In a ceremony last night at the Sheffield Doc/Fest in London the nominees were announced for the 5th annual Cinema Eye Honors. Complete list of nominees are below. Recognizing the best in nonfiction work, this year marks the first time six films will be vying for the top prize. 33 films from 12 countries are among this year’s nominees, including four nominations for seven films (The Arbor, Dragonslayer, Hell and Back Again, The Interrupters, Nostalgia for the Light, Position Among the Stars and Senna) and four individual nominations for The Interrupters‘ director Steve James. Winners will be announced on January […]
The devastation that the “Great Recession” has wrecked on the California exurbs resonates through the backdrop of Tristan Patterson’s fascinating study of a peculiar California skating subculture in Dragonslayer. Focusing his representation mostly on the drug and alcohol addicted daredevil skater punk Josh Sandoval, nicknamed “Skreech,” Patterson’s doc searches the lives of this talented, troubled young man and his makeshift family of itinerant skaters with tremendous aesthetic grace and ideological empathy; finding great beauty in the suburban wasteland of derelict homes and pools that become their refuge from a largely unforgiving world. With a skating style all his own, Skreech launches […]
Second #1598, 26:38 The open space surrounding the car. The feeling of freedom. The two car mirrors, one of them reflecting Jeffrey’s face. The pink barrette in Sandy’s hair, and the impossible beauty of the length of her arm. The light between the branches and leaves of the trees, and the way those trees fill most of the frame. The vanishing point near the middle of the screen, doubling back on us via the rear view mirror. Sandy and Jeffrey talk in a car, but not a moving car. The emergence of mechanical reproduction is accompanied by modernity’s increasing understanding […]
The film tax incentive known as “Section 181” is due to expire at the end of this year, removing one enticement producers have been using to convince investors to finance independent feature films. Part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, Section 181 allowed investors to write off the complete cost of a qualified film in the first year. (Normally, this write-off is amortized, occurring in future years as a film demonstrates that it is money-losing.) If and when profits then occur, they are treated as ordinary income by investors. At the close of 2009, Section 181 was similarly […]
This week I give you a bonus post and contest. In keeping with what seems to be our “Do Your Homework” theme, we have Grant Edmonds from MixMyFilm.com with some quick sound tips from a sound mixer’s perspective. Sound is always the microbudget killer, often transforming a wonderfully acted and shot film into something no one wants to see or hear. We’ve talked about its importance and ways to get good sound in the field, but we have yet to discuss the value of a great sound mix and how to prepare for it. In keeping with the Microbudget spirit, […]
News broke earlier today over Twitter that Joss Whedon has finished principal photography on what may be a screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. The official website, appears to give little information on the project — just a cast list and a poster. According to the site, Whedon regulars Nathan Fillion, Amy Acker, and Alexis Denisof star. Clicking on the poster, however, reveals an official press release: Bellwether Pictures proudly announces the completion of principal photography on MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, a modern version of Shakespeare’s classic comedy adapted and directed by Joss Whedon (Marvel’s upcoming THE AVENGERS, […]
Below-The-Line Blues. By Anthony Kaufman
A dark character study of a girl escaping a cult, Sean Durkin’s feature Martha Marcy May Marlene is an impressive debut that also highlights the talents of this year’s Sundance breakout actress,
Elizabeth Olsen. By Jason Guerrasio | Photograph by Henny Garfunkel
Though Lars von Trier’s mouth gets him into trouble, the Dane’s incredible story-telling talents are well under control. Melancholia, his latest, is a masterfully beguiling tale of sisters, depression and the end of the world. By Zachary Wigon
Last night marked the opening of the 2011 Philadelphia Film Festival, and although this year kicked off with the decidedly non-genre film Like Crazy (as opposed to 2010, which began with the enjoyably batshit Black Swan), the festival has a history of featuring well-curated action, horror, science fiction, fantasy and just plain weird fare. For those lucky enough to attend the festival, or simply tracking the program for edification purposes, a good place to start is the festival’s dedicated genre lineup, once going by the name “Danger After Dark” but re-dubbed “The Graveyard Shift” after political infighting dramatically split the group […]