Festivals & Events
Festivals & Events
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Sundance 2018 Announces Indie Episodic, Shorts and Special Event Selections
Following on last week’s announcement of its feature slate for the 2018 edition, the Sundance Film Festival has announced the selections for its indie episodic, shorts and special events selections. In that middle category Filmmaker readers will spot two of this year’s 25 New Faces of film, Robin Comisar and Alexa Lim Haas. INDIE EPISODIC America To Me / U.S.A. (Director: Steve James, Segment Directors: Bing Liu, Rebecca Parrish, Kevin Shaw) — This limited series captures a year-long look at one of Chicago’s most progressive and diverse public schools, located in suburban Oak Park. Unprecedented in scope, the series is both […]
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Examining White Supremacy and Rising Conservatism at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival
At the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, the tenebrous artistry of medieval Czech architecture was a fitting backdrop for a program of creatively-rendered non-fiction films, many engaging bleak contemporary realities. Set in the historic (and very walkable) downtown of the 50,000-person city of Jihlava, an hour-and-a-half drive from Prague, the 21st edition of the fest had an exciting mix of experimental films, single-director retrospectives, provocative television docs, international festival fodder and engaging forum discussions. Rising white supremacy and conservatism as well as European perspectives on Middle Eastern conflicts were recurring themes. Passes were affordable and theaters were packed with locals […]
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The Year of the Woman: The 30th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Though it’s been half a decade since I’ve covered Amsterdam’s International Documentary Film Festival, this year’s 30th edition was a welcome reminder as to why IDFA is often heralded as the crème de la crème of doc fests. First there’s its sheer size and scope — this year, a whopping 319 documentaries were presented over the festival’s 12 days. Fortunately, these nonfiction projects of every stripe were helpfully divided into a surprisingly navigable 20 sections — everything from your standard competitions (and not-so-standard, as IDFA DocLab has both a Competition for Digital Storytelling and a Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction) to […]
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Sundance Announces Full 2018 Features Lineup
In years past, Sundance has unveiled its feature film lineup a few slates at a time; this year, we get all of the features scheduled to date in one fell swoop. The lineup — 110 strong over 10 categories — includes no less than 15 projects that are alumni of IFP, Filmmaker‘s parent magazine, including 306 Hollywood, the debut feature from Elan and Jonathan Bogarín, profiled in this year’s 25 New Faces of Film. It’s a heady line-up; dive in. The festival runs from January 18 through 28; look for our coverage starting then. U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION American Animals / U.S.A. (Director and […]
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Slamdance Announces its 2018 Narrative and Documentary Competition Lineup
Sixteen premieres — including 10 world premieres — are part of the 2017 Slamdance Film Festival, whose Narrative and Documentary Competition films were announced today. A punk rock romance, surrogacy drama, documentary about the Polaroid age and a non-fiction tale of a woman who withdraws from the fashion world to become a hermit are just four of the films to be presented January 19 – 25, 2018, in Park City, Utah. Notably, Slamdance submissions are selected from blind submissions by festival alumni and “are programmed democratically.” In addition to the films, Slamdance also announced a new prize. From the press […]
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Call Me By Your Name, Strong Island, Get Out Top 2017 IFP Gotham Awards
Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name and Yance Ford’s Strong Island topped the 2017 IFP Gotham Awards, winning Best Feature and Best Documentary last night at a ceremony held at downtown New York’s Cipriani. And Jordan Peele’s Get Out made a very strong showing, winning the Audience Award, the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award and the Best Screenplay. The Gotham Awards, presented by Filmmaker‘s parent organization, IFP, is the first awards show of the Oscar season, and in the past it’s been a harbinger of future success for its awarded films. (Previous Gotham Best Pictures include the last three […]
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Watch Live: Gotham Independent Film Awards 2017
Tonight marks the 27th annual edition of the Gotham Independent Film Awards, presented by Filmmaker‘s parent organization, IFP. Starting at 6 pm EST tonight you’ll be able to watch the ceremony, beginning with the red carpet arrivals, with the ceremony proper staring at 8. A Facebook live stream of the ceremony has begun; click on the Facebook icon here to watch. For more information, including a complete list of the nominees and tributees, click here, and check back tomorrow for a write-up of the ceremony.
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“Don’t Judge Your Footage in the Field”: Tips on Doc Verite Shooting From the Camerafolk Behind One of Us, The Judge, and E-Team
Vérité cinema is frequently tossed about as a term, and likely most of us know the broader strokes of the genre: an observational camera whose team aims not to interfere with the subjects or action; a film frequently built on intimate access, shunning sit down interviews or use of archival footage. At a November 12 DOC NYC PRO panel dubbed “Observational Camera,” five respected filmmakers reflected on the specifics of how they go about shooting direct cinema. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s One of Us follows three individuals who leave an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, and on the panel were cinematographers Jenni […]
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Spotlight on UXdoc at The 20th RIDM (Montreal International Documentary Film Festival)
Running November 9th-19th, this year’s 20th edition of RIDM (or the Montreal International Documentary Film Festival for us non-Québécois) once again proved that big things come in small(ish) packages. Though not nearly as big as that other international doc fest directly on its heels, RIDM’s charm lies precisely in the fact that it’s both wide-ranging and easily navigable. In other words, a docuphile can relax and focus on the inspiring work in front of their eyes at any given moment instead of lamenting over the dozen other screenings, panels and events they’re inevitably missing. Which is not to say there […]
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Escape into America: The Eastern Oregon and Indie Memphis Film Festivals
Keeping on top of the media conversation in 2017 has begun to feel more like an exercise in self-harm than consumption. The dirty laundry is exhaustive and exhausting; we are quick to expose and defile, but quicker to move onto the next victimizer, leaving little lasting resolution in the wake of the penultimate upheaval. At the movies, we look for meaning where we can get it. Plots are politicized to the point where the once ghettoized “issue film” is mutating into standard grade. Even if the latest Thor joint is raking it in at the box office, cotton candy escapism […]
