Palm Springs International Film Festival programmers have set this year’s lineup.
The desert festival, which runs Jan. 4 to 15, will open with the U.S. premiere of Thea Sharrock’s Wicked Little Letters on Jan. 5. Based on a 1920s English scandal, the film follows neighbors Edith Swan and Rose Gooding in the seaside town of Littlehampton. One day, a series of obscene letters begin to target Edith and others as suspicions fall on Rose. As the situation escalates, Rose risks losing her freedom and custody of her daughter. Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Malachi Kirby, Eileen Atkins and Timothy Spall star in the film.
Though the opening screening happens on Jan. 5, the festival really kicks off the night before with the Film Awards, a starry ceremony that will shine a spotlight on Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, Poor Things star Emma Stone, Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy,...
The desert festival, which runs Jan. 4 to 15, will open with the U.S. premiere of Thea Sharrock’s Wicked Little Letters on Jan. 5. Based on a 1920s English scandal, the film follows neighbors Edith Swan and Rose Gooding in the seaside town of Littlehampton. One day, a series of obscene letters begin to target Edith and others as suspicions fall on Rose. As the situation escalates, Rose risks losing her freedom and custody of her daughter. Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Malachi Kirby, Eileen Atkins and Timothy Spall star in the film.
Though the opening screening happens on Jan. 5, the festival really kicks off the night before with the Film Awards, a starry ceremony that will shine a spotlight on Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, Poor Things star Emma Stone, Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy,...
- 12/5/2023
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Seven years ago this month, in the aftermath of the attack on Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, one call to action rose above the din: “Say their names.” New Yorkers chanted it steps from the Stonewall Inn. The mother of a child gunned down at Sandy Hook penned it in an open letter. The Orlando Sentinel printed the names. Anderson Cooper recited them. A gunman, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, murdered 49 people and wounded 53 others in the wee hours of that awful Sunday, massacring LGBTQ people of color and their allies in the middle of Pride Month, and the commemoration of the dead demanded knowing who they were. “These,” as MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell urged his viewers, “are the names to remember.”
The titles on our list of the best LGBTQ movies of all time are a globe-spanning, multigenerational testament to our existence in a world where our erasure is no abstraction. From...
The titles on our list of the best LGBTQ movies of all time are a globe-spanning, multigenerational testament to our existence in a world where our erasure is no abstraction. From...
- 6/12/2023
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
Jewish Story Partners (Jsp), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit film funding organization, has announced its new slate of grants to 19 documentary film projects.
The org, which was launched in April 2021 with support from Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation, will distribute $490,000 among these independent films, all of which explore the vast and vibrant terrain of the Jewish storytelling space. The announcement coincides with Jewish American Heritage Month and a commitment from President Joe Biden’s White House administration to develop a national strategy to counter antisemitism and “address increasing awareness and understanding of both antisemitism and Jewish American heritage.”
Since its inception, Jsp has disbursed $2 million in funding to 72 documentaries telling diverse Jewish stories.
On the heels of previous Jsp-funded films that have premiered at Sundance — including Paula Eiselt’s “Under G-d,” Luke Lorentzen’s “A Still Small Voice” and Ondi Timoner’s Oscar-shortlisted and Emmy contender “Last Flight Home...
The org, which was launched in April 2021 with support from Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation, will distribute $490,000 among these independent films, all of which explore the vast and vibrant terrain of the Jewish storytelling space. The announcement coincides with Jewish American Heritage Month and a commitment from President Joe Biden’s White House administration to develop a national strategy to counter antisemitism and “address increasing awareness and understanding of both antisemitism and Jewish American heritage.”
Since its inception, Jsp has disbursed $2 million in funding to 72 documentaries telling diverse Jewish stories.
On the heels of previous Jsp-funded films that have premiered at Sundance — including Paula Eiselt’s “Under G-d,” Luke Lorentzen’s “A Still Small Voice” and Ondi Timoner’s Oscar-shortlisted and Emmy contender “Last Flight Home...
- 5/23/2023
- by Malina Saval
- Variety Film + TV
By Glenn Charlie Dunks
We are looking at some of the movies playing Canada's beloved HotDocs festival. First up is buzzy Sundance hit, The Stroll.
The conversation around Jennie Livingston's iconic 1990 documentary Paris is Burning has been happening for many years now. The conversation that its white cis director profited financially and professionally from the lives of its black and latinx trans subjects who got very little out of its production. Whatever one thinks of it, it's hard to deny that as much as a film like The Stroll is needed today, it was also needed back then, too. Co-directed by Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker—two women directors who identify as transgender—The Stroll is the continued reclamation of trans stories on screen by those who have lived and breathed the life that it documents.
As you might expect, with this comes a lot of emotions to unpack.
We are looking at some of the movies playing Canada's beloved HotDocs festival. First up is buzzy Sundance hit, The Stroll.
The conversation around Jennie Livingston's iconic 1990 documentary Paris is Burning has been happening for many years now. The conversation that its white cis director profited financially and professionally from the lives of its black and latinx trans subjects who got very little out of its production. Whatever one thinks of it, it's hard to deny that as much as a film like The Stroll is needed today, it was also needed back then, too. Co-directed by Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker—two women directors who identify as transgender—The Stroll is the continued reclamation of trans stories on screen by those who have lived and breathed the life that it documents.
As you might expect, with this comes a lot of emotions to unpack.
- 4/27/2023
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Coined by the film historian and critic B. Ruby Rich in 1992 to give voice to the explosion in queer film she was witnessing on the burgeoning film festival circuit, the New Queer Cinema’s influence on independent film cannot be overstated. The ‘80s saw films like Jim Jarmusch’s “Stranger Than Paradise” and Steven Soderbergh’s “Sex, Lies, and Videotape” explode the idea of what film could be, in turn inspiring a new generation of radical queer filmmakers to pick up the camera and crack the whole thing wide open.
As Hollywood churned out blockbusters like “Terminator 2” and “Jurassic Park,” anyone paying attention could see that the real fun was being had way below budget. Sundance was still a new little gathering in Park City, where someone fresh out of film school could show a film and meet likeminded artists. Throughout the decade, Sundance gradually established itself as the...
As Hollywood churned out blockbusters like “Terminator 2” and “Jurassic Park,” anyone paying attention could see that the real fun was being had way below budget. Sundance was still a new little gathering in Park City, where someone fresh out of film school could show a film and meet likeminded artists. Throughout the decade, Sundance gradually established itself as the...
- 8/17/2022
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)
The Movie: "Paris is Burning"
Where You Can Stream It: HBO Max, The Criterion Channel
The Pitch: Jennie Livingston's groundbreaking documentary highlights the New York City ballroom scene and asks the queens to tell their own unfiltered stories — and strut their stuff. Released in 1990 but shot throughout the '80s, "Paris is Burning" is a vital and lively celebration of diverse queerness, albeit a controversial one. The movie tells the story of...
The post The Daily Stream: Paris is Burning is A Monument to Queer Resilience appeared first on /Film.
The Movie: "Paris is Burning"
Where You Can Stream It: HBO Max, The Criterion Channel
The Pitch: Jennie Livingston's groundbreaking documentary highlights the New York City ballroom scene and asks the queens to tell their own unfiltered stories — and strut their stuff. Released in 1990 but shot throughout the '80s, "Paris is Burning" is a vital and lively celebration of diverse queerness, albeit a controversial one. The movie tells the story of...
The post The Daily Stream: Paris is Burning is A Monument to Queer Resilience appeared first on /Film.
- 6/27/2022
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Elegance Bratton’s documentary about the gay and transgender haven of Manhattan’s Chelsea Piers shows a community under attack from all sides
Made between 2011 and 2016, Elegance Bratton’s film is an unforgettable documentary about queer Black lives on the fringe that will undoubtedly invite comparisons to Jennie Livingston’s Paris Is Burning, from 1990. Here though, we see everything through the lens of a queer Black film-maker who imbues every frame with startling frankness and radical empathy.
Pier Kids follows homeless gay and transgender youth of colour who have found their own community in Manhattan’s Chelsea Piers, highlighting the daily struggles of Crystal Labeija, Casper and Desean. What emerges is a deeply intimate portrait of an organic collective under attack from all sides: brutal policing, urban gentrification and financial precariousness. Stories involving shocking discrimination and violence are filmed with a conspiratorial understanding, as if the camera is lending a friendly ear.
Made between 2011 and 2016, Elegance Bratton’s film is an unforgettable documentary about queer Black lives on the fringe that will undoubtedly invite comparisons to Jennie Livingston’s Paris Is Burning, from 1990. Here though, we see everything through the lens of a queer Black film-maker who imbues every frame with startling frankness and radical empathy.
Pier Kids follows homeless gay and transgender youth of colour who have found their own community in Manhattan’s Chelsea Piers, highlighting the daily struggles of Crystal Labeija, Casper and Desean. What emerges is a deeply intimate portrait of an organic collective under attack from all sides: brutal policing, urban gentrification and financial precariousness. Stories involving shocking discrimination and violence are filmed with a conspiratorial understanding, as if the camera is lending a friendly ear.
- 10/4/2021
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
Category is The Realness: Lessovitz Isn’t Strictly Ballroom in Star Crossed Romance
To acknowledge the formidable, everlasting impact of Jennie Livingston’s 1990 documentary Paris is Burning, itself a successor to the recently restored 1968 doc The Queen, part of the conversation must include acknowledgement of appropriation. The privilege of the cultural gatekeeper, as in who gets to convey what stories, etc., has defined our understanding of others through cinematic representation. Obviously, this includes our established, well-hewn conditioning of whiteness and (hetero) normative vs. everything else under the sun. The legacy of the ballroom scene has been, until the last decade or so, completely encapsulated by Livingston’s indie doc, where lingo and references have been so copiously repeated (a la “Ru Paul’s Drag Race”) it’s easy to lose track of their origins, while a throwback homage such as “Pose” devolved across three seasons into spurious soap opera.…
Continue reading.
To acknowledge the formidable, everlasting impact of Jennie Livingston’s 1990 documentary Paris is Burning, itself a successor to the recently restored 1968 doc The Queen, part of the conversation must include acknowledgement of appropriation. The privilege of the cultural gatekeeper, as in who gets to convey what stories, etc., has defined our understanding of others through cinematic representation. Obviously, this includes our established, well-hewn conditioning of whiteness and (hetero) normative vs. everything else under the sun. The legacy of the ballroom scene has been, until the last decade or so, completely encapsulated by Livingston’s indie doc, where lingo and references have been so copiously repeated (a la “Ru Paul’s Drag Race”) it’s easy to lose track of their origins, while a throwback homage such as “Pose” devolved across three seasons into spurious soap opera.…
Continue reading.
- 6/7/2021
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
[Editor’s Note: The following contains minor spoilers for “Pose” Season 3.]
Anyone who’s been watching “Pose” over its history-making FX run won’t be surprised to learn the colorful show about New York’s ball culture definitely goes out with a bang. No expense was spared on the third and final season of Ryan Murphy’s most influential period melodrama — and the makeup and costumes are just as indulgent as the sentimental storytelling. With all of the pain and heartache trans people of color face in the real world, “Pose” laughs in face of reality by throwing something much more celebratory onscreen. Throughout all three seasons, “Pose” remains the fiercest advocate for itself — and for the power of living your truth.
Not that “Pose” ignores the ravages of the AIDS crisis, discrimination, and violence faced by the most marginalized (and most fabulous) among us. This season pulls no punches with the tragic realities of life for LGBTQ people...
Anyone who’s been watching “Pose” over its history-making FX run won’t be surprised to learn the colorful show about New York’s ball culture definitely goes out with a bang. No expense was spared on the third and final season of Ryan Murphy’s most influential period melodrama — and the makeup and costumes are just as indulgent as the sentimental storytelling. With all of the pain and heartache trans people of color face in the real world, “Pose” laughs in face of reality by throwing something much more celebratory onscreen. Throughout all three seasons, “Pose” remains the fiercest advocate for itself — and for the power of living your truth.
Not that “Pose” ignores the ravages of the AIDS crisis, discrimination, and violence faced by the most marginalized (and most fabulous) among us. This season pulls no punches with the tragic realities of life for LGBTQ people...
- 5/2/2021
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
This will be the last year for the IFP Gotham Awards, as the organization behind the event — Independent Film Project — is formally changing its name to the Gotham Film and Media Institute, or the Gotham for short.
The rebrand, which coincides with the award show’s 30th anniversary, is intended to reflect the organization’s expanded focus and New York base. Going forward, the ceremony will lose its vestigial initials and simply be referred to as the Gotham Awards, as it has been known colloquially for years.
“We chose to change our name to the Gotham, or the Gotham Film and Media Institute, in recognition of the digital era and the best-known event that we produce every year, the Gotham Awards,” says Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of the organization. He will formally unveil the retooled moniker at the Jan. 11 Gotham Awards ceremony, which will be streamed from Cipriani Wall Street...
The rebrand, which coincides with the award show’s 30th anniversary, is intended to reflect the organization’s expanded focus and New York base. Going forward, the ceremony will lose its vestigial initials and simply be referred to as the Gotham Awards, as it has been known colloquially for years.
“We chose to change our name to the Gotham, or the Gotham Film and Media Institute, in recognition of the digital era and the best-known event that we produce every year, the Gotham Awards,” says Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of the organization. He will formally unveil the retooled moniker at the Jan. 11 Gotham Awards ceremony, which will be streamed from Cipriani Wall Street...
- 1/6/2021
- by Diane Garrett
- Variety Film + TV
Closing out a year in which we’ve needed The Criterion Channel more than ever, they’ve now announced their impressive December lineup. Topping the highlights is a trio of Terrence Malick films––Badlands, Days of Heaven, and The New World––along with interviews featuring actors Richard Gere, Sissy Spacek, and Martin Sheen; production designer Jack Fisk; costume designer Jacqueline West; cinematographers Haskell Wexler and John Bailey; and more.
Also in the lineup is an Afrofuturism series, featuring an introduction by programmer Ashley Clark, with work by Lizzie Borden, Shirley Clarke, Souleymane Cissé, John Akomfrah, Terence Nance, and more. There’s also Mariano Llinás’s 14-hour epic La flor, Bill Morrison’s Dawson City: Frozen Time, Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You, Jennie Livingston’s Paris Is Burning, plus retrospectives dedicated to Mae West, Cary Grant, Barbra Streisand, and more.
Check out the lineup below and return every Friday for our weekly streaming picks.
Also in the lineup is an Afrofuturism series, featuring an introduction by programmer Ashley Clark, with work by Lizzie Borden, Shirley Clarke, Souleymane Cissé, John Akomfrah, Terence Nance, and more. There’s also Mariano Llinás’s 14-hour epic La flor, Bill Morrison’s Dawson City: Frozen Time, Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You, Jennie Livingston’s Paris Is Burning, plus retrospectives dedicated to Mae West, Cary Grant, Barbra Streisand, and more.
Check out the lineup below and return every Friday for our weekly streaming picks.
- 11/24/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
More often than not, queer children are born to straight parents and raised in a straight world. Traditional coming-out stories, where a queer character must reveal their sexuality to their families, have long held fascination for mainstream audiences. Infinitely more fascinating is the self-actualization journey, the universal queer experience of coming out to oneself, which is where queerness really distinguishes itself from straightness. Queer people must discover identity on our own, often without community, reflections of ourselves, or any record of our history. That’s why the queer canon — of radical queer cinema, literature, and art — is so vital, and it’s something you certainly won’t find in the latest Ryan Murphy confection.
Before it became fashionable for every TV show to have an LGBTQ+ character, queer art was often made with very little money or support. This led to the scrappy, DIY aesthetic of the New Queer Cinema,...
Before it became fashionable for every TV show to have an LGBTQ+ character, queer art was often made with very little money or support. This led to the scrappy, DIY aesthetic of the New Queer Cinema,...
- 10/23/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Documentary film editor Jonathan Oppenheim died July 16 in New York City, Sundance Institute confirmed to Variety. He was 67 and had been battling brain cancer .
“Jonathan began his life in the arts as a painter which informed his sensibility in film,” his wife, Josie Oppenheim, wrote in a statement. “He was a talented and highly original painter but documentary film was his chosen medium. The collaborative dynamic while not always peaceful was one aspect of the work that Jonathan loved.”
Oppenheim was best known for editing “Paris is Burning” (1990) and Oscar nominee “Children Underground” (2001). He also edited and co-produced “The Oath” (2010), the Emmy-nominated film in Laura Poitras’ post 9/11 trilogy.
Born to TV producer David Oppenheim and actress Judy Holliday in 1952, he began his editing career with the seminal “Paris is Burning,” directed by Jennie Livingston. He devoted his career to documentary storytelling and edited over 24 films, including the Oscar-nominated films “Streetwise...
“Jonathan began his life in the arts as a painter which informed his sensibility in film,” his wife, Josie Oppenheim, wrote in a statement. “He was a talented and highly original painter but documentary film was his chosen medium. The collaborative dynamic while not always peaceful was one aspect of the work that Jonathan loved.”
Oppenheim was best known for editing “Paris is Burning” (1990) and Oscar nominee “Children Underground” (2001). He also edited and co-produced “The Oath” (2010), the Emmy-nominated film in Laura Poitras’ post 9/11 trilogy.
Born to TV producer David Oppenheim and actress Judy Holliday in 1952, he began his editing career with the seminal “Paris is Burning,” directed by Jennie Livingston. He devoted his career to documentary storytelling and edited over 24 films, including the Oscar-nominated films “Streetwise...
- 7/21/2020
- by Janet W. Lee
- Variety Film + TV
In the years since “RuPaul’s Drag Race” became an international sensation — which happened around the time the drag reality-competition show transferred from the previously Lgbtq-centric channel Logo to the more mainstream VH1 — countless imitations have cropped up. Netflix’s decision to reboot “Queer Eye,” while trading on a name recognition that predates “Drag Race,” no doubt was partly influenced by the latter’s massive success. HBO recently debuted “We’re Here,” a structureless amalgamation of “Drag Race” and “Queer Eye” hosted by three former “Drag Race” contestants. World of Wonder, the production company that created and produces “Drag Race,” has spawned dozens of spinoff shows to varying degrees of success.
So far, none have come close to capturing the magic and audience fervor of the original sensation, and while RuPaul’s crown isn’t getting snatched anytime soon, “Legendary” is the first queer reality show to come close.
The new reality-competition...
So far, none have come close to capturing the magic and audience fervor of the original sensation, and while RuPaul’s crown isn’t getting snatched anytime soon, “Legendary” is the first queer reality show to come close.
The new reality-competition...
- 5/28/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
The up and coming legends of the vogue runway are ready to burn up the screen. HBO Max has released the first trailer for “Legendary,” a new competition reality show in which house teams from the real underground ballroom community compete to achieve “legendary” status. The unscripted series arrives with just nine episodes, which from the looks of this trailer will be jam-packed with characters, looks, and amazing dance moves, and has already garnered buzz for tapping chart-topping rapper Megan Thee Stallion as a judge. “The Good Place” star Jameela Jamil will also serve on the judges’ panel, along with Law Roach and Leiomy Maldonado. Dashaun Wesley and DJ MikeQ will Mc and DJ.
Here’s how HBO Max described the show: “In this series highlighting modern day ball culture, divas battle on teams called ‘Houses’ in fashion and dance challenges including voguing for the chance to snatch the legendary...
Here’s how HBO Max described the show: “In this series highlighting modern day ball culture, divas battle on teams called ‘Houses’ in fashion and dance challenges including voguing for the chance to snatch the legendary...
- 5/18/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
In the mid-1980s, photographer and aspiring filmmaker Jennie Livingston discovered New York City’s drag ball scene and found the subject for what would become her debut feature, the landmark 1990 documentary Paris is Burning. A moving, empathetic, and very, very funny portrait of the black, Latinx, gay and transgender voguers who find support and community in rival “houses” during a time of cultural hostility defined by homophobia, transphobia, and racism, Paris is Burning is both a remarkable time capsule and a timeless ensemble character study about the need for self-expression and the desire to be heard. Livingston’s sensitivity as an […]...
- 3/2/2020
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
In the mid-1980s, photographer and aspiring filmmaker Jennie Livingston discovered New York City’s drag ball scene and found the subject for what would become her debut feature, the landmark 1990 documentary Paris is Burning. A moving, empathetic, and very, very funny portrait of the black, Latinx, gay and transgender voguers who find support and community in rival “houses” during a time of cultural hostility defined by homophobia, transphobia, and racism, Paris is Burning is both a remarkable time capsule and a timeless ensemble character study about the need for self-expression and the desire to be heard. Livingston’s sensitivity as an […]...
- 3/2/2020
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In “Born to Be,” Tania Cypriano’s moving and fascinatingly forward-looking documentary about the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York City, we meet a handful of eager, at times desperate folks who are engaged in the existential medical conundrum of doing everything they can to become the people they are.
One of them, Mahogany Phillips, is getting surgery to reduce the downward-sloping masculine curve of her forehead. The physician who’s working with her, Dr. Jess Ting, explains that he’s going to drastically cut back the bone — which may give you a queasy shudder, since the bone he’s talking about encases that thing called the brain. This is no mere rhinoplasty or cheek implant; the procedure sounds drastic. But then the surgery happens, quite successfully, and we see what Mahogany looks like afterwards, the reduced size and slope of her forehead appearing as...
One of them, Mahogany Phillips, is getting surgery to reduce the downward-sloping masculine curve of her forehead. The physician who’s working with her, Dr. Jess Ting, explains that he’s going to drastically cut back the bone — which may give you a queasy shudder, since the bone he’s talking about encases that thing called the brain. This is no mere rhinoplasty or cheek implant; the procedure sounds drastic. But then the surgery happens, quite successfully, and we see what Mahogany looks like afterwards, the reduced size and slope of her forehead appearing as...
- 10/3/2019
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
” I always had hopes of being a big star. But as you get older, you aim a little lower. “
Paris Is Burning (1990) screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood) Friday Auhust 16th, Saturday August 17th. It will screen there again September 6-8th. The screenings begin at 7:30 each evening. Facebook invite can be found Here.
A movie that the world is still catching up to, Jennie Livingston’s Paris is Burning looks at drag ball culture in Harlem in the 1980s. Calling to mind other great counterculture docs of the era, such as Penelope Spheeris’s The Decline of Western Civilization, Paris brings you into a world of voguing, rival houses, throwing shade, and all kinds of other cultural touchstones that have been slowly creeping into mainstream consciousness in the intervening 30 years. Indispensable.
Admission is:
$7 for the general public
$6 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other...
Paris Is Burning (1990) screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood) Friday Auhust 16th, Saturday August 17th. It will screen there again September 6-8th. The screenings begin at 7:30 each evening. Facebook invite can be found Here.
A movie that the world is still catching up to, Jennie Livingston’s Paris is Burning looks at drag ball culture in Harlem in the 1980s. Calling to mind other great counterculture docs of the era, such as Penelope Spheeris’s The Decline of Western Civilization, Paris brings you into a world of voguing, rival houses, throwing shade, and all kinds of other cultural touchstones that have been slowly creeping into mainstream consciousness in the intervening 30 years. Indispensable.
Admission is:
$7 for the general public
$6 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other...
- 8/12/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
With the spotlight on the Stonewall uprising’s 50th anniversary this month, several treasured landmark Lgbtq documentaries have been restored and are being re-released for a limited time in theaters, including Jennie Livingston’s Paris Is Burning and the era-defining Before Stonewall. But among the gifts to be cherished from this renewed focus is Frank Simon’s 1968 film The Queen. It remains obscure to most, but now with a 4K restoration produced by Bret Wood of Kino Lorber — building on work done by UCLA Film & Television Archive, Outfest UCLA Legacy...
- 6/28/2019
- by Jerry Portwood
- Rollingstone.com
Few queer films have pierced the contemporary cultural nexus as effectively as John Cameron Mitchell’s beloved 2001 directorial debut Hedwig and the Angry Inch, adapted from his own underground cult stage play which amassed a considerable following thanks to its 1998 off-Broadway success (its stage prologue was birthed even earlier during performances at clubs and varied offbeat New York venues). Mitchell arrived at the end of the 1990s as an outré vision with a metaphor on the painful but necessary unity of converging humankind’s disparities torn mercilessly asunder. Earlier in the same decade, the Sundance Film Festival generated a small movement which would come to be classified as New Queer Cinema, where auteurs like Todd Haynes, Derek Jarman, Rose Troche, Gregg Araki and Jennie Livingston rose like phoenixes from the ashes of Reaganomics and the ongoing AIDs crisis.…...
- 6/25/2019
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
For generations of queer people and people of color, “Paris Is Burning” offered a rare glimpse of a more colorful and love-filled future than they ever could have imagined. Jennie Livingston’s seminal 1990 documentary chronicled New York’s ballroom scene in the mid-to-late ’80s, introducing the world to vogueing, reading, shade, house culture, and a rich tapestry of the magnetic drag queens, trans women, and queer street kids who give the film its palpable magic.
“Paris Is Burning” was a massive critical hit, winning both the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1991 as well as the Teddy Award for Best Documentary from the Berlinale. Nearly 30 years after “Paris Is Burning” first struck a pose in the cultural milieu, a new restoration of the queer cinema classic has been re-released in select theaters this month. However, with great success comes great scrutiny; over the years, “Paris Is Burning” has walked more...
“Paris Is Burning” was a massive critical hit, winning both the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1991 as well as the Teddy Award for Best Documentary from the Berlinale. Nearly 30 years after “Paris Is Burning” first struck a pose in the cultural milieu, a new restoration of the queer cinema classic has been re-released in select theaters this month. However, with great success comes great scrutiny; over the years, “Paris Is Burning” has walked more...
- 6/24/2019
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Cannes opener The Dead Don’t Die from Jim Jarmusch bowed in fairly wide 613 theaters Fathers Day weekend, featuring a pack of big named stars turned zombie. The title sauntered to a $2.35M gross in 613 theaters for a $3,827 per theater average.
This is a back to back Cannes opening release for Focus. The company launched the festival’s 2018 starter, Everybody Knows starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, which had a comparatively higher PTA in its first weekend, albeit in far fewer theaters. The drama grossed over $71K in just four locations, averaging $17,802. Everybody Knows was in fewer than half of The Dead Don’t Die’s location count at its peak. Everybody Knows eventually cumed $2.66M domestically.
The Dead Don’t Die is Jarmusch’s widest opener. Noted Focus president of Distribution when reporting numbers Sunday: “We’re thrilled to see Jim’s biggest opening and his top grossing weekend ever with this film.
This is a back to back Cannes opening release for Focus. The company launched the festival’s 2018 starter, Everybody Knows starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, which had a comparatively higher PTA in its first weekend, albeit in far fewer theaters. The drama grossed over $71K in just four locations, averaging $17,802. Everybody Knows was in fewer than half of The Dead Don’t Die’s location count at its peak. Everybody Knows eventually cumed $2.66M domestically.
The Dead Don’t Die is Jarmusch’s widest opener. Noted Focus president of Distribution when reporting numbers Sunday: “We’re thrilled to see Jim’s biggest opening and his top grossing weekend ever with this film.
- 6/16/2019
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
Hot off the Cannes Film Festival, Focus Features is wasting little time to get Jim Jarmusch’s latest The Dead Don’t Die in theaters this weekend. The comedy-thriller which features Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Iggy Pop and more will be in about six hundred theaters starting Friday. The Dead Don’t Die is one of a fairly sizable crowd of Specialty newcomers headed to theaters. Sienna Miller stars in American Woman from Roadside Attractions/Vertical Entertainment. Directed by Jake Scott, the drama will also have a good number of runs in its first frame in about 117 locations. Jim Gaffigan, meanwhile, stars in comedy, Being Frank, by director Miranda Bailey in a much more traditional three locations in New York and L.A. its first weekend via The Film Arcade. And nearly three decades after its first release, the seminal documentary Paris Is Burning...
- 6/14/2019
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
Long before RuPaul brought the drag race into our living rooms and even before Madonna asked us to strike a pose in the “Vogue” music video, Crystal Labeija was a participant in the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Pageant. When she was declared the third runner up, Crystal walked off the stage in a fit of rage because these pageants discriminated against drag queens of color. Even subaltern queer cultural phenomena like drag balls were run on racist rules which kept out queer persons of color. When they did get around to participate, they were asked to lighten their faces. Fed up and angry, Crystal Labeija founded the legendary House of Labeija out of a need to create a safe space for queer people of color. This went on to shape the definitive ballroom and voguing culture for queer people of color, which forms the subject of Jennie Livingston’s 1990 documentary Paris is Burning.
- 6/14/2019
- MUBI
“I wanted to affirm Lgbtq people’s lives,” declares “Pose” co-creator and co-executive producer Steven Canals. In our recent webchat, he talks passionately about watching his vibrant and authentic series spread a message of joy and survival. With a world that frequently tells queer folk that their voices and lives don’t matter, Canals believes “it is critically important to remind everyone… you are still a part of this incredible community. And you are deserving of love and joy.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.
Canals first wrote his first draft of the “Pose” pilot as a UCLA student, shortly after watching Jennie Livingston’s legendary documentary “Paris is Burning.” Though his parents grew up in Harlem, he admits, “I don’t think I nor my family had any idea that this incredible community existed.” The documentary follows New York’s drag ballroom scene of the 1980’s and a young...
Canals first wrote his first draft of the “Pose” pilot as a UCLA student, shortly after watching Jennie Livingston’s legendary documentary “Paris is Burning.” Though his parents grew up in Harlem, he admits, “I don’t think I nor my family had any idea that this incredible community existed.” The documentary follows New York’s drag ballroom scene of the 1980’s and a young...
- 6/11/2019
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSThe late Machiko Kyo in Cannes, c. 1960.Machiko Kyo, the star of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu, and Teinosuke Kinugasa's Gate of Hell, has passed away at the age of 95. Recommended VIEWINGThe 2nd trailer for Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, which expands further upon the film's storytelling ambitions, comic tone, and inspired casting. Janus Films has released the trailer for its new restoration of Paris is Burning, Jennie Livingston's seminal 1990 documentary on New York City drag ball culture. Ahead of its June 21 release, the final trailer for Toy Story 4 promises road trip adventures and, as per usual, some existential mayhem regarding what it means to be a child's toy. Exclusive clips by way of Cannes, each depicting intimate encounters. Abel Ferrara's Tommaso follows an...
- 5/23/2019
- MUBI
Premiering nearly three decades ago, Paris Is Burning was one of the most influential documentaries of the 1990s, spotlighting ballroom culture in all its glory and now it’s been restored for a theatrical release this summer. Ahead of the release, a new trailer has been released, featuring no shortage of unforgettable moments with certain ball stars you might be familiar with such as Angie Xtravaganza, Pepper Labeija, Dorian Corey and Octavia St-Laurent. Directed by Jennie Livingston, the documentary was filmed during the 1980s, and it showcased the joy and struggles these performers were going through. Even if the movie came out many decades ago, it still holds up by teaching viewers the true meaning of gender, race, and class in the tumultuous time of the AIDS crisis.
An impactful celebration about being yourself, Paris Is Burning is an insightful documentary about developing and honoring your own identity, clearly holding up decades later.
An impactful celebration about being yourself, Paris Is Burning is an insightful documentary about developing and honoring your own identity, clearly holding up decades later.
- 5/20/2019
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
I first met Ryan Murphy on location in Hollywood in July. The set was a nightclub, filled with background actors staged as glistening go-go dancers, shirtless revelers, and twirling drag queens. They were all basking under the glow of a spinning disco ball — a fitting setting for my first Hollywood job interview.
I was flown in from New York City to meet with television’s most prolific showrunner, who was directing the pilot of “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.” The day’s shoot concentrated on reconstructing a moment when the late Italian designer meets the man who will ultimately end his life. Our own meet-cute began (less tragically) between takes. Murphy greeted me with a double from Starbucks in one hand and his other extended. “I am working on a new show which will tell the story of 1980s New York City through characters in two worlds...
I was flown in from New York City to meet with television’s most prolific showrunner, who was directing the pilot of “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.” The day’s shoot concentrated on reconstructing a moment when the late Italian designer meets the man who will ultimately end his life. Our own meet-cute began (less tragically) between takes. Murphy greeted me with a double from Starbucks in one hand and his other extended. “I am working on a new show which will tell the story of 1980s New York City through characters in two worlds...
- 5/16/2018
- by Janet Mock
- Variety Film + TV
An eye-opening documentary about New York’s underground Lgbt ball culture
Sara Jordenö’s vivid documentary about New York’s underground ballroom scene glows with the heat of radical empathy. Jordenö casts her subjects – gay black and brown teens who find freedom in dance and drag – in warm reds and oranges, giving each individual their moment by fixing on their faces as they make direct eye contact with her camera.
The elephant in the room is Jennie Livingston’s 1990 vogueing documentary, Paris Is Burning, which casts a long shadow over the film. There are two main differences here: firstly, Kiki comes from the community it depicts (Twiggy Pucci Garçon, one of the film’s stars, has a co-writer credit). Secondly, while Paris Is Burning was mostly set against the backdrop of the Reagan era, Kiki takes place in Obama’s America. Inevitably, the dramatic stakes feel different; the urgency of...
Sara Jordenö’s vivid documentary about New York’s underground ballroom scene glows with the heat of radical empathy. Jordenö casts her subjects – gay black and brown teens who find freedom in dance and drag – in warm reds and oranges, giving each individual their moment by fixing on their faces as they make direct eye contact with her camera.
The elephant in the room is Jennie Livingston’s 1990 vogueing documentary, Paris Is Burning, which casts a long shadow over the film. There are two main differences here: firstly, Kiki comes from the community it depicts (Twiggy Pucci Garçon, one of the film’s stars, has a co-writer credit). Secondly, while Paris Is Burning was mostly set against the backdrop of the Reagan era, Kiki takes place in Obama’s America. Inevitably, the dramatic stakes feel different; the urgency of...
- 5/28/2017
- by Simran Hans
- The Guardian - Film News
A very happy International Women’s Day (and, related, Happy A Day Without A Woman those exercising their ability to strike in order to help highlight the important contributions made by women in the workplace and the world at large) to all of our readers! With this important day in mind, we’ve assembled a list of films, all currently streaming online, that would not exist without the female creators (writers, directors, sometime-stars, and more) who crafted them. It’s just a taste — a nibble, really — of some of the industry’s best examples of forward-thinking, female-driven work.
Read More: IndieWire Stands With Women: 27 TV Shows Created by Women, Starring Women, That We Absolutely Love
Take a peek, and appreciate the power of women and their strong-as-hell creativity and drive.
“Paris Is Burning” (Netflix)
Jennie Livingston’s incisive, intimate and wildly entertaining documentary about New York City “drag ball culture...
Read More: IndieWire Stands With Women: 27 TV Shows Created by Women, Starring Women, That We Absolutely Love
Take a peek, and appreciate the power of women and their strong-as-hell creativity and drive.
“Paris Is Burning” (Netflix)
Jennie Livingston’s incisive, intimate and wildly entertaining documentary about New York City “drag ball culture...
- 3/8/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
When filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky arrived in West Memphis, Arkansas in June 1993, they came with an agenda: to document what looked like a new wave of alienated youth-turned-murderers. A few months earlier, two 10-year-olds in the U.K. had made headlines when they abducted, tortured and murdered a two-year-old, and now the filmmakers had read about the brutal murders of three eight-year-old boys ostensibly committed by teenage Satanists. It seemed like a trend. "We went down to make a film about guilty teenagers, like a real Rivers Edge,...
- 12/14/2016
- Rollingstone.com
“Todd Haynes‘ filmography is often overwhelming in its intellectual acumen and emotional devastation,” we noted upon the release of his latest film this past fall. “This is true of Carol, which is at once a return to the deconstruction of femininity, social mores, and mild anarchy of privilege, as well as an honest and heartbreaking story about falling in love and the trepidation therein.” Over 100 film experts, ranging from critics to writers to programmers, agree on the emotional power of the drama, as they’ve voted it the best Lgbt film of all-time.
Conducted by BFI ahead of the 30th BFI Flare: London Lgbt Film Festival, they note this is the “first major critical survey of Lgbt films.” Speaking about leading the poll, Haynes said, “I’m so proud to have Carol voted as the top Lgbt film of all time in this poll launched for the Fest’s 30th edition.
Conducted by BFI ahead of the 30th BFI Flare: London Lgbt Film Festival, they note this is the “first major critical survey of Lgbt films.” Speaking about leading the poll, Haynes said, “I’m so proud to have Carol voted as the top Lgbt film of all time in this poll launched for the Fest’s 30th edition.
- 3/15/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Billed as a sort of follow-up to Jennie Livingston's Paris Is Burning, Sara Jordenö's debut feature takes us back to the heart of the New York's ballroom scene - only this time the director casts her lens over a very specific part of that enduring cultural scene. Having already screened at Sundance, Kiki focuses on a youth subsection of the vogue movement which people like Livingston and Madonna helped to make internationally famous back in the '90s. And the decision to make this documentary about a number of socially eminent figures such as Twiggy Pucci Garcon (who stars and helped co-write the film) also feels like a long overdue update on that Lgbtq community's thoughts and feelings, meaning this film sings out from the Panorama Documents programme...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 2/22/2016
- Screen Anarchy
Billed as a sort of follow-up to Jennie Livingston's Paris Is Burning, Sara Jordenö's debut feature takes us back to the heart of the New York's ballroom scene - only this time the director casts her lens over a very specific part of that enduring cultural scene. Having already screened at Sundance, Kiki focuses on a youth subsection of the vogue movement which people like Livingston and Madonna helped to make internationally famous back in the '90s. And the decision to make this documentary about a number of socially eminent figures such as Twiggy Pucci Garcon (who stars and helped co-write the film) also feels like a long overdue update on that Lgbtq community's thoughts and feelings, meaning this film sings out from the Panorama Documents programme...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 2/22/2016
- Screen Anarchy
A little more than a quarter-decade has passed since Jennie Livingston's classic documentary Paris Is Burning helped introduce New York's ballroom scene to the world, and the tight-knit community remains a vibrant subculture in a city bursting with them. For the uninitiated, what happens is that participants — primarily gay, bisexual, and transgender men and women of color — gather at rec centers across town for elaborate parties in which they compete, or “walk,” in costume-based categories for a chance to win honorary titles such as "Legend" or "Icon." "Houses" function like small surrogate families and are oftentimes named after luxury designers. As Paris Is Burning showed, ball culture is about much more than glamour; it can serve as a refuge for those exiled from mainstream society because of poverty, bigotry, or sexuality. Today, young gay black men account for 55 percent of new HIV infections, according to the Cdc, and...
- 2/1/2016
- by Lauretta Charlton
- Vulture
This complex documentary explores a fascinating subculture and adds substance and depth to a world that could otherwise be patronised
At last year’s Sundance there was a screening of Paris Is Burning, Jennie Livingston’s landmark film detailing the world of New York’s ballroom or voguing scene. It sparkled at the festival but also reignited a debate around who got to tell the story and who ultimately benefited from the film. Almost 25 years on from the debut of Paris Is Burning, Kiki tells the story of the modern scene in New York and takes a deep dive into the world beyond the ball.
Sara Jordenö, the Swedish documentary filmmaker and visual artist, is behind the camera this time and focuses on Kiki, which is a scene within the greater ballroom scene in New York which is run by Lgbtq people of colour. There are houses such as Juicy Couture,...
At last year’s Sundance there was a screening of Paris Is Burning, Jennie Livingston’s landmark film detailing the world of New York’s ballroom or voguing scene. It sparkled at the festival but also reignited a debate around who got to tell the story and who ultimately benefited from the film. Almost 25 years on from the debut of Paris Is Burning, Kiki tells the story of the modern scene in New York and takes a deep dive into the world beyond the ball.
Sara Jordenö, the Swedish documentary filmmaker and visual artist, is behind the camera this time and focuses on Kiki, which is a scene within the greater ballroom scene in New York which is run by Lgbtq people of colour. There are houses such as Juicy Couture,...
- 1/27/2016
- by Lanre Bakare
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s easy to call “Kiki” the 2016 “Paris is Burning.” There are similar scenes in "Kiki" of voguing and shit-talking down at the Chelsea piers that harken back to the ones that made Venus Xtravaganza an icon in Jennie Livingston’s groundbreaking 1990 documentary. The two films share a subject matter and approach in their ethnographic looks into the voguing ballroom scene in New York City, and the ways in which queer kids, specifically queer youth of color, discover their chosen families. However, there are a few key differences, and probably the most important one is right at the beginning of the film. It’s the credit reading “a film by Sara Jordenö and Twiggy Pucci Garçon.” Jordenö is the Swedish filmmaker who directed “Kiki,” and Twiggy is one of the film’s subjects, an activist and gatekeeper in the ball scene who shepherded Jordenö’s access and has a co-writing credit.
- 1/27/2016
- by Katie Walsh
- The Playlist
Jennie Livingston’s landmark film on New York’s voguing scene helped shine a light on one of the most influential subcultures, but it also saw its creator accused of wanton voyeurism. On the eve of a controversial screening, is Paris Burnt?
Few documentaries can claim to have sparked as much discussion and controversy as Jennie Livingston’s debut Paris is Burning (1991), the vibrant time capsule of New York’s ballroom subculture in the 80s. Seven years in the making, this stylish, poignant film followed African American and Hispanic gay men, drag queens and transgender women as they compete in simultaneously fierce and fun competitions involving fashion runways and vogue dancing battles, while sporting styles like Butch Queen, Town and Country and Luscious Body. Many of the contestants vying for trophies represent “Houses” (Pendavis, Extravaganza, Labeija) which serve as surrogate families and social groups for a predominantly youthful community largely ostracised from mainstream society.
Few documentaries can claim to have sparked as much discussion and controversy as Jennie Livingston’s debut Paris is Burning (1991), the vibrant time capsule of New York’s ballroom subculture in the 80s. Seven years in the making, this stylish, poignant film followed African American and Hispanic gay men, drag queens and transgender women as they compete in simultaneously fierce and fun competitions involving fashion runways and vogue dancing battles, while sporting styles like Butch Queen, Town and Country and Luscious Body. Many of the contestants vying for trophies represent “Houses” (Pendavis, Extravaganza, Labeija) which serve as surrogate families and social groups for a predominantly youthful community largely ostracised from mainstream society.
- 6/24/2015
- by Ashley Clark
- The Guardian - Film News
Read More: 5 Questions for Jennie Livingston, Director of "Paris Is Burning" and "Who's The Top?" On Saturday, April 18, the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship hosted a half-day of panel discussions with a gathering of documentary film editors, directors and producers to discuss the art of editing. The goal of the day and future events is to shine a light on the role of the editor in the filmmaking process, build community and celebrate an under-explored and often misunderstood collaboration between director and editor. Panelists included editors Toby Shimin ("How to Dance in Ohio"), Nels Bangerter ("Let the Fire Burn"), Mona Davis ("Running from Crazy"), Colin Nusbaum ("Tough Love"), and Mary Manhardt ("American Promise") and moderators Tom Roston ("Doc Soup") and Doug Block ("112 Weddings"). The day began with a Keynote from...
- 4/30/2015
- by Jonathan Oppenheim
- Indiewire
The initiative runs now through April 17 in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and will be followed by another residency later this autumn.
The Gabrielle A Hanna Film Institute, an initiative of the Provincetown Film Society (Pfs), launched the women’s residency programme.
The project will allow female film-makers from around the world to work in the Cape Cod locale during the off-season alongside other artists and writers.
Pfs, in collaboration with local businesses such as Land’s End Inn, Roux and Sage Inn & Lounge, will provide lodging and meals and an inviting environment for film-makers to foster their work.
“When we first conceived of the idea of a film institute, we met with several leaders in the film world to explore ways in which we could have an immediate impact on our underserved communities,” said Provincetown Film Society CEO Christine Walker.
“We concluded that a residency programme for women would serve as a catalyst for change in an industry where an...
The Gabrielle A Hanna Film Institute, an initiative of the Provincetown Film Society (Pfs), launched the women’s residency programme.
The project will allow female film-makers from around the world to work in the Cape Cod locale during the off-season alongside other artists and writers.
Pfs, in collaboration with local businesses such as Land’s End Inn, Roux and Sage Inn & Lounge, will provide lodging and meals and an inviting environment for film-makers to foster their work.
“When we first conceived of the idea of a film institute, we met with several leaders in the film world to explore ways in which we could have an immediate impact on our underserved communities,” said Provincetown Film Society CEO Christine Walker.
“We concluded that a residency programme for women would serve as a catalyst for change in an industry where an...
- 4/6/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Celebrating its 12th year, Outfest Fusion is the only multicultural Lgbt film festival of its kind, running March 13-14 at the venerable Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Indie-pioneering writer, director and producer Rose Troche ("Go Fish," "The Safety of Objects" and Showtime's "The L Word") will receive the 2015 Fusion Achievement Award, presented by stars of "The L Word," prior to the short films gala on Saturday, March 14. On Friday the 13th, an upcoming episode of "Empire" will screen alongside a Q&A with the smash hit Fox series' producers. The event shares the evening with the Los Angeles premiere of the new digitally restored print Jennie Livingston's seminal 1990 Lgbt doc "Paris Is Burning" centered on New York City drag ball culture. The film comes courtesy of the Sundance Institute, the UCLA Film & Television Archive, the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project and Miramax. This year’s Outfest Fusion line-up...
- 2/26/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
After narrowing the Oscar documentary feature shortlist to five at the 87th Academy Award nominations Jan. 15, a number of notable exclusions were featured, particularly Al Hicks‘ Keep on Keepin’ On, which documents the mentorship and friendship of a jazz legend and a blind piano prodigy, and Steve James‘ Life Itself, about the life and career of famed film critic Roger Ebert. (James is no stranger to snubs and the exclusion of his 1994 film Hoop Dreams led to rule reform within the documentary category.) Both films hold 97 percent positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
Some films surprised when they didn’t even land a spot on the shortlist, such as Red Army, which examines the rise and fall of the Soviet Union’s hockey team from the perspective of its coach. That film holds a 100 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In light of these best documentary feature snubs,...
Managing Editor
After narrowing the Oscar documentary feature shortlist to five at the 87th Academy Award nominations Jan. 15, a number of notable exclusions were featured, particularly Al Hicks‘ Keep on Keepin’ On, which documents the mentorship and friendship of a jazz legend and a blind piano prodigy, and Steve James‘ Life Itself, about the life and career of famed film critic Roger Ebert. (James is no stranger to snubs and the exclusion of his 1994 film Hoop Dreams led to rule reform within the documentary category.) Both films hold 97 percent positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
Some films surprised when they didn’t even land a spot on the shortlist, such as Red Army, which examines the rise and fall of the Soviet Union’s hockey team from the perspective of its coach. That film holds a 100 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In light of these best documentary feature snubs,...
- 1/23/2015
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
Editor's note: Sundance Curiosities is a feature designed to preview films at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival. Entries are written by members of the Indiewire | Sundance Institute Ebert Fellowship for Film Criticism. Some of the most diverse portraits of Lgbt life in American film from the past couple of decades have had the Sundance Film Festival to thank for breathing life into them. This extends as far back as Jennie Livingston’s masterpiece "Paris is Burning," and more recently includes such offerings as Dee Rees’ "Pariah." There will always be higher profile films depicting the anguish and pressures of being a white gay man or woman, but the festival goes out of its way to find more marginalized queer voices that are also willing to engage with issues like race, class, gender or religion, even if a lot of these gems tend to be buried under the glut of coverage during the festival mayhem.
- 1/16/2015
- by Ibad Shah
- Indiewire
Laura Poitras' "Citizenfour" won big at the 8th annual Cinema Eye Honors! The fantastic Edward Snowden doc took home four awards including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature and Outstanding Direction.
Here's the complete list of winners of the 8th annual Cinema Eye Honors:
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
Citizenfour
Directed by Laura Poitras
Produced by Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Laura Poitras
Citizenfour
Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Mathilde Bonnefoy
Citizenfour
Outstanding Achievement in Production
Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
Citizenfour
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography (tie)
Erik Wilson
20,000 Days on Earth
Franklin Dow and Orlando von Einsiedel
Virunga
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Films Made for Television
The Price of Gold
Directed by Nanette Burstein
Produced by Libby Geist
For Espn/30 for 30: John Dahl, Connor Schell, Bill Simmons
Audience Choice Prize
Keep On Keepin' On
Directed by Alan Hicks
Outstanding Achievement in a...
Here's the complete list of winners of the 8th annual Cinema Eye Honors:
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
Citizenfour
Directed by Laura Poitras
Produced by Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Laura Poitras
Citizenfour
Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Mathilde Bonnefoy
Citizenfour
Outstanding Achievement in Production
Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
Citizenfour
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography (tie)
Erik Wilson
20,000 Days on Earth
Franklin Dow and Orlando von Einsiedel
Virunga
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Films Made for Television
The Price of Gold
Directed by Nanette Burstein
Produced by Libby Geist
For Espn/30 for 30: John Dahl, Connor Schell, Bill Simmons
Audience Choice Prize
Keep On Keepin' On
Directed by Alan Hicks
Outstanding Achievement in a...
- 1/9/2015
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
“Citizenfour,” Laura Poitras’ documentary about Nsa whistleblower Edward Snowden, won four awards at the Cinema Eye Honors in New York City on Wednesday, reinforcing its position as the dominant non-fiction film of 2014.
The film swept the top categories, winning Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking as well as Outstanding Achievement in Direction, Editing and Production.
It became the second film in Cinema Eye history to win four awards, after “Waltz With Bashir,” and the second to win best feature and best director after Steve James’ “The Interrupters.”
Also read: Edward Snowden Doc Director on Taking ‘Staggering’ Risks, Angering Powerful People
In December,...
The film swept the top categories, winning Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking as well as Outstanding Achievement in Direction, Editing and Production.
It became the second film in Cinema Eye history to win four awards, after “Waltz With Bashir,” and the second to win best feature and best director after Steve James’ “The Interrupters.”
Also read: Edward Snowden Doc Director on Taking ‘Staggering’ Risks, Angering Powerful People
In December,...
- 1/8/2015
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking have presented their first awards of 2015, with the group's Heterodox Award going to Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" and the Legacy Award presented to Jennie Livingston's 1990 classic "Paris is Burning." The Cinema Eye Heterodox Award, sponsored by Filmmaker Magazine, honors a fiction film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production. In addition to "Boyhood," 2015 Nominees included: "Heaven Knows What" (Josh and Benny Safdie), "A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness" (Ben Rivers and Ben Russell), "Stop the Pounding Heart" (Roberto Minervini) and "Under the Skin" (Jonathan Glazer). This is the sixth year that Cinema Eye presented its Legacy Award, intended to honor classic films that inspire a new generation of filmmakers and embody the Cinema Eye mission: excellence in creative and artistic achievements in nonfiction films....
- 1/7/2015
- by Casey Cipriani
- Indiewire
In a new annual lunchtime ceremony, Cinema Eye Honors awarded today the Filmmaker-sponsored Heterodox Award to Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and feted Jennie Livingston’s Paris is Burning with its Legacy Award. Linklater as well as Livingston and her collaborators were all on hand to accept their awards at midtown’s Etcetera Etcetera. Of the divide between documentary and fiction, Linklater, who was on hand to accept the award, said, “I don’t even call it ‘a blurry line’… I’ve never really drawn a particular line between documentary and fiction.” Continuing, he said, “[Boyhood] is not a documentary but it’s certainly a document. It’s […]...
- 1/7/2015
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
In a new annual lunchtime ceremony, Cinema Eye Honors awarded today the Filmmaker-sponsored Heterodox Award to Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and feted Jennie Livingston’s Paris is Burning with its Legacy Award. Linklater as well as Livingston and her collaborators were all on hand to accept their awards at midtown’s Etcetera Etcetera. Of the divide between documentary and fiction, Linklater, who was on hand to accept the award, said, “I don’t even call it ‘a blurry line’… I’ve never really drawn a particular line between documentary and fiction.” Continuing, he said, “[Boyhood] is not a documentary but it’s certainly a document. It’s […]...
- 1/7/2015
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Announcements for the lineup for the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, taking place between January 22nd and February 1st, are starting to roll out. Watch this page for updates as more films and sections are revealed.
Premieres
Brooklyn (John Crowley, UK)
Digging for Fire (Joe Swanberg, USA)
Don Verdean (Jared Hess, USA)
End of the Tour (James Ponsoldt, USA)
Experimenter (Michael Almereyda, USA)
Grandma (Paul Weitz, USA)
I Am Michael (Justin Kelly, USA)
I'll See You In My Dreams (Brett Haley, USA)
Last Days in the Desert (Rodrigo Garcia, USA)
Lila & Eve (Charles Stone III, USA)
Mississipi Grind (Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden, USA)
Mistress America (Noah Baumbach, USA)
Seoul Searching (Benson Lee, USA/Korea)
Sleeping with Other People (Leslye Headland, USA)
Ten Thousand Saints (Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman, USA)
True Story (Rupert Goold, USA)
A Walk in the Woods (Ken Kwapis, USA)
Zipper (Mora Stephens, USA)
Documentary Premieres
Beaver Trilogy Part IV (Brad Besser,...
Premieres
Brooklyn (John Crowley, UK)
Digging for Fire (Joe Swanberg, USA)
Don Verdean (Jared Hess, USA)
End of the Tour (James Ponsoldt, USA)
Experimenter (Michael Almereyda, USA)
Grandma (Paul Weitz, USA)
I Am Michael (Justin Kelly, USA)
I'll See You In My Dreams (Brett Haley, USA)
Last Days in the Desert (Rodrigo Garcia, USA)
Lila & Eve (Charles Stone III, USA)
Mississipi Grind (Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden, USA)
Mistress America (Noah Baumbach, USA)
Seoul Searching (Benson Lee, USA/Korea)
Sleeping with Other People (Leslye Headland, USA)
Ten Thousand Saints (Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman, USA)
True Story (Rupert Goold, USA)
A Walk in the Woods (Ken Kwapis, USA)
Zipper (Mora Stephens, USA)
Documentary Premieres
Beaver Trilogy Part IV (Brad Besser,...
- 12/16/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
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