Netflix and Chicken & Egg Pictures have teamed up on a new $450,000 documentary fund to support seasoned women and non-binary filmmakers working on their next feature-length project. Up to 30 filmmaking teams will receive either a $10,000 research grant or a $20,000 development grant to use towards a docu project.
Recipients of the Chicken & Egg Pictures research and development grant will also have access to peer support, mentorship, and relationship-building within the documentary filmmaking community.
Applications are currently being accepted for the new grant. The deadline for submission is April 24 and recipients will be announced this summer. To be eligible for the new grant, projects must be a feature-length film that is either in the research or the development stage. Additionally, the project must be directed or co-directed by an experienced woman or non-binary filmmaker who has directed at least two feature-length documentary films. Docus covering all types of topics and artistic approaches are welcome to apply.
Recipients of the Chicken & Egg Pictures research and development grant will also have access to peer support, mentorship, and relationship-building within the documentary filmmaking community.
Applications are currently being accepted for the new grant. The deadline for submission is April 24 and recipients will be announced this summer. To be eligible for the new grant, projects must be a feature-length film that is either in the research or the development stage. Additionally, the project must be directed or co-directed by an experienced woman or non-binary filmmaker who has directed at least two feature-length documentary films. Docus covering all types of topics and artistic approaches are welcome to apply.
- 3/16/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
“Pov Shorts” will kick off its fifth season Nov. 7, with 11 documentaries highlighting topics including art as activism, freedom of expression, Americans with disabilities, intergenerational stories, and connectedness on the way.
Packaged into six 30-minute episodes, “Pov Shorts” will be available on PBS and will stream on Pov.org and the PBS Video app. The season will conclude on Dec. 19. Nearly two-thirds of the season’s films were directed by filmmakers of color, and over 80 were made by women.
“As the fifth season of ‘Pov Shorts’ marks a notable milestone, the series is well-represented by these outstanding stories and filmmakers,” says Opal H. Bennett, co-producer for “Pov.” “This is an eclectic group of episodes, some performance-forward, some animated, one focused on ‘Pov’s’ hometown – New York City – and all conveying the unique world view of each filmmaker.”
Season five’s first short is Titus Kaphar and Alex Malis’s 24-minute film “Shut Up and Paint.
Packaged into six 30-minute episodes, “Pov Shorts” will be available on PBS and will stream on Pov.org and the PBS Video app. The season will conclude on Dec. 19. Nearly two-thirds of the season’s films were directed by filmmakers of color, and over 80 were made by women.
“As the fifth season of ‘Pov Shorts’ marks a notable milestone, the series is well-represented by these outstanding stories and filmmakers,” says Opal H. Bennett, co-producer for “Pov.” “This is an eclectic group of episodes, some performance-forward, some animated, one focused on ‘Pov’s’ hometown – New York City – and all conveying the unique world view of each filmmaker.”
Season five’s first short is Titus Kaphar and Alex Malis’s 24-minute film “Shut Up and Paint.
- 9/27/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
“Pov,” the longest-running series for independent documentaries on television, has unveiled the majority of its slate for the series’ 35th season, which launches on July 11 with Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan.”
Neighborhood gentrification on Chicago’s south side, land defenders in the Philippines and the 2018 Zimbabwean general election are among the many topics that will be examined by the 14 feature docus in the upcoming season, which will run through Jan. 16.
PBS has revealed 13 of the upcoming season’s “Pov” films beyond “Wuhan Wuhan,” an observational documentary about the first wave of the Covid-19 lockdown, with one more entry slated to be unveiled in June.
While celebrity driven docs are all the rage with streaming services, “Pov” will stay true to its roots and program social issues films that delve into topics including environmental justice immigration and systemic inequity.
“PBS is proud that after 35 years, “Pov” continues to deliver artistically unique,...
Neighborhood gentrification on Chicago’s south side, land defenders in the Philippines and the 2018 Zimbabwean general election are among the many topics that will be examined by the 14 feature docus in the upcoming season, which will run through Jan. 16.
PBS has revealed 13 of the upcoming season’s “Pov” films beyond “Wuhan Wuhan,” an observational documentary about the first wave of the Covid-19 lockdown, with one more entry slated to be unveiled in June.
While celebrity driven docs are all the rage with streaming services, “Pov” will stay true to its roots and program social issues films that delve into topics including environmental justice immigration and systemic inequity.
“PBS is proud that after 35 years, “Pov” continues to deliver artistically unique,...
- 5/11/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
New York City-based filmmaker Judith Helfand broke through as a filmmaker in 1997 with a highly personal documentary, A Healthy Baby Girl. This multilayered essay on maternity, medical negligence and guilt, among many other things, explored how her mother Florence’s use of a drug to prevent miscarriage led to Judith having first cervical cancer and then a radical hysterectomy in her twenties.
After several more films, such as similarly personal feature Blue Vinyl, the filmmaker twists the helix one more time with Love & Stuff, coming back once again to motherhood, bereavement, letting go and around half a dozen other topics in ...
After several more films, such as similarly personal feature Blue Vinyl, the filmmaker twists the helix one more time with Love & Stuff, coming back once again to motherhood, bereavement, letting go and around half a dozen other topics in ...
- 12/17/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
New York City-based filmmaker Judith Helfand broke through as a filmmaker in 1997 with a highly personal documentary, A Healthy Baby Girl. This multilayered essay on maternity, medical negligence and guilt, among many other things, explored how her mother Florence’s use of a drug to prevent miscarriage led to Judith having first cervical cancer and then a radical hysterectomy in her twenties.
After several more films, such as similarly personal feature Blue Vinyl, the filmmaker twists the helix one more time with Love & Stuff, coming back once again to motherhood, bereavement, letting go and around half a dozen other topics in ...
After several more films, such as similarly personal feature Blue Vinyl, the filmmaker twists the helix one more time with Love & Stuff, coming back once again to motherhood, bereavement, letting go and around half a dozen other topics in ...
- 12/17/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Doc NYC, America’s largest documentary festival and staple of the New York film community, announced the lineup for its 11th edition, running online November 11-19 and available to viewers across the US. The program includes new films about John Belushi, Pope Francis, Bill T. Jones, Jamal Khashoggi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Frank Zappa, and many more. The 2020 festival lineup includes 107 feature-length documentaries among over 200 films and dozens of events. Included are 23 World Premieres, 12 international or North American premieres, and 7 US premieres. Fifty-seven features (53% of the lineup) are directed or co-directed by women and 36 by Bipoc directors (34% of the feature program).
World Premieres at the festival include Nelson G. Navarrete and Maxx Caicedo’s “A La Calle,” Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler,” Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan,” Sian-Pierre Regis’s “Duty Free,” Noah Hutton’s “In Silico,” Nancy Buirski’s “A Crime on the Bayou,...
World Premieres at the festival include Nelson G. Navarrete and Maxx Caicedo’s “A La Calle,” Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler,” Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan,” Sian-Pierre Regis’s “Duty Free,” Noah Hutton’s “In Silico,” Nancy Buirski’s “A Crime on the Bayou,...
- 10/15/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
In 1995, at least 739 people died in Chicago as a result of a heat wave that lasted for just five days. At their peak, temperatures reached 41°C. Middle Eastern and Saharan cities survive heat like this all the time, but Chicago, of course, is situated right next to Lake Michigan. When humidity is high enough to stop people sweating properly and it's over 38°C, internal organs literally start to cook. Static air kills.
What puzzled documentarian Judith Helfand when she embarked on this project was that despite living in the city at the time, she had no memory of the disaster. A little research soon explained why. Her neighbourhood was barely affected. Almost all of the dead came from the same areas, and they were mostly black and Hispanic. They didn't have air conditioning. Crime rates were so high in their neighbourhoods that they dared not even open the windows....
What puzzled documentarian Judith Helfand when she embarked on this project was that despite living in the city at the time, she had no memory of the disaster. A little research soon explained why. Her neighbourhood was barely affected. Almost all of the dead came from the same areas, and they were mostly black and Hispanic. They didn't have air conditioning. Crime rates were so high in their neighbourhoods that they dared not even open the windows....
- 7/9/2020
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Reflecting on memories of family rituals and celebrations is an emotionally powerful experience for many people. That’s certainly the case for Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, Judith Helfand, as she chronicles her strong bond with her late mother, Florence, in the new documentary, ‘Love & Stuff.’ With the movie, Helfand created a touching portrait of her close […]
The post 2020 Hot Docs Film Festival Interview: Judith Helfand Talks Love & Stuff (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post 2020 Hot Docs Film Festival Interview: Judith Helfand Talks Love & Stuff (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 6/8/2020
- by Karen Benardello
- ShockYa
This piece is one part loving obituary and one part urgent call-to-action around the undeniable need for our independent film industry to put some sort of safety nets in place for our beloved and aging indie film leadership. Ironically, when I wrote this piece just two months ago, who could have imagined that the topic of safety nets would become so important to All Of Us given the ways in which our industry has been so dramatically halted and upended by the #Coronavirus public health pandemic?By Marc Smolowitz
30 March
For context, I am currently developing a new film as a director on these topics, and I hope to gather steam among key indie film organizations in the coming months, so we can all come together (either online or in-person when safe to do so) to create new programs and initiatives that help build safety nets for the most vulnerable in our industry.
30 March
For context, I am currently developing a new film as a director on these topics, and I hope to gather steam among key indie film organizations in the coming months, so we can all come together (either online or in-person when safe to do so) to create new programs and initiatives that help build safety nets for the most vulnerable in our industry.
- 5/5/2020
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Cooked: Survival By Zip Code will screen at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar) Friday, Nov 15 at 5:30pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Producer Fenell Doremus will be in attendance and will host a post-screening Q&a. This is a Free event.
Chicago suffered the worst heat disaster in U.S history in 1995, when 739 residents — mostly elderly and black — died over the course of one week. “Cooked” — an adaptation of Eric Klinenberg’s groundbreaking book “Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago” — not only links the heat wave’s devastation back to the underlying manmade disaster of structural racism but also delves deep into one of our nation’s biggest growth industries: disaster preparedness. Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand uses her signature serious-yet-quirky style as interlocutor and narrator to examine both the cataclysmic natural disasters for which we prepare and the slow-motion disasters...
Chicago suffered the worst heat disaster in U.S history in 1995, when 739 residents — mostly elderly and black — died over the course of one week. “Cooked” — an adaptation of Eric Klinenberg’s groundbreaking book “Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago” — not only links the heat wave’s devastation back to the underlying manmade disaster of structural racism but also delves deep into one of our nation’s biggest growth industries: disaster preparedness. Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand uses her signature serious-yet-quirky style as interlocutor and narrator to examine both the cataclysmic natural disasters for which we prepare and the slow-motion disasters...
- 11/13/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chicago – In the Summer of 1995, there was extreme heat in the City of Chicago for seven days, with temperatures soaring over 100 degrees with high humidity. It hit the area like a tsunami, and left power outages and and an exposure of inadequate emergency responses in its wake. The death toll from the heat, when all the analysis was done, soared to 739 people. Director Judith Helfand chronicles that event, and events like it, in her new film, “Cooked: Survival by Zip Code.”
Judith Helfand (left) Gets a Preparedness Lesson in ‘Cooked: Survival by Zip Code’
Photo credit: Kartemquin Films
The film is based on Eric Klinenberg’s 2002 book, “Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago,” and both the book and the film “Cooked” points toward the inordinate amount of deaths associated with the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago. Director Helfand takes its further, to show how America spends so much money on preparing for disaster,...
Judith Helfand (left) Gets a Preparedness Lesson in ‘Cooked: Survival by Zip Code’
Photo credit: Kartemquin Films
The film is based on Eric Klinenberg’s 2002 book, “Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago,” and both the book and the film “Cooked” points toward the inordinate amount of deaths associated with the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago. Director Helfand takes its further, to show how America spends so much money on preparing for disaster,...
- 7/15/2019
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding The Gap” beat out the competition to win top honors at the 34th Annual Ida Documentary Awards at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday night. The portrait of a group of skateboarders took home Best Feature, Emerging Filmmaker and Best Editing. Liu had accepted a Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where the Pov film was acquired by Hulu.
Other winners include Floyd Russ’s “Zion” (Best Short), Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” (Best Limited Series), HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” (the ABC News VideoSource Award), PBS’ Pov (Best Curated Series), Showtime’s “The Trade” (Best Episodic Series), Mel Films (Best Short Form Series), and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” (the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award). Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.” won Best Music Documentary,...
Other winners include Floyd Russ’s “Zion” (Best Short), Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” (Best Limited Series), HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” (the ABC News VideoSource Award), PBS’ Pov (Best Curated Series), Showtime’s “The Trade” (Best Episodic Series), Mel Films (Best Short Form Series), and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” (the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award). Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.” won Best Music Documentary,...
- 12/9/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding The Gap” beat out the competition to win top honors at the 34th Annual Ida Documentary Awards at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday night. The portrait of a group of skateboarders took home Best Feature, Emerging Filmmaker and Best Editing. Liu had accepted a Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where the Pov film was acquired by Hulu.
Other winners include Floyd Russ’s “Zion” (Best Short), Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” (Best Limited Series), HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” (the ABC News VideoSource Award), PBS’ Pov (Best Curated Series), Showtime’s “The Trade” (Best Episodic Series), Mel Films (Best Short Form Series), and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” (the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award). Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.” won Best Music Documentary,...
Other winners include Floyd Russ’s “Zion” (Best Short), Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” (Best Limited Series), HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” (the ABC News VideoSource Award), PBS’ Pov (Best Curated Series), Showtime’s “The Trade” (Best Episodic Series), Mel Films (Best Short Form Series), and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” (the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award). Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.” won Best Music Documentary,...
- 12/9/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Wild Wild Country wins best limited series.
Bing Liu’s Minding The Gap was named best feature at the 34th Annual Ida Documentary Awards on Saturday night (8).
Floyd Russ’s Zion won best short at the ceremony at Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles, while Wild Wild Country was named best limited series.
“Both the Best Feature and Best Short categories recognized the remarkable range of work that was produced in 2018,” said Simon Kilmurry, Ida executive director. “In Minding The Gap we see the emergence of Bing Liu as a fresh, bold new voice in documentary. His film sneaks up on audiences and,...
Bing Liu’s Minding The Gap was named best feature at the 34th Annual Ida Documentary Awards on Saturday night (8).
Floyd Russ’s Zion won best short at the ceremony at Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles, while Wild Wild Country was named best limited series.
“Both the Best Feature and Best Short categories recognized the remarkable range of work that was produced in 2018,” said Simon Kilmurry, Ida executive director. “In Minding The Gap we see the emergence of Bing Liu as a fresh, bold new voice in documentary. His film sneaks up on audiences and,...
- 12/8/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Ninety percent of features nominees have women producers, half are directed by women.
Free Solo and Crime + Punishment are among the 10 feature nominees unveiled by the International Documentary Association (Ida) on Wednesday (24).
Ninety percent of the features nominees have women as producers and half are directed by women.
The 2018 Ida Awards features nominees are: Crime + Punishment, Dark Money, Free Solo, Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Minding The Gap, Of Fathers And Sons, Sky And Ground, The Silence Of Others, United Skates, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
The 2018 Ida Awards shorts nominees are: Black Sheep, Fear Us Women,...
Free Solo and Crime + Punishment are among the 10 feature nominees unveiled by the International Documentary Association (Ida) on Wednesday (24).
Ninety percent of the features nominees have women as producers and half are directed by women.
The 2018 Ida Awards features nominees are: Crime + Punishment, Dark Money, Free Solo, Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Minding The Gap, Of Fathers And Sons, Sky And Ground, The Silence Of Others, United Skates, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
The 2018 Ida Awards shorts nominees are: Black Sheep, Fear Us Women,...
- 10/24/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
With the sprawling number of high-caliber documentaries flooding every platform and clamoring for attention, the International Documentary Association Awards are a crucial curator pointing other awards groups in the direction of what they need to see. Academy documentary branch members, who are inundated with hundreds of movies to watch, aren’t necessarily keeping track of which movies won awards at festivals along the way.
So far, the influential Doc NYC shortlist and the Critics Choice Documentary Award nominees also included many of the Ida’s feature picks: On all three lists are Stephen Maing’s NYPD expose “Crime + Punishment,” fall box office hit E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s vertiginous “Free Solo,” rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding the Gap,” and Morgan Neville’s summer box office phenomenon “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” an emotionally wrenching portrait of the late TV star Fred Rogers.
Making two out...
So far, the influential Doc NYC shortlist and the Critics Choice Documentary Award nominees also included many of the Ida’s feature picks: On all three lists are Stephen Maing’s NYPD expose “Crime + Punishment,” fall box office hit E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s vertiginous “Free Solo,” rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding the Gap,” and Morgan Neville’s summer box office phenomenon “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” an emotionally wrenching portrait of the late TV star Fred Rogers.
Making two out...
- 10/24/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
With the sprawling number of high-caliber documentaries flooding every platform and clamoring for attention, the International Documentary Association Awards are a crucial curator pointing other awards groups in the direction of what they need to see. Academy documentary branch members, who are inundated with hundreds of movies to watch, aren’t necessarily keeping track of which movies won awards at festivals along the way.
So far, the influential Doc NYC shortlist and the Critics Choice Documentary Award nominees also included many of the Ida’s feature picks: On all three lists are Stephen Maing’s NYPD expose “Crime + Punishment,” fall box office hit E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s vertiginous “Free Solo,” rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding the Gap,” and Morgan Neville’s summer box office phenomenon “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” an emotionally wrenching portrait of the late TV star Fred Rogers.
Making two out...
So far, the influential Doc NYC shortlist and the Critics Choice Documentary Award nominees also included many of the Ida’s feature picks: On all three lists are Stephen Maing’s NYPD expose “Crime + Punishment,” fall box office hit E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s vertiginous “Free Solo,” rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding the Gap,” and Morgan Neville’s summer box office phenomenon “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” an emotionally wrenching portrait of the late TV star Fred Rogers.
Making two out...
- 10/24/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Mark Whitaker, Ken Burns, Marina Goldman and Matthew Justus with Artemis Joukowsky Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
At the Le Cirque lunch hosted by Dan Abrams, Kerry Kennedy, Lawrence O’Donnell and producers Dan Cogan (Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt's Havana Motor Club; Edet Belzberg's Watchers Of The Sky, featuring Luis Moreno Ocampo), Geralyn Dreyfous (Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz's Land Ho!; Kirby Dick's The Invisible War and The Hunting Ground) and Judith Helfand (Martha Shane and Lana Wilson's After Tiller) for Defying The Nazis: The Sharps' War, I spoke with the directors, Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowsky.
Ken Burns with Artemis Joukowsky: "And this is a feminist tale as well! From the very beginning, she has defied her parents, she has defied her husband, she has defied the Nazis." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Marina Goldman, who gives her voice to Martha Sharp, let me know that she never got to meet Tom Hanks,...
At the Le Cirque lunch hosted by Dan Abrams, Kerry Kennedy, Lawrence O’Donnell and producers Dan Cogan (Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt's Havana Motor Club; Edet Belzberg's Watchers Of The Sky, featuring Luis Moreno Ocampo), Geralyn Dreyfous (Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz's Land Ho!; Kirby Dick's The Invisible War and The Hunting Ground) and Judith Helfand (Martha Shane and Lana Wilson's After Tiller) for Defying The Nazis: The Sharps' War, I spoke with the directors, Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowsky.
Ken Burns with Artemis Joukowsky: "And this is a feminist tale as well! From the very beginning, she has defied her parents, she has defied her husband, she has defied the Nazis." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Marina Goldman, who gives her voice to Martha Sharp, let me know that she never got to meet Tom Hanks,...
- 9/19/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Subverting the Unexpected
At the end of the 20th century, Bobcat Goldthwait’s legacy read like a cheap joke: He was a screaming comedian from the eighties best known as Zed in the “Police Academy” franchise who once tried at his hand at directing a movie (“Shakes the Clown”). Those achievements barely skimmed the surface of Goldthwait’s ability, as the ensuing years made clear, when Goldthwait completely transformed his career into one of the most provocative American filmmakers working today. With the microbudget “Sleeping Dogs Lie” (aka “Stay”), Goldthwait showed his potential to funnel taboo subject matters into oddly touching, relatable human dramas, a proclivity he kicked up to a whole new level with the subversive black comedy “World’s Greatest Dad,” which features Robin Williams in one of his all-time great roles.
Goldthwait has kept innovating, with each new movie offering a fresh perspective on the naive assumptions...
At the end of the 20th century, Bobcat Goldthwait’s legacy read like a cheap joke: He was a screaming comedian from the eighties best known as Zed in the “Police Academy” franchise who once tried at his hand at directing a movie (“Shakes the Clown”). Those achievements barely skimmed the surface of Goldthwait’s ability, as the ensuing years made clear, when Goldthwait completely transformed his career into one of the most provocative American filmmakers working today. With the microbudget “Sleeping Dogs Lie” (aka “Stay”), Goldthwait showed his potential to funnel taboo subject matters into oddly touching, relatable human dramas, a proclivity he kicked up to a whole new level with the subversive black comedy “World’s Greatest Dad,” which features Robin Williams in one of his all-time great roles.
Goldthwait has kept innovating, with each new movie offering a fresh perspective on the naive assumptions...
- 7/4/2016
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
Though it's a reality many filmmakers might prefer not to face, making films (and especially documentaries) in the independent field often means a certain amount of pitching. In order to get your film realized, the realities of tipping your hat and accumulating financial partners for each stage of production is integral to a successful project. But the art of pitching is filled with pitfalls, with small tweaks often leading to the difference between an ambivalent "no" and an enthusiastic "yes." Read More: What the Behind-the-Scenes Drama of a Documentary Pitch is Really Like At this year's Doc NYC, Sandi DuBowski of Good Pitch, Judith Helfand of Chicken & Egg Pictures and Reva Goldberg of Cinereach sat down with five potential pitchers to give expert tips on how to make your pitch irresistible to industry executives. Read their five essential tips below. 1. Pitch with Power "I really think that pitching is a change in.
- 11/23/2015
- by Aubrey Page
- Indiewire
Read More: Chicken & Egg Pictures: The Force Behind Women Directed Documentaries at Sundance and Beyond When Chicken & Egg Productions founders Julie Parker Benello, Wendy Ettinger and Judith Helfand started their non-profit organization in 2005, it was with one simple aim: To provide both help and a home for women non-fiction filmmakers in need of that extra push to make their projects a reality. Now celebrating its 10th year this month, the film fund has awarded nearly $4 million in grants and spent more than 5,200 hours of mentorship to bolster over 190 films. The organization continues to roll out new initiatives that serve their multi-pronged approach, along with their true desire to "incubate and hatch all at once." From the beginning, the founders were compelled by the idea that they could make a real difference for filmmakers who found themselves at a critical juncture. "It was pretty clear that there were lots of...
- 10/23/2015
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Maris Curran’s Five Nights in Maine, starring David Oyelowo, also among selection.
Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi) has unveiled the 15 projects selected for the 12th annual Tribeca All Access (Taa) programme.
The programme supports film-makers from statistically underrepresented communities and will grant support for each of the projects, as well as offer year-round support, guidance and resources to help the film-makers complete them.
Taa film-makers are also welcomed into the Taa Alumni programme which supports their present and future work. This year will see Taa and Taa Alumni award a total of $200,000 in grant money.
The projects include Haifaa Al Mansour’s Be Safe I Love You and Maris Curran’s Five Nights in Maine, starring David Oyelowo.
Alongside the Taa programme, Tfi has also selected two members of the Lgbt film-making community as special fellows to attend its annual market during Tribeca Film Festival: writer/director Ingrid Jungermann for Women Who Kill and writer/director [link=nm...
Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi) has unveiled the 15 projects selected for the 12th annual Tribeca All Access (Taa) programme.
The programme supports film-makers from statistically underrepresented communities and will grant support for each of the projects, as well as offer year-round support, guidance and resources to help the film-makers complete them.
Taa film-makers are also welcomed into the Taa Alumni programme which supports their present and future work. This year will see Taa and Taa Alumni award a total of $200,000 in grant money.
The projects include Haifaa Al Mansour’s Be Safe I Love You and Maris Curran’s Five Nights in Maine, starring David Oyelowo.
Alongside the Taa programme, Tfi has also selected two members of the Lgbt film-making community as special fellows to attend its annual market during Tribeca Film Festival: writer/director Ingrid Jungermann for Women Who Kill and writer/director [link=nm...
- 3/19/2015
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
SundanceNOW and their Doc Club program have released the full video of last week’s Spotlight on Women Directors panel out of the Sundance Film Festival.
Moderated by Indiewire’s Anne Thompson (@akstanwyck), the panel of talented women filmmakers included Rory Kennedy (Last Days in Vietnam), Shola Lynch (Free Angela and All Political Prisoners), Judith Helfand (Cooked), and Lucy Walker (The Crash Reel).
Curated by Thom Powers (@ThomPowers), January focused on the amazing women directors currently working in documentary filmmaking.
Click here to access the rest of January’s program: http://www.sundancenow.com/doc-club/spotlight-on-women-directors/35. Join Doc Club to access the 8 films highlighted. Sign up now and get your first month free.
SundanceNOW, the digital sister to Sundance Selects, is an online destination where independent film fans can download, watch instantly and discuss a broad range of independent films from around the globe. Offering the option to stream, download...
Moderated by Indiewire’s Anne Thompson (@akstanwyck), the panel of talented women filmmakers included Rory Kennedy (Last Days in Vietnam), Shola Lynch (Free Angela and All Political Prisoners), Judith Helfand (Cooked), and Lucy Walker (The Crash Reel).
Curated by Thom Powers (@ThomPowers), January focused on the amazing women directors currently working in documentary filmmaking.
Click here to access the rest of January’s program: http://www.sundancenow.com/doc-club/spotlight-on-women-directors/35. Join Doc Club to access the 8 films highlighted. Sign up now and get your first month free.
SundanceNOW, the digital sister to Sundance Selects, is an online destination where independent film fans can download, watch instantly and discuss a broad range of independent films from around the globe. Offering the option to stream, download...
- 1/28/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
At Sundance I had the opportunity to moderate a Spotlight on Women Directors panel featuring four prominent women in documentaries: Rory Kennedy ("Last Days in Vietnam"), Lucy Walker ("The Lion's Mouth Opens"), Chicken & Egg's Judith Helfand ("Everything's Cool") and Shola Lynch ("Free Angela and All Political Prisoners"). These demanding filmmakers share how sexism has impacted their work, how they pick their stories, when to kill an idea when it isn't good enough, and how to decide when their films are finished. Sundance Now programmer Thom Powers introduced the lively discussion, below. ...
- 1/25/2014
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
There's so much talk about the gender inequality in film and how we need more female directors, but Chicken & Egg Pictures is actually doing something about it. As the only nonprofit film fund devoted solely to supporting women documentary directors, Chicken & Egg Pictures plays an important role in the independent film world by offering funds and mentorship to women documentary filmmakers. Their influence is felt at the Sundance Film Festival, where, this year, four of their documentary feature grantees will debut: "Private Violence" and "Watchers of the Sky" in the U.S. Documentary Competition and "Sepideh" and "Web Junkie" in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. In addition, another grantee, Lucy Walker's short documentary "The Lion's Mouth Opens," will also screen at the festival. Founded in 2005 by award-winning filmmakers and producers Julie Parker-Benello, Wendy Ettinger, and Judith Helfand, the organization, which has offices in Brooklyn and San Francisco,...
- 1/16/2014
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
Filmmakers looking to get in front of the documentary world's heavy hitters in an idyllic coastal Maine town should look no further than the Camden International Film Festival's Points North Pitch. And for the first year ever, Ciff is offering the winner of Indiewire's Ciff Project of the Week a travel stipend and accommodations during the festival! Last year, the pitch, which included Phil Engelhorn (Cinereach), Judith Helfand (Chicken + Egg Pictures), Brian Newman (Sub-genre), Daniel Chalfen (independent producer), Beth Janson (Tribeca Film Institute), Christopher Hastings (Wgbh) and more, opened up to filmmakers beyond New England. The 2012 Camden Points North Pitch winners were "In Country" filmmakers Mike Attie and Meghan O'Hara. Attie told Indiewire, "We were initially not sure, but once we saw a list of the panelists -- Judith Helfand, Simon Kilmurry, Daniel Chalfen, Phil Englehorn -- we knew it would be a good opportunity. But the event itself exceeded.
- 6/3/2013
- by Bryce J. Renninger
- Indiewire
Gulabi (India / Norway) to be directed by Nishtha Jain has received a $25,000 grant from the Sundance Documentary Film Program. The documentary traces Sampat Pal and the fiery women of her Gulabi Gang who take up the fight against gender violence, caste oppression and widespread corruption in Bundelkhand.
Gulabi is one among the 29 feature-length documentary films that will receive the grant.
The Documentary Film Program celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2012 and since its inception has awarded grants to more than 300 documentary filmmakers in 61 countries.
Complete list:
Development
The Bill (U.S. / Philippines)
Director: Ramona Diaz
A political firestorm hits the Philippines when “The Bill,” a reproductive health bill that could legalize birth control in the world’s 12th most populous nation, pits tradition against reform and brings the culture war into the streets and churches.
Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield (U.S.)
Director: Richard Rowley
Reporting from the battlefields of the war on terror,...
Gulabi is one among the 29 feature-length documentary films that will receive the grant.
The Documentary Film Program celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2012 and since its inception has awarded grants to more than 300 documentary filmmakers in 61 countries.
Complete list:
Development
The Bill (U.S. / Philippines)
Director: Ramona Diaz
A political firestorm hits the Philippines when “The Bill,” a reproductive health bill that could legalize birth control in the world’s 12th most populous nation, pits tradition against reform and brings the culture war into the streets and churches.
Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield (U.S.)
Director: Richard Rowley
Reporting from the battlefields of the war on terror,...
- 11/23/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Tim Burton invades New York, New Italian Cinema hits Los Angeles, Harold and Kumar spread holiday cheer in Austin and everywhere you look, they're celebrating All Tomorrow's Parties -- just some of the holiday film fun you can have this winter at your local repertory theater.
More Holiday Preview: [Theatrical Calendar]
[Repertory Calendar] [Anywhere But a Movie Theater]
New York
92YTribeca
In November, the 92YTribeca Screening Room will have some special guests in the house when it hosts the already sold out "A Conversation with Wes Anderson and Jason Schwartzman" on November 10th, with the two longtime collaborators discussing their latest film "Fantastic Mr. Fox." But tickets are still available for the night before (Nov. 9th), when actor Ben Foster and director Oren Moverman will screen their acclaimed new post-war drama "The Messenger". Much of the rest of the month is devoted to Cinema Tropical's Ten Years of New Argentine Cinema series with screenings of Adrián Caetano's immigration...
More Holiday Preview: [Theatrical Calendar]
[Repertory Calendar] [Anywhere But a Movie Theater]
New York
92YTribeca
In November, the 92YTribeca Screening Room will have some special guests in the house when it hosts the already sold out "A Conversation with Wes Anderson and Jason Schwartzman" on November 10th, with the two longtime collaborators discussing their latest film "Fantastic Mr. Fox." But tickets are still available for the night before (Nov. 9th), when actor Ben Foster and director Oren Moverman will screen their acclaimed new post-war drama "The Messenger". Much of the rest of the month is devoted to Cinema Tropical's Ten Years of New Argentine Cinema series with screenings of Adrián Caetano's immigration...
- 11/3/2009
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
NEW YORK -- City Lights Pictures and Green Owl Prods. are forming City Lights Pictures/Green Owl, a new environmentally oriented entertainment label with features distributed through Warner Music Group's WEA Corp.
Green Owl, a division of Green Owl Music, also signed a deal giving the City Lights Media Group division first-look rights to distribute its future film projects and partner on development of TV programs and features.
The new label's first venture is the 2007 Sundance Film Festival entry Everything's Cool: A Toxic Comedy About Global Warming. Daniel B. Gold and Judith Helfand's documentary, produced by Toxic Comedy Pictures and Lupine Films in association with Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment, will bow in November in Los Angeles and New York with a City Lights Home Entertainment DVD release and Sundance Channel debut to follow.
In keeping with its "all green" motto, the DVD packaging will be created from 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper.
"Not only does Green Owl bring an environmentally friendly brand to the marketing mix but also opportunities for grass-roots campaigns and pro-environment organizational outreach that complement City Lights' long tradition of branding and marketing excellence," City Lights Media Group CEO Danny Fisher said.
Green Owl, a division of Green Owl Music, also signed a deal giving the City Lights Media Group division first-look rights to distribute its future film projects and partner on development of TV programs and features.
The new label's first venture is the 2007 Sundance Film Festival entry Everything's Cool: A Toxic Comedy About Global Warming. Daniel B. Gold and Judith Helfand's documentary, produced by Toxic Comedy Pictures and Lupine Films in association with Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment, will bow in November in Los Angeles and New York with a City Lights Home Entertainment DVD release and Sundance Channel debut to follow.
In keeping with its "all green" motto, the DVD packaging will be created from 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper.
"Not only does Green Owl bring an environmentally friendly brand to the marketing mix but also opportunities for grass-roots campaigns and pro-environment organizational outreach that complement City Lights' long tradition of branding and marketing excellence," City Lights Media Group CEO Danny Fisher said.
- 10/9/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Ioncinema.com presents: Best of FestsFULL Frame FESTIVALWhere: April 12 to 15, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('April 12, 2007'); Location: Durham, North Carolina - United States Official Website: fullframefest.org/What: Founded in 1998 by Nancy Buirski, and now recognized as the premier documentary film festival in the United States by both The New York Times and indieWIRE, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival celebrates the power and artistry of documentary film. The festival is an important arena for documentary filmmakers — a place where they can showcase their work theatrically in an environment that stimulates conversation and community between other filmmakers, industry executives and the general public. Sections: (Click for more info!) Full Schedule: Power of Ten: Special Programming: Panel & Workshops8 Bit - Marcin Ramocki, Justin Strawhand Alice Sees The Light - Ariana GersteinAngels in the Dust - Louise HogarthThe Ants - Kaoru IkeyaBanished - Marco WilliamsBeyond Selinunte - Salvo CucciaBlockade - Sergei Loznitsa
- 4/11/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
TORONTO -- U.S. filmmakers Eugene Jarecki and Judith Helfand will be part of a nine-member jury at next month's 14th annual Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, organizers said Wednesday.
Jarecki ("Why We Fight") and Helfand ("Blue Vinyl"), both Sundance award winners, will be joined on the jury by Canadian filmmakers Mark Achbar ("Manufacturing Consent") and Alexandre Trudeau ("Secure Freedom"); Amir Labaki, founder-director of It's All True International Documentary Film Festival; and New York-based Canadian journalist Simon Houpt.
The Hot Docs jury also includes Claas Danielsen, festival director of the Leipzig International Festival for Documentary and Animated Films; Palestinian filmmaker Ibtisam Mara'ana; and Ivana Milosevic, head of studies at the Prague-based Institute of Documentary Film.
The nine jurors will choose winners in four categories: best Canadian feature documentary, best international feature documentary, and best short and mid-length documentaries.
The Hot Docs festival runs April 19-29 in Toronto.
Jarecki ("Why We Fight") and Helfand ("Blue Vinyl"), both Sundance award winners, will be joined on the jury by Canadian filmmakers Mark Achbar ("Manufacturing Consent") and Alexandre Trudeau ("Secure Freedom"); Amir Labaki, founder-director of It's All True International Documentary Film Festival; and New York-based Canadian journalist Simon Houpt.
The Hot Docs jury also includes Claas Danielsen, festival director of the Leipzig International Festival for Documentary and Animated Films; Palestinian filmmaker Ibtisam Mara'ana; and Ivana Milosevic, head of studies at the Prague-based Institute of Documentary Film.
The nine jurors will choose winners in four categories: best Canadian feature documentary, best international feature documentary, and best short and mid-length documentaries.
The Hot Docs festival runs April 19-29 in Toronto.
- 3/15/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Quick Links Complete Film Listing: Premieres Dramatic Comp World Dramatic Comp World Doc Comp Spectrum: Park City at Midnight: New Frontier Short Film Programs January 18 to 28, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('January 18, 2007'); Another eclectic docu section this year ranging in subject matters such as U.S Foreign policies, internal American struggles, global issues and human portraits of the young, old and stupid. On the war front we have Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, where Rory Kennedy looks at the abuses at the Iraqi prison, No End in Sight by Charles Ferguson looks at the chain of decisions that led to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and in hindsight. White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki directed by Steven Okazaki looks at the human cost of atomic warfare.On the global scale, Judith Helfand and Daniel B. Gold’s Everything's Cool looks at alternative energy
- 1/18/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
- Here is the complete listing for this year's Sundance film festival which kicks off tomorrow!January 18 to 28, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('January 18, 2007'); Premiere's section lineup:An American Crime - Tommy O'Haver Away From Her - Sarah Polley Black Snake Moan - Craig BrewerChapter 27 - Jarrett Schaefer Chicago 10 - Brett Morgen Clubland - Cherie Nowlan The Good Night - Jake Paltrow King of California - Mike Cahill Life Support - Nelson George Longford - Tom Hooper The Nines - John August Resurrecting the Champ - Rod Lurie The Savages - Tamara Jenkins Son of Rambow - Garth Jennings Summer Rain - Antonio Banderas Trade - Marco Kreuzpaintner Year of the Dog - Mike White Dramatic Competition:Adrift in Manhattan - Alfredo de Villa Broken English - Zoe CassavetesFour Sheets to the Wind - Sterlin HarjoThe Good Life - Steve BerraGrace Is Gone - James C. StrouseHounddog - Deborah Kampmeier Joshua
- 1/17/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
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