even as the women’s relationship teeters closer to the edge of truth. Loosely inspired by Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Spider Veins is a mercurial investigation into varying levels of everyday artifice. Starring Katey Parker, Danielle Pickard, and Jennifer Mazza-Nguyen, the film will have its world premiere this August 26-28th at […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 6, 2016 -
(Not Doing) Drugs, Schools and Higher Consciousness: A David Lynch Commencement Address
Summer’s still upon us, so it’s not too late to post this improvised commencement speech given by director David Lynch this past June at the Maharishi University of Management. Presented with a Doctor of World Peace honoris causa degree, Lynch, a proponent of Transcendental Meditation, gives a typically anodyne set of answers to students wanting to balance the practicalities demanded by the job market with the searcher for a higher consciousness. Time, Inc’s Motto provides a complete transcription of the talk. Here is Lynch answering a question about his own school years. From Motto: I was very lucky. I was […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 6, 2016 -
Watch: Beemus, It’ll End in Tears, from Lauren Wolkstein and Frances Bodomo
collective: unconscious, the anthology film in which independent filmmakers interpret each other’s dreams, is being released this coming Tuesday, for free, via BitTorrent. Today, producer Dan Schoenbrun — who, by the way, has just launched a regular column here at Filmmaker — has posted one episode of the film (a teaser, if you will). It’s Lauren Wolkstein’s adaptation of Frances Bodomo’s dream. (And, hey, another Filmmaker aside: both directors are veterans of our 25 New Faces series.) Here’s the one-line for Bodomo’s dream given to Wolkstein: My PE class and I are stuck in a volcano and we’re being made […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 4, 2016 -
Watch: I, Destini by 25 New Face Filmmakers Nicholas Pilarski and Destini Riley
Filmmakers Nicholas Pilarski and Destini Riley landed on this year’s 25 New Faces list on the basis of I, Destini, their haunting animation dealing with familial loss and the criminal justice system. The short has just gone online at the New York Times as part of its OpDocs series, and the two have penned an essay about the piece’s subject matter and collaboration at the Times. From the piece: We first met each other in 2014 after one of these meetings, in which community members discussed how we could pressure the police into providing better ethics training. Destini’s brother had […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 3, 2016 -
IFP Announces No Borders, Spotlight on Docs Feature Films for IFP Film Week
IFP, Filmmaker‘s parent organization, announced today the 120 feature film projects that will take place in its annual IFP Film Week, taking place September 17 – 22 for the first time in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Announced for the first time are the screenplays comprising the No Borders program, for projects seeking financing, and the doc works-in-progress seeking completion funds in Spotlight on Docs. They join the previously announced features in post-production from the IFP’s Narrative and Documentary Labs. Particularly noteworthy this year are the roster’s gender diversity states: 40% of the narrative directors and 60 % of the documentary directors are […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 27, 2016 -
Locking Gaze: Kirsten Johnson on the Images of Her Thrilling Documentary, Cameraperson
Both memoir and essay film, Kirsten Johnson’s Cameraperson is an astonishing work of cinematic analysis and alchemy. Comprised of material shot by Johnson for 24 different documentaries over a span of 25 years, it’s a movie made up of fragments, globetrotting scenes that tumble one after the other, announced by title cards listing the location and year of the footage but not the director. Included, too, in the footage is personal material, some for film projects of Johnson’s that have yet to be realized and some home movies shot of her mother in the months before she died of Alzheimer’s. […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 25, 2016
