Steve James
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American Movie to Receive Cinema Eye Honors 2016 Legacy Award
Cinema Eye, the nonfiction film organization behind the annual Cinema Eye Honors, will present the 2016 Legacy Award to American Movie, Chris Smith’s 1999 chronicle of an independent filmmaker pursuing his passion project. Smith will accept the award on behalf of the film at the Cinema Eye Honors Lunch, on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 in Manhattan. Award-winning documentary filmmaker Steve James (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters, Life Itself) will serve as host and master of ceremonies for the 2016 Cinema Eye Honors, which will be held Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens. Meanwhile, today marks the second day of […]
by Paula Bernstein on Dec 10, 2015 -
At the Death House Door: Steve James on the Roger Ebert Doc, Life Itself
Two heavyweights of Chicago film culture, director Steve James and the iconic late film critic Roger Ebert were fond of each other from afar for years. It wasn’t until James was charged with making a cinematic document of Ebert’s final months and his life and achievements that the two grew close. The filmmaker behind the masterful Chicagoland documentaries Hoop Dreams and The Interrupters gives us an up close and personal look at the final months of Ebert’s life, crafting both a tough-minded look at his physical decline and a warm-hearted celebration of a singular cultural figure’s life and work. James, […]
by Brandon Harris on Jul 1, 2014 -
“This Is The Guy”: Steve James, Roger Ebert and Life Itself
“Who the fuck are you?” Fueled on booze, Flamo was raging. Someone had told the cops he had stashed guns in his house, and so his mum and brother were handcuffed and led away. Craving revenge but thinking better, Flamo phoned Cobe (pronounced KOH-bay), someone he met years earlier in the county jail who was now a violence interruptor, counseling young gangbangers like Flamo to chill out and stop drawing blood in Chicago’s crime-ravaged South Side. When Cobe arrived, Flamo was stunned to find some white man filming him. Luckily, Cobe knew how to vouch for the white man to the youth he […]
by Allan Tong on Mar 26, 2014 -
Should You Stream Your Festival Premiere on VHX?
Good podcast conversation today at TFI Live with Jason Guerrasio speaking with producer Marilyn Ness (E-TEAM) and Indiegogo’s John T. Trigonis about the nascent trend of live streaming features for crowdfunding backers. They discuss the live stream of Steve James’ Life Itself alongside its Sundance premiere. For $25, 1,900 Indiegogo backers took James and his team up on their offer. Trigonis talks about the effort from the Indiegogo point of view, and Ness discusses why she and her team couldn’t do such a release. The conversation expands to include discussion of the types of films that would and would not […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 25, 2014 -
Full Frame Film Festival Announces 2014 Lineup
The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival today announced its lineup for the festival to be held April 3-6 in Durham. Along with the full list of feature and short documentaries are a Full Frame Tribute to veteran documentarian Steve James and the titles in the Thematic Program, which this year is called “Approaches to Character” and is under the curation of Lucy Walker. In a response to the honor of a retrospective, James said, “I’m excited to have so many of my films play again in front of the appreciative audiences at Full Frame. It will give me a rare opportunity […]
by Randy Astle on Mar 13, 2014 -
Steve James, Head Games
In my early teens, I played football at Moeller High School. Like most of the children who sought to play for the school that had for decades fielded one of the country’s preeminent high school football teams, the game consumed my life. For a brief period, I would have sacrificed anything to be a starting Crusader footballer. For a time, on the freshman team, I was. A mammoth child (I’ve slimmed a bit since then), although not nearly as mammoth as some of my peers, I played offensive line, where one’s head normally rams, time after time, against that of a […]
by Brandon Harris on Sep 21, 2012 -
RECAPPING THE 2012 CINEMA EYE HONORS
The backlash against the Academy’s recent changes to its nomination policies for documentary films contrasted with the casual atmosphere of last night’s Cinema Eye Honors. In an intimate theater at the Museum of the Moving Image, the pillars of the documentary community gathered to celebrate the breadth and diversity of their craft. In attendance were Frederick Wiseman, Al Maysles, Steve James, Alex Gibney, Michael Moore, Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky and many more. Founder and co-host AJ Schnack spoke of the Cinema Eyes evolution prior to the awards: “Some things about Cinema Eye are the same as they were that first time that we gathered […]
by Daniel James Scott on Jan 12, 2012 -
FAVORITE FILM FESTIVAL EVENT 2011: MEET THE MAKERS WITH STEVE JAMES
One of the best things about the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, which took place November 16th–27th, is how community-inclusive the fest is, with most activities, from interactive exhibitions to informal master classes, open to the public free of charge. (Indeed, it’s possible to get your cinephile fix on a daily basis without ever buying a movie ticket.) And one of this year’s truly informative events was a Meet the Makers discussion at the Escape Club on Rembrandtplein hosted by Canadian documentarian Peter Wintonick. IDFA guest Steve James, who was honored with a retrospective, was there that Saturday morning to […]
by Lauren Wissot on Jan 6, 2012 -
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH: STEVE JAMES’ “THE INTERRUPTERS”
Originally published in our Summer 2011 issue, I sat down with Steve James to talk about his latest documentary, The Interrupters. Nominated for Best Documentary for this year’s Gotham Independent Film Awards, this could be the start of a busy award season for the film and its veteran director. From the interview: Though the film touches on some horrible aspects of Chicago, it also has a lot of hope in it. It is kind of a love letter to your city. We wanted the film to be raw, immersive, and uncompromising, but we also didn’t want it to be one […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Nov 7, 2011 -
SUMMER ’11 ISSUE ONLINE
Select stories from our Summer issue are now available, including this year’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. You can also read online our interviews with Steve James on his new film The Interrupters, Evan Glodell talks about Bellflower and doc filmmaker Paul Devlin looks at the battle between documentary filmmakers and the IRS. Plus, columns Culture Hacker, Industry Beat and more. The issue hits stands next week, but you can read it now on your desktop by subscribing to our digital issue. Learn more here. Enjoy.
by Jason Guerrasio on Jul 20, 2011
