With documentary distribution in a state of disruption, most independent nonfiction filmmakers have been left on their own to find new and creative solutions to ensure that their films reach audiences.
Ian Cheney is the latest director to turn to a bespoke distribution method for his docu “The Arc of Oblivion.” Cheney wrote, edited, and directed the film, which explores people’s impulse toward preservation and how it relates to the natural world, memory and legacy. During the course of the docu, produced by Sandbox Films, a wooden ark is constructed on Cheney’s parent’s property in Maine. The structure serves as both a physical storage space for archival materials and a symbolic representation of humanity’s desire to retain meaning in an impermanent world.
During the month of August, Cheney, along with Sandbox Films’ Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop decided to transform the ark into the Ark Light...
Ian Cheney is the latest director to turn to a bespoke distribution method for his docu “The Arc of Oblivion.” Cheney wrote, edited, and directed the film, which explores people’s impulse toward preservation and how it relates to the natural world, memory and legacy. During the course of the docu, produced by Sandbox Films, a wooden ark is constructed on Cheney’s parent’s property in Maine. The structure serves as both a physical storage space for archival materials and a symbolic representation of humanity’s desire to retain meaning in an impermanent world.
During the month of August, Cheney, along with Sandbox Films’ Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop decided to transform the ark into the Ark Light...
- 8/8/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Why ‘Fireball’ Producer Sandbox Films Doesn’t Need Talking Heads to Make Smart Science Documentaries
In Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer’s “Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds,” the directors show you gloriously colorful images of meteorites containing atomic particles of five-fold symmetry, a geometric shape thought to be impossible in nature. It’s a beautiful sight, but the German auteur concedes that he “won’t torture you” with more testimony from a bespectacled professor about how the math works. That line captures the ethos for the new production company Sandbox Films, which produced “Fireball” and launched last month at TIFF with a lineup of other science-based documentary films all in development. Sandbox Films’ founders, Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop, are determined to make informative, intelligent documentary films about science, but they want to do so with a sense of real beauty, artistry and experimental creativity all driven from filmmakers. Essentially, science can be awesome, and they don’t want to bore you. “Science television is great,...
- 10/5/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Last year, the Academy documentary branch had to grapple with a record 170 documentary feature submissions for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. This year, it’s not so bad: only 166 were entered. The short list of 15 will be announced, along with eight others for the first time on a single date this year: December 17.
All year, branch members have been getting lists of secure online screeners available to watch on the Academy website, increasing in volume until last month, when they received a batch of 77, with more to come. It’s a burden to watch them all, so the ones with the most attention move to the top of the much-watch list. Give the advantage to early box office hits that were made available in the summer such as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Rbg,” and “Three Identical Strangers,” as well as September’s list including critically hailed “Dark Money,...
All year, branch members have been getting lists of secure online screeners available to watch on the Academy website, increasing in volume until last month, when they received a batch of 77, with more to come. It’s a burden to watch them all, so the ones with the most attention move to the top of the much-watch list. Give the advantage to early box office hits that were made available in the summer such as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Rbg,” and “Three Identical Strangers,” as well as September’s list including critically hailed “Dark Money,...
- 11/8/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Last year, the Academy documentary branch had to grapple with a record 170 documentary feature submissions for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. This year, it’s not so bad: only 166 were entered. The short list of 15 will be announced, along with eight others for the first time on a single date this year: December 17.
All year, branch members have been getting lists of secure online screeners available to watch on the Academy website, increasing in volume until last month, when they received a batch of 77, with more to come. It’s a burden to watch them all, so the ones with the most attention move to the top of the much-watch list. Give the advantage to early box office hits that were made available in the summer such as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Rbg,” and “Three Identical Strangers,” as well as September’s list including critically hailed “Dark Money,...
All year, branch members have been getting lists of secure online screeners available to watch on the Academy website, increasing in volume until last month, when they received a batch of 77, with more to come. It’s a burden to watch them all, so the ones with the most attention move to the top of the much-watch list. Give the advantage to early box office hits that were made available in the summer such as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Rbg,” and “Three Identical Strangers,” as well as September’s list including critically hailed “Dark Money,...
- 11/8/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
A whopping 166 documentary features have been submitted to the academy for consideration at the 2019 Oscars. That is down by four from last year’s record 170 submissions. Among these contenders are all of the highest grossing documentaries of the year including “Free Solo,” “Rbg” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
To winnow the entries down to the 15 semi-finalists that will be announced on December 17, the academy is sending monthly packages of the newly eligible documentary feature screeners to all 400 or so members of the documentary branch. While all members are encouraged to watch as many of these as they can, one-fifth of the voters are assigned each title. In late November, each branch member will submit a preferential ballot listing their top 15 choices.
See 2019 Oscars: Foreign-language film entries from A (Afghanistan) to Y (Yemen)
All of these ballots will be collated to determine the 15 semi-finalists. Branch members will then be...
To winnow the entries down to the 15 semi-finalists that will be announced on December 17, the academy is sending monthly packages of the newly eligible documentary feature screeners to all 400 or so members of the documentary branch. While all members are encouraged to watch as many of these as they can, one-fifth of the voters are assigned each title. In late November, each branch member will submit a preferential ballot listing their top 15 choices.
See 2019 Oscars: Foreign-language film entries from A (Afghanistan) to Y (Yemen)
All of these ballots will be collated to determine the 15 semi-finalists. Branch members will then be...
- 11/8/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
In a year that has seen multiple documentaries find mainstream success, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released the list of 166 docs that have been submitted for Oscar consideration this year.
Among the films on the list are Michael Moore’s anti-Trump polemic “Fahrenheit 11/9,” as well as CNN Films’ Ruth Bader Ginsburg biography “Rbg” and Focus’ Mister Rogers retrospective “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Other films considered frontrunners include “Three Identical Strangers,” the wild story of triplets who were separated at birth by a bizarre experiment, “Free Solo,” which documents the first ever attempt to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan without any climbing gear, and “Dark Money,” an investigative report into the influence of billionaires on American democracy through the lens of a Montana congressional race.
Also Read: Sorry, Oscar Documentary Voters: Your Workload Just Doubled
The contender field is slightly less than last year’s record field of 170 but does include,...
Among the films on the list are Michael Moore’s anti-Trump polemic “Fahrenheit 11/9,” as well as CNN Films’ Ruth Bader Ginsburg biography “Rbg” and Focus’ Mister Rogers retrospective “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Other films considered frontrunners include “Three Identical Strangers,” the wild story of triplets who were separated at birth by a bizarre experiment, “Free Solo,” which documents the first ever attempt to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan without any climbing gear, and “Dark Money,” an investigative report into the influence of billionaires on American democracy through the lens of a Montana congressional race.
Also Read: Sorry, Oscar Documentary Voters: Your Workload Just Doubled
The contender field is slightly less than last year’s record field of 170 but does include,...
- 11/8/2018
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.