Read: The Independent

Documentary 2.0: Making Media That Matters

michele — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:38:49 -0500

Each June, The Media That Matters Film Festival selects a group of 12 shorts by independent filmmakers designed to spark action and debate in twelve minutes or less. Unlike other festivals, MTM works to promote its selections year-round through online streaming, broadcasts and community screenings.

Filmmaker's Journal: So Much for Taking a Break

mike — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:19:12 -0500

In 2007, an article in the New York Times hailed Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, as “the next Prague.” Soon thereafter, every footloose hipster in the West seemed to home in on the place. But the city they found was a far cry from “the next Prague.” It is still too alien to most Western sensibilities, and it is at times dismayingly dark, violent, and desperate.

For Inspiration, Judd Ehrlich Looked to the Subject of His New Film, "Run For Your Life"

mike — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:25:39 -0500

While vampires made a big splash at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, a documentary about a son of Transylvania carved out a decidedly different niche for itself.

The Doc Doctor's Anatomy of a Film: "Muskrat Lovely"

RossiF — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:23:44 -0500

About this column: Many filmmakers ponder in anguish, How do other people—celebrated people—do it? Am I taking too long to make this documentary? Does everybody spend as much money as I am spending, or am I spending too little? And when filmmakers share their lessons learned in interviews in the glossy trade magazines, their tales seem to follow the arc of otherworldy heroes rather than real documentary makers, i.e. human beings like you and me. So each month, the Doc Doctor will go out into the world (this real world) of filmmakers who are successful and find out how they made it. The "Anatomy of a Film Column" is a chance to learn from filmmakers' hits and misses in real life examples. —Fernanda Rossi, story consultant a.k.a. the Documentary Doctor