Filipino writer-producer-director Ramona S Diaz is unafraid of a fight.
She plans to release her politically controversial feature documentary And So It Begins in the Philippines herself later this year, galvanised by the rection to her 2003 film Imelda. The film premiered at Sundance in January and had its European premiere in the international competition of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival last week.
Imelda was about the life of former Filipino First Lady Imelda Marcos. Marcos unsuccessfully took Diaz to court in an attempt to stop the documentary being shown in the Philippines.
And So It Begins looks at the 2022 elections...
She plans to release her politically controversial feature documentary And So It Begins in the Philippines herself later this year, galvanised by the rection to her 2003 film Imelda. The film premiered at Sundance in January and had its European premiere in the international competition of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival last week.
Imelda was about the life of former Filipino First Lady Imelda Marcos. Marcos unsuccessfully took Diaz to court in an attempt to stop the documentary being shown in the Philippines.
And So It Begins looks at the 2022 elections...
- 3/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
1. Documentary Review: Until I Fly (2024) by Kanishka Sonthalia and Siddesh Shetty
At the same time though, and if one looks at the story in a wider prism, the issues with emigration and the racism that results from it are highlighted quite eloquently, along with a comment that problems like that become even more significant in small societies, where one can definitely not ‘hide in the crowd'. As such, the movie is induced with a more universal essence, which definitely helps raise the quality of its context.
2. Interview: Kanishka Sonthalia and Siddesh Shetty 3. Queer Japan (2019) by Graham Kolbeins
Choosing the protagonist wisely, “Queer Japan” gives space to a good sample of voices to be listened to. Butoh dancers, drag queens, club founders and owners, author of gay manga featuring bear gays, erotic drawing artist, politician. Gay, lesbian, bi, trans men, trans women, non-binary people, pansexuals, all kinds of various fetishes lovers and many many others.
At the same time though, and if one looks at the story in a wider prism, the issues with emigration and the racism that results from it are highlighted quite eloquently, along with a comment that problems like that become even more significant in small societies, where one can definitely not ‘hide in the crowd'. As such, the movie is induced with a more universal essence, which definitely helps raise the quality of its context.
2. Interview: Kanishka Sonthalia and Siddesh Shetty 3. Queer Japan (2019) by Graham Kolbeins
Choosing the protagonist wisely, “Queer Japan” gives space to a good sample of voices to be listened to. Butoh dancers, drag queens, club founders and owners, author of gay manga featuring bear gays, erotic drawing artist, politician. Gay, lesbian, bi, trans men, trans women, non-binary people, pansexuals, all kinds of various fetishes lovers and many many others.
- 3/18/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Essentially a sequel, or a companion one could say to the excellent “A Thousand Cuts”, “And So It Begins” follows the 2022 Philippine Presidential elections, with Ferdinand (Bongbong) Marcos, Jr and former Vice President Leni Lobredo being opponents. At the same time, it also reserves space for the “protagonist” of the previous movie, Maria Ressa.
And So It Begins is screening at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
In that fashion, the documentary begins with Leni Lobredo's term as Vice-President to Rodrigo Duterte (President and vice-president elections are separate in the Philippines) and the bullying she essentially received from him, with the public speaking scene where both are present, being highly indicative. Nevertheless, and one could say because of this attitude, Lobredo decides to run for President in 2022, and is actually considered one of the favorites for some time, particularly due to her promises to do things rather differently than the autocratic, intensely populist practices of Duterte.
And So It Begins is screening at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
In that fashion, the documentary begins with Leni Lobredo's term as Vice-President to Rodrigo Duterte (President and vice-president elections are separate in the Philippines) and the bullying she essentially received from him, with the public speaking scene where both are present, being highly indicative. Nevertheless, and one could say because of this attitude, Lobredo decides to run for President in 2022, and is actually considered one of the favorites for some time, particularly due to her promises to do things rather differently than the autocratic, intensely populist practices of Duterte.
- 3/15/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Taking place just weeks after the historic passage of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Greece, the 26th edition of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival — which runs March 7 – 17 — pays tribute to that watershed moment in the long-running fight for equal rights for the country’s LGBTQ community, while also issuing a rallying cry for diversity, inclusion and empowerment across the globe.
“Our festival aspires to map out a detailed and thorough overview of our world’s complexity, welcoming films from the four corners of the world, which outline the radical changes, the challenges and the problems of our times,” says festival general director Elise Jalladeau. The program spotlights “the urgent call for diversity, stories of women’s empowerment [and] the visibility not only of the Lgbtqi+ community, but of all marginalized and oppressed groups of people who have suffered discrimination due to their identity,” she adds.
Following on the historic victory for...
“Our festival aspires to map out a detailed and thorough overview of our world’s complexity, welcoming films from the four corners of the world, which outline the radical changes, the challenges and the problems of our times,” says festival general director Elise Jalladeau. The program spotlights “the urgent call for diversity, stories of women’s empowerment [and] the visibility not only of the Lgbtqi+ community, but of all marginalized and oppressed groups of people who have suffered discrimination due to their identity,” she adds.
Following on the historic victory for...
- 3/7/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The 26th edition of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (TiDF) kicks off today (March 7) with 12 features screening in international competition.
Several titles are making their world premiere at the festival including Johatsu - Into Thin Air from Andreas Hartmann and Arata Mori about the thousands of people who disappear in Japan each year.
Also playing is Sundance award-winner A New Kind Of Wilderness from Silje Evensmo Jacobsen. The Norweigan film, which won the grand jury prize in documentary, follows a family living in the wild who are forced to confront contemporary society after a tragic event.
Fellow Sundance-award winner Nocturnes...
Several titles are making their world premiere at the festival including Johatsu - Into Thin Air from Andreas Hartmann and Arata Mori about the thousands of people who disappear in Japan each year.
Also playing is Sundance award-winner A New Kind Of Wilderness from Silje Evensmo Jacobsen. The Norweigan film, which won the grand jury prize in documentary, follows a family living in the wild who are forced to confront contemporary society after a tragic event.
Fellow Sundance-award winner Nocturnes...
- 3/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
The champagne may be flowing at the kickoff for the 27th Annual Sonoma International Film Festival – for more reasons than one.
This year’s event in California’s wine country will open with the U.S. premiere of Widow Clicquot, directed by Thomas Napper, a narrative feature about the Grande Dame of Champagne. Actress Haley Bennett stars in the titular role of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, “who against all odds advanced her late husband’s techniques to create the recipe for modern-day champagne.”
Siff, running from March 20-24, will showcase 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features, and 48 short films representing more than 25 countries, according to a release.
Maya Hawke in ‘Wildcat’
The festival’s Centerpiece Film is Wildcat, directed by Ethan Hawke and starring his daughter Maya Hawke as renowned Southern Gothic author Flannery O’Connor. The Closing Night Film is Luc Besson’s crime drama Dogman, starring Caleb Landry Jones. A Closing Night...
This year’s event in California’s wine country will open with the U.S. premiere of Widow Clicquot, directed by Thomas Napper, a narrative feature about the Grande Dame of Champagne. Actress Haley Bennett stars in the titular role of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, “who against all odds advanced her late husband’s techniques to create the recipe for modern-day champagne.”
Siff, running from March 20-24, will showcase 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features, and 48 short films representing more than 25 countries, according to a release.
Maya Hawke in ‘Wildcat’
The festival’s Centerpiece Film is Wildcat, directed by Ethan Hawke and starring his daughter Maya Hawke as renowned Southern Gothic author Flannery O’Connor. The Closing Night Film is Luc Besson’s crime drama Dogman, starring Caleb Landry Jones. A Closing Night...
- 3/2/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The 26th Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival has revealed the lineup of the International Competition section, which includes “A New Kind of Wilderness,” winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema – Documentary section of Sundance Film Festival. Thessaloniki Documentary Festival runs from March 7-17.
The films participating in the section have their world, international or European premiere at the festival.
The films compete for a number of awards, accompanied by monetary prizes. Among them are the Golden Alexander award, accompanied by a 12,000 euro prize, and the Silver Alexander award, accompanied by 5,000 euros.
The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival is an Oscars qualifying festival and the film that wins the Golden Alexander award will automatically be eligible to submit for Academy Awards consideration in the documentary feature category.
The documentaries that will participate in the International Competition section are as follows. (Descriptions supplied by the festival).
“A New Kind of Wilderness”
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen,...
The films participating in the section have their world, international or European premiere at the festival.
The films compete for a number of awards, accompanied by monetary prizes. Among them are the Golden Alexander award, accompanied by a 12,000 euro prize, and the Silver Alexander award, accompanied by 5,000 euros.
The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival is an Oscars qualifying festival and the film that wins the Golden Alexander award will automatically be eligible to submit for Academy Awards consideration in the documentary feature category.
The documentaries that will participate in the International Competition section are as follows. (Descriptions supplied by the festival).
“A New Kind of Wilderness”
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen,...
- 2/12/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Ramona S Diaz’s pacey, engaging doc And So It Begins builds on 2020’s A Thousand Cuts to essay the 2022 Philippine Presidential election, and the nefarious machinations behind it. Often feeling more sturdy political drama than insightful exposé, the film centres the socially liberal candidate Leni Robredo and journalist and activist Maria Ressa (the focus of A Thousand Cuts) as they try to resist the electoral favourite and all-round awful fella Bongbong Marcos, son of the despotic Ferdinand Marcos who ruled from 1965 to 1986 with nine years of particularly brutal martial law towards the end of his term. The stakes are very high indeed.
Robredo and Ressa are compelling, charismatic figures. The latter especially, as she conveys the frustration and bears the weight of a lifetime fighting the corruption and human rights abuses perpetrated in her country without ever losing her grace and charm. The scene where she is informed...
Robredo and Ressa are compelling, charismatic figures. The latter especially, as she conveys the frustration and bears the weight of a lifetime fighting the corruption and human rights abuses perpetrated in her country without ever losing her grace and charm. The scene where she is informed...
- 1/31/2024
- by Chris Fyvie
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
A companion piece to her documentary “A Thousand Cuts,” Ramona S. Diaz’s “And So It Begins” follows the 2022 Philippine election, and Vice President Leni Robredo’s run for office. The film lays out the broad strokes of the country’s contemporary politics in the wake of strongman President Rodrigo Duterte, while capturing the groundswell of support for Robredo. However, it features neither the narrative and aesthetic intensity needed for an up-to-the-minute chronicle, nor the political depth required of such vital subject matter, which Diaz’s previous work has in spades.
After a contentious vice presidency — she was elected on a separate ticket from Duterte, as is common in the Philippines — Robredo’s campaign kicks off with grassroots activism awash in pink apparel, often on a scale so large that overhead shots of her rallies barely fit within the frame. With political experience and a moving personal narrative at her back,...
After a contentious vice presidency — she was elected on a separate ticket from Duterte, as is common in the Philippines — Robredo’s campaign kicks off with grassroots activism awash in pink apparel, often on a scale so large that overhead shots of her rallies barely fit within the frame. With political experience and a moving personal narrative at her back,...
- 1/23/2024
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety Film + TV
Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively? The Philippines—in all its contradictions, its beauty, its spectacle, its heartache. I’ve made many films about where I was born, but I’ve always wanted to make a film about exuberance, even if it does not have a happy ending in conventional terms. […]
The post “The Spectacle of Elections” | Ramona S. Díaz, And So It Begins first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Spectacle of Elections” | Ramona S. Díaz, And So It Begins first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/22/2024
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively? The Philippines—in all its contradictions, its beauty, its spectacle, its heartache. I’ve made many films about where I was born, but I’ve always wanted to make a film about exuberance, even if it does not have a happy ending in conventional terms. […]
The post “The Spectacle of Elections” | Ramona S. Díaz, And So It Begins first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Spectacle of Elections” | Ramona S. Díaz, And So It Begins first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/22/2024
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
After Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte’s term comes to an end, the promise of democracy and threat of increased authoritarianism sends droves of citizens into the street to campaign for Liberal Party candidate Leni Robredo. Filmmaker Ramona S. Díaz captures the lead-up and aftermath of this critical election in her film And So It Begins, a companion to her 2020 doc A Thousand Cuts, about journalist Maria Ressa, who risks her life in order to vocally criticize Duterte’s involvement in the war on drugs. Below, editor Aaron Soffin discusses how he came onto the project only five months ago, trained under […]
The post “We Wanted To Embed the Viewer in the Energy of the Campaign”: Editor Aaron Soffin on And So It Begins first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “We Wanted To Embed the Viewer in the Energy of the Campaign”: Editor Aaron Soffin on And So It Begins first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/22/2024
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
After Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte’s term comes to an end, the promise of democracy and threat of increased authoritarianism sends droves of citizens into the street to campaign for Liberal Party candidate Leni Robredo. Filmmaker Ramona S. Díaz captures the lead-up and aftermath of this critical election in her film And So It Begins, a companion to her 2020 doc A Thousand Cuts, about journalist Maria Ressa, who risks her life in order to vocally criticize Duterte’s involvement in the war on drugs. Below, editor Aaron Soffin discusses how he came onto the project only five months ago, trained under […]
The post “We Wanted To Embed the Viewer in the Energy of the Campaign”: Editor Aaron Soffin on And So It Begins first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “We Wanted To Embed the Viewer in the Energy of the Campaign”: Editor Aaron Soffin on And So It Begins first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/22/2024
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
A companion to her 2020 film A Thousand Cuts, Filipino-American documentary filmmaker Ramona S. Díaz returns to Sundance with And So It Begins, which chronicles recent Filipino elections following the end of right-wing president Rodrigo Duterte’s term, which could either bring about the restoration of democracy or an increased shift toward nationalist leaders. Cinematographer Bruce Sakai reveals how he was hired to shoot the project due to increased Covid restrictions, as well as the decision to employ a “very verité approach.” See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being […]
The post “Our Style Was Very Observational”: Dp Bruce Sakai on And So It Begins first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Our Style Was Very Observational”: Dp Bruce Sakai on And So It Begins first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/22/2024
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
A companion to her 2020 film A Thousand Cuts, Filipino-American documentary filmmaker Ramona S. Díaz returns to Sundance with And So It Begins, which chronicles recent Filipino elections following the end of right-wing president Rodrigo Duterte’s term, which could either bring about the restoration of democracy or an increased shift toward nationalist leaders. Cinematographer Bruce Sakai reveals how he was hired to shoot the project due to increased Covid restrictions, as well as the decision to employ a “very verité approach.” See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being […]
The post “Our Style Was Very Observational”: Dp Bruce Sakai on And So It Begins first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Our Style Was Very Observational”: Dp Bruce Sakai on And So It Begins first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/22/2024
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
After three years of virtual and hybrid event offerings, the Sundance Film Festival is set to celebrate its fortieth anniversary with its most robust in-person edition of the festival since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. While online offerings will still be available to those who wish to participate from home, with the official online viewing window opening on Thursday, January 25. That lineup will include at-home screenings of the five competition sections (including Next).
On the ground, however, seems like the place to be. As ever, this year’s festival boasts a wide variety of new films from some of our favorite filmmakers, plus an assortment of rising stars, new talents to keep an eye on, and perhaps a few surprises.
This year’s program includes new films from Steven Soderbergh, Debra Granik, David and Nathan Zellner, Richard Linklater, Lana Wilson, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, Dawn Porter, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden,...
On the ground, however, seems like the place to be. As ever, this year’s festival boasts a wide variety of new films from some of our favorite filmmakers, plus an assortment of rising stars, new talents to keep an eye on, and perhaps a few surprises.
This year’s program includes new films from Steven Soderbergh, Debra Granik, David and Nathan Zellner, Richard Linklater, Lana Wilson, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, Dawn Porter, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The Sundance Institute has announced the feature film lineup for the 2024 festival, taking place January 18-28, 2024, in person in Utah, along with a selection of films available online across the U.S. January 25-28. The lineup includes Competition titles; the Premieres, Spotlight, and Episodic sections; and the Midnight slate, with 82 feature-length films (representing 24 countries); eight episodic titles; and a New Frontier interactive experience. Of the films and episodic titles, 94 percent are world premieres — many of which appeared on IndieWire’s Sundance Wish List.
Many recognizable filmmakers are presenting new work this time around, including Steven Soderbergh, Debra Granik, David and Nathan Zellner, Richard Linklater, Lana Wilson, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, Dawn Porter, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, Yance Ford, Ramona S. Diaz, Rory Kennedy, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, among many others.
Notable actors at the 2024 edition range from Kristen Stewart in “Love Lies Bleeding” and alongside Steven Yeun in “Love Me,...
Many recognizable filmmakers are presenting new work this time around, including Steven Soderbergh, Debra Granik, David and Nathan Zellner, Richard Linklater, Lana Wilson, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, Dawn Porter, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, Yance Ford, Ramona S. Diaz, Rory Kennedy, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, among many others.
Notable actors at the 2024 edition range from Kristen Stewart in “Love Lies Bleeding” and alongside Steven Yeun in “Love Me,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
The winners of this year’s recipients of the Walter Cronkite Awards had a common theme: Combating misinformation.
So when award sponsor USC Annenberg’s Norman Lear Center held a National Press Club luncheon for the honorees last week, there was a bit of reminder of the stakes: During the ceremony news unfolded of the unsealing of former President Donald Trump’s federal indictment.
Many of the winners reported on Trump and his false claims of a stolen 2020 election, something that he has repeated during his current election campaign. He’s also called the indictment itself the “boxes hoax.”
Martin Kaplan, director of The Norman Lear Center, said, “Disinformation is an apt focus in particular for the Cronkite award, not only because it feels like disinformation is everywhere all at once, but because the namesake of this award is Walter Cronkite” who was known as “the most trusted man in America.
So when award sponsor USC Annenberg’s Norman Lear Center held a National Press Club luncheon for the honorees last week, there was a bit of reminder of the stakes: During the ceremony news unfolded of the unsealing of former President Donald Trump’s federal indictment.
Many of the winners reported on Trump and his false claims of a stolen 2020 election, something that he has repeated during his current election campaign. He’s also called the indictment itself the “boxes hoax.”
Martin Kaplan, director of The Norman Lear Center, said, “Disinformation is an apt focus in particular for the Cronkite award, not only because it feels like disinformation is everywhere all at once, but because the namesake of this award is Walter Cronkite” who was known as “the most trusted man in America.
- 6/12/2023
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
The dawn of the new decade seems to bring a reconnaissance to Filipino cinema, resulting from both the picking of movies from international festivals, including Sundance, and the always excellent work of Metro Manila Film Festival, locally. In Asian Movie Pulse, we have been following intently the movies of the country these 3,5 years, and we have come up with a list of some of the best movies we saw during this time.
Without further ado, check out some of the best Filipino films of the current decade so far.
1. Fan Girl (2020) by Antoinette Jadaone
Although pretty standard regarding its core premise, “Fan Girl” is an emotional, rather unpleasant and sometimes even shocking viewing experience thanks to the filmmaker's clear vision transformed into the script and directing. Antoinette Jadaone is still a relatively young auteur, but quite a prolific one over the course of the current decade, with more than a dozen titles under her belt.
Without further ado, check out some of the best Filipino films of the current decade so far.
1. Fan Girl (2020) by Antoinette Jadaone
Although pretty standard regarding its core premise, “Fan Girl” is an emotional, rather unpleasant and sometimes even shocking viewing experience thanks to the filmmaker's clear vision transformed into the script and directing. Antoinette Jadaone is still a relatively young auteur, but quite a prolific one over the course of the current decade, with more than a dozen titles under her belt.
- 5/20/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: Catapult Film Fund today announced its newest group of film teams to earn prestigious research grants, a fortunate cohort who will receive mentorship from some of the brightest names in documentary, including Oscar nominee Sara Dosa.
This is the third year of the Research Grant program, an expansion of Catapult’s mission “to provide essential early-stage support to documentary filmmakers.” This year’s grant recipients are Sofian Khan; R.J. Lozada and Chris Filippone; Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn; Lauren Wimbush; and Farihah Zaman.
“The selected film teams will receive a $10,000 grant and six months of mentorship as they develop a new film concept,” Catapult said in a statement. “During the program, each film team will be paired with a dedicated advisor to provide guidance and feedback on story development.”
This year’s advisors are Dosa, who contends for an Oscar this weekend for her feature documentary Fire of Love,...
This is the third year of the Research Grant program, an expansion of Catapult’s mission “to provide essential early-stage support to documentary filmmakers.” This year’s grant recipients are Sofian Khan; R.J. Lozada and Chris Filippone; Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn; Lauren Wimbush; and Farihah Zaman.
“The selected film teams will receive a $10,000 grant and six months of mentorship as they develop a new film concept,” Catapult said in a statement. “During the program, each film team will be paired with a dedicated advisor to provide guidance and feedback on story development.”
This year’s advisors are Dosa, who contends for an Oscar this weekend for her feature documentary Fire of Love,...
- 3/10/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
This year, women directors – and their women-centric subjects – swept the awards at Sundance Film Festival. Three women directors – Madeleine Gavin, Maryam Keshavarz, and Noora Niasari – won Audience Awards for their films on North Korea (“Beyond Utopia”), intergenerational motherhood (“The Persian Version”), and custody in diaspora (“Shayda”). Portraits of masculinity were also celebrated as well. First-time feature filmmaker Sing J. Lee won the Directing Award for his touching portrait of masculinity and fatherhood in “The Accidental Getaway Driver,” while Sauvnik Kaur’s intimate documentary on brotherhood “Against The Tide” took home a Special Jury Award. After two years of isolation and virtual festival-ing, it seems that stories of tenderness appealed over aggressive storytelling at Park City this year.
“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film.
“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film.
- 2/1/2023
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Festival runs through January 29.
A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand And One took the 2023 Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic prize and Charlotte Regan’s UK entry Scrapper earned the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the 2023 Sundance awards ceremony on Friday.
Audience award winners included Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version in U.S. Dramatic Competition, Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia in U.S. Documentary, Mstylav Chernov’s 20 Days In Mariupol in World Cinema Documentary, and Noora Niasari’s Shayda in World Cinema Dramatic.
Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente said the selection “demonstrated a sense of...
A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand And One took the 2023 Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic prize and Charlotte Regan’s UK entry Scrapper earned the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the 2023 Sundance awards ceremony on Friday.
Audience award winners included Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version in U.S. Dramatic Competition, Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia in U.S. Documentary, Mstylav Chernov’s 20 Days In Mariupol in World Cinema Documentary, and Noora Niasari’s Shayda in World Cinema Dramatic.
Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente said the selection “demonstrated a sense of...
- 1/27/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
A Thousand and One took the jury prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, with Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project taking the top prize in the U.S. Documentary Competition section.
A Thousand and One is directed by A.V. Rockwell and follows a mother who kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system, a secret that threatens their way of life as Terry gets older. The Focus Features title stars Teyana Taylor, Josiah Cross and Will Catlett.
“When I was writing this film, I was thinking about mother and son relationships. I was thinking about Black women and Black men relationships. I was thinking about marginalized people and their relationship to their homes,” said Rockwell, accepting the award. “Thank you to everyone for seeing all of those groups and for seeing me.” A tearful Jeremy O. Harris, who was a part of the dramatic jury,...
A Thousand and One is directed by A.V. Rockwell and follows a mother who kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system, a secret that threatens their way of life as Terry gets older. The Focus Features title stars Teyana Taylor, Josiah Cross and Will Catlett.
“When I was writing this film, I was thinking about mother and son relationships. I was thinking about Black women and Black men relationships. I was thinking about marginalized people and their relationship to their homes,” said Rockwell, accepting the award. “Thank you to everyone for seeing all of those groups and for seeing me.” A tearful Jeremy O. Harris, who was a part of the dramatic jury,...
- 1/27/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Sundance Film Festival has unveiled its Jury and Audience Award winners for 2023.
The day’s big winners included Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version, which claimed both the Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in U.S. Dramatic Competition, as well as A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One for Focus Features, which took the Grand Jury Prize in the same section.
Other titles taking top awards included Festival Favorite Radical from filmmaker Christopher Zalla and 3Pas Studios; Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project from Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, which took the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary; Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia, which nabbed the U.S. Documentary Audience Award; and D. Smith’s Kokomo City, which dominated the Next section as it claimed both the Innovator and Audience Award.
Written, directed and produced by Keshavarz for Archer Grey, The Persian Version watches...
The day’s big winners included Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version, which claimed both the Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in U.S. Dramatic Competition, as well as A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One for Focus Features, which took the Grand Jury Prize in the same section.
Other titles taking top awards included Festival Favorite Radical from filmmaker Christopher Zalla and 3Pas Studios; Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project from Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, which took the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary; Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia, which nabbed the U.S. Documentary Audience Award; and D. Smith’s Kokomo City, which dominated the Next section as it claimed both the Innovator and Audience Award.
Written, directed and produced by Keshavarz for Archer Grey, The Persian Version watches...
- 1/27/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The Sundance Institute has announced the jurors for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, which kicks off next week in Park City, Utah. Per usual, the teams tasked with selecting winners in the Dramatic, Documentary, World Cinema, and Short Film Competitions contain an eclectic mix of prominent artists working in film, theatre, book publishing, and visual arts.
Notable jurors include comedian Jim Gaffigan, “Slave Play” and “Zola” writer Jeremy O. Harris, and “Short Term 12” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” director Destin Daniel Cretton.
“The jury plays a crucial role in the Festival by amplifying breakthrough works and providing the audience with further opportunities for discovery,” Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente said in a statement. “We thank them for their dedication to artistic excellence and their thoughtful lens on cinematic expression and all that independent film offers.”
“We are thrilled to welcome these esteemed and accomplished visionaries to the Festival as our jury,...
Notable jurors include comedian Jim Gaffigan, “Slave Play” and “Zola” writer Jeremy O. Harris, and “Short Term 12” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” director Destin Daniel Cretton.
“The jury plays a crucial role in the Festival by amplifying breakthrough works and providing the audience with further opportunities for discovery,” Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente said in a statement. “We thank them for their dedication to artistic excellence and their thoughtful lens on cinematic expression and all that independent film offers.”
“We are thrilled to welcome these esteemed and accomplished visionaries to the Festival as our jury,...
- 1/11/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival has set its jury, and among its members are “Coda” star and Oscar winner Marlee Matlin, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” director Destin Daniel Cretton and Jim Gaffigan.
Additionally, Jeremy O. Harris, Ramona S. Diaz and Petra Costa are among the filmmakers who have been appointed to this year’s competition juries for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, it was announced Wednesday.
After two years of virtual presentations, this year’s festival will return to in-person screenings and awards galas — with a concurrent online component for select films running Jan. 24–Jan. 29.
“The jury plays a crucial role in the Festival by amplifying breakthrough works and providing the audience with further opportunities for discovery,” Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente said in a statement. “We thank them for their dedication to artistic excellence and their thoughtful lens on cinematic expression and all that independent film offers.
Additionally, Jeremy O. Harris, Ramona S. Diaz and Petra Costa are among the filmmakers who have been appointed to this year’s competition juries for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, it was announced Wednesday.
After two years of virtual presentations, this year’s festival will return to in-person screenings and awards galas — with a concurrent online component for select films running Jan. 24–Jan. 29.
“The jury plays a crucial role in the Festival by amplifying breakthrough works and providing the audience with further opportunities for discovery,” Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente said in a statement. “We thank them for their dedication to artistic excellence and their thoughtful lens on cinematic expression and all that independent film offers.
- 1/11/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Jeremy O. Harris, Eliza Hittman, and Marlee Matlin have been named the jurors of the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Harris was at Sundance in 2020 with Zola, the same years Hittman screened her film Never Rarely Sometimes Always. Matlin starred in 2021 Sundance winner Coda.
W. Kamau Bell, Ramona Diaz, and Carla Gutierrez are the jurors for the U.S. Documentary Competition; Shozo Ichiyama, Annemarie Jacir, and Funa Maduka for World Cinema Dramatic Competition; and Karim Amer, Petra Costa, and Alexander Nanau for World Cinema Documentary Competition. Madeleine Olnek is the juror for the Next competition section, Destin Daniel Cretton, Marie-Louise Khondji, and Deborah Stratman will judge the Short Film Program Competition.
The jury for Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize is Dr. Heather Berlin, Jim Gaffigan, Dr. Mandë Holford, Shalini Kantayya, and Lydia Dean Pilcher, and have already awarded the prize to Sophie Barthes’ The Pod Generation.
W. Kamau Bell, Ramona Diaz, and Carla Gutierrez are the jurors for the U.S. Documentary Competition; Shozo Ichiyama, Annemarie Jacir, and Funa Maduka for World Cinema Dramatic Competition; and Karim Amer, Petra Costa, and Alexander Nanau for World Cinema Documentary Competition. Madeleine Olnek is the juror for the Next competition section, Destin Daniel Cretton, Marie-Louise Khondji, and Deborah Stratman will judge the Short Film Program Competition.
The jury for Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize is Dr. Heather Berlin, Jim Gaffigan, Dr. Mandë Holford, Shalini Kantayya, and Lydia Dean Pilcher, and have already awarded the prize to Sophie Barthes’ The Pod Generation.
- 1/11/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sundance has announced the 16 jurors granting awards at this year’s film festival, ranging from playwright Jeremy O. Harris to Oscar winner Marlee Matlin.
This year’s Sundance Film Festival will take place from Jan. 19-29 in Utah, marking its first return to Park City since the pandemic. The awards ceremony will take place on Jan. 27, with grants bestowed for feature and short films.
Jurors are Harris, Matlin and Eliza Hittman for U.S. dramatic competition; W. Kamau Bell, Ramona Diaz and Carla Gutierrez for U.S. documentary competition; Shozo Ichiyama, Annemarie Jacir and Funa Maduka for world cinema dramatic competition; Karim Amer, Petra Costa and Alexander Nanau for world cinema documentary competition; Madeleine Olnek for the Next competition section; and Destin Daniel Cretton, Marie-Louise Khondji and Deborah Stratman for the short film program competition.
“The jury plays a crucial role in the festival by amplifying breakthrough works and providing...
This year’s Sundance Film Festival will take place from Jan. 19-29 in Utah, marking its first return to Park City since the pandemic. The awards ceremony will take place on Jan. 27, with grants bestowed for feature and short films.
Jurors are Harris, Matlin and Eliza Hittman for U.S. dramatic competition; W. Kamau Bell, Ramona Diaz and Carla Gutierrez for U.S. documentary competition; Shozo Ichiyama, Annemarie Jacir and Funa Maduka for world cinema dramatic competition; Karim Amer, Petra Costa and Alexander Nanau for world cinema documentary competition; Madeleine Olnek for the Next competition section; and Destin Daniel Cretton, Marie-Louise Khondji and Deborah Stratman for the short film program competition.
“The jury plays a crucial role in the festival by amplifying breakthrough works and providing...
- 1/11/2023
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
The Sundance Institute has today named the jurors who will preside over awards for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The 16-person lineup features everyone from Coda star Marlee Matlin to We Need To Talk About Cosby‘s W. Kamau Bell, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton and actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan.
Matlin will assess the awards potential amongst titles in U.S. Documentary Competition with Slave Play creator Jeremy O. Harris and Never Rarely Sometimes Always filmmaker Eliza Hittman. Bell, meanwhile, will oversee U.S. Documentary Competition, being joined in that arena by filmmaker Ramona S. Diaz (A Thousand Cuts) and editor Carla Gutiérrez (Julia).
While Wild Nights with Emily filmmaker Madeleine Olnek will preside alone over the Next section, Cretton has been assigned to the Short Film Program Competition, being joined there by artist-filmmaker Deborah Stratman and Marie-Louise Khondji, who founded the free streaming platform,...
Matlin will assess the awards potential amongst titles in U.S. Documentary Competition with Slave Play creator Jeremy O. Harris and Never Rarely Sometimes Always filmmaker Eliza Hittman. Bell, meanwhile, will oversee U.S. Documentary Competition, being joined in that arena by filmmaker Ramona S. Diaz (A Thousand Cuts) and editor Carla Gutiérrez (Julia).
While Wild Nights with Emily filmmaker Madeleine Olnek will preside alone over the Next section, Cretton has been assigned to the Short Film Program Competition, being joined there by artist-filmmaker Deborah Stratman and Marie-Louise Khondji, who founded the free streaming platform,...
- 1/11/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
On July 16, the Omaha, Nebraska based non-profit Film Streams is hosting a local celebration for See Change, the organization’s initiative that strives for gender parity in their programming. The fundraiser will spotlight four women documentary filmmakers, featuring a discussion moderated by Film Streams’ artistic director, Dr. Diana Martinez. The four visiting filmmakers are Ramona Díaz (A Thousand Cuts), Grace Lee (American Revolutionary), Yoruba Richen (The New Black) and Lucy Walker (Waste Land). The event will be held at Film Streams’ Dundee Theater, the longest-surviving cinema in Omaha. Film Streams Executive Director Deirdre Haj, who took on the title last […]
The post Film Streams See Change Fundraiser Spotlights Women Documentary Filmmakers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Film Streams See Change Fundraiser Spotlights Women Documentary Filmmakers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 7/13/2022
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
On July 16, the Omaha, Nebraska based non-profit Film Streams is hosting a local celebration for See Change, the organization’s initiative that strives for gender parity in their programming. The fundraiser will spotlight four women documentary filmmakers, featuring a discussion moderated by Film Streams’ artistic director, Dr. Diana Martinez. The four visiting filmmakers are Ramona Díaz (A Thousand Cuts), Grace Lee (American Revolutionary), Yoruba Richen (The New Black) and Lucy Walker (Waste Land). The event will be held at Film Streams’ Dundee Theater, the longest-surviving cinema in Omaha. Film Streams Executive Director Deirdre Haj, who took on the title last […]
The post Film Streams See Change Fundraiser Spotlights Women Documentary Filmmakers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Film Streams See Change Fundraiser Spotlights Women Documentary Filmmakers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 7/13/2022
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
‘We Are Lady Parts,’ ‘The Wonder Years’ Among Third Round of Peabody Awards 2022 Winners (Full List)
Peacock’s “We Are Lady Parts” is among the latest entertainment series to be honored by the Peabody Awards, which announced the win on Wednesday morning.
“The rebellious spirit of the Sex Pistols meets the guiding wisdom of the Quran in ‘We Are Lady Parts,’ Nida Manzoor’s subversive British comedy about an all-female, all-Muslim punk band,” the Peabodys said in a statement. “Dressed in hijabs and ripped jeans, niqab face scarves and combat boots, the women are poised to infiltrate London’s punk patriarchy with original songs like ‘Voldemort Under My Headscarf’ and ‘Ain’t No One Gonna Honour Kill My Sister But Me.’ This irreverent, charming, and utterly fresh series, obliterates Mena and South Asian stereotypes and fearlessly tackles taboos about Islam, offering a multifaceted depiction of Muslim women rarely seen on screen.”
“We Are Lady Parts” comes from Working Title Television, a part of Universal International Studios,...
“The rebellious spirit of the Sex Pistols meets the guiding wisdom of the Quran in ‘We Are Lady Parts,’ Nida Manzoor’s subversive British comedy about an all-female, all-Muslim punk band,” the Peabodys said in a statement. “Dressed in hijabs and ripped jeans, niqab face scarves and combat boots, the women are poised to infiltrate London’s punk patriarchy with original songs like ‘Voldemort Under My Headscarf’ and ‘Ain’t No One Gonna Honour Kill My Sister But Me.’ This irreverent, charming, and utterly fresh series, obliterates Mena and South Asian stereotypes and fearlessly tackles taboos about Islam, offering a multifaceted depiction of Muslim women rarely seen on screen.”
“We Are Lady Parts” comes from Working Title Television, a part of Universal International Studios,...
- 6/8/2022
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
The Peabody Awards have today announced their third round of winners, with We Are Lady Parts and The Wonder Years taking home prizes in the entertainment category.
Other notable winners include the HBO Max documentary In the Same Breath, which was presented by Lisa Ling, and ABC News’ The Appointment, presented by Jenny Slate.
Winners will be announced each day this week through Thursday, with celebrities will virtually presenting each of the winners online in short video clips. A full list of nominees is available here, and yesterday’s previously announced winners can be found here. Monday’s winners can be found here.
The Peabody Awards are organized by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
A full list of Wednesday’s winners, alongside comments from the jurors, follows.
Entertainment
“We Are Lady Parts”
The rebellious spirit...
The Peabody Awards have today announced their third round of winners, with We Are Lady Parts and The Wonder Years taking home prizes in the entertainment category.
Other notable winners include the HBO Max documentary In the Same Breath, which was presented by Lisa Ling, and ABC News’ The Appointment, presented by Jenny Slate.
Winners will be announced each day this week through Thursday, with celebrities will virtually presenting each of the winners online in short video clips. A full list of nominees is available here, and yesterday’s previously announced winners can be found here. Monday’s winners can be found here.
The Peabody Awards are organized by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
A full list of Wednesday’s winners, alongside comments from the jurors, follows.
Entertainment
“We Are Lady Parts”
The rebellious spirit...
- 6/8/2022
- by Hilton Dresden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Considering that the recent elections in the Philippines ended up with Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte winning the presidency and vice presidency respectively, this 2003 documentary about Imelda Marcos and her rise to power on the side of Ferdinand, seems more relevant than ever. Ramona S. Diaz, who recently gave us the excellent “A Thousand Cuts”, is at the helm of another excellent film.
on Amazon
The documentary begins with Imelda talking to the camera, an aspect that continues throughout the movie, and actually mirrors her true character, as her tendency to hear herself talk was infamous and is actually documented in the film, by a Jesuit priest no less, who had to hear her for three hours before she got tired and put a VHS to play, of herself talking on video. At the same time, the fact that she is the center of a universe she created around herself,...
on Amazon
The documentary begins with Imelda talking to the camera, an aspect that continues throughout the movie, and actually mirrors her true character, as her tendency to hear herself talk was infamous and is actually documented in the film, by a Jesuit priest no less, who had to hear her for three hours before she got tired and put a VHS to play, of herself talking on video. At the same time, the fact that she is the center of a universe she created around herself,...
- 5/14/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Scrappy filmmaking can sometimes deliver superb storytelling, as is proven by Erik Matti’s initially wobbly but increasingly gripping, increasingly thoughtful, increasingly increasing three-and-a-half-hour “On the Job: The Missing 8,” the prolific Filipino director’s Venice-competing sequel to the 2013 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title “On the Job.” While the film unfolds more like the TV show it’s about to become, that’s hardly a diss these days. And in its current shape — due largely to screenwriter Michiko Yamamoto’s uncanny ability to keep multiple narrative balls in the air at once — it combines the immersive, occasionally spectacular pleasures of genre cinema with the greedy moreishness of longform TV models. It’s a sprawling, satisfying big-screen binge.
It also plays somewhat like a 209-minute dolly zoom: As the aperture widens on the intensely corrupt landscape of a society under strongman leadership, the focus also narrows onto one man’s painful ethical reawakening.
It also plays somewhat like a 209-minute dolly zoom: As the aperture widens on the intensely corrupt landscape of a society under strongman leadership, the focus also narrows onto one man’s painful ethical reawakening.
- 9/12/2021
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated documentary “Flee” – already awarded at Sundance and Annecy – was granted the Grand Prix – Bank Millennium Award at the 18th edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity, which will continue online from September 16 until October 3. Jurors Agnieszka Holland, Christian Frei and Tomasz Wolski were taken by the story of a man who, about to marry his husband, decides to finally open up about his refugee past. The film also picked up the “Zwierciadło” award for the Best Film on Psychology.
“This film speaks about a real, extremely important subject in an artistically powerful, compelling, and complex way,” it was argued. “The original form, the sincerity of the main character, the lack of sentimentality and its strong emotional content make it not only an attractive movie for the wider audience, but also an important statement about the real situation of today’s refugees, helping us to understand their...
“This film speaks about a real, extremely important subject in an artistically powerful, compelling, and complex way,” it was argued. “The original form, the sincerity of the main character, the lack of sentimentality and its strong emotional content make it not only an attractive movie for the wider audience, but also an important statement about the real situation of today’s refugees, helping us to understand their...
- 9/10/2021
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s “Summer of Soul,” released nationwide in theaters July 2 and simultaneously on Hulu’s streaming service, is the latest in a series of high-profile documentaries from L.A.-based Concordia Studio since it formally launched early last year.
Concordia snagged a quarter of the 16 slots in the 2020 U.S. documentary competition at Sundance and landed a then record-breaking deal for Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s “Boys State” with A24 and Apple TV. Garrett Bradley’s “Time,” which like “Boys State” won an award at Sundance, was picked up by Amazon Studios and went on to become nominated for an Oscar. Ramona S. Diaz’s “A Thousand Cuts,” meanwhile, won a Gotham Award.
Not to be outdone, “Summer of Soul” scored two awards at Sundance this year, and broke “Boys State’s” record distribution deal, nabbing more than $12 million from Disney-owned Searchlight and Hulu, the most ever...
Concordia snagged a quarter of the 16 slots in the 2020 U.S. documentary competition at Sundance and landed a then record-breaking deal for Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s “Boys State” with A24 and Apple TV. Garrett Bradley’s “Time,” which like “Boys State” won an award at Sundance, was picked up by Amazon Studios and went on to become nominated for an Oscar. Ramona S. Diaz’s “A Thousand Cuts,” meanwhile, won a Gotham Award.
Not to be outdone, “Summer of Soul” scored two awards at Sundance this year, and broke “Boys State’s” record distribution deal, nabbing more than $12 million from Disney-owned Searchlight and Hulu, the most ever...
- 7/1/2021
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Documentary+, the nascent streaming service from Xtr, is bolstering its rank with the hire of Sundance’s Charlie Sextro.
Sextro is working with the company as its editor-in-chief of the service, overseeing the curation of films for the nonfiction platform. He will also remain a Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival.
The streaming platform features a film library that ranges from Academy Award-winners to festival darlings.
“There are few people on the planet as passionate about documentaries as Charlie Sextro,” said Bryn Mooser, co-founder of Documentary+ and CEO of Xtr. “His work the past decade with Sundance has shaped the modern documentary industry as we know it and it’s an honor for us to have him on our team. We can’t wait to share what we’re working on together.”
Sextro’s possesses over a decade of experience at the Sundance Film Festival, where he helped shape the festival,...
Sextro is working with the company as its editor-in-chief of the service, overseeing the curation of films for the nonfiction platform. He will also remain a Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival.
The streaming platform features a film library that ranges from Academy Award-winners to festival darlings.
“There are few people on the planet as passionate about documentaries as Charlie Sextro,” said Bryn Mooser, co-founder of Documentary+ and CEO of Xtr. “His work the past decade with Sundance has shaped the modern documentary industry as we know it and it’s an honor for us to have him on our team. We can’t wait to share what we’re working on together.”
Sextro’s possesses over a decade of experience at the Sundance Film Festival, where he helped shape the festival,...
- 3/25/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
“Nomadland” has been named the best produced film of 202o by the Producers Guild of America, giving it yet another boost in an Oscar race where it was already considered the favorite.
In a category where Chloé Zhao’s understated travelogue was facing off against seven other Oscar nominees, the Producers Guild provided a key indicator that the film has the kind of strength within the industry that it already showed with critics. In doing so, it took away the chance that rivals like “Promising Young Woman,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Minari had to seize momentum at a crucial moment in awards season.
The film has now picked up a formidable array of awards, including wins at the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards and the Gotham Awards.
Still, the Producers Guild Award is not the infallible Oscar predictor it had once seemed to be. For many years,...
In a category where Chloé Zhao’s understated travelogue was facing off against seven other Oscar nominees, the Producers Guild provided a key indicator that the film has the kind of strength within the industry that it already showed with critics. In doing so, it took away the chance that rivals like “Promising Young Woman,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Minari had to seize momentum at a crucial moment in awards season.
The film has now picked up a formidable array of awards, including wins at the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards and the Gotham Awards.
Still, the Producers Guild Award is not the infallible Oscar predictor it had once seemed to be. For many years,...
- 3/25/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Producers Guild of America Awards were handed out during a virtual ceremony on Wednesday, March 24. Throughout their 31-year history, the PGA has proven to be one of the most successful Oscar bellwethers around. A whopping 21 of their picks have gone onto win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. That success rate flows from the fact that both the guild and the academy use the same voting system – the preferential ballot – to determine a winner. Scroll down for the 2021 Producers Guild of America Awards winners list.
This year, seven out of the 10 PGA contenders earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture: “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Mank,” “Minari,” “Nomadland,” “Promising Young Woman,” “Sound of Metal” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” The eighth Best Picture Oscar nominee – “The Father” – was missing from the PGA lineup, with “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “One Night in Miami” rounding out the guild’s top 10 list.
This year, seven out of the 10 PGA contenders earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture: “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Mank,” “Minari,” “Nomadland,” “Promising Young Woman,” “Sound of Metal” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” The eighth Best Picture Oscar nominee – “The Father” – was missing from the PGA lineup, with “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “One Night in Miami” rounding out the guild’s top 10 list.
- 3/24/2021
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
The vast majority of successful fiction films begin with a good script. Often in documentary the opposite is true—the creative breakthrough comes in throwing out the “script” and adjusting as reality unfolds.
That theme emerged as producers of the seven theatrical documentaries nominated for Producers Guild of America Awards convened Saturday to discuss their experiences. Ramona S. Diaz, producer-director of A Thousand Cuts, said her original idea was for a “Robert Altman-esque” ensemble story about life in the Philippines under the authoritarian rule of President Rodrigo Duterte. But then the journalist Maria Ressa, who butted heads with Duterte as Diaz filmed, emerged as the central focus.
“As a documentary filmmaker I’m really aware of the shifts in the story and how I need to pivot,” Diaz explained during the Zoom roundtable discussion. “Sometimes I get very attached to this idea of this ensemble cast but then when...
That theme emerged as producers of the seven theatrical documentaries nominated for Producers Guild of America Awards convened Saturday to discuss their experiences. Ramona S. Diaz, producer-director of A Thousand Cuts, said her original idea was for a “Robert Altman-esque” ensemble story about life in the Philippines under the authoritarian rule of President Rodrigo Duterte. But then the journalist Maria Ressa, who butted heads with Duterte as Diaz filmed, emerged as the central focus.
“As a documentary filmmaker I’m really aware of the shifts in the story and how I need to pivot,” Diaz explained during the Zoom roundtable discussion. “Sometimes I get very attached to this idea of this ensemble cast but then when...
- 3/20/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The largest field of documentaries in Oscar history has been narrowed down to 15 semifinalists, with almost all of the films that were expected to advance to the shortlist doing so.
Kirsten Johnson’s “Dick Johnson Is Dead,” Garrett Bradley’s “Time,” Alexander Nanau’s “Collective,” Viktor Kosakovskiy’s “Gunda,” James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham’s “Crip Camp” and David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya,” which led all of the year’s nonfiction films in previous nominations and wins, were among the films that advanced from the record field of 238 qualifying docs. That number shattered the previous record of 170 eligible documentaries, which was set in 2017.
Other films that made the shortlist included “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” “Boys State,” “MLK/FBI,” “My Octopus Teacher,” “The Painter and the Thief,” “76 Days” and “The Truffle Hunters.” Two documentaries that were also entered in the Oscars’ international race, Chile’s “The Mole Agent” and Italy’s “Notturno,...
Kirsten Johnson’s “Dick Johnson Is Dead,” Garrett Bradley’s “Time,” Alexander Nanau’s “Collective,” Viktor Kosakovskiy’s “Gunda,” James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham’s “Crip Camp” and David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya,” which led all of the year’s nonfiction films in previous nominations and wins, were among the films that advanced from the record field of 238 qualifying docs. That number shattered the previous record of 170 eligible documentaries, which was set in 2017.
Other films that made the shortlist included “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” “Boys State,” “MLK/FBI,” “My Octopus Teacher,” “The Painter and the Thief,” “76 Days” and “The Truffle Hunters.” Two documentaries that were also entered in the Oscars’ international race, Chile’s “The Mole Agent” and Italy’s “Notturno,...
- 2/9/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
In any crowded awards field, being seen is the first order of business. Last year, several box office hits led the Producers Guild of America’s nominated documentary features, and moon-landing documentary “Apollo 11” eventually took home the award. The 2020 nominees for Documentary Motion Picture included one Netflix movie, “American Factory,” which did not win the PGA prize, but did take home the Oscar.
Box-office buzz is not a factor in this pandemic year, which gives Netflix an advantage. It has a long list of strong, widely seen contenders that yielded three of the seven PGA nominations: “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet;” Kirsten Johnson’s imaginative ode to her father, “Dick Johnson Is Dead;” and heart-tugging audience favorite “My Octopus Teacher.”
The nominees for the Documentary category are selected by the Documentary Nomination Jury, made up of at least fifty documentary producers who select between three and seven non-fiction motion-picture nominees.
Box-office buzz is not a factor in this pandemic year, which gives Netflix an advantage. It has a long list of strong, widely seen contenders that yielded three of the seven PGA nominations: “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet;” Kirsten Johnson’s imaginative ode to her father, “Dick Johnson Is Dead;” and heart-tugging audience favorite “My Octopus Teacher.”
The nominees for the Documentary category are selected by the Documentary Nomination Jury, made up of at least fifty documentary producers who select between three and seven non-fiction motion-picture nominees.
- 2/2/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
In any crowded awards field, being seen is the first order of business. Last year, several box office hits led the Producers Guild of America’s nominated documentary features, and moon-landing documentary “Apollo 11” eventually took home the award. The 2020 nominees for Documentary Motion Picture included one Netflix movie, “American Factory,” which did not win the PGA prize, but did take home the Oscar.
Box-office buzz is not a factor in this pandemic year, which gives Netflix an advantage. It has a long list of strong, widely seen contenders that yielded three of the seven PGA nominations: “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet;” Kirsten Johnson’s imaginative ode to her father, “Dick Johnson Is Dead;” and heart-tugging audience favorite “My Octopus Teacher.”
The nominees for the Documentary category are selected by the Documentary Nomination Jury, made up of at least fifty documentary producers who select between three and seven non-fiction motion-picture nominees.
Box-office buzz is not a factor in this pandemic year, which gives Netflix an advantage. It has a long list of strong, widely seen contenders that yielded three of the seven PGA nominations: “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet;” Kirsten Johnson’s imaginative ode to her father, “Dick Johnson Is Dead;” and heart-tugging audience favorite “My Octopus Teacher.”
The nominees for the Documentary category are selected by the Documentary Nomination Jury, made up of at least fifty documentary producers who select between three and seven non-fiction motion-picture nominees.
- 2/2/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Another new streaming service has launched, this one a niche platform called Documentary+ dedicated solely to nonfiction films.
The free, ad-supported streaming platform is available on Thursday and was launched as a joint venture between the nonfiction studio Xtr and the late former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh.
Documentary+ currently has a library of over 200 feature-length and short documentary films, including classics, cult favorites, true crime stories, sports films and rock docs. Some of the films in the initial catalog include “The Imposter,” “Life, Animated,” “Born Into Brothels,” “Cartel Land” and more. The service also features docs by filmmakers such as Spike Jonze, Kathryn Bigelow, Terrence Malick, Brett Morgen, Roger Ross Williams, Davis Guggenheim and Werner Herzog, including his “My Best Fiend” and “Little Dieter Learns to Fly.”
Other up-and-coming filmmakers with movies on the platform include Lana Wilson, Ramona S. Diaz, Nanfu Wang, Clay Tweel, Kareem Tabsch and Laura Gabbert.
The free, ad-supported streaming platform is available on Thursday and was launched as a joint venture between the nonfiction studio Xtr and the late former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh.
Documentary+ currently has a library of over 200 feature-length and short documentary films, including classics, cult favorites, true crime stories, sports films and rock docs. Some of the films in the initial catalog include “The Imposter,” “Life, Animated,” “Born Into Brothels,” “Cartel Land” and more. The service also features docs by filmmakers such as Spike Jonze, Kathryn Bigelow, Terrence Malick, Brett Morgen, Roger Ross Williams, Davis Guggenheim and Werner Herzog, including his “My Best Fiend” and “Little Dieter Learns to Fly.”
Other up-and-coming filmmakers with movies on the platform include Lana Wilson, Ramona S. Diaz, Nanfu Wang, Clay Tweel, Kareem Tabsch and Laura Gabbert.
- 1/28/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Documentary+, the non-fiction streamer from You Cannot Kill David Arquette studio Xtr, has unveiled its launch slate.
The service, which launches today, will include feature-length and short documentary films from the likes of Spike Jonze, Kathryn Bigelow, Terrence Malick, Brett Morgen, Andrea Nevins, Roger Ross Williams, Zana Briski, Davis Guggenheim, and Werner Herzog.
Titles include The Imposter, Life, Animated, Born into Brothels, Cartel Land, Dior and I and Being Evel. There are political films such as Cory Booker film Street Fight, Elian Gonzalez story Elian and Lee Atwater’s Boogie Man as well as music documentaries including Seattle grunge doc Hype!, Colin Hanks’ Tower Records doc All Things Must Pass and The Other F Word as well as sports doc One Man and His Shoes about Michael Jordan.
It will also feature the work of up-and-coming filmmakers from the likes of Lana Wilson (Miss Americana), Ramona S. Diaz (A Thousand Cuts...
The service, which launches today, will include feature-length and short documentary films from the likes of Spike Jonze, Kathryn Bigelow, Terrence Malick, Brett Morgen, Andrea Nevins, Roger Ross Williams, Zana Briski, Davis Guggenheim, and Werner Herzog.
Titles include The Imposter, Life, Animated, Born into Brothels, Cartel Land, Dior and I and Being Evel. There are political films such as Cory Booker film Street Fight, Elian Gonzalez story Elian and Lee Atwater’s Boogie Man as well as music documentaries including Seattle grunge doc Hype!, Colin Hanks’ Tower Records doc All Things Must Pass and The Other F Word as well as sports doc One Man and His Shoes about Michael Jordan.
It will also feature the work of up-and-coming filmmakers from the likes of Lana Wilson (Miss Americana), Ramona S. Diaz (A Thousand Cuts...
- 1/28/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Riz Ahmed, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Michaela Coel win prizes.
Nomadland picked up its second and third awards in three days as it won best feature and the IFP Gotham Audience Award at the 30th annual Gotham Awards on Monday (January 11).
Searchlight Pictures’ drama directed by Chloé Zhao topped the National Society Of Film Critics vote at the weekend and is gathering impressive momentum during awards season and prevailed in a category where women directed every nominee.
In a strong night for British talent Riz Ahmed won best actor for Sound Of Metal, Kingsley Ben-Adir of One Night In Miami emerged victorious in the Breakthrough Actor contest,...
Nomadland picked up its second and third awards in three days as it won best feature and the IFP Gotham Audience Award at the 30th annual Gotham Awards on Monday (January 11).
Searchlight Pictures’ drama directed by Chloé Zhao topped the National Society Of Film Critics vote at the weekend and is gathering impressive momentum during awards season and prevailed in a category where women directed every nominee.
In a strong night for British talent Riz Ahmed won best actor for Sound Of Metal, Kingsley Ben-Adir of One Night In Miami emerged victorious in the Breakthrough Actor contest,...
- 1/12/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The Gotham Awards for the best in independent film kicked off this unusual awards season on Monday night, January 11. Presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project, these kudos are usually handed out in early December but were pushed back (as were many awards events) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. So who won? Scroll down for the complete list of winners, updated live as they were announced.
SEEGotham nominee John Magaro (‘First Cow’) on how Cookie and King-Lu are ‘almost soulmates’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
These awards are limited to American films (apart from Best International Feature ) made with an economy of means, which means no budgets higher than $35 million. Nominees and winners were decided by juries of film experts and insiders. And for the first time in the awards’ history, all five of the nominees for Best Feature were directed by women: “The Assistant” by Kitty Green, “First Cow” by Kelly Reichardt, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” by Eliza Hittman,...
SEEGotham nominee John Magaro (‘First Cow’) on how Cookie and King-Lu are ‘almost soulmates’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
These awards are limited to American films (apart from Best International Feature ) made with an economy of means, which means no budgets higher than $35 million. Nominees and winners were decided by juries of film experts and insiders. And for the first time in the awards’ history, all five of the nominees for Best Feature were directed by women: “The Assistant” by Kitty Green, “First Cow” by Kelly Reichardt, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” by Eliza Hittman,...
- 1/12/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
The influential Cinema Eye Honors nominations, voted on by documentary filmmakers, help to narrow the wide field for documentary awards contenders. Amazon Studios release “Time,” Garrett Bradley’s poetic black-and-white portrait of one family’s struggle through years of incarceration, leads the field with six nominations, including Outstanding Feature, Direction, Editing, Score and Debut.
Garnering four nominations: Alexander Nanau’s Romanian health system exposé “Collective” (Magnolia), Victor Kossakovsky’s story of a mother pig, “Gunda” (Neon), and David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya” (HBO) with four.
With three nominations each: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ “Boys State” (Apple), Kirsten Johnson’s “Dick Johnson is Dead” (Netflix), Liz Garbus’ series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” (HBO), Gianfranco Rosi’s Italian Oscar submission “Notturno” (Super Ltd), and Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw’s “The Truffle Hunters” (Sony Pictures Classics).
Per usual, prolific Netflix leads all distributors/broadcasters with thirteen nominations, while HBO Documentary Films grabbed ten,...
Garnering four nominations: Alexander Nanau’s Romanian health system exposé “Collective” (Magnolia), Victor Kossakovsky’s story of a mother pig, “Gunda” (Neon), and David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya” (HBO) with four.
With three nominations each: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ “Boys State” (Apple), Kirsten Johnson’s “Dick Johnson is Dead” (Netflix), Liz Garbus’ series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” (HBO), Gianfranco Rosi’s Italian Oscar submission “Notturno” (Super Ltd), and Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw’s “The Truffle Hunters” (Sony Pictures Classics).
Per usual, prolific Netflix leads all distributors/broadcasters with thirteen nominations, while HBO Documentary Films grabbed ten,...
- 12/10/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The influential Cinema Eye Honors nominations, voted on by documentary filmmakers, help to narrow the wide field for documentary awards contenders. Amazon Studios release “Time,” Garrett Bradley’s poetic black-and-white portrait of one family’s struggle through years of incarceration, leads the field with six nominations, including Outstanding Feature, Direction, Editing, Score and Debut.
Garnering four nominations: Alexander Nanau’s Romanian health system exposé “Collective” (Magnolia), Victor Kossakovsky’s story of a mother pig, “Gunda” (Neon), and David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya” (HBO) with four.
With three nominations each: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ “Boys State” (Apple), Kirsten Johnson’s “Dick Johnson is Dead” (Netflix), Liz Garbus’ series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” (HBO), Gianfranco Rosi’s Italian Oscar submission “Notturno” (Super Ltd), and Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw’s “The Truffle Hunters” (Sony Pictures Classics).
Per usual, prolific Netflix leads all distributors/broadcasters with thirteen nominations, while HBO Documentary Films grabbed ten,...
Garnering four nominations: Alexander Nanau’s Romanian health system exposé “Collective” (Magnolia), Victor Kossakovsky’s story of a mother pig, “Gunda” (Neon), and David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya” (HBO) with four.
With three nominations each: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ “Boys State” (Apple), Kirsten Johnson’s “Dick Johnson is Dead” (Netflix), Liz Garbus’ series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” (HBO), Gianfranco Rosi’s Italian Oscar submission “Notturno” (Super Ltd), and Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw’s “The Truffle Hunters” (Sony Pictures Classics).
Per usual, prolific Netflix leads all distributors/broadcasters with thirteen nominations, while HBO Documentary Films grabbed ten,...
- 12/10/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
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