All these wonderful things

IN DEPTH: The 2010 Documentary Short Oscar Shortlist

Late Friday afternoon, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the eight films that have been shortlisted for the Best Documentary Short Oscar.

And once again it was a huge day for HBO Documentary Films.  The network - which traditionally dominates this category - was responsible for at least five of the eight shortlisted titles, including a film that will air on the network this coming week - a profile of children's book author/illustrator Maurice Sendak by WHERE THE WILD THINGS auteur Spike Jonze and his frequent collaborator Lance Bangs.

Also happy?  Us.  Three of our CONVENTION collaborators - Steven Bognar, Daniel Junge and Julia Reichert - were amongst those announce today.  Bogner and Reichert for their HBO Labor Day premiere doc THE LAST TRUCK: CLOSING OF A GM PLANT (above) and Junge for his THE LAST CAMPAIGN OF GOVERNOR BOOTH GARDNER.  Congrats to them and all on this year's shorts shortlist, 3 to 5 of whom will be making the voyage to the Kodak Theatre as Oscar nominees in March.

After the break, the skinny on this year's potential nominees:

The Monday Brief: The OBAMA Doc Hunts for Oscar, Spirit Awards Move Off the Beach and What if You Made a John Hughes Doc and John Hughes Died?

Good Monday morning to you, with summer winding down and the fall festivals seeming to be nearly upon us, but in the documentary feature world, August means Oscar qualifying...

Like lots of other folks with films set to debut later this year (or even later), HBO moved to qualify its forthcoming Obama documentary BY THE PEOPLE: THE ELECTION OF BARACK OBAMA by screening it theatrically in New York and Los Angeles.  And while the pay network took some lumps last year for hiding its theatrical run of ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED, this year's qualifying took place in the sunshine, or at the Sunshine, to be exact.

Opening Friday and screening through this week, BY THE PEOPLE is playing at New York's Sunshine Cinema in SoHo and at LA's Laemmle Sunset 5, and while it's pretty clear that HBO didn't go to a lot of effort to screen the film for critics (note the lack of reviews at Rotten Tomatoes), they aren't screening the film in Pasadena or on W. 181 Street either (God bless, you know I do love Pasadena, so no offense).  So mazel tov. 

The limited response thus far from those who have written about the film seems positive, if not glowing.  The Chicago Tribune's political writer Lynn Sweet writes that the film is "an important historical document" because of the exclusive access that filmmakers Amy Rice and Alicia Sands had to the campaign, and argues that we shouldn't expect a film like DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus' classic THE WAR ROOM, writing, "THE WAR ROOM didn't have Clinton".

The Monday Brief: Thompson at indieWIRE, THE COVE Debuts and Michael Moore Threatens a Docu-Retirement

We're gonna try a bit of an experiment, a new feature here at the blog called The Monday Brief. 

What is it?  In short, it will be a recap of some of the news of the weekend, some of the items that we missed or couldn't get to from the previous week(s) and a bit of a riff on what we're thinking and talking about.

How long will it last?  Hard to say.  We're gonna try to keep it regular, although our filmmaking job will continue to take top priority, so we can assume that there will also be Commando Mondays (sans Briefs).  But we're hoping this provides an outlet for stories that seem to deserve more than a headline and maybe something less than a full blog post, plus a bit more stream of consciousness (which will likely get us into a spot of bother).

In any case, thanks for coming along for the ride.

Today is the day that Anne Thompson moves her column Thompson on Hollywood over to indieWIRE and, at press time, there's already a significant amount of content, including posts about THE HURT LOCKER's Oscar hopes, a few wrap-up pieces from ComiCon and a look at the disappointing year Universal is having.

As we wrote earlier this year after it was announced that Variety had given her the pink slip:

"Few are able to balance coverage of studios and indies as well as Thompson does.  And, true to her being a real reporter, she has better sources and a more inquisitive mind than nearly anyone who writes about the industry on a regular basis."

I should add that she's one of a handful of folks who pays a good deal of attention to what's happening in the documentary world.  It's great to see Thompson pair up with indieWIRE and it will be interesting to see how the partnership plays out.

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.

The Birth of a New Award for Nonfiction

This idea, that there should be awards for nonfiction that recognized the breadth of the genre and included the crafts of cinematography and editing and producing, has been simmering for more than a year. 

Little moments began to build.  I was dumbfounded that groups like the ASC - the American Society of Cinematographers - didn't give an award for cinematography in nonfiction features.  I was surprised to see filmmakers twist themselves and their bank accounts into knots trying to qualify via the Academy's byzantine and oft-changing rules.

Last summer, at the AFI Silverdocs film festival, I found myself in several conversations about the Academy and its qualification procedures.  I'd see filmmakers stressed, wondering where they'd get the money or whether they'd be able to qualify through the IDA's DocuWeek.  And at some point, sitting with filmmakers and others from within our community, I began to insist that the only way to fix this broken system with the Academy was to dilute the hypnotic power it seemed to hold over filmmakers.  And one way to do that was to create a new award, one that would salute the craftspersons and artists who work in nonfiction.  One that would not be subject to the same bizarre requirements and mysterious screening committees.  One that truly grew from within the community.

My first thought, at least the one I proposed in Silver Spring with at least one drink consumed, was that this was a job that should be handled by an existing entity - perhaps the IDA with an expanded list of awards that included areas of craft, or maybe a top nonfiction festival like Silverdocs.

But it soon became clear that these organizations and others had their hands more than full.  Getting someone else do take on this project would take years of persuasion (of boards, sponsors, etc.).

So, with Silverdocs completed, I returned to Los Angeles with this little idea tucked away.

Then came the Academy Shortlist.

IN DEPTH: The Academy's Documentary Shortlist

Nine films dealing with war and five more dealing with social issues ranging from health care to gay rights, abortion to slavery highlight an exceptionally serious and shockingly straight-forward list of documentaries that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has chosen to highlight as the cream of the 2007 crop.  But more than the films that were selected for this year's Oscar Shortlist is the stunning list of films - both in length and in quality - that did not hear the Academy's call.

While we will cover some of the issues raised by the Academy's Shortlist in this report, I will have a special commentary on the choices made by the Academy's screening committee - as well as those made by the International Documentary Association - posted shortly.  (Update: The Commentary is now posted here.)

Here's an in-depth look at this year's films and some of the important facts behind this list of 15.

Theatrical?  What Theatrical?

Despite all the endless debate over making sure the Oscar nominees were theatrical documentaries and not television docs in disguise, the Academy's screening committee selected just 6 films which have pursued a true national theatrical release, with an additional two more set to do so in the coming months.  In part because of all of the mumblings made by the Academy, I had naively predicted that the Shortlist would include a minimum of 8 (and maximum of 12 films) that had already pursued such a release.  In fact, while presumably all 15 films have played the required 14 cities in 10 states, nearly 2/3 of the films that made the Shortlist have yet to make themselves available for review by critics nor have they reported their box office receipts.  Three of the films have already aired on television in the US.

Whattya Know? Seinfeld Was Right!

There was a bit of grumbling last year when Jerry Seinfeld described the Oscar field as "incredibly depressing".  But apparently that wasn't a concern for the screening committee, which went full throttle for films about war and social issues.  Even the more crowd pleasing films in the bunch are built around very serious subjects like autism and genocide.

THINKing Big

THINKFilm went into this year's Oscar race with a strong line-up, including four films that screened as part of the IDA's DocuWeek series.  Of the other longtime documentary distributors, only Magnolia, First Run and Weinstein/Lionsgate could manage a single film on the list.  For comparison, last year no distributor had more than one film on the Shortlist.

The four films also happen to be some of the only films on the list that took significant steps regarding style, craft and sometimes pushed the boundaries of the form.  Surprisingly - particularly considering the competition - THINK's most conventional doc, IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, was one of the biggest snubs.

But There's Plenty of Snubs to Go Around

The truly big story is the long list of acclaimed films that didn't make the list.  It starts with IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON and THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK, and it extends embarrassingly for at least another dozen.  In fact, 7 of the top 10 critically acclaimed theatrical docs of 2007 (according to our list published last week) were left off the Academy's Shortlist.  8 of the next 20 were also missing.  While two years ago everyone was shocked that GRIZZLY MAN was excluded, this year the list of missing films is so lengthy that no one exclusion stands out as most egregious.

The IDA/Academy Mind Meld

The International Documentary Association matched its tally from 2006 by helping to qualify five of the Shortlisters through its DocuWeek program, including three films from THINK.  In addition, five of the IDA's ten shortlisted films are also on the Academy's Shortlist, including three finalists: OPERATION HOMECOMING, SICKO and TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE.

Sundance Maintains Dominance

Also matching its tally from last year, five of this year's films debuted in Park City.  Among the rest, Toronto came in second with three films (one from 2006 & two from 2007), Tribeca was third with two titles.  Cannes, SXSW, Adelaide and Boston Jewish each had one.

The Boys Are Back

In 2006, 2/3 of the film's nominated were directed solely by women or all-female directorial teams.  This year, just a single film - Tricia Regan's AUTISM: THE MUSICAL - fits that description.  Further, only three other films have a woman working as a co-director.

The 2007 Shortlist

Here now, in alphabetical order, are the 15 films on this year's Oscar Shortlist:

AUTISM: THE MUSICAL
Directed by Tricia Regan

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
Tribeca

Other Major Festivals:
Mill Valley, Newport, Vancouver

Festival Laurels:
Audience Award - Newport

Distribution:
Acquired by HBO

Qualified:
Underground theatrical release

IDA Nominee?:
No.

Sample review:
"Eloquently attesting to the transformative power of theater, "Autism: The Musical," an upbeat docu about putting on a musical for, with and by autistic children, proves as riveting as it is revelatory." - Ronnie Scheib, Variety

Notes:
One of only a few uplifting films in this year's crop, it is also the one that seems most made-for-basic-cable-reality-television.  Produced by the production company that brought you The Real World and Road Rules, the film mixes interviews of parents with footage of their autistic kids preparing to stage a musical on LA's affluent westside (home to many Academy members).  Apparently resonates with parents concerned about the growing issue of autism.  One of the few films this year to somewhat successfully utilize the trappings of the competition doc.

BODY OF WAR
Directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro

Vital Statistics:
IMDb Page

Festival Premiere:
Toronto 2007

Other Major Festivals:
Hamptons, AFI

Festival Laurels:
Audience Award - Hamptons

Distribution:
Pending

Qualified:
Underground theatrical release

IDA Nominee?:
No.

Sample review:
"By documenting the difficult life of their paraplegic subject, helmers Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue succeed in personalizing some of the war's grim statistics, but the purview of their portrait feels too limited for the pic to play widely." - Alissa Simon, Variety

Notes:
Often referred to as "the Donahue movie", a distinction that ignores veteran doc helmer Ellen Spiro, BODY OF WAR is one of the only films by a high-profile maker to advance to the short list.  One of four films dealing with the Iraq war, it has galvanized audience reaction through its short festival run.  Still looking for distribution (although this may help, even in a climate that supposedly steers clear of Iraq films), it also has the benefit of a high profile musical contributor - Eddie Vedder - who could be this year's Melissa Etheridge (a rocker nominated for Best Original Song for documentary work).

FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO
Directed by Daniel Karslake

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
Sundance

Other Major Festivals:
Full Frame, Seattle, Outfest, Vancouver, Denver

Festival Laurels:
Human Rights Award - Full Frame
Audience Award - Seattle
Audience Award - Outfest

Distribution:
First Run

Box Office:
$229,716 as of 11/19/07

Qualified:
Theatrical release with underground qualifying run.

IDA Nominee?:
No.

Rotten Tomatoes page:
94% (32 out of 34)
100 percent cream

Metacritic score:
72

Sample review:
"A brisk, entertaining and even moving exploration of the sometimes frayed intersection where Christianity meets homosexuality... (I)t's never strident or chest-thumping, and its methodology is superbly thought out." - Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

Notes:
One of only 6 actual theatrical releases on the list, and one of the few that had both a successful festival and theatrical run.  An emotionally important and timely film about the still-looming issue of gay rights and religion.  It's a somewhat conventional mix of interviews and archival material (the film's one major bout of style - an animated sequence - is the one thing that many don't like), but it's powerful, gripping and critically acclaimed.  And one year after the double nods for JESUS CAMP and DELIVER US FROM EVIL, it could be the religious-issue film that hits with Academy members.

LAKE OF FIRE
Directed by Tony Kaye

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
Toronto 2006

Other Major Festivals:
Full Frame, Santa Barbara, Sarasota, Seattle, Denver

Distribution:
THINKFilm

Box Office:
$25,317 as of 11/19/07

Qualified:
Theatrical release with underground qualifying run.

IDA Nominee?:
No.

Rotten Tomatoes page:
95% (37 out of 39)
100% cream

Metacritic score:
83

Sample review:
"This is a brave, unflinching, sometimes virtually unwatchable documentary that makes such an effective case for both pro-choice and pro-life that it is impossible to determine which side the filmmaker, Tony Kaye, stands on.." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Notes:
Beloved by critics, somewhat less so by audiences (in part due to its 2 1/2 hour running time), LAKE OF FIRE was the sole THINKFilm title not to be chosen for DocuWeek this summer.  With all the talk and praise the film has received, some have been shocked by the film's poor performance at the box office.  Surprisingly not mentioned in discussion of the film is the fact that the vast majority of the action takes place during the abortion clinic bombings of the 1990s.  Like FOR THE BIBLE, the film taps into a religious examination that seemed to resonate with the Academy last year.  Just wondering, do they know Tony Kaye's reputation for controversy?

NANKING
Directed by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
Sundance

Other Major Festivals:
Tribeca, Vancouver, Denver

Festival Laurels:
Best Editing - Sundance

Distribution:
THINKFilm

Qualified:
DocuWeek premiere and multi-city rollout.  DocuWeek Director Q&A can be found here.

IDA Nominee?:
Yes.  Feature Documentary Shortlist and ABCNews VideoSource Award Nominee.

Sample review:
"Hard-hitting if somewhat over-produced docu reps a vital addition to the small body of reportage on a tragedy whose repercussions continue to be a source of pain and controversy." - Justin Chang, Variety

Notes:
One of the most successful documentaries of the year at the box office - the Chinese box office that is.  The film opens in the US next month.  Produced by AOL bigwig Ted Leonsis and co-directed by 5-time Oscar nominee and 2-time winner Guttentag, NANKING looks at the westerners who helped protect Chinese citizens from the Japanese army during the infamous 1937 massacre there.  Some wondered if the extensive use of actors portraying historical figures might negatively affect the film's chances with the sometimes strict Academy.

   
NO END IN SIGHT
Directed by Charles Ferguson

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
Sundance

Festival Laurels:
Special Jury Prize - Sundance Film Festival

Distribution:
Magnolia

Box Office:
$1,433,319 as of 11/19/07

Qualified:
Theatrical release.

IDA Nominee?:
No.

Rotten Tomatoes page:
95% (75 out of 79)
96% cream

Metacritic score:
89

Sample review:
"As lucid as it is level-headed, the film has a clear thematic focus -- what went wrong in Iraq -- and it identifies the catastrophic turning points with steely precision and a wealth of context. The result, narrated in a grave monotone by Campbell Scott, is a catalog of horrors so absurd and relentless it verges on farce, or Greek tragedy." - Dennis Lim, Los Angeles Times

Notes:
The second highest grossing doc (in the US) on the list and the one with the best reviews, NO END IN SIGHT may be the front runner as well.  A comprehensive journalistic summation of the Iraq decable, executive produced by Oscar nominee (and fellow shortlister) Alex Gibney, the film is also admired for director Ferguson's back story - an internet millionaire and MIT scholar who made the film looking for answers rather than a muckraking expose.  The only potential drawback is the film's conventional style, although looking at the Academy's Shortlist, that may be just thing to give them the Iraq film they've looking for.

OPERATION HOMECOMING - WRITING THE WAR TIME EXPERIENCE
Directed by Richard Robbins

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Theatrical Premiere:
February 9, 2007

Major Festivals:
True/False, Full Frame, IDFA 2007

Festival Laurels:
Special Jury Prize - Florida Film Festival

Distribution:
The Documentary Group

Box Office:
Unreported

Qualified:
Theatrical release.

IDA Nominee?:
Yes - Best Documentary Feature Finalist and Pare Lorentz Award Nominee.

Rotten Tomatoes page:
87% (13 out of 15)
71% cream

Metacritic score:
71

Sample review:
"Robbins' visual overlay sometimes synchs perfectly with the narration and other times roughly approximates it, deliberately granting primacy to the word. Even the sometimes uneven quality of the imagery serves to highlight the shattering honesty of these barings of the soul." - Ronnie Scheib, Variety

Notes:
In terms of theatrical release, the oldest film on the list, and the only film to premiere in theatres before playing a single film festival.  Aired on PBS in the spring.  Like last year's shortlister THE WAR TAPES, allows audiences to hear directly from Iraq war soldiers.  Produced by members of Peter Jennings' team from ABC News.  Surprising choice to open the upcoming edition of IDFA (considering that fest's often strict premiere guidelines).  One of three films to also be nominated for the IDA's top prize.

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME
Directed by Weijun Chen

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
Adelaide

Other Major Festivals:
AFI Silverdocs, Toronto, Hamptons

Festival Laurels:
Grand Jury Prize - AFI Silverdocs

Distribution:
Acquired by PBS for Independent Lens.

Qualified:
Underground theatrical release prior to foreign TV broadcast.

IDA Nominee?:
No.

Sample review:
"Thought-provoking and achingly hilarious...  At a time when the exportation of democracy serves as a rationale for war, "Please Vote for Me" attains must-see status.." - Variety 

Notes:
Both funny and thought-provoking and a surprise victor at AFI Silverdocs in June., the second Silverdocs grand jury prize winner in two years to advance.  The last - JESUS CAMP - was also nominated.  One of two "Why Democracy?" films (TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE is the other) on the Shortlist.  Like OPERATION HOMECOMING, has already aired on television.

THE PRICE OF SUGAR
Directed by Bill Haney

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
SXSW

Other Major Festivals:
AFI Silverdocs

Festival Laurels:
Audience Award, Emerging Visions - SXSW

Distribution:
Uncommon

Qualified:
DocuWeek followed by theatrical release.  DocuWeek Director Q&A can be found here.

IDA Nominee?:
No.

Rotten Tomatoes page:
76% (13 out of 17)
86% cream

Metacritic score:
73

Sample review:
"While the political implications of the film are provocative, "Sugar" also happens to be an impressive cinematic achievement. This picture has a visual sweep that many docu films lack; the plantations and nearby towns are vividly evoked." - Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter

Notes:
Represents what is quickly becoming a documentary staple, the "that food you eat is killing someone" strand, but does so with strong cinematography and narration from liberal saint Paul Newman.  The only doc from SXSW's exceptionally strong line-up to make the Shortlist.  Like NANKING and the non-shortlisted DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK, has received some criticism for its "white man to the rescue" storyline.  Has also received support when the film came under attack by Washington lawyers representing the abusive Dominican sugar corporations.

A PROMISE TO THE DEAD: THE EXILE JOURNEY OF ARIEL DORFMAN
Directed by Peter Raymont

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
Toronto 2007

Distribution:
Pending

Qualified:
DocuWeek premiere and multi-city rollout.  DocuWeek Director Q&A can be found here.

IDA Nominee?:
No.

Sample review:
"The decision by Canadian documaker Peter Raymont ("Shake Hands With the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire") to show Dorfman returning to his beloved adopted home of Chile after years of political exile, and also have the writer function as an on-camera host, makes for a stilted if sincere political and emotional tour." - Robert Koehler, Variety

Notes:
A very straight-forward travelogue of the Chilean author Ariel Dorfman's return home after exile following the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende by Augusto Pinochet.  Had a sneak preview earlier in the year at Full Frame, where Dorfman was one of the ten curators asked to select a film to present.

THE RAPE OF EUROPA
Directed by Bruce Berge, Bonni Cohen and Nicole Nernham

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
Boston Jewish Film Featival 2006

Other Major Festivals:
Denver, Palm Springs, Sarasota

Distribution:
Self-distributed

Box Office:
Unreported

Qualified:
Underground theatrical release.

IDA Nominee?:
No.

Sample review:
" Impressive in scope if unremarkable in style, The Rape of Europa provides a chronology of World War II as it was experienced by "David," "Mona Lisa," and other artistic treasures the Nazis plundered. Though dryly executed and narrated by a staid Joan Allen, the doc is an excellent survey of the techniques employed by the Third Reich to not just demoralize but de-historicize the countries they invaded." - Michelle Orange, Village Voice

Notes:
While many expected two-time Oscar winner Rabbi Marvin Hier's film on SIMON WIESENTHAL to take the World War II slot on the Shortlist, it went instead to RAPE OF EUROPA, a public broadcasting and grant-funded look at the theft of art treasures by the Nazis.  Has played more than 20 Jewish film festivals this year alone.  Inspired by a 1995 book by the same name by Lynn Nicholas.

SICKO
Directed by Michael Moore

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
Cannes

Distribution:
Weinstein Company/Lionsgate

Box Office:
$24,540,079 as of 11/19/07

Qualified:
Theatrical release.

IDA Nominee?:
Yes - Best Documentary Feature Finalist.  Moore to receive Lifetime Achievement Award.

Rotten Tomatoes page:
93% (163 out of 176)
87% cream

Metacritic score:
74

Sample review:
" It's a different Michael Moore in "Sicko." He still wears the baseball cap, but he's onscreen less, not so cocky, not going for so many laughs. He simply tells one story after another about Americans who are sick, dying or dead because we have an undemocratic, profit-gouging health care system." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Notes:
For any other director, it would be the front runner going away.  But there's a big question as to whether the documentary branch wants to hand Michael Moore another Oscar, both out of professional jealousy, questions regarding his style & tactics, as well as the circus that resulted when he won for BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE.  It seems hard to believe that he won't get a nomination, because - and don't let them fool you for a moment - docmakers know that if Moore is nominated, all eyes will be on the Doc Feature category, even if the award goes to Gibney or Ferguson.

TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
Directed by Alex Gibney
 
Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
Tribeca

Other Major Festivals:
Full Frame (preview), AFI Silverdocs, Newport, Vancouver, Hamptons, Denver, St Louis

Festival Laurels:
Best Documentary - Tribeca
Best Documentary - Newport
Best Documentary - Chicago
Nominated - Best Documentary, Gotham Awards

Distribution:
THINKFilm.  Opens in the US in January.

Qualified:
DocuWeek followed by underground theatrical release.  DocuWeek Director Q&A can be found here.

IDA Nominee?:
Yes - Best Documentary Feature Finalist.

Sample review:
"Gibney makes movies. It would be discordant on various levels to call "Taxi to the Dark Side" an entertainment, but it's certainly an artful construction of many different visual and sonic elements, which moves from a personal, intimate focus to a more global and historical view and then back again." - Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.

(Editor's Note - A previous edition of this report mistakenly had the above review of NO END IN SIGHT in this spot. That oversite has now been corrected.)

Notes:
Along with WAR/DANCE, the closest thing we have this year to a festival favorite.  A likely nominee and a possible winner.  Gibney, nominated a couple years ago for his well-liked ENRON film, could also be in the mix with NO END IN SIGHT, which he executive produced.  The Academy might want to give him the Oscar to reward both efforts, each of which is a clear-eyed and detailed investigations of Bush administration abuses surrounding the war in Iraq.  And unlike many of the nominees, Gibney's journalism is matched with exceptional filmmaking craft.  Imagine that.  One caveat, since the Academy started changing the rules favoring theatrical in 2002, there has not been a repeat nominee in this category (that goes for you, too, Michael Moore & Bill Guttentag).

WAR/DANCE
Directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix/Fine

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
Sundance

Other Major Festivals:
True/False, Full Frame, Sarasota, Hot Docs, AFI Silverdocs, Los Angeles, Woodstock

Festival Laurels:
Best Direction - Sundance
Audience Award - Full Frame

Distribution:
THINKFilm

Box Office:
$29,241 as of 11/19/07

Qualified:
DocuWeek followed by theatrical release.  DocuWeek Director Q&A can be found here.

IDA Nominee?:
Yes. Was on the Feature Shortlist and is nominated for the Alan Ett Music Award.

Rotten Tomatoes page:
77% (17 out of 22)
82% cream

Metacritic score:
66

Sample review:
"They tell their horrific stories of mutilation and murder directly to the camera, while the reliance on picturesque backdrops, high-energy performances, and countdown-to-the-big-show narrative gambits begs you not to watch something easier on the conscience." - Jim Ridley , Village Voice

Notes:
A festival favorite and the only film on the list to play all four of North America's top documentary festivals (in calendar order - True/False, Full Frame, Hot Docs and Silverdocs).  Has had a somewhat surprisingly mixed critical reaction (with the lowest Metacritic score on the Shortlist), as some reviewers are not going for the more constructed or controlled elements of the film where, despite its made-for-the-Academy themes, the film actually takes some chances.  Was often pitted against the other African kids doc, WE ARE TOGETHER, which is surprisingly not on the Shortlist and is well liked by many.  Strong craft level, particularly in the cinematography.  The film's ultimately optimistic tone may help it burst through in a year filled with seriousness.

WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN
Directed by Steven Okazaki

Vital Statistics:
IMDb page

Festival Premiere:
Sundance

Other Major Festivals:
Full Frame, Seattle

Distribution:
Made by HBO and broadcast by them in August. Already available on DVD.

Qualified:
Underground theatrical screenings.

IDA Nominee?:
Yes. ABCNews Video Source and Pare Lorentz nominee.

Sample review:
"The final third of the film is almost unwatchable as Mr. Okazaki turns to clips of survivors (including some of those in his present-day interviews) from the weeks after the bombings. Their burns and other injuries are simply ghastly." - Neil Genzlinger, Television Critic, NY Times

Notes:
Proof that the rules mandating a theatrical release only hurt the little guys, this HBO production bought and paid for its qualifying dates with no intention of an actual theatrical release.  The director covered this same ground two years ago with the Oscar nominated short THE MUSHROOM CLUB.  A shockingly straight-forward, interview-based documentary.

DocuWeek Q&A: Bill Haney, Director of The Price of Sugar

Last but not least (unless some other DocuWeek directors suddenly turn in a Q&A - are you listening Jessica Yu?) is Bill Haney, the director of THE PRICE OF SUGAR, which had its world premiere at the 2007 SXSW Film Festival.

Synopsis: In the Dominican Republic,  tourists flock to pristine beaches, unaware that a few miles away thousands of dispossessed Haitians have toiled under armed guard on plantations harvesting sugarcane. They work grueling hours and frequently lack decent housing, clean water, electricity, education or healthcare. The Price of Sugar follows Father Christopher Hartley, a charismatic Spanish priest, as he organizes some of this hemisphere's poorest people and challenges powerful interests profiting from their work.

IDA: How did you get started in documentary filmmaking?

Bill Haney: Two quite different experiences propelled me into filmmaking.

The first was prompted by my mother.

I was 35 years old, running a high tech company and harboring not the slightest inkling of ever working in film. My mom called and said she needed a favor.

As it turned out, a childhood neighbor had become a subject in an uncompleted Errol Morris film. At 12 years old, George Mendonca dropped out of school to work as a gardener near the school where my dad  taught, and I lived. After 50 years of work, he had become the world's foremost topiary gardener. Errol chose him as one of the subjects in his film Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, but the film ran into some snags and remained unfinished for some time. George was by now getting quite old, and his wife told my mother that his greatest wish was to see Errol's film finished before he died. I called Errol and offered to lend a hand. It was my first connection with documentary filmmaking.

A majestic grey whale reeled me to actually making my first film.

Three years after calling Errol, I was camping in a desolate section of Baja California that lies within a UNESCO World Heritage site. We pitched our tents along a salt water lagoon that was the last  undisturbed grey whale nursing ground in the world. There, Mitsubishi Chemicals and the Mexican government planned to build the world's largest industrial facility. The environmental group NRDC and their charismatic founder, John Adams, had invited a small group of us to see what we could do to protect these magnificent creatures.

One afternoon three of us took an 11-foot inflatable boat a mile out into the lagoon. Nursing whales and their calves surrounded us. A 30-foot-long mother, her calf trailing behind, headed directly toward our boat. Slowly, she slid under us, carefully lifting much of the boat into  the air. Ever so gently, she then slid us back into the water. She and her calf turned and rolled alongside us.

That night I wandered over to the tent of the naturalist--Roger Payne, one of the world's greatest wildlife biologists--and asked him what could be done to help protect the world's whales. He suggested a film. Together with my partner Tim Disney, we would make A Life Among Whales.

IDA: What inspired you to make The Price of Sugar?

BH: I stumbled across the story that is the center of The Price of Sugar.

Together with Harvard's Children's Hospital, Tim Disney and I had started a nonprofit, Infante Sano, with the intention of  delivering medical training and supplies to dramatically improve infant and  maternal health care in Latin America. I was in the Dominican Republic bringing medical supplies to local hospitals when I was told of a charismatic priest building a new hospital for the poor. I went to meet him.

It didn't take long for the incredible passion and vision of Father Christopher Hartley to become clear. A longtime acolyte of Mother Teresa, his lifelong commitment to the poorest of the poor was inspiring. When I offered supplies for his hospital, surprisingly he asked if we would consider making a film instead. He saw the civil rights challenges his parishioners faced--most of them Haitians working on Dominican sugar plantations--as so severe that only engagement from Americans could help.  Facing death threats as he stood against a powerful company, he saw the international media as a critical source of support. Inspired by his courage and vision, we agreed to make the film.

IDA: What were some of the challenges and obstacles in making this film, and how did you overcome them?

BH: Skipping over the more mundane challenges of crewing and financing a documentary, let me focus on three major issues.

Making a film in an isolated corner of the developing world, where different languages are spoken and where the local powers are hostile, poses some challenges. Telling a local story--that of a parish priest  and his parishioners--where the national and international connections are so  relevant, and doing so in a fair-minded, engaging and economical way can be complicated. Revealing a hidden world in a film that a powerful and wealthy family passionately wants to squash, and uses a broad array of attacks to keep  audiences from seeing, has been a bit of an obstacle.

My strategy for dealing with these challenges is pretty simple. First, stand on the shoulders of giants. Newton said this about his work, of course, and while I am no Newton, my partners in this film--Eric  Grunebaum, Peter Rhodes, Debra Longo, Claudio Ragazzi, Tom Camp, Jerry Risius,  Eric Cochran, Nikki Bramley, Diana Trudell, Lori Joyal and my partner in all my films, Tim Disney--certainly are giants to me. They, and the countless others who worked to help us, made the challenges possible to overcome.

Second, we worked on a story that deeply moved me. By my lights, The Price of Sugar plumbs some of the most fundamental questions of the 21st century, and does so in an inspiring and deeply human way. Our story reveals the lives of some of the poorest people in the  Americas--living next to some of the richest. My own emotional engagement with the principals at stake keeps me going when the obstacles seem highest.

Finally, a determination to let the sun shine on the inspiring lives of our central characters, several of whom believed they were risking their lives to work with us. If they could push forward with all their  burdens, how could we falter?

IDA: How did your vision for the film change over the course of the pre-production, production and post-production processes?

BH: My sense of the heart of the film didn't really change much over the course of making the film. The tale of a parish priest, his struggle to care for his parishioners and the way he and his work connected to the wider world was our focus throughout. I never knew where that story would take us, of course, but I knew that was its heart.

IDA: As you've screened The Price of Sugar--whether on the festival  circuit, or in screening rooms, or in living rooms-how have audiences reacted  to the film? What has been most surprising or unexpected about their reactions?

BH: The audiences we have screened The Price  of Sugar for have been extraordinarily generous with our film. It won the Audience Award at its first festival, South by Southwest, and has provoked penetrating questions on both macro-scale issues of morality, human rights, international trade and US subsidy policy, and on more human-scale issues involving the lives of the film's characters. I love the Q and A  sessions.

Most surprising--and heartening--for me has been the passion and kinship audiences feel with the film's characters. Haitian plantation workers and a Spanish priest are a long way from the daily experience of most audiences, but the direct connection between audience and character seems to happen quickly and deeply.

IDA: What docs or docmakers have served as inspirations for you?

BH: Terry Malick, Kevin Macdonald, Penelope Spheeris, RJ Cutler, Michael Apted and Errol Morris are among the filmmakers whose work inspires me. There are many, many others.

DocuWeek Q&A: Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, Directors of War/Dance

DocuWeek may be over, but there've been a couple late-breaking Q&As just posted to the IDA's site that I want to make sure to include.  First is Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine and their film WAR/DANCE.  THINKFilm is distributing the picture this fall.

Synopsis: Set in Northern Uganda, a  country ravaged by more than two decades of civil war, War/Dance tells  the story of three children whose families have been torn apart and who  currently reside in a displaced persons camp in Patongo. When they are invited  to compete in a music and dance festival, their historic journey to their  nation's capital becomes an opportunity to regain part of their childhood and  taste victory for the first time in their  lives.

IDA: How did you get started in documentary filmmaking?

Sean Fine: I grew up in a family that made documentary films. My father was a cinematographer/director and my mother was an editor/director. I was always around my parents' work, playing with the Steinbeck or making action figures out of my father's Arriflex magazine cores. During an NYU summer film course, I remember leaving the editing room for my final project at 4:00 a.m., having worked 48 hours straight, and thinking, I have to do this; it is so much fun. After college I started working at National Geographic and within a year, I was directing my first documentary, which won two national Emmys.  National Geographic helped me hone a very important skill: how to get the shot the first time in the toughest of locations cinematically.

Andrea Nix Fine: My desire to become a filmmaker started in college.  One of my professors suggested making a documentary film in place of a written term paper. I remember after the first day of shooting thinking to myself, This is what I want to do in life. A passion began that fueled my determination to make films. After college I took numerous jobs, trying to learn as much as I could about filmmaking. I worked in a post-production house as a sound person and an assistant cameraperson. Then I moved to Washington, DC, to work at National Geographic. Within three years I was producing my own films and traveling all over the world. In my films I have endured sub-zero temperatures in the Arctic Circle, croc-infested waters in Costa Rica and  eccentric Neapolitan musicians who work in a Fiat factory. I love that making documentaries opens a rare and privileged door into the lives of others.

IDA: What inspired you to make War/Dance?

SF and ANF: The inspiration for War/Dance came from an opportunity to shed light on a horrific situation. When we received a call from a nonprofit organization, Shine Global, about making a film to raise awareness about a civil war in Northern Uganda that has created one of the worst child soldier situations in the world, our initial response was, What war? After looking into the subject, we could not believe that we had not heard about this war and that it was not something that was plastered over the  front pages of every newspaper in the country. A 20-year-old war where rebels have abducted over 30,000 children--we just could not believe it. We wanted to put faces, names and stories to these horrible statistics.

We decided that the best way to do this was to shoot a film told entirely by those who suffered the most in this war: the children. No experts, no adults--just the children telling their own stories. Once in the field it  became quickly apparent that this was much more than a film about the traumas  of war, but a film about hope and the healing power of music and dance. The children we were meeting were so resilient and strong that we felt their stories were bigger than life. We put all our effort and skill to do justice to the epic nature of the children's stories.

IDA: What were some of the challenges and obstacles in making this  film, and how did you overcome them?

SF and ANF: There are a lot of challenges when trying to make a film  like this. On the one hand, you have the danger element of filming in a war zone with a three-to-four-person crew: unmonitored, ever-present rebel activity ranging from abduction to bloody ambushes. And there's the health  risk of living in one of the most cut-off refugee camps in Uganda--a place where overcrowding has led to dysentery, cholera and malaria that take a thousand lives per week in these displacement camps.

On the other hand, we faced the challenge of telling the story of the effects of war on children in an entirely new way. We decided that to make the most impact we wanted to tell a story through the children's eyes--neither adult nor narrator would interpret the kids experiences, just the children's own voices, in their own language. To achieve the level of intimacy needed, we decided to  live in the camp during the entire production, which went against military law  in Northern Uganda. We had to live in Patongo displacement camp so the people  and, more importantly, the children in the film could get to know us. We wanted the children to feel comfortable with us and safe. To make the children's stories the most powerful, we wanted a very direct line of  communication between the children and the audience--from interviews, where the kids are looking directly into the lens, to having the camera only feet away during some of their most emotional moments. We wanted the film to touch people, to bridge the distance between the audience and people they think they have nothing in common with. To us, human connection is the most powerful tool to evoke change.

IDA: How did your vision for the film change over the course of the pre-production, production and post-production processes?

SF and ANF: In some ways we told this story the way we always intoned, but in other ways the story completely changed. From the beginning we wanted to tell the story of three to four children in their own voices who had been affected by the war in Northern Uganda, but that is the only thing that did not change. We arrived in Northern Uganda to do a scout and shoot some footage to raise production funds. One week into the scout, we heard about Patongo IDP camp possibly competing in a music contest. We immediately traveled to the camp and decided this was our story. The scout became the shoot.

DocuWeek Q&A: AJ Schnack, director of Kurt Cobain About A Son

Wrapping up our series of Q&A's with DocuWeek filmmakers - thanks again to the IDA for their permission in reprinting these here (they are also available on the IDA website) - is a back and forth between Tom White and yours truly regarding my new film, KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON, which opens in theatres in early October. 

Synopsis:  Kurt Cobain About a Son is an intimate and moving portrait of the late musician and artist Kurt Cobain told entirely in his own voice--without celebrity sound bites, news clips, sensational tabloid angles or attempts to mimic a grunge aesthetic. Instead, filmmaker AJ Schnack has created something closer to an autobiography of Cobain--his successes and failures, thoughts and experiences, allowing the audience unprecedented intimacy with a legendary figure in popular culture.

IDA: How did you get started in documentary filmmaking?

AJ Schnack: I studied broadcast journalism in college and worked briefly at a TV station as a reporter/anchor, but quickly found out that I wasn't interested in trying to sum up complex stories in  "sexy" 90-second packages. Nor was I particularly interested in the TV news view of "unbiased"--finding one person on each "side" of a story to give their perspective.

When I finally decided to make my first nonfiction feature--Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns), about the NYC alt-pop band They Might Be Giants--I was drawn to the idea that they had a lot to say about what it is to be a DIY (do-it-yourself) artist, to sometimes work within corporate structures and to sometimes explore new technologies as a way to get your art to an audience.

IDA: What inspired you to make Kurt Cobain About a Son?

AJS: Kurt was a year older than me, and I think one of the reasons that he made such an impact on so many of us (and continues to do so today) is because of his willingness to talk openly, sometimes angrily, about the social changes of the '70s and '80s and how they affected our generation. I view him as one of the most important social and cultural figures of the late 20th century because of his raw social  commentary--the way in which he talked about violence, divorce, addiction, changing gender roles and the homogenization of the small town.

I knew that the audio interviews that inspired this film were the most complete and intimate interviews that Kurt ever did. And I knew that they were a window onto a young man (he was 25 for most of the  interviews) trying to decipher the world around him in the midst of almost crushing world fame.

IDA: What were some of the challenges and  obstacles in making this film, and how did you overcome them?

AJS: The biggest challenge was the scale of our shoot. We shot on film in a great many of the locations that were central to Kurt's life--places he lived, his high school, places he worked, his record  label, the mill where his father worked. I have to give total credit to my producer/partner Shirley Moyers, who not only had to convince people to let us shoot in their homes and places of business (people who were, quite  rightly, protective of Kurt's legacy and suspicious of filmmakers coming in) and then to coordinate a schedule and a crew that would allow for shooting in six or seven locations per day, over the course of three weeks. I also have to credit my cinematographer Wyatt Troll and his crew for adapting to this  "structured guerilla" style of shooting.

IDA: How did your vision for the film change over the course of the pre-production, production and post-production processes?

AJS: I'm actually pretty surprised that the film has changed so little from my initial proposal. Even though I tend to be a structuralist in terms of nonfiction filmmaking, I also think that this was one of those rare cases when you know your material going in, and once I'd made the decision to only use this set of audio interviews and to shoot in this style, there was a certain sense of carrying out a structured plan. What changed was the locations that we shot in--finding out that a certain post office was the place where Kurt bought heroin or that a certain  beach was the place where everyone would go to hang out. That and having some elements of the shooting be completely unplanned, such as the portraiture shots of people on the street.

IDA: As you've screened Kurt Cobain About A Son--whether on the festival circuit, or in screening rooms, or in living rooms--how have audiences reacted to the film? What has been most surprising or unexpected about their reactions?

AJS: We've had a wide range of reactions, from people who are very emotionally affected by the film to people who are confused that there aren't a lot of pictures of Kurt or interviews with his cousins. I think that the thing that I've been gratified by is the response from people with a strong sense of documentary history. They see the film in a context that I think casual viewers, or audiences expecting a typical rags-to-riches rock doc, might miss.

I tend to find almost everything about this process unexpected, but I guess I'm most surprised by the long, slow build the film has had. We premiered at Toronto last fall where, candidly, some of the folks didn't quite know what to make of it. I think the thought was that we were going to be this big rock star movie, and instead we're this meditative "death poem." But as we've traveled along the past year, playing a lot of film festivals and moving away from initial pre-conceived notions, people are constantly "discovering" the film. And that's a strange, wonderful thing.

IDA: What docs or docmakers have served as inspirations for you?

AJS: This is an almost impossible question for me to answer with any kind of brevity. I'm obviously inspired by the folks who make films about music and musicians, particularly DA Pennebaker, the Maysles brothers, Penelope Spheeris, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme and Barbara Kopple. And on this particular film, I'm deeply inspired by the work of Godfrey Reggio and his Qatsi series.

But I'm also incredibly inspired by my contemporaries, the folks I run into at film festivals and whose work constantly impresses and motivates. While I could write an even longer list, I'll single out some of my favorite films of this year: Pernilla Rose Grønkjær's The Monastery--Mr. Vig and the Nun, Jennifer Venditti's Billy the Kid, Jason Kohn's Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) and Jessica Yu's Protagonist. I'm also damn impressed by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern and their back-to-back The Trials of Darryl Hunt and The Devil Came on Horseback. I'm honored to be a part of a community that includes  these and so many other filmmakers.

Kurt Cobain About A Son is screening at the ArcLight Hollywood.

DocuWeek Q&A: Bill Gutentag & Dan Sturman, Directors of Nanking

We're almost worked our way through all the DocuWeek films.  Here's Tom White's Q&A with Bill Gutentag and Dan Sturman, whose NANKING premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and was subsequently acquired by THINKFilm:

Synopsis: A powerful reminder of the  heartbreaking toll war takes on the innocent, Nanking tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China, in the early days of World War II. The city was subjected to months of bombardment, and when it fell, the Japanese unleashed murder and rape on a horrifying scale. In the midst of the rampage, a small group of unarmed Westerners banded together to establish  a safety zone, rescuing over 200,000 Chinese.

IDA: How did you get started in documentary filmmaking?

Bill Guttentag: I was hired to write the proposal for an HBO documentary film, and once HBO decided to make the film, I was then asked to work on the project. I found myself completely fascinated with the power of hearing first-hand the stories of real people and true events--something that continues to this  day.

Dan Sturman: I took a college class from Robb Moss, which turned out to be an inspiring and transformative experience. For our class project, we filmed a 16mm documentary in which we followed Gary Hart on the campaign trail in New Hampshire as he tried to recover from the "Monkey Business" scandal.

IDA: What inspired you to make Nanking?

BG and DS: The film is a Schindler's List story about a handful of Westerners who risked their lives to protect Chinese civilians from marauding Japanese soldiers during the infamous Rape of Nanking in 1937. The intial idea for the film came from producer Ted Leonsis, who had read an obitruary of Iris Chang. He then contacted us and asked us to get involved. We were moved by the great power of the story and then set out to find an innovative way to tell it.

IDA: What were some of the challenges and obstacles in making this film, and how did you overcome  them?

BG and DS:  We wanted avoid making a typical historical doc--the kind that features talking head academics and long moves across still photographs.  Instead, we wanted our audience to have a visceral feeling for the drama and  emotion of the story we were telling. Since none of our main characters were alive to be interviewed, we crafted a stage reading from the words they left behind in diaries, letters, etc. We then assembled a first-rate cast of actors and filmed them together on a soundstage. These performances form the narrative spine of the film and bring our main characters to  life.

We also faced a wide variety of practical and logistical challenges. Our efforts in Japan, for instance, were complicated by the politically sensitive nature of the subject matter; the Chinese and Japanese still don't agree on what happened in Nanking nearly 70 years ago, and the dispute continues to sour relations between the two countries. To this day, many Japanese believe that stories of atrocities in Nanking are exaggerations and lies, and the conflict is often front-page news in newspapers throughout Asia. Some of the people we hired in Japan actually quit the project, citing pressure from family members who disapproved of the subject matter. One of our Japanese associate producers quit because she said she feared for her safety.

IDA: How did your vision for the film change over the course of the pre-production, production and post-production processes?

BG and DS: Our vision for the film remained fairly consistent throughout the process. However, we did a  series of interviews in Japan--with students, academics and politicians--that we ultimately decided not to include. Some of our interview subjects deny or minimize the scope of Japanese involvement in the Nanking atrocities, and although we think this Japanese material is fascinating, we felt it threatened to turn our film into a 60 Minutes segment.

IDA: As you've screened Nanking--whether on the festival circuit, or in screening rooms, or in living rooms--how have audiences reacted to the film? What has been most surprising or unexpected  about their reactions?

BG and DS:  We knew this was an emotional subject, but the extent of the feelings we have seen in our screenings has been overwhelming for us. Some of the stories in the film are just so heartbreaking, and some of the archival footage is just so disturbing, that after each screening, we always see people in  tears.

In early July, we had the odd and fascinating experience of traveling to Beijing to attend the theatrical premiere of Nanking. Apparently, China only allows 20 foreign films a year to screen in theaters, and these releases are staggered every couple of weeks. Our release window was between Pirates of the Caribbean and Transformers. Sitting in theaters in China, watching with audiences there, and seeing the reaction was extraordinary.

And, although many seem to like the film, we've also had our share of negative reactions. Two days after our premiere at Sundance, a group of conservative politicians and activists in Japan held a press conference announcing plans to rebut our "fictitious" film with a $2 million documentary entitled The Truth of Nanking.

IDA: What docs or docmakers have served as inspirations for you?

BG:  The Times of Harvey Milk, The "Up" Series, When We Were Kings, Hearts of Darkness, Mad Hot Ballroom.

DS:  Gimme Shelter, Dont Look Back, Hoop Dreams, American Movie, One Day in September, The Devil Came on Horseback, The Staircase, Sherman's March, Control Room, Crisis.

Nanking is screening through Thursday at the ArcLight Hollywood.