June 29, 2016 | POV’s daily list of essential reading for the documentary and independent filmmaking community.
Policing the Police in Newark
In July, 2014, the Department of Justice released a report that showed that the Newark Police Department had engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional conduct. According to the report, seventy-five per cent of documented pedestrian stops by the police were not justified. Yet during the three years that the Department of Justice investigated the department, its internal-affairs office dismissed ninety-nine per cent of complaints lodged against officers. How do you change a troubled police department? Watch Policing the Police, the FRONTLINE documentary that aired last night (Tuesday) on PBS.
Read more | The New Yorker »
Cameron Bailey on Why the Toronto Film Festival Is Taking the ‘Plunge’ Into Virtual Reality
Virtual reality has been a hot topic at festivals like the Toronto International Film Festival for years, but this year marks the first time that VR will officially come to TIFF. TIFF’s artistic director Cameron Bailey said, anyone running a film festival who wants to stay current has to participate in the virtual reality conversation.
Read more | IndieWire »
Kartemquin Turns 50: Celebrating Half A Century of Democracy Through Documentary
On June 24th, 2016, Kartemquin Films celebrated 50 years of making documentaries. As the organization led up to this milestone, they opened our doors, archives, and films to Chicago and beyond, sharing history, values and plans for the future.
Read more | Kartemquin Films »
How Alex Gibney Is Reinventing Documentary Filmmaking
Alex Gibney’s first movie came out 11 years ago. He’s since directed 27 more, which in the slow-burn medium of documentary film might be unprecedented; it beats the average director’s pace by a factor of six or seven.
Read more | Vulture »
The O.J. Documentary, Shot By Shot
By now you’ve heard about “O.J.: Made in America,” ESPN’s five-part documentary about O.J. Simpson’s life and alleged crimes, which wrangles a complex story set against a complex cultural backdrop. Part of what makes the documentary work is how widely each chapter varies from the previous one — the series tracks Simpson’s early life, his football stardom, the murders of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman, the trial that followed and its eventual aftermath. Each of these is its own sort of story, told its own sort of way using a mix of original interviews and archival footage. Episode to episode, that mix varies a great deal.
Read more | FiveThirtyEight »
Keith Richards to Tell Story of Early Years in BBC Documentary
Keith Richards will front a BBC2 documentary about his formative years growing up in post-war Britain and curate a “lost weekend” of films and live performances for BBC4.The Rolling Stones rocker will star in the film Keith Richards – The Origin of the Species, directed by Julien Temple, which will be a centerpiece of the BBC’s My Generation season about the history of pop music.
Read more | The Guardian »
20 Life-Saving Tips for Indie Filmmaking from the Co-Founder of Slamdance
The book, The Cheerful Subversive’s Guide to Independent Filmmaking, is coming out from Focal Press On August 23. It’s a comprehensive guide to the craft and culture of making indie films, and also serves as something of an oral history of the last 22 years as co-founder of Slamdance and lessons the author learned. In the article are a few practical tips culled (mostly) from the book.
Read more | No Film School »
This Week
- POV’s Call for Entries closes! 6/30
- Women in Film Finishing Fund Deadline 7/1
- Karlovy Vary International Film Festival When 7/1 – 7/9
Next Week
- Deadline: DOK LEIPZIG Submissions 7/7
- Karlovy Vary International Film Festival When 7/1 – 7/9
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