Documentary

Josh Koury, We Are Wizards

HOLDEN AND DARIUS WILKINS IN DIRECTOR JOSH KOURY’S WE ARE WIZARDS. COURTESY BROOKLYN UNDERGROUND FILMS. Despite his youth, 31-year-old Josh Koury has already carved out quite a reputation for himself within the world of independent film. Born and raised in upstate New York, Koury studied fine art at Munson Williams Proctor Institute in Utica and then film at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, where he also ran a weekly multimedia event. Following his graduation, Koury made his debut feature, Standing By Yourself, a documentary about problem teens in upstate New York, which premiered in competition at Slamdance in 2002 and was released […]
by Nick Dawson on Nov 14, 2008
GUS VAN SANT ON MAKING MILK

Several articles from Filmmaker‘s Fall issue are online here on the site, but one piece not included in our online offerings has just been posted on the FilmInFocus site. It’s an interview with Gus Van Sant by Peter Bowen that appeared in the special Gotham Award tribute section, and I think it’s an excellent look into Van Sant’s creative process on his latest film, Milk. And, by the way, the IFP is selling individual tickets to the Gothams this year. More info available here. Two excerpts: Filmmaker: How did your story veer from the historical record? Van Sant: Mostly we […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 13, 2008
FILM FINANCING TOWNHALL

The Institute for International Film Financing (IIFF) have announced another of their popular networking events for next Monday, Nov. 17. Information on how to attend and who’s scheduled to speak are below. IIFF New York City Townhall Meeting Monday, November 17, 2008 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM School of Visual Arts (SVA) 209 East 23rd Street Amphitheater – 3rd floor New York, NY 10010 VERY LIMITED CAPACITY. To avoid disappointment, reserve your DISCOUNTED SEAT now at http://nym.filmfinancing.org/111708w Next Monday’s gathering of FILMMAKERS AND FINANCIERS follows IIFF’sproven formula for film financing success. It features a powerful lineup ofLEADING TOPICAL EXPERTS whose […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Nov 11, 2008
“BLESS ME FATHER, FOR I DON’T GET SCORSESE”

Roger Ebert has published on his blog a letter from Jamie Stuart about Martin Scorsese and Stuart’s ambivalence towards him. An excerpt: As well, I tended to prefer filmmakers whom I believed had solved the problems laid out for themselves in making their movies. There was always an unmistakable confidence of execution in the work of Coppola or Spielberg or later the Coens. With Scorsese, however, I always saw insecurity: For all their labor, his movies felt fussy like they were never quite finished. You could see the agonizing conflict of decision-making in his craft (something that many people claim […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 6, 2008
Kurt Kuenne, Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father

DIRECTOR KURT KUENNE WITH ZACHARY BAGBY IN KUENNE’S DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER. COURTESY OSCILLOSCOPE PICTURES & MSNBC FILMS. Since he was a boy, making films has been at the very center of Kurt Kuenne’s life. He fell in love with the movies as a kid growing up in Silicon Valley in Southern California, and already at the age of seven began trying to emulate his heroes by shooting films on Super 8 and then later VHS cameras, using friends and family as actors. Kuenne studied film at USC’s prestigious School of Cinema-Television (where he […]
by Nick Dawson on Oct 31, 2008
ONLY CONNECT

Over at Cinema Echo Chamber, Evan Louis interviews filmmaker Celia Maysles, whose debut, Wild Blue Yonder, deals with her father, documentary filmmaker David Maysles, and her relationship to him. From the interview: The whole idea behind Blue Yonder [for David] was trying to figure out who his greatest influences were in his life, and who he was, through making a film. He was closest with his father and his cousin Alan, who was a real risk taker, a fighter pilot. But his father never missed a day of work for thirty years. He worked in a dayjob, postal service, in […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 27, 2008
BALLAST LEADS NOMINATIONS AT THIS YEAR’S GOTHAMS

IFP announced today the nominees for this year’s 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards. Lance Hammer‘s self-distributed first feature Ballast received the most nominations with four, including for Best Feature and Breakthrough Director. The awards will be handed out on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at New York City’s Cipriani Wall Street. Full list of nominees are below. Best Feature BallastLance Hammer, director; Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh, producers (Alluvial Film Company) Frozen RiverCourtney Hunt, director; Heather Rae, Chip Hourihan, producers (Sony Pictures Classics) Synecdoche, New YorkCharlie Kaufman, director; Anthony Bregman, Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jonze, Sidney Kimmel, producers (Sony Pictures Classics) The VisitorTom […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Oct 20, 2008
Abel Ferrara, Mary

JULIETTE BINOCHE IN DIRECTOR ABEL FERRARA’S MARY. COURTESY ABEL FERRARA & ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES. After more than 30 years as a director, Abel Ferrara shows no sign of losing any of the raw intelligence, energy and vitality that have made him a continuing force in American cinema. The Italian American Bronx-born director, now 57, began directing shorts as a film student at SUNY Purchase in the early 1970s and made his feature debut in 1976 with the porn film 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy under the pseudonym Jimmy Laine. His debut proper was the legendary DIY grindhouse movie The […]
by Nick Dawson on Oct 17, 2008
WEATHER UNDERGROUND DIRECTOR ON BILL AYRES

“One truism of being a documentary filmmaker is that your subjects often continue to make news long after your film has wrapped and is widely seen,” writes AJ. Schnack at his All These Wonderful Things blog. “Kicking off a new feature here at the blog, Sam Green, the co-director of the Oscar-nominated THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND, writes about Ayers’ return to prominence and the mixed feelings it provokes for the director.” What follows are Green’s thoughts about Ayres, who he got to know through the making of his documentary, his sudden emergence as an issue in the Presidential campaign, and both […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 14, 2008
KIRSNER REPORTS FROM THE DOC VANGUARD

CinemaTech’s Scott Kirsner sent me an email alerting me to a really interesting project he’s done with ITVS. From his email: Earlier this year, ITVS asked me to interview a group of documentary filmmakers who were working on the vanguard. Specifically, we wanted to focus on three things: 1. Opening up production in new ways, communicating and collaborating with the audience while a film is still in the works. 2. Distributing in new ways, through avenues like iTunes or downloads on a filmmaker’s own Web site 3. Marketing and cultivating an audience for the work in new ways, and figuring […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 13, 2008

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