July 7 , 2016 | POV’s daily list of essential reading for the documentary and independent filmmaking community.
Shot by refugees … Exodus, the shocking documentary that puts you on the sinking ship
The desperation of such refugees has become a familiar element of news bulletins, but what is different about Exodus – an extraordinary three-part documentary to be broadcast next week on BBC2 – is the way the film is pieced together with footage shot by refugees as they document their own journey. We are with them every step – as they negotiate with the people smugglers for a crossing to Greece (“€2,000 per person, kids half price, every kid under two-and-a-half goes free”), as their dinghy capsizes, as they climb in the back of the container lorries to be smuggled under the Channel, and find themselves near to suffocation when things do not go to plan.
Read more | The Guardian »
Paul McCartney Talks Beatles Formation in VR Documentary: Watch
Paul McCartney is the subject of a new virtual reality documentary called Early Day. Directed by Tony Kaye (American History X), the documentary puts McCartney at the center of a 360-degree virtual experience, and he talks about the formation of the Beatles. “So many beautiful moments playing in the studio with the guys—making all of our records, going to America,” he says, before telling the story of a “mystical experience” at a party with Bob Dylan. Watch it below. Last month, McCartney helped Facebook unveil a new feature that allows users to post 360-degree photos.
Read more | Pitchfork »
T-Rex: New documentary details the life of Olympic boxer Claressa Shields
Claressa Shields will always remember where she came from. The humble beginnings in her hometown of Flint, Michigan, her heartbreaking first career loss, her grueling road to the Olympics, the surreality of an Olympic gold medal being placed around her neck are all detailed in the 2016 documentary T-Rex. As Shields, 21, makes her trip to the 2016 Rio Olympics in hopes of becoming the first woman to win gold back to back, she reflects on her first journey and how it all began.
Read more | The Undefeated »
I-DOCS 2016 PANEL: VR – INVENTING THE MEDIUM
Virtual Reality presents creative and ethical challenges – featuring voices from the Guardian and the BBC, this panel is a chance to hear from people and organisations who are using VR to tell non-fiction stories. This panel features insights from Darren Emerson on Witness 360: 7/7; The Guardian’s Francesca Panetta on 6×9, a VR documentary on solitary confinement; Catherine Allen who co-produced Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel with Crossover Labs, VRTOV and the BBC; and Zillah Watson, BBC Research and Development & BBC News Labs on their experiments with 360 video in The Frequency of Honey project.
Read more and watch | The Film Stage »
Upcoming festivals and deadlines
This Week
- Deadline: DOK LEIPZIG Submissions 7/7
- Karlovy Vary International Film Festival When 7/1 – 7/9
Next Week
- Deadline: I Look Up Challenge Architecture as a Solution Submissions 7/10
- Deadline: IDA Documentary Awards 7/11
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