All these wonderful things

The Monday Brief: IT Does GET LOUD in Theatres, A Tough Week for THE COVE and WOODSTOCK At 39

Good morning.  We're more than halfway through August and just under three weeks away from the World Premiere of Michael Moore's CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY at La Biennale di Venezia...

But the big documentary news of the weekend is the stellar debut of the new film from another Oscar winner.  Davis Guggenheim's IT MIGHT GET LOUD, the story of the electric guitar as seen through Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White, broke out this weekend - and big.  Playing at just 7 theaters, the Sony Pictures Classics release made more than $100K, marking the best release for a documentary this year that was playing on more than 2 screens. 

IT MIGHT GET LOUD continues the sensational nonfiction streak for SPC this year, coming on the heels of WALTZ WITH BASHIR (just under $2.3M) EVERY LITTLE STEP ($1.6M and still going) and even TYSON ($886K).

It also marks the latest nonfiction feature from the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival to become a hit with moviegoers (following BASHIR, VALENTINO: THE LAST EMPEROR, EVERY LITTLE STEP and FOOD, INC.  Together, those five titles (including IT MIGHT GET LOUD) have taken in nearly $8.5M.  The highest grossing Sundance film this year is ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL from the 2008 fest (although many haven't been released yet).

One 2009 Sundance title that entered theatres with lofty expectations - huge box office, Oscar nominations, changing maritime law - was THE COVE.  But this was not a good week for that film in terms of the things that worry filmmakers and distributors - box office and press. 

First, despite strong reviews and a new promotional push - including an appearance by director Louie Psihoyos on the Today Show - the film slipped to a per theater average of just $1,660 this weekend and a total cume of $424K.  It now looks like the film will have to struggle to make it to $1M at the box office Worse was a piece in the LA Times by John Horn that used THE COVE as the poster child for why environmental docs aren't working at the box office (we wondered why Horn never bothered to mention Disney's EARTH in his story).  It's never a good sign to have your distributor (in this case, Roadside Attractions' Howard Cohen) quoted as saying, "It's not what we would have hoped" and "the concept of the movie is much more off-putting than the experience of watching it".

SXSW 2009: Thoughts on Austin in the Aftermath of a Successful Fest

I understand that there are pleasures in Austin – I truly do.  Hell, I’ve got more friends than I can count on 2 hands who can ably attest to this town’s ability to sustain artists, bohemians, filmmakers, writers and the like.  Keep Austin weird – it’s even got it’s own bumper sticker.  What other town boasts that kind of nonsense?

Yet, one can’t help but wonder as you wander through downtown Austin at closing time (granted during SXSW and approaching St. Patty’s Day) and – in a two-block radius – watch one young woman puke and fall over in one continuous motion (9.5 on the degree of difficulty), then see three consecutive fist fights, one seemingly building on the other, until, finally, one sees a young man cold-cock (surprisingly punch for those unfamiliar with the phrase) another young man and watch the punchee drop to the ground (street) in the midst of traffic – not stagger and tumble but flat drop, head hitting the pavement with the sickening thudding sound of a melon – to wonder, what Mad Max hell is this?

And don’t give me that “it’s a college town” bullshit.  I spent 4+ year’s in a quintessential college town and saw two fist fights.  Austin (at least downtown) is a fist fight begging to happen, SXSW or no. 

That said, when spring comes to Austin, as it did on Sunday, with the chilled temperatures of Friday and Saturday giving way to warm sun, is there anywhere better to sit outside with a salty margarita and a bowl of chips and salsa (after four days you’ve got queso coming out of your pores).  Heaven help the filmmaker scheduled to screen at that moment when the 70 degree temperatures arrive.

This was my fourth year in Austin and I felt like I’d finally learned some lessons.  Lesson #1 – Stay out of the convention center (aside from the theater, which is on the ground floor and an easy in and out).  It’s a soul sucker and makes you feel like you actually did pursue that career in something that wasn’t creative and, fuck, how did that happen; Lesson #2 – Get up and see two movies early in the day.  If you want to actually accomplish your goal of seeing 3 films a day, go ahead and see two before afternoon fully arrives; Lesson #3 – It’s perfectly fine to go to Guero’s three days in a row.  Just make sure you eat the fish tacos (they’re delicious) before you go with the folks who have sustainability issues; Lesson #4 – Go to the Starbucks on Congress and don’t bother with the Starbucks in the hotels near the convention center; Lesson #5 – Let a local drive; Lesson #6 – Get to the Alamo Ritz early, even if you have a badge, cause that place is gonna sell out and, oh yeah, that blogger who SXSW staff is gonna try to get into the movie? It's not you.

SXSW 2009: Bill Ross' 45365 Takes Jury Prize

Bill Ross' 45365 - an impressionistic portrait of small town Ohio - has won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival (see our thoughts on the film here).  Aron Gaudet's THE WAY WE GET BY received an Honorable Mention from a jury that included Anne Thompson, Basil Tsiokos and Lois Vossen.

Audience Awards went to Geralyn Pezanoski's MINE in the Documentary Feature category and Jennifer Steinman's MOTHERLAND took the prize amongst Emerging Visions titles.

On the narrative side, MADE IN CHINA and THAT EVENING SUN both took two awards during the just concluded awards ceremony in Austin.

SXSW 2009: Risk and Reward in the Small Details of Bill Ross' 45365

A car drives down the street in a small Ohio town.  The radio station announces it’s next selection – Little River Band’s “Lady”.  Car wipers cut across as the drizzle of rain hits the windshield.

A couple makes out in a bar as Air Supply plays.  They both have long hair.  Is it two women?  It’s hard to tell in this light.  The camera stays on them, both genders still anonymous, until we realize that this coupling is entirely heterosexual.  We are observers, then we are voyeurs and, finally, we, like them, laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Such are the small, lingering and not entirely explainable pleasures of 45365 - a film that I feel compelled to warn you about even as I recommend it - a non-narrative, impressionistic, whisper of a film, one that should not be oversold, but should be experienced for its sideways glance at an the Midwestern American experience in the early 21st century.

Ostensibly a portrait of the town of Sydney, Ohio, the characters of 45365 recur – yes, that electoral race for local judge will return; yes, you will again check in with the high school football team – amidst the loosely stitched framing device of the local radio station (rock and roll classics and high school sports!) and lingering farm vistas – but one should not expect some kind of big payoff to these stories. 

SXSW 2009: The Film Remains the Same in Gary Hustwit's OBJECTIFIED

What would happen if - as the credits began to roll on Gary Hustwit’s surprise hit of 2007, HELVETICA (Spirit Award nominated, self-distributed, “the film about a font”) - you stood up and found out that it was just an intermission?  A “let’s go out to the lobby” moment, wherein you grab your popcorn or your copy of Dwell Magazine, used the facilities or grabbed a smoke and then returned for Act 2?

Welcome to Hustwit’s OBJECTIFIED, a film that plays – in thought, word and deed – as sequel, continuing saga and seamless transition from the world of font design into industrial design.  And as Hustwit announced at the world premiere screening in Austin, this is part two of (at least) 3 in a design series.  I can’t remember another nonfiction filmmaker who has so purposefully created a second film that moves, breathes and observes as specifically as his first.

OBJECTIFIED Director Gary Hustwit in Austin Sunday afternoon.

While not the surprise that HELVETICA was – who knew that font could be the most beloved, hated and invasive design motif our time (just look at this blog) – OBJECTIFIED successfully continues Hustwit’s design franchise and ably encourages its audience to take a second look at the world around them.  While the conflict is lessened in movie number 2 (flamboyant designer Karim Rashid is one of the few to advocate a philosophical debate), we are still encouraged to observe our world (particularly our tchotchkes - bonus points if you know the German word for that) in a new way, which we remain convinced is what all great nonfiction should do.

SXSW 2009: Bradley Beesley Makes Good on His Promise in SWEETHEARTS

The unveiling of a film festival roster is, at its essence, the lifting of hopes – hope that one will discover a new filmmaker, hope that a favored filmmaker’s new work  will be as strong (or stronger) than the films that previously caught one’s attention.

We know going in that these hopes may, in fact, be dashed.  Or that they should have been, at least, tempered.

Going into SXSW 2009, one could be excused if one had lowered expectations from the start.  After all, Sundance 2009 was a bit of a disappointment (I know, I know, you hate hearing it, and yet…) and this was the Austin fest’s first year under new (while obviously capable) leadership.  Similar caution is assumed for this year’s Tribeca and Full Frame, both under the reins of new keepers in one form or fashion.

But in her first year at the helm of SXSW Film, Janet Pierson has crafted a lineup that lives up to SXSW’s role as the perfect pop companion to Sundance’s bleeding heart.  Together the two festivals offer a compelling overview of the state of documentary film – particularly (but not limited to) American documentary film – and if it’s possible that the lineup in Austin is perhaps a bit stronger than the one in Park City, well, that’s quite alright too.

And while new filmmakers made their mark in Austin – particularly Bill Ross' 45365 and the much buzzed about BEST WORST MOVIE (Michael Paul Stephenson) – a veteran SXSW director returned with a film that not only delivered on one’s hopes but affirmed his place as one of America’s most interesting, contemporary nonfiction filmmakers.

The American notation is purposeful, for Bradley Beesley is one of the few true regionalists working in documentary film.  He has continued to return, film after film, to his Oklahoma, digging through that state to find stories that reflect on our times, as viewed through the lens of the southern plains.  OKIE NOODLING, THE CREEK RUNS RED, THE FEARLESS FREAKS – these have not all been epics.  Beasley is prolific and some of these films have been stories in miniature (neither complaint nor insult), but as someone who loves the middle of America, I’ve been waiting for the film where Bradley’s talent as a filmmaker (on display so vibrantly in SUMMERCAMP!, with co-director Sarah Price) and his focus on the Sooner State would coalesce.

By continually returning to Oklahoma, Beasley has made a promise to his audience, a promise that is fulfilled, magnificently, in his triumphant SWEETHEARTS OF THE PRISON RODEO, a gorgeous, insightful, hilarious, emotional look at tradition, criminal justice, hope and regret.  It’s as pure a piece of movie-making that you will see in nonfiction in 2009, commercial as hell, and certainly one of the best films of the year.

Producer James Payne, Director Bradley Beesley and Producer Amy Dotson following Saturday's world premiere in Austin.

A Peek Behind the Festival Programming Curtain

Festival programming is often bewildering:  how and why a festival chooses to program one film as opposed another is a crazy mix of curation, personal relationships, local (and, in some cases, national) audience tastes, previous experience, publicity potential and, oh yeah, quality.

With all the changes going on at festivals this past year (the latest being Geoffrey Gilmore's exit from Sundance for Tribeca, which we will cover in more depth shortly), the goings-on in festival programming offices can sometimes seem even more confusing.

How, for example, would Janet Pierson combine her own tastes with the successful SXSW programming of past director Matt Dentler?  How will Sadie Tillery put her own fingerprint on Full Frame this year?  What will the shuttering of BritDoc mean for Sheffield?

Luckily, Pierson has done a few interviews with folks talking about her choices for this year (one was here, another was with Eugene at indieWIRE), giving us a sense of where she might take the fest.  We hope to be doing a couple more of these with programmers over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, my massive blog crush on seafar, Hot Docs' programmer Sean Farnel's blog, continues unabated.  He's been writing at length about his process in selecting titles for this year's festival, and it's a primer that any filmmaker should read.  Currently, there are a series of 6 posts, each a weekly update into one programmer's decision making.

In summary:

Week One:

"We, the Hot Docs programming team and I, are looking for about 175 films which are appropriate. Not for a six-year-old, but for our smart, generous, curious Hot Docs audience, which includes the international industry that attends our event looking for “product.” More than 2000 films will be viewed, the vast majority of them at least twice. We won’t watch ALL of ALL of the films. Sorry.

But, we will cull our submission shelves as thoroughly and thoughtfully as any film festival in the world. On this point, I’m obsessive. Filmmakers pay submission fees (which only cover a portion of properly administrating an unsolicited submissions process) with the expectation that the work they’ve just went broke making is going to be considered by capable people." 

Week Three:

"We are now deep into the sea of submissions at Hot Docs, and at last count there are 225 films on the Short List (also called, internally, “The Prog List”…as it is at TIFF, from where the term migrated). It will get longer before it gets shorter. We have two weeks of HEAVY screening, then Berlin, then we shape this big mound of documentary clay into a semi-coherent film festival."

SXSW 2009: 5 Questions with Janet Pierson

Last week, we began our gander at this year's SXSW Film Festival lineup (see here, here and here).  We asked SXSW's new director of programming, Janet Pierson, to weigh in this year's documentary slate as well as her own programming philosophy.

ATWT:  SXSW became, over the past few years, pretty unique amongst festivals in that it had carved its own identity in terms of its programming.  Certainly this was true on the narrative side, with the mumblecore films, but also in nonfiction where the emphasis was less focused on social justice films.  What were your thoughts about SXSW's documentary lineup before you took over and how did you see it in comparison to other festivals?

Janet Pierson:  I've been a champion of films for a very long time, but I haven't been living on the festival circuit, nor have I ever put myself forth as a critic/analyst/film blogger.  So I don't really have a well thought out theory about SXSW docs compared to other fests,   I know SXSW docs range on the irreverent scale from fun to serious, and I really embrace that range. 

We're aware that we're a film festival that people really enjoy, so as we're programming, we're thinking, "What makes a satisfying movie viewing experience" or "How does this move us?" more than, "How important is this subject?"  Certainly, one ends up, hopefully, with a blend of both.  But even if you look at the social justice films that have done well, for example, last year's THEY KILLED SISTER DOROTHY and ONE MINUTE TO NINE, both films had a great, strong narrative!!!    Ultimately, I'll leave it to you and other bloggers/critics/writers to define the distinction.   And too, I think there is always a sensitivity to discovering new filmmakers, new voices.

ATWT:  I've noticed the last two years that when I'm profiling the Sundance slate and then, two months later, the SXSW lineup, that the filmmakers who are headed to Austin seem to be much further along in terms of having a website built, having a trailer, having a kind of web presence.  I've already gotten a bunch of emails from filmmakers asking questions about SXSW or wanting us to see their films - and I barely heard from Sundance filmmakers, until their publicists jumped on board.  Is that just a coincidence or do you think there's some conclusion to draw from that evidence?

JP:  That's something you'll have to ask the filmmakers. But I think it may have to do with the general filmmaking trend of finishing in time for the Sundance deadline.  I'm not saying that everything submitted to us has already been submitted to Sundance, but it is a factor.  And if that's the case then, in many of the instances, they have the extra time to work on their websites.  Or else, they're just a super hands-on creative bunch who know how it essential it is!  I mean SXSW is not only the home of a great film and music conference/festival, it hosts of the pre-eminent Interactive Conferences in the world...and everyone knows that!! 

SXSW 2009: The SX Global and 24 Beats Doc Selections

Continuing our week-long look at the docs of SXSW 2009, we focus on films screening in the SX Global (International) and 24 Beats Per Second (Music) sections of the festival.  Again, we supply lots of notes and links and trailers, descriptions via the festival.  The latter lineup is after the jump.

SX GLOBAL

CALLING E.T.  (Netherlands)
Directed by Prosper de Roos
A close-up look at a small group of people listening, watching, waiting and preparing for their perceived inevitable earthly encounter with extraterrestrial intelligence. (U.S. Premiere)

Note - The film screened at IDFA in November.

FAVELA ON BLAST (Brazil)
Directed by Leandro HBL
Globe trotting taste-maker DJ Diplo presents a look at Brazil's Baile Funk music scene from directly inside the mountain ghettos where it spawned and thrives.

Note - A truly good film that I had the pleasure of seeing in Copenhagen at CPH:DOX.  Here's a clip from the film:

THE FORGOTTEN TREE (Mexico)
Directed by Luis Rincon
A documentary that revisits the slums featured over fifty years ago in LOS OLVIDADOS (Luis Buñuel), and reveals the current and similar conditions for the people in this area of Mexico City.

Note - LOS OLVIDADOS earned Best Director honors for Buñuel at the 1951 Cannes Film Festival.

JOURNEY TO THE END OF COAL (France)
Directed by Samuel Bollendorff
Millions of Chinese coal miners are making sacrifices everyday, risking their lives and spoiling their land to satisfy their country’s appetite for economic growth.  Meet them and learn more about how they live in this valley of death and pollution in the frozen winter of Northern China.

Note - Bollendorff is an acclaimed and accomplished photojournalist in France.  JOURNEY TO THE END OF COAL is also an interactive web documentary (not entirely clear on how or if it varies from the film that SXSW will screen) that is available at the film's website.

LOVE ON DELIVERY (Denmark)
Directed by Janus Metz  
In a remote fishing village in Denmark, 575 Thai women are married to Danish men.  An intimate look at the unique relationships between these Danish men and their Thai wives.

Note - Screened at IDFA and CPH:DOX, where it won two awards - Best Short Doc and Best Cinematography award.  Metz directed a second film on this topic, TICKET TO PARADISE, which also screens here at SXSW.

ROADSWORTH: CROSSING THE LINE (Canada)
Directed by Alan Kohl
Stencil artist Peter Gibson’s personal and professional struggle to defend his work, define himself as an artist and address difficult questions about art and freedom of expression.

Note - A six-minute trailer is available for viewing at the Wooster Collective's website.

SNOWBLIND (England)
Directed by Vikram Jayanti
Rachael Scdoris, 23, and legally blind since birth, is racing in her third Iditarod, the grueling 1,100 mile dog sled race in Alaska that's the toughest race in the world.

Note - Rachel has her own website where you can track her progress on the various Iditarods in which she competes.  SPOILER ALERT - it might reveal the end of the movie...  Favorite feature? - What's in Rachel's Sled Bag?

SOUNDS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT...A POPUMENTARY (England)
Directed by Jamie Johnson
Behind the scenes look at of the world’s premiere youth music spectacle: The Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

Note - Variety's Dennis Harvey had this rave after the film debuted in Toronto at TIFF 2008:

"There have been plenty of cute-kids-competing docus of late, including notable hits MAD HOT BALLROOM and SPELLBOUND.  Still, SOUNDS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT delights afresh, not only because its kids are (surprise!) so cute, but because the competition in question -- the Junior Eurovision Song Contest -- is unbeatably, garishly colorful."

We summed up the response at Toronto here.

TICKET TO PARADISE (Denmark)
Directed by Janus Metz
The sequel to Janus Metz' Love on Delivery’ follows the story of a young Thai-girl's journey from peasant to sex worker.

Note - See LOVE ON DELIVERY above.

SXSW 2009: The Emerging Vision and Spotlight Premiere Doc Lineups

Yesterday, we profiled the eight films in the documentary competition at this year's SXSW Film Festival.   The Austin train continues today with nonfiction films screening in the Spotlight Premieres and Emerging Visions sections - and lots of notes, trailers and assorted trivia. 

First up, this year's Spotlight Premieres:

FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES: THE STORY OF AMERICAN FILM CRITICISM
Directed by Gerald Peary
The first documentary to dramatize the rich, fascinating history of American film criticism.

Note - Peary is the long-time film critic for the Boston Phoenix.  The film had a WIP screening at Telluride in 2007.

THE LAST BEEKEEPER
Directed by Jeremy Simmons
This documentary follows the lives of three commercial beekeepers over the course of one year as they struggle with Colony Collapse Disorder. As they all take their bees to California's enormous annual almond pollination, they are forced to ask the question "If all the bees die, what do you have to live for?"

Note - Simmons is a longtime collaborator of filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, serving as editor on INSIDE DEEP THROAT and the narrative version of PARTY MONSTER, as well as directing several episodes of the Sundance series "One Punk Under God".

MONSTERS FROM THE ID
Directed by David Gargani
The untold story of 1950’s American Sci-Fi Cinema and the role of the Modern Scientist.

Note - Had a screening in December as part of a preview for this year's Connecticut film festival.  Trailer and stills available at the CFF website.

NEW WORLD ORDER
Directed by Andrew Neel and Luke Meyer
Impassioned conspiracy theorists travel the globe trying to expose the group that they claim rules the world.

Note - The new film from the directors of SXSW's 2006 Audience Award-winning hit, DARKON.

OBJECTIFIED
Directed by Gary Hustwit
A glimpse into our relationship to manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.

Note - The sophomore film from the Independent Spirit Award nominated director of HELVETICA.

PASSING STRANGE
Directed by Spike Lee
A musical documentary about the international exploits of a young man from Los Angeles who leaves home to find himself and 'the real'. A theatrical stage production of the original Tony-Award winning book by Stew. 

Note - After its premiere at Sundance, Hot Docs programmer Sean Farnel is not entirely sure what to call the film:

"(I)s a filmed performance a “documentary,” formally speaking? While certainly a document, or record of the performance, and skillfully photographed and edited, there is no non-fiction in the content of PASSING STRANGE. Okay, a dash, in the intermission sequence. But wouldn’t a documentary about the Broadway show Passing Strange feature comment on the performance, perhaps some “making-of” footage, a sense of its reception? Not that I wanted any of this in the film. I loved it for what it was, wished I had seen the show live, and was thankful it had been preserved. Yet, is a “document” the same as a “documentary” film? I’m not being rhetorical here. I’m really not sure, and have been thinking about it."

WINNEBAGO MAN
Directed by Ben Steinbauer
Jack Rebney's outrageously funny outtakes from a Winnebago sales video became an underground phenomenon and made him an internet superstar. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer sets out to find him.

Note - Here's the video that started it all: