- DOC NYC 2011 Preview
New York's fall documentary festival is back for a second year, with galas Into the Abyss, Lemon and The Island President and a tribute to cinéma vérité pioneer Richard Leacock.
- 'Resurrect Dead' Director Jon Foy Tells the Sundance Story of his First Film
How does a confused first-time filmmaker get to Sundance and come back with its documentary directing prize? Adam Schartoff talks to Jon Foy about Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, on VOD now and opening Friday, September 2, 2011, in New York City.
- Finding Depth in Documentary Film
Guest blogger Edward J. Delaney distinguishes between 'art' and 'craft' in documentary film and singles out James March (Man on Wire, Project Nim) as being as close to an artist as anyone working in the form today.
- A Conversation with 'Tabloid' Director Errol Morris
Freelance journalist Adam Schartoff talks with Errol Morris about his new documentary Tabloid, how he knows journalists read his Twitter feed and the technology behind his intimate film interviews.
- Doc Soup: The Joys of Twitter
I wish I had a foot like a clam. Then I could be truly anchored in reality. (I have a foot, but sadly, it’s not like a clam.) @povdocs’ doc list Funny? Genius? Weird? Oddly uninteresting? This is what I’ve come to expect from following the Twitter feed of documentary filmmaker Errol Morris (The Thin […]
- DOC NYC: Now Through Tuesday, November 9
Ladies and gents, there’s a new festival in town. Last night the inaugural edition of DOC NYC kicked off in a big way, featuring Werner Herzog and his breathtaking 3-D documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Opening with such a mammoth (no prehistory-pun intended) piece of work is quite a statement about the goals and scope […]
- Doc Soup: Doc Highlights at the Toronto International Film Festival
What a great film festival. Maybe it’s how lovely Toronto is in September. Maybe it’s the enthusiastic audiences. Maybe it’s the great restaurants. Or maybe it’s how the festival treats otherwise art-house fare like big blockbusters. These are just a few of the reasons I have always loved the Toronto International Film Festival over the […]
- Doc Soup: Announcing a New Series: What Ever Happened to… ?
What ever happened to the boys — now, men — from Hoop Dreams? Where did Little Edie, now deceased, end up after Grey Gardens? Are any of those old guys from Brother’s Keeper still kicking? If you have ever found yourself asking any of these, or similar, questions, then I’m here to help. I want […]
- Doc Soup: Is “Bruno” a Documentary?
When is a doc a doc, and when is it not? If a film portrays real people in real situations without a script, then it’s a doc, right? But what if the film is about a fictional character interacting with real people in a real situation? These questions have been knocked around for a while […]
- Doc Soup: Counting Down to the Oscars
Oscar is coming! The nominees were announced late last week and I am sure my POV minders are psyched to see one of their own on the list of five: Ellen Kuras‘ The Betrayal (Nerakhoon), which will be broadcast on PBS in 2009, joins: Encounters at the End of the World, Werner Herzog The Garden, […]
- Doc Soup: The Year in Docs
It’s end of the year wrap-up time, at a juncture when the world of movies and entertainment and even docs seems a little removed from what’s really on our minds: we appear to be stuck in the muck (but for how long?), though many of us are hopeful that an Obama administration could bring great […]
- Doc Soup: Tipping a Hat to 'Full Battle Rattle' and Other War Docs
Ack! Not another doc about Iraq! Ah yes, this Wednesday we are being treated to Full Battle Rattle, another film related to that unfortunate war we’re waging, and I’m quite sure we doc fans are soon going to be treated to more newspaper stories declaring the film DOA at the BO, relegating its fate along […]
- Doc Soup: 'Standard Operating Procedure'
Why can’t they just leave Errol Morris alone? I know I’m coming a little late to the conversation, but the guy makes the most sensitive, humanizing films that try to bridge our understanding of human frailty, oddity, evil and injustice. One of his films even got a guy off of death row. And he has […]
- Doc Soup: Disney's New Docs
I am giddy with joy. Last week, Disney announced that following the box office success of March of the Penguins (a bit of a delayed reaction, no?), it is launching a new film production unit called Disneynature to produce and distribute documentary films. I grew up watching Mutual of Omaha‘s nature show and then the […]
- Doc Roundup: Full Frame, 'Young@Heart', and Errol Morris
This past week was a busy one in the doc world. The Full Frame Documentary Festival took place in North Carolina; Young@Heart, the first documentary acquired by distribution company Fox Searchlight in a decade was released to wide acclaim; and the upcoming release of his Standard Operating Procedure has Errol Morris all over the news. […]
- Doc Soup: April Docs
The hot theatrical doc season begins! The month of April sees two much-anticipated documentaries being released, Errol Morris‘ Standard Operating Procedure (on April 25) and Morgan Spurlock‘s Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? (on April 18). Although both of these are from A-list filmmakers, these two documentaries have a lot stacked against them […]
- Doc Soup: IMAX & Docs on the Big, Big Screen
Last week, Regal Cinemas announced that the chain will double the number of IMAX theaters that it runs nationwide, adding another 31 large-format screens by 2010. That will bring the total of IMAX screens in Regal theaters to 52. The IMAX format is mostly known for its sometimes cheesy fare, space and oceanic adventures, and […]