January 2008

Thirteen Ways of Looking at Sundance

erin — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:43:37 -0600

Sundance is growing. More submissions than ever--8,000 for 2008. More screenings. More countries of origin represented in both the feature and documentary competitions. More arms of the Sundance empire--institutes, labs, the Sundance Channel--at work. More categories to sift through than a sane film-goer can practically comprehend, let alone stand in line for.

Mastering Archival Footage: How to Find It, When to Use It

mike — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:46:45 -0600

Immy Humes is adept at bringing a light touch to dark subject matter as she did in her Oscar-nominated 1991 short A Little Vicious, about a dangerous pit bull and the family who loved him, and 1996’s Lizzie Borden Hash & Rehash, about the abiding fascination Americans have for the New England spinster who was accused of being an ax murderer.

Take a Trip, Make a Film: A Look at Study-Abroad Programs

mike — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:02:47 -0600

When it comes to taking filmmaking classes abroad, the question is not so much “Why?” as it is, “Why not?” As anyone with a passion knows, procrastination and perfectionism are barriers to creativity, and they can become all the more pernicious when you're stuck in an unchanging daily routine.

Writing a Companion Book to Your Film

mike — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:14:02 -0600

An examination of how the Iraq War went so wrong, Charles H. Ferguson’s documentary No End In Sight is by turns forensic and surreal, a synthesis of devastating facts, damning archival footage, and poignant interviews with well-placed Iraqis and Americans who tried in vein to keep catastrophe at bay.

Distributor Q&A: Wolfe Releasing

michele — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0600

A lot has changed since 1985, when Kathy Wolfe started Wolfe Releasing in order to distribute lesbian films on video. For one thing, 20 years ago, the acronym LGBT—which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender—didn't even exist.

The Doc Doctor's Anatomy of a Successful Film: "Divan"

mike — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:08:54 -0600

About this new 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 starting this month, the Doc Doctor decided to go out into the world (this real world) of filmmakers who are successful and find out how they made it. Each month, her "anatomy" will be a chance to learn from their hits and misses in real life examples. —Fernanda Rossi, story consultant a.k.a. the Documentary Doctor

What an Actor Looks for in a Filmmaker

erin — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:56:00 -0600

He’s most recognized for his menacing role as Ethan Rom on Lost, most respected for playing the cheated-on, threatening husband in In the Bedroom, and most pitied as an innocent victim in The Grudge.

The Trailer for "Staub (Dust)"

mike — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 22:57:23 -0600

The Trailer for "Freeheld"

mike — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:52:56 -0600

The Trailer for "War/Dance"

mike — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:50:12 -0600