When I was in film school in 2004, we spent a lot of time flipping through binders of head shots and reading resumes on sheets of paper. As the Internet revolutionized social networking and sites like Shooting People and Mandy.com got filmmakers’ and actors’ information online, the casting and crewing process was turned upside-down, and definitely for the better. But there are still limitations to what the Internet can do. The main problem is penetration, getting everyone on the same network; second to that is searchability, being able to find the right people who are on the network you’re already […]
Based on Jon Savage’s 2007 book Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture, Matt Wolf’s elliptical and handsome documentary Teenage delves into the history of teen-hood, revealing how those formative years between 12 and 20 produced generations that were cultural forces to be reckoned with in the West during the 20th century’s earliest decades. Using a collage style that includes archival footage, newsreels, dramatic reenactments (anchored by recognizable young actors such as Jenna Malone and total newcomers found by street-casting impresario Eleonore Hendricks), the movie takes us to pre-war Germany, through the pages of diaries of midwestern 15-year-olds, and to dance […]
For aging, married academics Nick (Jim Broadbent) and Meg (Lindsay Duncan), romance doesn’t come so easy anymore in Roger Michell’s wise and often very funny anti-rom-com Le Week-end. They jet off to Paris to recapture some of the spirit of their initial honeymoon 30 years before. But the trip is miserable from the start. She refuses to stay in the hotel from the honeymoon, sickened by its beige paint job. They check into a place far too expensive for their budget and enjoy the view of the Eiffel Tower, but little magic is rekindled with Meg, who is especially uninterested […]
In a world of simplified, cable-news talking points, documentary filmmaker Rachel Boynton makes layered, complicated films exploring the nexus of politics and personality. With Our Brand is Crisis, Boynton — one of Filmmaker‘s 2005 25 New Faces — traveled to Bolivia to cover the 2002 election, embedding herself both within the campaigns of local candidates as well as the war room of hired-gun U.S. consultants Jim Carville and his GCS Associates team. Big Men, opening today, is her second feature, and it has similarly required an immersive, years-long process. She began the process of considering the film before its so-called […]
In The Cold Lands, Tom Gilroy’s intelligent and evocative new film, a resourceful teen is left to contend with a set of existential questions after he leaves home and tries to tough it out in the woods. Atticus (Silas Yelich) and his mother Nicole (Lili Taylor) live an ascetic lifestyle—though he’s interested in hip-hop and video games, Nicole’s doing her best to keep pop culture and materialistic influences at bay. Together, they roam around Upstate New York in a Subaru station wagon, looking for salvageable items left by the roadside and taking long walks during which they explore the rich […]
Following “The Women of Sundance” article in our print and online additions, Danielle Lurie continues her coverage of female filmmakers with a series of interviews highlighting women directors at SXSW. In this interview, she talks with the director of the hybrid documentary, Evaporating Borders, Iva Radivojevic. Filmmaker: Why this movie? Why did you decide to do it? Radivojevic: It was one of those ideas that keeps churning in your stomach for years and years and finally finds a way to come out. The film is also personal and has to do with who I am and my experience (although […]
Visual effects software developer Red Giant today announced the public beta of Red Giant Universe, a new environment for building as well as distributing filter and transition effects. The effects and transitions are GPU-accelerated, work on both Mac and Windows, and support After Effects, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X and Motion. Red Giant says they are releasing 50 new free and premium tools as part of Universe, but prior to release did not specify how many of them are free. Universe’s Premium option provides access to more tools as well as existing Red Giant tools that will be ported […]
Following “The Women of Sundance” article in our print and online additions, Danielle Lurie continues her coverage of female filmmakers with a series of pieces highlighting women directors at SXSW. In this email interview, she talks with the director of Que Caramba Es La Vida, Dorris Dörrie. Filmmaker: Why this movie? Why did you decide to do it? Dörrie: I have spent some time in Mexico and found that the only association that we (in Europe) have is drug war and chaos. I wanted to tell a different story of Mexico, and I became very interested in mariachi music, especially […]
Following “The Women of Sundance” article in our print and online additions, Danielle Lurie continues her coverage of female filmmakers with a series of pieces highlighting women directors at SXSW. In this email interview, she talks with the writer/director of the narrative short, Crystal, Chell Stephen. Filmmaker: Why this movie? Why did you decide to do it? Stephen: An image of the character Crystal came into my head a few years ago, and I could see her so clearly. After directing music videos in New York for a few years as a part of filmmaking collective Think/Feel, I knew […]
The Internet and digital filmmaking tools have opened up new possibilities of crowdsourcing material–Life in a Day, Declaration of Interdependence, One Day on Earth, even the interactive Star Wars Uncut–and given new life to the omnibus/anthology film format. The latest project to adopt the form is 50 Kisses, a film created by the London-based Chris Jones and hundreds of collaborators from around the world. The film, which includes 50 scenes built around a Valentine’s Day and a kiss, premiered on February 13–the day before Valentine’s–at the Genesis Cinema in London’s East End. Further distribution is now rolling out. Jones, a filmmaker […]