PBS is teaming with U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 and Arte France for feature-length documentary “Generation 9/11,” which marks the 20th anniversary of the twin tower attacks by following the children born to fathers who perished in the disaster.
Produced by London-based outfit Arrow Pictures, the 120-minute doc introduces the youth born in the wake of the tragedy. An estimated 108 unborn children lost their fathers in the attacks. The PBS International-distributed film follows this group of teenagers, weaving together various milestones in their lives, such as their first day of school, the first time the absence of their father was felt, and how they learned about how their father died.
John Smithson, executive producer and creative director of Arrow Pictures, said: “We have made a number of films about 9/11, but they have all focused on the day itself. What’s exciting about this project is having the opportunity to examine...
Produced by London-based outfit Arrow Pictures, the 120-minute doc introduces the youth born in the wake of the tragedy. An estimated 108 unborn children lost their fathers in the attacks. The PBS International-distributed film follows this group of teenagers, weaving together various milestones in their lives, such as their first day of school, the first time the absence of their father was felt, and how they learned about how their father died.
John Smithson, executive producer and creative director of Arrow Pictures, said: “We have made a number of films about 9/11, but they have all focused on the day itself. What’s exciting about this project is having the opportunity to examine...
- 4/20/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
"So, what the hell is James Gray, anyway?" Evan Davis at the House Next Door: "That's the question Paris-based Hollywood Reporter critic and Gray enthusiast Jordan Mintzer attempts to answer in his new book, James Gray. Comprised of interviews with Gray and his collaborators, along with storyboards, annotated script pages, production stills, and frame grabs, Mintzer's volume is the first full-length study of Gray in any language. It is, unfortunately, only being published in France. But fear not: Synecdoche has released a bilingual edition that can be purchased on their website for a cool $65 Usd."
Gray will be on hand this evening for a Q&A following a screening of We Own the Night (2007), part of BAMcinématek's Brooklyn Close Up series. And in December, Moving Image Source ran an excerpt from the book's chapter on The Yards (1999).
Meantime, Gray's wrapped Low Life, his first period film. Featuring Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner and Marion Cotillard,...
Gray will be on hand this evening for a Q&A following a screening of We Own the Night (2007), part of BAMcinématek's Brooklyn Close Up series. And in December, Moving Image Source ran an excerpt from the book's chapter on The Yards (1999).
Meantime, Gray's wrapped Low Life, his first period film. Featuring Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner and Marion Cotillard,...
- 3/26/2012
- MUBI
A new generation of western directors are bringing their outsider perspective to India. But can films such as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel avoid the cliches of poverty and spiritualism, chaos and capitalism?
Making films in India is hard not because of the heat, or the bureaucracy, or the traffic. Not even, says Liz Mermin, the director of Bollywood underworld exposé Shot in Bombay, because its superstar subject Sanjay Dutt grew nervous about the project. "The hardest thing for a film-maker is that you fly there, look around, take out your camera – and everything is a cliche. Poverty, chaos, cows, flowers: I was going around desperately looking for a shot I hadn't seen before."
That difficulty – to say nothing of the challenge of depicting India in more than just western terms – led Louis Malle to name the first section of his six-hour Phantom India (1969) "The Impossible Camera". Yet, even though...
Making films in India is hard not because of the heat, or the bureaucracy, or the traffic. Not even, says Liz Mermin, the director of Bollywood underworld exposé Shot in Bombay, because its superstar subject Sanjay Dutt grew nervous about the project. "The hardest thing for a film-maker is that you fly there, look around, take out your camera – and everything is a cliche. Poverty, chaos, cows, flowers: I was going around desperately looking for a shot I hadn't seen before."
That difficulty – to say nothing of the challenge of depicting India in more than just western terms – led Louis Malle to name the first section of his six-hour Phantom India (1969) "The Impossible Camera". Yet, even though...
- 2/17/2012
- by Sukhdev Sandhu
- The Guardian - Film News
For the lucky few who get in, Sundance isn’t just a festival — it’s a resource. Over the years, the festival has nurtured the careers of a number of documentary filmmakers who went on to become what senior programmer David Courier recently termed “master filmmakers” — filmmakers so good and so respected that the festival had to create the out-of-competition category, “Doc Premieres,” to make sure their work didn’t overshadow the greener directors.
It should come as no surprise to anyone in the documentary community to find Liz Garbus’ name in a category reserved for such filmmakers. Garbus’ history with the festival stretches back to 1998 when her feature, The Farm: Angola USA won the Grand Jury Prize. In the 13 years since that debut, Garbus has gone on to direct a number of films that would premiere at the festival, including Girlhood and The Execution of Wanda Jean.
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It should come as no surprise to anyone in the documentary community to find Liz Garbus’ name in a category reserved for such filmmakers. Garbus’ history with the festival stretches back to 1998 when her feature, The Farm: Angola USA won the Grand Jury Prize. In the 13 years since that debut, Garbus has gone on to direct a number of films that would premiere at the festival, including Girlhood and The Execution of Wanda Jean.
Not content...
- 1/17/2011
- by Mary Anderson Casavant
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The feature documentary 'Horses', from writer/director Liz Mermin (The Beauty Academy of Kabul, Shot in Bombay), has been shortlisted for the Best Cinema Documentary award at the Grierson Awards which will take place on the 2nd November in London's BFI Southbank. The doc is narrated by actor John Hurt (V for Vendetta, The Elephant Man) and looks at Ireland's horse-racing culture which has produced some of the finest athletes in the world. The 77 minute feature doc looks to draw audiences into the lives of three of them over the course of a difficult racing year -- focusing not on jockeys or trainers, but on the horses themselves.
- 8/13/2010
- IFTN
I’m happy to welcome Mary Anderson Casavant to the blog. I’ll let her introduce herself below, and you can look forward to a series of posts from her on the documentary scene, focusing on the films featured at the Stranger than Fiction series unspooling at the IFC Center. First up is a conversation with filmmaker Liz Mermin. — Sm I’d like to start by acknowledging that I am not a disinterested observer when it comes to Stranger Than Fiction. From 2005 – 2006, I worked as a freelance researcher for its founder and curator, Thom Powers, the current documentary programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival. I also worked for the Showtime series, This American Life, which was screened as part of the series in 2007. ...
- 4/14/2010
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Precious (15)
(Lee Daniels, 2009, Us)
Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey. 110 mins.
It sounds like a relentlessly depressing pile-up of miseries: the tale of a 1980s Harlem teenager who's poor, lonely, overweight, undereducated, abused by both parents, and pregnant for the second time by her father. And it gets worse after that. But, mercifully, this doesn't play by European social realist rules, throwing in flourishes of fantasy and even comedy, and offering glimmers of hope, real and imagined, to lighten its heroine's unenviable burden. It's still a harrowing watch, powerfully performed and earnestly authentic, but even as it wallows in the gutter, it's looking for the stars.
The Princess And The Frog (U)
(Ron Clements, John Musker, 2009, Us)
Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos. 97 mins.
Another Disney Princess™ for the merchandising range, sorry, cinematic tradition, and the first African-American one. True to latter-day Disney form, she's capable and motivated – until she's turned into a frog,...
(Lee Daniels, 2009, Us)
Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey. 110 mins.
It sounds like a relentlessly depressing pile-up of miseries: the tale of a 1980s Harlem teenager who's poor, lonely, overweight, undereducated, abused by both parents, and pregnant for the second time by her father. And it gets worse after that. But, mercifully, this doesn't play by European social realist rules, throwing in flourishes of fantasy and even comedy, and offering glimmers of hope, real and imagined, to lighten its heroine's unenviable burden. It's still a harrowing watch, powerfully performed and earnestly authentic, but even as it wallows in the gutter, it's looking for the stars.
The Princess And The Frog (U)
(Ron Clements, John Musker, 2009, Us)
Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos. 97 mins.
Another Disney Princess™ for the merchandising range, sorry, cinematic tradition, and the first African-American one. True to latter-day Disney form, she's capable and motivated – until she's turned into a frog,...
- 1/30/2010
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
An Irish racing stable proves illuminating fodder for documentary treatment, writes Andrew Pulver
An entertaining, engaging documentary about an Irish racing stable, which shows that the sport of kings is no longer about top-hatted idlers and flick-knife wielding spivs. Paul Nolan is the central character, a trainer who runs a string of horses at his base in south-east Ireland. We are invited to follow three horses over the course of a year: small but plucky Ardalan, potential world-beater Joncol, and the distinctly troubled Cuan na Graí. It's to director Liz Mermin's credit that each horse emerges as a distinct personality (though the fractured bit of music that signals Cuan na Graí's every appearance gets a tad grating after a while). The tenor of a working racehorse's life is skilfully evoked, and you can't help but feel for Nolan as he tries to strategise his way through the racing season.
An entertaining, engaging documentary about an Irish racing stable, which shows that the sport of kings is no longer about top-hatted idlers and flick-knife wielding spivs. Paul Nolan is the central character, a trainer who runs a string of horses at his base in south-east Ireland. We are invited to follow three horses over the course of a year: small but plucky Ardalan, potential world-beater Joncol, and the distinctly troubled Cuan na Graí. It's to director Liz Mermin's credit that each horse emerges as a distinct personality (though the fractured bit of music that signals Cuan na Graí's every appearance gets a tad grating after a while). The tenor of a working racehorse's life is skilfully evoked, and you can't help but feel for Nolan as he tries to strategise his way through the racing season.
- 1/28/2010
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
This week's podcast goes to the races with Liz Mermin's documentary Horses, reviews the Oscar-tipped Precious and crosses the finish line with the BFI's Future Film festival for budding film buffs and movie-makers.
First off, Jason Solomons meets Liz Mermin, whose childhood in showjumping came in handy when she was invited to direct a documentary about the adrenaline-packed world of horse-racing. She shares why she chose to make the film from the viewpoint of three champion thoroughbreds, tracing their lives for a year and then zooming out on to the billion-dollar industry that surrounds them, before revealing what it was like to get astride one of these extraordinary creatures herself.
Next, Xan Brooks joins in to review the week's key releases: the much-talked-of Precious, where unblinkered social realism mixes with Harlem musical pizzazz; Adoration, Atom Egoyan's cerebral film about an orphan who invents a story of his mother...
First off, Jason Solomons meets Liz Mermin, whose childhood in showjumping came in handy when she was invited to direct a documentary about the adrenaline-packed world of horse-racing. She shares why she chose to make the film from the viewpoint of three champion thoroughbreds, tracing their lives for a year and then zooming out on to the billion-dollar industry that surrounds them, before revealing what it was like to get astride one of these extraordinary creatures herself.
Next, Xan Brooks joins in to review the week's key releases: the much-talked-of Precious, where unblinkered social realism mixes with Harlem musical pizzazz; Adoration, Atom Egoyan's cerebral film about an orphan who invents a story of his mother...
- 1/28/2010
- by Jason Solomons, Xan Brooks, Observer
- The Guardian - Film News
Team Qatar by Liz Mermin (top); Hiam Abbass in Najwa Najjar’s Pomegranates and Myrrh (bottom) Doha Tribeca Film Festival Executive Director Amanda Palmer and Robert De Niro handed out two audience awards, worth Us$50,000 each, at the festival’s closing night gala on Nov. 1. Coincidentally, both winning films were directed by women. British filmmaker Liz Mermin’s documentary Team Qatar, which chronicles the creation of that country’s first debate team, was awarded Best Festival Film, while Palestinian Najwa Najjar’s debut feature, Pomegranates and Myrrh (talk about a poetic title), was chosen the Best Arab Film. Starring Hiam Abbass (who deserves a best actress Oscar nod for Lemon Tree), Pomegranates and Myrrh revolves around a Palestinian woman torn between being faithful to her [...]...
- 11/2/2009
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The first ever Doha Tribeca Film Festival has presented top Audience Awards to a Palestinian film and to a documentary on Sunday.
The "Pomegranates and Myrrh," directed by Najwa Najjar, received ,000 after winning the Audience Award in the festival. The audience chose the film as the best Arab movie in the festival.
Another big winner was "Team Qatar," a documentary directed by Liz Mermin that tells the story of high school students taking part in an international debate. It took home ,000 for winning the trophy.
The original Tribeca Film Festival was co-founded by Hollywood star Robert de Niro in New York in 2001. He also helped organize the Doha Tribeca Film Festival with the Qatari authorities.
The "Pomegranates and Myrrh," directed by Najwa Najjar, received ,000 after winning the Audience Award in the festival. The audience chose the film as the best Arab movie in the festival.
Another big winner was "Team Qatar," a documentary directed by Liz Mermin that tells the story of high school students taking part in an international debate. It took home ,000 for winning the trophy.
The original Tribeca Film Festival was co-founded by Hollywood star Robert de Niro in New York in 2001. He also helped organize the Doha Tribeca Film Festival with the Qatari authorities.
- 11/2/2009
- icelebz.com
Filmmakers Mira Nair, Danny Boyle, Elia Suleiman and R.J. Cutler and industry execs Lynette Howell, Ken Kamins and Cassian Elwes will be among those participating in film talks and panels at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival.
Dtff, a partnership between Tribeca Enterprises and Qatar Museums Authority, runs from Oct. 29-Nov.1 in Doha, Qatar.
The Doha Talks line-up includes a master class with director Danny Boyle; a panel on the new wave of Arab filmmakers, “The New Arab Way”; and two Q&A sessions hosted by fest exec director Amanda Palmer with Mira Nair and Elia Suleiman.
Three “Industry Conversations” will explore the business of entertainment, tackling the topics of documentary filmmaking, film finance, and production and distribution in the global marketplace. Participants will include Kamins, who was involved in the financing of “The Lord of the Rings”; film agent and financier Elwes; and Howell, producer of “Half Nelson” and “Phoebe in Wonderland.
Dtff, a partnership between Tribeca Enterprises and Qatar Museums Authority, runs from Oct. 29-Nov.1 in Doha, Qatar.
The Doha Talks line-up includes a master class with director Danny Boyle; a panel on the new wave of Arab filmmakers, “The New Arab Way”; and two Q&A sessions hosted by fest exec director Amanda Palmer with Mira Nair and Elia Suleiman.
Three “Industry Conversations” will explore the business of entertainment, tackling the topics of documentary filmmaking, film finance, and production and distribution in the global marketplace. Participants will include Kamins, who was involved in the financing of “The Lord of the Rings”; film agent and financier Elwes; and Howell, producer of “Half Nelson” and “Phoebe in Wonderland.
- 10/19/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Doha Tribeca Film Festival has announced its inaugural slate, tapping Mira Nair's "Amelia" from Fox Searchlight as its opening night film.
The 33-picture slate will generally be populated by a mix of Western fest faves and Middle East-themed fare.
Among the films to screen at Doha are Sundance titles "An Education" and "The Greatest," Toronto selections "The Informant!" and "A Serious Man," Cannes pics "Bright Star" and "Coco Before Chanel" and Tribeca breakouts "About Elly" and "Racing Dreams."
Arab and Middle East-themed titles that will play the fest include Bahman Ghobadi's "No One Knows About Persian Cats," a story of Teheran's underground music scene; Raja Amari's Tunisian drama "Buried Secrets;" Elia Suleiman's Palestinian coming-of-age Cannes pic "The Time That Remains”; and Liz Mermin's "Team Quatar," a doc centering on the Quatari debate team from the director of "The Beauty Academy of Kabul."
The fest...
The 33-picture slate will generally be populated by a mix of Western fest faves and Middle East-themed fare.
Among the films to screen at Doha are Sundance titles "An Education" and "The Greatest," Toronto selections "The Informant!" and "A Serious Man," Cannes pics "Bright Star" and "Coco Before Chanel" and Tribeca breakouts "About Elly" and "Racing Dreams."
Arab and Middle East-themed titles that will play the fest include Bahman Ghobadi's "No One Knows About Persian Cats," a story of Teheran's underground music scene; Raja Amari's Tunisian drama "Buried Secrets;" Elia Suleiman's Palestinian coming-of-age Cannes pic "The Time That Remains”; and Liz Mermin's "Team Quatar," a doc centering on the Quatari debate team from the director of "The Beauty Academy of Kabul."
The fest...
- 9/29/2009
- by By Steven Zeitchik
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Out of 88 directors, this year's Tribeca Film Festival was able to count over 20 filmmakers as repeat attendees. Tribeca Director of Programming David Kwok talked to five returning documentary filmmakers (Liz Mermin, The Beauty Academy of Kabul, Tff '04; Cathy Henkel, The Man Who Stole My Mother's Face, Best Documentary Tff '04; Marshall Curry, Street Fight, Audience Award Winner Tff '05; and Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, Nanking, Tff '07 [Guttentag also directed the feature Live!, Tff '07]) about their previous Festival experiences, Tff '09 projects, and the future of documentary filmmaking. The Burning Season David Kwok: How was your first experience at Tribeca and what have you been working on since then? Cathy Henkel (The Burning Season): Coming to Tribeca in 2004 was one of the highlights of my life. The Festival treated me so well, I loved New York, I got to meet and have dinner with Glenn ...
- 5/4/2009
- TribecaFilm.com
How often do you hear 'Show us your socks!' called out at a film festival Q and A? Check out Team Qatar and you'll get the joke. Following Monday evening's screening, director Liz Mermin was joined by Alex Just, the springy young Brit who coached the Qatari national debate team at the heart of the documentary. In the film, five multicultural 15- to 17-year olds living in the education-focused Arab emirate endure a crash course in debating that takes them from Doha to London and New York. The kicker? Their very first competitive debate is at the World Schools Debating Championship in Washington, DC. Mermin was approached by the Qatar Foundation about making the film because she had already proven herself an ace at handling culture clashes (her doc about an American-style beauty school in Afghanistan, The Beauty Academy of Kabul, played at the Festival in 2004). 'I was interested...
- 4/29/2009
- TribecaFilm.com
Editor’s Note: This is one of dozens of interviews, conducted via email, with directors whose films are screening at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival in the narrative and doc competitions as well as the Discovery section. The festival takes place April 22 - May 3. “Team Qatar” Feature Documentary, 2009, 90 min., U.S. (World Documentary Feature Competition) Director: Liz Mermin Producers: Lawrence Elman, Liz Mermin Director of Photography: Lynda Hall Editor: …...
- 4/19/2009
- indieWIRE - People
Spike Lee's "Kobe Doin' Work," a documentary look at Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, will have its world premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.
An Espn Films production, the film will screen April 25 as the gala entry in the fest's Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival sidebar.
Featuring a score by Bruce Hornsby, "Kobe" was shot during last year's NBA playoffs when Lee and cinematographer Matthew Libatique spent a day with the Lakers standout.
Following its Tribeca bow, "Kobe" will be televised May 16 on Espn.
Now in its third year, the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival showcases independent films about sports and competition. This year's lineup of eight titles includes films devoted to the Little League of Nascar, a Swedish men's synchronized swimming team, a baseball hero's return to his Cuban home for the first time in more than 45 years and a teenage debate team from Qatar that travels...
An Espn Films production, the film will screen April 25 as the gala entry in the fest's Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival sidebar.
Featuring a score by Bruce Hornsby, "Kobe" was shot during last year's NBA playoffs when Lee and cinematographer Matthew Libatique spent a day with the Lakers standout.
Following its Tribeca bow, "Kobe" will be televised May 16 on Espn.
Now in its third year, the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival showcases independent films about sports and competition. This year's lineup of eight titles includes films devoted to the Little League of Nascar, a Swedish men's synchronized swimming team, a baseball hero's return to his Cuban home for the first time in more than 45 years and a teenage debate team from Qatar that travels...
- 3/17/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
I know it looks dire as it's 28% lighter (at least so far) and minus an artistic director, but no fear, there's still more to come, and with what's been announced theirs some interesting sounding stuff, especially a film we wrote about briefly called Accidents Happen. Also premiering is the comedy Stay Cool and the Danish film Original, along with the North American premier of The Exploding Girl which we also wrote about.
Check the narrative features, world documentary, and discovery lineups after the break!
World Narrative Feature Competition
A compelling cross-section of bold creative visions from every corner of the globe come together in this year’s World Narrative Feature Competition. Presenting a diverse array of unique voices, this international film collection includes premieres from a wide range of directors, such as U.S. indie veterans the Polish brothers and Tony-nominated Conor McPherson, as well as exciting newcomers. Together, these...
Check the narrative features, world documentary, and discovery lineups after the break!
World Narrative Feature Competition
A compelling cross-section of bold creative visions from every corner of the globe come together in this year’s World Narrative Feature Competition. Presenting a diverse array of unique voices, this international film collection includes premieres from a wide range of directors, such as U.S. indie veterans the Polish brothers and Tony-nominated Conor McPherson, as well as exciting newcomers. Together, these...
- 3/10/2009
- QuietEarth.us
- A couple of weeks ago, Yama Rahimi attended the Indian Film Festival in Los Angeles (from April 22nd to the 27th). Now in its 6th edition, the festival works at promoting a greater appreciation of Indian cinema by showcasing films about India and the diverse perspectives of the Indian Diaspora. Here is his coverage.Yama Rahimi: How did you get involved with the festival?Christina Marouda: I came up with the idea of starting an Indian Film Festival in Los Angeles six and half years ago since this is our 6th year because I worked with couple of International film festivals and my background was marketing and distributing films as well as programming films. I realized that there wasn't a platform for Indian films. You would see one or two films that were shown at some festivals every other year but even that in my opinion wasn't a
- 5/6/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
- A couple of weeks ago, Yama Rahimi attended the Indian Film Festival in Los Angeles (from April 22nd to the 27th). Now in its 6th edition, the festival works at promoting a greater appreciation of Indian cinema by showcasing films about India and the diverse perspectives of the Indian Diaspora. Here is his coverage. Outrageously funny and insightful, Liz Mermin's documentary explores the make-up of Bollywood filmmaking by sampling it on the set of "Shootout at Lokhandwala" with the real incident on which the film is based and the real life court drama of a Bollywood star undergoes. Regardless of a viewer's knowledge of the Bollywood (it's tradition, style and form), the docu offers a behind the scenes of the film where the director outshines the big stars, where cops imitate Hollywood cop films like "Dirty Harry", and how one of the longest running court cases in India's
- 5/6/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
Demonstrating anew that good intentions don't necessarily make for compelling cinema, this documentary about the travails of three abortion providers is far more notable for its sociological rather than its dramatic impact.
"Supported" by actress Julianne Moore, and donating its proceeds to two organizations -- Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Medical Students for Choice -- "On Hostile Ground" provides a vivid illustration of the professional and personal hazards faced by doctors who engage in the legal medical procedure. Receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Screening Room, the film will soon be distributed nationally. It benefits from favorable if ghoulish timing, thanks to the recent, well-publicized capture of the murderer of Dr. Barnett Slepian.
The film makes no pretense toward evenhandedness or even a wide scope. It focuses on the personal stories of three abortion providers: Richard Stuntz, an elderly ob-gyn living in Baltimore who has spent the past 20 years commuting to Alabama to work in clinics in Montgomery and Birmingham; Susan Cahill, a physician's assistant in a small town in Montana whose work prompted a bill in the state legislature banning physicians' assistants from performing abortions; and Morris Wortman, a Rochester, N.Y., gynecologist who hasn't let numerous death threats prevent him from providing abortions and lecturing about his motivations.
The three subjects are indeed well-chosen. Providing a generational, even geographic, cross-section, they are articulate and sympathetic, and their accounts of their fears in the face of numerous threats are harrowing without being self-aggrandizing or overly melodramatic. Indeed, their stoicism and resoluteness in the face of the often violently expressed disapproval of others, is the most moving element of the film. The film supports their individual histories with a litany of statistics detailing the commonality of the dangers faced by abortion providers in this country.
Still, it's hard not to wish that the film had widened its scope a little, providing more in the way of context and variety. And its aim of humanizing abortion providers, while admirable, will seem obvious to those in favor of women's rights and immaterial to those who aren't. As the film all too vividly makes clear, the battle continues, and casualties will continue to mount.
ON HOSTILE GROUND
Cowboy Booking International
Director-producers: Liz Mermin, Jenny Raskin
Producer: Catherine Gund
Camera/sound/sditing: Liz Mermin, Jenny Raskin
Music: Tom Verlaine
Color/stereo
Running time -- 73 minutes
No MPAA rating...
"Supported" by actress Julianne Moore, and donating its proceeds to two organizations -- Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Medical Students for Choice -- "On Hostile Ground" provides a vivid illustration of the professional and personal hazards faced by doctors who engage in the legal medical procedure. Receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Screening Room, the film will soon be distributed nationally. It benefits from favorable if ghoulish timing, thanks to the recent, well-publicized capture of the murderer of Dr. Barnett Slepian.
The film makes no pretense toward evenhandedness or even a wide scope. It focuses on the personal stories of three abortion providers: Richard Stuntz, an elderly ob-gyn living in Baltimore who has spent the past 20 years commuting to Alabama to work in clinics in Montgomery and Birmingham; Susan Cahill, a physician's assistant in a small town in Montana whose work prompted a bill in the state legislature banning physicians' assistants from performing abortions; and Morris Wortman, a Rochester, N.Y., gynecologist who hasn't let numerous death threats prevent him from providing abortions and lecturing about his motivations.
The three subjects are indeed well-chosen. Providing a generational, even geographic, cross-section, they are articulate and sympathetic, and their accounts of their fears in the face of numerous threats are harrowing without being self-aggrandizing or overly melodramatic. Indeed, their stoicism and resoluteness in the face of the often violently expressed disapproval of others, is the most moving element of the film. The film supports their individual histories with a litany of statistics detailing the commonality of the dangers faced by abortion providers in this country.
Still, it's hard not to wish that the film had widened its scope a little, providing more in the way of context and variety. And its aim of humanizing abortion providers, while admirable, will seem obvious to those in favor of women's rights and immaterial to those who aren't. As the film all too vividly makes clear, the battle continues, and casualties will continue to mount.
ON HOSTILE GROUND
Cowboy Booking International
Director-producers: Liz Mermin, Jenny Raskin
Producer: Catherine Gund
Camera/sound/sditing: Liz Mermin, Jenny Raskin
Music: Tom Verlaine
Color/stereo
Running time -- 73 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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