As part of today's announcement of the upcoming, inaugural Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking, we have revealed a shortlist of 15 films, selected by a blue ribbon committee of film festival programmers. These 15 films were the top vote getters in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking. From this shortlist, five films will be nominated in the top category, with nominations to be announced in two weeks at an event in Park City, Utah.
The shortlisted films are:
BILLY THE KID
DEEP WATER
THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK
GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
INTO GREAT SILENCE
LAKE OF FIRE
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)
THE MONASTERY - MR. VIG AND THE NUN
NO END IN SIGHT
SICKO
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
THE UNFORESEEN
ZOO
indieWIRE has more here.
In seven other categories, including prizes for Direction, Production, Cinematography, Editing, Graphic Design and Animation, International Feature and Debut Feature, nominees will be chosen by the nominating committee from 76 eligible films.
The nominating committee included programmers from North America's top film festivals:
Thom Powers (Chair), Documentary Programmer, Toronto International Film Festival
Phoebe Brush, Director of Programming, Full Frame Film Festival
Matt Dentler, Producer, South by Southwest Film Festival
Sean Farnel, Director of Programming, Hot Docs
Tom Hall, Director of Programming, Sarasota Film Festival
David Kwok, Director of Programming, Tribeca Film Festival
Cara Mertes, Director of Sundance Documentary Film Program, Sundance Film Festival
David Nugent, Director of Programming, Hamptons International Film Festival
Rachel Rosen, Director of Programming, Los Angeles Film Festival
Sky Sitney, Director of Programming, SilverDocs
David Wilson, Director, True/False Film Festival
Brit Withey, Artistic Director of Festivals, Starz Denver Film Festival
It seems to me that this award is a creature of Film Festivals (or Film Festival Culture), so the question is why the prejudice in favor of film festivals, and what works there, and even more so of the very film festivals whose leadership makes up the majority of the selection committee?
What about short documentaries, an area under represented at some of these events? Or experimental docs, also seldom programmed? What about documentaries made for television or sold to US television and not shown at many festivals? Why the arbitrary BO Gross cut off?
really the issue comes down to you (and the Festivals taking part in this exercise) don't agree with the taste or priorities of the academy, etc.
So why not say - we the following Film Festival programmer will give a prize to the film from all our festivals we like the best. The uber Film Festival award.
And, shouldn't you EXCLUDE anyone who submits their film to the Academy, too? Why should people get two bites of the apple? Put your money where your mouth is. THEN the award will mean something (Eventually, when people will come to respect it more, otherwise what's the point?)
Posted by: Jonathan Miller | January 07, 2008 at 12:14 PM