Everyone pretty much knows everyone else in Craig, Alaska, a town of about 1,400 on a picturesque island accessible only by boat or plane.
But even if its residents didn’t know everybody in the fall of 2004, they likely knew the Watermans.
Dad Carl “Doc” Waterman was a real estate agent who served as president of the local school board. Mom Lauri was a well-liked civic volunteer with the Girl Scouts and Little League and a special education teacher’s aide. Daughter Rachelle was a 16-year-old high school honors student who played volleyball and sang in the school choir.
Lauri’s...
But even if its residents didn’t know everybody in the fall of 2004, they likely knew the Watermans.
Dad Carl “Doc” Waterman was a real estate agent who served as president of the local school board. Mom Lauri was a well-liked civic volunteer with the Girl Scouts and Little League and a special education teacher’s aide. Daughter Rachelle was a 16-year-old high school honors student who played volleyball and sang in the school choir.
Lauri’s...
- 1/2/2017
- by jefftruesdelltimeinc
- PEOPLE.com
In the early 2000s, amid political turmoil in the Ukraine, a pastor named Gennadiy Mokhnenko battled child homelessness and drug addiction using unorthodox methods. The controversial pastor abducted homeless children, many of whom suffered drug addiction, and forcibly brought them to Pilgrim Republic, a rehabilitation center he founded in the city of Mariupol. Relying on a mix of interviews and footage which tracks the self-appointed savior’s mission over fifteen years, Almost Holy is a complex portrait of a complex person. The film was directed by Steve Hoover, who directed the Sundance Grand Jury and Audience prize-winning Blood Brother, which also focused on a self-appointed savior […]...
- 5/20/2016
- by Paula Bernstein
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The most fascinating part of Steve Hoover‘s latest documentary Almost Holy is how its subject Gennadiy Mokhnenko parallels the life of well-known Russian cartoon Krokodil Gena. The latter deals with a lonely crocodile zoo worker named Gena and his friend Cheburashka: a young, abandoned creature rejected by the establishment employing him. The two therefore construct a home for the lonely as a result so nobody will feel their pain again. This show is the only thing to come out of the former Soviet Union that Mokhnenko remembers fondly, his drive to clean Ukraine’s streets of drugs aligning with the promise of a European Union membership in direct opposition of everything the Ussr was. The kids he shelters call him Pastor Crocodile, the savior of Pilgrim House.
Hoover uses this parallel by interspersing his profile of Mokhnenko with relevant clips from the cartoon to soften the man’s edges.
Hoover uses this parallel by interspersing his profile of Mokhnenko with relevant clips from the cartoon to soften the man’s edges.
- 5/17/2016
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
The summer has arrived — at least if you’re going by Hollywood’s calendar. Our comprehensive preview for all four months will give you a hint as to what we most anticipate — but, for a more in-depth look, today we have our first monthly feature of the season. It should be noted that theatrical re-releases of the Jean-Luc Godard classic Band of Outsiders and Eiichi Yamamoto‘s animation, Belladonna of Sadness, both arriving on May 6th, as well as Fritz Lang‘s Destiny (on May 20th), are essential.
Getting to the new features, perhaps our most-anticipated studio release of the entire summer arrives, along with some of our festival favorites from the last year. To those lamenting the lack of superhero films: we figured it was best not to waste the space, as they are certainly already on your radar if you’re planning to buy a ticket. Check out...
Getting to the new features, perhaps our most-anticipated studio release of the entire summer arrives, along with some of our festival favorites from the last year. To those lamenting the lack of superhero films: we figured it was best not to waste the space, as they are certainly already on your radar if you’re planning to buy a ticket. Check out...
- 5/2/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Terrence Malick may not have made any new friends with this year’s "Knight Of Cups," but the fact remains that he is still a filmmaker whose name holds weight. If a deserving film reaches eyeballs solely on the strength of his name recognition, then we couldn’t be happier. Read More: The Curious Case Of Terrence Malick & The Worrying Cost Of Diminishing Returns Such is the case with "Almost Holy," for which Malick is on board as executive producer. Directed by Steve Hoover ("Blood Brother"), "Almost Holy" is the story about Gennadiy Mokhnenko, a Ukrainian pastor who has dedicated his life to rehabilitating drug-addicted children. Nicknamed “Pastor Crocodile,” he is also known on the streets of Mariupol as a vigilante who will do whatever it takes to carry out his mission. You can check out the trailer for the film below. Featuring original music co-performed by Atticus Ross ("The Social Network,...
- 4/27/2016
- by Ryan Oliver
- The Playlist
Unless there’s a surprise announcement, it looks like Cannes will once again be Terrence Malick-less, despite rumors that one of his upcoming features was going to premiere there. However, this summer, one of his executive-producing efforts, Almost Holy, a new documentary from Steve Hoover (Blood Brother), will see a release, and today the first trailer has landed.
Previously titled Crocodile Gennadiy, it follows a Ukrainian pastor, Gennadiy Mohknenko, who has stirred controversy in his attempt to fight child homelessness by abducting street kids to bring to his private rehabilitation center. As quoted on the poster, The Village Voice‘s Aaron Hillis called it “the best superhero vigilante movie of the year,” and Hoover’s picture — also produced by Nicolas Gonda and featuring a score from Atticus Ross — looks like a compelling watch.
Check out the trailer and poster below.
The fall of The Soviet Union left Ukraine in...
Previously titled Crocodile Gennadiy, it follows a Ukrainian pastor, Gennadiy Mohknenko, who has stirred controversy in his attempt to fight child homelessness by abducting street kids to bring to his private rehabilitation center. As quoted on the poster, The Village Voice‘s Aaron Hillis called it “the best superhero vigilante movie of the year,” and Hoover’s picture — also produced by Nicolas Gonda and featuring a score from Atticus Ross — looks like a compelling watch.
Check out the trailer and poster below.
The fall of The Soviet Union left Ukraine in...
- 4/19/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
With a number of features in various states of production, 2016 may indeed be the year of Terrence Malick, but his directorial efforts aren’t the only projects that will soon see the light of day. This summer, one of his executive-producing efforts, Almost Holy, a new documentary from Steve Hoover (Blood Brother), will see a release, and we’re pleased to exclusively premiere the first poster.
Previously titled Crocodile Gennadiy, it follows a Ukrainian pastor, Gennadiy Mohknenko, who has stirred controversy in his attempt to fight child homelessness by abducting street kids to bring to his private rehabilitation center. As quoted on the poster, The Village Voice‘s Aaron Hillis called it “the best superhero vigilante movie of the year,” and Hoover’s picture — also produced by Nicolas Gonda and featuring a score from Atticus Ross — is certainly one we can’t wait to see.
Check out the poster and synopsis below,...
Previously titled Crocodile Gennadiy, it follows a Ukrainian pastor, Gennadiy Mohknenko, who has stirred controversy in his attempt to fight child homelessness by abducting street kids to bring to his private rehabilitation center. As quoted on the poster, The Village Voice‘s Aaron Hillis called it “the best superhero vigilante movie of the year,” and Hoover’s picture — also produced by Nicolas Gonda and featuring a score from Atticus Ross — is certainly one we can’t wait to see.
Check out the poster and synopsis below,...
- 3/16/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“Blood Brother” sequel to hit film releases pair of TV spot trailers. Director Dan Trachtenberg’s J.J. Abrams produced 10 Cloverfield Lane will hit theaters on March 11t and man…it looks crazy good. We loved Matt Reeves’ first Cloverfield film but this is not a direct sequel. Rather it serves as a kind of “blood brother”…
The post Check Out These Crazed 10 Cloverfield Lane IMAX TV Spots! appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post Check Out These Crazed 10 Cloverfield Lane IMAX TV Spots! appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 3/4/2016
- by Chris Alexander
- shocktillyoudrop.com
"Rebel Scum" is a Star Wars fan film that comes to us from Blood Brother Cinema. The short is an homage to the original Star Wars trilogy, and the story follows a Rebel pilot who is forced to survive on the ice cold planet Hoth. Here’s a short story summary:
A Rebellion pilot is hounded by death from the merciless Empire and a frozen grave, after being abandoned during the retreat of the Rebel Alliance from Hoth.
The movie was shot on location in Alberta, Canada at the Columbia Icefield in -30°C (-22°F) weather. One of the things I really liked about it was their attempt to create nearly all of their visual effects without the use of CGI. For example, there’s an At-at in the short that was animated via stop-motion. They used models, miniatures, and matte painting to achieve their effects.
It may not...
A Rebellion pilot is hounded by death from the merciless Empire and a frozen grave, after being abandoned during the retreat of the Rebel Alliance from Hoth.
The movie was shot on location in Alberta, Canada at the Columbia Icefield in -30°C (-22°F) weather. One of the things I really liked about it was their attempt to create nearly all of their visual effects without the use of CGI. For example, there’s an At-at in the short that was animated via stop-motion. They used models, miniatures, and matte painting to achieve their effects.
It may not...
- 1/14/2016
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Turning back the Star Wars clock and bringing us back to the opening of The Empire Strikes Back, fan film Rebel Scum tells the story of Echo 12, a rebel pilot whose snowspeeder crashed on Hoth during the epic battle we all know and love, who must survive the frozen wasteland after the Rebellion evacuated the planet. A loving tribute to the original trilogy from Blood Brother Cinema, the movie was shot on location in Alberta, Canada, and nearly all the visual effects were created without the use of CGI, instead favouring more old school techniques like stop motion animation. Check it out below.
- 1/14/2016
- by noreply@blogger.com (Tom White)
- www.themoviebit.com
Read More: Exclusive: The Orchard Acquires North American Rights to Sebastian Silva's 'Nasty Baby,' Starring Kristen Wiig Following its recent premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, The Orchard has acquired the North American rights to director Steve Hoover's critically acclaimed documentary "Crocodile Gennadiy." Terrence Malick and Nicholas Gonda serve as executive producers while Atticus Ross, Academy Award winner for his score for "The Social Network," composed the film. "I could not be more excited to be teaming up with The Orchard. Their passion and vision for this film felt like the perfect strategy to bring it to audiences," said Hoover. "It's been an amazing ride so far with such a great and supportive team on board; I'm thrilled to be moving forward." Hoover's first film, "Blood Brother," won Sundance's Audience and Grand Jury Awards for Best Documentary in 2013. "Crocodile Gennadiy" follows the...
- 4/21/2015
- by Travis Clark
- Indiewire
Despite the Tribeca Film Fest only being at the halfway mark it would appear that we have already have a critical darling and front-runner among the doc selections with Steve Hoover’s sophomore doc leading the charge. Much like how they looted Sundance, and walked away with the top doc of that fest in Cartel Land, The Orchard folks now have the much buzzed about Crocodile Gennadiy in their future line-up. Offering back to back heart-warming and heart-wrenching portraits, Hoover (who we met less than two years back) who saw his Blood Brother win both the Audience and Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary at the 2013 edition of the Sundance Film Festival looks poised to make a mark on the docu film world yet again.
Gist: Gennadiy Mokhnenko has made a name for himself by forcibly abducting homeless drug-addicted kids from the streets of Mariupol, Ukraine. As his country leans towards a European Union inclusion,...
Gist: Gennadiy Mokhnenko has made a name for himself by forcibly abducting homeless drug-addicted kids from the streets of Mariupol, Ukraine. As his country leans towards a European Union inclusion,...
- 4/21/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Soviet Nostalgia: Hoover’s Complex Portrait of a Ukrainian Vigilante Pastor Opens Cultural Can of Worms
Steve Hoover’s sophomore feature opens on a Ukrainian industrial landscape overlayed with the following quote from My First Fee by Isaac Babel, a Russian author whose futile death came at the hands of the Soviet secret police: “A well thought out story doesn’t need to resemble real life. Life itself tries with all its might to resemble a well-crafted story.” Out of context, it merely foreshadows the high tension tale to follow, yet knowing Babel’s fate – which isn’t mentioned in the film – brings greater depth to the Ukrainian/Russian situation that snowballs throughout. In Crocodile Gennadiy, what begins as an astounding, morally murky portrait of a man subverting inert government organizations to rescue abused children morphs into a something more akin to a unraveling sketch of a man clutching his overflowing family,...
Steve Hoover’s sophomore feature opens on a Ukrainian industrial landscape overlayed with the following quote from My First Fee by Isaac Babel, a Russian author whose futile death came at the hands of the Soviet secret police: “A well thought out story doesn’t need to resemble real life. Life itself tries with all its might to resemble a well-crafted story.” Out of context, it merely foreshadows the high tension tale to follow, yet knowing Babel’s fate – which isn’t mentioned in the film – brings greater depth to the Ukrainian/Russian situation that snowballs throughout. In Crocodile Gennadiy, what begins as an astounding, morally murky portrait of a man subverting inert government organizations to rescue abused children morphs into a something more akin to a unraveling sketch of a man clutching his overflowing family,...
- 4/20/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Meet the 2015 Tribeca Filmmakers #43: Man Takes Homeless Kids Under His Wing in 'Crocodile Gennadiy'
Read More: Meet the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival Filmmakers "Crocodile Gennadiy" is the second film from director Steve Hoover, who won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for his doc "Blood Brother" at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Hoover's second feature tells the story of a man called Crodocile Gennadiy, who works to help homeless, drug-addicted young people on the streets of Mariupol, Ukraine. Bravely, Gennadiy also challenges the city's dealers and abusers, and although he meets with resistance, Gennadiy is steadfast in continuing his work. Although the crew dealt with turbulence while filming in Ukraine, they managed to craft a powerful film about moral ambiguity and civic responsibilities. What's your film about in 140 characters or less? Gennadiy, a pastor from Mariupol Ukraine, who's known for abducting homeless kids from the streets of his city. Now what's it Really about? Moral ambiguity, vigilantism, drugs, alcohol, systemic...
- 4/17/2015
- by Anya Jaremko-Greenwold
- Indiewire
Among the strangest reveals from Tuesday’s Pretty Little Liars: Mike and Mona are apparently the Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton of Rosewood.
RelatedPretty Little Liars Newbie Spills Talia’s ‘Secrets,’ Previews Future With Emily
After Aria’s little brother flipped out — and flipped a table, Teresa Giudice-style — she put Andrew on his trail, eventually discovering that Mike was hiding a vial of Mona’s blood in a tree.
And things didn’t get any less weird when she confronted him about it; Mona apparently plotted to frame Alison for her murder, then gave a vial...
RelatedPretty Little Liars Newbie Spills Talia’s ‘Secrets,’ Previews Future With Emily
After Aria’s little brother flipped out — and flipped a table, Teresa Giudice-style — she put Andrew on his trail, eventually discovering that Mike was hiding a vial of Mona’s blood in a tree.
And things didn’t get any less weird when she confronted him about it; Mona apparently plotted to frame Alison for her murder, then gave a vial...
- 2/18/2015
- TVLine.com
Revenge‘s Christa B. Allen may be away from the Hamptons (for now), but you’ll be glad to know she hasn’t lost that charming Grayson sense of entitlement.
RelatedBaby Daddy Ep Talks Ben and Riley’s Future in Season 4
TVLine broke the news of Allen’s casting in November, and now we have an exclusive first look at her debut episode of ABC Family’s Baby Daddy (Feb. 25, 8:30/7:30c), in which her legal-eagle character goes for the kill the second she meets Danny.
“Is he single?” she asks Riley. “And if he is, can I make him un-single?...
RelatedBaby Daddy Ep Talks Ben and Riley’s Future in Season 4
TVLine broke the news of Allen’s casting in November, and now we have an exclusive first look at her debut episode of ABC Family’s Baby Daddy (Feb. 25, 8:30/7:30c), in which her legal-eagle character goes for the kill the second she meets Danny.
“Is he single?” she asks Riley. “And if he is, can I make him un-single?...
- 2/17/2015
- TVLine.com
A new primetime soap described as “Revenge meets Ugly Betty“? Ok, ABC Family, you’ve got our attention.
RelatedAwkward Creator, Himym Ep Land Comedy Pilots at ABC Family
The network is developing an American format of the Venezuelan telenovela Mi Gorda Bella Valentina — yes, that translates to My Sweet Fat Valentina — our sister site Deadline reports.
The drama follows Valentina, a young woman who goes into hiding after her mother is murdered. Suspecting that her mom was killed by a relative in order to gain control of the family business, Valentina returns home 10 years later with a new look (pictured...
RelatedAwkward Creator, Himym Ep Land Comedy Pilots at ABC Family
The network is developing an American format of the Venezuelan telenovela Mi Gorda Bella Valentina — yes, that translates to My Sweet Fat Valentina — our sister site Deadline reports.
The drama follows Valentina, a young woman who goes into hiding after her mother is murdered. Suspecting that her mom was killed by a relative in order to gain control of the family business, Valentina returns home 10 years later with a new look (pictured...
- 2/13/2015
- TVLine.com
Oh yes, Mindy Project fans, it’s on.
Following the bombshell that ended last week’s episode — Mindy is pregnant! — our histrionic heroine spends this week’s installment trying to tell Danny he’s her baby daddy.
But when Dr. Castellano finally finds out, the news comes from an unexpected source. Grab some ice cream and pickles, and read on for how it all shakes out.
Related Mindy Project Post Mortem: Star Mindy Kaling Reveals How That Big Twist Came About, What’s Next for Drs. L & C
Guess Who’S Coming To Manhattan? | When 30 (!) pregnancy tests turn out positive,...
Following the bombshell that ended last week’s episode — Mindy is pregnant! — our histrionic heroine spends this week’s installment trying to tell Danny he’s her baby daddy.
But when Dr. Castellano finally finds out, the news comes from an unexpected source. Grab some ice cream and pickles, and read on for how it all shakes out.
Related Mindy Project Post Mortem: Star Mindy Kaling Reveals How That Big Twist Came About, What’s Next for Drs. L & C
Guess Who’S Coming To Manhattan? | When 30 (!) pregnancy tests turn out positive,...
- 2/11/2015
- TVLine.com
Been meaning to catch up with Sam and Dean Winchester, but just haven't found the time? Our Supernatural tips for beginners may help...
Maps To TV Shows: Is there a popular show you’d really like to watch but you just don’t have time to wade through years of it all at once? Do you just want to know why that one character keeps turning up on Tumblr? Do the fans all tell you ‘season one is a bit iffy but stick with it, it gets great!’, leaving you with absolutely zero desire ever to watch the boring/silly/just plain weird season one? Then Maps To TV Shows is for you!
In these articles, we’ll outline routes through popular TV shows focusing on particular characters, story arcs or episode types. Are you really into the Klingon episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation? Do you want to...
Maps To TV Shows: Is there a popular show you’d really like to watch but you just don’t have time to wade through years of it all at once? Do you just want to know why that one character keeps turning up on Tumblr? Do the fans all tell you ‘season one is a bit iffy but stick with it, it gets great!’, leaving you with absolutely zero desire ever to watch the boring/silly/just plain weird season one? Then Maps To TV Shows is for you!
In these articles, we’ll outline routes through popular TV shows focusing on particular characters, story arcs or episode types. Are you really into the Klingon episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation? Do you want to...
- 1/13/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Turkey or no turkey, these next couple of days lucky filmmakers who’ve been selected to screen as part of the Sundance Film Festival will get the invitation notice straight from John Cooper and the Park City programming team, and thus, those that we’re betting have made the cut have also inched up the list a bit. One of those that seem an obvious choice to premiere at the fest is director Steve Hoover and producer Danny Yourd’s Crocodile Gennadiy. Following up their Grand Jury Prize winning Blood Brother with incredible turnaround time, our new most anticipated film tracks the delicate operations of Gennadiy Mokhnenko, a Ukrainian activist, orphanage manager and savior of countless children whose addict parents favor injected cold medicine and alcohol over them. Part heartwrenching domestic drama, part sleuth thriller, the film looks to use the Ukrainian uprising as a backdrop to highlight its protagonist...
- 11/27/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
In honor of Supernatural's 200th episode, EW took a quick trip down the road so far. And by quick, we mean that we ranked every episode of Supernatural ever. From Sam and Dean's first battle against the Woman in White to Sam's recent rescue of Demon Dean, we left nothing out, and we're pretty sure it was just as difficult as that one time that Sam and Dean stopped the apocalypse. If you're looking for our Top 40 picks, check out gallery No. 1, and for our Worst 10, head here. For everything in between, scroll down, relive the memories (and...
- 11/7/2014
- by Samantha Highfill and Jonathon Dornbush
- EW.com - PopWatch
Ifp announced its 2014 slate of 133 new films in development and works in progress selected for its esteemed Project Forum at Independent Film Week. This one-of-a-kind event brings the international film and media community to New York City to advance new projects by nurturing the work of both emerging and established independent artists and filmmakers. Through the Project Forum, creatives connect with financiers, executives, influencers and decision-makers in film, television, new media and cross-platform storytelling that can help them complete their latest works and connect with audiences. Under the curatorial leadership of Deputy Director/Head of Programming Amy Dotson & Senior Director of Programming Milton Tabbot, this one-of-a-kind event takes place September 14-18, 2014 at Lincoln Center supporting bold new content from a wide variety of domestic and international artists.
“As we set to embark on our 36th Independent Film Week, we are impressed by the outstanding slate of both U.S. and international projects selected for this year’s Project Forum,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of Ifp. “We know that the industry will be as excited as we are with the accomplished storytellers and their diverse and boundary pushing films.”
Featured works at the 2014 Independent Film Week include filmmakers and content creators from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. From documentarians Tony Gerber ("Full Battle Rattle"), Pamela Yates ("Granito: How To Nail A Dictator"), and Penny Lane ("Our Nixon") to Michelangelo Frammartino ("Quattro Volte") and Alexis Dos Santos ("Unmade Beds"), as well as new work from critically acclaimed artists and directors Aurora Guerrero ("Mosquita y Mari"), Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy"), Travis Matthews ("Interior. Leather. Bar") and Yen Tan ("Pit Stop").
Independent Film Week brings the international film and media community to New York City to advance new documentary and narrative works-in-progress and support the future of storytelling. The program nurtures the work of both emerging and established independent artists and filmmakers through the facilitation of over 3,500+ custom, one-to-one meetings with the financiers, executives, influencers and decision-makers in film, television, new media and cross-platform storytelling that can help them complete their latest works and connect with audiences. In recent years, it has also played a vital role in launching the first films of many of today’s rising stars on the independent scene including Rama Burshtein ("Fill The Void"), Derek Cianfrance ("Blue Valentine"), Marshall Curry ("If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth LIberation Front"), Laura Poitras ("The Oath"), Denis Villeneuve ("Incendies") and Benh Zeitlin ("Beasts of the Southern Wild").
For the full 2014 Project Forum slate visit Here
New For 2014
Evenly split between documentary and narrative features, selected projects hail from throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada, as well Africa, Asia, South America, and the Middle East. New this year, Ifp will be including web series in it programming, as well as spotlighting Latin & Central American artists and content with 15 projects featured across all programs in the Forum.
In a joint effort to recognize the importance of career and creative sustainability, Ifp and Durga Entertainment have partnered on a new $20,000 filmmaker grant for an alumnus of Ifp. The grant is intended for active, working filmmakers who are also balancing a filmmaking career with parenting. The grant provides a $20,000 unrestricted prize to encourage the recipient to continue on her or his career path of making quality independent films. American directors or screenwriters working in narrative film who have participated in the Ifp Filmmaker Labs or Ifp Independent Film Week's Emerging Storytellers or No-Borders International Co-Production market are encouraged to apply by the deadline of August 8, 2014.
Narrative Feature Highlights
Narrative features and webseries in Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers and No Borders International Co-Production Market sections highlight new work from top emerging and established creative visionaries on the U.S. and international independent scene.
This year’s slate includes new feature scripts featuring directors Dev Benegal ("Road, Movie"), Alexis Dos Santos ("Unmade Beds"), Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin ("Now, Forager"), Michelangelo Frammartino ("Le Quattro Volte"),Terry George ("Hotel Rwanda"), Rashaad Ernesto Green ("Gun Hill Road"), Aurora Guerrero ("Mosquita Y Mari"), Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy"),Alison Klayman ("Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry"), Travis Mathews ("Interior. Leather Bar"), Stacie Passon ("Concussion"), Yen Tan ("Pit Stop"), as well as up-an-coming actor/directors Karrie Crouse ("Land Ho!") and Peter Vack ("Fort Tilden""I Believe in Unicorns").
Producers and executive producers of note attached to participating projects include Jennifer Dubin and Cora Olson ("Good Dick"), Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams ("Hellion"),Laura Heberton ("Gayby"), Dan Janvey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"), Kishori Rajan ("Gimme the Loot"), Adele Romanski ("The Myth of the American Sleepover"), Kim Sherman ("A Teacher"), Susan Stover ("High Art"), and Alicia Van Couvering ("Tiny Furniture").
Web Storytellers Highlights
For the first time this year, Ifp presents a dedicated spotlight within the Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers program for creators developing episodic content for digital platforms. The inaugural slate for the Web Storytellers spotlight includes new works from filmmakers Desiree Akhavan ("Appropriate Behavior", HBO’s Girls), Calvin Reeder ("The Rambler"), and Gregory Bayne ("Person of Interest"), as well as producers Elisabeth Holm ("Obvious Child"), Susan Leber ( "Down to the Bone"), and Amanda Warman ("The Outs,"Whatever This Is"). Two of the series participating are currently in post-production, and will be making their online debut in the coming months – Rachel Morgan’s Middle Americans, starring Scott Thompson, Carlen Altman, and Alex Rennie, and Daniel Zimbler and Elisabeth Gray’s Understudies, starring Richard Kind and David Rasche. [p Spotlight On Documentaries Highlights
The documentary selection includes new work from seasoned non-fiction directors such as Emmy winners Robert Bahar andAlmudena Carracedo ("Made in La"), Pamela Yates ("Granito: How to Nail a Dictator"),Ramona Diaz ("Imelda," "Don’t Stop Believin’") Gini Reticker ("Pray the Devil Back to Hell") Tony Gerber ("Full Battle Rattle"); from producers such as Court 13’s Benh Zeitlin and Dan Janvey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"), Liran Atzmor ("The Law in These Parts"), Tim Williams ("Once In A Lifetime") and Hilla Medalia ("Web Junkie"), and follow-up second features from recent doc world “breakouts”Steve Hoover ("Blood Brother") Penny Lane ("Our Nixon"), Michael Collins ("Give Up Tomorrow"), and Michael Nichols and Christopher Walker ("Flex is Kings").
Exciting new work from debut documentary directors previously known for fiction films include Alex Sichel ("All over Me") with her personal doc The Movie about Anna, Lisa Cortés (producer, "Precious") with "Mothership: The Untold Story of Women and Hip Hop," and Daniel Patrick Carbone ("Hide Your Smiling Faces") with Phantom Cowboys.
Sponsors
Independent Film Week’s Premier sponsors are Royal Bank of Canada (Rbc) and HBO. Gold sponsors are A&E IndieFilms and SAGIndie. Silver sponsors are Durga Entertainment, Eastman Kodak Company, National Film & Video Foundation of South Africa and Telefilm Canada. Official Independent Film Week Partner is Film Society of Lincoln Center. Independent Film Week is supported, in part, by funds provided by the Ford Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council for the Arts and Time Warner Foundation.
About Ifp
The Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources at all stages of development and distribution. The organization fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Independent Film Week, Filmmaker Magazine, the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the Made in NY Media Center by Ifp, a new incubator space developed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. Ifp represents a growing network of 10,000 storytellers around the world, and plays a key role in developing 350 new feature and documentary works each year. During its 35-year history, Ifp has supported over 8,000 projects and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, including Debra Granik, Miranda July, Michael Moore, Dee Rees, and Benh Zeitlin. More info at www.ifp.org.
“As we set to embark on our 36th Independent Film Week, we are impressed by the outstanding slate of both U.S. and international projects selected for this year’s Project Forum,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of Ifp. “We know that the industry will be as excited as we are with the accomplished storytellers and their diverse and boundary pushing films.”
Featured works at the 2014 Independent Film Week include filmmakers and content creators from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. From documentarians Tony Gerber ("Full Battle Rattle"), Pamela Yates ("Granito: How To Nail A Dictator"), and Penny Lane ("Our Nixon") to Michelangelo Frammartino ("Quattro Volte") and Alexis Dos Santos ("Unmade Beds"), as well as new work from critically acclaimed artists and directors Aurora Guerrero ("Mosquita y Mari"), Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy"), Travis Matthews ("Interior. Leather. Bar") and Yen Tan ("Pit Stop").
Independent Film Week brings the international film and media community to New York City to advance new documentary and narrative works-in-progress and support the future of storytelling. The program nurtures the work of both emerging and established independent artists and filmmakers through the facilitation of over 3,500+ custom, one-to-one meetings with the financiers, executives, influencers and decision-makers in film, television, new media and cross-platform storytelling that can help them complete their latest works and connect with audiences. In recent years, it has also played a vital role in launching the first films of many of today’s rising stars on the independent scene including Rama Burshtein ("Fill The Void"), Derek Cianfrance ("Blue Valentine"), Marshall Curry ("If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth LIberation Front"), Laura Poitras ("The Oath"), Denis Villeneuve ("Incendies") and Benh Zeitlin ("Beasts of the Southern Wild").
For the full 2014 Project Forum slate visit Here
New For 2014
Evenly split between documentary and narrative features, selected projects hail from throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada, as well Africa, Asia, South America, and the Middle East. New this year, Ifp will be including web series in it programming, as well as spotlighting Latin & Central American artists and content with 15 projects featured across all programs in the Forum.
In a joint effort to recognize the importance of career and creative sustainability, Ifp and Durga Entertainment have partnered on a new $20,000 filmmaker grant for an alumnus of Ifp. The grant is intended for active, working filmmakers who are also balancing a filmmaking career with parenting. The grant provides a $20,000 unrestricted prize to encourage the recipient to continue on her or his career path of making quality independent films. American directors or screenwriters working in narrative film who have participated in the Ifp Filmmaker Labs or Ifp Independent Film Week's Emerging Storytellers or No-Borders International Co-Production market are encouraged to apply by the deadline of August 8, 2014.
Narrative Feature Highlights
Narrative features and webseries in Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers and No Borders International Co-Production Market sections highlight new work from top emerging and established creative visionaries on the U.S. and international independent scene.
This year’s slate includes new feature scripts featuring directors Dev Benegal ("Road, Movie"), Alexis Dos Santos ("Unmade Beds"), Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin ("Now, Forager"), Michelangelo Frammartino ("Le Quattro Volte"),Terry George ("Hotel Rwanda"), Rashaad Ernesto Green ("Gun Hill Road"), Aurora Guerrero ("Mosquita Y Mari"), Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy"),Alison Klayman ("Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry"), Travis Mathews ("Interior. Leather Bar"), Stacie Passon ("Concussion"), Yen Tan ("Pit Stop"), as well as up-an-coming actor/directors Karrie Crouse ("Land Ho!") and Peter Vack ("Fort Tilden""I Believe in Unicorns").
Producers and executive producers of note attached to participating projects include Jennifer Dubin and Cora Olson ("Good Dick"), Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams ("Hellion"),Laura Heberton ("Gayby"), Dan Janvey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"), Kishori Rajan ("Gimme the Loot"), Adele Romanski ("The Myth of the American Sleepover"), Kim Sherman ("A Teacher"), Susan Stover ("High Art"), and Alicia Van Couvering ("Tiny Furniture").
Web Storytellers Highlights
For the first time this year, Ifp presents a dedicated spotlight within the Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers program for creators developing episodic content for digital platforms. The inaugural slate for the Web Storytellers spotlight includes new works from filmmakers Desiree Akhavan ("Appropriate Behavior", HBO’s Girls), Calvin Reeder ("The Rambler"), and Gregory Bayne ("Person of Interest"), as well as producers Elisabeth Holm ("Obvious Child"), Susan Leber ( "Down to the Bone"), and Amanda Warman ("The Outs,"Whatever This Is"). Two of the series participating are currently in post-production, and will be making their online debut in the coming months – Rachel Morgan’s Middle Americans, starring Scott Thompson, Carlen Altman, and Alex Rennie, and Daniel Zimbler and Elisabeth Gray’s Understudies, starring Richard Kind and David Rasche. [p Spotlight On Documentaries Highlights
The documentary selection includes new work from seasoned non-fiction directors such as Emmy winners Robert Bahar andAlmudena Carracedo ("Made in La"), Pamela Yates ("Granito: How to Nail a Dictator"),Ramona Diaz ("Imelda," "Don’t Stop Believin’") Gini Reticker ("Pray the Devil Back to Hell") Tony Gerber ("Full Battle Rattle"); from producers such as Court 13’s Benh Zeitlin and Dan Janvey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"), Liran Atzmor ("The Law in These Parts"), Tim Williams ("Once In A Lifetime") and Hilla Medalia ("Web Junkie"), and follow-up second features from recent doc world “breakouts”Steve Hoover ("Blood Brother") Penny Lane ("Our Nixon"), Michael Collins ("Give Up Tomorrow"), and Michael Nichols and Christopher Walker ("Flex is Kings").
Exciting new work from debut documentary directors previously known for fiction films include Alex Sichel ("All over Me") with her personal doc The Movie about Anna, Lisa Cortés (producer, "Precious") with "Mothership: The Untold Story of Women and Hip Hop," and Daniel Patrick Carbone ("Hide Your Smiling Faces") with Phantom Cowboys.
Sponsors
Independent Film Week’s Premier sponsors are Royal Bank of Canada (Rbc) and HBO. Gold sponsors are A&E IndieFilms and SAGIndie. Silver sponsors are Durga Entertainment, Eastman Kodak Company, National Film & Video Foundation of South Africa and Telefilm Canada. Official Independent Film Week Partner is Film Society of Lincoln Center. Independent Film Week is supported, in part, by funds provided by the Ford Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council for the Arts and Time Warner Foundation.
About Ifp
The Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources at all stages of development and distribution. The organization fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Independent Film Week, Filmmaker Magazine, the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the Made in NY Media Center by Ifp, a new incubator space developed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. Ifp represents a growing network of 10,000 storytellers around the world, and plays a key role in developing 350 new feature and documentary works each year. During its 35-year history, Ifp has supported over 8,000 projects and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, including Debra Granik, Miranda July, Michael Moore, Dee Rees, and Benh Zeitlin. More info at www.ifp.org.
- 7/25/2014
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
On the heels of the 39th edition of the Toronto Int. Film Festival (Sept 4-14), Ifp’s Independent Film Week is where a plethora of fiction, non-fiction and new this year, web-based series from the likes of Desiree Akhavan and Calvin Reeder find future coin. Sectioned off as projects at the very beginning of financing to those that are nearing completion, there happens to be tons of Sundance alumni in the names below. Among those that caught our attention we have Medicine for Melancholy‘s Barry Jenkins’ sophomore feature, produced by Bad Milo!‘s Adele Romanski, Moonlight is about “two Miami boys navigate the temptations of the drug trade and their burgeoning sexuality in this triptych drama about black queer youth”. Concussion‘s Stacie Passon digs into the thriller genre with Strange Things Started Happening. Produced by vet Mary Jane Skalski (Mysterious Skin), this is about “a woman who has...
- 7/24/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Blood Brother, which Austin Film Society will screen Tuesday evening at the Marchesa as part of the Doc Nights series, is very obviously a labor of love. Filmmaker Steve Hoover travelled to India with his best friend Rocky Braat, who was returning after a short break to his work volunteering at a rural hostel for mothers and children with HIV/AIDS. For a few months, the director documented the daily life of his friend and the kids he serves.
The documentary may sound at first like a white-guy-goes-to-a-developing-country-to-do-good story (it kind of is one, literally), particularly when Rocky says things like he went to India "seeking authenticity." But Blood Brother is a layered film, and goes far deeper than this initial premise. The film kicks off in medias res, with an older man clutching a near-lifeless child to his chest; Rocky and others are shown racing to take the girl to the hospital.
The documentary may sound at first like a white-guy-goes-to-a-developing-country-to-do-good story (it kind of is one, literally), particularly when Rocky says things like he went to India "seeking authenticity." But Blood Brother is a layered film, and goes far deeper than this initial premise. The film kicks off in medias res, with an older man clutching a near-lifeless child to his chest; Rocky and others are shown racing to take the girl to the hospital.
- 4/8/2014
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
The Austin Film Society's series on New Romanian Cinema continues this weekend with Corneliu Porumnoiu's When Evening Falls On Bucharest Or Metabolism. It plays this evening and again on Sunday night at The Marchesa. Tuesday night's featured theme is Doc Nights, turning the spotlight on Blood Brother. Steve Hoover's documentary about a young man's trip to India working with HIV-infected children won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at last year's Sundance Film Festival. If you're up for a German WWII epic, Richard Linklater will be presenting a 35mm print of 1981's Das Boot on Wednesday night. Finally, Essential Cinema on Thursday night will be the 2012 Turkish film Watchtower.
Heading over to the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, the theater is bringing us the Marx Bros. starring in Animal Crackers on Saturday and Tuesday afternoon, a few screenings of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 35mm happening from Saturday-Monday,...
Heading over to the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, the theater is bringing us the Marx Bros. starring in Animal Crackers on Saturday and Tuesday afternoon, a few screenings of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 35mm happening from Saturday-Monday,...
- 4/4/2014
- by Matt Shiverdecker
- Slackerwood
Deadline reports that 2014 Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize Documentary winner has found a double down of a deal: a theatrical distrib home with the folks at The Orchard and a television preem via with PBS’ Independent Lens. Marking a second affiliation between the PBS and the filmmakers, Tracy Droz Tragos and Andrew Droz’s Rich Hill will likely continue on the fest circuit with screening after Dallas and Hot Docs before breaking into a proposed 18 markets.
Gist: Rich Hill, Missouri. Seventy miles south of Kansas City, fifteen miles east of the Kansas border. Once a thriving mining town, shortly after World War II, the coal was gone – mined out. Stores closed, people moved away, farms were sold. It’s a story that could be told in hundreds of towns across America. But people still live here: 1,393 of them at last count. Deep potholes line the gravel roads, and property tax is almost nonexistent.
Gist: Rich Hill, Missouri. Seventy miles south of Kansas City, fifteen miles east of the Kansas border. Once a thriving mining town, shortly after World War II, the coal was gone – mined out. Stores closed, people moved away, farms were sold. It’s a story that could be told in hundreds of towns across America. But people still live here: 1,393 of them at last count. Deep potholes line the gravel roads, and property tax is almost nonexistent.
- 3/18/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The San Francisco Film Society has announced this year’s finalists for the Documentary Film Fund, which is set to divy up $75,000 next month. Open to nonfiction films in post-production, the Fund has previously supported such Sundance titles as Narco Cultura, American Promise and the Oscar-nominated Cutie and the Boxer. Making the list is Western, the Ross Brothers’ follow-up to Tchoupitoulas, and Blood Brother director Steve Hoover’s Gennadly. The Fund is made possible by Jennifer Battat and the Jenerosity Foundation, and you can view the full list of finalists below. Anatomy of an American Dream — John Ryan Johnson, director Antoine Hood is a charismatic 28-year-old former college basketball […]...
- 2/6/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The San Francisco Film Society has announced this year’s finalists for the Documentary Film Fund, which is set to divy up $75,000 next month. Open to nonfiction films in post-production, the Fund has previously supported such Sundance titles as Narco Cultura, American Promise and the Oscar-nominated Cutie and the Boxer. Making the list is Western, the Ross Brothers’ follow-up to Tchoupitoulas, and Blood Brother director Steve Hoover’s Gennadly. The Fund is made possible by Jennifer Battat and the Jenerosity Foundation, and you can view the full list of finalists below. Anatomy of an American Dream — John Ryan Johnson, director Antoine Hood is a charismatic 28-year-old former college basketball […]...
- 2/6/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
As you read this I've just arrived in La. After settling in at the brand new hotel The Line (it's so industrial chic inside), dinner with friends and then surely a fitful night of sleep given what happens in the morning: Christmas Presents (by which I mean "Oscar Nominations!") After that blessed event, I shall strap a tux on for the first time since my high school prom (!!!) for the Critics Choice Awards. Then jet off to meet up with Glenn and Michael at Sundance where I'll try to shift focus a bit from Oscar mania to snowbank-climbing film-festing. All of this while still wrapping 2013 up with my own awards ballots and continuing to process those Oscar nominations. I'm exhausted thinking about all this but I share it with you to lean on your collective strength. Give it to me!
My point is this: it's a good time to take...
My point is this: it's a good time to take...
- 1/15/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Continued from picks 10 to 6….
10. Blood Brother – Steve Hoover
9. Stories We Tell – Sarah Polley
8. Museum Hours – Jem Cohen
7. Her – Spike Jonze
6. Short Term 12 – Destin Cretton
5. The Act of Killing – Joshua Oppenheimer
I don’t know how Oppenheimer managed to find and befriend Anwar Congo and his merry band of genocidal murders, but his mind melting expose of Indonesia’s not-so-distant history of government backed mass murder is as outlandish as the giant fish shaped restaurant that graces the film’s poster. Asking death squad leaders to reenact their self-esteemed atrocities in the style of their favorite American movies seems at first highly inappropriate and possibly dangerous, yet they take up the challenge with glee. In doing, the buried remnants of an empathic human heart begin to surface in the faces of an old man, now a grandfather, whose calloused shell of empty headed pride has finally broken in a profound,...
10. Blood Brother – Steve Hoover
9. Stories We Tell – Sarah Polley
8. Museum Hours – Jem Cohen
7. Her – Spike Jonze
6. Short Term 12 – Destin Cretton
5. The Act of Killing – Joshua Oppenheimer
I don’t know how Oppenheimer managed to find and befriend Anwar Congo and his merry band of genocidal murders, but his mind melting expose of Indonesia’s not-so-distant history of government backed mass murder is as outlandish as the giant fish shaped restaurant that graces the film’s poster. Asking death squad leaders to reenact their self-esteemed atrocities in the style of their favorite American movies seems at first highly inappropriate and possibly dangerous, yet they take up the challenge with glee. In doing, the buried remnants of an empathic human heart begin to surface in the faces of an old man, now a grandfather, whose calloused shell of empty headed pride has finally broken in a profound,...
- 1/9/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Continued from picks 15 to 11…. 15. American Hustle – David O. Russell 14. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
13. Blue Is the Warmest Color – Abdellatif Kechiche
12. Gravity – Alfonso Cuarón 11. Spring Breakers – Harmony Korine
10. Blood Brother – Steve Hoover
I must admit that I was never completely won over by Steve Hoover’s music video work, but that was more the fault of his chosen musical collaborators than his keen eye for the alive and his feeling for rhythmically propulsive pacing. With his debut feature doc he expands on these talents, crafting a bracingly vivacious work of soul searching and self sacrifice that sees the American dream traded by his best friend Rocky Braat for the cyclic misery of caring for Indian women and children doomed to die at the cruel hands of HIV/AIDS. Despite their destiny, the children are given love and hope, and in return, Braat and Hoover find within themselves a...
13. Blue Is the Warmest Color – Abdellatif Kechiche
12. Gravity – Alfonso Cuarón 11. Spring Breakers – Harmony Korine
10. Blood Brother – Steve Hoover
I must admit that I was never completely won over by Steve Hoover’s music video work, but that was more the fault of his chosen musical collaborators than his keen eye for the alive and his feeling for rhythmically propulsive pacing. With his debut feature doc he expands on these talents, crafting a bracingly vivacious work of soul searching and self sacrifice that sees the American dream traded by his best friend Rocky Braat for the cyclic misery of caring for Indian women and children doomed to die at the cruel hands of HIV/AIDS. Despite their destiny, the children are given love and hope, and in return, Braat and Hoover find within themselves a...
- 1/8/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Jehane Noujaim's "The Square" edged out Joshua Oppenheimer's "The Act of Killing" to emerge as the big winner of the 2013 Ida Documentary Awards! The documentary about the 2011 Egyptian Revolution also beat Jason Osder's "Let the Fire Burn," Gabriela Cowperthwaite's "Blackfish," and Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell" for the prize.
Here's a full list of winners of the 2013 Ida Documentary Awards:
Best Feature Award
The Square
Director: Jehane Noujaim
Producer: Karim Amer; Executive Producers: Geralyn Dreyfous, Mike Lerner, Sarah Johnson, Jodie Evans, Lekha Singh, Gavin Dougan, Dan Catullo III, Lisa Nishimura, Adam Del Deo, Khalil Noujaim, Alexandra Johnes, Jeff Skol; Noujaim Films, Netflix Originals
Best Short Award
Slomo
Director: Josh Izenberg; Producer: Amanda Micheli; Executive Producer: Neil Izenberg; Big Young Films, Runaway Films
Best Limited Series Award
Inside Man
Producers: Kristen Vaurio, Lisa Kalikow, Shannon Gibson, Suzanne Hillinger, Lara Benario; Writers: Jeremy Chilnick, Morgan Spurlock; Executive Producers: Jeremy Chilnick,...
Here's a full list of winners of the 2013 Ida Documentary Awards:
Best Feature Award
The Square
Director: Jehane Noujaim
Producer: Karim Amer; Executive Producers: Geralyn Dreyfous, Mike Lerner, Sarah Johnson, Jodie Evans, Lekha Singh, Gavin Dougan, Dan Catullo III, Lisa Nishimura, Adam Del Deo, Khalil Noujaim, Alexandra Johnes, Jeff Skol; Noujaim Films, Netflix Originals
Best Short Award
Slomo
Director: Josh Izenberg; Producer: Amanda Micheli; Executive Producer: Neil Izenberg; Big Young Films, Runaway Films
Best Limited Series Award
Inside Man
Producers: Kristen Vaurio, Lisa Kalikow, Shannon Gibson, Suzanne Hillinger, Lara Benario; Writers: Jeremy Chilnick, Morgan Spurlock; Executive Producers: Jeremy Chilnick,...
- 12/8/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The International Documentary Association’s 2013 Ida Documentary Awards honoured Jehane Noujaim’s Egyptian activism story The Square with the best feature award on Friday night (December 6) in Los Angeles.
The best short award went to Josh Izenberg’s Slomo, about neurologist turned rollerblader Dr John Kitchin.
The Ida’s Career Achievement Award was presented to Alex Gibney, currently in awards contention with The Armstrong Lie.
The Ida Amicus Award went to Impact Partners co-founder Geralyn Dreyfous, who also founded the Utah Film Center. Dreyfous’ executive producer credits include The Square, Born Into Brothels, The Invisible War and The Crash Reel.
Laura Poitras received Ida’s Courage Under Fire Award in recognition of “conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth.” Poitras and Glenn Greenwald, broke the story of National Security Agency (Nsa) whistleblower Edward Snowden, revealing the Prism programme in the process.
Poitras is currently in Berlin editing a film about Nsa surveillance, the third of...
The best short award went to Josh Izenberg’s Slomo, about neurologist turned rollerblader Dr John Kitchin.
The Ida’s Career Achievement Award was presented to Alex Gibney, currently in awards contention with The Armstrong Lie.
The Ida Amicus Award went to Impact Partners co-founder Geralyn Dreyfous, who also founded the Utah Film Center. Dreyfous’ executive producer credits include The Square, Born Into Brothels, The Invisible War and The Crash Reel.
Laura Poitras received Ida’s Courage Under Fire Award in recognition of “conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth.” Poitras and Glenn Greenwald, broke the story of National Security Agency (Nsa) whistleblower Edward Snowden, revealing the Prism programme in the process.
Poitras is currently in Berlin editing a film about Nsa surveillance, the third of...
- 12/7/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Of the sixteen titles that are listed here there are at least more than half that will be talked about throughout the calendar year up until award season in 2015. It speaks volumes about the quality offerings from American Documentarian filmmakers, but it also says a lot about Sundance programming team David Courier, Caroline Libresco et al. exquisite taste for the form. As is the norm for the Sundance doc-comp, there is plenty of socially conscious films on offer, from Andrew Rossi’s film on the insurmountable rise of student debt, Ivory Tower, to government backed food campaigns that have resulted in massive amounts of American health problems in Stephanie Soechtig’s Fed Up, with plenty of diversity within the program as a whole.
Though our non-fiction guesses have never been stellar, the films themselves look auspicious as all get out. Of this year’s promising batch of American docs, we...
Though our non-fiction guesses have never been stellar, the films themselves look auspicious as all get out. Of this year’s promising batch of American docs, we...
- 12/5/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
This is a tough awards season! Lots of great movies to see, so little time! I'm catching up like crazy before we vote for the Critics' Choice Movie Awards for the Broadcast Film Critics Association. So I apologize if I haven't updated you with the latest on the awards season 2013-2014! And there were many award-giving bodies announcing nominations.
We already told you about the Rome Film Festival and the Film Independent Spirit Awards, now let's talk about the 2013 Gotham Awards, the Ida Documentary Awards, the Cinema Eye, and the Producers Guild announcing its best documentary choices.
First stop, we have the 2013 Gotham Awards where Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" topped the nominations with three nods including best feature, best actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor and breakthrough actor for Lupita Nyong'o.
Winners will be announced on Dec. 2nd where Richard Linklater, Forest Whitaker, and Katherine Oliver (head of the NYC...
We already told you about the Rome Film Festival and the Film Independent Spirit Awards, now let's talk about the 2013 Gotham Awards, the Ida Documentary Awards, the Cinema Eye, and the Producers Guild announcing its best documentary choices.
First stop, we have the 2013 Gotham Awards where Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" topped the nominations with three nods including best feature, best actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor and breakthrough actor for Lupita Nyong'o.
Winners will be announced on Dec. 2nd where Richard Linklater, Forest Whitaker, and Katherine Oliver (head of the NYC...
- 12/2/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Winner of both the Grand Jury Prize in Documentary and Audience Award at Sundance 2013, Blood Brother is a film about a great Pittsburgh guy by the name of Rocky, who left America to create a new life in India. Over the course of three years, he became a rock star at a shelter for children with AIDS, caring for them in all manners, and creating strong relationships with them.
The film is made with a Rogen-on-Franco level bromance by Rocky’s self-proclaimed best friend, Steve Hoover. After sharing with us a brief overview of Rocky’s history as a soul from a broken family, Hoover then journeys to the shelter in India himself with Rocky, to make a travelogue into Rocky’s life and those who have changed it. During this time in the land, they undergo a whole spectrum of human experiences, understanding how a completely different part of the world exists.
Winner of both the Grand Jury Prize in Documentary and Audience Award at Sundance 2013, Blood Brother is a film about a great Pittsburgh guy by the name of Rocky, who left America to create a new life in India. Over the course of three years, he became a rock star at a shelter for children with AIDS, caring for them in all manners, and creating strong relationships with them.
The film is made with a Rogen-on-Franco level bromance by Rocky’s self-proclaimed best friend, Steve Hoover. After sharing with us a brief overview of Rocky’s history as a soul from a broken family, Hoover then journeys to the shelter in India himself with Rocky, to make a travelogue into Rocky’s life and those who have changed it. During this time in the land, they undergo a whole spectrum of human experiences, understanding how a completely different part of the world exists.
- 11/28/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
The 2013 St. Louis International Film Festival concluded Sunday night with a party at the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis. Sliff announced the audience-choice and juried-competition awards.
Now in its 22nd year, the Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival is one of the largest international film festivals in the Midwest. This year’s festival was held Nov. 14-24, 2013.
2013 Sliff Film Awards
Best of Fest Audience Choice Awards
Best Documentary Feature: “Harlem Street Singer” directed by Simeon Hutner
Best International Narrative Feature: “Philomena” directed by Stephen Frears
Best Narrative Feature: “One Chance” directed by David Frankel
New Filmmakers Forum Award
“This Is Where We Live” directed by Marc Menchaca and Josh Barrett ($500 cash prize)
St. Louis Film Critics Association Joe Pollack Awards Best Documentary Feature: “Blood Brother” directed by Steve Hoover Special Jury Mention, Documentary Feature: “The Pleasures of Being Out of Step” directed by David Lewis
Best Narrative Feature: “Key...
Now in its 22nd year, the Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival is one of the largest international film festivals in the Midwest. This year’s festival was held Nov. 14-24, 2013.
2013 Sliff Film Awards
Best of Fest Audience Choice Awards
Best Documentary Feature: “Harlem Street Singer” directed by Simeon Hutner
Best International Narrative Feature: “Philomena” directed by Stephen Frears
Best Narrative Feature: “One Chance” directed by David Frankel
New Filmmakers Forum Award
“This Is Where We Live” directed by Marc Menchaca and Josh Barrett ($500 cash prize)
St. Louis Film Critics Association Joe Pollack Awards Best Documentary Feature: “Blood Brother” directed by Steve Hoover Special Jury Mention, Documentary Feature: “The Pleasures of Being Out of Step” directed by David Lewis
Best Narrative Feature: “Key...
- 11/25/2013
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
When "Blood Brother" premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, it was rapturously received by critics and audiences alike. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award, "Blood Brother" is director Steve Hoover's document of his wayward best friend, Rocky Braat, in his journey through India, as he is transformed by his work with HIV-infected youth. Though the film was--somewhat puzzlingly--not picked up by a major distributor, the production's partnership with Tugg has brought "Blood Brother" to over 50 cities. Recently, however, it seems the good nature surrounding the documentary has been replaced with hostile accusations that Braat and Hoover were in the country on not so much a selfless mission, as a Christian one. In his takedown over at Doc Soup, Tom Roston cites Christopher Campbell's Nonfics review, which drew attention to the filmmakers' involvement with the Greater Pittsburgh Church of Christ: "Many will see 'Blood Brother...
- 11/12/2013
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Indiewire
The International Documentary Association (Ida) aren’t necessarily the most indicative of where the Academy’s documentary branch will go, but they’re important and prestigious so it’s always good to see where their members go. This year’s selection of nominees is quite a highbrow collection with a heavy slant towards politics and activism with three very high profile contenders battling it out against a pair of smaller-scale, yet mightily intimidating, documentaries about prejudice some 30 years apart.
Best Documentary Feature
The Act of Killing
Blackfish
Let the Fire Burn
The Square (Nyff review)
Stories We Tell
I am a big fan of Jehane Noujaim’s up-to-the-minute look at the Egyptian democracy crisis, The Square, Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s disturbing look at SeaWorld’s animal cruelty, Blackfish, and Sarah Polley’s fragmented family tree, Stories We Tell, but the other two – sadly, two I have not yet had the chance...
Best Documentary Feature
The Act of Killing
Blackfish
Let the Fire Burn
The Square (Nyff review)
Stories We Tell
I am a big fan of Jehane Noujaim’s up-to-the-minute look at the Egyptian democracy crisis, The Square, Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s disturbing look at SeaWorld’s animal cruelty, Blackfish, and Sarah Polley’s fragmented family tree, Stories We Tell, but the other two – sadly, two I have not yet had the chance...
- 10/29/2013
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
You can vote until November 5th in the first round to select the nominees for 23rd Gotham Independent Film Awards' Audience Award. The 5 nominees will be chosen from your votes and will be invited to attend the Gotham Awards where the winner will be announced live. The second round of voting will begin on November 8, 2013, and will feature the top 5 films from round one. The winner will be announced on December 2, 2013. The finalists -- made up of audience award winners from across the Top 50 Us and Canadian film festivals -- are below. Click here to vote for one of them. 12 Years A Slave A Will For The Woods American Revolutionary Bending Steel Best Kept Secret Blood Brother Bridegroom Desert Runners Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey Far Out Isn't Far Enough Fruitvale Station Gideon's Army Good Ol' Freda Hank And Asha Harana How To Make Money Selling Drugs Inequality For All...
- 10/28/2013
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave to open festival; director Peter Greenaway to receive Visionary Award.Scroll down for full line-up
Steve McQueen’s historic drama 12 Years a Slave is to open the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 6-17) and is nominated in the Stockholm Xxiv Competition.
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the drama about free black man kidnapped from his family and sold into slavery in the 1850s debuted at Telluride and has received positive reactions throughout its festival tour of Toronto, New York and London among others.
It will be released in Sweden on Dec 20 by Ab Svensk Filmindustri.
Screenwriter John Ridley, who will be present during the festival, is nominated for the Aluminum Horse in the category Best Script.
McQueen’s Hunger won Best Directorial Debut at Stockholm in 2008.
Line-up
The 24th Siff includes more than 180 films from more than 50 countries.
As previously announced, the spotlight of this year’s festival is freedom but Chinese artist...
Steve McQueen’s historic drama 12 Years a Slave is to open the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 6-17) and is nominated in the Stockholm Xxiv Competition.
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the drama about free black man kidnapped from his family and sold into slavery in the 1850s debuted at Telluride and has received positive reactions throughout its festival tour of Toronto, New York and London among others.
It will be released in Sweden on Dec 20 by Ab Svensk Filmindustri.
Screenwriter John Ridley, who will be present during the festival, is nominated for the Aluminum Horse in the category Best Script.
McQueen’s Hunger won Best Directorial Debut at Stockholm in 2008.
Line-up
The 24th Siff includes more than 180 films from more than 50 countries.
As previously announced, the spotlight of this year’s festival is freedom but Chinese artist...
- 10/22/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Rocky Braat is the ideal documentary “good guy,” a young American in India caring for orphaned children with HIV and AIDS. Not as a part of any Ngo or the Peace Corps or official cause, it seems. He just fell in love with the kids while passing through Chennai as a tourist. Of course there’s a film about him. He’s the kind of guy who wins audience awards for docs — and maybe some jury prizes, too — in spite of the fact that the honors are intended for filmmaking rather than the heroic and heartwarming subjects on screen. People bring their checkbooks to screenings specifically for this sort of thing. But the film he stars in, Blood Brother, does not have one of those common credits at the end of issue films indicating how we can help. Maybe that’s because the documentary is not about Braat so much as it’s about Steve Hoover, the...
- 10/20/2013
- by Nonfics.com
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
India, AIDS & Amity: Hoover Follows Friend’s Heart
It’s really no wonder that often when westerners find themselves drifting, looking for more from life, they drop everything and journey off into the unknown, and what alien country is more fitting than India, a spiritually rich nation who’s national motto is, satyameva jayate – truth alone triumphs. For Rocky Braat, this simple phrase seems perfectly appropriate. Feeling bored and unfulfilled by life in Pittsburgh, Braat decided to take off for India in search of authenticity, but he didn’t expect that he’d find it living in an impoverished compound for women and children infected with HIV or AIDS. Knowing his friend’s impulsive disposition, filmmaker Steve Hoover assumed his glowing adulation for the country to be a passing fascination, but after making the trek out himself, found that the kids and the communal culture gave life a new perspective...
It’s really no wonder that often when westerners find themselves drifting, looking for more from life, they drop everything and journey off into the unknown, and what alien country is more fitting than India, a spiritually rich nation who’s national motto is, satyameva jayate – truth alone triumphs. For Rocky Braat, this simple phrase seems perfectly appropriate. Feeling bored and unfulfilled by life in Pittsburgh, Braat decided to take off for India in search of authenticity, but he didn’t expect that he’d find it living in an impoverished compound for women and children infected with HIV or AIDS. Knowing his friend’s impulsive disposition, filmmaker Steve Hoover assumed his glowing adulation for the country to be a passing fascination, but after making the trek out himself, found that the kids and the communal culture gave life a new perspective...
- 10/19/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
This week on The CW’s Arrow (tonight at 8/7c), no sooner does Oliver return to his secret persona does he come face-to-face with ongoing adversary China White (returning guest star Kelly Hu). Only this time, the badass femme has brought a new friend — Bronze Tiger, played by Spawn’s Michael Jai White. (I suggest foregoing a handshake, boys.)
Photos | Arrow Meets Black Canary! Plus: Which Season 1 Villain Is Returning?
Sicced by the Triad on the vigilante, Bronze Tiger “just wants to prove himself, to test himself against the best,” White tells TVLine. “China White even basically says to him,...
Photos | Arrow Meets Black Canary! Plus: Which Season 1 Villain Is Returning?
Sicced by the Triad on the vigilante, Bronze Tiger “just wants to prove himself, to test himself against the best,” White tells TVLine. “China White even basically says to him,...
- 10/16/2013
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
Western literature is filled with novels, memoirs, and travelogues by and about white men who, seeking adventure or a deeper sense of self, travel the world to some exotic endpoint filled with dusky people who impart spiritual wisdom and share cultural practices that deliver each white man to a more "authentic" version of himself. He, of course, positions himself—and is celebrated as—the dusky people's champion and savior. The documentary Blood Brother is the 21st-century hipster remix of this time-honored narrative. A Sundance Film Festival hit (of course), Blood tracks the journey of twentysomething Pittsburgh native and graphic designer Rocky Braat who, while working in India, stumbled over a home for children with HIV/AIDS and knew he'd f...
- 10/16/2013
- Village Voice
Sebastian Junger and Andrea Nix Fine among filmmakers screening in competition at the cinematography festival.
Camerimage , the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography (Nov 16-23), has revealed its 2013 line-up of films screening in six of the festival’s competition sections.
The 21st edition of Camerimage will screen more than 300 feature and short films, grouped into 24 sections, including 10 competitions. There are films from 50 countries around the world.
Around 30 films will receive their European premieres in Bydgoszcz, and more that 50 will have their Polish premieres.
The Golden Frog, Silver Frog and Bronze Frog awards will be bestowed upon competition titles representing the greatest achievements in cinematography. In the Student Etudes Competition, the Festival awards Golden Tadpole, Silver Tadpole and Bronze Tadpole.
It was previously announced that Oscar-nominated cinematographer Sławomir Idziak (Black Hawk Down, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Gattaca) will be the recipient of the Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Competing films
Polish...
Camerimage , the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography (Nov 16-23), has revealed its 2013 line-up of films screening in six of the festival’s competition sections.
The 21st edition of Camerimage will screen more than 300 feature and short films, grouped into 24 sections, including 10 competitions. There are films from 50 countries around the world.
Around 30 films will receive their European premieres in Bydgoszcz, and more that 50 will have their Polish premieres.
The Golden Frog, Silver Frog and Bronze Frog awards will be bestowed upon competition titles representing the greatest achievements in cinematography. In the Student Etudes Competition, the Festival awards Golden Tadpole, Silver Tadpole and Bronze Tadpole.
It was previously announced that Oscar-nominated cinematographer Sławomir Idziak (Black Hawk Down, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Gattaca) will be the recipient of the Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Competing films
Polish...
- 10/11/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
1. iTunes: Each Monday we present you with the most up-to-date list of Top 10 (Indie) Movies in iTunes (this list combines rentals and purchases). The big addition to this week's list is "Concussion," which we included on our "11 Indies to Watch on VOD" list. "The Bling Ring" and "The Kings of Summer" topped the list. See the full list here. 2. Tugg: Tugg, the theatrical-on-demand web platform, is an ideal partner for films like "Blood Brother," which will likely not make it to the mall cineplex near you anytime soon. The documentary, which won the Audience Award at last year's Sundance Film Festival, will open in New York on October 18, in Los Angeles on October 24 and in select cities nationwide after. Now, through Tugg, people around the country have the chance to see "Blood Brother" in their communities. Read about how you can screen "Blood Brother" in your community and help children in need.
- 10/7/2013
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
"Blood Brother," the acclaimed documentary about one man's trip to India and how it changed his life, as well as the lives of children at an orphanage there, will be coming to theaters around the country this month. Even if it's not playing in your town, you can see the movie -- it will air on PBS in January as part of "Independent Lens" and digital (Netflix and OnDemand) shortly afterward. Cinedigm has the rights for DVD and digital distribution and Itvs Independent Lens has the television broadcast rights. And now the "Blood Brother" filmmaking team has partnered with Tugg, the theatrical-on-demand web platform, and are asking people to screen the film in their community as part of a grassroots effort. All of the proceeds go to the subjects in the film and to other HIV/AIDS initiatives. Since the film was funded entirely by donations, all of the proceeds...
- 10/7/2013
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
This October we’ve got a handful of gems from Sundance in indie dramatic items such as Stacie Passon’s Concussion, Matthew Porterfield’s I Used to Be Darker (both open this Friday) and John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings (October 18th) and docs such as Joe Brewster & Michele Stephenson’s American Promise and Steve Hoover’s Blood Brother (both Oct.18th). We’ve got a formidable piece that played in Berlin with Bruno Dumont’s Camille Claudel, 1915 (October 16th) but what makes October an exceptional month, is that we have four bonafide, almost unheard of gold star items. We trimmed a future Oscar nominee just waiting to collect its loot in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave (October 18th) – which is being touted as the best of his early career and was graded with a rare, perfect score on our site. Here are this month’s Top 3 Critic’s Picks!
- 10/2/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Docu-lovers can consider themselves lucky as Steve Hoover’s Blood Brother, the life-affirming, altering account which is regarded as one of the top offerings so far this year, (siting at the number 3 spot in our Best Docs (so far) of 2013) will be receiving some TLC from a five team partnership comprised of Tugg, Itvs, Independent Lens, Mongrel Media (Canadian distributor) and a film company that we think is the best new outfitter of the year in the folks at Cinedigm (lead by acquisitions head Vincent Scordino). Deadline reports that the award-winning doc is pegged for an October theatrical release, with the television premiere on Independent Lens/PBS circled for January 2014.
Gist: Double award winner at this year’s Sundance Film Festival is an intimate portrait of Rocky Braat, a young man who longed to find a family. He didn’t know it, but this desire would lead him to an AIDS hostel in India,...
Gist: Double award winner at this year’s Sundance Film Festival is an intimate portrait of Rocky Braat, a young man who longed to find a family. He didn’t know it, but this desire would lead him to an AIDS hostel in India,...
- 8/6/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
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