February 22, 2017 | POV’s daily list of essential reading for the documentary and independent filmmaking community.
Number of Female Film Protagonists Hits Record High in 2016, Up 7% From Previous Year
Turns out, 2016 was a good year for female film protagonists; or at least one that was a bit better than previous years. A new study released by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University has found that last year more female actors took center stage in films. According to the study, females comprised 29% of protagonists in the 100 top-grossing films of 2016. This figure represents a recent historical high, and a 7% increase from 2015.
Read more | IndieWire »
New Nile Rodgers Documentary Series to Air on BBC
Nile Rodgers will be the subject of an upcoming three-part documentary for the BBC. Nile Rodgers: Lost in Music will explore Rodgers’ career as a guitarist and co-founding member of Chic, a solo artist, and a collaborator with David Bowie, Diana Ross, Madonna, Duran Duran, Daft Punk, and more. It is set to include “unique and never-before seen-or-heard insights from the Nile Rodgers engine room” and feature interviews with Rodgers’ friends and collaborators, including Carly Simon, Sister Sledge’s Kathy Sledge, Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes, Mark Ronson, Avicii, John Newman, Laura Mvula, and Keith Urban.
Read more | Pitchfork »
A Documentary on the Schisms of Second-Wave Feminism
“If feminism means anything it’s diversity,” Rita Mae Brown, the author and poet, says in the opening moments of the documentary Some American Feminists. “I think there’s a lot of room and that we don’t have to take up these positions and then defend them as if our whole egos were on the line — which is exactly what men do.” The ensuing film, screening Wednesday night at Light Industry, hones in on the various positions that were nevertheless taken up, fissuring second-wave feminism along lines of race, class, sexual orientation, and political affiliation.
Read more | Hyperallergic »
Why The Success Of ‘Step’ Matters So Much
There is a bit of risk involved when a white woman takes on the responsibility of telling a story about Black girls and their communities. A lot can get lost in translation, leaving the end product flat and flavorless. With meaningful diversity in high demand, this isn’t a ball to be dropped. It’s a risk that Amanda Lipitz undertook when she made the documentary Step. And it paid off.
Read more | Refinery29 »
Vossen named to Television Academy Board of Governors
Lois Vossen, executive producer of the PBS long-running doc strand Independent Lens, has been named to the Television Academy Board of Governors. She will serve as governor of the Documentary Programming Peer Group until Dec. 31, 2018.
Read more | Realscreen »
Upcoming Festivals and Deadlines
This Week
- Doc Fortnight 2017: MoMA’s International Festival of Nonfiction Film and Media Feb 16 – 26
- Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Feb 17 – 26
Next Week
- Doc Fortnight 2017: MoMA’s International Festival of Nonfiction Film and Media Feb 16 – 26
- Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Feb 17 – 26
- Deadline: Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund Feb 27
- Deadline: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Submissions Feb 28
- Deadline: Visions Sud Est Fund Feb 28
- Deadline: Vision Maker Media Public Media Content Fund Mar 1
- True/False Mar 2 – 5
- Thessaloniki Documentary Festival Mar 3 – 12
- Deadline: 2017 IFP Labs (Narrative, Documentary, and Serialized Projects) Mar 3
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