THR puts the spotlight on the best films from the festival circuit that have yet to land a U.S. distribution deal.
La Cocina
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
Sales WME Independent, Fifth Season
From Anthony Bourdain giving American readers an inside look at the rock ’n’ roll restaurant industry in Kitchen Confidential to Nancy Meyers’ citrus-dotted white marble countertops in enviable home kitchens, modern American audiences have had an infatuation with cookery. Though previously largely reserved for the nonfiction space with entries like Bourdain’s No Reservations and Netflix’s operatic Chef’s Table, the narrative possibilities of the dark underbelly of back-of-house restaurant staff have began to emerge lately. The Bear, the anxiety-inducing FX series about a Chicago Italian beef joint, swept the Emmys in January and is poised to do the same this go-around. Enter director Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina. “Think The Bear on cocaine with a Red Bull chaser...
La Cocina
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
Sales WME Independent, Fifth Season
From Anthony Bourdain giving American readers an inside look at the rock ’n’ roll restaurant industry in Kitchen Confidential to Nancy Meyers’ citrus-dotted white marble countertops in enviable home kitchens, modern American audiences have had an infatuation with cookery. Though previously largely reserved for the nonfiction space with entries like Bourdain’s No Reservations and Netflix’s operatic Chef’s Table, the narrative possibilities of the dark underbelly of back-of-house restaurant staff have began to emerge lately. The Bear, the anxiety-inducing FX series about a Chicago Italian beef joint, swept the Emmys in January and is poised to do the same this go-around. Enter director Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina. “Think The Bear on cocaine with a Red Bull chaser...
- 5/19/2024
- by Scott Roxborough and Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival revealed its lineup for this year’s festival, taking place from May 22 – 26 at venues across Mammoth Lakes.
The festival will open with the California premiere of director Lucy Lawless’ “Never Look Away,” which follows a CNN combat camerawoman who gets injured and must find the strength to carry on. The closing night features “Black Box Diaries,” directed by Shiori Ito, who investigates her own sexual assault through the film.
A Short Films Program will also be featured at the festival, consisting of 38 narrative shorts, 20 documentary shorts, 10 animation shorts and a program of music videos and a screenplay competition.
The Mlff film lineup is as follows:
North American Narrative Features:
All I’ve Got and Then Some
Tehben Dean and Rasheed Stephens | United States
Atikamekw Suns
Chloé Leriche | Canada
Psykhodrame
Miles Blim | United States
The Last Night in the Life of Death
Isaiah Brody | United States...
The festival will open with the California premiere of director Lucy Lawless’ “Never Look Away,” which follows a CNN combat camerawoman who gets injured and must find the strength to carry on. The closing night features “Black Box Diaries,” directed by Shiori Ito, who investigates her own sexual assault through the film.
A Short Films Program will also be featured at the festival, consisting of 38 narrative shorts, 20 documentary shorts, 10 animation shorts and a program of music videos and a screenplay competition.
The Mlff film lineup is as follows:
North American Narrative Features:
All I’ve Got and Then Some
Tehben Dean and Rasheed Stephens | United States
Atikamekw Suns
Chloé Leriche | Canada
Psykhodrame
Miles Blim | United States
The Last Night in the Life of Death
Isaiah Brody | United States...
- 5/4/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay, Selena Kuznikov, Lexi Carson and Jack Dunn
- Variety Film + TV
Hot Docs is billed as North America’s largest documentary festival, conference and market and this year is offering up 168 films for its 31st edition running April 25-May 5 in Toronto.
It is opening with the international premiere of Luther: Never Too Much about R&b singer-songwriter and producer Luther Vandross.
Among the festival’s 51 world premieres this year are special presentations of Red Fever from Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond and Catherine Bainbridge, and The Ride Ahead from Samuel and Dan Habib.
The international competition includes the world premiere of Farming The Revolution from India and the international premiere of Ukrainian Sundance prize-winner Porcelain War.
It is opening with the international premiere of Luther: Never Too Much about R&b singer-songwriter and producer Luther Vandross.
Among the festival’s 51 world premieres this year are special presentations of Red Fever from Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond and Catherine Bainbridge, and The Ride Ahead from Samuel and Dan Habib.
The international competition includes the world premiere of Farming The Revolution from India and the international premiere of Ukrainian Sundance prize-winner Porcelain War.
- 4/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
Billed as North America’s largest documentary festival, conference and market, Hot Docs offers up 168 films for its 31st edition running April 25-May 5 in Toronto, opening with the international premiere of Luther: Never Too Much about R&b singer-songwriter and producer Luther Vandross.
Among the festival’s 51 world premieres this year are special presentations of Red Fever from Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond and Catherine Bainbridge, and The Ride Ahead from Samuel and Dan Habib.
The international competition includes the world premiere of Farming The Revolution from India and the international premiere of Ukrainian Sundance prize-winner Porcelain War.
This year’s Made In section highlights Spain,...
Among the festival’s 51 world premieres this year are special presentations of Red Fever from Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond and Catherine Bainbridge, and The Ride Ahead from Samuel and Dan Habib.
The international competition includes the world premiere of Farming The Revolution from India and the international premiere of Ukrainian Sundance prize-winner Porcelain War.
This year’s Made In section highlights Spain,...
- 4/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
Chris Smith’s “Devo” will open the ninth edition of Chicago’s Doc10 documentary film festival on May 2.
The film, which premiered at Sundance 2024, charts the life of the art-movement-turned-band Devo from Akron, Ohio, through archival footage of the band and candid sit-down interviews with band members. Smith follows the band on their journey from Dadaist, Kent State radicals to unlikely icons of 1980s MTV. Currently celebrating their 50 years of De-Evolution Tour, Devo band members will join Doc10 in a live, virtual Q&a moderated by Wxrt’s Marty Lennartz.
Doc10, a four-day fest running May 2-5, features a selection of 10 documentaries making their Chicago premieres along with a package of 10 prestigious documentary shorts. The fest is hosted by Chicago Media Project, a company that has generated more than $8.5 million in funding for documentary projects. Cmp has directly supported over 150 films including “Icarus,” “Crip Camp” and most recently “Gaucho, Gaucho,...
The film, which premiered at Sundance 2024, charts the life of the art-movement-turned-band Devo from Akron, Ohio, through archival footage of the band and candid sit-down interviews with band members. Smith follows the band on their journey from Dadaist, Kent State radicals to unlikely icons of 1980s MTV. Currently celebrating their 50 years of De-Evolution Tour, Devo band members will join Doc10 in a live, virtual Q&a moderated by Wxrt’s Marty Lennartz.
Doc10, a four-day fest running May 2-5, features a selection of 10 documentaries making their Chicago premieres along with a package of 10 prestigious documentary shorts. The fest is hosted by Chicago Media Project, a company that has generated more than $8.5 million in funding for documentary projects. Cmp has directly supported over 150 films including “Icarus,” “Crip Camp” and most recently “Gaucho, Gaucho,...
- 4/3/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Coming straight from Sundance with their respective buzzy docs “Power” – a Netflix Original – and “Union,” U.S. director/producer Yance Ford and his Canadian counterpart Brett Story delivered March 20 an empowering talk at Copenhagen’s “Film:makers in Dialogue” session, where they bounced ideas between each other about power structure in American society, capitalism, race and class divides from historical and contemporary perspectives.
“Power,” which was competing at Cph:dox for the Human Rights Award, is a forceful documentary essay on the origin of U.S. policing spanning 300 years, turning on its dynamics and impact on American society. “I’m interested in U.S. institutions, power, control in our society,” said Ford about his sophomore feature and follow up to his Academy Award-nominated “Strong Island,” acquired by Netflix for global distribution in 2017.
“After the George Floyd murder [in 2020], I saw the way the police was acting with unfiltered violence towards people protesting, and decided to step back.
“Power,” which was competing at Cph:dox for the Human Rights Award, is a forceful documentary essay on the origin of U.S. policing spanning 300 years, turning on its dynamics and impact on American society. “I’m interested in U.S. institutions, power, control in our society,” said Ford about his sophomore feature and follow up to his Academy Award-nominated “Strong Island,” acquired by Netflix for global distribution in 2017.
“After the George Floyd murder [in 2020], I saw the way the police was acting with unfiltered violence towards people protesting, and decided to step back.
- 3/22/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
London-based outfit Dogwoof has boarded international sales for the Sundance title “Look Into My Eyes,” from director Lana Wilson. Dogwoof will attend Cph:Dox, where the film will receive its European premiere next week.
The filmmaker’s previous films include Emmy Award winner “After Tiller,” “The Departure” — also handled by Dogwoof — and the Taylor Swift documentary “Miss Americana,” and she also directed the two-parter “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields,” which earned two Emmy nominations.
“Look Into My Eyes” follows a group of New York City psychics who conduct deeply intimate readings for their clients, revealing a kaleidoscope of loneliness, connection and healing. Wilson sets her gaze on the private lives of seven unconventional healers and creative types searching for solace and struggling to make dreams come true in a city of eight million people.
The deal for international sales rights was brokered between Dogwoof’s chief content officer, Oli Harbottle, and Jason Ishikawa,...
The filmmaker’s previous films include Emmy Award winner “After Tiller,” “The Departure” — also handled by Dogwoof — and the Taylor Swift documentary “Miss Americana,” and she also directed the two-parter “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields,” which earned two Emmy nominations.
“Look Into My Eyes” follows a group of New York City psychics who conduct deeply intimate readings for their clients, revealing a kaleidoscope of loneliness, connection and healing. Wilson sets her gaze on the private lives of seven unconventional healers and creative types searching for solace and struggling to make dreams come true in a city of eight million people.
The deal for international sales rights was brokered between Dogwoof’s chief content officer, Oli Harbottle, and Jason Ishikawa,...
- 3/14/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (Cph:Dox) has unveiled the line-ups for its five competitive sections for its 2024 edition. All films in the main Dox:Award competition are world premieres for the second successive year.
Scroll down for the full list of competition titles
Titles in that section include Alessandra Celesia’s The Flats, a France-uk-Ireland-Belgium co-production about Belfast youngsters accessing their memories of the Troubles. Belfast-based Italian filmmaker Celesia has previously made documentaries including 2017’s Anatomy Of A Miracle, which played at Locarno.
The 12-strong Dox:Award competition also includes Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter’s UK title Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other,...
Scroll down for the full list of competition titles
Titles in that section include Alessandra Celesia’s The Flats, a France-uk-Ireland-Belgium co-production about Belfast youngsters accessing their memories of the Troubles. Belfast-based Italian filmmaker Celesia has previously made documentaries including 2017’s Anatomy Of A Miracle, which played at Locarno.
The 12-strong Dox:Award competition also includes Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter’s UK title Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other,...
- 2/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
Chris Smalls has all the makings of a hero. Young, charismatic and sympathetically rebellious, he quits his job at a New York Amazon warehouse over inadequate PPE provision, but doesn’t walk away: Instead, he launches an effort to establish a labor union at his former workplace, eager to improve conditions for those staying the course. It would be easy to build a halo-lit documentary portrait around this handsome, rabble-rousing father of three, but Brett Story and Stephen Maing’s excellent “Union” is something more finely shaded and community-minded than that. As a long-view anatomy of a unionization campaign, the film may be galvanized by Smalls’ presence at its center, but it’s rather less idealistic about the human politics involved in fighting corporations. Strong personalities inspire but they also divide; keeping everyone on side against a faceless foe is harder than Hollywood makes it look.
“Union” is no Hollywood film,...
“Union” is no Hollywood film,...
- 1/29/2024
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
The Sundance Film Festival announced its 2024 winners on January 26, two days before the festival’s end date. The Awards Ceremony took place at The Ray Theater in Park City, Utah. This year marks its 40th annual festival run taking place from January 18 to January 28.
In the Summer, a film director Alessandra Lacorazza, won the top honor, U.S. Grand Jury Prize, starring Lio Mehiel.
Last year, Mehiel told uInterview exclusively about the importance of trans representation.
“Whenever there is an uptick of queer or trans representation in the media, there is an equal and perhaps greater response from the other side … that are looking to suppress trans rights, trans agency [and] queer liberation,” Mehiel told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “While in Hollywood we are seeing trans representation and this film is able to be part of that movement, this film is more important now than ever because even just in Utah,...
In the Summer, a film director Alessandra Lacorazza, won the top honor, U.S. Grand Jury Prize, starring Lio Mehiel.
Last year, Mehiel told uInterview exclusively about the importance of trans representation.
“Whenever there is an uptick of queer or trans representation in the media, there is an equal and perhaps greater response from the other side … that are looking to suppress trans rights, trans agency [and] queer liberation,” Mehiel told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “While in Hollywood we are seeing trans representation and this film is able to be part of that movement, this film is more important now than ever because even just in Utah,...
- 1/27/2024
- by Ann Hoang
- Uinterview
The new Sundance documentary “Union” puts a spotlight on the extreme anti-union tactics employed by Amazon as it tries to quash a historic labor organizing effort at its Staten Island warehouse.
Directed by Brett Story and Stephen Maing, the film chronicles the struggle of the grassroots Amazon Labor Union (Alu) as it attempts to unionize the JFK8 Amazon facility. Alu president Chris Smalls joined the directors to talk to TheWrap executive editor Adam Chitwood, where they discussed Amazon’s aggressive efforts to undermine the union drive.
“It shows how Amazon and the NYPD work together,” Smalls said at TheWrap’s Sundance Portrait and Interview Studio presented by Nfp, referring to his on-camera arrest captured in the film. “It shows how policing is used to create fear and doubt, and not just to unionize. When you’re going up against corporations, someone being arrested that’s leading a movement will create...
Directed by Brett Story and Stephen Maing, the film chronicles the struggle of the grassroots Amazon Labor Union (Alu) as it attempts to unionize the JFK8 Amazon facility. Alu president Chris Smalls joined the directors to talk to TheWrap executive editor Adam Chitwood, where they discussed Amazon’s aggressive efforts to undermine the union drive.
“It shows how Amazon and the NYPD work together,” Smalls said at TheWrap’s Sundance Portrait and Interview Studio presented by Nfp, referring to his on-camera arrest captured in the film. “It shows how policing is used to create fear and doubt, and not just to unionize. When you’re going up against corporations, someone being arrested that’s leading a movement will create...
- 1/26/2024
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Sundance announced its winners on Friday morning, with Alessandra Lacorazza’s In The Summers took the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Brendan Bellomo’s Porcelain War the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary.
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sundance announced its winners on Friday morning, with Alessandra Lacorazza’s In The Summers took the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Brendan Bellomo’s Porcelain War the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary.
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival awards were announced today at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah.
See the list of 2024 winners below, and congrats to all the winners.
Festival Favorite Award
Daughters (USA) – Angela Patton and Natalie Rae
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Grand Jury Prize
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
Directing Award
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance
Suncoast (USA) – Nico Parker
Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble
Dìdi – Sean Wang
Audience Award
Dìdi – Sean Wang
U.S. Documentary Competition
Grand Jury Prize
Porcelain War – Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev
Directing Award
Sugarcane – Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
Special Jury Award for Sound
Gaucho Gaucho (USA, Argentina) – Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
Special Jury Award for The Art of Change
Union (USA) – Stephen Maing and Brett Story
Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award
Frida...
See the list of 2024 winners below, and congrats to all the winners.
Festival Favorite Award
Daughters (USA) – Angela Patton and Natalie Rae
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Grand Jury Prize
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
Directing Award
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance
Suncoast (USA) – Nico Parker
Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble
Dìdi – Sean Wang
Audience Award
Dìdi – Sean Wang
U.S. Documentary Competition
Grand Jury Prize
Porcelain War – Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev
Directing Award
Sugarcane – Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
Special Jury Award for Sound
Gaucho Gaucho (USA, Argentina) – Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
Special Jury Award for The Art of Change
Union (USA) – Stephen Maing and Brett Story
Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award
Frida...
- 1/26/2024
- by Prem
- Talking Films
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival winners are in, with films like “In the Summers,” “Didi,” and “Daughters” dominating across the categories. “In the Summers” filmmaker Alessandra Lacorazza, whose film centers on a fractured family in New Mexico, also won the Directing prize in U.S. Dramatic.
On Friday, January 26, the winners of juried prizes were shared out of the competition sections, including the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and the Next lineup.
The 2024 Sundance jury consisted of 16 filmmakers and artists across all sections, with the U.S. Dramatic Competition jury made up of “Winter’s Bone” director/co-writer Debra Granik, “Shortcomings” screenwriter Adrian Tomine, and “Master of None” producer Lena Waithe.
“Navalny” producer Shane Boris, “The Disappearance of Shere Hite” director Nicole Newnham, and “The Sentence” director Rudy Valdez serve on the U.S. Documentary Competition jury, with “The Babadook” director Jennifer Kent,...
On Friday, January 26, the winners of juried prizes were shared out of the competition sections, including the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and the Next lineup.
The 2024 Sundance jury consisted of 16 filmmakers and artists across all sections, with the U.S. Dramatic Competition jury made up of “Winter’s Bone” director/co-writer Debra Granik, “Shortcomings” screenwriter Adrian Tomine, and “Master of None” producer Lena Waithe.
“Navalny” producer Shane Boris, “The Disappearance of Shere Hite” director Nicole Newnham, and “The Sentence” director Rudy Valdez serve on the U.S. Documentary Competition jury, with “The Babadook” director Jennifer Kent,...
- 1/26/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Exclusive: The Ford Foundation is coming through for documentary filmmakers in a big way.
Today, the nonprofit philanthropic institution announced its latest round of grants under the foundation’s JustFilms division — $4.2 million that will go to support “59 innovative film projects centered on social justice globally and in the United States.”
Among the recipients are Union, the film directed by Stephen Maing and Brett Story that just held its world premiere at Sundance, and fellow Sundance premiere The Battle for Laikipia, directed by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi. Union, about the battle to unionize an Amazon facility on Staten Island, New York, is in U.S. Documentary Competition at Sundance. The Battle for Laikipia, in World Cinema Documentary Competition at the festival, examines “a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven.” Roger Ross Williams and Toni Kamau are among the producers of Laikipia.
Today, the nonprofit philanthropic institution announced its latest round of grants under the foundation’s JustFilms division — $4.2 million that will go to support “59 innovative film projects centered on social justice globally and in the United States.”
Among the recipients are Union, the film directed by Stephen Maing and Brett Story that just held its world premiere at Sundance, and fellow Sundance premiere The Battle for Laikipia, directed by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi. Union, about the battle to unionize an Amazon facility on Staten Island, New York, is in U.S. Documentary Competition at Sundance. The Battle for Laikipia, in World Cinema Documentary Competition at the festival, examines “a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven.” Roger Ross Williams and Toni Kamau are among the producers of Laikipia.
- 1/25/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Stephen Maing and Brett Story’s tough and gripping new film about the fight to unionize the workers of an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island might be an observational documentary at heart, but this in-the-trenches portrait of grassroots organizing doesn’t leave any doubt as to whose side it’s on. Indeed, few movies have ever screamed “fuck you, pay me!” louder than “Union” does with its opening frames, which use footage of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos blasting into space aboard his self-financed — and unmistakably phallic — rocketship to set the stage for the struggle he’s avoiding back on Earth. Watching a mega-billionaire overcompensate on an interstellar scale would be damning regardless, but in this context it makes it that much easier to appreciate how cruelly his business empire is undercompensating all of the people who keep it in the black.
Of course, the film’s sympathies go without saying; if you want pro-Amazon propaganda,...
Of course, the film’s sympathies go without saying; if you want pro-Amazon propaganda,...
- 1/22/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
There’s a simple David vs. Goliath story at the heart of Chris Smalls’ multi-year fight to unionize Amazon workers in Staten Island during the Covid pandemic. It’s a satisfying tale of one man taking on the wealthiest company in the world, and in broad strokes it’s an accurate story — hence the way it has generally been reported in news coverage and deep dives in places like Last Week Tonight.
I’m tremendously relieved that that’s not the version Stephen Maing and Brett Story present in their new documentary, Union.
Without devaluing the heroism of Smalls’ crusade or underselling the general inhumanity of Amazon’s treatment of its lowest-level workers, Union sets out to be something closer to a warts-and-all process documentary. Using unobtrusive direct cinema techniques, the documentary takes us inside the fledgling union, capturing the frustration and elation of trying to do the right thing in an impossible historical moment.
I’m tremendously relieved that that’s not the version Stephen Maing and Brett Story present in their new documentary, Union.
Without devaluing the heroism of Smalls’ crusade or underselling the general inhumanity of Amazon’s treatment of its lowest-level workers, Union sets out to be something closer to a warts-and-all process documentary. Using unobtrusive direct cinema techniques, the documentary takes us inside the fledgling union, capturing the frustration and elation of trying to do the right thing in an impossible historical moment.
- 1/22/2024
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Stephen Maing and Brett Story’s unsurprisingly riveting Union is the one Sundance selection most assuredly not coming to Prime Video anytime soon — or ever. As its title succinctly implies, the film follows a group of very brave, and admirably unrelenting, activist-workers in their fight to unionize a Staten Island warehouse known as JFK8 back in 2021. […]
The post “The Good, Bad and Ugly of Organizing Against Amazon’”: Stephen Maing and Brett Story on their Sundance-debuting Union first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Good, Bad and Ugly of Organizing Against Amazon’”: Stephen Maing and Brett Story on their Sundance-debuting Union first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/22/2024
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Stephen Maing and Brett Story’s unsurprisingly riveting Union is the one Sundance selection most assuredly not coming to Prime Video anytime soon — or ever. As its title succinctly implies, the film follows a group of very brave, and admirably unrelenting, activist-workers in their fight to unionize a Staten Island warehouse known as JFK8 back in 2021. […]
The post “The Good, Bad and Ugly of Organizing Against Amazon’”: Stephen Maing and Brett Story on their Sundance-debuting Union first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Good, Bad and Ugly of Organizing Against Amazon’”: Stephen Maing and Brett Story on their Sundance-debuting Union first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/22/2024
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
A raw examination of labor organization at its most powerful, pure, and fragile, “Union” is a look at union drama uncut and without any guardrails. Verité to a fault, directors Stephen Maing and Brett Story present the documentary with a detached remove that isn’t matched by the framing of the central conflict, and yet morsels of true inspiration still manage to tumble forth. Inspiring on purpose and insightful in spite of itself, “Union” sort of backs its way into a compelling story.
Continue reading ‘Union’ Review: Ultra Verité Labor Doc Swerves Away From Greatness, Settles Instead for Good [Sundance] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Union’ Review: Ultra Verité Labor Doc Swerves Away From Greatness, Settles Instead for Good [Sundance] at The Playlist.
- 1/21/2024
- by Warren Cantrell
- The Playlist
Amazon Labor Union (Alu) president Chris Smalls is not the star of the documentary Union. He is just one part of the congregation in Brett Story and Stephen Maing’s co-directed film. An early glimpse of Smalls finds him discreetly flipping burgers and hot dogs at a grill. It took an employee to ask Smalls if he’s the “low-key famous” Smalls for the leader to list his media recognitions. He doesn’t want clout for his union organizing, but rather to be known for making laborers heard, enabling a better society for his children and comrades, and proving to white executives that he can manage a flock in his distinguished streetwear outfits.
The examination of the Alu at Amazon’s Staten Island headquarters, JFK8, is a dream subject of interest for Story and Maing, whose past work has concerned reform. Union traces the intimate, intense vérité approach of being...
The examination of the Alu at Amazon’s Staten Island headquarters, JFK8, is a dream subject of interest for Story and Maing, whose past work has concerned reform. Union traces the intimate, intense vérité approach of being...
- 1/21/2024
- by Edward Frumkin
- The Film Stage
In “Union,” documentary filmmakers Brett Story and Stephen Maing follow the Amazon Labor Union (Alu), a group of current and former Amazon workers as they attempt to unionize Amazon employees working at a facility in Staten Island, N.Y. The directing duo chronicles just how excruciatingly hard it is to form a workers’ union in America — especially at Amazon. The 102-minute doc captures Alu members, who feel disenfranchised and powerless, as they try to build support for their movement while facing the unlimited resources and influence of a corporate giant. From offering free pizza and cannabis to making calls to all 8,000 Amazon employees working at the Staten Island facility, the film intimately documents Alu’s fierce dedication to making a change.
Variety spoke to Story and Maing ahead of the premiere of “Union” on Sunday.
In the film an Alu member records a meeting that takes place within the Staten Island facility.
Variety spoke to Story and Maing ahead of the premiere of “Union” on Sunday.
In the film an Alu member records a meeting that takes place within the Staten Island facility.
- 1/21/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
In March of 2020, Amazon fired Chris Smalls, an employee who led a walkout at its Staten Island, New York, warehouse known as JFK8 over pandemic working conditions. A memo that later was leaked to Vice News revealed that an Amazon executive dismissed Smalls as “not smart or articulate” in a strategy meeting with Jeff Bezos. But just as the tech giant was writing Smalls off, some documentary filmmakers saw in the labor organizer a compelling character at the center of a timely story about the modern workforce.
Nearly four years later, their movie, Union, which will premiere Jan. 21 at Sundance as an acquisitions title, depicts the formation of the Smalls-led Amazon Labor Union (Alu). “I thought, well, here’s an opportunity to film something from the ground up,” says Brett Story, who directs Union together with Stephen Maing. “From the very beginning, we said to this group of people, ‘We...
Nearly four years later, their movie, Union, which will premiere Jan. 21 at Sundance as an acquisitions title, depicts the formation of the Smalls-led Amazon Labor Union (Alu). “I thought, well, here’s an opportunity to film something from the ground up,” says Brett Story, who directs Union together with Stephen Maing. “From the very beginning, we said to this group of people, ‘We...
- 1/20/2024
- by Rebecca Keegan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Editor’S Note: The following blog originally ran in June of 2020. We’re re-posting it here in honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 15. The updated piece includes minor edits and, more importantly, updated info re: streaming availability.
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In the wake of international protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25, 2020, practically every big-name streaming service quickly assembled, from their selection of available titles, their own specially curated collection of Black cinema. These collections have provided an invaluable resource for film fans of all racial demographics eager to learn more about the troubled history of American racial inequality.
Thankfully, there’s a lot of truly amazing stuff being spotlighted within these curated lists. We’ve plucked out a few (but definitely not all) of our favorite titles below. Whether based on a true story or totally invented, narrative or nonfiction,...
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In the wake of international protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25, 2020, practically every big-name streaming service quickly assembled, from their selection of available titles, their own specially curated collection of Black cinema. These collections have provided an invaluable resource for film fans of all racial demographics eager to learn more about the troubled history of American racial inequality.
Thankfully, there’s a lot of truly amazing stuff being spotlighted within these curated lists. We’ve plucked out a few (but definitely not all) of our favorite titles below. Whether based on a true story or totally invented, narrative or nonfiction,...
- 1/12/2024
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
The Sundance Institute has announced this year’s grantees for the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, with a total of 1,396,500 in unrestricted grant support bestowed upon 35 projects.
“As we celebrate the Dfp’s 20th anniversary, it’s an exceptional achievement that Sundance has been able to provide documentary filmmakers robust and sustained financial support, from development through post-production, for two decades,” said Carrie Lozano, director of the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program. “Thanks to our incredible funders, supporters, staff, and external reviewers, the Documentary Fund has been able to realize its top priorities during a tumultuous time: supporting underrepresented stories, directors and producers; providing much needed resources to urgent international projects; and elevating human rights and social, civic and environmental justice, all while foregrounding bold and artistic approaches. I am constantly amazed by the breadth and depth of our grantees.”
This year’s grant recipients have roots in 31 countries, with...
“As we celebrate the Dfp’s 20th anniversary, it’s an exceptional achievement that Sundance has been able to provide documentary filmmakers robust and sustained financial support, from development through post-production, for two decades,” said Carrie Lozano, director of the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program. “Thanks to our incredible funders, supporters, staff, and external reviewers, the Documentary Fund has been able to realize its top priorities during a tumultuous time: supporting underrepresented stories, directors and producers; providing much needed resources to urgent international projects; and elevating human rights and social, civic and environmental justice, all while foregrounding bold and artistic approaches. I am constantly amazed by the breadth and depth of our grantees.”
This year’s grant recipients have roots in 31 countries, with...
- 10/6/2022
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Previously supported projects have included American Factory, Collective, Fire Of Love, The Mole Agent.
Projects from Armenia, Chile, Uganda and Palestine are among grantees of the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, which in the 20th anniversary year of the Documentary Film Program (Dfp) has made 1.4m available in unrestricted grant support to 35 projects.
Of the recipients, five are in development, 15 in production, 10 in post, and the filmmakers behind five are actively pursuing support for audience engagement and social impact campaigns.
Some 57 of the current cycle’s submissions hail from outside the US. Among the 14 US films receiving support, all are directed...
Projects from Armenia, Chile, Uganda and Palestine are among grantees of the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, which in the 20th anniversary year of the Documentary Film Program (Dfp) has made 1.4m available in unrestricted grant support to 35 projects.
Of the recipients, five are in development, 15 in production, 10 in post, and the filmmakers behind five are actively pursuing support for audience engagement and social impact campaigns.
Some 57 of the current cycle’s submissions hail from outside the US. Among the 14 US films receiving support, all are directed...
- 10/4/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Eleven documentary projects from six countries have been selected for the Intl. Documentary Assn.’s annual Enterprise Documentary Fund Production Grant.
Selected from 248 applicants, the 15 directors behind the 11 docus will receive a total of 600,000 in production grants.
Established in 2017, the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund supports in-depth explorations of original, contemporary stories that integrate journalistic practice into the filmmaking process. The fund is financially supported by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with additional support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. In its six-year history, the fund has given over 4.5 million in grant money to nonfiction filmmakers.
The 11 selected projects are currently in production in six countries: Armenia, Ethiopia, India, Japan, Russia and the United States. Of the 15 directors behind the docs, 70 are filmmakers of color, 70 are women or gender-non-conforming filmmakers, and 40 identify as members of the LGBTQ community.
The docus explore various topics, including the climate crisis, Japan’s antiquated rape laws and institutions,...
Selected from 248 applicants, the 15 directors behind the 11 docus will receive a total of 600,000 in production grants.
Established in 2017, the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund supports in-depth explorations of original, contemporary stories that integrate journalistic practice into the filmmaking process. The fund is financially supported by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with additional support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. In its six-year history, the fund has given over 4.5 million in grant money to nonfiction filmmakers.
The 11 selected projects are currently in production in six countries: Armenia, Ethiopia, India, Japan, Russia and the United States. Of the 15 directors behind the docs, 70 are filmmakers of color, 70 are women or gender-non-conforming filmmakers, and 40 identify as members of the LGBTQ community.
The docus explore various topics, including the climate crisis, Japan’s antiquated rape laws and institutions,...
- 9/23/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Clearly, no one involved with “Dirty Money” knew precisely what environment Season 2 of the Netflix documentary series would be dropped into upon release. After first debuting in early 2018, the intervening 26 months have seen the number of significant financial developments dovetail, some brewing underneath the sociopolitical surface for the entire time and others with a much quicker and more recent onset.
The explicit purpose of this series, produced by prolific documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney, is to illuminate financial malpractice on various levels. In Season 2, different episodes detail international tales of money laundering, drug trafficking, environmental pollution, and elder abuse, all of which have figures at their centers absorbing a majority of the blame.
More from IndieWireEvery IndieWire TV Review from 2020, Ranked by Grade From Best to WorstEvery Animated Feature Coming Out in 2020
Through a more immediate lens, there’s another overriding takeaway, one that’s become more pronounced in an age...
The explicit purpose of this series, produced by prolific documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney, is to illuminate financial malpractice on various levels. In Season 2, different episodes detail international tales of money laundering, drug trafficking, environmental pollution, and elder abuse, all of which have figures at their centers absorbing a majority of the blame.
More from IndieWireEvery IndieWire TV Review from 2020, Ranked by Grade From Best to WorstEvery Animated Feature Coming Out in 2020
Through a more immediate lens, there’s another overriding takeaway, one that’s become more pronounced in an age...
- 3/11/2020
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
The Tribeca Film Institute and Gucci announced on Tuesday this year’s recipients for the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund.
Now in its 12th year, Tfi and Gucci have awarded $140,000 in grant funding, covered by Gucci, to support nine documentaries highlighting domestic and international matters, with a focus on female-led stories and filmmakers. The funding will cover the production and post-production of a number of the winning documentarians, as well as strategic campaign work and distribution efforts for two films.
“These filmmakers are highlighting urgent social issues through strong character-led stories — from a young, stateless woman fleeing violence and revealing the complex geo-history and politics between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, to a brother and sister fighting on opposite ends of the Libyan revolution, and a kaleidoscopic look into the immediate aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election,” said Monika Navarro, senior director of programs at Tribeca Film Institute, in a statement.
Now in its 12th year, Tfi and Gucci have awarded $140,000 in grant funding, covered by Gucci, to support nine documentaries highlighting domestic and international matters, with a focus on female-led stories and filmmakers. The funding will cover the production and post-production of a number of the winning documentarians, as well as strategic campaign work and distribution efforts for two films.
“These filmmakers are highlighting urgent social issues through strong character-led stories — from a young, stateless woman fleeing violence and revealing the complex geo-history and politics between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, to a brother and sister fighting on opposite ends of the Libyan revolution, and a kaleidoscopic look into the immediate aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election,” said Monika Navarro, senior director of programs at Tribeca Film Institute, in a statement.
- 10/15/2019
- by Mackenzie Nichols
- Variety Film + TV
When the Oscar Documentary Feature shortlist came out recently, Hulu had double the reason to celebrate. Two of its films made the exclusive roster, a considerable achievement in a competitive environment where Netflix, HBO, PBS, National Geographic and other parties are all vying for the Academy’s favor.
Hulu scored with Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap and Stephen Maing’s Crime + Punishment, two of the most honored documentaries of 2018.
“We don’t do it for the awards,” Maing says, “but awards are an amazing engine to get people to pay attention.”
The story he wanted viewers to pay attention to involves an alleged quota system within the New York Police Department that forces officers to keep up arrest and summons numbers or face a career-blunting backlash. The practical effect, Maing illustrates, is that cops go after the easiest targets—young people of color—issuing court summons and making...
Hulu scored with Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap and Stephen Maing’s Crime + Punishment, two of the most honored documentaries of 2018.
“We don’t do it for the awards,” Maing says, “but awards are an amazing engine to get people to pay attention.”
The story he wanted viewers to pay attention to involves an alleged quota system within the New York Police Department that forces officers to keep up arrest and summons numbers or face a career-blunting backlash. The practical effect, Maing illustrates, is that cops go after the easiest targets—young people of color—issuing court summons and making...
- 1/3/2019
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Four of the most successful documentaries of recent years remain in contention for a prize beyond box office glory—the kind that comes with an Oscar trophy.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Rbg, Three Identical Strangers and Free Solo all made the Oscar documentary shortlist as the Academy culled the list of 166 eligible nonfiction films down to an exclusive 15.
Morgan Neville’s Neighbor, which explores the work of children’s television pioneer Fred Rogers, has become the top-grossing biographical documentary of all time with more than $22 million in earnings. Rbg, the film directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen that documents Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, started the box office gold rush earlier in the year, amassing just over $14 million.
Three Identical Strangers, Tim Wardle’s story of identical triplets who were separated as infants and reunited by accident as adults, has tallied $12.3 million. Free Solo, about mountain...
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Rbg, Three Identical Strangers and Free Solo all made the Oscar documentary shortlist as the Academy culled the list of 166 eligible nonfiction films down to an exclusive 15.
Morgan Neville’s Neighbor, which explores the work of children’s television pioneer Fred Rogers, has become the top-grossing biographical documentary of all time with more than $22 million in earnings. Rbg, the film directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen that documents Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, started the box office gold rush earlier in the year, amassing just over $14 million.
Three Identical Strangers, Tim Wardle’s story of identical triplets who were separated as infants and reunited by accident as adults, has tallied $12.3 million. Free Solo, about mountain...
- 12/28/2018
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Cinema Eye Honors said that Eyes on the Prize, the landmark civil rights docuseries that first aired on public television in 1987, will receive the group’s 2019 Legacy Award. The honor will be bestowed January 10 during the 12th annual Cinema Eye Honors awards ceremony in New York.
“For me and so many others, Eyes on the Prize was a transformational cinematic experience, artfully crafting the history of a nation into an unforgettable story,” Cinema Eye board co-chair Dawn Porter said Thursday. “Countless filmmakers have been inspired by this elegant body of work.”
Created and by the late Henry Hampton’s Blackside, the 14-part Eyes on the Prize is considered the definitive documentary record of the American civil rights era, tracing the country’s long and brutal march toward equality and the fight to end decades of discrimination and segregation. It aired in two parts, the first covering the years 1954–1965 and...
“For me and so many others, Eyes on the Prize was a transformational cinematic experience, artfully crafting the history of a nation into an unforgettable story,” Cinema Eye board co-chair Dawn Porter said Thursday. “Countless filmmakers have been inspired by this elegant body of work.”
Created and by the late Henry Hampton’s Blackside, the 14-part Eyes on the Prize is considered the definitive documentary record of the American civil rights era, tracing the country’s long and brutal march toward equality and the fight to end decades of discrimination and segregation. It aired in two parts, the first covering the years 1954–1965 and...
- 12/20/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Morgan Neville, director of Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and the Oscar-winning 20 Feet From Stardom Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The 91st Academy Awards Oscar Best Documentary shortlist has been announced.
Free Solo directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Free Solo, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin; Marilyn Ness's Charm City; Anna Zamecka's Communion (Komunia); Stephen Maing's Crime + Punishment: Kimberly Reed's Dark Money; Simon Lereng Wilmont's The Distant Barking Of Dogs; RaMell Ross's Hale County This Morning, This Evening; Bing Liu's Minding The Gap; Talal Derki's Of Fathers And Sons (Kinder Des Kalifats); Alexandria Bombach's On Her Shoulders; Julie Cohen and Betsy West's Rbg; Sandi Tan's Shirkers; Robert Bahar and Almudena Carracedo's The Silence Of Others (El Silencio De Otros); Tim Wardle's Three Identical Strangers; Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, directed...
The 91st Academy Awards Oscar Best Documentary shortlist has been announced.
Free Solo directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Free Solo, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin; Marilyn Ness's Charm City; Anna Zamecka's Communion (Komunia); Stephen Maing's Crime + Punishment: Kimberly Reed's Dark Money; Simon Lereng Wilmont's The Distant Barking Of Dogs; RaMell Ross's Hale County This Morning, This Evening; Bing Liu's Minding The Gap; Talal Derki's Of Fathers And Sons (Kinder Des Kalifats); Alexandria Bombach's On Her Shoulders; Julie Cohen and Betsy West's Rbg; Sandi Tan's Shirkers; Robert Bahar and Almudena Carracedo's The Silence Of Others (El Silencio De Otros); Tim Wardle's Three Identical Strangers; Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, directed...
- 12/17/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
“Minding the Gap” had a great day on December 8. Hours after Bing Liu‘s heartfelt look at live in the Rust Belt was named Best Documentary Feature of the year by the Chicago film critics, it won the top award from The International Documentary Association (Ida).
At the Ida, it prevailed in the largest-ever field of contenders at this key precursor prize. Among the competition were all of the other frontrunners for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars: National Geographic’s “Free Solo,” Hulu’s “Crime + Punishment,” the Mr. Rogers retrospective “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” and PBS’ “Dark Money.”
This was the first year that Ida had nominated 10 films for their top award, a sharp increase from the 5-6 contenders cited in the past. While only two films were nominated by both the Ida and Oscar last year, in 2017 the groups lined up on four nominees and...
At the Ida, it prevailed in the largest-ever field of contenders at this key precursor prize. Among the competition were all of the other frontrunners for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars: National Geographic’s “Free Solo,” Hulu’s “Crime + Punishment,” the Mr. Rogers retrospective “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” and PBS’ “Dark Money.”
This was the first year that Ida had nominated 10 films for their top award, a sharp increase from the 5-6 contenders cited in the past. While only two films were nominated by both the Ida and Oscar last year, in 2017 the groups lined up on four nominees and...
- 12/9/2018
- by Paul Sheehan and John Benutty
- Gold Derby
Bing Liu’s skateboarding movie “Minding The Gap” has won the International Documentary Association’s award for top feature of 2018.
Floyd Russ’s “Zion” was awarded best short. Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” won for best limited series and HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” took the ABC News VideoSource Award. PBS’ “Pov” won for best curated series, Showtime’s “The Trade” for best episodic series, Mel Films for best short form series, and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” for the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award.
Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.” were each awarded best music documentary while “Bisbee ’17” and “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” were each awarded best music score. The New York Times’ “Caliphate” took the inaugural award in the audio documentary category.
Ricki Lake hosted the ceremonies Saturday night for the 34th...
Floyd Russ’s “Zion” was awarded best short. Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” won for best limited series and HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” took the ABC News VideoSource Award. PBS’ “Pov” won for best curated series, Showtime’s “The Trade” for best episodic series, Mel Films for best short form series, and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” for the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award.
Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.” were each awarded best music documentary while “Bisbee ’17” and “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” were each awarded best music score. The New York Times’ “Caliphate” took the inaugural award in the audio documentary category.
Ricki Lake hosted the ceremonies Saturday night for the 34th...
- 12/9/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
The 34th Annual Ida Documentary Awards were handed out Saturday night at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles with Bing Liu’s Minding The Gap taking top honors in the Best Feature category.
Hosted by actress and producer Ricki Lake, the ceremony also honored Floyd Russ’s Zion as Best Short as well as Netflix’s Wild Wild Country which won for Best Limited Series.
Other winners for the evening included HBO’s John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls for the ABC News VideoSource Award, PBS’ Pov for Best Curated Series, Showtime’s The Trade for Best Episodic Series, Mel Films for Best Short Form Series, and Jayisha Patel’s Circle for the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award. The New York Times’ Caliphate won the inaugural Best Audio Documentary category.
In addition, the Career Achievement Award was presented to three-time Academy Award winner Julia Reichert and Ida...
Hosted by actress and producer Ricki Lake, the ceremony also honored Floyd Russ’s Zion as Best Short as well as Netflix’s Wild Wild Country which won for Best Limited Series.
Other winners for the evening included HBO’s John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls for the ABC News VideoSource Award, PBS’ Pov for Best Curated Series, Showtime’s The Trade for Best Episodic Series, Mel Films for Best Short Form Series, and Jayisha Patel’s Circle for the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award. The New York Times’ Caliphate won the inaugural Best Audio Documentary category.
In addition, the Career Achievement Award was presented to three-time Academy Award winner Julia Reichert and Ida...
- 12/9/2018
- by Erik Pedersen and Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding The Gap” beat out the competition to win top honors at the 34th Annual Ida Documentary Awards at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday night. The portrait of a group of skateboarders took home Best Feature, Emerging Filmmaker and Best Editing. Liu had accepted a Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where the Pov film was acquired by Hulu.
Other winners include Floyd Russ’s “Zion” (Best Short), Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” (Best Limited Series), HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” (the ABC News VideoSource Award), PBS’ Pov (Best Curated Series), Showtime’s “The Trade” (Best Episodic Series), Mel Films (Best Short Form Series), and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” (the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award). Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.” won Best Music Documentary,...
Other winners include Floyd Russ’s “Zion” (Best Short), Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” (Best Limited Series), HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” (the ABC News VideoSource Award), PBS’ Pov (Best Curated Series), Showtime’s “The Trade” (Best Episodic Series), Mel Films (Best Short Form Series), and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” (the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award). Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.” won Best Music Documentary,...
- 12/9/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding The Gap” beat out the competition to win top honors at the 34th Annual Ida Documentary Awards at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday night. The portrait of a group of skateboarders took home Best Feature, Emerging Filmmaker and Best Editing. Liu had accepted a Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where the Pov film was acquired by Hulu.
Other winners include Floyd Russ’s “Zion” (Best Short), Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” (Best Limited Series), HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” (the ABC News VideoSource Award), PBS’ Pov (Best Curated Series), Showtime’s “The Trade” (Best Episodic Series), Mel Films (Best Short Form Series), and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” (the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award). Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.” won Best Music Documentary,...
Other winners include Floyd Russ’s “Zion” (Best Short), Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” (Best Limited Series), HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” (the ABC News VideoSource Award), PBS’ Pov (Best Curated Series), Showtime’s “The Trade” (Best Episodic Series), Mel Films (Best Short Form Series), and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” (the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award). Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.” won Best Music Documentary,...
- 12/9/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Wild Wild Country wins best limited series.
Bing Liu’s Minding The Gap was named best feature at the 34th Annual Ida Documentary Awards on Saturday night (8).
Floyd Russ’s Zion won best short at the ceremony at Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles, while Wild Wild Country was named best limited series.
“Both the Best Feature and Best Short categories recognized the remarkable range of work that was produced in 2018,” said Simon Kilmurry, Ida executive director. “In Minding The Gap we see the emergence of Bing Liu as a fresh, bold new voice in documentary. His film sneaks up on audiences and,...
Bing Liu’s Minding The Gap was named best feature at the 34th Annual Ida Documentary Awards on Saturday night (8).
Floyd Russ’s Zion won best short at the ceremony at Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles, while Wild Wild Country was named best limited series.
“Both the Best Feature and Best Short categories recognized the remarkable range of work that was produced in 2018,” said Simon Kilmurry, Ida executive director. “In Minding The Gap we see the emergence of Bing Liu as a fresh, bold new voice in documentary. His film sneaks up on audiences and,...
- 12/8/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The Motion Picture Academy did away with creating an Oscar category for ‘popular movie’ that would have allowed voters to select a Best Picture and a best box office hit. But in the documentary category there’s no need to choose between popular success and artistic merit: Some of this year’s top contenders offer both.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville’s film about cardigan-clad children’s television pioneer Fred Rogers, has zoomed past the $22 million mark in ticket sales, making it far and away the most successful documentary of recent years. And it’s a frontrunner for the Oscar, having already earned nominations for the Ida Awards and the Gotham Independent Film Awards—and a Critics’ Choice Documentary Award win—not to mention making Doc NYC’s exclusive shortlist.
“It feels great,” says Neville of the critical and financial success. “Nobody believed that a...
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville’s film about cardigan-clad children’s television pioneer Fred Rogers, has zoomed past the $22 million mark in ticket sales, making it far and away the most successful documentary of recent years. And it’s a frontrunner for the Oscar, having already earned nominations for the Ida Awards and the Gotham Independent Film Awards—and a Critics’ Choice Documentary Award win—not to mention making Doc NYC’s exclusive shortlist.
“It feels great,” says Neville of the critical and financial success. “Nobody believed that a...
- 11/15/2018
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The Cinema Eye Honors, which annually presents awards to “celebrate outstanding artistry and craft in nonfiction film,” has revealed its nominees in 10 categories, including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature and Outstanding Nonfiction Short. Multiple nominees include Robert Greene’s ”Bisbee ‘17,” Sandi Tan’s “Shirkers,” and RaMell Ross’ ”Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” with five nods each. While Greene is a Cinema Eye Honors vet, both Tan and Ross are first-time filmmakers.
Another first-time filmmaker on the rise: Bing Liu, whose autobiographical skateboarding doc “Minding the Gap,” leads the nominees with a total of seven nominations. That’s good enough to put the newbie filmmaker into rarefied territory, tying his film with lauded documentaries like Louie Psihoyos’ ”The Cove,” Lixin Fan’s ”Last Train Home,” and Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” for most Cinema Eye Honors nods ever. As Liu is a named nominee for six of those awards, he’s...
Another first-time filmmaker on the rise: Bing Liu, whose autobiographical skateboarding doc “Minding the Gap,” leads the nominees with a total of seven nominations. That’s good enough to put the newbie filmmaker into rarefied territory, tying his film with lauded documentaries like Louie Psihoyos’ ”The Cove,” Lixin Fan’s ”Last Train Home,” and Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” for most Cinema Eye Honors nods ever. As Liu is a named nominee for six of those awards, he’s...
- 11/8/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
“Minding the Gap,” a documentary that mixes stories of skateboarding teens with a dark family story, led all films in nominations for the Cinema Eye Honors, one of the top awards devoted to all facets of nonfiction filmmaking.
Bing Liu’s highly personal film tied a Cinema Eye record by receiving seven nominations overall, one in a previously announced category and six in the 10 categories that Cinema Eye announced on Thursday. Those included nominations for directing, editing, cinematography and music, as well as one in the marquee category, Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking.
Other nominees in that category were Robert Greene’s “Bisbee ’17,” RaMell Ross’ “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” Talal Derki’s “Of Fathers and Son,” Tim Wardle’s “Three Identical Strangers” and the 12th highest-grossing documentary of all time, Morgan Neville’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Also Read: 'Minding the Gap' Film Review: Powerful...
Bing Liu’s highly personal film tied a Cinema Eye record by receiving seven nominations overall, one in a previously announced category and six in the 10 categories that Cinema Eye announced on Thursday. Those included nominations for directing, editing, cinematography and music, as well as one in the marquee category, Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking.
Other nominees in that category were Robert Greene’s “Bisbee ’17,” RaMell Ross’ “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” Talal Derki’s “Of Fathers and Son,” Tim Wardle’s “Three Identical Strangers” and the 12th highest-grossing documentary of all time, Morgan Neville’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Also Read: 'Minding the Gap' Film Review: Powerful...
- 11/8/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The directors of 10 of the year's most outstanding documentaries — Hulu's Crime + Punishment (Stephen Maing), National Geographic's Free Solo (Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi), Aos' In Search of Greatness (Gabe Polsky), HBO's The Price of Everything (two-time Oscar nominee Nathaniel Kahn), Netflix's Quincy (Al Hicks and Rashida Jones), Magnolia/CNN Films' Rbg (Julie Cohen and Betsy West), National Geographic's Science Fair (Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster), Zeitgeist's Studio 54 (Matt Tyrnauer), Neon/CNN Films' Three Identical Strangers (Tim Wardle) and Focus Features' Won't You Be My Neighbor? (Oscar winner Morgan Neville) — gathered on Oct. 28 at the Savannah College of Art and Design'...
- 11/5/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The directors of 10 of the year's most outstanding documentaries — Hulu's Crime + Punishment (Stephen Maing), National Geographic's Free Solo (Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasahelyi), Aos' In Search of Greatness (Gabe Polsky), HBO's The Price of Everything (two-time Oscar nominee Nathaniel Kahn), Netflix's Quincy (Al Hicks and Rashida Jones), Magnolia/CNN Films' Rbg (Julie Cohen and Betsy West), National Geographic's Science Fair (Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster), Zeitgeist's Studio 54 (Matt Tyrnauer), Neon/CNN Films' Three Identical Strangers (Tim Wardle) and Focus Features' Won't You Be My Neighbor? (Oscar winner Morgan Neville) — gathered on Oct. 28 at the Savannah College of Art and Design'...
- 11/5/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Savannah College of Art and Design (Scad) has announced the award winners for its 21st celebration of the Scad Savannah Film Festival.
The honors were revealed during an awards brunch held at local restaurant The Olde Pink House. A key stop on the Oscar festival circuit, this year’s Scad Savannah Film Festival screened a total of 164 films, including 33 narrative films, 16 documentary films and 115 shorts, more than any year before.
Twenty-seven awards were announced from the 105 films that competed in the categories of narrative features, documentary features, professional shorts, animated shorts, and student shorts selections.
Professional Competition
Best Narrative Feature – Tomorrow Best Documentary Feature – The Human Element Best Narrative Short – Geoff Best Directing – Will Kenning & Michael Rouse – Geoff Best Editing – Hold The Night Jury Award for Acting – Skyler Samuels – Spare Room Jury Award for Screenwriting – One Cambodian Family Please For My Pleasure Jury Award, Unheard Voices – Facing The Dragon...
The honors were revealed during an awards brunch held at local restaurant The Olde Pink House. A key stop on the Oscar festival circuit, this year’s Scad Savannah Film Festival screened a total of 164 films, including 33 narrative films, 16 documentary films and 115 shorts, more than any year before.
Twenty-seven awards were announced from the 105 films that competed in the categories of narrative features, documentary features, professional shorts, animated shorts, and student shorts selections.
Professional Competition
Best Narrative Feature – Tomorrow Best Documentary Feature – The Human Element Best Narrative Short – Geoff Best Directing – Will Kenning & Michael Rouse – Geoff Best Editing – Hold The Night Jury Award for Acting – Skyler Samuels – Spare Room Jury Award for Screenwriting – One Cambodian Family Please For My Pleasure Jury Award, Unheard Voices – Facing The Dragon...
- 11/3/2018
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
The International Documentary Association (Ida) announced nominees for its annual awards on Wednesday morning. The ten films nominated in the Best Feature category were pulled from the group’s short list announced earlier this month. Among those nominees are five early frontrunners in the Oscar race for Documentary Feature: National Geographic’s “Free Solo,” Hulu’s two films “Minding the Gap” and “Crime + Punishment,” the Mister Rogers piece “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” and PBS’ “Dark Money,” all of which were also cited by the Broadcast Film Critics Association for their own documentary awards.
This is the first year the Ida has nominated 10 films for their top award, an increase from the 5-6 nominated previously. While only two films were nominated by both the Ida and Oscar last year, in 2016 the groups lined up on four nominees and in 2015 there were three double dippers. In each year, the...
This is the first year the Ida has nominated 10 films for their top award, an increase from the 5-6 nominated previously. While only two films were nominated by both the Ida and Oscar last year, in 2016 the groups lined up on four nominees and in 2015 there were three double dippers. In each year, the...
- 10/24/2018
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
Ninety percent of features nominees have women producers, half are directed by women.
Free Solo and Crime + Punishment are among the 10 feature nominees unveiled by the International Documentary Association (Ida) on Wednesday (24).
Ninety percent of the features nominees have women as producers and half are directed by women.
The 2018 Ida Awards features nominees are: Crime + Punishment, Dark Money, Free Solo, Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Minding The Gap, Of Fathers And Sons, Sky And Ground, The Silence Of Others, United Skates, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
The 2018 Ida Awards shorts nominees are: Black Sheep, Fear Us Women,...
Free Solo and Crime + Punishment are among the 10 feature nominees unveiled by the International Documentary Association (Ida) on Wednesday (24).
Ninety percent of the features nominees have women as producers and half are directed by women.
The 2018 Ida Awards features nominees are: Crime + Punishment, Dark Money, Free Solo, Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Minding The Gap, Of Fathers And Sons, Sky And Ground, The Silence Of Others, United Skates, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
The 2018 Ida Awards shorts nominees are: Black Sheep, Fear Us Women,...
- 10/24/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
“Dark Money,” “Free Solo,” “Minding the Gap,” “The Silence of Others” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” have been nominated for the top film award at the International Documentary Association’s 2018 Ida Documentary Awards, the Ida announced on Wednesday.
Those five films will be joined in the feature category by another five: “Crime + Punishment,” “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” “Of Fathers and Sons,” “Sky and Ground” and “United Skates.”
The 10 Ida Documentary Awards feature nominees is the largest number ever nominated in the category, which has typically consisted of five films. Half of the films were directed by women.
Also Read: 'Free Solo' Leads Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominations
Missing from the list are a few of the most successful docs of the year, including “Rbg,” “Three Identical Strangers” and “Fahrenheit 11/9.”
In the television categories, nominees include “American Masters,” “Pov” and “Independent Lens” in Curated Series,...
Those five films will be joined in the feature category by another five: “Crime + Punishment,” “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” “Of Fathers and Sons,” “Sky and Ground” and “United Skates.”
The 10 Ida Documentary Awards feature nominees is the largest number ever nominated in the category, which has typically consisted of five films. Half of the films were directed by women.
Also Read: 'Free Solo' Leads Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominations
Missing from the list are a few of the most successful docs of the year, including “Rbg,” “Three Identical Strangers” and “Fahrenheit 11/9.”
In the television categories, nominees include “American Masters,” “Pov” and “Independent Lens” in Curated Series,...
- 10/24/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
With the sprawling number of high-caliber documentaries flooding every platform and clamoring for attention, the International Documentary Association Awards are a crucial curator pointing other awards groups in the direction of what they need to see. Academy documentary branch members, who are inundated with hundreds of movies to watch, aren’t necessarily keeping track of which movies won awards at festivals along the way.
So far, the influential Doc NYC shortlist and the Critics Choice Documentary Award nominees also included many of the Ida’s feature picks: On all three lists are Stephen Maing’s NYPD expose “Crime + Punishment,” fall box office hit E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s vertiginous “Free Solo,” rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding the Gap,” and Morgan Neville’s summer box office phenomenon “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” an emotionally wrenching portrait of the late TV star Fred Rogers.
Making two out...
So far, the influential Doc NYC shortlist and the Critics Choice Documentary Award nominees also included many of the Ida’s feature picks: On all three lists are Stephen Maing’s NYPD expose “Crime + Punishment,” fall box office hit E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s vertiginous “Free Solo,” rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding the Gap,” and Morgan Neville’s summer box office phenomenon “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” an emotionally wrenching portrait of the late TV star Fred Rogers.
Making two out...
- 10/24/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
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