Talent involved includes Joshua Oppenheimer, Tilda Swinton and Odessa Young.
Fourteen film and TV projects have received a combined £2.2m in funding through the latest round of international co-production funding from the UK Global Screen Fund (Gsf).
The biggest award of £250,000 has been given to Iceland-Ireland-uk-Belgium feature The Damned, which will shoot early next year. Protagonist Pictures is selling and executive producing the film.
Individual awards range between £250,000 to £95,000,
Scroll down for the full list.
Set on a remote fishing outpost in the 19th century, the psychological horror is written by Jamie Hannigan, will be directed by Icelandic-uk director Thordur Palsson,...
Fourteen film and TV projects have received a combined £2.2m in funding through the latest round of international co-production funding from the UK Global Screen Fund (Gsf).
The biggest award of £250,000 has been given to Iceland-Ireland-uk-Belgium feature The Damned, which will shoot early next year. Protagonist Pictures is selling and executive producing the film.
Individual awards range between £250,000 to £95,000,
Scroll down for the full list.
Set on a remote fishing outpost in the 19th century, the psychological horror is written by Jamie Hannigan, will be directed by Icelandic-uk director Thordur Palsson,...
- 11/21/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The nation has continued to process the terrorist event over the past two decades in many ways, including through television specials, documentaries and dramatized retellings. On and before the anniversary, networks will air content unpacking the politics of the event, commemorating the victims, speaking with the survivors and more.
Read a full list of 9/11 programming below. (More programming will be added to the list as networks announce titles.)
“9/11: Inside The President’s War Room” – A new special telling the story of 9/11 from the perspective of President George W. Bush and his advisors and cabinet members, including Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell among others. Jeff Daniels narrates the film. Adam Wishart directs, with Simon Finch as creative producer, Neil Grant as executive producer and Serena Kennedy as head of production. The documentary will also be free to non-subscribers on Sept.
Read a full list of 9/11 programming below. (More programming will be added to the list as networks announce titles.)
“9/11: Inside The President’s War Room” – A new special telling the story of 9/11 from the perspective of President George W. Bush and his advisors and cabinet members, including Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell among others. Jeff Daniels narrates the film. Adam Wishart directs, with Simon Finch as creative producer, Neil Grant as executive producer and Serena Kennedy as head of production. The documentary will also be free to non-subscribers on Sept.
- 9/3/2021
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Kenneth Branagh, Benedict Cumberbatch and Kristen Stewart are set to take part in candid conversations at the Toronto Film Festival next month, organizers said on Tuesday.
And to mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., TIFF will hold a special screening from Yard 44 and NBC News Studios of the documentary Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11, by Bjørn Johnson and David Belton. The film explores the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. via recordings made in a simple video booth that captured the emotional responses of around 500 Americans.
The 2001 terrorist attacks ...
And to mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., TIFF will hold a special screening from Yard 44 and NBC News Studios of the documentary Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11, by Bjørn Johnson and David Belton. The film explores the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. via recordings made in a simple video booth that captured the emotional responses of around 500 Americans.
The 2001 terrorist attacks ...
- 8/24/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Kenneth Branagh, Benedict Cumberbatch and Kristen Stewart are set to take part in candid conversations at the Toronto Film Festival next month, organizers said on Tuesday.
And to mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., TIFF will hold a special screening from Yard 44 and NBC News Studios of the documentary Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11, by Bjørn Johnson and David Belton. The film explores the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. via recordings made in a simple video booth that captured the emotional responses of around 500 Americans.
The 2001 terrorist attacks ...
And to mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., TIFF will hold a special screening from Yard 44 and NBC News Studios of the documentary Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11, by Bjørn Johnson and David Belton. The film explores the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. via recordings made in a simple video booth that captured the emotional responses of around 500 Americans.
The 2001 terrorist attacks ...
- 8/24/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Exclusive: Amid a wave of programming to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11, MSNBC Films and Peacock have slated the documentary feature Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11, which revisits eyewitness accounts of that day that were captured as part of an artist’s project.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, artist Ruth Sergel created a plywood video booth to record personal video testimonies of eyewitnesses from New York, Washington and Shanksville, Pa. The result was 525 uninterrupted or edited personal accounts, drawn largely in 2002. The project uses that footage and revisits those who gave that testimony, as they return to the booth to share their memories and experiences of the past two decades.
The Yard 44 and NBC News Studios production is from filmmakers David Belton and Bjørn Johnson, based in the UK, and will have its TV debut on MSNBC, without commercials, and Peacock at 10 Pm Et on Sept. 8. Re-showings are scheduled for Sept. 11 and...
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, artist Ruth Sergel created a plywood video booth to record personal video testimonies of eyewitnesses from New York, Washington and Shanksville, Pa. The result was 525 uninterrupted or edited personal accounts, drawn largely in 2002. The project uses that footage and revisits those who gave that testimony, as they return to the booth to share their memories and experiences of the past two decades.
The Yard 44 and NBC News Studios production is from filmmakers David Belton and Bjørn Johnson, based in the UK, and will have its TV debut on MSNBC, without commercials, and Peacock at 10 Pm Et on Sept. 8. Re-showings are scheduled for Sept. 11 and...
- 7/21/2021
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Channel 4 has snagged the U.K. rights to a documentary series about an expedition to the depths of the Black Sea and a shipwreck graveyard containing what is thought to be the oldest intact wreck ever found. “Lost Worlds: Deeper into the Black Sea” has also already been picked up by Discovery in the U.S.
The two-parter was three years in the making. David Belton and Andy Byatt, whose credits include the Emmy and Bafta-winning series “Blue Planet,” made the 4K series under the Black Sea Films banner. They used cutting edge underwater filming technology to capture images from over a mile below the surface, including of the 2,400 Greek ship reckoned to be the oldest intact wreck.
The filmmakers followed the Black Sea Marine Archaeology Project (Map), the world’s biggest ever maritime archaeological expedition. In the course of their work, the Map team discovered dozens of remarkably preserved ships from the Roman,...
The two-parter was three years in the making. David Belton and Andy Byatt, whose credits include the Emmy and Bafta-winning series “Blue Planet,” made the 4K series under the Black Sea Films banner. They used cutting edge underwater filming technology to capture images from over a mile below the surface, including of the 2,400 Greek ship reckoned to be the oldest intact wreck.
The filmmakers followed the Black Sea Marine Archaeology Project (Map), the world’s biggest ever maritime archaeological expedition. In the course of their work, the Map team discovered dozens of remarkably preserved ships from the Roman,...
- 4/7/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Vol. I Issue 7
Send us links to your sizzle reels and film sites.
The Invisible War promotes change in Us Air Force
The following is from the NY Times, January 24, 2013:
“The Invisible War, a documentary about rape and sexual assault in the military that was recently nominated for an Oscar in the documentary feature category, has been credited with both persuading more women to come forward to report abuse and with forcing the military to deal more openly with the problem. In November, General Welsh met with all of the Air Force’s wing commanders and had them watch the film with him, according to an Air Force spokesman."
Academy Announces Producer Credit for Four Documentary Features
The Documentary Branch Executive Committee has determined the individual nominees for four of the contending films in the Documentary Feature category:
The Gatekeepers
Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky and Estelle Fialon
How to Survive a Plague
David France and Howard Gertler
The Invisible War
Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering
Searching for Sugar Man
Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn
The nominees for the fifth film in this category, “5 Broken Cameras,” were previously announced.
This is the result of rules made by the branch to be sure that regardless what the filmmakers claim on their application, a producer credit (and Oscar nomination or Award) can no longer go to the person who “just” comes in with the funds to make the film or the finishing funds. The Academy wants to be sure that the producers actually “produce” the film and not buy an Oscar. This reverses a long history of Oscars going to producers who provide few services other than writing a check. The branch also for the first time has nominated three people prior to the rule change this year; only two people could receive a documentary feature nomination. In a future issue we will closely look at this Academy rule and how it effects documentaries producer nominations.
5 Broken Camerasa film by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
Academy Nominated Documentary Feature
5 Broken Cameras is a first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil’in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. Shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, the film was assembled by Burnat and Israeli co-director Guy Davidi. The film is structured around the violent destruction of each one of Burnat’s cameras, the filmmakers’ collaboration follows one family’s evolution over five years of village turmoil. Burnat watches from behind the lens as olive trees are bulldozed, protests intensify, and lives are lost. “I feel like the camera protects me,” he says, “but it’s an illusion.”
Of the five nominated documentary feature films this year, 5 Broken Cameras is the weakest selection. 5 Broken Cameras subject is a rehash of a familiar story, Jews and Palestinians. It lacks
the clever concept of the rediscovery of a lost rock and roller which is the warm fuzzy nominee. The other films cry out “Issue” from the bungled attempts of the government to effectively and compassionately deal with the AIDS epidemic, to the terrible inequalities in dealing with sexual harassment in the military. 5 Broken Cameras takes on an all too familiar story of West Bank non-Jewish Israelis protesting in various ways about Israel’s attempt to live peacefully with a neighbor whose leaders have promised to destroy it. So Israel is building a wall. What’s a country to do? Burnat’s neighbors collaborate with terrorists who keep trying to kill Israelis with random missiles, bombs and other weapons. The very young Israeli soldiers act like any force asked to maintain order when they are attacked or threatened. They use their weapons to protect themselves.
5 Broken Cameras could have been documenting, for example, the Civil Rights struggle in the American South during the 1960s or the protests in Chicago in 1968, during the Democratic convention. Yes, it is all terrible. Yes, people are hurt, injured and other bad things happen. The filmmakers never show any effort on the part of West Bank citizens to talk with the Israeli government or people. None of Burnat’s neighbors are trying to find ways to bring about a peaceful resolution. This film is about continuous civil unrest that has been going on for a lifetime. It is predictable, it is tragic and, at times, it is very moving. Yet the struggle continues since the parties seem unwilling to talk to each other to find a way to make peace. The filmmakers also use footage from other peoples’ cameras covering the violence, uncredited either in the official credits of the film or on screen when during sequences. This is propaganda at its best or to be nice, advocacy journalism.
Filmmakers documenting wars and struggles can get hurt, emotionally, physically. In some cases conflicts they become targets and the broken cameras are a brilliant metaphor for this struggle. It is a shame that the film is so one sided. While deeply personal and moving, it could have stronger if it would have helped the parties see the benefits of working for peace or the fruitlessness of this approach. An alternative perspective would have been helpful to include.
The Filmmakers
A lifelong inhabitant of the central West Bank village of Bil’in, Emad Burnat is a freelance cameraman and photographer with experience filming for Al-Jazeera and Palestinian television. He has contributed to several documentaries, including Bil’in My Love, Palestine Kids, Open Close, and Interrupted Streams.
Born in Jaffa, Guy Davidi is a documentary filmmaker and teacher who has been directing, editing, and shooting films since the age of 16. His short documentaries include In Working Progress, Keywords, and Women Defying Barriers; his first feature film, Interrupted Streams, premiered in 2010 at the Jerusalem Film Festival.
Credits:
Director: Guy David and Emad Burnat
Producers: Emad Burnat, Christine Camdessus, Guy David
Screenplay: Guy David and Emad Burnat
Camera: Emad Burnat
Additional Cinematography: Guy David
Sound Design:
Music: Le Trio Joubran
Editor: Guy Davidi, Veronique Lagoarde-Segot
Production Companies: Burnat Films, DVD Films, Alegría Productions
Distribution: Kino Lorber
Searching for Sugar Man directed by Malik Bendejelloul
Academy Award Nominated Documentary Feature
Searching for Sugar Man tells story of Rodriguez, a 1970s singer/songwriter who never made “star.” Discovered in a Detroit bar in the late 1960s by two celebrated producers struck by his soulful melodies and prophetic lyrics, he recorded an album which they believed would secure his reputation as the greatest recording artist of his generation. The album bombed and the singer disappeared into obscurity amid rumors of a gruesome on-stage suicide. But a bootleg recording found its way into apartheid South Africa and, over the next two decades, he became a phenomenon there. The film follows the story of two South African fans who set out to find out what really happened to their hero. Their investigation leads them to a story which illustrates why documentaries are far more interesting than fiction films.
This film, which I first saw projected, puzzles me. I have since watched it again on DVD. Despite its numerous awards and critical acclaim, with more “wins” or nominations than any of the other documentary features, I never was able to get emotionally engaged with Mr. Rodriguez or the individuals searching for him. In scene after scene we hear from his fans how his music inspired them, moved them and particularly how his music worked for those people in South Africa when the country was dealing with apartheid. While I did not make the connection, it is evident that the audience and the characters in the film do. They are moved by the story, the music and the lyrics.
I am baffled by Rodriguez. We almost never see him in close up. We rarely see his eyes or in to his soul. They are hidden by sunglasses. Who is this man? Why do people embrace him? Oddly, while I am watching this film for the first time, I asked a friend sitting next to me, “Is this for real?” “Is this a put on?” Like the film Exit Through the Gift Shop I had the feeling that I was part of an elaborate fictional film. After the screening, I look on the Internet to see if Rodriguez exists. I find the Rodriguez website but I am still not convinced. I did not find the 1969 album Cold Fact, but I do find references to it from the 1990s.
After the second viewing, I relented a bit. I find that it is a moving story. Nicely edited and the shooting while still distant, works. It does lend an air of mystery to the film. While the content is not earth shattering we can admire this work. The music and the lyrics have power and it is clear that audiences find the film entertaining. I continue to be torn between the five films. So my advice is to screen themand make up your own mind.
Trailer:http://www.sonyclassics.com/searchingforsugarman/
Credits:
Director, Screenwriter: Malik Bendejelloul
Producers: Malik Bendejelloul, Simon Chinn
Executive Producers: John Battsek
Camera: Camilla Skagerströn
Sound: no credit
Original Music: Rodriguez
Editor: Malik Bendejelloul
Production Companies: Red Box Films, Passion Pictures, Canfield Pictures (In association with)
Distribution (Us): Sony
________________________________________________________________________
WGA Documentary Award Nominations
Documentary Screenplay
The Central Park Five, Written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects
The Invisible War, Written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Searching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendjelloul; Sony Pictures Classics
We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, Written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media
West of Memphis, Written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics
Documentary – Current Events
The Anthrax Files(Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk; PBS
A Perfect Terrorist(Frontline); Written by Thomas Jennings; PBS
Lost in Detention(Frontline), Written by Rick Young; PBS
Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode One(Frontline), Written by Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria; PBS
Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode Three(Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode Four(Frontline), Written by Marcela Gaviria and Martin Smith; PBS
Documentary – Other Than Current Events
The Amish(American Experience), Written by David Belton; PBS
Clinton(American Experience), Written by Barak Goodman; PBS
Death and the Civil War(American Experience), Written by Ric Burns; PBS
The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time(Nova), Telescript by Randall MacLowry, Story by Joseph McMaster and Randall MacLowry; PBS
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap(Nova), Telescript by Josh Rosen and Julia Cort, Story by Joseph McMaster and Josh Rosen; PBS
Johnny Carson: King of Late Night(American Masters), Written by Peter T. Jones; PBS
________________________________________________________________________
Credits: Editing by Jessica Just for SydneysBuzz
________________________________________________________________________
Block Doc Workshops in Los Angeles February 2013 Ida Doc U
The International Documentary Association will be hosting Documentary Funding and Documentary Tune-Up Workshops with Block on February 9/10. http://www.documentary.org/news/february-documentary-producing-workshops-mitchell-block
Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).
Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.
______________________________________________________________________
©2013Mwb All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. All information and designs on the Sites are copyrighted material owned by Block. Reproduction, dissemination, or transmission of any part of the material here without the express written consent of the owner is strictly prohibited.All other product names and marks on Block Direct, whether trademarks, service marks, or other type, and whether registered or unregistered, is the property of Block.
Send us links to your sizzle reels and film sites.
The Invisible War promotes change in Us Air Force
The following is from the NY Times, January 24, 2013:
“The Invisible War, a documentary about rape and sexual assault in the military that was recently nominated for an Oscar in the documentary feature category, has been credited with both persuading more women to come forward to report abuse and with forcing the military to deal more openly with the problem. In November, General Welsh met with all of the Air Force’s wing commanders and had them watch the film with him, according to an Air Force spokesman."
Academy Announces Producer Credit for Four Documentary Features
The Documentary Branch Executive Committee has determined the individual nominees for four of the contending films in the Documentary Feature category:
The Gatekeepers
Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky and Estelle Fialon
How to Survive a Plague
David France and Howard Gertler
The Invisible War
Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering
Searching for Sugar Man
Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn
The nominees for the fifth film in this category, “5 Broken Cameras,” were previously announced.
This is the result of rules made by the branch to be sure that regardless what the filmmakers claim on their application, a producer credit (and Oscar nomination or Award) can no longer go to the person who “just” comes in with the funds to make the film or the finishing funds. The Academy wants to be sure that the producers actually “produce” the film and not buy an Oscar. This reverses a long history of Oscars going to producers who provide few services other than writing a check. The branch also for the first time has nominated three people prior to the rule change this year; only two people could receive a documentary feature nomination. In a future issue we will closely look at this Academy rule and how it effects documentaries producer nominations.
5 Broken Camerasa film by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
Academy Nominated Documentary Feature
5 Broken Cameras is a first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil’in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. Shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, the film was assembled by Burnat and Israeli co-director Guy Davidi. The film is structured around the violent destruction of each one of Burnat’s cameras, the filmmakers’ collaboration follows one family’s evolution over five years of village turmoil. Burnat watches from behind the lens as olive trees are bulldozed, protests intensify, and lives are lost. “I feel like the camera protects me,” he says, “but it’s an illusion.”
Of the five nominated documentary feature films this year, 5 Broken Cameras is the weakest selection. 5 Broken Cameras subject is a rehash of a familiar story, Jews and Palestinians. It lacks
the clever concept of the rediscovery of a lost rock and roller which is the warm fuzzy nominee. The other films cry out “Issue” from the bungled attempts of the government to effectively and compassionately deal with the AIDS epidemic, to the terrible inequalities in dealing with sexual harassment in the military. 5 Broken Cameras takes on an all too familiar story of West Bank non-Jewish Israelis protesting in various ways about Israel’s attempt to live peacefully with a neighbor whose leaders have promised to destroy it. So Israel is building a wall. What’s a country to do? Burnat’s neighbors collaborate with terrorists who keep trying to kill Israelis with random missiles, bombs and other weapons. The very young Israeli soldiers act like any force asked to maintain order when they are attacked or threatened. They use their weapons to protect themselves.
5 Broken Cameras could have been documenting, for example, the Civil Rights struggle in the American South during the 1960s or the protests in Chicago in 1968, during the Democratic convention. Yes, it is all terrible. Yes, people are hurt, injured and other bad things happen. The filmmakers never show any effort on the part of West Bank citizens to talk with the Israeli government or people. None of Burnat’s neighbors are trying to find ways to bring about a peaceful resolution. This film is about continuous civil unrest that has been going on for a lifetime. It is predictable, it is tragic and, at times, it is very moving. Yet the struggle continues since the parties seem unwilling to talk to each other to find a way to make peace. The filmmakers also use footage from other peoples’ cameras covering the violence, uncredited either in the official credits of the film or on screen when during sequences. This is propaganda at its best or to be nice, advocacy journalism.
Filmmakers documenting wars and struggles can get hurt, emotionally, physically. In some cases conflicts they become targets and the broken cameras are a brilliant metaphor for this struggle. It is a shame that the film is so one sided. While deeply personal and moving, it could have stronger if it would have helped the parties see the benefits of working for peace or the fruitlessness of this approach. An alternative perspective would have been helpful to include.
The Filmmakers
A lifelong inhabitant of the central West Bank village of Bil’in, Emad Burnat is a freelance cameraman and photographer with experience filming for Al-Jazeera and Palestinian television. He has contributed to several documentaries, including Bil’in My Love, Palestine Kids, Open Close, and Interrupted Streams.
Born in Jaffa, Guy Davidi is a documentary filmmaker and teacher who has been directing, editing, and shooting films since the age of 16. His short documentaries include In Working Progress, Keywords, and Women Defying Barriers; his first feature film, Interrupted Streams, premiered in 2010 at the Jerusalem Film Festival.
Credits:
Director: Guy David and Emad Burnat
Producers: Emad Burnat, Christine Camdessus, Guy David
Screenplay: Guy David and Emad Burnat
Camera: Emad Burnat
Additional Cinematography: Guy David
Sound Design:
Music: Le Trio Joubran
Editor: Guy Davidi, Veronique Lagoarde-Segot
Production Companies: Burnat Films, DVD Films, Alegría Productions
Distribution: Kino Lorber
Searching for Sugar Man directed by Malik Bendejelloul
Academy Award Nominated Documentary Feature
Searching for Sugar Man tells story of Rodriguez, a 1970s singer/songwriter who never made “star.” Discovered in a Detroit bar in the late 1960s by two celebrated producers struck by his soulful melodies and prophetic lyrics, he recorded an album which they believed would secure his reputation as the greatest recording artist of his generation. The album bombed and the singer disappeared into obscurity amid rumors of a gruesome on-stage suicide. But a bootleg recording found its way into apartheid South Africa and, over the next two decades, he became a phenomenon there. The film follows the story of two South African fans who set out to find out what really happened to their hero. Their investigation leads them to a story which illustrates why documentaries are far more interesting than fiction films.
This film, which I first saw projected, puzzles me. I have since watched it again on DVD. Despite its numerous awards and critical acclaim, with more “wins” or nominations than any of the other documentary features, I never was able to get emotionally engaged with Mr. Rodriguez or the individuals searching for him. In scene after scene we hear from his fans how his music inspired them, moved them and particularly how his music worked for those people in South Africa when the country was dealing with apartheid. While I did not make the connection, it is evident that the audience and the characters in the film do. They are moved by the story, the music and the lyrics.
I am baffled by Rodriguez. We almost never see him in close up. We rarely see his eyes or in to his soul. They are hidden by sunglasses. Who is this man? Why do people embrace him? Oddly, while I am watching this film for the first time, I asked a friend sitting next to me, “Is this for real?” “Is this a put on?” Like the film Exit Through the Gift Shop I had the feeling that I was part of an elaborate fictional film. After the screening, I look on the Internet to see if Rodriguez exists. I find the Rodriguez website but I am still not convinced. I did not find the 1969 album Cold Fact, but I do find references to it from the 1990s.
After the second viewing, I relented a bit. I find that it is a moving story. Nicely edited and the shooting while still distant, works. It does lend an air of mystery to the film. While the content is not earth shattering we can admire this work. The music and the lyrics have power and it is clear that audiences find the film entertaining. I continue to be torn between the five films. So my advice is to screen themand make up your own mind.
Trailer:http://www.sonyclassics.com/searchingforsugarman/
Credits:
Director, Screenwriter: Malik Bendejelloul
Producers: Malik Bendejelloul, Simon Chinn
Executive Producers: John Battsek
Camera: Camilla Skagerströn
Sound: no credit
Original Music: Rodriguez
Editor: Malik Bendejelloul
Production Companies: Red Box Films, Passion Pictures, Canfield Pictures (In association with)
Distribution (Us): Sony
________________________________________________________________________
WGA Documentary Award Nominations
Documentary Screenplay
The Central Park Five, Written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects
The Invisible War, Written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Searching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendjelloul; Sony Pictures Classics
We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, Written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media
West of Memphis, Written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics
Documentary – Current Events
The Anthrax Files(Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk; PBS
A Perfect Terrorist(Frontline); Written by Thomas Jennings; PBS
Lost in Detention(Frontline), Written by Rick Young; PBS
Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode One(Frontline), Written by Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria; PBS
Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode Three(Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode Four(Frontline), Written by Marcela Gaviria and Martin Smith; PBS
Documentary – Other Than Current Events
The Amish(American Experience), Written by David Belton; PBS
Clinton(American Experience), Written by Barak Goodman; PBS
Death and the Civil War(American Experience), Written by Ric Burns; PBS
The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time(Nova), Telescript by Randall MacLowry, Story by Joseph McMaster and Randall MacLowry; PBS
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap(Nova), Telescript by Josh Rosen and Julia Cort, Story by Joseph McMaster and Josh Rosen; PBS
Johnny Carson: King of Late Night(American Masters), Written by Peter T. Jones; PBS
________________________________________________________________________
Credits: Editing by Jessica Just for SydneysBuzz
________________________________________________________________________
Block Doc Workshops in Los Angeles February 2013 Ida Doc U
The International Documentary Association will be hosting Documentary Funding and Documentary Tune-Up Workshops with Block on February 9/10. http://www.documentary.org/news/february-documentary-producing-workshops-mitchell-block
Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).
Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.
______________________________________________________________________
©2013Mwb All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. All information and designs on the Sites are copyrighted material owned by Block. Reproduction, dissemination, or transmission of any part of the material here without the express written consent of the owner is strictly prohibited.All other product names and marks on Block Direct, whether trademarks, service marks, or other type, and whether registered or unregistered, is the property of Block.
- 1/31/2013
- by Mitchell Block
- Sydney's Buzz
On Oct. 2, 2006, the Amish were catapulted into the national spotlight when a non-Amish man entered a one-room schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Penn., and shot 10 young female students, killing five.
People had heard about the Amish before, of course. Many had seen "Witness," read about the Wisconsin v. Yoder Supreme Court case or watched "Devil’s Playground." But the Nickel Mines shooting offered outsiders one single event to latch on to, to study, dissect and report on what would come to define the Amish.
It wasn’t the event itself that helped define them, but what happened just hours after the shooting took place when an Amish man walked into the nearby home of the shooters’ parents and said, “We will forgive you.”
The non-Amish world was dumbfounded. Some saw it as a meaningless gesture -- an offering of words that the Amish surely couldn’t yet comprehend or truly believe.
People had heard about the Amish before, of course. Many had seen "Witness," read about the Wisconsin v. Yoder Supreme Court case or watched "Devil’s Playground." But the Nickel Mines shooting offered outsiders one single event to latch on to, to study, dissect and report on what would come to define the Amish.
It wasn’t the event itself that helped define them, but what happened just hours after the shooting took place when an Amish man walked into the nearby home of the shooters’ parents and said, “We will forgive you.”
The non-Amish world was dumbfounded. Some saw it as a meaningless gesture -- an offering of words that the Amish surely couldn’t yet comprehend or truly believe.
- 2/28/2012
- by Josh Fleet
- Aol TV.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced the winners of the WGA Awards for outstanding achievement in writing. In the Screenplay category, "Midnight in Paris," written by Woody Allen, took home the Original Screenplay award while "The Descendants," written by Alexander Payne, and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming, received the Best Adapted Screenplay award.
Winners of the WGA awards were announced Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Zooey Deschanel and Joel McHale served as hosts of the ceremony.
Here is the full list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2012 WGA Awards (to see winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, visit our Awards Avenue coverage right here)
Screenplay Nominees
Original Screenplay
50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios
*** (Winner) Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Win Win,...
Winners of the WGA awards were announced Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Zooey Deschanel and Joel McHale served as hosts of the ceremony.
Here is the full list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2012 WGA Awards (to see winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, visit our Awards Avenue coverage right here)
Screenplay Nominees
Original Screenplay
50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios
*** (Winner) Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Win Win,...
- 2/20/2012
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Midnight in Paris, Young Adult, and the other nominations for the 2012 Writers Guild Awards have been announced. The 64th Annual Writers Guild Awards is “a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different Us labor unions: The Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae), representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi. The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw), representing TV and film writers in Hollywood and southern California.” The 2012 Writers Guild Awards will be held on February 19, 2012.
The full listing of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards nominations is below.
Screenplay Nominees
Original Screenplay
50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Pictures
Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight
Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures
Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne...
The full listing of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards nominations is below.
Screenplay Nominees
Original Screenplay
50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Pictures
Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight
Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures
Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne...
- 1/6/2012
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
HollywoodNews.com: The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, news, radio, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2011 season. The winners will be honored at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19, 2012, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.
Television Nominees
Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire, Written by Bathsheba Doran, Dave Flebotte, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Itamar Moses, Margaret Nagle, Terence Winter; HBO
Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC
Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, George R.R. Martin, D.B. Weiss; HBO
The Good Wife, Written by Courtney Kemp Agboh, Meredith Averill, Corinne Brinkerhoff, Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Karen Hall, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Steve Lichtman, Matthew Montoya, Julia Wolfe; CBS
Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell,...
Television Nominees
Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire, Written by Bathsheba Doran, Dave Flebotte, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Itamar Moses, Margaret Nagle, Terence Winter; HBO
Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC
Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, George R.R. Martin, D.B. Weiss; HBO
The Good Wife, Written by Courtney Kemp Agboh, Meredith Averill, Corinne Brinkerhoff, Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Karen Hall, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Steve Lichtman, Matthew Montoya, Julia Wolfe; CBS
Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell,...
- 12/7/2011
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
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