Out of the 30-some diverse subjects that make up Searchers, a documentary about New Yorkers navigating online dating, Robert, 75, and Arthur, 78, are the most fun to be around. They’re single and use Match.com, but have differing stances on how they like to use it and whether it will bring them a real companion. What they do agree on is that using the app is a job. It takes up time and money. “The whole thing is a pain in the ass,” Robert says. And then Arthur counters with a regretful shrug. “What’s the alternative?”
This is about as close to a thesis as director Pacho Velez can deliver. Though finding love on dating apps can often feel hopeless, they also remain a virtual source of hope, a paradox that—especially in the midst of a pandemic when physical connection is at a premium—fits the tone of this ambiguous exploration.
This is about as close to a thesis as director Pacho Velez can deliver. Though finding love on dating apps can often feel hopeless, they also remain a virtual source of hope, a paradox that—especially in the midst of a pandemic when physical connection is at a premium—fits the tone of this ambiguous exploration.
- 2/1/2021
- by Jake Kring-Schreifels
- The Film Stage
The lengthiest interview in “Searchers” takes place toward the conclusion of director Pacho Velez’s warm and well-executed Sundance doc, which focuses on an array of New Yorkers and the dating apps they use.
Earlier, when the film introduces 55-year-old Ron, he’s offering a running commentary while scrolling through profiles with little pause: “He looks like Freddie Mercury of Queen. No, thank you,” he says of one. “Pass. Pass. Pass,“ he continues, zipping through profiles. “I’m never going to find anybody.”
Now, here he is recounting at the director’s behest his best online date, and it’s a more sweet than bitter bit of business. The story may not eliminate his sense that he’ll never find that special someone, but it does at least suggest that it’s possible. “Seek so that ye might find” could be the takeaway; that or, you gotta be in it to win it.
Earlier, when the film introduces 55-year-old Ron, he’s offering a running commentary while scrolling through profiles with little pause: “He looks like Freddie Mercury of Queen. No, thank you,” he says of one. “Pass. Pass. Pass,“ he continues, zipping through profiles. “I’m never going to find anybody.”
Now, here he is recounting at the director’s behest his best online date, and it’s a more sweet than bitter bit of business. The story may not eliminate his sense that he’ll never find that special someone, but it does at least suggest that it’s possible. “Seek so that ye might find” could be the takeaway; that or, you gotta be in it to win it.
- 1/31/2021
- by Lisa Kennedy
- Variety Film + TV
Dating’s complicated arc during the pandemic has been lovingly captured in Pacho Velez’s documentary Searchers. Whether on Grindr, Tinder, or any other app, the question “what are you looking for?” varies from person to person amid the chaos of mid-covid New York City. DPs Martin Dicicco and Daniel Claridge tell us how they framed Velez as one of the film’s most vital subjects as well as the parallels between film and dating profiles. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this […]
The post "Online Dating Operates Through a Skein of Lenses": DPs Martin Dicicco and Daniel Claridge on Searchers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post "Online Dating Operates Through a Skein of Lenses": DPs Martin Dicicco and Daniel Claridge on Searchers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/30/2021
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Dating’s complicated arc during the pandemic has been lovingly captured in Pacho Velez’s documentary Searchers. Whether on Grindr, Tinder, or any other app, the question “what are you looking for?” varies from person to person amid the chaos of mid-covid New York City. DPs Martin Dicicco and Daniel Claridge tell us how they framed Velez as one of the film’s most vital subjects as well as the parallels between film and dating profiles. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this […]
The post "Online Dating Operates Through a Skein of Lenses": DPs Martin Dicicco and Daniel Claridge on Searchers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post "Online Dating Operates Through a Skein of Lenses": DPs Martin Dicicco and Daniel Claridge on Searchers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/30/2021
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The American Film Institute announced today the films that will screen in the World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight, Shorts and Cinema’s Legacy programs at AFI Fest 2015 presented by Audi.
AFI Fest will take place November 5 – 12, 2015, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and events will be held at the historic Tcl Chinese Theatre, the Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres, Dolby Theatre, the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian, the El Capitan Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt.
World Cinema showcases the most acclaimed international films of the year; Breakthrough highlights true discoveries of the programming process; Midnight selections will grip audiences with terror; and Cinema’s Legacy highlights classic movies and films about cinema. World Cinema and Breakthrough selections are among the films eligible for Audience Awards. Shorts selections are eligible for the Grand Jury Prize, which qualifies the winner for Academy Award®consideration. This year’s Shorts jury features filmmaker Janicza Bravo,...
AFI Fest will take place November 5 – 12, 2015, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and events will be held at the historic Tcl Chinese Theatre, the Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres, Dolby Theatre, the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian, the El Capitan Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt.
World Cinema showcases the most acclaimed international films of the year; Breakthrough highlights true discoveries of the programming process; Midnight selections will grip audiences with terror; and Cinema’s Legacy highlights classic movies and films about cinema. World Cinema and Breakthrough selections are among the films eligible for Audience Awards. Shorts selections are eligible for the Grand Jury Prize, which qualifies the winner for Academy Award®consideration. This year’s Shorts jury features filmmaker Janicza Bravo,...
- 10/22/2015
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Disconcerting: Zia Anger appeared on our beginning-of-career 25 New Faces list just this year, but she’s already titling her latest short, My Last Film. Clarification should come shortly; the film, which stars Lola Kirke, Kelly Rohrback and Rosanna Arquette, premieres at the New York Film Festival as part a New York-centric shorts program alongside other favorites including Dustin Guy Defa, Nathan Silver, Pacho Velez & Daniel Claridge and Joanna Arnow. In the meantime, a short, foreboding trailer, above, offers few clues.
- 9/1/2015
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Disconcerting: Zia Anger appeared on our beginning-of-career 25 New Faces list just this year, but she’s already titling her latest short, My Last Film. Clarification should come shortly; the film, which stars Lola Kirke, Kelly Rohrback and Rosanna Arquette, premieres at the New York Film Festival as part a New York-centric shorts program alongside other favorites including Dustin Guy Defa, Nathan Silver, Pacho Velez & Daniel Claridge and Joanna Arnow. In the meantime, a short, foreboding trailer, above, offers few clues.
- 9/1/2015
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jia Zhangke, Michael Moore and Todd Haynes will appear on stage for conversations during the 53rd New York Film Festival (September 25 through October 11). Also just added to the lineup are shorts from, among many others, Nathan Silver, Pacho Velez and Daniel Claridge, Ricky D’Ambrose, Joanna Arnow, Dustin Guy Defa, Zia Anger, Andrei Cretulescu, Helen O’Hanlon, Percival Argüero Mendoza, Stephen Dunn, Vincent Paronnaud, Agostina Gálvez and Francisco Lezama, David Easteal and Rafael Haider. » - David Hudson...
- 8/26/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jia Zhangke, Michael Moore and Todd Haynes will appear on stage for conversations during the 53rd New York Film Festival (September 25 through October 11). Also just added to the lineup are shorts from, among many others, Nathan Silver, Pacho Velez and Daniel Claridge, Ricky D’Ambrose, Joanna Arnow, Dustin Guy Defa, Zia Anger, Andrei Cretulescu, Helen O’Hanlon, Percival Argüero Mendoza, Stephen Dunn, Vincent Paronnaud, Agostina Gálvez and Francisco Lezama, David Easteal and Rafael Haider. » - David Hudson...
- 8/26/2015
- Keyframe
Potential awards season contenders Truth from James Vanderbilt and Marc Abraham’s I Saw The Light starring Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams land world premiere slots, while Paco Cabezas’s Mr. Right will close the festival.
London is the subject of the seventh annual City To City programme that features world premieres of Tom Geens’ Couple In A Hole starring Paul Higgins and Kate Dickie and Michael Caton-Jones’ Urban Hymn with Letitia Wright and Shirley Henderson. Elaine Constantine’s Northern Soul gets a North American premiere.
The world premiere of Catherine Hardwicke’s Miss You Already is among five additions to the galas alongside Mr. Right, an action comedy starring Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick.
Matthew Cullen’s Martin Amis adaptation London Fields and David Gordon Green’s Our Brand Is Crisis get first public screenings in the Special Presentations roster with I Saw The Light.
Tiff top brass also unveiled the Contemporary World Cinema section, featuring...
London is the subject of the seventh annual City To City programme that features world premieres of Tom Geens’ Couple In A Hole starring Paul Higgins and Kate Dickie and Michael Caton-Jones’ Urban Hymn with Letitia Wright and Shirley Henderson. Elaine Constantine’s Northern Soul gets a North American premiere.
The world premiere of Catherine Hardwicke’s Miss You Already is among five additions to the galas alongside Mr. Right, an action comedy starring Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick.
Matthew Cullen’s Martin Amis adaptation London Fields and David Gordon Green’s Our Brand Is Crisis get first public screenings in the Special Presentations roster with I Saw The Light.
Tiff top brass also unveiled the Contemporary World Cinema section, featuring...
- 8/18/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
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