All these wonderful things

The Brief: OCEANS and Bansky Reap Box Office Rewards, THE OATH Caps an Award-Winning April and Tribeca in Progress

We're dead in the middle of the spring festival onslaught, with Tribeca and San Francisco just hitting their mid-points, IFFBoston about to wrap its event and Hot Docs getting ready to kick-off tomorrow.  We went on our own mini-fest-tour earlier this month (Ashland and Sarasota - more on this later, but let's just say our assessment bore out) and we're trying to get our footing before we head up to Toronto next week.  So much is happening, and here's a brief sample in a mid-week brief...

It was a big weekend at the theatrical box office for OCEANS, the new film from Oscar nominated filmmaker Jacques Perrin (WINGED MIGRATION) and distributor Disneynature.  The film took in just over $6M for the weekend, after an Earth Day debut at the top of the charts on Thursday.  That takes the film to $8.4M so far, with expectations that the film will reach the $10M mark by today.  OCEANS took in nearly $5K per screen, which was the best average in the top 10.

Mystery seems to be paying off huge dividends for EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, the curious documentary from the anonymous artist known as Banksy.  The film has taken in an $390,000 from a handful of screens (it expanded from 8 to 11 this weekend) for the best per screen average of any film in release, according to indieWIRE's weekly box office report, which also gives the back story of EXIT's unusual DIY release by sales rep John Sloss and a team that included Richard Abramowitz.

Also from Abramowith, Tom DiCillo's Doors documentary, WHEN YOU'RE STRANGE, took in another $24K in its third weekend, taking that film's total to just under $165,000.

As mentioned, Tribeca is heading for its closing weekend, with much of the doc talk surrounding the unstoppable force that is Alex Gibney.  With two completed films (and a segment of omnibus doc FREAKANOMICS) at this year's fest, Gibney made a huge splash with his not-yet-completed UNTITLED ELIOT SPITZER FILM (we summed up the press coverage here) over the weekend.

But Gibney wasn't the only news at Tribeca.  indieWIRE's Brian Brooks examines a potential controversy in the wake of Deborah Scranton's EARTH MADE OF GLASS.  Cinematical's Christopher Campbell has a review of FREETIME MACHOS (which is also headed to Hot Docs).  And at Movieline, S.T. Vanairsdale has a recap of the Q&A following Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg's popular JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK.  POV's Tom Roston finds that the Rivers doc changes his mind about the subject.

As the other April fests start wrapping up, it's worth noting the exceptional run Laura Poitras' THE OATH is having.  It began the month with a Special Jury Prize at Full Frame, and followed that with two Grand Jury notations - at Sarasota and at IFFBoston.  The film is heading to Hot Docs and then to the IFC Center where Zeitgeist will kick off its theatrical run next Friday.  We'll be hosting the LA premiere at Cinefamily on May 18. 

We finally got a chance to see THE OATH In Sarasota and it's a knockout, subtle and brilliant with one of the best scores in a documentary in years.

Two more of our favorite docs of 2010 also scored at Sarasota and Boston.  Josh Fox' GASLAND, which has been getting deserved raves all year, received the Special Jury prize in Sarasota and Jeff Malmberg's terrific, complex MARWENCOL picked up the same award at IFFBoston.  All three films will rank among the best in nonfiction in 2010.

Stuff worth reading:  Yance Ford recaps her experience at Full Frame and considers the once and future festival.  Raphaela Niehausen writes about Steven Soderbergh's appearance at Stranger Than Fiction for his Spalding Gray doc AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE.  Anthony Kaufman considers the "documentary fictions" of the Soderbergh film and the Banksy doc.  Kaufman also writes about the STF screening of Doug Block's latest THE KID GROWS UP.  And completing his doc trifecta, Anthony writes about "art docs" for IFC.com.  And finally, a post over at the IDA's news blog on a recent Supreme Court decision sparks a debate on first ammendment freedoms and animal cruelty.

The Monday Brief: MARWENCOL Victorious, Hot Docs Lineups & What to Say About Elinor Burkett, Film Critics & The Conversation

Flying back to Los Angeles from Cleveland, where locals are putting the wraps on the latest edition of their staggeringly successful regional film festival.  With jammed corridors like I’d never seen before and uniformly packed screenings (a new record of 71,000 tickets sold), the Cleveland International Film Festival has developed an exceptionally loyal and curious fan base (one that reaches far outside the Cleveland metropolitan area), resulting in a festival that sets a high benchmark on the regional circuit and…

It was in Cleveland last night where two docs stood in the spotlight.  First and foremost, Jeff Malmberg's MARWENCOL continued its hot streak, picking up its second Jury Prize in less than two weeks – it took the title at SXSW last week (see our summary of the early reviews of the film here.  The film will next go to top fests Ashland in Oregon, IFFBoston and San Francisco International.

In addition, another documentary, LOUDER THAN A BOMB, a world premiere that follows participants in a poetry slam in Chicago, took two prize in Cleveland - the coveted Audience Award as well as the Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Prize, given to the top social justice film.

As Cleveland was wrapping, another spring festival favorite, Don Hahn’s WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY (which screened at True/False and SXSW) kicked off its theatrical run, opening on five screens for a solid weekend estimate of $6,620 per screen.  The Disney distributed film on the fall and rise of the studio’s animation unit in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s is heading to Full Frame and Sarasota in the next few weeks.

While we've been on a bit of an extended hiatus (or at least slowdown), several top fests have posted their line-ups.  Hot Docs announced this past week that they will open with Thomas Balmès’ French doc BABIES - which was acquired by Focus Features at last year's Cannes Film Festival.  Said Focus topper James Schamus at the time:

“Seeing these little heroes during their formative moments makes Baby(ies) an extraordinarily entertaining experience, one that will appeal to any viewer of any age in any part of the world.  With this movie, Thomas is re-defining the nonfiction art form.”

Hot Docs has slated 25 films in its International Spectrum section of the festival, including festival favorites THE OATH, THE INVENTION OF DR. NAKAMATS, MARWENCOL, HIS & HERS and GASLAND.  Here's the full list:

HOT DOCS 2010
INTERNATIONAL SPECTRUM

AISHEEN (STILL ALIVE IN GAZA)
Directed by Nicolas Wadimoff (Qatar/Switzerland)

AUTUMN GOLD
Directed by Jan Tenhaven (Austria/Germany)

CHEMO
Directed by Pawel Lozinski (Poland)

DADDY'S GIRLS
Directed by Lily Sheffy (Isreal)

DAVID WANTS TO FLY
Directed by David Sieveking (Germany/Austria/Switzerland)

DISORDER
Directed by Huang Weikai (China)

FEATHERED COCAINE
Directed by Thorkell Hardarsson and Orn Marino Arnarson (Iceland)

A FILM UNFINISHED
Directed by Yael Hersonski (Isreal)

FLOWERS IN THE DESERT
Directed by José Alvarez (Mexico)

GASLAND
Directed by Josh Fox (USA)

GENERAL ORDERS NO. 9
Directed by Robert Persons (USA)

HIS & HERS
Directed by Ken Wardrop (Ireland)

I SHOT MY LOVE
Directed by Tomer Heymann (Isreal/Germany)

INTO ETERNITY
Directed by Michael Madsen (Sweden/Finland)

THE INVENTION OF DR. NAKAMATS
Directed by Kasper Astrup Schröder (Denmark)

ITO - A DIARY OF AN URBAN PRIEST
Directed by Pirjo Honkasalo (Finland)

MARWENCOL
Directed by Jeff Malmberg (USA)

THE OATH
Directed by Laura Poitras (USA)

THE PLAYER
Directed by John Appel (Netherlands)

THE REGRETTERS
Directed by Marcus Lindeen (Sweden)

SONA, THE OTHER MYSELF
Directed by Yang Yonghi (Japan/South Korea)

STEAM OF LIFE
Directed by Joonas Berghall and Mika Hotakainen (Finland)

TANKOGRAD
Directed by Boris Bertram (Denmark)

THIEVES BY LAW
Directed by Alexander Gentelev (Isreal/Germany)

WISTFUL WILDERNESS
Directed by Digma Sinke (Netherlands)

In addition to Hot Docs, IFFBoston also announced their strong line-up, including nearly 40 nonfiction features.  THE OATH, MARWENCOL and HIS & HERS will screen here as well - along with a number of other notable titles, including BANANAS!*, CASINO JACK AND THE UNITED STATES OF MONEY, COLONY, ERASING DAVID, FAMILY AFFAIR, HOW TO FOLD A FLAG, I'M DANGEROUS WITH LOVE, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, SATURDAY NIGHT, WAR DON DON and our own CONVENTION.

In one more bit of spring festival news, Tribeca announced today that they will close their 2010 festival with the ensemble doc FREAKONOMICS, featuring new work from an all-star line-up of docmakers, including Morgan Spurlock, Alex Gibney, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, Seth Gordon and Eugene Jarecki.

And one more thing...  Part of the reason why I’ve been so slack over the past few weeks is that I’ve been editing my new film (and I’m desperately trying to keep my priorities in order).  But another reason why I haven’t been able to muster together Monday Briefs the past three weeks is that I’ve been at somewhat of a loss to add anything of substance to the various debates du jour.  

I mean, what really is there to say about Elinor Burkett that wasn’t said by the late night comedians?  And seriously, are any of us happy that the most famous documentarian on Oscar night is a loud-mouthed punchline?  Or that after months of THE COVE’s steady march to Oscar glory, that film’s director wasn’t allowed to speak about the reason that he made the film – unfurled banner or second speaker rules be damned.

And what to add to the latest rounds of film critic wars and woes?  Armond White vs. J. Hoberman?  Glenn Kenny vs. Eric Kohn?  The pink-slipping of sometime documentarian and longtime film critic Todd McCarthy by the imploding Variety?  The cancellation of “At the Movies”, just as the series seemed to have a rebirth (and more focus on documentaries) with the hiring of the NY Times’ A.O. Scott and the Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips.  And the less said about Kevin Smith, the better.  All this in just three weeks. I mean, it was nearly four years ago when I wrote “Dog Days for Film Critics”, but who could imagine it would get so much worse so quickly.

Which is not to say that this stuff doesn’t matter.  It does.  It matters that the biggest platform that documentary filmmakers have all year was hijacked by a lucky-to-be-nominated producer (don’t run off at the mouth about how you don’t like the finished film and how your vision isn’t on the screen at the same time that you clutch your little gold man) and an overeager activist/show director.  Looking idiotic on television is not good for our brand, if that must be said aloud.

And the state of our film criticism union is not strong.  And that matters to us as well.  Check out Rotten Tomatoes year end lists of the best reviewed films of the year.  It’s consistently dominated by nonfiction features.  Now, as much as I love docs, I gotta admit I find it a little hard to believe that we are really that much better than narrative films, but I will take any bit of leverage I can to get our films out before an audience that needs to be convinced that we are entertaining, cinematic and theatrical.

And what to make of The Conversation, a much tweeted about gathering of the usual suspects in New York and the latest attempt to grasp hold of some sense of balance as the ground keeps shifting underneath our industry.  Maybe one day one of these events will come up with the big answers, but for now it seems like a constant cry for filmmakers to find more ways to be innovative (and spend more time marketing and promoting their films - for free, naturally) while the "industry" types pontificate.  How many of the folks speaking at The Conversation actually pay filmmakers and vendors what they say they will? And they charge filmmakers to watch this stuff?

So, alas and alack, I have thoughts but no answers.  And I'm probably as much of a usual suspect as those on the dais in New York.  But I'm quickly looking forward to some new things to have conversations about.

IFF Boston Announces Karen Schmeer Doc Editing Award

The first of what we expect will be several tributes to Karen Schmeer has just announced by the Independent Film Festival of Boston:

Karen was a great friend to many at the Independent Film Festival of Boston. She served on the documentary jury for the festival in its inaugural year in 2003, and then returned to be on the jury a second time in 2007. Karen was always one of the strongest supporters of the festival and it is in her honor that the Independent Film Festival of Boston will introduce the Karen Schmeer Award for Excellence in Documentary Editing at our 2010 festival. This prize will be a permanent part of the festival, will recognize editors who have the greatest impact on the final shape that a film takes, and will be awarded to one of the documentaries in competition at the festival each year. For the 2010 festival the jury will be comprised of filmmakers who either worked with Karen or were close to her.

In addition to IFFBoston's award, the Karen Schmeer Editing Fellowship has been established by friends and colleagues of Karen's to honor her memory and spirit. The fellowship is a year-long experience that provides opportunities to help cultivate an editor's artistry and craft and to expand his or her professional and creative community. To find out more about the fellowship and to make a tax-deductible contribution, please go to www.karenschmeer.com.

The Top 25 Film Festivals for Documentaries, 2nd Edition - 10 More American Fests That Matter

Previously: #25. Ashland

There's a bunch of other great American film festivals that do good work for documentaries and filmmakers.  And if our Top 25 Film Festivals list was completely US-centric, the following ten film festivals would all make the list.

Here's an alphabetical list of 10 more American festivals that matter, with comments from filmmakers and industry who've attended:

AFI Fest

Selection of US films screened at 2009 festival:  THE ART OF THE STEAL, BEETLE QUEEN CONQUERS TOKYO, LA DANSE: THE PARIS OPERA BALLET, NEIL YOUNG TRUNK SHOW, REPORTER, SWEETGRASS

Our coverage of AFI Fest here.

They said:

Filmmaker:  "awesome people.  didn't get to attend, but heard good things.  have budget to fly and house filmmakers"

Filmmaker:  "Lots of glitz but not much substance, particularly for weighty films."

Industry:  "I was really impressed with the way they remade themselves this year. I'm definitely interested in returning. And yes, they paid for my flight and room."

Industry:  "Major film showcase with more than a passing nod to docs. Range of activity, organizing and facilities (up until this year). John Wildman and has staff are first rate. The many questions surrounding AFI Fest's "up-in-the-air" status the past year left attendees -- regulars, new and potential -- in a quandry: Is it or isn't it happening? The shortened program. Overall disorganization. The seeming lack of support from the institute."

Industry:  "A good screening opportunity in LA - don’t get much bang but if you can get a few journalists in to see the film, always helpful.  To be fair, the film selection gets better and better and I respect that they tried new things this year.  Don’t know how it panned out with the free public tickets, but liked the idea.  They were very accommodating in trying to travel an international filmmaker.  They offered vouchers but only out of European hubs – but appreciated the effort.  Not a lot of business happening but another good screening opportunity for those who need people (acad members) to see films on the big screen."

Industry:  "it's no longer a discovery or missed gems festival - it's just a best of the fests. They only screen one program of short films and very few docs and independent films now."

Industry:  "Can be valuable depending on the slot.  Also, the festival is changing and they seem to primarily be programming best of other festivals and less films for sale so it's a question mark going forward."

Birmingham Sidewalk Festival

Selection of US films screened at 2009 festival:  45365, BEST WORST MOVIE, BRANSON, CRUDE, FORGETTING DAD, GUEST OF CINDY SHERMAN, OFFICIAL REJECTION, SAY MY NAME, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC

Our coverage of Birmingham Sidewalk Festival here.

They said:

Filmmaker:  "You wouldn't think anything happens in Birmingham, and maybe it doesn't, but for one outstanding weekend it seems like the town was built for you.  Great hospitality.  There were field trips for filmmakers and the after parties were delightfully strange (80s hair rock bands, rappers, rooftop dance parties, arcade games…) Leisurely atmosphere with eclectic programming.  A very nice and unique regional weekend film festival."

2007 Preview: Major Film Festivals Jan-Jun

As we embark on the new year (without even having finished our look back at the old), it's time to preview the major film festivals on tap for the first half of 2007.  While there may be sins of omission in this list (feel free to post others in the comments), it's a good starting point of the most important festivals of the year, particularly for folks interested in nonfiction:

January
Palm Springs    January 4 -15
Sundance        January 18 - 28, 2007
Rotterdam        January 24 - February 4
Santa Barbara    January 25 - February 4

February
Berlin           February 8 - 18
Cinequest        February 28 - March 11

March
True/False        March 1 - 4
Miami            March 2 - 11
SXSW            March 9 - 17
Mar del Plata        March 8 - 18
Cleveland        March 15 - 25
Thessaloniki Documentary        March 16 - 25
New Directors New Films     March 21 - April 1
AFI Dallas        March 22 - April 1
Chicago Docu    March 30 - April 8

April
Philadelphia        April 5 - 18
Full Frame          April 12 - 15
Sarasota        April 13 - 22
Hotdocs        April 19 - 29
Tribeca        April 25 - May 6
IFF Boston        April 25 - 30
San Francisco    April 26 - May 10

May
Emerging Talent    May 12 -15
Cannes        May 16 - 27
Seattle        May 24 - June 17

June
Newport        June 5 - 10
Cinevegas        June 8 - 16
AFI Silverdocs        June 12 - 17
Provincetown    June 13 - 17
Los Angeles        June 21 - July 1

Silverdocs Praises Jesus Camp, Audiences Everywhere Love Darryl Hunt

The first half of June and it's numerous film festivals is now behind us, with the big Los Angeles Film Festival kicking off this Thursday in Westwood Village, and a number of films have won honors.

AFI's Silverdocs, which is quickly becoming the top documentary festival in the country, closed its 2006 edition with a grand jury award going to Jesus Camp, the latest film from Boys of Baraka filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. Jesus Camp premiered at Tribeca, where it received a special jury prize and was the subject of much talk and some controversy.

Frank Popper's Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore took the Audience Award, while Rolling Like a Stone, which centers on an 8mm home movie of Mick Jagger and Co. circa 1965, received something called the Music Grand Jury Award (considering my feelings about music-related documentaries getting constantly shafted off into sidebars, this award - best of the displaced! - seems a relatively depressing development).

A full list of award winners, including shorts, are available on the Silverdocs website, with additional coverage on Chuck Tyron's blog and, sooner or later, there will be more up at the Documentary Insider.

Meanwhile, The Trials of Darryl Hunt, Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern's decades-long tale of a miscarriage of justice, won no less than three Audience Awards at the early June festivals, including the Audience Award at Newport (where it also received a Jury Prize), the Audience Award at Seattle and the Audience Award at Nantucket. Darryl Hunt was a previous audience winner at Full Frame and Sedona. It premiered at Sundance 2006.

Another Sundance alum, Lauren Greenfield's Black Sun. (It's worth noting that Old Joy - still my favorite film I've seen this year - director Kelly Reichardt picked up the Best Director award.)

At the Provincetown fest, the Best Documentary Audience Award winner (there are no juried prizes in P-town) was Mike Roth and John Henning's Saving Marriage, which might have had an edge in its subject matter - a look at the battle over gay marriage in Massachusetts. The narrative prize went to Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland's double Sundance winner Quinceanera, which Sony Pictures Classics will release this August.

Michael Colford has a full report on the Provincetown Fest over on the Chlotrudis blog.

Seattle handed out a number of prizes at the close of its nearly month-long festival. The doc jury prize went to Erik Gandini and Tarik Sale's Gitmo: The New Rules of War, with a special jury prize going to Linas Phillips' Walking to Werner. The top prize at Seattle - the Golden Space Needle for Best Feature went to the French spy spoof OSS 117: Nest of Spies.

Anne Thompson was in Seattle, as was Jeffrey Wells and, of course, the entire crew at the Stranger.

You'll also find numerous reports on Seattle and the other fests at must-read-daily GreenCine.

I was sad to miss out on Seattle this year, both because of having spent so much time there this past annum, but also because I had such a great time there when Gigantic played in 2002.

Also was disappointed to miss out on Cinevegas (I was back in the midwest all last week), which is always a great, if somewhat surreal time in the desert. They handed out their top (narrative) prize to G.I. Jesus. While Cinevegas had a documentary audience award when we were there (again in '02), they now seem to only have juried prizes, which seem to be for narratives only.

Will be around the LA Fest a bunch this week and will post what I can when I can.