All these wonderful things

SILVERDOCS 2009: Maysles, Reinert, Berlinger, Timoner, Cutler, Teno, Baichwal & More in Special Programs & Spectrum

Yesterday, we had Silverdocs' Competition Lineup.  Here's the rest of this year's feature films to be watched in Silver Spring, starting with the Special Programs (Spectrum & Retrospective titles are after the jump).:

Opening Night
MORE THAN A GAME / USA
Directed by Kristopher Belman
A remarkable coming-of-age story about friendship and loyalty in the face of great adversity, Kristopher Belman's MORE THAN A GAME follows the incredible rise (and occasional fall) of five talented young basketball players from Akron, Ohio. Led by future NBA superstar LeBron James and coached by the charismatic yet initially inexperienced Dru Joyce III, whose son is on the team, the "Fab Five’s” improbable seven-year journey leads them from a decrepit inner-city gym to the doorstep of a national high school championship.

Closing Night
THE NINE LIVES OF MARION BARRY / USA
Directed by Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer
Many people remember Marion Barry as the scandalous mayor of the nation's capital, who was famously caught in a 1990 FBI sting operation. Yet others know him as a folk hero, a civil rights champion and defender of the poor. Barry's soaring achievements, catastrophic failures and phoenix-like rebirths have made him a symbol of mythic indestructibility. Who is Marion Barry, really? A hero? A scoundrel? Why is he such a polarizing force? And why do people still vote for him? For the first time, THE NINE LIVES OF MARION BARRY reveals the complete, unforgettable story.

Centerpiece
CONVENTION / USA
Directed by AJ Schnack
In this anticipated ensemble documentary, AJ Schnack assembles an all-star crew of documentary filmmakers to tell the story of the mounting of one of the biggest events of the decade: the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The film captures Denver through the eyes of organizers, reporters, police and protesters leading up to the historic nomination of Barack Obama.

Special Programs

FACING ALI / USA
Directed by Pete McCormack
The film chronicles 10 heavyweight boxers who faced and fought The Greatest—Muhammad Ali. The film reveals the men who stepped into the ring with the three-time heavyweight champion, including Larry Holmes, Joe Frazier and George Foreman. Rare archival film footage and classic photos combine with original intimate interviews that highlight Ali’s colorful combatants.

RIP: A REMIX MANIFESTO / USA
Directed by Brett Gaylor
Pivoting off the example of mash-up artist Girl Talk, web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores the nature of creativity, commerce and copyright in the 21st century, incorporating never-before seen footage.

SPLITTING HAIRS / USA
Directed by F. Stone Roberts
Meet Americans Bruce Roe and Phil Olsen as they prep for the World Beard and Moustache Championships in Germany, where “bearded stallions” compete for top chops at the 30-year-old event.  But the real rivalry between the two is for the presidency of the World Beard and Moustache Association. Who knew facial hair clubs were so cutthroat?

THIRD COAST INTERNATIONAL AUDIO FESTIVAL / USA
Documentary film salutes documentary audio.  In a darkened room, listen to the best, most compelling and most entertaining documentary programs made for radio and the internet.

More Moore is Coming and Will Oscilloscope Find Their First Big Doc Hit With Gondry's THORN?

Two big pieces of distribution news breaking in the last few days.  First are details regarding the release of Michael Moore's latest documentary, looking at the global financial collapse.  Overture Films and Paramount Vantage will release the film in theaters on October 2.  With that timing, one might expect to see the still untitled film at a certain major film festival in early September.

Also, one of the few docs that screened at this year's Cannes Film Festival was from world-class narrative filmmaker Michel Gondry (is it any wonder?).  Word Tuesday at indieWIRE that Oscilloscope Laboratories, one of the most aggressive acquirers of nonfiction titles this past year, has picked up the film, a look at Gondry's aunt and cousin, who live in rural France.  Could it be the first breakout doc hit for the company, which saw box office disappointment this weekend with a just fair opening for the festival hit BURMA VJ?

SILVERDOCS 2009: US Competition Includes RACING DREAMS, OCTOBER COUNTRY & SWEETHEARTS

Last week, Silverdocs announced both the competition slates for its US, World and Music competitions, as well as its full line-up of features that are screening at this year's fest, which is now - holy smokes - less than three weeks away. 

First off are this year's titles in the US Feature Competition (World and Music are after the break).  Descriptions are from the fests:

GOOD FORTUNE
Directed by Landon Van Soest
The West has spent billions of dollars over the years on aid to Africa, yet poverty persists. GOOD FORTUNE examines two multi-million dollar international aid projects that may actually be undermining the very communities they seek to help. World Premiere.

JUNIOR
Directed by Jenna Rosher
Even though he was diagnosed with diabetes in his teens, Eddie “Junior” Belasco, now 75, has always lived life to its fullest. After a long career in show biz, Junior is on the verge of retirement. He struggles to maintain his youthfulness, taking inspiration from his 99-year-old mother. World Premiere.

MRS. GOUNDO’S DAUGHTER
Directed by Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater
Mrs. Goundo is on a quest to spare her 2-year-old daughter, Djenebou, from the same severe act she endured as a child: genital cutting. Millions of young girls have taken part in this West African tradition, which dates back thousands of years. Mrs. Goundo and her husband settle in Philadelphia, only to face deportation and the labyrinthine US judicial system. World Premiere.

MY NEIGHBOR, MY KILLER
Directed by Anne Aghion
After Rwanda was torn apart by ethnic division, the government put into place the Gacaca Tribunals—open-air hearings with citizen-judges intended to try their neighbors and rebuild the nation. This remarkable film explores whether it is possible to live again amongst people who slaughtered your family.

OCTOBER COUNTRY
Directed by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher
This finely crafted portrait of a family in crisis is a beautiful representation of America’s poor. The film is a haunting multigenerational story of a working-class family coping with poverty, teen pregnancy, foster care and the ineffable horrors of child molestation and war. East Coast Premiere.

OFF AND RUNNING
Directed by Nicole Opper
Avery is an accomplished African-American teenager adopted by Jewish lesbians. Her curiosity about her birth mother becomes a painful examination of race and identity that upends the family and threatens to derail Avery’s dreams.

THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS
Directed by Patrick Shen
Some people we revere, some we despise and others we simply ignore. The figure of the invisible janitor at last acquires a face, name, and personality in this probing look at the wisdom that comes from lives lived fully. World Premiere.

RACING DREAMS
Directed by Marshall Curry
In this rousing look at youth, passion and tricked-out go-karts, Oscar-nominated director Marshall Curry (STREET FIGHT) profiles three unforgettable pre-teen speedsters as they dream of professional racing stardom while competing in the World Karting Association championships.

SHE IS THE MATADOR (ELLA ES EL MATADOR)
Directed by Gemma Cubero and Celeste Carrasco
The surprising history of female bullfighters is revealed in this artful portrait of two women struggling to succeed in one of the last strongholds of Spanish machismo. As Italian-born novice Eva fights for recognition and her veteran counterpart Mari Paz contemplates retirement, the travails of both athletes illuminate this controversial blood sport. US Premiere.

SWEETHEARTS OF THE PRISON RODEO
Directed by Bradley Beesley
Once a year at the Oklahoma Prison Rodeo in McAlester, Oklahoma, an eight-second bull ride becomes the most important time in the world. Director Bradley Beesley takes us along with male and female convicts as they compete and train for slots at this unique rough-stock rodeo. East Coast Premiere.

THE WINDMILL MOVIE
Directed by Alexander Olch
Richard P. Rogers was a celebrated documentarian who, despite amassing more than 20 years’ and 200 hours’ worth of footage, was never able to complete his autobiographical magnum opus. After his death, a former student, Alexander Olchs, excavates Rogers’s archives and creates a complex portrait of an endearing and contradictory artist and man.

Jay Bennett, Whose Wilco Break-Up Was Center of I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART, Dies at 45

Jim DeRogatis breaks the news:

"Jay Bennett, a rock musician with deep ties to Chicago best known as a former member of Wilco, died early Sunday morning in downstate Urbana, where he had been running a recording studio, according to a spokesman for his family...

"Early this morning, Jay died in his sleep and an autopsy is being performed," said Edward Burch, a friend and musician who collaborated with Bennett on the 2005 album "The Palace at 4 a.m." "The family is in mourning and is unavailable for comment at this time."...

Bennett was working at a VCR repair shop in Champaign when he was tapped to join Wilco as it toured in support of its first album, "A.M." A talented arranger and versatile musician who could play virtually any instrument he picked up, from mandolin to Mellotron, Bennett formed a fruitful partnership with Wilco bandleader Jeff Tweedy. His contributions over a seven-year period were key to the albums that resulted in the band's national breakthrough, including "Being There" (1996), "Summerteeth" (1999) and "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" (2002).

Relations between Bennett and Tweedy, both painstaking perfectionists, soured during the latter recording, as documented in the film "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," and Bennett left the band. Earlier this month, Bennett filed a lawsuit against Tweedy for breach of contract and unpaid artist's royalties, stemming in part from his role in the film."

(h/t MCN.)

Twittering the Palme

We've only been paying peripheral attention to this year's Cannes Film Festival, a.) because we're up to our necks in preparing for our World Premiere, and b.) because the doc developments haven't exactly been what you'd call breathtaking, although Raphaela has done a good job keeping up with the social scene (here, here, here and here) and breaking the news - to me at least - that Bulgarian superstar docmakers Andrey Paounov (THE MOSQUITO PROBLEM AND OTHER STORIES) and Boris Depodov (CORRIDOR 8) were seeking money for a new animated film.

But I have been kept abreast by the twitter feeds of a few colleagues who have been steadfastly reporting their thoughts, reviews and whereabouts during their days in the south of France.  So, today, I was getting the prize winners in somewhat real time as I had my morning coffee, and I was interested to note that @FilmmakerMag, @alisonwilmore, @KarinaLongworth, @MattDentler, @erickohn, @laurex, @dwhtwit, @BRM and @The_AV_Club all had Michael Haneke's THE WHITE RIBBON as this year's Palme D'Or winner earlier - and in some cases hours - before @nytimes.  Not an earth-shattering revelation, I grant you.

And Kim Longinotto Wept...

...as Adam Lambert was runner-up on this year's American Idol.  Although he did place higher than Danny Gokey, so maybe he still prevailed in the "battle for the soul of America".

HOT DOCS 2009: Those Pesky Recreations of BURMA VJ

There is no question that, if we are to judge by festival juries alone, Anders Østergaard’s BURMA VJ is the most acclaimed film of the last six months.  Beginning with its back-to-back jury wins at Copenhagen and IDFA, followed in January by the Editing Prize at Sundance and, finally, the Grand Jury Prize at Full Frame.  HBO acquired the rights to the film just before Sundance and Oscilloscope will be releasing the film this month, with a kick off at NYC’s Film Forum.

I was both early and late to the BURMA VJ party.  The first night of my arrival in Copenhagen, I was sitting in the hotel lobby drinking wine with other attendees when Matt Dentler told me that there was a film that everyone was talking about, the film of the festival.  So I wasn’t surprised to hear BURMA VJ called out twice as a winner a couple of nights later at the awards ceremonies.

But I didn’t get a chance to see BURMA VJ at Copenhagen, nor at Sundance, nor at True/False, nor at SXSW (our colleague Nathan Truesdell wrote about the film last month), so when I finally grabbed my seat at the Bloor Cinema in Toronto the other night, I had high expectations.  Very high.  Maybe too high.

INTERVIEW: Kim Longinotto on Her Adam Lambert Obsession and Her Idea of a Perfect Sunday

This Friday, the Museum of Modern Art in NYC will launch its two-week retrospective on the great British filmmaker Kim Longinotto, whose ROUGH AUNTIES won the International Grand Jury Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

Before sitting down to talk with Longinotto at Toronto's Hot Docs Festival on Tuesday (where ROUGH AUNTIES is screening), I was pondering what questions I wanted to ask of her.  Low and behold I picked up a copy of Canada's free music magazine Exclaim and found an interview with Depeche Mode's Martin Gore with questions that I suspected were not among those that were usually being fired at Longinotto, whom MOMA describes, quite appropriately, as follows:

"One of the foremost documentary filmmakers working today, Kim Longinotto is renowned internationally for her compellingly human portraits and her sensitive and compassionate treatment of difficult topics. By seeking out, observing, and following the untold stories of women's daily lives, she has created cinéma vérité portraits of the larger society and cultural customs."

So, herewith, we query Kim Longinotto with exactly the same questions posed to Depeche Mode's Gore.  The result is an interview that will long remain one of our favorites:

What are you up to?
I’m just about to do a panel thing (here at Hot Docs) with Tabitha Jackson, who I rather like.  She’s at Channel 4.  I get to ask her questions.

What are your current fixations?
My current fixation is (American Idol contestant) Adam Lambert.  Can I be honest?  I think that the battle between him and Danny Gokey is a battle for the soul of America.  I think what’s interesting is that he says that he’s been watching (the show) since he was 18 and he waited to audition until he was 27.  I think he was waiting until America was ready for (a gay contestant).

Why do you live where you do?
I live near the Arsenal football grounds.  I started living there because I rented with my favorite flat mate of all time, Colin.  He had a place there and we shared a one bedroom flat.  We’ve now graduated to a house.  It’s a very nice place to live.

Name something you consider a mind-altering work of art:
The thing I saw that most affected me in the last couple of years was THE LIVES OF OTHERS and I thought a lot about why it affected me.  Here is this story where a guy is spying on these people and he falls in love with them.  He's looking at them through this tiny hole.  And, in a way, I hope that is what documentary does.  You fall in love with the people you watch and it changes the way you see the world.  It was a very hopeful film about what films can do.

And also Thomas Turgoose in THIS IS ENGLAND.  He was the young boy.  I thought he was wonderful.

What has been your most memorable or inspirational gig and why?
I was at a Clash gig in Notre Dame Church in London and a guy got beaten to death.  They were punching him to death.  People were just standing around watching.  I was shouting but I couldn’t stop it.  There’s another one – they’re both terrible experiences.  It was a Buju Banton gig and it was a song, an anti-gay song that was "kill gay men" and everyone was holding up their lighters.  And I was with a friend and I was shouting and my friend was telling me not to shout.  Both of these stories, they're terrible, are about being powerless.  I liked Buju until then.  Never listened to him since.

LOS ANGELES 2009: New Documentaries from Juan Carlos Rulfo, Hilla Medalia, Fredrik Gertten, OCTOBER COUNTRY & CONVENTION

The Los Angeles Film Festival unveiled its 2009 slate this AM at an early morning press conference hosted by AMBULANTE! founders Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna.  Seven films are in this year's competition, including new work from acclaimed international filmmakers Juan Carlos Rulfo (whose work incudes Sundance jury winner IN THE PIT) Hilla Medalia (TO DIE IN JERUSALEM) and Fredrik Gertten (AN ORDINARY FAMILY).  The fest will also feature the official world premiere of Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher's OCTOBER COUNTRY (it had a sneak preview at True/False) and the West Coast premiere of our own CONVENTION.

After the break - this year's LAFF competition lineup with film descriptions provided by the festival:

HOT DOCS 2009: Which Came First, the Book Deal, the Blog or the Doc?

In nonfiction the relationship between the filmmaker and their subjects is of paramount importance.  Their ability of a subject to trust, to open up their lives, often makes the difference in a film's quality, its depth and its ability to convey larger truths.

It is also one of the most mysterious, often purposefully and uncomfortably so, parts of what we do.  The ways in which our subjects influence the action, and the ways that filmmaker-subject relationships can affect the films we make are often shrouded.  It’s the type of conversation that can send people away or provoke eyebrow-raised New York Times articles (witness the brouhaha over Errol Morris’ admission that he paid some of his subjects).  This push-pull is so inherent to our debate about nonfiction filmmaking that it forms the basic disagreement between the schools of "direct cinema" and "cinema verite" - the former which struggles to present the action unimpeded and unaffected, the latter an inherent admission that the presence of the camera and the filmmaker cannot help but change what occurs, whether there is further provocation or not.

Throughout our history, the role of the subject has been occasionally murky.  Recently, a string of acclaimed films have further blurred the line, finding subjects acting on both sides of the camera – as amateur cinematographer (TROUBLE THE WATER), as co-director and editor (THE BETRAYAL) and Executive Producer (TYSON).  Indeed, the exceptional Czech film RENE (screening at Hot Docs) – an award winner in Europe that had a quiet US premiere at SXSW (and one that we will deal with in greater depth shortly) – has the filmmaker-subject dynamic as one of its major threads.

In Michel Orion Scott's OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY, the relationship between filmmaker and subject is as transparent as one could hope it to be, which is to say honest and on the surface, even as it raises questions over the subject’s involvement in the project.