Filmmaking
Filmmaking
-
Tickled: The Farewell Party
Such a rare thrill to see films with seniors who have credible back stories and channel a lifetime of experience toward the resolution of whatever issues they currently face. The lead characters in The Farewell Party, a delightfully dark Israeli comedy (perhaps adorable tragicomedy is more on point), are full-blooded humans, not vampiric nasties or one-dimensional goody two shoes. They converse with delight and share their joys, but they also threaten, backbite, and blackmail. Each has attachments, with ups and downs — not so different from young people, as it turns out. At about the halfway point, a group of […]
-
“The Idea of Bringing a Camera into an Interview is Unfathomable to Me”: Bianca Giaever on the She Does Podcast
Bianca Giaever is a radio producer, filmmaker and our youngest guest to date. You may have heard her on RadioLab or This American Life or seen her short films on NPR, The New York Times or featured as Vimeo Staff Picks. She recently won a Webby for Videos 4 U, a new series she’s heading for This American Life. In this episode, Bianca talks about her inherited curiosity and inclination to talk to strangers as well as how her personal life, questions and struggles influence the themes of her work. We talk about the paralyzing effect of your first successful […]
-
“Olivia Can Fly”: Oscar Sharp on The Kármán Line
A BAFTA nominee, Oscar Sharp’s The Kármán Line tells the unusual tale of Sarah (Olivia Colman), who inexplicably begins to levitate in her living room, showing no signs of slowing down, not even as she breaches the atmosphere above her very roof. A rich tonal brew, the film is also a showcase for some seamless visual effects as Sarah moves through floors and the sky alike. Since The Kármán Line premiered at SXSW, Sharp signed with Tobey Maguire’s Mental Pictures and is in development on a sci-fi feature. You can watch the short, now streaming in The New Yorker‘s Screening Room, above, and hear from […]
-
Specimens: Collin Schiffli’s Animals
This extra-rewarding if occasionally trying film opens with a slow-gaited nocturnal entrance into an ER. Going into and out of hospitals is a hazard of the trade — of the work, in fact — of the habit for young lovers Bobbie (Kim Shaw, destined for the big time) and Jude (David Dastmalchian), fully committed addicts whose survival depends on the luck of the draw: carrying through scams, or being scammed themselves. They are caught up in a vicious cycle. Most of the time, they come out relatively lucky: In spite of some bad eggs — my gosh, some of the […]
-
Chicken & Egg Pictures Announces Call for Accelerator Lab
As part of their 2015 Open Call, Chicken & Egg Pictures has announced a brand new Accelerator Lab, which will focus on identifying and supporting a diverse group of women nonfiction directors who are first- and second-time filmmakers. Five selected applicants will receive a $35,000 grant for the production of a film, to be developed, produced, and launched over the course of a 12-month program (with the possibility of an extension). The grant will be disbursed in two parts, with the first part awarded in November 2015. The catch is that films must already be in production, but with no more than […]
-
The Tainted Veil: Andrew Niccol’s Good Kill
The soldiers can barely agree to disagree. They are primarily ex-pilots but a few video gamers have recently thrown into this mix that operates drone strikes from the safety of temporary metal trailers on a military base outside the rhinestone city of Las Vegas. The year is 2010; the U.S. drone program is at a new high. Some of these armchair warriors have increasingly strong feelings against the manner in which drones are deployed in places like Afghanistan, Yemen, and Waziristan; others feel that anything goes to keep America safe following the events of 9/11; and a couple are practical […]
-
Ridiculous Netflix: Sterlin Harjo Discusses Netflix and Adam Sandler’s Ridiculous Six
“The movie has ‘ridiculous’ in the title for a reason — because it’s ridiculous. It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of — but in on — the joke.” So comments Netflix in the wake of the recent exodus of a dozen Native American extras from the set of Adam Sandler’s Ridiculous Six, its first film in a four-movie deal with Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions. The comedy features characters with names like “Beaver’s Breath” and “No Bra,” so, yes, “ridiculous” certainly seems to be the […]
-
Camden International Film Festival Announces Points North Fellowship Call for Entries
The Camden International Film Festival is now accepting submissions for its Points North Fellowship, which provides grants bringing five teams of documentary filmmakers to September’s Points North Documentary Forum and trains them in the art of the pitch. The Fellowship takes place before, during and even after the festival. Before the festival, filmmakers receive a day of intensive training and mentorship, sponsored by the Main Media Workshops. Then, filmmakers go on to pitch their projects to an array of international funders, broadcasters, distributors and producers — all before a live audience. Past panelists include representatives from the BBC, HBO, A&E […]
-
Towards the Palme d’Or: A Conversation with DP Gökhan Tiryaki On the Set of Asif Kapadia’s Ali and Nino
When you have one of the most anticipated films of the year about to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, how do you prepare? For Asif Kapadia — director of Amy, the forthcoming documentary about the British jazz singer Amy Winehouse — the answer is to direct another film. His adaptation of Kurban Said’s 1937 novel Ali and Nino is the first fictional narrative the British director has helmed since 2007’s Far North; both it and Amy are his first features since 2010’s much-admired documentary Senna. For his fictional narratives, Kapadia has made a habit of shooting in remote, unique locations. […]
-
IFP Announces Documentary Line-Up for Annual Independent Filmmaker Labs
The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) announced today the ten documentaries selected for the 2015 Independent Filmmaker Labs, IFP’s annual yearlong fellowship for first-time feature directors. The creative teams of the selected films are currently attending the first week’s sessions – The Time Warner Foundation Completion Labs – taking place May 11-15 in New York City. The Independent Filmmaker Labs are a highly immersive, free mentorship program supporting first-time feature directors with projects in post-production as they complete, market and distribute their films. The Labs provide filmmakers with the technical, creative and strategic tools necessary to launch their films and careers. […]
