Sundance Film Festival 2016
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Five Questions for Jim: The James Foley Story Director Brian Oakes
Developing a documentary about the murder of an innocent photojournalist at the hands of ISIS would be an emotional experience for any first-time feature filmmaker. Now imagine that the slain journalist in question, Jim Foley, is someone you’ve been friends with since childhood. This is the situation filmmaker Brian Oakes found himself in when making Jim: The James Foley Story, a film that looks at his friend’s death as well as the chilling aftermath the Foley family had to endure stateside. An intensely personal experience, Jim will air on HBO next month following its world premiere in the U.S. Documentary Completion section of […]
by Erik Luers on Feb 2, 2016 -
Five Questions for NUTS! Director Penny Lane
A medical doctor in name only, John R. Brinkley became famous in the ’20s and ’30s for claiming to have found an unusual cure for male impotence: all it would take was the transplantation of goat testicles into his human subjects. A hundred years removed from “discovery,” documentarian Penny Lane (whose Our Nixon was about another very larger-than-life public figure) dives into the life and times of Brinkley, a man whose entire history was based on lies and false acclaim. Filmmaker: Your first feature documentary Our Nixon is compiled from archival footage clearly relevant to American history and politics. Did you set out for your follow-up to be a […]
by Erik Luers on Feb 2, 2016 -
“The Idea of the Mother Who Leaves”: Rebecca Daly | Mammal
In every film, there is the story that you knew you were telling, the story the audience perceives. But there is always some other story, a secret story. It might be the result of your hidden motivations for making the film, or, instead, the result of themes that only became clear to you after you made the movie. It might be something very personal, or it might be a story you didn’t even know you were telling. What is your film’s secret story? For me, starting with a story, I like there to be a strong theme or idea at […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 1, 2016 -
Jim Cummings’ Thunder Road Video Diary, Part Three
In part three of Jim Cummings and team’s video diary documenting their time at Sundance, Thunder Road wins a jury prize! But before that, there’s more anxiety about networking to get through, both before and after the awards. Part one is here, part two is here.
by Vadim Rizov on Feb 1, 2016 -
DP Caleb Heymann on Evoking the Early ’90s in Sundance Winner As You Are
The first feature film from writer/director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, As You Are unfolds as the story of three teenage friends in the early 1990s. Joris-Peyrafitte hired Caleb Heymann, a fellow newcomer to feature filmmaking, to shoot the film. Heymann spoke with Filmmaker about shifting aspect ratios, vintage anamorphic lenses and the execution of a tricky long take. As You Are premiered at Sundance 2016 in the U.S. Dramatic program. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Heymann: Producer Sean Patrick Burke had seen […]
by Soheil Rezayazdi on Feb 1, 2016 -
“The Powers of These Magical Young People”: Directors Keith Fulton and Lou Pepe | The Bad Kids
In every film, there is the story that you knew you were telling, the story the audience perceives. But there is always some other story, a secret story. It might be the result of your hidden motivations for making the film, or, instead, the result of themes that only became clear to you after you made the movie. It might be something very personal, or it might be a story you didn’t even know you were telling. What is your film’s secret story? What does a girl-servant of wizards who’s ashamed of her magical powers have to do with a […]
by Soheil Rezayazdi on Feb 1, 2016 -
An Innocent Children’s Holiday? Roger Ross Williams on “Black Pete” and his Short Film, Blackface
Admittedly, it was with a feeling of vindication and satisfaction that I stumbled upon Roger Ross Williams’ most recent short Blackface, now streaming on CNN. The Academy Award-winning director — whose feature Life, Animated premiered this week in the US Documentary Competition at Sundance — is a recent transplant to the Netherlands, and his thoughts upon first encountering Zwarte Piet (“My heart sank and I felt a little nauseated”) were a bit different from my own. As a white American, my initial reaction years ago to seeing both kids and adults in blackface and Afro wigs celebrating in the streets […]
by Lauren Wissot on Feb 1, 2016 -
“Stories of Their Pain and Personal Struggle”: Director Paddy Breathnach | Viva
In every film, there is the story that you knew you were telling, the story the audience perceives. But there is always some other story, a secret story. It might be the result of your hidden motivations for making the film, or, instead, the result of themes that only became clear to you after you made the movie. It might be something very personal, or it might be a story you didn’t even know you were telling. What is your film’s secret story? In terms of hidden motivations or narratives I’d say if they are there they are woven deep […]
by Soheil Rezayazdi on Feb 1, 2016 -
“A Fantastical Perversion of Pregnancy”: Director Danny Perez | Antibirth
In every film, there is the story that you knew you were telling, the story the audience perceives. But there is always some other story, a secret story. It might be the result of your hidden motivations for making the film, or, instead, the result of themes that only became clear to you after you made the movie. It might be something very personal, or it might be a story you didn’t even know you were telling. What is your film’s secret story? It seemed to me that the story was centered around an outsider, someone who lived a destructive […]
by Soheil Rezayazdi on Feb 1, 2016 -
“No One Slept for 30 Hours Straight”: DP Siddhartha Nuni on Shooting Brahman Naman
Styled in the vein of American slacker and teen comedies, Brahman Naman is the newest film from Indian indie filmmaker Qaushiq “Q” Mukherjee. DP Siddhartha Nuni shot the film in 23 days in the city of Bangalore. Filmmaker spoke with Nuni about his love of Trainspotting, recreating ’80s-era India and capturing the “confused teenage mind visually.” Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Nuni: The director of the film Q was looking for a cinematographer who had an experience of working under the constraints with which […]
by Soheil Rezayazdi on Jan 31, 2016
