All these wonderful things

Same As It Ever Was: Hating the East Coast Media in Robert Drew's PRIMARY

It's always a good time to reacquaint oneself with the Drew Associates masterworks PRIMARY and CRISIS, but watching them anew in the midst of a presidential campaign (aided by Docurama's recent release of the two films in a Robert Drew boxset) is always an eye-opener.

For anyone who thinks that the McCain/Palin campaign's battle against the media or "east coast elites" is somehow new to our political dialogue, there, in the midst of the Wisconsin primary of 1960 stands Senator Hubert Humphrey:

"Now gentlemen, I am one of the candidates in your Wisconsin presidential primary race.  We’re going to have an election here, Tuesday, April the 5th.   Now this election is obviously a very important one in terms of your state.

Now my friends, during my service in the United States Senate of twelve years, I have given more time, more attention to matters of agriculture than any other one subject.  Now Senator Humphrey is not out here just to please you by these comments.  I say that Wisconsin has lost hundreds of millions of dollars of sales.  I say that the businessmen of Wisconsin have lost hundreds of dollars worth of business because of reduced farm income.  And I charge here that not a single candidate in this primary election has paid any attention to the farmer at all, except Hubert Humphrey.   And I make that statement without any boast or any claim. 

The Emmy Goes to AUTISM: THE MUSICAL & I'm Fucking Matt Damon

The Creative Arts Primetime Emmy Ceremony was held Saturday night at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles (it will be broadcast next Saturday, September 20 on E!) and a handful of nonfiction awards were bestowed upon eager documentarians and television executives (full list of doc nominees here).

No surprise, HBO and PBS were often on stage, with public television's love affair/patronage of Ken Burns paying off with 3 awards for his miniseries THE WAR.  PBS also took the Outstanding Nonfiction Series trophy for AMERICAN MASTERS.  Surprisingly, Ken Burns himself did not take home a winged angelic award, as the prize for Outstanding Directing went to Chris Wilcha and Adam Beckman for their work on Showtime's THIS AMERICAN LIFE.

Tricia Regan's AUTISM: THE MUSICAL was the big winner of the evening, receiving the award for Outstanding Nonfiction Special and for Outstanding Editing.  HBO also won a prize for Steven Okazaki's WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN in the Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Programming.

But the best news of the night, much like last year's victory for "Dick in a Box" came in the Original Song category, where Sarah Silverman (and her four collaborators) won for "I'm Fucking Matt Damon".

Here are tonight's winners:

OUTSTANDING NONFICTION SPECIAL
AUTISM: THE MUSICAL
Jonathan Murray, Janet Grillo, Krstin Stills, Executive Producers
Nancy Abraham, Senior Producer
Perrin Chiles, Tricia Regan, Sasha Alpert, Producers

OUTSTANDING NONFICTION SERIES
AMERICAN MASTERS
Susan Lacy, Executive Producer
Prudence Glass, Series Producer
Julie Sacks, Supervising Producer
Jim Brown, Producer
Michael Cohl, Producer
William Eigen, Producer

EXCEPTIONAL MERIT IN NONFICTION FILMMAKING
WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN
Sheila Nevins, Executive Producer
Robert Richter, Executive Producer
Steven Okazaki, Producer
Sara Bernstein, Supervising Producer

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Christopher Wilcha & Adam Beckman, Directors
THIS AMERICAN LIFE - "Escape"

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Geoffrey C. Ward, Writer
THE WAR - "Pride of Our Nation"

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
The Cinematography Team
DEADLIEST CATCH - "No Mercy"

OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Kim Roberts, Editor
AUTISM: THE MUSICAL

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Erik Ewers, Ryan Gifford, Mariusz Glabinski, Magdaline Volatis, Ira Spiegel, Marlena Grzaslewicz & Jacob Ribicoff
THE WAR - "When Things Get Tough"

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Jason King, Sound Mixer
AMERICAN MASTERS - "Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends"

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL CLASS - SHORT-FORMAT NONFICTION PROGRAMS
GREAT MOMENTS FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Tim Nolan, Executive Producer
Anthony Giacchino, Producer

OUTSTANDING VOICE-OVER PERFORMANCE
Keith David, Narrator
THE WAR: A Necessary War

Filmmaker Andrew Berends Arrested, Detained While Working on DELTA BOYS in Nigeria

There's been a great deal of concern in the documentary community today over the fate of filmmaker Andrew Berends, who was arrested Sunday in the Delta region of Nigeria while working on his new film DELTA BOYS.  According to the New York Times, Berends was accused of spying and held for 36 hours before being released (although he was supposed to report back today).  His translator was also arrested, although news reports conflict on whether he was also released.

It's not the first case of filmmakers/journalists being arrested in the region, according to the Times report:

"Several other foreign journalists and filmmakers have been detained while working in the region in recent years. In April, four members of a Seattle-based film crew were arrested while filming in the Delta and held for six days on spying charges. In May, a CNN journalist was detained while in the main Delta city of Port Harcourt and questioned by the S.S.S. for five days before being released."

The Seattle crew was filming a documentary called SWEET CRUDE, according to an alert released by the Committee to Protect Journalists in April.

Just 2 weeks ago, Berends was named a recipient of a Gucci Tribeca Doc Fund Grant for DELTA BOYS.  In an article about the grant, indieWIRE posted a description of the film:

"(A)n unprecedented intimate look at the daily lives, culture, hardships and mindset of the young rebel men who have taken up arms on the brutal Niger Delta. Their stated goal -- to localize control of Nigeria's oil, to secure reparations for environmental destruction caused by foreign oil companies, and to obtain amnesty for themselves."

Over at the D-Word, moderators have launched a "Free Andrew Berends!" forum that is open to the public.  Friends are also encouraging others to contact high level officials in the US government to ask them to rally for Berends.  The CPJ is already on the case.

Berends was the 2006 recipient of the IDA's Courage Under Fire award.

Craft v. Topic: Is the Real Value In the Conversation?

A fascinating and well thought piece yesterday at Pop Matters by Shaun Huston that uses the DVD release of Lynn Hershman Leeson's STRANGE CULTURE - the narrative/nonfiction hybrid that dealt with the arrest of professor and artist Steve Kurtz (whose case was recently dismissed) - to revisit the discussions that we had here late 2007 over the relationship of art, journalism and craft in nonfiction filmmaking.  Much of that discussion led to our eventual creation of the Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking.

The entire piece is worth reading, even if one hasn't seen STRANGE CULTURE.  Huston spends a significant portion of the article recalling the dispute between us and film critic John Anderson, who found much to like in STRANGE CULTURE despite his statements here:

"(I)f you want to create fiction, create fiction, If you want to co-opt the immediacy and urgency implied by the word ‘documentary’ it behooves you to follow some rules. Don’t mislead your audience and don’t use the cutting room to fabricate what you couldn’t capture in your camera."

As Huston notes, Anderson praises STRANGE CULTURE for its important subject (he calls it "urgently topical") although he also accepts the stylistic detours (primarily the use of actors) the film takes:

"It is the opening line of Anderson’s review that puts the most interesting spin on the craft/subject discussion: "Lynn Hershman Leeson’s work exists within the cinema of ideas, a lonely outpost at best and one likely to remain that way". This is an interesting claim, and one that raises the question of what kind of license is opened up to a documentarian who traffics in “the cinema of ideas” as opposed to, say, “the cinema of daily life” (perhaps where Billy the Kid resides)? The ways of documenting an “idea” seem limitless, but maybe the ways of documenting “life” are necessarily bracketed by “actualities”.

Or are they? How one answers that question would seem to shape one’s view of the meaning and significance of documentary film. Schnack wants a world where there are no limits on the ways that a filmmaker can seek to document the world. Anderson, while maybe not quite as closed-minded as Schnack suggests, clearly thinks there should be limits on what counts as “documentary”."

Huston goes on to say that the value of STRANGE CULTURE as an entry point to the debate is that the film has value both in breaking stylistic norms as well as importance of subject matter.  I'd argue that a similar case could be made for TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, LAKE OF FIRE or any number of well made or stylistically innovative films that tackle socially relevant or politically challenging subject matter.  The debate is not that so-called "important" films can't be well made but that one shouldn't have knee-jerk approval of shoddily made films just because the subject matter has external value.

Huston may be right to summarize that much of the benefit of this debate is in having the discussion in the first place, rather than searching for definitive answers.  But if pressed, I'd say that the true worth of a hybrid film like STRANGE CULTURE is not in whether Steve Kurtz' story is worth telling (or whether audiences "need to know" about his plight) but in the artistic choices made by Hershman Leeson.  Kurtz' story may be good, valuable or even important, but without an artist behind the lens, the worth of Kurtz' tale may be lost on all but the most like-minded and agreeable viewers.

You Can Go Home Again: Margaret Brown Premieres ORDER OF MYTHS in Mobile

Sometimes, one of the things that a filmmaker most fears is the first screening of their documentary before the film's subjects.  Usually this happens just before or during the film's big premiere.  Second to this is the hometown screening, wherein those with a rooting interest in the subject come (often with eyebrows raised) to see if you've done them right or wrong.

So, it was with great interest that we watched as Margaret Brown took her amazing, dense and complicated portrait of Mobile, Alabama's mardi gras festivties to the city of origin. 

The local Press-Register recaps the event:

"Mobilian Margaret Brown's documentary THE ORDER OF MYTHS, about the racially divided Mardi Gras celebrations in her hometown, ended with a standing ovation from a majority of the 1,762 patrons who attended the film's Saenger Theatre premiere Thursday night.

The film had been billed as "controversial," and some did not applaud.

Mobilians who are featured in the documentary said beforehand that they felt anxiety about the film's reception at its hometown premiere.

"I'm nervous," said Stefannie Lucas, 2007's queen of the black Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association, minutes before the show started.

But an audience question-and-answer session immediately following the screening was not at all the adversarial affair some feared it might be.

Comments from audience members were frequently laudatory."

Much more at the link.

CATCHING UP: Tricia Regan Scores 3 Emmy Nominations for AUTISM: THE MUSICAL

Way back in the days of yesterday, I caused a bit of a kerfuffle around these parts when I argued that some of the films shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar might have been destined for television (and weren't, by definition, cinematic concerns).  That caused a strong blowback from Tricia Regan, the director behind one of the shortlisted features, AUTISM: THE MUSICAL.

So, may I now offer my sincere and heartiest congrats (belated though they are due to reasons previously revealed) to Tricia for her three well-deserved Emmy nominations - and five total for the film - for AUTISM: THE MUSICAL, the most nominated nonfiction feature at this year's Primetime Emmy Awards.

As is always the case with the Emmys, Tricia & AUTISM will be competing against a rogue's gallery of reality television and made-for-PBS titles, although congrats should also go out to Showtime's THIS AMERICAN LIFE, which made a very strong showing in its first year in competition, including nods for series, directing, writing (for Ira Glass) and cinematography.

And, let's also celebrate what has to be considered the frontrunner in the category of Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics - Sarah Silverman's "I'm Fucking Matt Damon" from her ex-beau's JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE.

Here are the Nonfiction Programming Nominees for the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, due to be presented at the Creative Arts ceremony (to be televised on E!) on Saturday, September 13.

OUTSTANDING NONFICTION SPECIAL

AFI's 100 YEARS... 100 MOVIES (CBS)
Gary Smith & Frederick S. Pierce, Executive Producers
Dann Netter & Bob Gazzale, Executive Producers

ALIVE DAY MEMORIES: HOME FROM IRAQ (HBO)
Sheila Nevins, James Gandolfini, Executive Producers
Alexandra Ryan, Co-Executive Producer
Sara Bernstein, Supervising Producer
Ellen Goosenberg Kent, Jon Alpert & Matthew O'Neill, Producers

AUTISM: THE MUSICAL (HBO)
Jonathan Murray, Janet Grillo & Kristin Stills, Executive Producers
Nancy Abraham, Senior Producer
Perrin Chiles, Tricia Regan & Sasha Alpert, Producers

PIONEERS OF TELEVISION - "Late Night - Johnny, Jack, Steve and Merv" (PBS)
Steven J. Boettcher & Michael J. Trinklein, Producers

THE PIXAR STORY (Starz)
Leslie Iwerks, Producer

EXCEPTIONAL MERIT IN NONFICTION FILMMAKING

OSWALD'S GHOST (American Experience - PBS)
Mark Samuels, Executive Producer
Sharon Grimberg, Senior Producer
Robert Stone, Producer

WALT WHITMAN (American Experience - PBS)
Mark Samuels, Executive Producer
Sharon Grimberg, Senior Producer
Patrick Long & Jamila Wignot, Producers

WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN (HBO)
Sheila Nevins & Robert Richter, Executive Producers
Steven Okazaki, Producer
Sara Bernstein, Supervising Producer

OUTSTANDING NONFICTION SERIES

AMERICAN MASTERS (PBS)
Susan Lacy, Executive Producer
Prudence Glass, Series Producer
Julie Sacks, Supervising Producer
Jim Brown, Michael Cohl & Michael Eigen, Producers

BIOGRAPHY (Biography)
Geoffrey Hall & Peter Tarshis, Executive Producers
Barbara Hall, Producer

DEADLIEST CATCH (Discovery)
Thom Beers & Paul Gasek, Executive Producers
Jeff Conroy & Tracy Rudolph, Co-Executive Producers
Matt Renner, Series Producer
Lisa Tanzer, Supervising Producer
Ethan Prochnik, Senior Producer

INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO (Bravo)
James LIpton, Frances Berwick & Christian Barcellos, Executive Producers
Sabrina Fodor & Jeff Wurtz, Producers

THIS AMERICAN LIFE (Showtime)
Producing Team

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING

THE AMAZING RACE - "Honestly, They Have Witch Powers or Something" (CBS)
Bertram van Munster, Director

AUTISM: THE MUSICAL (HBO)
Tricia Regan, Director

PROJECT RUNWAY - "En Garde!" (Bravo)
Tony Sacco, Director

THIS AMERICAN LIFE - "Escape" (Showtime)
Christopher Wilcha & Adam Beckman, Directors

THE WAR - "Pride of Our Nation" (PBS)
Ken Burns & Lynn Novick, Directors

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING

INTERVENTION - "Caylee" (A&E)
Jeff Grogan, Writer

LIFE AFTER PEOPLE (History)
David de Vries, Writer

THIS AMERICAN LIFE - "Escape" (Showtime)
Ira Glass, Writer

WALT WHITMAN (American Experience - PBS)
Mark Zwonitzer, Writer

THE WAR - "Pride of Our Nation" (PBS)
Geoffrey C. Ward, Writer

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING

AUTISM: THE MUSICAL (HBO)
Tricia Regan, Cinematographer

DEADLIEST CATCH - "No Mercy" (Discovery)
Cinematography Team

ICE ROAD TRUCKERS - "Ready to Roll" (History)
Cinematography Team

MEERKAT MANOR - "Journey's End" (Animal Planet)
Ted Gilfords, John Waters & Ralph Bower, Camera

THIS AMERICAN LIFE - "Escape" (Showtime)
Adam Beckman, Director of Photography

OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING

AFI's 100 YEARS... 100 MOVIES (CBS)
Barry A. O'Brien, Debra Light & Marlise Malkames, Editors

AUTISM: THE MUSICAL (HBO)
Kim Roberts, Editor

DEADLIEST CATCH - "No Mercy" (Discovery)
Kerry Coskran & Rob Butler, Editors

THIS AMERICAN LIFE - "Escape" (Showtime)
Joe Beshenkovsky, Editor

THE WAR - "Pride of Our Nation" (PBS)
Tricia Reidy, Editor

THE WAR - "FUBAR" (PBS)
Paul Barnes, Editor

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING

ALIVE DAY MEMORIES: HOME FROM IRAQ (HBO)

THE AMAZING RACE - "Honestly, They Have Witch Powers or Something" (CBS)

AMERICAN MASTERS - "Les Paul: Chasing Sound" (PBS)

AUTISM: THE MUSICAL (HBO)

THE WAR - "When Things Get Tough" (PBS)

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING

THE AMAZING RACE - "Honestly, They Have Witch Powers or Something" (CBS)

AMERICAN MASTERS - "Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends" (PBS)

DEADLIEST CATCH - "No Mercy"

THE WAR - "When Things Get Tough" (PBS)

Black Friday? Three of Sundance's Best Films Arrive in Theaters Today

The heart of last year's no news is good news documentary doom and gloom was a series of Fridays in the fall in which 3, 4 and sometimes 5 noteworthy nonfiction films were debuting on the same day.  Was it any doubt that there would be casualties when LAKE OF FIRE, MY KID COULD PAINT THAT and FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO (not to mention our own ABOUT A SON) all debuted on the same weekend?  (Bonus points if you remember how those films finished in per screen average.)

So what to make of today, when three of the best films out of Sundance '08 all premiere in New York City - Margaret Brown's THE ORDER OF MYTHS, James Marsh's MAN ON WIRE and Nanette Burstein's AMERICAN TEEN.  (I wrote about each of these films during Sundance - here about TEEN's use of construction and here about the triumph of MYTHS and WIRE.)

While the NY Times had positive reviews for all three films today (with Manohla Dargis particularly rhapsodizing about MYTHS and A.O. Scott praising WIRE), one hardly hopes to imagine that each film will score large audiences this weekend.

But for those of you in New York who love nonfiction, this is an opportunity to experience the breadth of what is possible - three amazing films with not a note of ponderous social justice moralizing nor the feeling that one must atone for one's sins after viewing.  Three filmmakers of extraordinary skill (if there's any justice, they'll all be nominated for an Oscar - or, more likely, a Cinema Eye) working at the top of their craft.  One film which dazzles with extraordinary cinematography and sensitive verite, one which breaks every old rule about what is acceptable in (dull) documentary and one that combines recreations, recollections and archival footage to create the most magical film of the year.

New Yorkers, you're being treated to a nonfuckingfiction clinic this weekend.  You'd do yourself a favor to see all three films in theaters. 

It's art, it is. 

MAN ON WIRE is playing at the Sunshine and Lincoln Plaza.  THE ORDER OF MYTHS is playing at the IFC Center.  AMERICAN TEEN is at the Sunshine and in Los Angeles at the Arclight in Hollywood and Sherman Oaks.

IndiePix Studios to Launch with Ryan Harrington at the Helm

Ryan Harrington, formerly of A&E IndieFilms and currently with the Tribeca Gucci Doc Fund, has been tapped to lead a new division of online indie film hub IndiePix that will consolidate the company's efforts in film production and distribution.  In heading up IndiePix Studios, Harrington will seek film projects for the company to invest in while building a support structure for IndiePix titles that will carry through production to distribution and sales.  (Full disclosure: IndiePix sponsors this blog's festival coverage and is a partner in the Cinema Eye Honors.)

Among the first films to come out of IndiePix Studios will be THE END OF AMERICA, a new film by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern (co-directors of THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT and THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK), and 21 BELOW, from first-time filmmaker Samantha Buck.  indieWIRE's Brian Brooks has more.

Last week, IndiePix was announced as one of several distributors to partner with fledgling online documentary website SnagFilms, offering IndiePix titles for free viewing on the new site.

The IndiePix Studios unveil comes on the heels of word yesterday that Cinetic Media, the dominant indie film sales entity headed by John Sloss, was adding to its services by launching a multi-million film fund.  This just months after Cinetic hired former SXSW producer Matt Dentler to spearhead a new digital-rights management division of the company.

Both moves signal that indie film companies are increasingly looking to become full service entities, rather than focus on just one element of the production or distribution process.

COMMENTARY: Big Dreams for Filmanthropy at SnagFilms, But is it the Cure For What Ails Nonfiction?

As has been reported here and elsewhere, Ted Leonsis, the co-founder of AOL and, more recently, a documentary film producer whose films include NANKING and KICKING IT, took the indie film world (and particularly the doc sub-genre of same) by storm last week by announcing the launch of a new docu-centered online/alt-distribution platform called SnagFilms, and the simultaneous announcement that SnagFilms would be the new owners of indieWIRE.

As the burgeoning deal came to light late Wednesday night, many indie film watchers were trying to make sense of the developments.  One must qualify that because of the multiplicity of personal friendships involved, no one I spoke to wished anything but good for the new venture, particularly for the partnership with indieWIRE as well as hopes for more distribution options for documentary films.  But that didn't mean there weren't questions, some of them obvious - like how, aside from a deep-pocketed benefactor (specifically one with some doc producing chops), would this online venture stand out from previous efforts?

Further, a jaded blogger/filmmaker/craft advocate might hope that SnagFilms would contribute to the growing focus on the filmmaking of nonfiction features - in addition to an admirable goal of advocating for films and causes (not necessarily in that order).  The site's seeming focus on filmanthopy (as promoted by SnagFilms' founder) and social justice films may raise red flags among some filmmakers (including yours truly) who note that there already exists a substantial support structure for projects with an activist bent.  While SnagFilms execs Stephanie Sharis and Andrew Mer told me that SnagFilms was interested in the "full breadth of documentary filmmaking", they also said that SnagFilms' mission involved outreach and a focus on films that are "on the front lines of new journalism". 

One wouldn't want to dismiss "Filmanthropy" - a buzz word at festival panels over the past few years - outright.  For one thing, it's a source of funding when other mouths of monetary flow have been stilled.  Further, the ability of a film to shine a light on an issue oft ignored is a laudable goal.  But after all the sturm und drang over Errol Morris' revelation earlier this year that he occasionally gives money to his subjects, is there no one raising an eyebrow over the increasingly direct link between some nonfiction films and charity?  Has no one else been bothered by seeing "join our cause" or "sign our petition" or "go to the charity's website to give" in the closing credits of an increasing number of films lately?

Shouldn't the film itself spur someone to act by its skillful making rather than by proximity of a "donate now" button?

Regular readers of this spot know that I'm not arguing that we are journalists or that we are required to take an unbiased view of the world.  Hell, advocate for your subject to your heart's content, with my blessing (not that you'd need it).

But - and this is just a theory, so be sure to treat it as such - if there was a downturn for docs last year, it might be argued that some art house audiences weren't interested in paying good money at theatres for taking their medicine.  This may, in fact, be a great reason to advocate for what SnagFilms hopes to become.  Films could be seen directly - and more immediately - by an audience limited not by their plans for a Saturday night, but rather only by their acceptance of SnagFilms' widget.  Those looking for a  "Women's Issues" film can seek one out, same for those in search of titles related to "Health" or the "Environment".  Is it bad form to wonder aloud if instead of breaking films down by issues, we broke them down by style - Comedy, Drama, Suspense, Musical, Educational, Investigative, Cinema Verite, Reality - not unlike we do with the other film art forms.  If we're trying to broaden the acceptance and/or definition of what nonfiction can be, should we not make clear that nonfiction is not solely (or primarily) about solving the world's problems?

So, somewhat unusually for my occasional commentaries: I'm going to end on a somewhat neutral note as I raise a cautious glass in toast to friends on all sides.  Here's a hope that SnagFilms can indeed shine a light on great, neglected films, and on art generally, and bonus points if occasionally an issue or cause (or a great artist or an interesting character) gets attention in the process.  And may the indieWIRE we've come to rely on for its editorial independence and have come to admire for its transparency gain everything it needs and lose nothing it has.

INDIE FILM DOUBLE PLAY: Ted Leonsis Launches SnagFilms, A New Doc Distrib Platform, Buys indieWIRE

Major news rocked the documentary film world last week when Ted Leonsis, co-founder of AOL and, more recently, a documentary producer whose films include NANKING and KICKING IT, simultaneously announced the launch of SnagFilms, a new online distribution platform dedicated to documentary film, as well as SnagFilms' acquisition of indieWIRE, the essential online news resource about independent film and filmmaking.  Eugene Hernandez, editor-in-chief of indieWIRE since its inception 12 years ago, remains at the helm of indieWIRE, reportedly with complete editorial freedom from his new masters.  SnagFilms replaced AOL TrueStories, which went dark with the launch of the new service.

Last Wednesday, SnagFilms execs Stephanie Sharis and Andrew Mer described the service as a way to get documentary films to consumers via "over a million virtual movie theatres".  The service, by which one can watch feature length documentaries for free via a downloadable widget, launches with a library of several hundred films - perhaps the most famous of which are Morgan Spurlock's SUPER SIZE ME and Ondi Timoner's DIG!, but which also includes such noted films as SUMMERCAMP!, CAN MR. SMITH GET TO WASHINGTON ANYMORE?, BLACK WHITE + GREY, WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY?, OFF THE GRID and HEAVY METAL IN BAGHDAD  SnagFilms' reported goal is to grow the library substantially in the first year. 

According to two people familiar with SnagFilms' deals, filmmakers receive money based on how many ads are viewed in the course of watching a film.  Ads are sprinkled throughout a film, with each representing a new payment for a filmmaker.  Watch an entire film and the filmmaker gets the maximum payment, which one person pegged at just over a dollar.

The advertising is likely necessary to make the films available for free.  Still, it doesn't make it any less surprising to happen upon plugs for Oreo Cookie Bites and Ritz Crackers in the midst of SUPER SIZE ME or WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY? 

According to Sharis and Mer, no original content is planned for the site, at least during the first year, with SnagFilms focusing on acquisitions of completed films.  Expect to see Sharis and Mer upping the company's profile at film festivals this summer and fall (Mer will be attending BritDoc in Oxford next week).

While Leonsis' dive into the indie film waters has been rumored since late last year - he had expressed dissatisfaction with THINKFilm's handling of NANKING and by last December had called for new distribution opportunities for nonfiction:

"Mr. Leonsis seemed dissatisfied with the current distribution models for documentary films, and sobered by his experience with Sundance. Of the 3,287 films submitted to the festival in 2007, he noted, only 64 were accepted for competition, and only 16 were American-made documentaries, roughly a dozen of which would receive any kind of theatrical release. Yet, he said, there are dozens of theatrical distributors, cable channels and DVD companies looking for nonfiction films and a potential audience of millions to watch them on the Internet. “When you see a bottleneck like that,” he said, “you see a real opportunity.”

Mr. Leonsis declined to elaborate on his own plans, but suggested that a confluence of Internet technology and advertising dollars might soon allow for documentaries to be seen by wider audiences outside traditional theaters and DVDs. “There’s $30 billion of advertising in search revenue, and they want to put it into YouTube videos, so you know there’s going to be some breakout things here,” he said."

Similarly, indieWIRE had been quietly looking for a new buyer for nearly as long.  Still, the marriage of the top indie film website with an active distribution portal surprised many indie film watchers.  Of chief concern to many was indieWIRE's independence, but according to an article co-written by Anne Thompson in Variety, Eugene Hernandez insisted that his editorial autonomy be written into the deal.  Hernandez also become VP in charge of editorial content for SnagFilms.

In one of the first fruits of the union, indieWIRE co-founder Mark "The Rabbi" Rabinowitz launched Docsider, a new blog dedicated to coverage of documentaries, just as both deals were announced.  (Full disclosure, I am friends with folks on both sides of this deal and have written for indieWIRE in the past.  Indiepix, which sponsors this blog's festival coverage and is a partner in the Cinema Eye Honors, is one of several production/distribution companies to allow their films to screen on SnagFilms.)

Sharis and Mer told me that the current upheavals in indie film and the dwindling options for nonfiction filmmakers were essential to Leonsis' desire to launch SnagFilms, which he founded and funded personally, despite the new company being a succession of AOL TrueStories and receiving backing from fellow AOL co-founder Steve Case. 

"Really, what Ted found when he was amongst documentary filmmakers at Sundance was that the statistics (of films being produced) was staggering," Sharis and Mer said.  "The number for production was going up and the number for distribution was going down.  He wanted to address that bottleneck."

Each film on the SnagFilms website has its own webpage, which will allow viewers to purchse a DVD and may ultimately feature original content via indieWIRE, one element of the deal that seems to still be in the planning stages.

Driven by Leonsis' view that documentary can be a powerful tool for social justice causes, there will also be a way for viewers to donate money to a cause.  While ultimately SnagFilms hopes to be able to direct funds toward a specific cause or organization featured in a film, it launches with a single philanthropic partner, Global Giving.

More background:
indieWIRE announces the deal
indieWIRE's Letter to Readers
Eugene Hernandez talks with Ted Leonsis
Hollywood Reporter on the news

A note from your blogger:  The acquisition of indieWIRE by a doc-centered entity and the launch of said doc-centered entity will, of course, prompt a variety of thoughts from these corners.  For personal thoughts on this week's big news, go here.