Documentary Insider

Oooh…it’s been busy around here! I haven’t had time to report on all the doc doings. IDFA blew past, I couldn’t make it this year, but there’s excellent coverage at indieWIRE and some cool stuff here and here.

Sundance announced their short films today. Short docs are really one my favorite things. I’m excited to see the selection that Sundance has put together. And At Risk Films couldn’t be happier to represent its’ newest acquisition, The Fighting Cholitas!

From the Sundance Film Festival press release:

Documentary Shorts

FREEHELD (Director: Cynthia Wade)–In the last weeks of her life, Lieutenant Laurel Hester has one goal – to leave her hard–earned pension to her life partner Stacie.

GOD PROVIDES (Directors: Brian Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky)–A look at the varied and unexpected responses to natural disaster.

I JUST WANTED TO BE SOMEBODY (Director: Jay Rosenblatt)–Part document and part poem, this film brings us back to the late 1970s and reflects on Anita Bryant’s life and the impact she had.

MOTHER SUPERIOR (Directors: Alex Mack & Diana Montero)–A mom is supposed to be perfect, but that is often far from the truth in this examination of mothers who are addicted to methamphetamines.

SCAREDYCAT (Director: Andy Blubaugh)–This film examines the inevitable and justifiable fear the filmmaker experiences following a physical assault at the hands of five young men.

SPITFIRE 944 (Director: William Lorton)–An 83-year-old World War II pilot views 16mm footage of his 1944 Spitfire crash for the first time.

THE FIGHTING CHOLITAS (Directors: Mariam Jobrani, Kenny Krauss, Teresa Deskins)–A group of bold, female, Bolivian wrestlers push the limits of their culture by performing the acrobatic maneuvers of Lucha Libre every Sunday.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN (Director: Mitch McCabe)–A photographer chronicles her life over five years of political events, comically interweaving protest footage with her photographic diary of self-portraits to tell a modern tale about art, change, hope, and futility.

International Documentary Shorts

THE FENCE / Spain (Directors: Ricardo Iscar & Nacho Martin)–Every year, thousands of tuna fish migrate to the Mediterranean Sea where men chase them in a ritual of blood and death.

MASTER OF REALITY / UK (Director: Matthew Killip)–Now 19, Ronny reflects on the phantasmagoric childhood he obsessively documented.

MOTODROM / Germany (Director: Joerg Wagner)–The world of the hellriders in their wooden barrel: men and motorbikes, speed and stunts, gasoline and adrenaline.

TANJU MIAH (Director: Sadik Ahmed)–A young Bengali boy, forced to grow up in a world where he must fend for himself, awaits the return of his mother.

I attended the Academy’s 2nd annual “let’s talk about how much the rules are going to change this year” event last night. It felt like a town hall meeting…really Michael Apted should have had a gavel. The short of it, and these rules are not 100% set in stone, is that documentaries vying for the 80th Academy Awards will have to play in 14 cities, 3 day engagements and screen twice a day in at least 10 states. The other major change is that the 14 cities can be projected in ANY format, including DVD. But those of you heaving a sigh of relief that you won’t have to make a film print, save your breath, the Academy will still require a 7 day engagement in Los Angeles or Manhattan that screens on one of their approved formats and if the film makes the short list the Academy requires two prints. Oh…and according to the panel last night, less than 50% of the films that went through the eligibility process this year failed to book any theatrical before the short list came out. So, 2007 Oscar hopefuls will have to complete their 14-city requirement BEFORE the shortlist is published in November. There’s more analysis at FilmStew.

If you’re in NY, try out DocuClub presents Greetings from Asbury Park for their next In-the-Works With special Guest Moderator Doug Block!

Monday, December 11, 2006, 7:00 p.m. (Reception to follow)
@ The IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue @ W. 3rd St.
DocuClub Members FREE / Non-members $10.75

Looking for Mr. Smith? Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? opens in Chicago at FACETS Cinematheque December 22. More dates soon! You can also attend the IDA Awards this Friday in Los Angeles. Filmmakers Frank Popper, Matt Coen and Mike Kime will be there with the film’s subject Jeff Smith. Tickets are still available here.

There are always so many announcements this time of year. The slate for the Independent Film and World Cinema Competions for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival came out today. See doc lists below.

From the press release:

The 2007 Sundance Film Festival runs January 18-28, 2007, in Park City, Sundance, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, Utah. The complete list of films is available at www.sundance.org.

For the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, 122 feature films were selected including 82 world premieres, 24 North American premieres and 10 U.S. premieres representing 25 countries with nearly 60 first or second-time feature filmmakers. These films were selected from 3,287 feature submissions composed of 1,852 U.S. feature films and 1,435 international feature films. These numbers represent an increase from 2006 when 1,764 U.S. feature films and 1,384 international films were considered.

“We are witnessing a broadening of the traditional independent arena. In this year’s Festival there is a breadth of subject matter, vision and innovative storytelling that is transforming the old idea of the American indie film,” said Geoffrey Gilmore, Director, Sundance Film Festival. “This year’s American Competition reflects a newfound awareness and self-expression that results in an engagement by the work that is both political and personal, a collective voice fueled by a steadfast optimism and hope for the future.”

The dramatic and documentary sections of the Independent Film and World Cinema Competitions each present 16 films, for a total of 64 films that screen in competition. The Independent Film Competition is the heart of the Sundance Film Festival program and has introduced audiences to many of the best American independent films and filmmakers of the past two decades. Launched in 2005, the World Cinema Competition reflects the shared commitment of the Festival and Sundance Institute to support international artists, to provide audiences with an opportunity to discover the most compelling work by international filmmakers.

“In this year’s program, filmmakers are exploring different narrative techniques and devices, pushing the documentary form to new limits, and embracing a global perspective in filmmaking,” said John Cooper, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival. “The films in the World Cinema competition embrace complex stories and are exploring topics that transcend the confines of personal, geographic, and artistic borders.”

INDEPENDENT FILM COMPETITION: DOCUMENTARY
Since the inaugural Independent Film Competition in 1985, documentary films have been given the same profile at the Festival as fiction films, with the Documentary Competition becoming a focal point of the Festival. These films represent a broad section of the best new documentary films by American independent filmmakers. This year’s eclectic program features a range of films with personal, political, and global stories including current and historical examination about the effects of war, global warming, racism in America, a 50 year love story, and the personal and public role of religion in America.

This year’s 16 films were selected from 856 submissions by American filmmakers. Each film is a world premiere.

The films screening in Documentary Competition are:

BANISHED (Director: Marco Williams)—This story of three U.S. towns which, in the early 20th century, forced their entire African American populations to leave, explores what—if anything—can be done to repair past racial injustice. World Premiere.

CHASING GHOSTS (Director: Lincoln Ruchti)—Twin Galaxies Arcade, Iowa, 1982: the birthplace of mankind’s obsession with video games. The fate of this world lies in the hands (literally) of a few unlikely heroes: They are the Original Video Game World Champions and the arcade is their battleground.
World Premiere.

CRAZY LOVE (Director: Dan Klores)—An unsettling true story about an obsessive relationship between a married man and a beautiful, single 20-year-old woman, which began in 1957 and continues today.
World Premiere.

EVERYTHING’S COOL (Directors: Judith Helfand, Daniel B. Gold)—A group of self-appointed global warming messengers are on a high stakes quest to find the iconic image, proper language, and points of leverage to help the public go from embracing the urgency of the problem to creating the political will necessary to move to an alternative energy economy. World Premiere.

FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO (Director: Daniel Karslake)—Grounded by the stories of five conservative Christian families, the film explores how the religious right has used its interpretation of the Bible to support its agenda of stigmatizing the gay community and eroding the separation between church and state. World Premiere.

GHOSTS OF ABU GHRAIB (Director: Rory Kennedy)—This inside look at the abuses that occurred at the infamous Iraqi prison in the fall of 2003 uses direct, personal narratives of perpetrators, witnesses, and victims to probe the effects of the abuses on all involved. World Premiere.

GIRL 27 (Director: David Stenn)—When underage dancer Patricia Douglas is raped at a wild MGM stag party in 1937, she makes headlines and legal history, and then disappears. GIRL 27 follows author-screenwriter David Stenn as he investigates one of Hollywood’s most notorious scandals. World Premiere.

HEAR AND NOW (Director: Irene Taylor Brodsky)—Filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky tells a deeply personal story about her deaf parents, and their radical decision—after 65 years of silence—to undergo cochlear implant surgery, a complex procedure that could give them the ability to hear. World Premiere.

MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET) (Director: Jason Kohn)—In Brazil, known as one of the world’s most corrupt and violent countries, MANDA BALA follows a politician who uses a frog farm to steal billions of dollars, a wealthy businessman who spends a small fortune bulletproofing his cars, and a plastic surgeon who reconstructs the ears of mutilated kidnapping victims. World Premiere.

MY KID COULD PAINT THAT (Director: Amir Bar-Lev)—A 4-year-old girl whose paintings are compared to Kandinsky, Pollock and even Picasso, has sold $300,000 dollars worth of paintings. Is she a genius of abstract expressionism, a tiny charlatan, or an exploited child whose parents have sold her out for the glare of the media and the lure of the almighty dollar? World Premiere.

NANKING (Director: Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman)—A powerful and haunting depiction of the atrocities suffered by the Chinese at the hands of the invading Japanese army during “The Rape of Nanking”, one of the most tragic events of WWII. While more than 200,000 Chinese were murdered and ten of thousands raped, a handful of Westerners performed extraordinary acts of heroism, saving over 250,000 lives in the midst of the horror. World Premiere.

NO END IN SIGHT (Director: Charles Ferguson)—A comprehensive examination of the Bush Administration’s conduct of the Iraq war and occupation. Featuring first-time interviews with key participants, the film creates a startlingly clear reconstruction of key decisions that led to the current state of affairs in this war-torn country. World Premiere.

PROTAGONIST (Director: Jessica Yu)—PROTAGONIST explores the organic relationship between human life and Euripidean dramatic structure by weaving together the stories of four men—a German terrorist, a bank robber, an “ex-gay” evangelist, and a martial arts student. World Premiere.

CHASING GHOSTS (Director: Lincoln Ruchti)—Twin Galaxies Arcade, Iowa, 1982: the birthplace of mankind’s obsession with video games. The fate of this world lies in the hands (literally) of a few unlikely heroes: They are the Original Video Game World Champions and the arcade is their battleground.
World Premiere.

WAR DANCE (Director: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine)—Devastated by the long civil war in Uganda, three young girls and their school in the Patongo refugee camp find hope as they make a historic journey to compete in their country’s national music and dance festival. World Premiere.

WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN: THE DESTRUCTION OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
(Director: Steven Okazaki)—WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN offers a visceral, topical and moving portrait of the human cost of atomic warfare. World Premiere.

ZOO (Director: Robinson Devor)—A humanizing look at the life and bizarre death of a seemingly normal Seattle family man who met his untimely end after an unusual encounter with a horse. World Premiere.

WORLD CINEMA COMPETITION: DOCUMENTARY
The last decade has seen an explosion of interest in American documentaries, yet American audiences enjoy few opportunities to view documentaries from beyond their own borders. The 16 films represent 13 countries including Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom. The films in this year’s competition are an eclectic mix exploring topics in ways that transcend geographic, political and cultural boundaries. The subjects include explorations of life’s struggles and tragedies, human space exploration, the impact of the war on drugs, women’s role in the government of Afghanistan, the life of a U.S. defector during the Cold War, the effects of Israel’s incarceration of Palestinians, a British gangster’s trials and tribulations, and the creative and uniting power of cinema. With their thematic and aesthetic range, these films invite us to glimpse the astounding breadth and complexity of the human experience.

The 16 films were selected from 506 submissions. The films screening in World Cinema Documentary Competition are:

ACIDENTE / Brazil (Director: Cao Guimarães and Pablo Lobato)—Experimental in form, this lush cinematic poem weaves together stories and images from twenty different cities in the state of Menas Gerais, Brazil, to reveal the fundamental role the accidental and the unpredictable play in everyday human life. North American Premiere.

BAJO JUAREZ, THE CITY DEVOURING ITS DAUGHTERS / Mexico (Director: Alejandra Sanchez)—In an industrial town in Mexico near the US border, hundreds of women have been sexually abused and murdered. As the body count continues to rise, a web of corruption unfolds that reaches the highest levels of Mexican society. U.S. Premiere.

COCALERO / Bolivia (Director: Alejandro Landes)—Set against the backdrop of the Bolivian government’s attempted eradication of the coca crop and oppression of the indigenous groups that cultivate it and the American war on drugs, an Aymara Indian named Evo Morales travels through the Andes and the Amazon in jeans and sneakers, leading a historic campaign to become the first indigenous president of Bolivia. World Premiere.

COMRADES IN DREAMS / Germany (Director: Uli Gaulke)—From the far ends of the globe, four lives that could not be more different are united by a single passion—their unconditional love of cinema and their quest to bring the magic of the silver screen to everyday lives to those who need it most.
North American Premiere.

CROSSING THE LINE / UK (Director: Daniel Gordon)—CROSSING THE LINE reveals the clandestine life of Joseph Dresnok who, at the height of the Cold War was one of the few Americans who defected to North Korea, one of the least understood countries in the world.
North American Premiere.

ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS (VORES LYKKES FJENDER) / Denmark (Director: Eva Mulvad and Anja Al Erhayem )—Malalai Joya, a 28-year-old Afghani woman, redefines the role of women and elected officials in her county with her historic 2005 victory in Afghanistan’s first democratic parliamentary election in over 30 years. North American Premiere.

THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN / Ireland/UK ( Director: Julien Temple)—An invitation from Joe Strummer, the Punk Rock Warlord himself, to journey beyond the myth to the heart and voice of a generation. His life, our times, his music. World Premiere.

HOT HOUSE / Israel (Director: Shimon Dotan)—At once chilling and humanizing, HOT HOUSE provides an unprecedented look at how Israeli prisons have become the breeding ground for the next generation of Palestinian leaders as well as the birth place of future terrorist threats.
North American Premiere.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON / UK (Director: David Sington)—One of the defining passages of American history, the Apollo Space Program literally brought the aspirations of a nation to another world. Awe-inspiring footage and candid interviews with the astronauts who visited the moon provide an unparalleled perspective on the precious state of our planet. World Premiere.

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES / Canada (Director: Jennifer Baichwal)—This stunningly visual work provides the unique perspective of photographer Edward Burtynsky, who chronicles the transforming landscape of the world due to industrial work and manufacturing. U.S. Premiere.

THE MONASTERY: MR. VIG AND THE NUN / Denmark ( Director: Pernille Rose Grønkjær)— Worlds collide, tempers flare and dreams are realized when Mr. Vig, an 82-year-old virgin from Denmark and Sister Ambrosija, a headstrong Russian nun, join forces to transform Mr. Vig’s run-down castle into an Orthodox Russian monastery. North American Premiere.

ON A TIGHTROPE / Norway, Canada (Director: Petr Lom)—The daily lives of four children living in an orphanage who are learning the ancient art of tightrope walking becomes a metaphor for the struggle of the Uighur’s, China’s largest Muslim minority, who are torn between religion and the teachings of communism. North American Premiere.

THREE COMRADES (DRIE KAMERADEN) / Netherlands (Director: Masha Novikova)—In this intimate film we witness the lives of three lifelong friends who’s worlds are torn apart by war in Chechnya’s bloody struggle for independence. North American Premiere.

A VERY BRITISH GANGSTER / UK (Director: Donal MacIntyre)—Given his many contradictions, Dominic Noonan, head of one of Britain’s biggest crime families, is a man who defies stereotypes. This close up look at his life, from gun trials to the murder of his brother on the streets of Manchester, reveals a community struggling with poverty, violence and drugs. World Premiere.

VHS—KAHLOUCHA / Tunisia (Director: Nejib Belkadhi)—In a poor district of Tunisia, self-made auteur, Moncef Kahloucha, a guerilla filmmaker in the purest sense, demonstrates that it takes a village to make fun movies as he brings the power of cinema to the people.
North American Premiere.

WELCOME EUROPA / France (Director: Bruno Ulmer)—Kurdish, Moroccan and Romanian young men migrate to Europe for a better life only to face the harsh realities and the laws of survival on the streets of a foreign land. North American Premiere.

Festival films screen in nine sections: Documentary Competition, Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Spectrum, New Frontier, Park City at Midnight, From the Sundance Collection and Premieres. Feature films selected for the Premieres, Spectrum, Park City at Midnight, New Frontier and From The Sundance Collection categories will be announced tomorrow, Thursday, November 30. The Short Film program will be announced on Wednesday, December 6.

American films selected to screen in Dramatic and Documentary Competition are eligible for a number of jury awards including Grand Jury Prizes, Cinematography Awards and Directing Awards. Other jury awards include the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award sponsored by Utah Film Commission and presented to a film in Dramatic Competition, and the Documentary Editing Award which is presented to the editor of a film in Documentary Competition. The Alfred P. Sloan Prize is presented to an outstanding dramatic feature film for the quality of its presentation of science or technology themes. Films in the Independent Film Competition are also eligible for the Dramatic and Documentary Audience Awards. Films screening in the World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competition are eligible for the World Cinema Jury Prizes and World Cinema Audience Awards.

This morning Film Independent announced the nominations for the next installment of the Independent Spirit Awards. The whole list should be up soon here.

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)

A Lion in the House
Directors: Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert

My Country, My Country
Director: Laura Poitras

The Road to Guantanamo
Directors: Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross

The Trials of Darryl Hunt
Directors: Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern

You’re Gonna Miss Me
Director: Keven McAlester

Axium Truer Than Fiction Award

The 11th annual Axium Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant attention. The award includes a $50,000 unrestricted grant funded by Axium International. The Finalists are:

Adele Horn for The Tailenders
Eric Daniel Metzgar for The Chances of the World Changing
AJ Schnack for Kurt Cobain About A Son

Thinking about yesterday’s shortlist?

AJ Schnack has a great analysis on his blog.

Jeffrey Wells with always a snarky remark.

Anthony Kaufman picks his faves.

Chuck Tryon tries one on.

I’m so glad I booked my Sundance travel to arrive the day before the festival this year. I’ll actually be able to make it to the opening night film! Today Sundance Film Festival announced a documentary would fill the coveted opening night slot. I can’t think of another film festival that is brave enough to open with a doc. In 2004 Stacy Peralta’s Riding Giants opened and January 18, 2007 will open with Brett Morgen’s (The Kid Stays in the Picture, On the Ropes) Chicago 10. The film tells the story of the anti-war protests at the 1967 Democratic National Convention.

I’ll try to remain poised, but Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? made the top 15! Here’s the press release…

November 15, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Teni Melidonian — (310) 247-3000
tmelidonian@oscars.org
15 Docs Advance in 2006 Oscar® Race

Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 79th Academy Awards®. Eighty-one pictures had originally qualified in the category.

The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order:

“Blindsight”
“Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?”
“Deliver Us from Evil”
“The Ground Truth”
“An Inconvenient Truth”
“Iraq in Fragments”
“Jesus Camp”
“Jonestown: The Life and Death of People’s Temple”
“My Country, My Country”
“Shut Up & Sing”
“Sisters in Law”
“Storm of Emotions”
“The Trials of Darryl Hunt”
“An Unreasonable Man”
“The War Tapes”

The Documentary Branch screening committee viewed the eligible documentaries in a preliminary round of screenings. Documentary Branch members will now select the five 2006 nominees from among the 15 titles on the shortlist.

Nominations for the 79th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2007, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2006 will be presented on Sunday, February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network at 5 p.m. PST, beginning with a half-hour arrival segment.

# # #
©A.M.P.A.S.®
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
8949 Wilshire Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA 90211-1972
(310) 247-3000
www.oscars.org
publicity@oscars.org

AFI Fest opened last night in Los Angeles and continues through November 12th at the Arclight. There is an interesting array of docs playing. I’m going to hit TV Junkie which has been playing around since Sundance and Screamers, a doc about the incredibly popular Amenian rock band System of a Down tonight. Haven’t planned much more of a schedule, but I’m looking forward to Blindsight, Girl 27 and Next: A Primer on Urban Painting. I saw Kurt Cobain: About a Son in Toronto and wouldn’t mind seeing that again on the big beautiful Arclight screen as well.

Like last Fall, Monday nights have been full of the Academy’s Oscar’s Docs Series. It’s really a great opportunity. If you love docs, are in Los Angeles and you’re missing this, you’re missing out. The Academy crew has put together a truly remarkable program. Each week covers a year or two of Oscar winning docs along with q&a’s, beautiful and informative programs and unmissable clips from Academy Award ceremonies gone by. While a surprisingly large number of these winning films aren’t even considered nonfiction by today’s standards, it might be the only place to actually see these films projected. There are four more weeks left as the series plunges into the 1970s including Marjoe, Hearts and Minds, Number Our Days and Harlan County USA.

As we near the end of the year there are lots of fantastic docs playing out theatrically. Look for 51 Birch Street, Jonestown, Jesus Camp, Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? and Deliver Us From Evil. And I still have to see Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing!

The International Documentary Association announced their “final 5s” yesterday.

2006 IDA Award Feature Finalists are:

Can Mr. Smith Get To Washington Anymore?
Frank Popper, Matt Coen, Mike Kime
Mr. Smith Movie, LLC, Sarah Jo Marks/At Risk Films, Independent Lens, PBS

Deliver Us From Evil
Amy Berg, Frank Donner
Disarming Films, Lionsgate

Iraq in Fragments
James Longley
Typecast Pictures, Typecast Releasing, HBO Documentary Films

SHOWBUSINESS: A Season to Remember
Dori Berinstein
Dramatic Forces

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars
Zach Niles, Banker White
SodaSoap Productions, P.O.V./American Documentary, PBS

2006 IDA Award Short Finalists are:

ANGEL’S FIRE (Fuego de Angel)
Marcelo Bukin, Julio de la Parra, Francesc Torrens
Rec Stop and Play, Global Humanitaria

The Blood of Yingzhou District
Ruby Yang, Thomas Lennon
The China AIDS Media Project, Thomas Lennon Films, Inc.

The Diary of Immaculee
Peter Le Donne, Steve Kalafer
New Jersey Studios, LLC

A Short History of Sweet Potato Pie & How It Became a Flying Saucer
Nina Gilden Seavey
The Documentary Center at George Washington University, Team Sound and Vision

The Wild Sheep, The Fox and Love
Anne Magnussen
Embla Film As

What else… Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore ? opens in Indianapolis, Boston and Bellingham this weekend.

Whew…that’s a little update. I’ll be around AFI Fest this week and plan to write everyday with news from the international film festival that’s celebrating 20 years in Hollywood.

The IDA has announced their nominees for the best doc programming of the year, features, shorts, series, it’s all there. The annual event will take place December 8th, at the DGA in Los Angeles. Followed by the ever popular DocuFest, a marathon screening of all the winners on December 9th. Tickets go on sale next week.

2006 IDA Awards Nominees

FEATURE DOCUMENTARIES

Can Mr. Smith Get To Washington Anymore?
Frank Popper, Matt Coen, Mike Kime
Mr. Smith Movie, LLC, At Risk Films, Independent Lens, PBS

Deliver Us From Evil
Amy Berg, Frank Donner
Disarming Films, Lionsgate

The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief
Jake Clennell
Jake Clennell Productions

Ici Najac à vous la Terre
Jean-Henri Meunier, Agnes Le Pont, Katiène Delzant
Little Bear, Océan Films, Roissy Films

Iraq in Fragments
James Longley
Typecast Pictures, Typecast Releasing, HBO

SHOWBUSINESS: A Season to Remember
Dori Berinstein
Dramatic Forces, Regent Entertainment

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars
Zach Niles, Banker White
SodaSoap Productions, P.O.V./American Documentary, PBS

Thin
Lauren Greenfield, R.J. Cutler, Amanda Micheli, Ted Skillman
Actual Reality Pictures, HBO

View from a Grain of Sand
Meena Nanji, Amie Williams

Workingman’s Death
Michael Glawogger, Erich Lackner, Mirjam Quinte
Lotus Film Gmbh, Quinte Film, Seventh Art Releasing

ABCNEWS VIDEOSOURCE AWARD

The Drug Years
Hart Perry, Dana Heinz Perry
Perry Films, Inc., VH1

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
Stanley Nelson, Mark Samels
Firelight Media, Seventh Art Releasing, WGBH, PBS

Once in a Lifetime
Paul Crowder, John Dower, John Battsek, Tim Williams, Fisher Stevens
Passion Pictures, Miramax Films, ESPN

Reporter Zero
Carrie Lozano, Charlotte Lagarde
The Free History Project

They Chose China
Shui-Bo Wang, Claude Bonin
National Film Board of Canada

Toots
Kristi Jacobson, Alicia Sams, Whitney Dow
Catalyst Films, Mememsha Films

The Trials of Darryl Hunt
Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg
Break Thru Films, HBO

PARE LORENTZ AWARD

Black Gold
Nick Francis, Marc Francis
Speak-it Films/Fulcrum Productions, California Newsreel, Independent Lens, PBS

The Blood of Yingzhou District
Ruby Yang, Thomas Lennon
The China AIDS Media Project, Thomas Lennon Films, Inc.

China Rises
Edward Gray, Sarah Spinks, William Cobban, Susan Teskey, Gert Anhalt, Neil Docherty, Kelly Crichton, Ann Derry
CBC, The New York Times Channel, ZDF, Discovery Times Channel

Heaven’s Herds—Nguni Cattle, Nguni People
James Hersov, Sofia de Fay
Flying Fox Productions, Ster-Kinekor, Motion Media Monaco

An Inconvenient Truth
Davis Guggenheim, Laurie David, Lawrence Bender, Scott Z. Burns
A Lawrence Bender/Laurie David Production, Participant Productions, Paramount Classics

My Country, My Country
Laura Poitras
Praxis Films, Zeitgeist Films, ITVS, P.O.V./American Documentary, PBS

Radio Grito
Mike Seeley

Rx for Survival: A Global Health Challenge
Mike Beckham, Sarah Holt, Gail Willumsen, Jill Shinefield, Andrew Young, Tabitha Jackson, Rob Whittlesey, Larry Klein, Paula S. Apsell, Paul G. Allen, Jody Patton, Richard E. Hutton
WGBH/NOVA Science Unit, Vulcan Productions, Inc., PBS

CONTINUING SERIES

American Experience
Mark Samels, executive producer
Sharon Grimberg, series producer
PBS
Episodes Submitted:
The Boy in the Bubble
(Barak Goodman, John Maggio, dirs./prods.)
Eugene O’Neill
(Ric Burns, dir./wtr.); Marilyn Ness, Steve Rivo, Robin Espinola, Mary Recine, prods.)
John and Abigail Adams
(Peter Jones, dir.; Elizabeth Deane, prod./wtr.)
Las Vegas
(Stephen Ives, dir./prod.; Amanda Pollak, prod.)

American Masters
Susan Lacy, executive producer and series creator
Prudence Glass, series producer
Thirteen/WNET New York, PBS
Episodes Submitted:
Ernest Hemingway: Rivers to the Sea
(DeWitt Sage, dir./wtr.; Catherine Collins, prod.)
James Dean: Sense Memories
(Gail Levin, dir./prod.)
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
(Martin Scorsese, dir.; Jeff Rosen, Nigel Sinclair, Anthony Wall, Susan Lacy, prods.)
Willa Cather: The Road Is All
(Joel Geyer, dir./prod.; Christine Lesiak, prod./wtr.)

The First 48
Charles Tremayne, John X. Kim, executive producers
Wendy Greene, series producer
Ted Bourne, senior producer
Nancy Dubuc, Laura Fleury, executive producers for A&E Network
Granada America NY, A&E Network
Episodes Submitted:
Episode 124
(David Felsen, prod.)
Episode 133
(Lorca Shepperd, prod.)
Episode 140
(Patricia Sunshine, editor)
Episode 141
(Aaron Seliquini, prod.)

Meerkat Manor
Mark Wild, executive producer for Animal Planet International
Caroline Hawking, series editor
Oxford Scientific Films, Southern Star Entertainment UK PLC
Episodes Submitted:
Episode 1— A Family Affair
Episode 2— Love Thy Neighbor
Episode 3—Some Like It Hot
Episode 4—Revolution
(all episodes—Chris Barker, director)

Wide Angle
Stephen Segaller, executive producer
Pamela Hogan, series producer
Andy Halper, senior producer
Thirteen/WNET New York
Episodes Submitted:
Border Jumpers
(Peter Hutchens, prod.; Ryan Hill, prod./DP)
Gutted
(David Peat, dir.)
1-800-INDIA
(Safina Uberoi, dir.; Anna Cater, prod.)
H5N1 Killer Flu
(Steven Silver, dir.; Micah Fink, prod.)

LIMITED SERIES

The Drug Years
Hart Perry, Dana Heinz Perry
Perry Films, Inc., VH1

China Rises
Edward Gray, Sarah Spinks, William Cobban, Susan Teskey, Gert Anhalt, Neil Docherty, Kelly Crichton, Ann Derry
CBC, The New York Times Channel, ZDF, Discovery Times Channel

Off to War
Brent Renaud, Craig Renaud
DCTV, Discovery Times Channel

TransGeneration
Jeremy Simmons, Randy Barbato, Laura Michalchyshyn
World of Wonder, Sundance Channel in association with Logo

Rx for Survival: A Global Health Challenge
Mike Beckham, Sarah Holt, Gail Willumsen, Jill Shinefield, Andrew Young, Tabitha Jackson, Rob Whittlesey, Larry Klein, Paula S. Apsell, Paul G. Allen, Jody Patton, Richard E. Hutton
WGBH/NOVA Science Unit, Vulcan Productions, Inc., PBS

IDA/DAVID L. WOLPER STUDENT DOCUMENTARY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Gimme Green
Isaac Brown, Eric Flagg
University of Florida, Gainesville

Going Home
Hung P. Nguyen
Loyola Marymount University

In the Company of a Dead Cat
Vadim Antonevich
The Sam Spiegel Film & TV School—Jerusalem

Monsieur Borges and I
Jasmin Gordon
Stanford University

Reporter Zero
Carrie Lozano, Charlotte Lagarde
The Free History Project
University of California, Berkeley

The Women’s Kingdom
Xiaoli Zhou, Brent E. Huffman
University of California, Berkeley

From the Academy press release today:

8 Doc Shorts
Short-Listed for 2006 Oscars®

Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject entries has narrowed to eight films, from which three to five will earn Academy Award® nominations.

The eight films are listed below in alphabetical order:
“The Blood of Yingzhou District”
“Dear Talula”
“The Diary of Immaculée”
“Phoenix Dance”
“Recycled Life”
“Rehearsing a Dream”
“A Revolving Door”
“Two Hands”

Nominations for the 79th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2007, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2006 will be presented on Sunday, February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network at 5 p.m. PST, beginning with a half-hour arrival segment.

# # #

©A.M.P.A.S.®
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
8949 Wilshire Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA 90211-1972
(310) 247-3000 | www.oscars.org | publicity@oscars.org

Are you in Oregon?

Do you like textured documentaries with great music and spellbinding characters?

Go see My Life With Count Dracula.

Playing Oct 10, 11 & 12
7:30 & 8:00

Hollywood Theatre

Here’s what MetroBlogging Portland has to say.