Overview

The New York International Documentary Film Festival enters its third year with an ambitious program of 17 international film selections, its largest program to date. The Festival runs from June 2 to 6, with screenings held at the Directors Guild of America Theater. For its gala Opening Night Screening on May 31 at the historic Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Festival will present the US premiere of Argentinian director Daniel Rosenfeld's musical documentary, Saluzzi: Composition For Bandoneon and Three Brothers. The film explores the unique artistry of accordionist Dino Saluzzi whose exceptional compositions with the bandoneon, a square accordion with a special sound, communicate the unique life spirit of the tango. Saluzzi himself will perform at the reception following the screening.

Other US Premieres include Family Secret (France/US), director Pol Rapaport's heartfelt family drama about her discovery of a long lost brother living in Romania whose existence was a family secret uncovered only after her father's death; One Man, Six Wives and Twenty-Nine Children (UK), director Jane Treays' disturbing account of a Utah polygamist with six wives and twenty nine children, who must defend himself against accusations of rape, incest and bigamy; and Russia's Wonder Children (Germany), an inspiring look at musical child prodigies at Moscow's prestigious Central Music School directed by Irene Langemann. Two of the gifted musicians will perform after the screening.

The Festival will host 10 New York Premieres including Scottsboro: An American Tragedy (US), a hit at this year's Sundance Film Festival, which examines the explosive case of the Scottsboro Boys, young blacks in racist 1930s America who were convincted without evidence of raping a white woman, directed by Barak Goodman and Daniel Anker; Benjamin Smoke (US), Jem Cohen and Peter Sillen's riveting story of punk music performer Smoke whose singular personality and performing style is vividly captured before his death from AIDS last year; Shine: An Exemplary Israeli Citizen (Israel), a compelling portrait of Avraham Shine, a Tel Aviv street poet who discourses on the spiritual disorder of the world, directed by Gidi Dar; Dice World (UK), Paul Wilmhurst's atmospheric exploration of the philosophy of cult novelist Luke Rinehart, a fatalist whose best selling "The Dice Man" instructs readers to decide every important decision in life by toss of the dice; and Keep The River On Your Right (US), directed by siblings David and Laurie Gwen Shapiro, is the amazing account of 1950's explorer Tobias Schneebaum,described as "New York's only gay Jewish ex-cannibal" whose exploits along the Amazon River were chronicled in a scandalous best selling novel.

Other New York Premieres include The Prince Is Back (France/Russia), director Marina Goldovskaya's absorbing story of a Russian prince who returns to Russia after years in exile to reclaim his position and property destroyed by Russian history; First Person Plural (US), director Deann Borshay's autobiographical story of her determination to unravel the mysteries of her past and discover her true identity and family; Stranger With A Camera (US), an absorbing investigation into the shooting of a Canadian filmmaker in rural Kentucky, directed by Appalachian director Elizabeth Barret; W.I.S.O.R. (US), director Michel Negroponte (Jupiter's Wife) latest meditation on the unseen wonders of New York City; and Well Founded Fear (US), a shattering expose of the practices of the US Immigration Service, the government agency that determines the fate of thousands of immigrants each year, directed by Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini.

The Festival will close with the US Premiere of Cinema Verite: Defining the Moment (Canada), director Peter Wintonick's spirited look at the original cinema verite filmmakers of the 1960s from the US, Canada, England and France, including such masters as D.A. Pennebaker, Frederik Wiseman, Jean Rouch, Ricky Leacock, Albert Maysles and others. Many of the filmmakers chronicled in the film will be present at the screening.

In addition to screenings, the Festival will present two panels: New Technology Showcase, an in-depth exploration on the impact of new technologies on documentary production and Dialogues with Ricky Leacock and DOCFEST 2000 Directors, with the venerable Cinema Verite pioneer joining his fellow documentarians for a round-table exchange of views on the latest in documentary thought, technique and technology.

With sponsor Skyy Vodka, the Festival has established several cash awards for competing films. The Jury Prize for Excellence In Documentary Films, voted by a distinguished panel of judges, includes a US $10,000 cash award for the film's director. The Audience Prize, determined by ballots from audience members, includes a US $5000 cash award. US $1000 will be awarded to five student documentary filmmakers from New York City film schools.

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Wrap-up

The New York International Documentary Festival, one of the only film festivals in North America devoted exclusively to the showing of non-fiction film, concluded its ambitious program of 17 films with a Gala Awards Ceremony on June 6 at the Directors Guild of America Theater. Announcements were made of the newly established Skyy Prizes, sponsored by Skyy Vodka.

Winner of the $10,000 Jury Prize for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking was Well-Founded Fear, an eye-opening look at the government agency responsible for admitting immigrants to the United States. Determining the fate of thousands of immigrants each year, the Agency is revealed to be rotting away from within due to sheer incompetence, racism and abuse of power. In light of the controversy surrounding the young Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez and his forceful abduction by government forces to be reunited with his Cuban father, the issues of the film and its critique of the Immigration Service are particularly relevant and disturbing.

Directors Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson were there to accept the prize from DOCFEST Board of Directors' chairman and jury member John Roche, who presented the awards on behalf of Skyy Vodka CEO Maurice Kanbar. Other members of the jury were Nicole Guillemet, Vice President of the Sundance Institute and Co-Director of the Sundance Film Festival; documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy; filmmaker Leonard Lopate, host of WNYC Television's "New York and Company;" and educator John Reilly.

Winner of the $5,000 Audience Award was Barak Goodman and Daniel Anker's Scottsboro: An American Tragedy, a comprehensive look at the controversial trial of a group of young black men who were accused in the 1930's of raping a white woman in the deep south of Alabama. Now acknowledged as one of the most severe miscarriages of justice in American history, the film brings to life the tragedy of these young men and the system of prejudice that sealed their fate. First runner-up for the Audience Award was David and Laurie Gwen Shapiro's Keep The River On Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale, the story of a 1950's explorer whose exploits along the Amazon River were chronicled in a scandalous best-selling novel.

Five Student Skyy Prizes of $1000 each were awarded to New York City film students selected by the faculty and deans of their respective institutions. On hand to collect their prizes were Carrie Schultz, New School University; Tom Glynn and Ayad Stehle-Akhtar, Columbia University; Sophie Goodhart, New York University; Sarah Ko, School of Visual Arts; and Christelene Henry, Hunter College.

The Awards Ceremony was held following the screening of the Festival's Closing Night Film, the US premiere of Cinema Verite: Defining The Moment, directed by Canadian filmmaker Peter Wintonick. Described as a kind of That's Entertainment of breakthrough documentaries, the film richly chronicles the early work of such non-fiction pioneers as Frederick Wiseman (Titticut Follies), Richard Leacock (Primary), D.A. Pennebaker (Don't Look Back), Albert and David Maysles (Salesman) and Michael Brault (Les Ordres). The film accurately defines the moment in the early 1960s when documentaries lost their rigidity and became more immediate and intimate. The "verite" style created a powerful impression of true reality, even though much of what is witnessed was staged or at least only part of the overall story.

In an interview in the New York Times, director Witonick argued that these films, with their in-your-face directness and unrehearsed vitality, were an important influence on both documentary and fiction filmmakers from the 1960's to today. "That style influenced a lot of audiovisual language, from the Danish Dogma movement to music videos", Witonick stated. "It's a technique that still has great resonance, because it has such direct human and dramatic content."

The high point of the evening was the on-stage reunion of many of the pioneering directors featured in the film. Following a prolonged standing ovation, filmmakers Bob Drew, Ricky Leacock, Albert Maysles, D.A. Pennebaker, Barbara Kopple, William Greaves, and Terry McCartney Filgate gathered on stage and reminisced about the challenges and rewards of this revolution in documentary technique.

DOCFEST will return to the Directors Guild of America Theater in April of 2001.

FilmFestivals.com reporter
Sandy Mandelberger