August 23, 2016 | POV’s daily list of essential reading for the documentary and independent filmmaking community.

Mulholland Drive Leads the Pack in List of 21st Century’s Top Films
The BBC Culture polled 177 film critics from 36 countries on the best of cinema since 2000. David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001) came in at No. 1, and The Act of Killing (POV 2014) is the highest-rated documentary at No. 14. See the list for yourself here.
Read more | The Guardian »

See the Exclusive Trailer for HBO Documentary Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks
The film [Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks] is directed by Dan Reed (an Emmy nominee for 2010’s Terror in Mumbai), who secured interviews with hostages, survivors, police, paramilitaries, as well as access to intelligence findings, evidence, and never before seen footage and photographs.
Read more | Entertainment Weekly »

Ava DuVernay, Steve James to Deliver Keynotes at Getting Real ’16 Documentary Filmmakers Conference
Filmmakers Ava DuVernay and Steve James will serve as keynote speakers at Getting Real ’16, a biennial filmmaker conference presented by the International Documentary Association and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Read more | The Hollywood Reporter »

James Franco’s Movie Column: What Werner Herzog’s Documentaries Teach Us About Humanity
James + Semaj is a column where James Franco talks to his reverse self, Semaj, about new films. Rather than a conventional review, it is place where James and Semaj can muse about ideas that the films provoke. This week’s installment focuses on Werner Herzog’s documentary Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World, which is now in theaters and on VOD.
Read more | IndieWire »

Errol Morris on Why VR is ‘Like a Crime Scene’ and Other Meditations on Reality
And then there was someone on stage [at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam] who might not be a usual suspect when it comes to discussing interactive docs: Academy Award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris, director of such classics as Fast, Cheap & Out of Control and The Thin Blue Line. For those of us who weren’t lucky enough to be in the gorgeous Dutch city for the festivities, IDFA has now released many of the fascinating talks online. We delved into Morris’ talk, moderated by Jason Spingarn-Koff of Netflix, in which the filmmaker made the case that documentary and virtual reality aren’t all that different.
Read more | No Film School »

Upcoming festivals and deadlines

  • Deadline: DOK Hackathon & Prototype Jam 8/28
  • 73rd Venice International Film Festival 8/31 – 9/10
  • Deadline: IDFA Crossmedia Forum 9/1
  • Deadline: Fusion Project Earth Documentary Challenge 9/1

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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.