2008 IN REVIEW: The Year in Nonfiction Issues

Looking back on the year that just ended, it's clear that it's been a transformative time in nonfiction. Whereas we ended 2007 by hailing the quality of films but bemoaning the state of our industry, we turn the corner into 2009 cautiously excited by what has happened creatively and commercially for nonfiction film, while still noting that said developments exist in a constantly changing community and industry landscape.

So grab that proverbial drink and settle in as we revist the good and not-so-good of 2008:

5.  The Rise and Fall of AMERICAN TEEN

In the snows of Park City, few films were as buzzed about, fiction or non, as Nanette Burstein's AMERICAN TEEN.  It was the subject of a multi-day bidding war, was viewed as a favorite by most and picked up the jury prize for Best Director.  I noted it as one of my favorite films of the festival.

But somewhere between Sundance and a tumultuous screening at Full Frame in early April, the wheels came off.  Film critic Glenn Kenny called the film "an enhanced documentary" and referenced MTV's The Hills - a link that ricocheted around Park City and would would haunt the film throughout the year. 

Even we noted here that some elements of the film appeared clearly created - either through editing or from staged scenes - for the film:

"There's another issue and that is the question of critical response to the constructed elements in the film, most visible during a series of phone calls, text messages and emails where the camera is always on both sides of the exchange.  It is clear that many, if not most (if not all) of these have been staged or re-created for the camera - clear not because it's indicated by the film but because it's a physical impossibility for the camera to have been present for all of these communications."

In fact, these scenes - and Burstein's steadfast refusal to admit to any kind of trickery - would be the scarlet letter that would afflict the film for most of 2008.  That Full Frame screening and the subsequent, somewhat confrontational Q&A summed up where things were headed, as noted at the time by Pamela Cohn:

"(W)hile most seemed appreciative of the artful way the film was put together, and laughed in all the right places, I also sensed a bit of dubiousness and confusion.  The audience's questions were good ones, challenging and probing ones for the filmmaker.  Most of them were along the lines of, "Um, what exactly did we just see?"  (Burstein's) answers, to my mind, were so facile, so glib, she really didn't answer anyone in any substantive way."

A poster on The D-Word (who gave me permission to reprint his comments here) went further (sparking a month-long debate over TEEN's methods):

"I've never been more upset about a movie than "American Teen." Me an several others protested it's inclusion in the festival. The filmmakers are lying when they said they didn't stage scenes and coach the kids. Anyone who knows a thing about production knows how to detect such things. I don't have a problem with re-creations, or even staging for that matter, as long as it's disclosed in some manner to the viewer. Documentaries are about truth, not reality tv bullshit. I could provide the evidence if anyone is interested.

Because I feel so passionate about this, I had to leave before the Q & A so as to not get in a shouting match with the filmmaker. I told my wife as I was leaving that someone was going to ask about this and she (the filmmaker) was going to deny it. Sure enough, it happened."

AMERICAN TEEN would go on to draw notice for its BREAKFAST CLUB-inspired poster and its selling of its subjects via blog ads and Facebook profiles, yet despite full page ads in the NY Times, box office receipts were disappointing (particularly in relation to costs).  By the end of the year, folks like Aaron Hillis were declaring AMERICAN TEEN the "worst doc of the year."

4.  The Debut of the Cinema Eye Honors

I'll take the hit for being self-serving by including the CEH in this list and won't even attempt to cover the reasons why solo.  Here's Anthony Kaufman writing on his blog:

"Driven solely by art, not by commerce or self-promotion, the awards seek to offer validation to those who need it most: Working on the margins, stringing togething financing piecemeal and struggling for years at a time on labors of love that have no obvious payday or plaudits at the end, these films and filmmakers deserve a night to admire their own artistic accomplishments."

And filmmaker Joe Berlinger:

"(A)s one of the early pioneers of the current new wave of nonfiction theatrical filmmakers with two decades of hindsight, last night's celebration of outstandingly-crafted films and the recognition that there should be no rules for conveying cinematic truth represented a real milestone in the evolution of the perception of nonfiction films."

Cinema Eye 2.0 gears up later this week.  Full archives of our coverage are here.

3.  The THINKFilm Mess

While there were a number of indie shingle shutterings this year (see Picturehouse, Warner Independent), none had quite the same effect on the community as the troubles that befell THINKFilm.  While rumors of financial difficulty were circulating as early as January, the extent of the trouble began to become apparent in May.  Lawsuits, recriminations and bad feelings all around ensued, with many filmmakers and industry folks stiffed in the process.

Worse than what the individual cases meant was the fear of what the loss of THINKFilm, long the most prolific distributor of nonfiction titles, would mean to the overall health of the theatrical marketplace, particularly considering what many claimed was a downturn in said market (see #2).

But a number of moves by longtime distributor Zeitgeist to pick up critically-acclaimed, not-obviously-commercial titles (UP THE YANGTZE, TROUBLE THE WATER and STRANDED among them) as well as some other, more poppy, pick-ups by newcomer distrib Oscilloscope (such as DEAR ZACHARY) seemed to indicate that others may well jump in to THINK's former space. 

2.  The Theatrical Marketplace for Nonfiction Is Alive!  It's Alive!

After last year's doom and gloom, 2008 got off to a strong start with the launch of the concert doc U2 3D in January.  It was one of four nonfiction films in 2008 to open with $1 million weekends, a record.  But since concert films (Scorsese's Rolling Stones flick SHINE A LIGHT was one of the others) and conservative films (Nathan Frankowski's EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED) are considered anomalies, much of the reporting considered 2008 to be another disappointing year.

Even the four million dollar grossing YOUNG@HEART - a film that had already aired on British television nearly a year prior - was considered by some (ahem) to be signs of nonfiction's woes.

That is until MAN ON WIRE and RELIGULOUS came along and suddenly turned 2008 into a success.

But even if you don't use John Horn's math, it's clear that 2008 was - save the lack of a $20M+ blockbuster - as good as any year at the height of the doc explosion.  Eight films released in 2008 made more than $1M at the box office (WALTZ WITH BASHIR looks certain to be the ninth - even if it makes most of its money in '09) - second to only 2004, when 11 films achieved that feat. 

The jury is still out on whether online offers a viable financial return to filmmakers (despite lots of talk of the success of vintage titles like THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK or current events-geared films like CRAWFORD) - and we've yet to see what the merger of IFC and Sundance Channel will mean for documentaries.  And it does seem that the public may have lost its appetite - even if temporarily - for overtly poltical docs.

But one thing's for certain - despite the loss of entities like THINK, Picturehouse, Warner Indie and others, reports of our theatrical death were an exaggeration.  

1.  Nonfiction is an Art Form

In spite of the slings and arrows hurled at AMERICAN TEEN for its constructed elements, what may ultimately mark 2008 is the year that the rule book was finally thrown out in nonfiction filmmaking. 

How else to explain the lack of upset over the recreations of MAN ON WIRE, or the fact that two of the most critically acclaimed nonfiction films of the year are animated (WALTZ WITH BASHIR) and collage-constructed with actors, stock footage and unreliable memories (MY WINNIPEG).  Or that Manohla Dargis can pitch Werner Herzog as one of her Oscar choices for Best Actor.  Hell, after we pitched MAN ON WIRE for the Oscar for Best Picture, the National Society of Film Critics decded that another nonfiction title - BASHIR - deserved the title instead.  If film critics are finally able to move past the "is it or isn't it" debate and just appreciate that it's a film first and foremost, who are we to argue?

We are not so naive as to think that some will never try to impose journalistic rules or standards on all forms of nonfiction moviemaking in the future (au contraire, we think it will happen, and soon).

But we're more than happy to launch into 2009 with at least a small belief that it's a whole new ballgame.  And the fact that a filmmaker is somewhere out there watching WIRE or BASHIR or WINNIPEG or ENCOUNTERS or TEEN and thinking of new ways to make nonfiction is reason to raise that glass.

Coming: The Year in Nonfiction - The Films

Comments

[Erin Donovan]

I'm a little wigged out by all the sports docs coming out this year but otherwise, totally agree about point #1. Great post!

[patrick c]

I hate your site... It's such a good read I can never get any work done. Thanks for another great post.