July 25, 2016 | POV’s daily list of essential reading for the documentary and independent filmmaking community.
‘The Seventh Fire’ Explores Gang Life on the Reservation
Jack Pettibone Riccobono’s debut feature, The Seventh Fire, which opened last weekend in New York and July 29 in Los Angeles through Film Movement, takes an elliptical approach to exploring gang culture on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota. The film is a powerful work of social advocacy that pushed its case for criminal justice reform all the way to the White House. At the same time, it’s a poetic and immersive work of cinema that bears the official imprimatur of visionary director Terrence Malick.
Read more | IDA »
The Fate of a Short-Form Miniseries, from Doomed to Netflix
When Nick Fitzhugh set out to film a miniseries about the conflict behind combat, he had no idea the process would prove nearly as serpentine as the subject itself. Comprised of merely six episodes at seven minutes each, the compelling documentary on war photographers struggled to find a distribution venue. Though enthralled with the series, networks played hot potato, testing Fitzhugh’s adaptability and patience. Now, four years after the spec shoot, Conflict is finally streaming on Netflix.
Read more | No Film School »
‘Hillary’s America’ documentary cracks top 10 at box office
Politics isn’t just center stage after last week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland and the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. The documentary Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party, highly critical of presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party, cracked into film’s top 10 winners at the box office for the weekend.
Read more | USA Today »
‘Gleason’: Inside the Most Powerful, Poignant Documentary of the Year
It takes all of one minute for Gleason to begin eliciting waterworks, and they rarely let up for the remainder of its 111 minutes. Absolutely heartbreaking in its intimate depiction of individual and familial adversity, J. Clay Tweel’s documentary concerns Steve Gleason, a former safety for the New Orleans Saints who, in 2011 at the age of 34, was diagnosed with ALS – news that came merely six weeks before he and his wife, Michel Varisco, found out that they were expecting their first child.
Read more | The Daily Beast »
Laurie Anderson, Joshua Oppenheimer, Zhao Wei Set For Venice Jury
The Venice Film Festival has announced the full roster of its main jury that will comprise Laurie Anderson, Gemma Arterton, and Joshua Oppenheimer alongside Italian writer Giancarlo De Cataldo, German actress Nina Hoss, French Actress Chiara Mastroianni, Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas and Chinese actress, director and singer Zhao Wei.
Read more | USA Today »
Upcoming festivals and deadlines
- Deadline: Porto/Post/Doc Submission 7/31
- Deadline: DOK Co-Pro Market Submission 8/1
- Deadline: IDFA DocLab 8/1
- Deadline: International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 8/1
- Deadline: HBF Post-Production Grant 8/1
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