Documentary
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Documenting the Life of George Plimpton: Interview with Luke Poling and Tom Bean Part II
In the second part of the interview with filmmakers Luke Poling and Tom Bean about the documentary, Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself, they discuss structuring the movie, getting to the final edit, and distribution. Read Part I here: Documenting the Life of George Plimpton: Interview with Luke Poling and Tom Bean Part II Filmmaker: You said you did 50 or 60 interviews. How did you choose those people? Bean: A lot of them were people who had either written about George or knew George. Whenever you interview someone they go, “Have you talked to such and such a person?” […]
by Michael Murie on Sep 17, 2013 -
Six Quick Doc Tips: Blitz Wisdom with Call Me Kuchu Director Malika Zouhali-Worrall
The IFP Independent Filmmaker Conference’s “Blitz Wisdom” panels are quick, TED-like talks from filmmakers discussing their projects and/or offering tips and pointers. Here are a few highlights from Malika Zouhali-Worrall’s Blitz Wisdom on the making of the documentary Call Me Kuchu and how they created this successful and highly provocative documentary about the first openly gay man in Uganda: — When researching a topic for your film, find a cause that is topical and personal to you and research, research, research. While the filmmakers had no direct connection to the LGBT situation in Uganda, they had learned a great deal […]
by Katie Carman-Lehach on Sep 16, 2013 -
Documenting the Life of George Plimpton: Interview with Luke Poling and Tom Bean Part I
George Plimpton led an eclectic life as a journalist, writer, editor, sportsman and actor, though he was perhaps most widely known for his exploits as a participatory journalist. When filmmakers Luke Poling and Tom Bean set out to make their first documentary, Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself, they were faced with enough material to make several documentaries. A project like this might have daunted some first-time filmmakers, said Poling, “We’d kicked around the idea of doing one, when Plimpton came up we said, ‘Let’s go for this.’” Poling and Bean both studied film in college, but first met at […]
by Michael Murie on Sep 16, 2013 -
Griffith. Chaplin. Pickford. Guy-Blaché?
Though you may not know the name, you certainly should. Alice Guy-Blaché was the first female filmmaker in history, yet few people know her name today. Thankfully, two filmmakers are seeking to change that. Los Angeles-based directors Pamela Green and Jarik van Slujis are currently raising funds through Kickstarter for Be Natural, the first ever in-depth documentary exploring the life and films of Alice Guy-Blaché. It all started when Green happened to catch a segment of a TV-documentary called Reel Models: The Women of Film, about women pioneers of cinema. They very briefly mentioned Alice Guy among a few familiar names. “I […]
by Katie Carman-Lehach on Aug 21, 2013 -
Laura Poitras on Turning on the Camera
One extraordinary passage among many in Peter Maas’s New York Times Sunday Magazine cover article on Laura Poitras and her role in the Edward Snowden story details the symbolic meanings of the documentarian’s most basic act: turning on the camera. By this point in the story, Poitras has been contacted by Snowden, has had a series of encrypted exchanges with him, but doesn’t know who he is. She, along with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewan MacAskill of The Guardian, travel to Hong Kong to meet the source for what will be the most explosive national security tale of modern times. […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 17, 2013 -
Afghan Doc Subject, TV Presenter Seeks Asylum, Talks Life Under the Taliban
In 2011, I spent three months in Afghanistan making the documentary The Network. The film is set behind the scenes at the first, largest and most successful television station in Kabul, Tolo TV. I thought it would be surprising, timely and somewhat subversive to make a positive film about Afghanistan in the face of the impending withdrawal of foreign troops. One of the things I discovered while making The Network is it’s difficult to make a positive film about Afghanistan. While the achievements of Tolo are extraordinary as is the massive, unprecedented social change media has brought to the country […]
by Eva Orner on Aug 12, 2013 -
Errol Morris Lets Loose on The Act of Killing Controversy
Banging away on Twitter, does Errol Morris have a point? Or does he just need another scotch and water? Friday night, respected filmmaker Errol Morris fired off two quick tweets. Morris and Werner Herzog are the executive producers of The Act of Killing, which had its New York theatrical opening on Friday. In Friday night’s tweets Morris seemed annoyed and confused — actually, pissed and baffled. The two tweets were posted at 10:51 and 10:53 (EST): errolmorris @errolmorris Tired of hearing people complain that “The Act of Killing” does not provide enough background, historical context, etc. errolmorris @errolmorris Hey, read a book. Wait, aren’t […]
by Stewart Nusbaumer on Jul 22, 2013 -
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2013
Greeks, if not Greece, persist. In March, the 15th edition of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival presented 76 Greek premieres among its teeming 10 days of attractions, streaming many films across Greece and Cyprus, as well as 520 films in a Market with 55 buyers from around the world. “Here we are again, despite the hardships,” Dimitri Eipides, artistic director of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and TDF reflected on opening night. Of its 1999 inaugural, he said, “Audiences were skeptical then. The establishment of an internationally acclaimed institution celebrating the art of documentary was something unheard of in Greece. But […]
by Ray Pride on Jul 18, 2013 -
The Long Shoot: 10 Questions for Calling My Children Director David Binder
For 25 years, first as still photographer and then as filmmaker, David Binder doggedly chronicled the Farrow family. The mother/wife dies … husband grieves and copes … four young sons struggle and mature … and for 25 years David Binder captures the story. Binder’s initial photo essay on the Farrow family was published by In Health magazine in 1990, and updated a decade later in Life magazine. His Farrow photographs were displayed in several major exhibitions, including at Harvard AIDS Institute and in 40 cities for the United States Centers for Disease Control. A decade later he made a short documentary […]
by Stewart Nusbaumer on Jul 9, 2013 -
Brooklyn Goes BAM: Docs at BAMcinemafest
Manhattan has its big dog festivals, while across the East River in Brooklyn, home to the country’s greatest number of independent filmmakers, several fests are aspirating to the top ranks. Not in a A-List cookie cutter way, but uniquely, in their own way. The number of documentaries at the fifth annual BAMcinemaFest remained limited. Out of 25 features nine were docs, and out of 14 shorts nine were docs. Events were likewise limited, with some filmmakers organizing their own post-screening get-togethers in local bars. But what continues to lift the stature of this festival is not number of movies or number […]
by Stewart Nusbaumer on Jul 2, 2013
