After the intense (and enjoyable) experience of sitting through at least 15 documentary feature films over 4 days at the just concluded AFI-Discovery Channel Documentary Festival, the question organically arose: do documentaries really matter? As someone who trained in documentary filmmaking techniques (and who made a few, best to be forgotten non-fiction nothings) and an admirer of the stamina, grit and determination of the documentary filmmaker, my answer appeared more hopeful than det...
by Sandy Mandelberger, Festival Dailies Editor
As SILVERDOCS, the nation's most prominent documentary film festival, begins to hit its stride, it is worth mentioning that the documentary film has not had the charmed life at the box office as we saw earlier in the decade. While not every film can hope to reach the stratosphere of FAHRENHEIT 911 (which had a record-shattering $120 million international box office gross in 2004), the recent crop of documentaries coming to theaters ...
Wednesday, June 20---------Members of the Jacob Burns Film Center, Westchester's most adventurous arthouse complex, will be treated to a special advance preview of one of the summer's most provocative films, Michael Moore's SICKO. The film opens wide on June 29th in wide release and is sure to stimulate discussion and serve as a lightning rod, as much if not more than Moore's previous triumph FAHRENHEIT 911. Burns Film Center members can among the first audiences to see the film...
The widely read METRO press of Paris carried an intervew this morning with Isabelle Giordano, popular Parisian TV cinema commentator, regarding her view of the upcoming 60th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. In this report "Madame Cinema", as she is known to her fans, spoke of the ongoing TV series entitled "The year at Cannes Sixty Times" which she narrates, and of her own view of "the best forty years at Cannes". Excerpts from this preview-interview follow.
Q : Were it up to you to s...
The widely read METRO press of Paris carried an intervew this morning with Isabelle Giordano, popular Parisian TV cinema commentator, regarding her view of the upcoming 60th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. In this report "Madame Cinema", as she is known to her fans, spoke of the ongoing TV series entitled "The year at Cannes Sixty Times" which she narrates, and of her own view of "the best forty years at Cannes". Excerpts from this preview-interview follow.Q : Were it up to you to selec...
In times of turmoil, the role of the documentary filmmaker becomes a thriving and essential function. When handled responsibly, their films can wake us up to a multitude of issues we haven't previously considered or been privey to.
With our country at war, several filmmakers have produced works aimed at knocking the current adminsitration's sloppy tactics and the senselessness of the war efforts they foster.
By far, it was the Vietnam-era film "Hearts and Minds" that became the beacon of what...
Jonathan Sehring
Wedneday, October 11---Jonathan Sehring, the President of IFC Entertainment and a longtime supporter of the independent film movement, will be honored at the Woodstock Film Festival with this year's Trailblazer Award. Sehring will receive the award from Oscar-nominated actor Matt Dillon, the star of IFC Films' FACTOTUM, at a special Awards Ceremony on Saturday evening.
Matt Dillon
Sehring has been a prime mover in the contemporary renaissance of American independent film. Via...
The Mill Valley Film Festival wrapped up here this week and as in years past the films themselves were the focus. Outside of New York, the Bay Area is one of the top markets for independent and foreign films, in part because the populace is diverse and highly educated. The Mill Valley festival draws more filmmakers and producers than celebrity-struck fans, which is just fine for the people showing the films -- they'd rather see word of mouth race through the industry, so they can get distributio...
“A POLITICAL THUNDERBOLT”UNCOVERED: THE WAR ON IRAQScreeners available upon requestLOS ANGELES, CA – June 8, 2004 - Demand for the feature length documentaryUNCOVERED: THE WAR ON IRAQ has grown exponentially since its highly successful world premiere at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Worldwide distributor Cinema Libre International is fielding offers throughout Europe and Asia and the film has been requested by film festivals such as; Munich, London, Deauville, Venice, Stockholm and Locar...
The Palme d'Or of this 57th edition of the Festival de Cannes was presented by Charlize Theron to Michael Moore for his film, Fahrenheit 9/11."I can't begin to express my appreciation and my gratitude to the jury, the Festival, to Gilles Jacob, Thierry Frémaux, Bob and Harvey at Miramax, to all of the crew who worked on the film. [...] I have a sneaking suspicion that what you have done here and the response from everyone at the festival, you will assure that the American people will see this f...
As predicted, Michael Moore takes home the Palme d'or for 'Fahrenheit 911',"the temperature in which freedom burns", the first documentary film to win the highest award at Cannes since Jacques Costeau's 'Silent World' in 1956.Upon receiving the honor Moore exclaimed: "What have you done? I'm completely overwhelmed by this. Merci."The film is an unusual documentary with interviews, news clips and free lance journalism, that reports the news that doesn't get reported by major networks about the Bu...
Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911 has been tipped as the Cannes Palme d'or Winner. The film which is a scrutinizing look at the Bush regime handling of events during 911 and the aftermath, has already won the FIPRESCI award for international journlaists. Moore who was in Cannes to present his film supposedly will add sections to the film after the premiere as events develop closer to election time for Bush....
As predicted, Michael Moore takes home the Palme d'or for 'Fahrenheit 911',"the temperature in which freedom burns", the first documentary film to win the highest award at Cannes since Jacques Costeau's 'Silent World' in 1956.Upon receiving the honor Moore exclaimed: "What have you done? I'm completely overwhelmed by this. Merci."The film is an unusual documentary with interviews, news clips and free lance journalism, that reports the news that doesn't get reported by major networks about the Bu...
Michael Moore was in Cannes to present Fahrenheit 9/11 and held a press conference with Variety at the American Pavillion...
Politics is the theme of the day at Cannes May 17. Young Austrian Hans Weingartner --brings German film up to speed with 'The Edukators'. "Many young people yearn for radical political change, but there's a real lack of new suggestions," says Hans Weingartner. "We live in a society that's so individualistic that the idea of group action has become impossible, or nearly. 'The Edukators' tells a story of resistance – a story of poetic resistance." Sean Penn was on hand for 'The Assassination of ...
