SONS OF PERDITION It can be argued that what separates A list film festivals from their colleagues are the number of World Premieres that grace their theaters. No matter what the ultimate reception is for these films, the wanna-see anticipation of films in their first public and industry showings provide a sizzle. At the Tribeca Film Festival, which is entering its first weekend, there are an impressive number of World Premieres that are grabbing attention from the public and in...

Saturday, December 2-----It certainly makes logical sense that one of the world’s largest documentary film festivals would have a number of films that focused on the troubles in Iraq, but the sheer volume of them has been, at least for this journalist, an eye-opening and yet terribly difficult experience. IDFA has spared no one with some excellent and heart-rending films that continue to haunt. The films dealing with the Iraq war, at least the ones that I’ve seen, fall into two distinct ...

Monday, November 27----Three of the fifteen documentary feature films selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as contenders for this year's Best Documentary Oscar are associated with the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA). The 79th Academy Awards will be given out on Sunday, February 27, 2007 in Los Angeles. SISTERS IN LAW, co-directed by Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi, opened last year's Festival and also copped the prestigious IDFA Audi...

Saturday/Sunday, November 25/26----The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has announced the "short list" of feature documentaries that will compete for Best Documentary honors at the 79th Academy Awards in February, 2007. The AMPAS Documentary Screening Committee viewed 81 eligible documentary features, shortening the list to 16 contenders. From this group will come the 5 films that will be compete for the final Best Documentary Oscar. Films on the "short list" include such r...