All these wonderful things

HBO Screens Obama Doc, BY THE PEOPLE, for TV Critics; Oscar Run Next Week

On Wednesday night at the Television Critics Association's annual gathering in Pasadena, HBO screened BY THE PEOPLE: THE ELECTION OF BARACK OBAMA, the much-anticipated look at the making of the President's electoral campaign by filmmakers Amy Rice and Alicia Sams.  It kicks off an Oscar qualifying run in NY and LA next week before landing on HBO in early November.

The film has been the subject of much speculation, and it appears that Variety's Wilshire & Washington blog has the first extended take on the film:

"This documentary isn't THE WAR ROOM, D.A. Pennebaker's 1993 documentary about the Clinton campaign that focused almost exclusively on George Stephanopoulos and James Carville. BY THE PEOPLE is less expose and more historical record, capturing the campaign from start to finish and most often in a positive light...

There are candid moments in BY THE PEOPLE: access to Michelle Obama at home with Malia and Sasha, interviews with Obama's sister and brother in law in Hawaii, an audio interview with his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who describes the child Obama as a "normal boy" who "wanted to be a big-time basketball player." But there is nothing that could possibly be embarrassing about it. Obama and, by and large his staffers, are largely calm, cool and collected in their private moments.

Obama, after three hours of shaking hands in Iowa in 2007, complains half jokingly, "It's like I've been through a wrestling match." When he is preparing for the final debate with John McCain, he tries to find just the right tone when his rival brings up William Ayers. "I don't want to sound whiny about his lies," Obama says. In another instance during the general election, Axelrod grouses, "It is getting very ugly out there. What McCain and Palin did was really irresponsible. They are inciting people."

The 100-minute movie focuses on Obama and a number of senior aides, including Plouffe and Axelrod, it also captures younger staffers in field operations, including Mike Blake, who started as deputy political director in Iowa, and Ronnie Cho, who started as Iowa field organizer."

Much more at Variety.

Turner and Bill Ross Talk About 45365's Online Launch Just 5 Months After Their SXSW Victory

Bill and Turner Ross' 45365 was one of my favorite films at this year's SXSW Film Festival - I wasn't alone, the film won the Grand Jury Prize - and has continued to be one of the films that has stayed with me.  At the time, I described it as "a non-narrative, impressionistic, whisper of a film" and in the months since Austin, it has lingered and returned to my psyche on numerous occasions, long after I'd forgotten what got me excited or turned off to numerous so-called high profile docs.

So, I must admit that I didn't quite know how to react when I started getting press releases earlier this week that the folks at SnagFilms had locked up the film for their online Summerfest.  Starting tomorrow, you'll be able to watch 45365 on your computer for one week.

As an admirer of 45365 as well as someone who admittedly is confused about what online distribution is really doing for filmmakers (three times this week I've heard someone ask, "Is anybody making any money with it?"), I had questions.  Isn't this all too fast?  Five months for an award winning film to move to free viewing online?  Won't that eliminate other possibilities for the film? 

Corresponding with Bill and Turner, I was struck by something else.  Often it seems that we - as independent filmmakers - are like farmers who have harvested our crop (often with less of a yield than we anticipated) but we think that if we keep watering or fertilizing the barren land that maybe something else will grow.  The push-pull of when to stop struggling to get that rock uphill is something we all think about.  Hell, I'm still doing interviews for a film I finished three years ago. 

While Bill and Turner have not completely abandoned their field - they will shepherd 45365 through more festival dates, followed by potential limited theatrical and DVD (I think that museums should be getting in touch with them) - they seem to realize that the SnagFilms deal offers something else: a way to reach an audience that they may not get otherwise.

ATWT: First off, can you tell me about the Snagfilm deal - how did it happen and why was it appealing to you?

Bill and Turner Ross: It happened (Monday).  They reached out to us a while back, but our distributor wasn’t sure whether or not we could make it work.  Apparently we could.  It’s actually been rather sudden, but we’re certainly honored by it.  We’ve used SnagFilms as fans since they started.  It’s a great avenue for films that may not otherwise be readily available.  And to be honest, in regards to our experience, we are still struggling with how and where this film will be available to a mass audience.  We want people to have access to it.  Seems a bit of a gamble to wait in the wings for something bigger and better when an opportunity like this presents itself. 

ATWT: Part of my inquiring is that I'm so glad that I saw your film on the big screen in Austin, where the total immersion forced me to adapt to the film's rhythms and language.  Not to be a snob about the theatrical experience, but certain films, and I'd argue 45365 is one of them, should be seen in theaters or at festivals.  Was there any fear that you'd lose opportunities for that with this deal?

BTR: Absolutely.  And we certainly would concur that 45365 is a film meant to be projected.  We shot it for presentation at that scale, for that environment.

That said, however, we want folks to see our work.  Growing up out of sight line of an urban environment we learned well that not everyone has access to certain kinds of artwork.  We spent much time and funds as kids trying to track down certain films that we wanted to see.  If the technology is there, why shouldn’t we embrace it and have our work available to all who want to experience it?  DVD is not looking real good right now so this makes a lot of sense to us.  Fans of the film will still go to the theater, others will at the least have access to it – be aware of it.

Discovery Sells Off Another Oscar Winner, But Why?

For the second year in a row, Discovery Channel has owned the television rights to the Best Documentary Feature Oscar winner - and for the second year in a row Discovery Channel has sold those rights to another network.

Fillmmaker James Marsh and Sundance Channel's Christian Vesper have confirmed that MAN ON WIRE, this year's acclaimed Oscar winning film about Phillipe Petit's 1974 wire walk between the Twin Towers, has been sold by Discovery to the Sundance Channel.  The film will air on Sundance this fall. 

Discovery had helped fund production on MAN ON WIRE through its defunct theatrical unit, Discovery Films.  Messages left for Discovery's representatives to comment were not returned by press time.

Last year, Discovery sold off its first run television rights of TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE to HBO.  At the time, many speculated that the move was made because Discovery (which is based just outside Washington DC in Silver Spring, MD) was afraid to run the controversial film about torture and the Bush Administration in the middle of an election season and just prior to Discovery Communications going public.

Moore's CAPITALISM Will Screen in Toronto (and Prolly Venice Too)

The Toronto International Film Festival announced another round of films today, including what had been the missing elephant in the room - Michael Moore's CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY.  With the film's early October release date - and Moore's long history with the Canadian festival - it seemed a sure bet that his latest film would preem there, but until today, nothing was official.

TIFF is calling CAPITALISM a North American Premiere, which has led to speculation that the film will have its World Premiere next month at the Venice Film Festival.  Will it also sneak at Telluride?

Also of note to nonfiction fans is the return to Toronto of Werner Herzog - this time with his fiction film, BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS.  If the trailer for this Nicholas Cage project is any indication, expect it to be one of the most talked about films of the late summer/early fall festival season (it's also billed as a North American Premiere so Venice and possibly Telluride are likely for it as well).

Uproar Over Screening of RACHEL Corrie Doc, Appearance by Cindy Corrie at SF Jewish Fest

A screening of Simone Bitton's RACHEL - a documentary on the life and death of peace activist Rachel Corrie that previously screened at Berlin, Tribeca and Hot Docs - at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival this past weekend has sparked outcry in the Jewish community there, allegations of anti-Semitism, boycotts and at least one resignation.

When the film finally unspooled on Saturday night, it played to a packed Castro Theatre, where - at least according to eyewitness accounts - there seemed to be strong support for screening the film and polite opposition toward those opposed.

For the past several weeks, some conservative Jewish groups were incensed that the festival would screen the film about Corrie.  Two groups that have long backed the festival - The Koret Foundation and the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture - attacked the festival, the film as well as two other groups that were working with the festival to promote the screening of the film - Jewish Voice for Peace and American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group that promotes pacificism.  In a joint statement Koret and Taube (both of which are led by philanthropist Tad Taube) attacked the SFJFF for working with the two groups:

"Jewish Voice for Peace and the American Friends Service Committee, two virulently anti-Israel, anti-Semitic groups that support boycotts, diverstment and sanctions against Israel.  Both are closely associated with the International Solidarity Movement and other groups that aid and abet terror against the Jewish State."

But it wasn't just the partnerships that upset the foundations, they were opposed to the screening of RACHEL:

"The film festival made a conscious choice to present a film that lays blame for the accidental death of a civilian at the door of the State of Israel.  We are deeply saddened by loss of life, most notably the countless Israeli lives lost and interrupted by virtue of service to their country.  Presenting the story of a girl who put herself in harm's way in no way advances our community dialogue.  In fact, it threatens our community purposes."

78 Nonfiction Features Eligible for 2010 Cinema Eye Honors

Gearing up slowly but surely for next year's Cinema Eye Honors.  There's gonna be a bunch of news in the next couple months about next year's awards, but first things first.  Already, 77* 78 films have qualified for Cinema Eye 2010, including nearly all of the major festival winners from the past year (including BURMA VJ, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, 45365, RACING DREAMS, OCTOBER COUNTRY, MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN and THOSE WHO REMAIN) as well as the top theatrical docs (FOOD, INC., VALENTINO, EVERY LITTLE STEP).  More films will become eligible as we move into the fall with theatrical releases and the announcement of IDFA's lineup, but for now, take a gander at 77* 78 of the top nonfiction titles of 2009, after the jump.

For eligility criteria, see the Cinema Eye website.

(We will continue to update this list as other films become eligible.  If you think that we've missed a title, email us.)

Under Oscar's New Rules, Are Two New Docs Potential Best Picture Nominees?

We've spent most of the past month-plus launching one film and continuing to shoot another, so we're trying to catch up on things here at the blog, and indeed catch up on some of the stuff that our colleagues have been writing over the past month and a half.

One thing that we've been contemplating, but have yet to comment on, are the new Oscar rules - announced last month - stipulating that next year there will be 10 Best Picture nominees.  We're torn as to whether this is a good idea or not (interesting to see the Primetime Emmys follow suit by explanding their own number of nominees in their series and acting categories), but one thing about the new rule is worth pondering.  Will it lead to the first Best Picture nomination ever for a documentary?

If the same rules had been in place last year, it wouldn't have been a crazy idea to think that WALTZ WITH BASHIR or MAN ON WIRE might have ended up on Oscar's Top 10 List.  And while, Michael Moore made a bit of a push several years ago for FAHRENHEIT 9/11, it seems that on a list of ten, it would have been favored for a spot (ditto HOOP DREAMS).

Earlier this month, Oscar expert Sasha Stone took a look at this year's Best Picture race and figured there might be two documentary features in the mix:

IDA's DocuWeeks (It Could Not Be Contained!) Launches Thursday in LA: Curry's RACING DREAMS, Silverdocs' MUGABE & Eva Webers CRANES Among 27 Films Vying for Oscar

The IDA's DocuWeek program - which usually starts up in mid-August and which assists (for a price, mind you) feature-length and short nonfiction films in qualifying for the Oscars - has expanded this year to a three week program, that kicks off this Thursday with a reception in Los Angeles.  On Friday, the three week program launches, with screenings at LA's Arclight Cinemas and NYC's IFC Center.

The DocuWeek(s) program is on something of a streak of late, qualifying at least one of the the Oscar winners for the past three years - BLOOD OF THE YINGZHOU DISTRICT (Oscar for Best Short, DocuWeek 2006), TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE (Best Feature, 2007) and SMILE PINKI (Short, 2008).  Among this year's most notable titles: Marshall Curry's Tribeca winner RACING DREAMS, Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson's Silverdocs favorite MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN and Eva Weber's award-winning short THE SOLITARY LIFE OF CRANES.

Full line-ups after the jump.  Also, you can download program/schedules for the Los Angeles and New York line-ups.

HBO's POLANSKI Scores Big at Primetime Emmy Nods; P.O.V. Lead at News & Doc Emmys

It was a regular orgy of Emmy nominations last week (and by last we mean like a week and a half ago - blame it on the rain) as both the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (presenters of the Primetime Emmy Awards that give out statuettes to "Mad Men" and "30 Rock") and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (which give the Daytime Emmys, the Sports Emmys as well as the News and Documentary Emmys) announced this year's nominees.

We tend to value the Primetime Emmy a bit more than those presented by NATAS (maybe that's cause we won one of the latter, maybe it's because NATAS is honoring films that were at festivals or in theaters two and three years ago, maybe it's because the nominees often seem to make no particular sense), but we have to at least a little love to NATAS for giving so many prizes that honor the craft of nonfiction filmmaking (they've even got the word "craft" in the title of the awards), even if they don't have one for directing (but we digress). 

P.O.V., the outstanding PBS series focusing on independent documentaries, led this year's news and documentary nominees with a record 10 nominations spread across nine different films.  Only James Moll's INHERITANCE, which first popped up on our radar at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2006 (no, that's not a typo), received more than one nomination.  P.O.V. was second only to CBS' venerable newsmagazine "60 Minutes", which received 15 nominations. 

HBO received 9 nominations for its Documentary Films unit, including three for 2008 Oscar winner TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, which HBO picked up after Discovery Channel declined to air it (in what many viewed as a political move for the Silver Spring-based conglomerate).  Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern's THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK was also nominated for three awards, but the king of this year's N&D Emmy jungle is GORILLA MURDERS, nominated for four awards.  Both GORILLA and DEVIL came to your TV via the National Geographic Channel.

Meanwhile, over at the Primetime Emmys, HBO scored again, as Marina Zenovich's ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED was nominated in five categories - including Directing, Writing, Editing and Outstanding Nonfiction Special - and will be one of the only true nonfiction features showing up for the Creative Arts Emmys, as most of its competition are reality television and reality compeition titles.  While in a normal year, POLANSKI would be considered a frontrunner for "Outstanding Nonfiction Special", it will have tough competition from another Hollywood subject - NBC's FARRAH'S STORY.

Select nominees for both sets of awards after the jump.  One nomination outside of nonfiction categories worth noting is a nod for SPELLBOUND director Jeffrey Blitz for Outstanding Achievement in Directing of a Comedy Series for an episode of "The Office".

TORONTO 2009: Thom Powers Previews This Year's Doc Line-Up

This morning, Toronto announced most of their line-up (there's always room for a few stragglers as we move closer to the September festival) - and we'll have a look at this year's nonfiction titles in the coming days.  But we asked our colleague Thom Powers to talk about some of the titles that were unveiled this AM and he was kind enough to offer a preview:

ATWT:  One thing that I think Toronto has been very successful with has been the balance of the various nonfiction genres.  You certainly have your share of films that deal with weighty issues, but it doesn't seem to weigh down the program as a hole.  And, as indieWIRE noted a few weeks ago, your populist titles have shown that Toronto can launch several films that can go on to have a high profile and that can do well in theaters.  Can you talk about your programming strategy a bit?

Thom Powers:  Curating a film line-up is like preparing a restaurant menu. You want to serve many different tastes in a way that’s distinctive. When it comes to documentaries this year, we saw a lot of films giving fresh insights to current headlines. I’m thinking of films like COLONY – that follows bee keepers dealing with colony collapse disorder; VIDEOCRACY – that looks at the world of Berlusconi; BASSIDJI – that interviews Iranian religious fundamentalists; and HOW TO FOLD A FLAG – that profiles American veterans of the Iraq war. To name just a few.

Those films share another quality besides their urgency. They all deliver as a theatrical experience. That’s a big concern at TIFF because audiences are watching docs alongside big budget fiction work and bring high expectations.

But current events are only one component. Anyone who loves art or political intrigue will be riveted by THE ART OF THE STEAL – that looks at the power struggles over Albert Barnes’ famous painting collection. Audiences who enjoy a great adventure will want to see SNOWBLIND following the 23-year-old Rachael Scdoris who competes in the Iditarod dog sled race across Alaska - even though she’s blind. And in our Family Zone section, we’re showing TURTLE: AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY which ranks among the great nature documentaries. That should be of special industry interest given the tremendous box office of Disney’s EARTH.

ATWT:  When we talked earlier you noted that there were a lot of films by first-time filmmakers as well as pointing out that many of the films have an immediacy to them - with some of the shooting done just a few months ago.  Do you think there's a parallel?  Perhaps many new filmmakers have a different sense of the process generally, having worked exclusively with digital media.

TP:  We’re living in a time of rapid change that instills a sense of urgency. Younger filmmakers might have some edge at adapting to this speed. But we also see rapid response from a seasoned veteran like Marc Levin in SCHMATTA: FROM RAGS TO RICHES TO RAGS. He interviews people who have very recently been laid off in the garment industry and gives their stories a historical context with a feeling of immediacy.

Another example is Chris Smith who has previously shot on film in titles like AMERICAN MOVIE. In his new work COLLAPSE, he interviews the radical thinker Michael Ruppert who was ahead of the curve predicting the economic collapse. In this film, Ruppert offers a vision of the future that sounds like apocalyptic science fiction. But when you listen to him after watching films like COLONY and SCHMATTA, his extremist ideas start to sound more plausible.