May 26, 2016 | POV’s daily list of essential reading for the documentary and independent filmmaking community.

‘Weiner’ Is the Most Relevant Documentary Since ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’
The dizzying rush of Weiner is that the phenomenon it captures — a political culture in which candidates are round-the-clock addicts of image control — becomes, by the end, a powerful premonition of the current presidential campaign. The achievement of Weiner is that the movie shows us what that looks like — and the crushing toll it takes not just on democracy, but on reality.
Read more | Variety »

Tel Aviv Documentary Festival Announces Film Winners
The winners of Docaviv, the Tel Aviv International Documentary Festival, were announced on Wednesday night. The film festival ran from May 19-28. The winner of the international competition was Karolina Bielawska’s Call Me Marianna, which also won the Fedeora Honorable Mention. The documentary is about a Polish woman suing her parents to allow her to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
Read more | Jerusalem Post »

Through Our Eyes: Female Filmmakers Tell All At SXSW Film 2016
This past March, a group of talented independent female filmmakers, including Janicza Bravo (Woman in Deep), Kat Candler (Hellion), Logan Kibens (Operator), and Judi Krant (Made in China) gathered at SXSW to discuss the imbalance of industry diversity behind the camera, and the collaborative efforts to bring more female written and directed narratives to screen.
Read more | SXSW »

Janus Films Picks Up Kirsten Johnson’s Award-Winning Documentary ‘Cameraperson’
Janus Films have acquired all North American rights to Kirsten Johnson’s highly acclaimed first-person documentary Cameraperson, which debuted earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. The film has enjoyed a hearty festival run since its premiere, including serving as the closing night selection at New Directors/New Films and accolades at Full Frame Film Festival, the San Francisco International Film Festival, the Montclair Film Festival and the Sarasota Film Festival.
Read more | IndieWire »

Asian-American Actors Are Fighting for Visibility. They Will Not Be Ignored.
The Academy Awards telecast in Februrary dwelled on the diversity complaints aired through #OscarsSoWhite, yet blithely mocked Asian-Americans with punch lines that banked on Asian stereotypes. Now, Constance Wu, Aziz Ansari and other Asian actors are taking a stand against Hollywood.
Read more | The New York Times »

Gordon Quinn to give University of Chicago’s 2016 Robert H. Kirschner, MD, Human Rights Memorial Lecture
Gordon Quinn, founder and artistic director of Kartemquin Films, will return to his Alma Mater, the University of Chicago, to give the 2016 Robert H. Kirschner, MD, Human Rights Memorial Lecture during the 2016 UChicago Alumni Weekend. He will be discussing how preserving images of the past is critical to contemporary social justice movements, with reference to the upcoming film ’63 Boycott, and other works in the Kartemquin filmography.
Read more | Kartemquin Films »

Upcoming festivals and deadlines
This Week

  • DocsBarcelona International Documentary Film Festival 5/23-5/29
  • Deadline: IFP Spotlight on Documentaries 5/24

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POV Staff
POV (a cinema term for "point of view") is television's longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films. POV premieres 14-16 of the best, boldest and most innovative programs every year on PBS. Since 1988, POV has presented over 400 films to public television audiences across the country. POV films are known for their intimacy, their unforgettable storytelling and their timeliness, putting a human face on contemporary social issues.