This week, we take another look at The Way We Get By and check out new projects from POV alums.
Joan Gaudet with actor Morgan Freeman. Photo courtesy of Aron Gaudet.
The Emmy-nominated film The Way We Get By first aired last November as a POV Special on Veterans Day. The film follows Joan, Bill and Jerry, three senior citizens who go to a tiny airport in Bangor, Maine, at all hours of the day (and night) to greet American troops. After the broadcast, hundreds of comments were posted on the POV website thanking theses extraordinary troop greeters. The film was rebroadcast on select PBS stations this past week, and is streaming online in its entirety through September 27, 2010. Filmmaker Aron Gaudet sent in a new update on Joan, Bill and Jerry. Don’t miss this wonderful film, and when you finish watching, you should read stories about the greeters shared by some of the troops who have been greeted.
The filmmakers of The Way They Get By, Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, have stayed busy since the film first aired last fall. In addition to getting married, they have been blogging about their innovative, DIY business model for the film’s distribution, and working on a new project — a short film called The Elephant Bath. The film takes a look at a trainer and his elephant through the ritual of taking a morning bath. It was shot in Kerala, India.
Another set of collaborators, POV alums Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (The Boys of Baraka, POV 2006), premiered their new film 12th & Delaware on HBO this past week. The film looks at the abortion debate as it plays out on a street corner in Florida where a small abortion clinic and a pro-life office stand on opposite sides of the road (in more ways than one). Read more about the film in this indieWire article.
When the Afghan War Diaries were released via Wiklieaks last week, we immediately thought of Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971. Ellsberg’s story was chronicled in the upcoming POV film The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. Ellsberg talked about the leak and Private Bradley Manning, the man accused of leaking the information, at a recent screening of the film.
Finally, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) announced its 2010 lineup. The festival runs September 9-19, and the Documentary Blog has a full listing of the docs that will be showcased at TIFF. Offerings include new films by POV alumni Frederick Wiseman (High School, POV 2001) and Kim Longinotto (Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go, POV 2009).