January 3, 2017 | POV’s daily list of essential reading for the documentary and independent filmmaking community.
The Ivory Game Director Kief Davidson Responds to China’s Newly Announced Ivory Trade Ban
China announced last week that it is completely banning its ivory trade by the end of 2017, a move that will hopefully go a long way toward protecting the world’s dwindling elephant population. Especially happy with the development is The Ivory Game co-director Kief Davidson, who says that he and his team are “all so blown away by the news.”
Read more | IndieWire »
KKK Members Claim They Were Paid To Fabricate Scenes For A&E Show
Members of the Ku Klux Klan who were participating in a now-canceled documentary series for A&E are claiming producers paid them to fabricate scenes for the show. The show, Escaping the KKK: A Documentary Series Exposing Hate in America, was scheduled to premiere Jan. 10. A&E canceled the series after learning cash payments were made “to facilitate access” to the film’s subjects by the film’s production company.
Read more | Huffington Post »
2017 Eases In By Looking Back
While the holidays have now come and gone and we’ve already cracked into the new calendar, for the last two weeks much of the movie blogosphere has been on holiday itself. The majority of folks who did publish new work were mostly looking back at 2016, with rundowns of the year’s best docs coming from various sources.
Read more | Stranger Than Fiction »
HBO To Air Documentary About Carrie Fisher And Debbie Reynolds’ Relationship Early
Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds will premiere at 8PM ET on January 7th, HBO announced. The announcement comes after the unexpected deaths of both stars last week. Legendary Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher died last Tuesday, following a heart attack aboard an airplane on Christmas Day. Her mother, Hollywood icon Debbie Reynolds, died the next day following a stroke.
Read more | The Verge »
Upcoming Festivals and Deadlines
This Week
- Deadline: Doc Aviv International Film Festival submissions Jan 5
- Deadline: World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest submissions Jan 6
Next Week
- Deadline: Hot Docs Doc X Program submissions Jan 9
- Deadline: Hot Docs late submissions Jan 9
- Applications Open: 2017 IFP Labs (Narrative, Documentary, and Serialized Projects) Jan 10
- Deadline: NEH Media Development & Media Production Grants Jan 11
- Deadline: Screen Australia’s Documentary Development Funding Jan 13
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