Documentary

Moral Burdens

Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin’s The Edge of Heaven is a fierce, generous melodrama of boundaries and passions, of blood and yearning, the second of a trilogy about émigré culture patterned after Fassbinder’s “BRD Trilogy” (The Marriage of Maria Braun, Lola, Veronika Voss) of post World War II German history. His fiery prior feature, Head-On, is the “love” component, with Edge comprising “death” (with “evil” on the way). Comparisons can be drawn to other work by the late German director, especially with his inclusion of Fassbinder stalwart Hanna Schygulla in a major, moving role. Akin seems to have found his métier […]
by Jason Guerrasio on May 21, 2008
MICHAEL MOORE IN CANNES

In Cannes, Anne Thompson interviews Michael Moore about his latest documentary, and colleague Mike Jones is there to capture it on his cell phone.
by Scott Macaulay on May 17, 2008
SELF LINKAGE

A bunch of new, mostly cinematography-related stuff has just been been posted on our main page, and I want to draw your attention to it. First there is our article in which four cinematographers discuss the creative and production decision-making behind their latest features. The dps are Ellen Kuras (currently in production on Sam Mendes’s new film for Focus Features), Tim Orr, Andrij Parekh and Sean Kirby. On the same page: Damon Smith on Ellen Kuras’s documentary, Nerahahoon. Next is a feature called “Illuminating” in which six directors — Miguel Arteta, Pete Sollett, Miranda July (who is beginning her new […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 15, 2008
IFP ANNOUNCES ’08 DOC LAB PARTICIPANTS

Created to support high-quality, independent projects at the rough cut stage of production prior to submission to film festivals, IFP announced today the films that will take part in its May Documentary Lab that connects first-time feature filmmakers with leading industry mentors, which this year includes filmmakers Doug Block (51 Birch Street), Liz Garbus of Moxie Firecracker Films (The Farm: Angola, USA) and editor Keiko Deguchi (Cats of Mirkitani). Excerpts from the films will then screen at IFP’s Independent Film Week in New York City this September. The 10 selected films include: Burning in the Sun – A young entrepreneur […]
by Jason Guerrasio on May 13, 2008
Nick Broomfield, Battle For Haditha

ERIC MEHALACOPOULOUS IN DIRECTOR NICK BROOMFIELD’S BATTLE FOR HADITHA. COURTESY NICK BROOMFIELD. Immediately distinguishable by his understated good looks, laid-back, drawling English voice and, of course, the boom mike seemingly always in his hands, Nick Broomfield is an iconic figure in documentary filmmaking, as well as one of the form’s most talented artists. The son of English photographer Maurice Broomfield and a Czech refugee, Broomfield went to a Quaker boarding school before studying law at Cardiff University, political science at Essex University and finally film at the National Film School in his hometown of London. Combining his interest in sociopolitical […]
by Nick Dawson on May 7, 2008
DOCUDRAMA

The artist Cindy Sherman has made a statement disavowing a documentary, Paul H-O’s Guest of Cindy Sherman, in which she is featured that is playing at the Tribeca Film Festival. Mike Jones has the story in Variety, and he reprints her statement, posted below: As my name is in the title and my work and self are so abundantly represented, I would like to counter any assumption that I am or wish to be personally associated with it. I am not a participant in any events related to the film’s screenings in this festival or future presentations. I apologize to […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 26, 2008
Yung Chang, Up The Yangtze

A SCENE FROM DIRECTOR YUNG CHANG’S UP THE YANGTZE. COURTESY ZEITGEIST FILMS. At a time when the popularity of documentaries is at an all-time high, Canadian director Yung Chang is not only telling stories as compelling as his peers’, but doing so with a truly cinematic sensibility that is often lacking in his field. Born in Whitby, Ontario, to first generation Chinese immigrant parents, Chang studied film production at Concordia University, graduating in 1999. He was also a student at New York’s Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, where he learned the Meisner Technique. He directed the short film The […]
by Nick Dawson on Apr 25, 2008
Scott Hicks, Glass: A Portrait of Philip In Twelve Parts

PHILIP GLASS IN DIRECTOR SCOTT HICKS’ GLASS: A PORTRAIT OF PHILIP IN TWELVE PARTS. COURTESY KOCH LORBER FILMS. Best known for his fiction films, Scott Hicks has returned to another form in which he has also distinguished himself: documentary. Usually identified as an Australian, Hicks was in fact born in Uganda and lived in Kenya until the age of 10, before his family moved to England and then Australia. He studied English, Drama and Cinema at Flinders University of South Australia, and made his directorial debut the year of graduation with the ultra-low-budget drama Down the Wind (1975). After working […]
by Nick Dawson on Apr 18, 2008
Stephen Walker, Young@Heart

THE YOUNG@HEART CHORUS IN DIRECTOR STEPHEN WALKER’S YOUNG@HEART. COURTESY FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES. Television directors often go through their careers dreaming of striking cinematic gold like Stephen Walker has. The 46-year-old Brit is a veteran of the small screen who plied his trade at the BBC before setting up his own production company, Walker George Films, with his producer and life partner, Sally George. Walker has directed narrative material, including Prisoners in Time (1995) starring John Hurt, but is best known for his TV documentary work. He won acclaim for Hiroshima – A Day That Shook The World (2005), a drama-documentary […]
by Nick Dawson on Apr 9, 2008
CATCH-UP BLOGGING

We just put the new Spring issue of Filmmaker to bed, so that’s why there hasn’t been much blogging here. Really, I was going to try to burn the midnight oil and throw some postings up, but then I read the now infamous New York Times “Death by Blogging” article and thought better of it. So, here are a few things I would have posted about in greater detail if I had the time. First, as you know from reading this blog, we try to keep up with and promote the work of our annual “25 New Faces” filmmakers. I […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 8, 2008

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cfmrk_cic		Used by Cloudflare to route user traffic for this Site.
sparrow_id		Installed by Cloudflare. Used to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not store any personal identifiable information.

Cookie	Duration	Description
OAGEO		Installed by the Revive Ad Server. Used to cache geolocation (session, deleted when closing the browser)
OAID		Installed by the Revive Ad Server to distinguish users.