All these wonderful things

Oscar Goes Bigger for 2011: EXIT & 4 Other Million Dollar Grossers Lead Shortlist Pack

Yesterday afternoon, the Academy announced its documentary shortlist.  As we mentioned at the time, the headline was that EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP had defied most of the odds to hurdle what we thought would be the most difficult barrier stopping it from winning the Oscar - making the shortlist at all - while the most shocking snub was the failure to advance Laura Poitras' THE OATH, a film that we had pegged as a frontrunner and which had already been nominated for the top award at Cinema Eye, the IDA and the Gothams.

But more about those in a minute.

So, first off, it's not a terrible list.  I've seen a few folks contend that it's off-the-charts bad, and trust me, I've seen off-the-charts bad, and this isn't that.

It's curious, that's certain, but mostly because it's actually the kind of list that I think the Academy has been hoping for for years - a slick, brassy list of 15 that's chockablock full of big films and big directors: there's 5 million-dollar grossers in the bunch (the first time that has ever happened) and that doesn't include the headline-grabbing films about Pat Tillman and Eliot Spitzer and natural gas fracking, nor a just-opening, crowd-pleasing film about Brazilian garbage workers.

That makes at least 9 high-profile titles out of 15, which explains why a number of Oscar prognosticators felt pretty good about this year's list (and their pre-announcement predictions, which had centered on films that had a big theatrical launch and therefore that they'd actually heard of - not usually a good barometer).

A lot of these are big productions, too (which makes sense when you consider that Best Picture at the Oscars goes to the producers, not the directors), and for the first time in several years, many if not most of the big players seem to have a horse in the race - Sony Pictures Classics, Weinstein Co., HBO, NatGeo, Magnolia, Paramount, Cinetic, Oscilloscope (those that don't, like Roadside, either weren't really in the doc game this year or, like Zeitgeist and IFC, missed out with their own high profile titles).

And there are big name directors - two Oscar winners (Gibney and Guggenheim) and another nominee (Charles Ferguson), not to mention perhaps the world's most famous anonymous street artist.

This is the kind of shiny list that a lot of people can be (and likely are) pretty happy with, both inside and outside the Academy.

There are always going to be "snubs".  It's getting so that I dislike even using the word, because a "snub" almost implies that there's something unusual going on.  But if there are 3-5 or more "snubs" every year, it hardly seems novel.  Feels like we need a different word.

The Monday Brief: Berlinger Supporters Number More Than 400, EXIT Hits $1M and Cannes In Progress

We're more than half-way through the fifth month of 2010.  Can summer be far behind?...

The Joe Berlinger/Chevron/CRUDE raw footage-subpeona situation continues to resonate throughout the nonfiction community.  An open letter of support for Berlinger, spearheaded by Patrick Creadon and Doug Blush - and supported by the IDA, was released on Wednesday and signed by nearly 200 folks in the documentary community.  Oscar winner Errol Morris signed onto the letter on Thursday, along with another 200 people (as of Monday) in the comments section here and 40 on the IDA's website.

Bill Moyers and Michael Winship, who both signed the letter, wrote in an opinion piece that while all eyes are on the oil spill in the gulf, "there's another important story involving Big Oil and pollution -- one that shatters not only the environment but the essential First Amendment right of journalists to tell truth and shame the devil":

"Some of the issues and nuances of Berlinger's case are admittedly complex, but they all boil down to this: Chevron is trying to avoid responsibility and hopes to find in the unused footage -- material the filmmaker did not utilize in the final version of his documentary -- evidence helpful to the company in fending off potential damages of $27.3 billion.

This is a serious matter for reporters, filmmakers and frankly, everyone else. Tough, investigative reporting without fear or favor -- already under siege by severe cutbacks and the shutdown of newspapers and other media outlets -- is vital to the public awareness and understanding essential to a democracy. As Michael Moore put it, "The chilling effect of this is, [to] someone like me, if something like this is upheld, the next whistleblower at the next corporation is going to think twice about showing me some documents if that information has to be turned over to the corporation that they're working for.""

More coverage of the letter at The Wrap, firedoglake blog and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

At the theatrical box office, it was more of the same that we've seen the past couple weeks.  The Banksy/Shepard Fairey/Mr. Brainwash documentary EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP continued its stellar DIY run - taking in another $230K for an estimated cume-to-date of $1,284,000.  That makes EXIT the third million-dollar-doc of 2010, following the success of Disneynature's OCEANS ($17.7M and counting, although now seemingly less likely to reach $20M) and Focus' BABIES, which declined a respectable 53% in its second weekend, still taking in just over $1M.  BABIES is now just shy of $4M.

The Monday Brief: VIDEOCRACY & OCTOBER COUNTRY Open Well, More Sundance Sales & Can Anything Stop THE COVE?

Happy President's Day and Happy Day After Valentines Day as the Sundance sales and THE COVE's onward march toward Oscar continues.  But first...

It was a good (if not mind-blowing) weekend at the box office for two of our favorite documentaries of 2009, both kicking off exclusive runs at New York's IFC Center. 

Erik Gandini's VIDEOCRACY, which premiered at Toronto and took the Jury Prize at Sheffield, opened with a 3-day take of $10,000, according to figures at indieWIRE.  While the film had mixed reviews (at least Manohla gets it, while most of the other reviews seem to be at a loss to explain what they've just watched), the Lorber Films release was the top doc (per screen) of the weekend.

Meanwhile Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher's OCTOBER COUNTRY, nominated for Best Doc at the Spirit Awards, winner of two Cinema Eye Honors and recipient of nearly unanimous positive notices, made $7,500 at the same theatre.  The film explands to Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon this week.

Last night, at the ACE awards (no, not the old Cable Ace awards, the American Cinema Editors), THE COVE continued its sweep of the 2010 documentary prizes.  While the film came up empty in the early going (including getting shut out of Best Doc nominations at the Gothams, Spirits and IDA Awards), the film began a December film critics' sweep that has carried well over into 2010.  Adding the Documentary Editing prize after awards from the Producers Guild and Directors Guild (not to mention three wins at Cinema Eye), it's pretty hard at this point not to expect the film to go the distance and win the Oscar.

Add to the awards bounty the fact that THE COVE continues to make news - announcing this week that a Japanese theatrical release had finally been secured - and a Oscar vote for that film suddenly becomes a vote for making real change.  Even though each of the other four nominees plays to the Academy's liberal heartstrings, none seems to offer the seemingly visceral chance to make a difference that THE COVE does.  Even the NY Times' Carpetbagger gets into the act:

"The filmmakers behind THE COVE have been open about their goal: not to win an Oscar – though they wouldn’t mind – but to stop the dolphin slaughter that the documentary depicts. They may have moved one step closer to that goal with the news that the Oscar-nominated film, which shows a secret dolphin-killing field in Taiji, Japan, will now be distributed in Japan...

"'To me the awards are the collateral in hopefully trying to create this awareness to stop what’s going on there,” [director Louie Psihoyos] said, though he did acknowledge that the Oscar nomination has made his next feature, about the effect of acidification on the oceans, easier to finance. “Career-wise, just having a nomination is an amazing achievement for everybody associated with the film,” he said. “But the real reason to try to win, for me, is that then you have 45 seconds to talk to the Japanese people. You have a platform.'"

And the nominees are...

Well, I went 3 for 5 this year, although I take some solace in at least narrowing down the films in contention. 

Here are this year's nominees for Best Feature Documentary:

BURMA VJ
Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
THE COVE
Nominees to be determined
FOOD, INC.
Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS
Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
WHICH WAY HOME
Rebecca Cammisa

2007: The Year in Nonfiction - The Issues

While an exceptional year for film quality, tt would be a mistake to argue that 2007 was a good year for the nonfiction film "industry", such as it is.  Despite the best efforts of many (from filmmakers to writers to distributors to exhibitors), the year featured one bad news story after another - box office down, interest down, distribution options down.  And then, come the end of the year, the bad joke that was the Academy's Documentary Feature Shortlist - long on staidness, short on imagination.

So, grab a stiff drink and revisit the lowlights of a thoroughly depressing year as we recap The Top 5 Issues in Nonfiction 2007:

5. All Michael Moore, All the Time

The unveiling of a new Michael Moore opus is starting to seem like the release of a new Harry Potter book.  In addition to the release itself, there's the nonstop hubbub and hoopla that surrounds it.  With Potter, this means costumed kids standing in line at bookstores.  With Michael Moore, it means an endless series of "fact-checks" from the "serious media", lambastes from conservatives ("it didn't gross 100 million, it's a flop!") and tortured second-guessing from the left ("someone has to say it, I just wish it didn't come with all his baggage").

This year, the SXSW-premiere of a new, supposedly unbiased anti-Moore film kicked off the debate a full three months early.  The subsequent whining by the film's makers that festivals were blocking their film in deference to the mighty Michael added some questionable last-minute PR to their cause.  Throughout all of it, it became clear that it wasn't enough to debate SICKO, Moore's treatise on the health care crisis, because we were still having an active debate about Moore's first feature, ROGER & ME.

But SICKO provided it's own controversies (including the aforementioned idiocity that it was somehow a flop), with charges of hypocrisy (why is he staying at the Four Seasons if he's such a "man of the people", wondered the very un-serious LA Times) and loose journalism (from the likes of Wolf Blitzer). 

Seems unlikely to stop the kudos to come: Moore's position as "the most important man in nonfiction"™ neatly guarantees loads of critics prizes (especially from groups that barely see more than 5 docs a year) and a probable Oscar nod.  Meanwhile, Moore-haters and liberals who like to seem above it all can bask in the critical drubbing of CAPTAIN MIKE ACROSS AMERICA, his Toronto-premiering tour film.

4. Oscar Qualifying Rules

What started in late 2006 as a bit of anger and much head-scratching over the Academy's charge that films had to play 14 cities in 10 states, ended just as bizarrely this fall with a total reversal - you only have to play in New York and Los Angeles.  In between was months of debate over whether the new rules would make it impossible for films to qualify or would guarantee that the shortlisted films were true theatricals.  The verdict - no and no.

It hit a nadir when IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS producer John Sinno wrote, days after the Oscars, an Open Letter to the Academy, in which he blasted the new rules.  His screed captured the "sky is falling" attitude of some in the doc community and prompted many uninformed film writers to guess that most films would be out of the running under such a system.  The truth was that plenty of films would have been able to qualify in past years and 70 films still found a way to qualify this year, and (as you'll see at issue #2) being a true theatrical release was in no way a mandate.

But beyond the surface reactions, there were serious issues.  The Academy seemed to have no idea what venues actually qualified a true theatrical venue.  They planned to leave such research up to filmmakers and theater owners to determine.  Meanwhile, a cottage industry was born, as filmmakers without distribution (or whose distribution was pending) spent tens of thousands of dollars making sure their films traveled to enough cities.

The Academy seemed to realize that the whole theatrical mandate was a debacle, but their fix is likely even worse.  In a repudiation of the last decade's push for theatrical releases, we're back to a 2-city requirement.  It may not be the bad old days of Saturday morning screenings at 11 AM, but it's not much better - a week in Los Angeles (likely again hidden in the sparsely-attended downtown Laemmle) and a week in New York (hey Anthology Film Archives, your phone is ringing).  You know that the likes of HBO and THINK will be able to secure a week, but will you?

3. Declining Distribution

One of the not-so-quiet secrets of the year has been the struggle of many award-winning films to get distribution.  The storyline usually goes something like this - film premieres at a major festival and wins prizes and plaudits, interest is expressed by one or two of the usual doc-distributing suspects (Magnolia, THINK, IFC, etc.), a deal is discussed and seems to be in the offing.  Then, suddenly, the deal is off and the filmmaker ends up making a deal with a smaller, start-up company that promises grass-roots marketing with fingers crossed that theaters and press will come aboard.

Of the 7 major North American festivals that award prizes for nonfiction - Sundance, SXSW, Full Frame, Hot Docs, Tribeca, Silverdocs & Los Angeles - only one grand jury prize winner, Alex Gibney's TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, ended up with an experienced distributor - THINKFilm.  The others, which include Jason Kohn's MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET), Jennifer Venditti's BILLY THE KID and Pernille Rose Gronkjær's THE MONASTERY - MR. VIG & THE NUN, all ended up patching together distribution, with MANDA BALA thus far fairing the best.  The Sundance jury winner has made more than $

One would have to go back to 2001's Southern Comfort (about the life of transsexual Robert Eads) to find a grand jury winner at Sundance that didn't wind up with an established distributor on board.  And this was before the two big purchases out of Sundance - IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON and MY KID COULD PAINT THAT - disappointed at the box office.  So what does that bode for 2008?

2. The Oscar Shortlist

After all the maneuvering by the Academy and the posturing about the importance of theatrical distribution (see issue #4), when the Academy released its vaunted Shortlist of 15 films in November, shockwaves reverberated through the nonfiction community.

On its face, the list made a lie of the Academy's so-called theatrical mandate.  Only six films of the fifteen had actually had a traditional theatrical release.  Three of the films had already aired on television.

But it was the films that didn't make it that brought the most heat.  During a year in which the notion of a nonfiction new wave began to take hold - auteurs (not journalists) taking real risks with craft and filmmaking style, telling true stories with vision and artistry - the Academy ignored so many truly great films that the mind reeled.

A number of impassioned words were written on the topic here and elsewhere, and these brought a strong, mostly supportive, response.  Startlingly, we received a great deal of positive reinforcement from where you might least expect it - from members of the Academy and members of the IDA (which was also criticized).  So if Academy members know that this year's list is - as more than one Academy member told me - "a scandal", then how did it happen?

We'll likely never know, other than oft-repeated tales of out-of-touch members receiving boxes of DVDs and picking films that played well for them on their television screens, which is an impressive way to reinforce a theatrical mandate.

For our part, the entire episode, from the list to the response, has inspired us to tackle something we began discussing with folks earlier in the year.  You'll be hearing about it in the days to come.

1. Dismal Box Office

I'm as big a cheerleader for theatrical nonfiction viability as the next person, but after months of trying to wish it untrue, even I have to admit that it was a terrible year for nonfiction at the box office.

Part of it was our own fault.  Filmmakers and distributors left the first half of 2008 nearly dry of high profile releases.  By October, there were as many notable nonfiction films opening on a weekend as there were in the first five months of 2007.  Not a good idea.

But there was something else too.  A sense that documentaries are medicinal?  That Seinfeld was right - we're incredibly depressing?  Too much bad news in the world anyway and you don't want to pay $10 for it, you'll just wait to put it in your queue? 

Compared to any year since 2002, when BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE changed everything, it was the worst year for docs by far.  Expected hits like IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON were big disappointments.  Folks at Magnolia are still scratching their heads over why mobs didn't show up for CRAZY LOVE.   And after coming up way short on both MY KID COULD PAINT THAT and JIMMY CARTER MAN FROM PLAINS, how much does Sony Pictures Classics have to make on Errol Morris' upcoming film to ever want to pick up a doc again.

Waves come and go and 2008 could change everything, what with Errol and Spurlock's did-he or didn't-he find bin Laden flick.  But in a year with a lot of bad news, the site of an empty theatre was the worst news of all.

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.

Hold Onto Your Hats, The Doc Depression Is Here Again (Or Is It?)

For the second time in a month, four five (see note below) high-profile documentaries launched in theaters this weekend, and for the second time in a month, at least one major film by a well-known (primarily narrative) director is essentially DOA, leading, once again, to pronouncements that the entire nonfiction genre has met its proverbial Waterloo at the box office.

Four weeks ago, the failure of Tony Kaye's LAKE OF FIRE, a nearly three-hour, black-and-white, graphic film about the issue of abortion in the 1990s, had prognosticators scratching their heads.  This week, there are sure to be fingers pointed at Jonathan Demme's JIMMY CARTER MAN FROM PLAINS, which had an equally weak opening, although at more theaters.

Indeed, just as he did earlier this month, MCN's Leonard Klady has pronounced that the weekend results prove his oft-stated theory that there are just too many documentaries in release:

"(T)he bloom is definitely off the rose for documentaries. Or, one could argue that the industry has effectively killed the layer of the golden egg with too many non-fiction movies (this weekend both JIMMY CARTER and HOW TO COOK YOUR LIFE) that cannot sustain even a niche crowd at the multiplex."

Three weeks ago, Klady looked at the field and came to a similar conclusion:

"The frame's other non-fiction debuts were also on the soft side and largely confirmed industry fears that the marketplace satiation of documentaries has diminished the alternative potency that existed just a few seasons back. One could only ascribe fair returns for MY KID COULD PAINT THAT and KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON and one could only wonder why high media interest in the abortion issue didn't elevate LAKE OF FIRE's box office above its tepid single screen box office of $2,330."

One must note that Klady's estimates both this weekend and three weeks ago failed to include the highest grossing doc of the frame - FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO then, which has since proven to be one of the most solid nonfiction releases this fall, and PETE SEEGER: THE POWER OF SONG this weekend, which had a great debut on a single screen at NY's IFC Center.  Further, Klady's estimates in some cases were low and were not subsequently corrected when actual figures came in. For example, he was off by nearly $1000 on ABOUT A SON and almost as much on MY KID.  In addition, he failed to take into account that ABOUT A SON debuted in NY on the previous Wednesday, which added another $5K to the film's total gross by the end of its opening weekend.

But excusing Klady's lapses, his question remains.  Is oversaturation causing the great Doc Depression of 2007?

First, one must ask whether a Doc Depression even exists.  Anthony Kaufman argued back in August for Variety that it did:

"Compare the current landscape to two years ago when at least eight docs achieved multimillion-dollar status (from "March of the Penguins" all the way to "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill"), and you have what could be called a temporary documentary recession."

It's true that this year just one film - Michael Moore's SICKO - is a multimillion-dollar success - and just two others have made a million - NO END IN SIGHT and IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON.  And unless something else catches fire, that's likely to be the end of it.  You'd have to go back to 2001 to find three or fewer nonfiction films making more than a million dollars.  The peak was 2004, when 11 films did it.

At the time (all the way back in those halcyon days of August), Kaufman argued that better times may lie ahead:

"(T)he doc depression may very well see an upswing shortly. Though Paramount Vantage's "Arctic Tale" tanked, Magnolia's Iraqumentary "No End in Sight" opened strongly, and this fall a number of high-profile nonfiction films will hit the market. Titles include ThinkFilm's "In the Shadow of the Moon," Picturehouse's "The King of Kong," Sony Picture Classics' "My Kid Could Paint That," WIP's "The 11th Hour," Magnolia Pictures' "Terror's Advocate" and Sundance doc winner "Manda Bala," which is benefiting from an aggressive rollout from City Lights Pictures' new distribution arm."

And, in fact, the end of August seemed to show that things were looking up as four straight films - MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET), THE KING OF KONG, THE 11TH HOUR and DEEP WATER all opened to an average of more than $10,000 per screen.  But all that was forgotten when IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON seemed to under-perform when it was released come September.  And by the beginning of October, Kaufman was seeing things less optimistically:

"Over the weekend, Sony Classics' extremely well reviewed "My Kid Could Paint That" (89% on Rotten Tomatoes) earned $28,300 over the weekend, which is great for a documentary opening, but not so hot, considering it went out in seven theaters for a per-venue average of $4,042. If the film has the elbow room to stay in theaters and build word-of-mouth, it's still got a chance. But I'm not so sure that's possible much these days. Similarly, "Lake of Fire" -- Tony Kaye's abortion-doc "masterpiece" (a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes) -- grossed just $3,000 at the Film Forum on its opening weekend.

While "In the Shadow of the Moon" has now reached close to $800,000 after five weeks in release, it also seems to be stalling, with a mere $1,509 per-theater average. At this rate, it's going to take a long time for ThinkFilm to recoup its $2-3 million committment on the film. And if a crowd-pleasing story of soaring American astronauts fighting for dominance in the international space race can't turn the tide for docs, I'm not sure what will."

Alright, so fewer films are becoming big hits and some films with high expectations are posting underwhelming numbers.  Perhaps there is a doc depression.

Except wait a minute, according to Variety Friday, everybody's got troubles - even big studios and those pesky narrative films:

"After the biggest summer on record, Hollywood dropped the ball in the fall. Through Oct. 21, domestic box office is 6% behind last year, with the lowest total ($785.7 million) since 2001, according to Rentrak.

The main culprit: The studios' big films failed to score. DreamWorks' "The Heartbreak Kid," Universal's "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and DreamWorks' "Things We Lost in the Fire" are among the titles that underperformed.

But another key factor is the corporate takeover of the niche world. For years, rival studios have dreamed of emulating the Fox Searchlight model, with an arm that would release "quality" films. But this fall, many hierarchs have supervised the launches of these pics, trying to apply mainstream strategies to niche films."

Amongst the culprits, according to Variety:

"They're releasing too many similar films in too short a corridor. During summer, studios carefully study rivals' releases and avoid conflicts. This fall, audiences were given little range, with crime dramas ("We Own the Night," "Eastern Promises," "Gone Baby Gone," "The Brave One"), family dramas ("Things We Lost in the Fire," "Reservation Road"), Iraq-themed dramas ("In the Valley of Elah," "Rendition") and miscellaneous dramas ("Sleuth," "The Jane Austen Book Club," "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford")."

and

"By emulating the summer strategy of launching a new title every few weeks, studio congloms ignore the fact that specialty pics need time to build word of mouth. So films that are performing fine ("Into the Wild," "Lars and the Real Girl," for example) have to fight for screens as a new crop of films opens every week."

So, in addition to fighting for screen space amongst other docs (and even docs that are "technically" in release but are screening to empty theaters in order to qualify for the Oscars under this year's now-rejected roll-out requirements), nonfiction films are competing amongst some of the biggest indie/art house films of the year.  Instead of opening in the first half of the year (when fewer high profile docs were released than have been this month), everyone decided to squeeze into the last few months of the year, just when all the narrative films are hoping to declare themselves as Oscar bait. But is that a symptom of nonfiction oversaturation, as Klady implies?  Or is everybody suffering? 

Further, these depression diagnoses seem to always reflect that a big ticket item - like the Sundance big selling MY KID COULD PAINT THAT or IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, both of which had big P&A budgets behind them - is under-performing.  One of the big stories of docs this year is that a handful of award-winning films that were not picked up any of the major indies are quietly establishing themselves in the top markets without a large outlay of marketing or advertising costs.

Flashback to Kaufman's Variety article in August:

"All the titles will be battling it out for what's ultimately a small theatrical pie, but the trick to making a doc work, says City Lights' Danny Fisher, is to "play by the rules that don't cost the prints and adverting that you associate with a commercial release. It's word of mouth; it's grassroots.""

And lo and behold, City Lights' grassroots plan for Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET) has netted that film more than $115,000.  Ditto for International Film Circuit's release of THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK, which just passed $125,000.  First Run's successful release of FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO will move that film into the top 15 docs this year after this weekend.  And our own KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON is in line to become the biggest film in Balcony Releasing's history, all on a fraction of the P&A budgets seen by most indies.**  Last but certainly not least, there is HELVETICA, self-distributed by Gary Hustwit and currently one of the top 15 docs of the year.

In the recent issue of the IDA's Documentary Magazine, HBO's Sheila Nevins sounded off on the topic of theatrical releases vs. television - and the friction that sometimes is raised when a filmmaker with an HBO deal believes that the film has a theatrical life inside it:

NEVINS: I think the war is over beween TV and theatrical docs.

IDA: Why do say that?

NEVINS: This year proved that.  SPELLBOUND, FAHRENHEIT 9/11, SUPER SIZE ME, WINGED MIGRATION - they all fell into the laps of theatrical within an 18-month period.  Everyone said, "Documentaries, they're so hot, they make money."  And every producer wanted his documentary to be theatrica and everyone thought his documentary could make money.  And look at last year: you had AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH.  Period.

Maybe the happy home for documentaries is the very short theatrical release with no expectations, then nestled into people's living rooms by one of the means of transmission, whether internet or downloading or HBO.

Aside from quibbling with a few points (2006 had seven films that made at least a million dollars and two - including WORDPLAY - were multimillion dollar successes, and certainly the means of transmission should include DVD, Netflix and the like), Nevins raises some interesting points. 

Maybe grassroots releases, like those of the films named above, will or should become more of the norm, with no expectations except getting a film out to as many theatres as possible.  And if it connects, mazel tov. 

But if that's the case does that mean that the only films put out by a Sony Pictures Classics or a LionsGate or a Weinstein Co. will be ones with a name like Michael Moore or Errol Morris or Jonathan Demme on it?   Will you only be able to get a decent P&A budget if you've already had your SUPER SIZE ME?

Already, some of the year's most acclaimed films and filmmakers have had to scrap together money to build a grassroots theatrical release, while films by Tony Kaye and Barbet Schroeder and Demme have gone into the marketplace with much fanfare but little return.  Distributors, already scared shitless that they don't know what will work and what won't, can only look at the across the board disappointments and get even more gun-shy.  If MANDA BALA or BILLY THE KID or THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK are fighting to get their films into theatres, what hope is there for the filmmaker who didn't win Sundance or SXSW or Los Angeles or BritDoc?

Come to think of it, is this the first year in how long that none of the documentary winners of the year's major film festival prizes - save Alex Gibney's TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE - were picked up by a major distributor?

And while we're asking big questions, what happens in 2008, when new documentary films from Errol Morris and Morgan Spurlock and Martin Scorsese are expected?  What happens when the Larry Charles/Bill Maher religion doc hits theatres?  What about the aforementioned TAXI, a film from a recent Oscar nominee that is already drawing talk of a nomination?

What if, in the midst of that glut, there's 2, 3 or even 4 million-dollar films?  Is 2007 just a blip?  Was the depression nothing but a case of the glums?

One thing's for sure, filmmakers and distributors should be thinking twice about going up against studio's Oscar hopefuls.  Do you really want to be opening up against THE DARJEELING LIMITED and INTO THE WILD?  Considering that all of the films noted by Nevins were released in the spring and summer, perhaps that's the fertile time for docs.  Be the only thinking man's option, you can hear someone saying.

Ultimately, the market may be oversaturated, but it's not a doc-only affair.  And if films aren't meeting expectations, perhaps our expectations have gotten out of whack.  Or maybe we're only looking at the slow-selling big ticket items, while the solid, grassroots indies are the real deal.

*Update - Tuesday, October 30 - When I wrote this piece, I had yet to see the returns for the new documentary LAGERFELD CONFIDENTIAL, which opened Friday at the Film Forum and nearly matched the PETE SEEGER doc for per screen average. That makes five high-profile docs debuting in theaters this weekend.  See next post for full box office figures from the weekend.

**Clarification - ABOUT A SON did not become the biggest grossing film in Balcony's history, nor the biggest release for Balcony in 2007.  That would go to KING CORN, which ended up with $105K, nearly $20K more than ABOUT A SON.  SIR, NO SIR remains Balcony's top grosser at $117K.