All these wonderful things

David Hudson Bids Farewell to "The Daily"

For those who care about film writing, today's news from David Hudson came as a shock:

"I won't be returning to this particular spot, though you may see my byline appearing now and then elsewhere at IFC.com; the Daily, at least as we've known it and watched it evolve over the past six years, won't be returning, either. But that doesn't mean I'll stop doing what I do; I've been dreaming up a new format and, if all goes according to plan, it'll be rolling out slowly in two phases at an entity that'll be named when that entity's good and ready."

Good luck, David, we are certainly going to miss you and your tireless work.

Academy Invites Rachel Grady, James Marsh, Scott Kennedy, Doug Pray and More to Join

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced their new list of invitees to join the Documentary Branch - and whereas in past years the invite list topped out at three or four, this year the Academy has invited seven to join, including two of last year's winners - James Marsh (MAN ON WIRE) and Megan Mylan (SMILE PINKI).

Also welcomed: William Gazecki (nominated for WACO: THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT in 1997), Rachel Grady (nominated for JESUS CAMP in 2007; co-director Heidi Ewing was previously invited to join), Rory Kennedy (director of GHOSTS OF ABU GHRAIB and executive producer of the Oscar nominated STREET FIGHT), Scott Hamilton Kennedy (nominated for THE GARDEN last year) and Doug Pray (director of HYPE!, SCRATCH and this year's ART & COPY).

LOS ANGELES 2009: Carlos Hagerman & Juan Carlos Rulfo's Stunning THOSE WHO REMAIN Named Top Doc

THOSE WHO REMAIN (LOS QUE SE QUEDAN), Carlos Hagerman and Juan Carlos Rulfo's beautifully etched portrait of families left behind in Mexico as loved ones go to the US for work, took the grand jury prize for Best Documentary at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. 

The jurors - including film critic David Ansen, filmmaker Anna Boden and last year's winner, LOOT director Darius Marder - noted the film's perfect blend of artistry and journalism in awarding the prize at the LAFF Awards Brunch Sunday morning.

In accepting their award from Spirit Award winning actress Melissa Leo, co-director Hagerman thanked the Los Angeles Film Festival and also noted BANANAS!* director Frederick Gertten, whose film was moved out of competition amidst controversy over whether the lead character had committed fraud.  Hagerman said that it was his wish that everyone would get to see BANANAS!* and expressed his solidarity with Gertten and the filmmakers.

The LAFF prize comes with an unrestricted grant of $50,000, which the filmmakers of THOSE WHO REMAIN told me will assist in their outreach efforts.  The film, which had its US premiere at Los Angeles, has the potential to reach a varied audience - both those who have been affected personally by immigration as well as those who may have preconceived ideas about the families involved.  Hagerman and Rulfo's stunning camerawork and expert editing and use of music paint a series of portraits of families that have been affected as one or more members go north for work.  While in no way a didactic message film, the co-directors skillfully introduce larger themes that boldly challenge the stereotypes that have largely ruled the debate over immigration in the US.  And while the film doesn't shy away from the economic challenges facing the region (a series of still lifes of abandoned buildings speaks volumes), as the film reaches its climax, the filmmakers remind the audience of the traditions and celebrations that enrich the lives of those who remain in Mexico (by choice or by circumstance).

THOSE WHO REMAIN deserves a large audience both for the subtle messaging as well as its artistic craft.  It is certainly one of the best films of 2009.

LOS ANGELES 2009: Breaking the Cycle in OCTOBER COUNTRY

Portraits of families - particularly ones with quirks or disfunctions - are a proud subset of the nonfiction genre, stretching back to AN AMERICAN FAMILY and even earlier.  But recently, a number of filmmakers are addressing these issues within their own family and doing so with a sense of artistry that boosts what could have straightforward portrayals of infidelity, abuse or illness.

Within the past two years we've watched Morgan Dews' essayistic collage poem, MUST READ AFTER MY DEATH, and Jeremiah Zagar's beautifully filmed IN A DREAM, both looking to the previous generations - grandparents and parents - in their exploration of the family dynamic.

Now comes OCTOBER COUNTRY, Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher's lyrical and devastating look at Mosher's family in a small town in upstate New York where the only place left to shop is a Wal-Mart super center.  While portraits of slowly decaying towns have been captured before, few have been rendered as beautifully as OCTOBER COUNTRY, as filmed by Palmieri (who was inspired by earlier essayistic photographs taken by partner Mosher).  Through his lens, we know that Herkimer, NY (population 7500) is on the ropes, even before the film tells us (in an almost sideways reference) that the nearly Remington Arms plant may soon close and deprive the region of a major economic source.

Appropriate them that this disintegrating town, which knows it's in trouble but may not have the wherewithall to recover, is the backdrop to the Mosher family story: father Don, bottled up emotionally from Vietnam-caused PTSD; long-suffering mother Dottie and daughter (Donal's sister) Donna.  Donna has two kids of her own - teenager Danael, coping with a young baby that she can barely take care of, and precocious adolescent Desi.  Together with Chris, an "adopted" teenage shoplifter that Dottie takes in, the daughters form the heart of the film.  It is their story that poses the central question - how do you break the cycle?

Now, inherently we know that the cycle can be broken and we know that the cycle has been broken already in this family - filmmaker Donal (unseen and unreferenced in the film) is clearly an artist of considerable talents.  But Donal and Michael's unflinching view of the Mosher family causes the rest of his siblings to reflect on their own ability to escape.  Chris knows, deep in his heart, that he can do more than figure out clever ways to steal from Wal-Mart.  Danael sees herself making the same mistakes that her own, still young, mother Donna did - pregnant at a young age, attracted to abusive men.  These are not oblivious victims.  They see the path they are on but seem to have no idea how to get off.

It's in respecting the inherent intelligence of their characters that Palmieri and Mosher shine - in addition to the formality of their craft and the beauty of their compositions.  Perhaps it was essential that this family story should be told by a family member.  While the film suggests that young Desi may be the one to break the family's destructive cycles, the fact that Donal has already broken free may not just help the youngest but just may help them all.

What is the Documentarian's Responsibility When the Story Changes?

We've been thinking a lot about the issues raised by the developments surrounding Fredrik Gertten's BANANAS!*, specifically the revelations of potential fraud in the case and intimidation and threats by Dole Food Co. 

[For a primer, please read previous posts on the topic, here, here and here.]

As we see it, the filmmaker made a film and the facts on the ground changed after the filmmaker completed his film and after it was accepted by the Los Angeles Film Festival as a world premiere.

And, as far as we can ascertain, the filmmaker believes that his film is finished - he made the film that he believed to be true based on what he witnessed.  Despite the fact that a different film - perhaps a better film - could be made now that events have changed, the filmmaker would like to close the book on BANANAS!* and perhaps make a second, new film - a sequel that may or may not debunk the case made in the first film - to deal with the changing reality.

The question on the table is - is this enough?

Let's throw out the surrounding circumstances for a moment.  Let's assume that Dole Food Company is guilty.  That they have willingly - and with malice - caused workers in Latin America to be sterile by extensive exposure to pesticides.  Let us also assume that their behavior in the last few weeks, their unconscionable harrassment of a filmmaker and an arts organization (as well as said organization's sponsors and parents) is a violation of both freedom of speech as well as a smoke-screen erected to change the subject.

Let us assume the worst of Dole.

Now that we have that out of the way, what is the responsibility of filmmaker Fredrik Gertten?  Not to Dole, or even to the Los Angeles Film Festival, which, it seems to us, has been heroic in its decision to screen his film, despite threats of lawsuits and injunctions from Dole, but to the audience?  What is the responsibility of a nonfiction filmmaker to leave his audience with the closest approximation of truth?

FIND/LAFF Statement on Last Night's Screening of BANANAS!*

More soon on last night's extraordinary screening and surrounding events on the UCLA campus for Fredrik Gertten's BANANAS!*  But here's the text of the statement handed out to audience members and later read by Film Independent director Dawn Hudson:

Welcome to our first screening of BANANAS!*

Before you watch this film, you need to know that serious questions have been raised about its credibility.

The picture you are going to see focuses on the Tellez v. Dole Food trial, which took place here in Los Angeles.  The plaintiffs' case was one of many cases put together by Los Angeles lawyer Juan Dominguez and a number of Nicaraguan lawyers against Dole for the alleged harmful effects to field workers from the pesticide DBCP used in farming bananas.  The case ended in a split verdict from the jury.

Subsequently, the judge who was managing all the Dole pesticide cases scheduled a trial with another group of plaintiffs recruited by the same lawyer.  After completion of the film and after the film's acceptance to LAFF, the court discovered fraud on the part of the plaintiffs and the plaintiffs' lawyers in this subsequent case.  Last Wednesday, June 17, 2009, the judge signed an order dismissing this second case because of fraud.  The judge specifically mentions in her ruling that the witnesses you will see in the film tonight (from the Tellez trial) lied under oath, presented false employment records, and presented fraudulent evidence of sterility.

SILVERDOCS 2009: OCTOBER COUNTRY & MUGABE Win Top Prizes

Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher's OCTOBER COUNTRY took the top US feature prize at this year's Silverdocs.  The win marked a whirwind 24 hours for the directing duo as they officially world premiered the film at the Los Angeles Film Festival Friday night, then flew east to collect their trophy and screen for the first time in Silver Spring.  OCTOBER COUNTRY is one of six films vying for the LA Film Festival's documentary prize; a second screening of the film (and Palmieri and Mosher's return to Los Angeles) comes on Thursday night.

The jury, which included filmmaker Margaret Brown, Tribeca programmer David Kwok and Cian Smyth, program director of the GAZE Film Festival, said in their statement, "We have chosen a film that has resonated with us long after we viewed it. It is a film that is subtle and intuitively creative while presenting important social issues in a surprising way."

In the world competition, jurors (filmmakers Esther B. Robinson & Geoffrey Smith and Hot Docs Programming Manager Karina Rotenstein) selected MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN.  The film, directed by Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson, premiered last month at Hot Docs.

Both filmmaking teams receive $10,000 with their win.

A full list a Silverdocs prizes after the jump.

James Longley's Translator Reportedly Detained, Beaten in Tehran While Covering Election Aftermath

For the last two years, Oscar nominated filmmaker James Longley (IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS) has been at work (and basically living) in Iran, as he worked on his new documentary film.

24 hours ago, we exchanged emails.  He'd been posting to the D-Word online community about his experiences in Tehran in the aftermath of the recent contested elections and rare public protests.  He gave me permission to reprint his comments here on the blog.

Sunday night, before I'd had an opportunity to post his observances, a mutual friend emailed me his most recent post, a first-person account of the detention and beating of Longley's translator.

Here, in order, are Longley's posts over the last 3 days.  They show the situation in Iran escalating by the hour.:

Right now the incumbent camp is declaring itself the big winner. In fact, they are declaring at Ahmadinejad has won an unprecedented landslide.

From what I've seen, the opposite was more likely the case.

At the moment, off-hand, I would expect some rather upset people in Iran when they wake up on Saturday.

_______________________________

(Responding to a suggestion that revolution my be at hand and rumors that opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi has been arrested.)

Well, revolution I don't know. It's kind of an unpopular idea here still, after the last one. I do think there's bound to be some significant social unrest, however.

Your rumor would jive with the fact that there has been no word from the Mousavi campaign all day.

All gatherings on the street have been banned and those violating the ban are arrested.

It is not possible to approach within several hundred meters the building where votes are being counted.

SMS is still not working – hasn't been working since yesterday morning. Mousavi had complained specifically about this at his press conference last night (around 10:45 pm local time) because his election monitors were to have communicated any irregularities via SMS.

All the Farsi language independent news sources that my translator usually uses to read up on the elections are now blocked.

Tehran's chief of police has reportedly said he hasn't heard anything about the incident yesterday evening at Mousavi's campaign headquarters where armed men burst into the offices and threatened the mostly youthful staff – which is odd since hundreds of riot police were on hand in the scene that followed, as well as the deputy chief of police.

_______________________________

12:12 pm

The rumor about Mousavi being arrested is only that – a rumor. Nothing of the kind happened.

Right now the official election results have still not been announced, so it may be that the Mousavi campaign is wrangling in the background and doesn't want to make any public statements yet.

At the moment, the city seems quiet but tense.

Happy Birthday to Us (or the Blog Turns Four)

Four years ago today we launched this space with no idea of what it would become.  As we've said ad infinitum, we imagined this blog might be a place to chronicle the making of KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON, the film that we were about to embark upon.  Now, on our fourth birthday, we are flying to Washington DC, preparing to launch our latest film.

One of the most interesting challenges as we've evolved (or devolved depending on your POV) has been finding a balance between our public conversation about nonfiction filmmaking and our personal interests - whether they be our own filmmaking or relationships with others in the community.  As we prepare to debut CONVENTION - and as we continue working on our Branson film - we hope to continue our conversation with you and with the nonfiction form itself as fully and completely as we are able.  And we hope that you'll bear with us during those patches when we disappear for awhile.

The other day I wrote the following to a friend:

I feel like I am still learning how to balance the private me - the person who can have direct, impassioned conversations with friends, peers, associates over films and issues - with the public me, who I feel should strive to be less of a grenade thrower and more of a persuader.  4 years into my blog run and it's a constant education.

There will be times when the lines blur, when I grab some righteous anger by the collar and spew forth here with much indignation.  I ask for your forebearance.

My thanks for your constant support and encouragement and also for the occasional whack aside the head.  Here's to year number 5.

Citing "Serious Threat", BANANAS!* Filmmakers Seek to Rally Documentary Community Behind Film, Against Dole

Last night we posted on the controversy surrounding the new documentary BANANAS!* that is set to premiere one week from today at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Now, in "A Letter to the International Documentary Community" the filmmakers are reaching out to their colleagues, hoping to rally their peers to unite behind the film and against Dole Food and its team of lawyers.

While much of the letter shares language with a post on the film's website, it's a much more specific appeal, calling the actions of Dole and its lawyers "a serious threat to independent documentary production".

The complete letter after the jump.