The Criterion Channel’s September 2020 Lineup Includes Sátántangó, Agnès Varda, Albert Brooks & More
As the coronavirus pandemic still rages on, precious few remain skeptical about going to the movies. But while your AMCs and others claim some godlike safety from Covid, there remains a chunk of people still uncomfortable hitting up theaters. To them, we bring you the September 2020 Criterion Channel lineup.
It starts off with quite the swath of content too. Béla Tarr’s Sátántangó hits the service on September 1, and its seven-plus hours should take up a large chunk of your day. Coming soon after is a collection of more than a dozen Joan Blondell starrers from the pre-Code era, including Howard Hawks’ The Crowd Roars, three collaborations with Mervyn LeRoy, and Ray Enright & Busby Berkeley’s Dames.
For some stuff released almost a century later, the service also sees the addition of documentary bender Robert Greene. His Actress, Kate Plays Christine, and Bisbee ’17 join soon after. Janicza Bravo, director of Lemon,...
It starts off with quite the swath of content too. Béla Tarr’s Sátántangó hits the service on September 1, and its seven-plus hours should take up a large chunk of your day. Coming soon after is a collection of more than a dozen Joan Blondell starrers from the pre-Code era, including Howard Hawks’ The Crowd Roars, three collaborations with Mervyn LeRoy, and Ray Enright & Busby Berkeley’s Dames.
For some stuff released almost a century later, the service also sees the addition of documentary bender Robert Greene. His Actress, Kate Plays Christine, and Bisbee ’17 join soon after. Janicza Bravo, director of Lemon,...
- 8/25/2020
- by Matt Cipolla
- The Film Stage
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
For almost 30 years, Mark Landis forged artwork and passed it off as his own to various museums around the country. It wasn’t until Matthew Leininger, a registrar at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, investigated the pieces in 2008 that the forgery was exposed. Leininger dedicated his time to investigating Landis further, and the scale of forgeries was revealed in 2012. Both men are featured in Art and Craft, a documentary about Landis, directed by Jennifer Grausman and Sam Cullman and co-directed by Mark Becker. Because Landis never sold his work to the museums, only donated the works in what he calls acts of “philanthropy”, he was never prosecuted.
The Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore said, “The film will appeal to art lovers, but some viewers who can hardly tell their Cezannes from Chagalls will find the story fascinating as well.”
The film was picked by...
Managing Editor
For almost 30 years, Mark Landis forged artwork and passed it off as his own to various museums around the country. It wasn’t until Matthew Leininger, a registrar at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, investigated the pieces in 2008 that the forgery was exposed. Leininger dedicated his time to investigating Landis further, and the scale of forgeries was revealed in 2012. Both men are featured in Art and Craft, a documentary about Landis, directed by Jennifer Grausman and Sam Cullman and co-directed by Mark Becker. Because Landis never sold his work to the museums, only donated the works in what he calls acts of “philanthropy”, he was never prosecuted.
The Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore said, “The film will appeal to art lovers, but some viewers who can hardly tell their Cezannes from Chagalls will find the story fascinating as well.”
The film was picked by...
- 12/19/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
This year’s Oscar race could make history with two possible best picture nominees directed by women — Ava DuVernay’s Selma and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken. If both women are nominated for best director, that would also be a historical moment. But though these accomplishments in the narrative field are possible, more women directors are breaking into the documentary categories. Four of the 15 shortlisted documentaries feature women at the helm: Jennifer Grausman (co-directed with Sam Cullman and Mark Becker) with Art and Craft, Tia Lessin (co-directed with Carl Deal) with Citizen Koch, Laura Poitras with Citizenfour and Rory Kennedy with Last Days in Vietnam. Additionally, three of the eight shortlisted documentary shorts feature female directors: Ellen Goosenberg Kent with Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, Aneta Kopacz with Joanna and Lucy Walker with The Lion’s Mouth Opens. More often than not, women directors tend to...
Managing Editor
This year’s Oscar race could make history with two possible best picture nominees directed by women — Ava DuVernay’s Selma and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken. If both women are nominated for best director, that would also be a historical moment. But though these accomplishments in the narrative field are possible, more women directors are breaking into the documentary categories. Four of the 15 shortlisted documentaries feature women at the helm: Jennifer Grausman (co-directed with Sam Cullman and Mark Becker) with Art and Craft, Tia Lessin (co-directed with Carl Deal) with Citizen Koch, Laura Poitras with Citizenfour and Rory Kennedy with Last Days in Vietnam. Additionally, three of the eight shortlisted documentary shorts feature female directors: Ellen Goosenberg Kent with Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, Aneta Kopacz with Joanna and Lucy Walker with The Lion’s Mouth Opens. More often than not, women directors tend to...
- 12/16/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced its shortlist of films under consideration for inclusion in the best documentary feature category of the Academy Awards next year. A huge 134 titles were submitted, which the Academy’s documentary branch has meticulously whittled down to just 15. Branch members will now decide which of those shortlisted will receive an Oscar nomination. Among the titles in competition are the much-discussed CitizenFour, Life Itself and Last Days In Vietnam – all three of which are widely considered to be frontrunners.
CitizenFour documents the initial meetings between Nsa whistleblower Edward Snowden and a small number of journalists – including filmmaker Laura Poitras. Life Itself is a detailed portrait of renowned film critic Roger Ebert, and Last Days In Vietnam examines the withdrawal from Saigon by American forces at the close of the Vietnam War.
Other films selected for further consideration include subject matter such as...
CitizenFour documents the initial meetings between Nsa whistleblower Edward Snowden and a small number of journalists – including filmmaker Laura Poitras. Life Itself is a detailed portrait of renowned film critic Roger Ebert, and Last Days In Vietnam examines the withdrawal from Saigon by American forces at the close of the Vietnam War.
Other films selected for further consideration include subject matter such as...
- 12/5/2014
- by Sarah Myles
- We Got This Covered
Virunga director Orlando von Einsiedel celebrating Leonardo DiCaprio as executive producer at the 21 Club in New York Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences' Oscar documentary shortlist of 15 films was announced today. The final cut down to five nominations will be announced on January 15, 2015.
Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker's Art And Craft; Ben Cotner and Ryan White's The Case Against 8; Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's Citizen Koch; Laura Poitras' Citizenfour; Charlie Siskel and John Maloof's Finding Vivian Maier; Brian Knappenberger's The Internet’s Own Boy; Frank Pavich's Jodorowsky’s Dune; Alan Hicks' Keep On Keepin’ On; Dan Krauss' The Kill Team; Rory Kennedy's Last Days In Vietnam; Steve James' Life Itself; Jesse Moss' The Overnighters; Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado's The Salt Of The Earth; Nick Broomfield's Tales Of The Grim Sleeper...
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences' Oscar documentary shortlist of 15 films was announced today. The final cut down to five nominations will be announced on January 15, 2015.
Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker's Art And Craft; Ben Cotner and Ryan White's The Case Against 8; Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's Citizen Koch; Laura Poitras' Citizenfour; Charlie Siskel and John Maloof's Finding Vivian Maier; Brian Knappenberger's The Internet’s Own Boy; Frank Pavich's Jodorowsky’s Dune; Alan Hicks' Keep On Keepin’ On; Dan Krauss' The Kill Team; Rory Kennedy's Last Days In Vietnam; Steve James' Life Itself; Jesse Moss' The Overnighters; Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado's The Salt Of The Earth; Nick Broomfield's Tales Of The Grim Sleeper...
- 12/2/2014
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The Oscars have released their shortlist of the 15 documentary features eligible for the Academy Award that have advanced to the next stage of consideration; the final five will be announced along with all other nominations on January 15. The titles and directors below, with links to our previous coverage as applicable: Art and Craft (Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman, Mark Becker) — click here to read a guest post from the directors about completing their film’s score. The Case Against 8 (Benjamin Cotner, Ryan White) — click here to read the directors’ pre-Sundance statement about their film. Citizen Koch (Carl […]...
- 12/2/2014
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The Oscars have released their shortlist of the 15 documentary features eligible for the Academy Award that have advanced to the next stage of consideration; the final five will be announced along with all other nominations on January 15. The titles and directors below, with links to our previous coverage as applicable: Art and Craft (Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman, Mark Becker) — click here to read a guest post from the directors about completing their film’s score. The Case Against 8 (Benjamin Cotner, Ryan White) — click here to read the directors’ pre-Sundance statement about their film. Citizen Koch (Carl […]...
- 12/2/2014
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The film is dizzying in its portrayal of the man (is he simple-minded or a genius?) whose art equals craft and who has supplied many, many museums of artfully forged paintings by masters across the ages. Is he an artist or just a very talented forger? I think his forging is an art in itself.
It fits into a genre of “art films” dealing with eccentric (and lovable) artists (and their collectors or copiers), such as “Tim’s Vermeer”, “Herb and Dorothy: 50 x 50” or “Cutie and the Boxer” or “Bill Cunningham". What types of people these artists are brings viewers to experience an amazing range of distinctive and odd folk. Not only is art (or the love of art in the case of “Herb and Dorothy”) a tough passion, it is based upon tough eccentric personalities whose passions carry them though tough times in which their survival an issue that they choose to overlook even while knowing it is important. Art is their life, not survival.
Mark Landis has been called one of the most prolific art forgers in Us history. His impressive body of work spans thirty years, covering a wide range of painting styles and periods that includes 15th Century Icons, Picasso, and even Walt Disney. And while the copies could fetch impressive sums on the open market, Landis isn’t in it for money. He poses as a philanthropic donor, a grieving executor of a family member’s will, and most recently as a Jesuit priest. Landis has given away hundreds of works over the years to a staggering list of institutions across the United States. When Matthew Leininger, a tenacious registrar who sets out to expose his career as philanthropic forger, Landis is force to confront his false legacy.
It becomes clear that this story is bigger than its art world foundation when Landis opens up about his past, his family and his struggles with mental illness. Afflicted by schizophrenia and multiple behavioral disorders, Landis had been ostracized his whole life as someone struggling with those conditions. His elaborate thirty-year con had become a means to change all that, allowing him to regain control and finally be given respect. He found purpose in philanthropy, which was nothing short of an addiction.
The film starts out questioning authorship and authenticity, but what emerges is a much more intimate human story of obsession and the universal need for community, appreciation, and purpose.
"Art and Craft" is being distributed in the U.S. by Oscilloscope Pictures, in Canada by Blue Ice Docs. International Sales are being handle by Autlook Film Sales.
Director/Producer/Cinematographer
Sam Cullman co-directed, shot and produced the Oscar®-nominated documentary, "If a Tree Falls"and was a Producer and Director of Photography on the Sundance Grand Jury prize-winning "The House I Live in." Previously, his camerawork appeared in dozens of documentaries including "King Con"and "Why We Fight."
Prior to his work in documentary, Cullman had his own background in the arts as a former printmaker and painter.
Director/Producer
Jennifer Grausman directed and produced the Emmy-nominated documentary, "Pressure Cooker."Grausman also co-produced "3 Backyards," and produced six short films. Previously she was the Manager of Exhibition and Film Funding at The Museum of Modern Art. Grausman grew up in the art world – her uncle is a sculptor and her aunt owned a gallery.
Co-Director/Editor
Mark Becker produced, directed and edited the Independent Spirit-nominated documentary "Romantico," and directed and edited the Emmy-nominated film "Pressure Cooker." He has edited several documentaries including "The Lost Boys of Sudan" and "Circo."
"Art and Craft" opens today at the Landmark’s Nuart Theater in West La, the film is also currently playing in NYC.
It fits into a genre of “art films” dealing with eccentric (and lovable) artists (and their collectors or copiers), such as “Tim’s Vermeer”, “Herb and Dorothy: 50 x 50” or “Cutie and the Boxer” or “Bill Cunningham". What types of people these artists are brings viewers to experience an amazing range of distinctive and odd folk. Not only is art (or the love of art in the case of “Herb and Dorothy”) a tough passion, it is based upon tough eccentric personalities whose passions carry them though tough times in which their survival an issue that they choose to overlook even while knowing it is important. Art is their life, not survival.
Mark Landis has been called one of the most prolific art forgers in Us history. His impressive body of work spans thirty years, covering a wide range of painting styles and periods that includes 15th Century Icons, Picasso, and even Walt Disney. And while the copies could fetch impressive sums on the open market, Landis isn’t in it for money. He poses as a philanthropic donor, a grieving executor of a family member’s will, and most recently as a Jesuit priest. Landis has given away hundreds of works over the years to a staggering list of institutions across the United States. When Matthew Leininger, a tenacious registrar who sets out to expose his career as philanthropic forger, Landis is force to confront his false legacy.
It becomes clear that this story is bigger than its art world foundation when Landis opens up about his past, his family and his struggles with mental illness. Afflicted by schizophrenia and multiple behavioral disorders, Landis had been ostracized his whole life as someone struggling with those conditions. His elaborate thirty-year con had become a means to change all that, allowing him to regain control and finally be given respect. He found purpose in philanthropy, which was nothing short of an addiction.
The film starts out questioning authorship and authenticity, but what emerges is a much more intimate human story of obsession and the universal need for community, appreciation, and purpose.
"Art and Craft" is being distributed in the U.S. by Oscilloscope Pictures, in Canada by Blue Ice Docs. International Sales are being handle by Autlook Film Sales.
Director/Producer/Cinematographer
Sam Cullman co-directed, shot and produced the Oscar®-nominated documentary, "If a Tree Falls"and was a Producer and Director of Photography on the Sundance Grand Jury prize-winning "The House I Live in." Previously, his camerawork appeared in dozens of documentaries including "King Con"and "Why We Fight."
Prior to his work in documentary, Cullman had his own background in the arts as a former printmaker and painter.
Director/Producer
Jennifer Grausman directed and produced the Emmy-nominated documentary, "Pressure Cooker."Grausman also co-produced "3 Backyards," and produced six short films. Previously she was the Manager of Exhibition and Film Funding at The Museum of Modern Art. Grausman grew up in the art world – her uncle is a sculptor and her aunt owned a gallery.
Co-Director/Editor
Mark Becker produced, directed and edited the Independent Spirit-nominated documentary "Romantico," and directed and edited the Emmy-nominated film "Pressure Cooker." He has edited several documentaries including "The Lost Boys of Sudan" and "Circo."
"Art and Craft" opens today at the Landmark’s Nuart Theater in West La, the film is also currently playing in NYC.
- 9/26/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
An Official Selection of Tribeca Film Festival and Hot Docs 2014, here’s the first poster and trailer for Art And Craft.
Some of the early reviews have the movie as:
“Jaunty and engaging, an expertly crafted mystery.”
—Chris Barsanti, Pop Matters
“A layered study of mental illness, talent and the museum-industrial complex.”
—Leslie Felperin, The Guardian
Mark Landis has been called one of the most prolific art forgers in Us history. His impressive body of work spans thirty years, covering a wide range of painting styles and periods that includes 15th Century Icons, Picasso, and even Walt Disney. And while the copies could fetch impressive sums on the open market, Landis isn’t in it for money. Posing as a philanthropic donor, a grieving executor of a family member’s will, and most recently as a Jesuit priest, Landis has given away hundreds of works over the years to a...
Some of the early reviews have the movie as:
“Jaunty and engaging, an expertly crafted mystery.”
—Chris Barsanti, Pop Matters
“A layered study of mental illness, talent and the museum-industrial complex.”
—Leslie Felperin, The Guardian
Mark Landis has been called one of the most prolific art forgers in Us history. His impressive body of work spans thirty years, covering a wide range of painting styles and periods that includes 15th Century Icons, Picasso, and even Walt Disney. And while the copies could fetch impressive sums on the open market, Landis isn’t in it for money. Posing as a philanthropic donor, a grieving executor of a family member’s will, and most recently as a Jesuit priest, Landis has given away hundreds of works over the years to a...
- 7/17/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Art and Craft
From Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman, and Mark Becker comes a fascinating look into the life and work of notorious art forger Mark Landis, who, for over 30 years, has duped museums across the country into accepting phony paintings. The secret to such a long career? Landis doesn’t sell; he donates (often in the name of his made-up deceased sister’s estate), so the FBI and irate curators everywhere are powerless to prosecute him for what he considers “philanthropy.” Opposite Landis, the filmmakers consult Matthew Leininger, a former registrar obsessed with seeking revenge on the forger. Yet with all his personal issues (schizophrenia, alcoholism, and a Norman Bates-like obsession with his late mother, to name a few), Landis always looms front and center. A talented artist who can replicate everything from Peanuts sketches to portraits from Picasso’s blue period, you wouldn’t be the first to wonder...
From Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman, and Mark Becker comes a fascinating look into the life and work of notorious art forger Mark Landis, who, for over 30 years, has duped museums across the country into accepting phony paintings. The secret to such a long career? Landis doesn’t sell; he donates (often in the name of his made-up deceased sister’s estate), so the FBI and irate curators everywhere are powerless to prosecute him for what he considers “philanthropy.” Opposite Landis, the filmmakers consult Matthew Leininger, a former registrar obsessed with seeking revenge on the forger. Yet with all his personal issues (schizophrenia, alcoholism, and a Norman Bates-like obsession with his late mother, to name a few), Landis always looms front and center. A talented artist who can replicate everything from Peanuts sketches to portraits from Picasso’s blue period, you wouldn’t be the first to wonder...
- 5/7/2014
- by Misa Shikuma
- SoundOnSight
Art and Craft
Directed by Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman
Co-directed by Mark Becker
USA, 2014
Mark Landis is a con artist. The documentary about his odd life, Art and Craft, makes that abundantly clear. But Landis hasn’t spent a day in jail in his life and probably never will, because he doesn’t separate people from their money or anything else of monetary value. He doesn’t commit theft or fraud or assault; despite having successfully conned the Smithsonian Institution, he has broken no federal law in 30 years of work. It’s an almost irresistible hook for a documentary: what does Landis do, and how does he get away with it? The movie practically makes itself.
What Landis does is this: he makes copies of famous works of art – by everyone from Picasso to Peanuts creator Charles Schultz – and donates them to museums as though they were the real thing.
Directed by Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman
Co-directed by Mark Becker
USA, 2014
Mark Landis is a con artist. The documentary about his odd life, Art and Craft, makes that abundantly clear. But Landis hasn’t spent a day in jail in his life and probably never will, because he doesn’t separate people from their money or anything else of monetary value. He doesn’t commit theft or fraud or assault; despite having successfully conned the Smithsonian Institution, he has broken no federal law in 30 years of work. It’s an almost irresistible hook for a documentary: what does Landis do, and how does he get away with it? The movie practically makes itself.
What Landis does is this: he makes copies of famous works of art – by everyone from Picasso to Peanuts creator Charles Schultz – and donates them to museums as though they were the real thing.
- 4/18/2014
- by Mark Young
- SoundOnSight
Art and Craft follows prolific art forger Mark Landis just at the moment his elaborate 30-year con is exposed. What follows is a guest blog by filmmakers Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker about a central consideration in making this film. Art and Craft is in the final days of a Kickstarter campaign to raise finishing funds, including monies needed to mix the score they write about here. When we first read The New York Times story about Mark Landis in 2011, we were immediately intrigued — what kind of art forger donates his work to museums instead of […]...
- 3/6/2014
- by Art and Craft
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Art and Craft follows prolific art forger Mark Landis just at the moment his elaborate 30-year con is exposed. What follows is a guest blog by filmmakers Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker about a central consideration in making this film. Art and Craft is in the final days of a Kickstarter campaign to raise finishing funds, including monies needed to mix the score they write about here. When we first read The New York Times story about Mark Landis in 2011, we were immediately intrigued — what kind of art forger donates his work to museums instead of […]...
- 3/6/2014
- by Art and Craft
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
I know that many of you who read GeekTyrant are interested in becoming future filmmakers, which is awesome! It should come as no surprise to you that since I run a movie blog that I too would like to get into the business of making movies.
The Hollywood Reporter has come up with their list of 25 best film schools with basic details for each one. For those of you wanting to study the art of filmmaking, and wondering what the best schools for this are then this list should come in handy. Check out the full list below, and tell us what you think!
1. American Film Institute
Among the most selective film schools in America, AFI's Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies in Los Angeles offers a two-year conservatory program where students specialize in fields including directing, producing and writing, often coming to the institute after working in the...
The Hollywood Reporter has come up with their list of 25 best film schools with basic details for each one. For those of you wanting to study the art of filmmaking, and wondering what the best schools for this are then this list should come in handy. Check out the full list below, and tell us what you think!
1. American Film Institute
Among the most selective film schools in America, AFI's Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies in Los Angeles offers a two-year conservatory program where students specialize in fields including directing, producing and writing, often coming to the institute after working in the...
- 7/27/2011
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Reviewed by Bryan Buss
(from the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed by: Aaron Schock
Written by: Aaron Schock and Mark Becker
Aaron Schock’s moving documentary tells the story of the Ponce family, who have run Circo Mexico, a traveling circus, for more than 100 years. Tino Ponce, the ringleader, and his wife, Ivonne, tour Mexico nonstop with their four children, their niece Naydelin, Tino’s parents and his brother Tacho. Parents and children share the work, erecting the tents, selling the tickets, performing the acts and then striking the sets. They live in a camper, the kids don’t go to school, and they are deeply in debt. And their circus being a scrappy affair, they don’t play the big cities for big money. They tour hardscrabble communities, living hardscrabble lives.
Tino performs a delicate balancing act between Ivonne , unhappy and fearing for the futures of their children (they can’t write,...
(from the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed by: Aaron Schock
Written by: Aaron Schock and Mark Becker
Aaron Schock’s moving documentary tells the story of the Ponce family, who have run Circo Mexico, a traveling circus, for more than 100 years. Tino Ponce, the ringleader, and his wife, Ivonne, tour Mexico nonstop with their four children, their niece Naydelin, Tino’s parents and his brother Tacho. Parents and children share the work, erecting the tents, selling the tickets, performing the acts and then striking the sets. They live in a camper, the kids don’t go to school, and they are deeply in debt. And their circus being a scrappy affair, they don’t play the big cities for big money. They tour hardscrabble communities, living hardscrabble lives.
Tino performs a delicate balancing act between Ivonne , unhappy and fearing for the futures of their children (they can’t write,...
- 3/28/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Reviewed by Bryan Buss
(from the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed by: Aaron Schock
Written by: Aaron Schock and Mark Becker
Aaron Schock’s moving documentary tells the story of the Ponce family, who have run Circo Mexico, a traveling circus, for more than 100 years. Tino Ponce, the ringleader, and his wife, Ivonne, tour Mexico nonstop with their four children, their niece Naydelin, Tino’s parents and his brother Tacho. Parents and children share the work, erecting the tents, selling the tickets, performing the acts and then striking the sets. They live in a camper, the kids don’t go to school, and they are deeply in debt. And their circus being a scrappy affair, they don’t play the big cities for big money. They tour hardscrabble communities, living hardscrabble lives.
Tino performs a delicate balancing act between Ivonne , unhappy and fearing for the futures of their children (they can’t write,...
(from the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed by: Aaron Schock
Written by: Aaron Schock and Mark Becker
Aaron Schock’s moving documentary tells the story of the Ponce family, who have run Circo Mexico, a traveling circus, for more than 100 years. Tino Ponce, the ringleader, and his wife, Ivonne, tour Mexico nonstop with their four children, their niece Naydelin, Tino’s parents and his brother Tacho. Parents and children share the work, erecting the tents, selling the tickets, performing the acts and then striking the sets. They live in a camper, the kids don’t go to school, and they are deeply in debt. And their circus being a scrappy affair, they don’t play the big cities for big money. They tour hardscrabble communities, living hardscrabble lives.
Tino performs a delicate balancing act between Ivonne , unhappy and fearing for the futures of their children (they can’t write,...
- 3/28/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
By Aaron Schock (director of the documentary “Circo”)
(premiering at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival)
The inspiration to make “Circo” was a desire to reverse the direction of the documentary lens that has typically looked at Mexico only from the border up and singularly through the subject of immigration. Instead, I wanted to go deep into the Mexican countryside and find a story that could communicate both the richness and the complexities of a vast culture and social order unfamiliar to most Americans. My original plan was to make a film about corn farmers. But one night while I was in a small village doing field research, a traveling circus came to town.
That night I went to the circus. The plan changed.
Over the next several days, I got to know the family that had brought this little bit of magic and diversion to this poor farming town. The...
(premiering at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival)
The inspiration to make “Circo” was a desire to reverse the direction of the documentary lens that has typically looked at Mexico only from the border up and singularly through the subject of immigration. Instead, I wanted to go deep into the Mexican countryside and find a story that could communicate both the richness and the complexities of a vast culture and social order unfamiliar to most Americans. My original plan was to make a film about corn farmers. But one night while I was in a small village doing field research, a traveling circus came to town.
That night I went to the circus. The plan changed.
Over the next several days, I got to know the family that had brought this little bit of magic and diversion to this poor farming town. The...
- 3/28/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
By Aaron Schock (director of the documentary “Circo”)
(premiering at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival)
The inspiration to make “Circo” was a desire to reverse the direction of the documentary lens that has typically looked at Mexico only from the border up and singularly through the subject of immigration. Instead, I wanted to go deep into the Mexican countryside and find a story that could communicate both the richness and the complexities of a vast culture and social order unfamiliar to most Americans. My original plan was to make a film about corn farmers. But one night while I was in a small village doing field research, a traveling circus came to town.
That night I went to the circus. The plan changed.
Over the next several days, I got to know the family that had brought this little bit of magic and diversion to this poor farming town. The...
(premiering at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival)
The inspiration to make “Circo” was a desire to reverse the direction of the documentary lens that has typically looked at Mexico only from the border up and singularly through the subject of immigration. Instead, I wanted to go deep into the Mexican countryside and find a story that could communicate both the richness and the complexities of a vast culture and social order unfamiliar to most Americans. My original plan was to make a film about corn farmers. But one night while I was in a small village doing field research, a traveling circus came to town.
That night I went to the circus. The plan changed.
Over the next several days, I got to know the family that had brought this little bit of magic and diversion to this poor farming town. The...
- 3/28/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
As the clock ticks and a cooking competition is coming to a close, a small figure wraps her hands together and paces in circles nervously. “Where are our kids? All the others have their food down already,” she asks aloud, tinged with worry.
This is Wilma Stephenson, a culinary arts teacher at Frankford High School in Philadelphia, who has helped many of her inner city students get out of a dead-end life by winning college scholarships through cooking. Her reputation is that of a no-nonsense coach, scary and disliked by those who fail to meet her standards of discipline. Of course, the jumpy lady praying for her students is a far cry from the image of the so-called boot camp teacher, but what’s on display at that moment is the true compassionate side of Wilma Stephenson that you have to earn first to see.
Pressure Cooker depicts one school...
This is Wilma Stephenson, a culinary arts teacher at Frankford High School in Philadelphia, who has helped many of her inner city students get out of a dead-end life by winning college scholarships through cooking. Her reputation is that of a no-nonsense coach, scary and disliked by those who fail to meet her standards of discipline. Of course, the jumpy lady praying for her students is a far cry from the image of the so-called boot camp teacher, but what’s on display at that moment is the true compassionate side of Wilma Stephenson that you have to earn first to see.
Pressure Cooker depicts one school...
- 8/23/2009
- by Arya Ponto
- JustPressPlay.net
Rewinding the past seven days of the wonderful world of independent films:
Deals. Twilight fans will have the opportunity to see Kristen Stewart in a different type of role later this year. In Udayan Prasad's The Yellow Handkerchief, based on a story by Pete Hamill, Stewart jumps into a stranger's car. She and the driver (Eddie Redmayne) are soon joined by a newly-released convict (William Hurt) as they travel through rural Louisiana toward a hoped-for reunion with the ex-con's beloved (Maria Bello). Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights and is planning a theatrical release, according to indieWIRE.
Hans-Christian Schmid's legal thriller Storm will also hit theaters later this year, indieWIRE says, courtesy of Film Movement. Kerry Fox stars as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague; she must convince a witness (Anamaria Marinca from 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) to...
Deals. Twilight fans will have the opportunity to see Kristen Stewart in a different type of role later this year. In Udayan Prasad's The Yellow Handkerchief, based on a story by Pete Hamill, Stewart jumps into a stranger's car. She and the driver (Eddie Redmayne) are soon joined by a newly-released convict (William Hurt) as they travel through rural Louisiana toward a hoped-for reunion with the ex-con's beloved (Maria Bello). Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights and is planning a theatrical release, according to indieWIRE.
Hans-Christian Schmid's legal thriller Storm will also hit theaters later this year, indieWIRE says, courtesy of Film Movement. Kerry Fox stars as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague; she must convince a witness (Anamaria Marinca from 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) to...
- 6/4/2009
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
Internet Week New York kicks off next week and social fundraising site IndieGoGo will bookend the event with a screening of Mark Becker and Jennifer Grausman's Pressure Cooker on Monday night at the IFC Center (followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers, moderated by yours truly), then on Sunday they will host a panel discussion on film funding, promotion and distribution on the Internet at the Apple Store in SoHo (panelists include filmmaker Lance Weiler, Christopher Roberts, and CinemaTech's Scott Kirsner will moderate) ending with a party in the evening. Details for all events are here.
- 5/28/2009
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Bev Pictures will release Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker's documentary "Pressure Cooker," a look at a culinary arts class in a Philadelphia high school. The film will bow May 27 at New York's IFC Center and June 5 in Los Angeles.
A new distribution outfit founded by Emily Woodburne, Bridget Stokes and Vicky Wight, Bev Pictures plans to release a slate of films that will use grass-roots networking and online marketing.
"Pressure," which won a special jury prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival and audience awards at the Aspen Film Festival and Portland International Film Festival, was executive produced by Participant Media.
"We are very excited about working with Bev Pictures," Grausman said. "They understand how to reach many different audiences and are deft at thinking about the grass-roots aspect of distribution."...
A new distribution outfit founded by Emily Woodburne, Bridget Stokes and Vicky Wight, Bev Pictures plans to release a slate of films that will use grass-roots networking and online marketing.
"Pressure," which won a special jury prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival and audience awards at the Aspen Film Festival and Portland International Film Festival, was executive produced by Participant Media.
"We are very excited about working with Bev Pictures," Grausman said. "They understand how to reach many different audiences and are deft at thinking about the grass-roots aspect of distribution."...
- 3/27/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Here are the final results for Portland own film festival. Great turnout, great films. And now on to the press release ... The Northwest Film Center Announces The 32nd Portland International Film Festival’s Audience Awards The 31,000 audience members at this year’s 32nd Portland International Film Festival have selected their favorite films from among the 78 feature and 36 shorts screened February 6-22. Tying for first place for Best Feature Award are Toa Frazer’s Dean Spanley (New Zealand) and Dorie Dörrie’s Cherry Blossoms (Germany). Two films also tied for the Best Documentary Award—Festival guest Jennifer Grausman’s film Pressure Cooker (Us), co-directed with Mark Becker, and Agnés Varda’s The Beaches Of AGNÉS (France), both of which tied for second place in the overall balloting. The winner...
- 3/4/2009
- The Scorecard Review
- I love this yearly piece from the folks @ IndieWIRE – it highlights the films that unfortunately find themselves by the waste side, that don’t get picked up, but that deservingly need to be seen. I’ve had the chance to catch a couple of these features - Three Times will most likely finds its way on my top 20 of the year (results published in February in 2006). Undiscovered Gems is a list from indieWIRE staffers and writers: Eugene Hernandez (editor-in-chief), Brian Brooks (associate editor), James Israel (administration and marketing), and contributors Erica Abeel, Howard Feinstein, Anthony Kaufman, Michael Koresky, Jonny Leahan, Lily Oei and Steven Rosen. Here is their Top 10 Films of 2005 Without U.S. Distribution: Chain - Jem Cohen C.R.A.Z.Y. -Jean-Marc Vallee Four Eyed Monsters - Susan Buice & Arin Crumley I Am a Sex Addict - Caveh Zahedi John and Jane - Ashim Ahluwalla
- 1/3/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
The Sundance Institute unveiled Tuesday the five documentary filmmakers and six music composers selected for its second Documentary Composers Lab, which runs this year Aug. 1-5. This year's fellows for the docu program include: Ra'ed Andoni, Mark Becker, Mercedes Moncada, Hank Rogerson, and Jilann Spitzmiller. Composing fellows are Peter Fitazpatrick, Aiko Fuskushima, Joseph Julian Gonzales, Gary Louris, Frank Macchia and Ras Mesinai. Said Diane Weyermann, director of the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund: "An original score is a powerful and effective element of a nonfiction film. This lab is an opportunity for documentary filmmakers to explore the power of music."...
- 7/28/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Sundance Institute has announced the participants and details of the first documentary film editing and story laboratory, scheduled for June 20-25 at Park City, Utah. Seven fellows have been selected for the five-day program, which offers filmmakers the opportunity to collaborate with established and award-winning editors and directors as they work on the editing phase of their documentaries. The fellows are director Mercedes Moncada and editor Viviana Garcia-Berne for The Immortal, director Shiri Tsur and producer Avi Banon for On the Objection Front -- A Personal Journey, director-editor Mark Becker for Romantico and director Hank Rogerson and editor Victor Livingston for Shakespeare Behind Bars.
- 6/11/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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