Documentary Insider

Agents seek homes for small films
As this year’s festival is proving dozens of Sundance movies can go home with no buyer.
By John Horn, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 22, 2008

The Academy announced their nominations in all categories this morning. Extra special congrats to short doc FREEHELD which I worked on as a theatrical consultant.

You can view the full list of nominees here.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

NO END IN SIGHT
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs

OPERATION HOMECOMING: WRITING THE WARTIME EXPERIENCE
Richard E. Robbins

SICKO
Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara

TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
Alex Gibney and Eva Orner

WAR/DANCE
Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

FREEHELD
Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth

LA CORONA (THE CROWN)
Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega

SALIM BABA
Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello

SARI’S MOTHER
James Longley

In this instance I’m cookie.

I feel a little funny today because I’m in Los Angeles and not Park City. This is the first January since 2001 that I will not ascend the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains to attend the Sundance Film Festival. Last year on this eve before the festival began I was having dinner with my friend Harriette and discussing the herbal remedies and organic snacks we had brought to defend our bodies from the 10 day boot camp we were about the embark on. Now I’m at my home computer drinking tea and checking the weather in Park City to see what I’m missing.

The Sundance 08 program boasts many docs by people we know like Morgan Spurlock, Alex Gibney and Nanette Burstein and some newcomers too. I haven’t investigated what has distribution or not, I’ll wait for indieWIRE’s report on that and save myself a couple of hours of research. I caught a press screening this week of Trouble the Water, but I’ll respect the press holdback and wait to talk about it during the festival.

The Sundance Institute is making some announcements like their new DocSource program.

I’m also interested in the announcement of the nominees of the Inaugural Awards for Nonfiction Film.

Starting January 18th and running all 10 days of the Festival you can view one short
film each day of the Festival for free for 24 hours at www.sundance.org/watch.

It’s quiet here and while I’ll miss seeing friends and movies and maybe catching the premiere of something important I won’t miss the hub bub of Main Street that I have often complained about in the past, the snowy cold weather and regular meal times. Sundance Channel will be airing their Festival Updates and looks like you can watch it online too. Of course the myriad of bloggers and press and everyone else will be talking about what’s new and hot in the world of independent (dare I say) cinema. And me, I’ll be in Independent Spirit Awards screenings just 5 minutes from my house catching up on 2007s movies.

Admittedly, I still saved all my party invitations in a folder labeled “Sundance 08” in my email box just in case I decide to hop a Delta flight to Salt Lake City.

Come to a FREE screening of Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Linwood Dunn Theatre. All info here!

Wednesday, November 7th
7:00 pm

Director Frank Popper will be in attendance.

Screens with An Unreasonable Man.

FREE parking in the back.

The 26th annual Contemporary Documentaries series is a showcase for feature-length and short documentaries drawn from the 2006 Academy Award® nominations, including the winners, as well as other important and innovative films considered by the Academy that year.

All films in the series, except for the November 28 titles, screen at the Linwood Dunn Theater at the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. The filmmakers will be present at screenings whenever possible. Admission for all screenings is free. Tickets are not required for entry.

What can I say…this makes it all worth it!

Take Irene Cara, an Oscar winning song from Flashdance and the kids from Oscar winning doc He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’ and you’ve got magic.

There are 4 more weeks of Oscar’s Docs Series 3. Tickets are still available.

2007 International Documentary Association Award Nominees

IDA FEATURE FILM NOMINEES

CRAZY LOVE
Dan Klores, director/producer
Fisher Stevens, producer
Shoot the Moon Productions, Greenstreet Productions, Magnolia Pictures

OPERATION HOMECOMING: WRITING THE WARTIME EXPERIENCE
Richard E. Robbins, director/producer
Tom Yellin, executive producer
The Documentary Group, PBS

SICKO
Michael Moore, director
Michael Moore, Meghan O’Hara, producers
Dog Eat Dog Films, Lionsgate Films, The Weinstein Company

TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
Alex Gibney, director/producer
Eva Orner, Susannah Shipman, producer s
X-Ray Productions, THINKFilm, Discovery Channel

A WALK TO BEAUTIFUL
Mary Olive Smith, director/producer
Steve Engel, executive producer
Engel Entertainment, Inc., PBS/WGBH International/NOVA

IDA SHORT FILM NOMINEES

BLACK AND WHITE
Zam Salim, director
John Archer, producer
Hopscotch Films

BODY & SOUL: DIANA & KATHY
Alice Elliott, director/producer
Simone Pero Audi, producer
Welcome Change Productions, Laverne Berry, Esq.

THE FIGHTING CHOLITAS
Mariam Jobrani, director/producer
Kenny Krauss, producer
Moto Films, At Risk Films/Sarah Jo Marks

FREEHELD
Cynthia Wade, director
Vanessa Roth, Matthew Syrett, producers
Lieutenant Films Inc.

A SON’S SACRIFICE
Yoni Brook, director
Musa Sheed, producer
Marco Williams, executive producer
Foment Films, ITVS/PBS

IDA LIMITED SERIES NOMINEES

ADDICTION
Jon Alpert, Joe Berlinger, Kate Davis, Susan Froemke, Liz Garbus, Chris Hegedus, David
Heilbroner, Eugene Jarecki, Ellen Goosenberg Kent, Barbara Kopple, Albert Maysles, D.A.
Pennebaker, Alan Raymond, Susan Raymond, Bruce Sinofsky, Jessica Yu, directors John Hoffman, Susan Froemke, producers Sheila Nevins, executive producer
HBO Documentary Films, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, HBO

COMING OUT STORIES
Karen Goodman, Kirk Simon, directors/producers
Lauren Lazin, Eileen Opatut, executive producers
Simon & Goodman Picture Company, LOGO, a Viacom company

THE HILL
Ivy Meeropol, director/producer
Elizabeth Holder, Xan Parker, producers
Lynne Kirby, executive producer
Roland Park Films, Sundance Channel

THE SUPREME COURT
Thomas Lennon, director
Mark Zwoniter, series producer
Jody Sheff, executive producer
Hidden Hill Productions for Thirteen/WNET New York, PBS

IDA CONTINUING SERIES NOMINEES

30 DAYS
Morgan Spurlock, RJ Cutler, Ben Silverman, H.T. Owens, executive producers
Keith Hoffman, Max Swedlow, supervising producers
Actual Reality, Reveille, FX Networks
Episodes Submitted: “Atheist/Christian,” “Immigration,” “Jail,”
“Outsourcing”

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
Mark Samels, executive producer
Sharon Grimberg, series producer
PBS
Episodes Submitted: “Alexander Hamilton” (Muffie Meyer, dir.), “The Gold
Rush” (Randall MacLowry, dir.), “New Orleans” (Stephen Ives, dir.), “Summer
of Love” (Gail Dolgin, Vicente Franco, dirs.)

AMERICAN MASTERS
Susan Lacy, executive producer
Prudence Glass, series producer
Julie Sacks, series supervising producer
Thirteen/WNET New York, PBS
Episodes Submitted: “Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film” (Ric Burns,
dir./prod., Donald Rosenfeld, Daniel Wolf, prods.), “John Ford/John Wayne:
The Filmmaker and the Legend” (Sam Pollard, dir., Ken Browser, prod.),
“Novel Reflections on the American Dream” (Michael Epstein, dir./prod.,
Julie Sacks, prod.), “Woody Guthrie: Ain’t Got No Home” (Peter Frumkin,
dir./prod., Susan Levene, prod.)

THIS AMERICAN LIFE
Created By Ira Glass/Chicago Public Radio
Chris Wilcha, director
Diane Cooke, Jane Feltes, Sarah Koenig, Lisa Pollak, Alissa Shipp, Nancy Updike, producers Julie Snyder, Alex Blumberg, Ira Glass, Banks Tarver, Ken Druckerman, Christine Vachon, Jocelyn Hayes, executive producers
Left/Right, Killer Films, Chicago Public Radio, Showtime
Episodes Submitted: “Reality Check,” “Growth Spurt,” “The Cameraman,”
“God’s Close-Up”

WIDE ANGLE: SEASON FIVE
Pamela Hogan, Andy Halper, series producers
Stephen Segaller, executive producer
Thirteen/WNET New York, PBS
Episodes Submitted: “18 with a Bullet” (Ricardo Pollack, dir./prod.), “Back
to School” (Judy Katz, prod./writer), “Class of 2006” (Gini Reticker,
dir./prod./writer.; Charlotte Mangin, prod.), “Democracy in the Rough” (Fred
de Sam Lazaro, prod./writer)

IDA ABCNEWS VIDEOSOURCE AWARD

AMERICAN/SANDINISTA
Jason Blalock, director/producer
University of California at Berkeley

HALF-LIFE: A JOURNEY TO CHERNOBYL
Phil Grabsky, David Bickerstaff, directors
Phil Grabsky, producer
Seventh Art Productions

MY KID COULD PAINT THAT
Amir Bar-Lev, director/producer
John Battsek, executive producer
Axis Films, Passion Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, A&E IndieFilms

NANKING
Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman, directors
Ted Leonsis, Michael Jacobs, producers
Agape Multimedia Partners, LLC; THINKFilm; HBO

RAPSODIA DO ABSURDO
Cláudia Nunes, director/executive producer

SPUTNIK MANIA
David Hoffman, director
Eric Reid, producer
Jay Walker, executive producer
Varied Directions International

STEAL A PENCIL FOR ME
Michele Ohayon, director/producer
Theo Van De Sande, producer
Diamond Lane Films Inc., Red Envelope Entertainment

WHITE LIGHT/ BLACK RAIN
Steven Okazaki, director/producer
Farallon Films/ HBO Documentary Films, HBO

IDA PARE LORENTZ NOMINEES

AMERICAN/SANDINISTA
Jason Blalock, director/producer
University of California at Berkeley

GOOD MORNING DANGME
Takaya Kawasaki, director/producer
New York University, Takaya Kawasaki

MADE IN LA
Almudena Carracedo, director/producer
Robert Bahar, producer
Semilla Verde Productions, PBS/P.O.V.

OPERATION HOMECOMING: WRITING THE WARTIME EXPERIENCE
Richard E. Robbins, director/producer
Tom Yellin, executive producer
The Documentary Group, PBS

RAPSODIA DO ABSURDO
Cláudia Nunes, director/executive producer

RIBBON OF SAND
John Grabowska, director/producer
Harpers Ferry Center, PBS

STANDING SILENT NATION
Suree Towfighnia, director
Courtney Herman, producer
Prairie Dust Films, PBS/P.O.V.

A WALK TO BEAUTIFUL
Mary Olive Smith, director/producer
Steve Engel, executive producer
Engel Entertainment, Inc., PBS/WGBH International/NOVA

WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS
Spike Lee, director/producer
Sam Pollard, producer
40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks/HBO Documentary Films, HBO

WHITE LIGHT/ BLACK RAIN
Steven Okazaki, director/producer
Farallon Films/ HBO Documentary Films, HBO

IDA DAVID L. WOLPER STUDENT DOCUMENTARY AWARD NOMINEES

ALAGADOS: SI, NAO MAU CONDUOT
Sylvia Johnson, director/producer
Joselito Crispim, producer
Ondina Filmes, Santaluzia Filmes
American University

BISMILLAH: IN THE NAME OF ALLAH
Jolene Pinder, Sarah Zaman, directors/producers
Zeppelin Films
University of Florida

BULLET PROOF VEST
May Lin Au Yong, director/producer
Steadfast Films
Stanford University
PBS/P.O.V.

GOOD MORNING, DANGME
Takaya Kawasaki, director/producer
New York University

LONG HAUL
Erin Hudson, director
Rotation Films
Stanford University

TIJUANA NADA MAS
Yolanda Pividal, director/producer
Masood Maque, co-producer
Placer Prodicciones
City College of New York
PBS/P.O.V.

In the wake of yesterday’s Academy rule change for 2008 (check out AJ’s blog for the scoop) the Academy released the short list for short docs for this year!

I’m so happy for filmmaker Cynthia Wade, who’s film FREEHELD truly touched me when I saw it for the first time at an early morning screening at Sundance in January.

October 11, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

8 Doc Shorts Shortlisted for 2007 Oscars® Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject entries for the 80th Academy Awards® has narrowed to eight films, from which three to five will earn Oscar® nominations. Voters from the Academy’s Documentary Branch viewed this year’s 23 eligible contenders and submitted their ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The eight films are listed below in alphabetical order:
“Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy”
“Freeheld”
“If It Happens”
“La Corona” (“The Crown”)
“Ochberg’s Orphans”
“Portraits of a Lady”
“Salim Baba”
“Sari’s Mother”
The 80th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2007 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. # # # ©A.M.P.A.S.®

The Academy of Arts and Sciences is gearing up for the third installment of their Oscar’s Docs series. Starting September 17 and Monday nights through November 19 the Academy will screen the Academy Award winning documentaries of 1977-1988. Many if not all evenings will include question and answer with special guests.

Tickets $5 or $3 students

Click for more info or to buy tickets.

I’ll miss the first night since I’ll be at IFP with Girls on the Wall. But after that you can find me there every Monday night!

I’m proud to say that Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? is available NOW through Netflix! Go put it in your queue and give it 5 stars!