Exclusive: Producer and director Madeleine Sackler (The Lottery, Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus) and actor and director Boyd Holbrook (Gone Girl, Little Accidents, Behind the Candelabra) have teamed to launch their own development and production company, Madbrook Films. The New York City-based shingle will produce passion projects from both partners as well as other writers and directors, starting with the short film Peacock Killer.
Adapted from Sam Shepard’s story of the same name, Peacock Killer marks Holbrook’s debut as a writer and director. The film stars Boardwalk Empire‘s Shea Whigham and True Grit‘s Elizabeth Marvel in the tale of reconciliation between a man and his dog after a peacock comes between them. Holbrook filmed the project this winter in upstate New York and was completed with the help of a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, which raised over $17,000 for the project.
Madbrook is also developing Uncle Sam,...
Adapted from Sam Shepard’s story of the same name, Peacock Killer marks Holbrook’s debut as a writer and director. The film stars Boardwalk Empire‘s Shea Whigham and True Grit‘s Elizabeth Marvel in the tale of reconciliation between a man and his dog after a peacock comes between them. Holbrook filmed the project this winter in upstate New York and was completed with the help of a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, which raised over $17,000 for the project.
Madbrook is also developing Uncle Sam,...
- 9/4/2014
- by Jen Yamato
- Deadline
Ahead of the UK theatrical release of Madeleine Sackler’s Dangerous Acts, HeyUGuys caught up with the talented filmmaker to discuss her latest documentary about the Free Theatre’s attempts to express themselves under a totalitarian regime and their subsequent exile.
Madeleine shared with us her journey in getting this film made, confronting the opening and closing challenges of documentary filmmaking, art as a means to counter repression and the human need to be true to oneself as well as the unexpected evolution of Dangerous Acts.
Why a career in documentary filmmaking? Was there that one inspirational moment?
This is my third documentary, and I started off as an editor working in film, television and commercials. I’d always wanted to make a film but I was waiting for the right moment as well as the right story. I was most excited by stories that were narrative based, and I...
Madeleine shared with us her journey in getting this film made, confronting the opening and closing challenges of documentary filmmaking, art as a means to counter repression and the human need to be true to oneself as well as the unexpected evolution of Dangerous Acts.
Why a career in documentary filmmaking? Was there that one inspirational moment?
This is my third documentary, and I started off as an editor working in film, television and commercials. I’d always wanted to make a film but I was waiting for the right moment as well as the right story. I was most excited by stories that were narrative based, and I...
- 3/25/2014
- by Paul Risker
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Dogwoof has boarded international rights for Madeleine Sackler’s Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus.
The film has its world premiere in Toronto on Sept 9. HBO has acquired Us TV rights.
Dogwoof Global, who brokered the deal with executive producer Andrea Meditch, will represent the film across all foreign platforms and territories.
“We are thrilled to be working with the wonderful team at Dogwoof on international sales for Dangerous Acts. Making the film required acts of heroism from not only the theatre members, but also an international crew, so we are excited to share their story around the world,” said director Madeleine Sackler.
The film looks at the acclaimed Belarus Free Theatre, which attempts to stage though-provoking theatre in one of the world’s most repressive regimes.
“This is a terrific portrait of Belarus Free Theatre and their struggle against the last dictatorship of Europe. The footage that was smuggled out of the country is extraordinary...
The film has its world premiere in Toronto on Sept 9. HBO has acquired Us TV rights.
Dogwoof Global, who brokered the deal with executive producer Andrea Meditch, will represent the film across all foreign platforms and territories.
“We are thrilled to be working with the wonderful team at Dogwoof on international sales for Dangerous Acts. Making the film required acts of heroism from not only the theatre members, but also an international crew, so we are excited to share their story around the world,” said director Madeleine Sackler.
The film looks at the acclaimed Belarus Free Theatre, which attempts to stage though-provoking theatre in one of the world’s most repressive regimes.
“This is a terrific portrait of Belarus Free Theatre and their struggle against the last dictatorship of Europe. The footage that was smuggled out of the country is extraordinary...
- 9/5/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
HBO Documentary Films, on a roll this year with a new spate of programming, has acquired U.S. television rights to the social revolution doc "Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus" ahead of the film's world premiere at Tiff this weekend. "Dangerous Acts" highlights the work of the award-winning Belarus Free Theatre group, which challenges social and political issues in Belarus, currently under the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. All of the founders of Bft -- Natalia Kaliada, Vladimir Shcherban and Nikolai Khalezin -- currently live in exile in London. Featuring smuggled footage and uncensored interviews, "Dangerous Acts" is an intimate look at a contemporary revolution as it goes behind the scenes of artists fighting for their work and safety. Directed by Madeleine Sackler (2010's "The Lottery"), the film will debut on HBO in 2014.
- 9/4/2013
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
HBO has picked up the U.S. television rights to Madeleine Sackler's "Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus," a doc about the the award-winning Belarus Free Theatre (Bft) group. The third film from the director of 2010's "The Lottery," "Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus" is set to have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8th. The festival's description, written by Thom Powers: Creating provocative theatre carries risks: emotional, financial, and artistic. For the Belarus Free Theatre, there are additional risks of censorship, imprisonment, and worse. In "Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus," director Madeleine Sackler goes behind the scenes with the troupe of gutsy performers who defy Europe's last remaining dictatorship. In the Republic of Belarus, the authorities forbid theatrical treatment of topics such as sexual minorities, alcoholism, suicide, and politics. The Free...
- 9/3/2013
- by Alison Willmore
- Indiewire
As Summer draws to an end, the school year has either already begun for many students, or is rapidly approaching. Indiewire's latest curation of Hulu's newly redesigned Documentaries page features docs that go back to school, focusing on young people and education in the Us and around the world. Watch all these docs for free now! Recognizing the deficiencies of the public school system due to inadequate resources and disturbing failure rates, many parents turn to the promise of charter schools. As Madeleine Sackler's "The Lottery" demonstrates, the competition for a spot can be heart-wrenching. She follows four families as they make a bid for their children to enroll in Harlem Success, a public charter school that has helped its students thrive. A borough away, in Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy, filmmakers Dave Lamattina and Chad N Walker's "Brownstones to Red Dirt" show the potential for cross-cultural understanding as they witness the.
- 9/3/2012
- by Basil Tsiokos
- Indiewire
Madeleine Sackler (director of the 2010 Oscar short-listed documentary The Lottery) recently shot footage of the Belarus Free Theater group in the hopes of making a feature documentary highlighting the human rights infractions that are happening in Belarus. Last July, Sackler and cinematographer Daniel Carter interviewed Nikolai Khalezin and Natalia Kolyada, the husband and wife team that leads the group, among others. Since then things have gone from bad to worse. According to the Nyt, many of the members of the Belarus Free Theater Group are now in hiding or have been arrested. Update: Here's more. Check out the promo video below that Sackler created to raise financing from investors, which she is sharing in order raise awareness of this terrible situation. Unstable Elements Trailer from Unstable Elements on Vimeo.
- 12/31/2010
- Thompson on Hollywood
With politics and public opinion cooling on the global warming crisis, two savvy documentarians have shifted their focus to the complex, crucial state of the American education system. Madeleine Sackler’s eye-opening, if uneven The Lottery serves as a companion piece to Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim’s buzzed-about film, Waiting for Superman, about the use of private charter schools as a viable alternative for learning where public systems fail.
Sackler’s documentary seeks to outline the opposing sides of the debate, restricting its focus to the static Harlem and its surrounding New York burroughs, but manages to uncover a broader, deeper story about the various levels of public involvement in our education system. Concerned or neglectful parents, passionate educators versus complacent teachers, mindful government officials and greedy politicians, communities or corporations and the funding they provide, powerful unions, and contrasting school administrators; all embroiled, for better or worse, in...
Sackler’s documentary seeks to outline the opposing sides of the debate, restricting its focus to the static Harlem and its surrounding New York burroughs, but manages to uncover a broader, deeper story about the various levels of public involvement in our education system. Concerned or neglectful parents, passionate educators versus complacent teachers, mindful government officials and greedy politicians, communities or corporations and the funding they provide, powerful unions, and contrasting school administrators; all embroiled, for better or worse, in...
- 12/21/2010
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
Chicago – Every year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reveals their short list for the Oscar for Best Documentary and every year there’s a notable snub or two that makes one question the process. Last year, “Anvil: The Story of Anvil,” one of the most-beloved films of the year, didn’t make the cut. This year, “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work” failed to make the cut, continuing a pattern in which films not deemed “serious enough” by Academy members can’t get past the first round.
The Tillman Story
Photo credit: The Weinstein Company
Luckily, a number of the best documentaries of 2010 were serious enough to pass Academy muster including several films about the economy, a few about the war in Iraq, and a pair of controversial docs about the failures of our current educational system. It should be an interesting battle for the final five in this category.
The Tillman Story
Photo credit: The Weinstein Company
Luckily, a number of the best documentaries of 2010 were serious enough to pass Academy muster including several films about the economy, a few about the war in Iraq, and a pair of controversial docs about the failures of our current educational system. It should be an interesting battle for the final five in this category.
- 11/28/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Out of the 101 feature documentaries that qualified for the Oscars this year, The Documentary Branch Screening Committee has selected 15 to advance to the next round of selections. Five of these 15 will receive an Oscar nomination on January 25. The winner will be announced at the 2010 Academy Awards ceremony on February 27. We are delighted that four films associated with Tribeca made this first all-important cut: Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC) - screened as a Work-in-Progress at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival Read more: Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer Enemies of the People Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films) - funded by a grant from the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund Read more: Tribeca Takes: Rob Lemkin on Enemies of the People The Lottery Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films) - screened at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival Read...
- 11/19/2010
- TribecaFilm.com
The shortlist for the Documentary Feature category of the 2011 Academy Awards has been announced and has been met with equal amounts of pleasant surprise and puzzled scratching of heads. The joyous bemusement in reaction to the inclusion of Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop, which many of us were convinced would be this year’s Anvil, and the shock that Laura Poitas' The Oath was notably absent. It’s particularly refreshing to see the inclusion of Exit given the general view that the Academy only saw the more "worthy"-subject based documentaries as genuine contenders, and that more populist fare never stood a chance. As documentaries don't compete within other filmmaking categories such as editing and cinematography (of which Armadillo would certainly deserve to be listed) the Documentary Feature category has always felt that it has to be an award based on overall filmmaking achievement, rather than subject, impact or agenda.
- 11/19/2010
- by Charlotte
- FilmJunk
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed today the 15 films that have made their shortlist for the Best Feature Documentary category in the 83rd Academy Awards.
They include:
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC)
Enemies of the People, Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films)
Exit through the Gift Shop, Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
Gasland, Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors (White Pine Pictures)
Inside Job, Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)
The Lottery, Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films)
Precious Life, Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions)
Quest for Honor, Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions)
Restrepo, Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films)
This Way of Life, Thomas Burstyn, director (Cloud South Films)
The Tillman Story, Amir Bar-Lev, director… Read...
They include:
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC)
Enemies of the People, Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films)
Exit through the Gift Shop, Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
Gasland, Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors (White Pine Pictures)
Inside Job, Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)
The Lottery, Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films)
Precious Life, Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions)
Quest for Honor, Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions)
Restrepo, Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films)
This Way of Life, Thomas Burstyn, director (Cloud South Films)
The Tillman Story, Amir Bar-Lev, director… Read...
- 11/19/2010
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
HollywoodNews.com: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 83rd Academy Awards®. One hundred-one pictures had originally qualified in the category.
The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company:
“Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer,” Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC)
“Enemies of the People,” Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films)
“Exit through the Gift Shop,” Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
“Gasland,” Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
“Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould,” Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors (White Pine Pictures)
“Inside Job,” Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)
“The Lottery,” Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films)
“Precious Life,” Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions)
“Quest for Honor,” Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions)
“Restrepo,” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger,...
The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company:
“Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer,” Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC)
“Enemies of the People,” Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films)
“Exit through the Gift Shop,” Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
“Gasland,” Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
“Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould,” Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors (White Pine Pictures)
“Inside Job,” Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)
“The Lottery,” Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films)
“Precious Life,” Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions)
“Quest for Honor,” Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions)
“Restrepo,” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger,...
- 11/18/2010
- by Linny Lum
- Hollywoodnews.com
Do you want answers? Do you believe you’re entitled to them? Do you want the truth? Can you, in fact, handle the truth? The 15 documentaries competing for Oscar have been selected.
Check out the list below [via Oscars.org]:
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC) Enemies of the People Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films) Exit through the Gift Shop Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures) Gasland Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC) Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors
(White Pine Pictures) Inside Job Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures) The Lottery Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films) Precious Life Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions) “Megamind” Quest for Honor Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions) Restrepo Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films) This Way of Life Thomas Burstyn, director (Cloud South Films...
Check out the list below [via Oscars.org]:
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC) Enemies of the People Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films) Exit through the Gift Shop Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures) Gasland Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC) Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors
(White Pine Pictures) Inside Job Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures) The Lottery Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films) Precious Life Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions) “Megamind” Quest for Honor Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions) Restrepo Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films) This Way of Life Thomas Burstyn, director (Cloud South Films...
- 11/18/2010
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
The Weinstein Company / Paramount
You know what we love? A good, old-fashioned documentary. Sometimes, that’s really the stuff.
And this year there’s been an exceptionally strong batch of documentary features, which explains why more than 100 of them were submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for this year’s Oscars. Now, though, the suits at the Academy have trimmed the field to just 15 finalists… and the controversial “Catfish” and crowd-pleasing “Babies” are nowhere to be seen.
“Catfish,” of course, purported to be a doc about a guy who falls for a Facebook friend only to find out that his new internet love is (spoiler!) a lying liar who lies. Some people felt it was probably about as real in documentary terms as “Paranormal Activity 2,” however, which may explain why it didn’t make the cut.
“Babies,” the much-buzzed about feature showing how infants in wildly...
You know what we love? A good, old-fashioned documentary. Sometimes, that’s really the stuff.
And this year there’s been an exceptionally strong batch of documentary features, which explains why more than 100 of them were submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for this year’s Oscars. Now, though, the suits at the Academy have trimmed the field to just 15 finalists… and the controversial “Catfish” and crowd-pleasing “Babies” are nowhere to be seen.
“Catfish,” of course, purported to be a doc about a guy who falls for a Facebook friend only to find out that his new internet love is (spoiler!) a lying liar who lies. Some people felt it was probably about as real in documentary terms as “Paranormal Activity 2,” however, which may explain why it didn’t make the cut.
“Babies,” the much-buzzed about feature showing how infants in wildly...
- 11/18/2010
- by Scott Harris
- NextMovie
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the shortlist of fifteen films now vying for the five “Best Documentary” nominations. The organization will unveil the final five at the announcement ceremony on January 25, 2011, just over a month before the Oscar telecast on February 27. A record-breaking 101 films qualified for the award before the line-up was narrowed to these fifteen:
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC)
Enemies of the People, Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films)
Exit through the Gift Shop, Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
Gasland, Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors (White Pine Pictures)
Inside Job, Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)
The Lottery, Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films)
Precious Life, Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions)
Quest for Honor, Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions)
Restrepo,...
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC)
Enemies of the People, Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films)
Exit through the Gift Shop, Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
Gasland, Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors (White Pine Pictures)
Inside Job, Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)
The Lottery, Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films)
Precious Life, Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions)
Quest for Honor, Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions)
Restrepo,...
- 11/18/2010
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
Not entirely sure why much lauded docs films that stuck out this year in Janus Metz's Armadilllo, Lixin Fan's Last Train Home, Michelangelo Frammartino's le quattro volte and Jeff Malmberg's Marwencol failed to make the grade (I'm not entirely sure how this works with the cut-off dates), but there are plenty on the list of 15 that have earned the right to be deemed among the best docs of the year. Shockingly, they included Exit through the Gift Shop and not surprisingly, this along with seven other docus if my count is good, first began their public life at the January launch-pad known as the Sundance Film Festival. The preliminary round of voting will determine five noms (announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. Pt) and the only one I can honestly say is a shoe-in for a top 5 nom spot is Charles Ferguson's Inside Job.
- 11/18/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
And it's a good-looking, diverse and hip slate -- at least until the final five nominees are announced, and inevitably three to four of them are the least watched, least known from this selection, making the race opaque to almost everyone. Interesting that two controversial pro-charter school docs, the better known "Waiting for 'Superman'" and the smaller "The Lottery" both made the cut, while the acclaimed "Last Train Home" did not. "The Oath," thought a possible frontrunner by some, also failed to make the snip. But nice to see the excellent "Enemies of the People" on there.
"Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer"
Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC)
"Enemies of the People"
Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films)
"Exit through the Gift Shop"
Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
"Gasland"
Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
"Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould"
Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont,...
"Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer"
Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC)
"Enemies of the People"
Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films)
"Exit through the Gift Shop"
Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
"Gasland"
Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
"Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould"
Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont,...
- 11/18/2010
- by Alison Willmore
- ifc.com
After viewing 101 contenders for Best Feature Documentary for the 83rd Academy Awards, the Documentary Branch has revealed the final 15 contenders shortlist for nomination consideration.
This list is in alphabetical order: Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC) Enemies of the People Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films) Exit through the Gift Shop Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures) Gasland Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC) Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors (White Pine Pictures) Inside Job Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures) The Lottery Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films) Precious Life Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions) Quest for Honor Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions) Restrepo Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films) This Way of Life Thomas Burstyn, director (Cloud South Films) The Tillman Story Amir Bar-Lev, director (Passion...
This list is in alphabetical order: Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer Alex Gibney, director (Es Productions LLC) Enemies of the People Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films) Exit through the Gift Shop Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures) Gasland Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC) Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors (White Pine Pictures) Inside Job Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures) The Lottery Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films) Precious Life Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions) Quest for Honor Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions) Restrepo Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films) This Way of Life Thomas Burstyn, director (Cloud South Films) The Tillman Story Amir Bar-Lev, director (Passion...
- 11/18/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The long-awaited Short List of feature-length documentaries in consideration for Academy Award nomination was finally released, and here are the lucky 15:
Client 9:The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (Dir.: Alex Gibney; Es Productions LLC) Enemies of the People (Dirs.: Rob Lemkin, Thet Sambath; Old Street Films) Exit through the Gift Shop (Dir.: Banksy; Paranoid Pictures) Gasland (Dir.: Josh Fox; Gasland Productions, LLC) Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (Dirs.: Michele Hozer, Peter Raymont; White Pine Pictures) Inside Job (Dir.: Charles Ferguson; Representational Pictures) The Lottery (Dir.: Madeleine Sackler; ...
Client 9:The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (Dir.: Alex Gibney; Es Productions LLC) Enemies of the People (Dirs.: Rob Lemkin, Thet Sambath; Old Street Films) Exit through the Gift Shop (Dir.: Banksy; Paranoid Pictures) Gasland (Dir.: Josh Fox; Gasland Productions, LLC) Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (Dirs.: Michele Hozer, Peter Raymont; White Pine Pictures) Inside Job (Dir.: Charles Ferguson; Representational Pictures) The Lottery (Dir.: Madeleine Sackler; ...
- 11/18/2010
- by IDA Editorial Staff
- International Documentary Association
Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan) Hamlet II -- Drama: Who wouldn't want a drama teacher with enough courage to put on a production of Rock Me, Sexy Jesus, where Jesus uses a time machine to save Gertrude and Ophelia?
Mr. Furlong (Jon Stewart) The Faculty -- Science: It's kind of the perfect science teacher, if you're like me and you hate science. He's a parasite, so you're allowed to kill him, preferably with a pen to the eye.
Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams) Rushmore -- Remedial Reading: She'll break your heart, and maybe mess around with your mentor, but she's very pretty to look at, and she's from Harvard.
Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) Half Nelson -- History Teacher and Coach: Who wouldn't want a history teacher who could not only teach you about dialectics, but after class, he'll smoke a rock with you.
Mr. Kerber (Vincent Schiavelli) Better Off Dead -- Math:...
Mr. Furlong (Jon Stewart) The Faculty -- Science: It's kind of the perfect science teacher, if you're like me and you hate science. He's a parasite, so you're allowed to kill him, preferably with a pen to the eye.
Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams) Rushmore -- Remedial Reading: She'll break your heart, and maybe mess around with your mentor, but she's very pretty to look at, and she's from Harvard.
Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) Half Nelson -- History Teacher and Coach: Who wouldn't want a history teacher who could not only teach you about dialectics, but after class, he'll smoke a rock with you.
Mr. Kerber (Vincent Schiavelli) Better Off Dead -- Math:...
- 10/25/2010
- by Dustin Rowles
Waiting For Superman is the second best documentary I’ve seen this year that ends with low-income families nervously awaiting the outcome a lottery determining whether their child gets a coveted spot in a charter school. Documentarian Davis Guggenheim, best known for the Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth, is a self-identified liberal and a vocal supporter of public education. Guggenheim is also at the top of his field and can afford to send his own children to an expensive private school where he knows they will receive the best education money can buy. Pragmatist or hypocrite, Guggenheim does indeed seem like an unusual choice to make Waiting For Superman, a damning indictment of the dismal state of America’s broken public school system that focuses on key examples of how things can improve. Much of Waiting For Superman is told through the eyes of five children, all students in failing urban schools.
- 10/8/2010
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Oct 05, 2010
Fresh off a successful screening at the Tribeca Film Festival, Madeleine Sackler's gut-wrenching documentary The Lottery is now available on DVD. Loaded with special features such as the discussion panel from the film festival and additional interviews, The Lottery is for anyone who cares about the future of education in the United States – and that should be everyone.
While most of the film focuses on a charter school in Harlem (Harlem Success Academy), the real stars of this documentary are the four hopeful families entering a lottery to give their children a chance to ...Read more at MovieRetriever.com...
Fresh off a successful screening at the Tribeca Film Festival, Madeleine Sackler's gut-wrenching documentary The Lottery is now available on DVD. Loaded with special features such as the discussion panel from the film festival and additional interviews, The Lottery is for anyone who cares about the future of education in the United States – and that should be everyone.
While most of the film focuses on a charter school in Harlem (Harlem Success Academy), the real stars of this documentary are the four hopeful families entering a lottery to give their children a chance to ...Read more at MovieRetriever.com...
- 10/5/2010
- CinemaNerdz
The 14th annual Urbanworld Film Festival, backed by presenting sponsor Bet Networks and founding sponsor HBO, wrapped in New York City this past weekend. Uwff is widely known as the largest U.S. film festival showcasing films from around the world with a multicultural bent -- over 70 films screened in midtown Manhattan over four days. Among the films I saw: One Night In Vegas, directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood (as part of Espn Film's Thirty for Thirty Series). The film uses the date September 7, 1996, to explore the friend-mentor relationship between boxer Mike Tyson (who fought Bruce Seldon for the Wba title that night) and rapper Tupac Shakur, who was fatally wounded by gunshots that same evening while being driven to an after-party. I also caught The Lottery, Madeleine Sackler's harrowing and quite emotional tale of...
- 9/22/2010
- by Marlynn Snyder
- Huffington Post
Filed under: Documentaries, Cinematical
One of the most talked about documentaries of the season, especially having just screened positively at the Toronto Film Festival and getting a push this week from Oprah, Davis Guggenheim's 'Waiting for Superman' (read our review from Sundance) opens in select theaters this Friday. Specifically on four screens. It's set to expand in the coming weeks, but while you can make a pledge to see the work more locally and hope that it eventually comes to you, there is a chance that you'll have to wait til it hits DVD and Blu-ray. So if you're anxious for a similar doc for the time being, you should check out Madeleine Sackler's 'The Lottery.'
Screening this Saturday in Brooklyn and available for purchase at most outlets and to rent through iTunes, Amazon and Blockbuster (sorry, no Netflix at the moment), this film...
One of the most talked about documentaries of the season, especially having just screened positively at the Toronto Film Festival and getting a push this week from Oprah, Davis Guggenheim's 'Waiting for Superman' (read our review from Sundance) opens in select theaters this Friday. Specifically on four screens. It's set to expand in the coming weeks, but while you can make a pledge to see the work more locally and hope that it eventually comes to you, there is a chance that you'll have to wait til it hits DVD and Blu-ray. So if you're anxious for a similar doc for the time being, you should check out Madeleine Sackler's 'The Lottery.'
Screening this Saturday in Brooklyn and available for purchase at most outlets and to rent through iTunes, Amazon and Blockbuster (sorry, no Netflix at the moment), this film...
- 9/22/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- Cinematical
When it comes to public education, your politics are likely to get completely screwed around with. At least if you're a commie liberal hippie pansy, like myself, it's hard to know what to think. According to my party allegiances, I'm supposed to be in favor of unions, and I think I'm supposed to be against charter schools or the idea of "school choice," where students can decided to go to a superior school, which in turn drives down the value of the lesser schools even more. While I can theoretically understand why someone would be opposed to charter schools, in practice, I'd choose to have them rather than not for many of the reasons outlined by the documentary, The Lottery.
In the devastating and heartbreaking Madeleine Sackler documentary, the issue is all the more confused because it's set in Harlem, in what must be a Democratic stronghold, and yet the...
In the devastating and heartbreaking Madeleine Sackler documentary, the issue is all the more confused because it's set in Harlem, in what must be a Democratic stronghold, and yet the...
- 9/8/2010
- by Dustin Rowles
Chicago – The little boy looks intently at his hand. He’s trying with all his might to solve a math problem posed by his father, whose tenderness and patience have begun to reach their breaking point. As the camera closes in on the boy’s face, his eyes glisten with frustration until his mind reaches an epiphany: 2 plus 3 equals 5. In that one beautiful shot, the miracle of learning is captured on film.
This is one of several heartrending moments in “The Lottery,” a touching and provocative documentary that is in danger of being confused with Davis Guggenheim’s upcoming doc, “Waiting for Superman,” which treads similar ground on a bigger budget. “Lottery” was helmed by Madeleine Sackler, a 27-year-old director making her feature film debut. It is a remarkable achievement, and suggests that the topic of America’s failing education system may be too vital and sprawling to be adequately explored in just one film.
This is one of several heartrending moments in “The Lottery,” a touching and provocative documentary that is in danger of being confused with Davis Guggenheim’s upcoming doc, “Waiting for Superman,” which treads similar ground on a bigger budget. “Lottery” was helmed by Madeleine Sackler, a 27-year-old director making her feature film debut. It is a remarkable achievement, and suggests that the topic of America’s failing education system may be too vital and sprawling to be adequately explored in just one film.
- 9/8/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Education reform has been up for long debate all over the country, especially in New York City. The question whether to send you child to a public school, private school or a charter school, is a question every parent has to ask. In New York City, the stats are staggering. The number of African-American and Latino students who are ready for college, who can read at their grade level or even graduate from high school are shocking. In Harlem, to stop this plague in the community, a new type of school have been sprouting up.
Harlem Success Academy is a charter school, a publicly funded school that is outside of the traditional education system. They are supported by the people and by private donations, they serve as an alternative to traditional public school. They are seen as over-achieving because the success rate of their students exceeds the traditional public school.
Harlem Success Academy is a charter school, a publicly funded school that is outside of the traditional education system. They are supported by the people and by private donations, they serve as an alternative to traditional public school. They are seen as over-achieving because the success rate of their students exceeds the traditional public school.
- 8/24/2010
- by Rudie Obias
- CriterionCast
In Madeleine Sackler's affecting new documentary, The Lottery, the 27-year-old intended to create a cinema verite view of the families of four children who entered a lottery for 475 coveted spots at the Harlem Success Academy, a publicly funded charter school in NYC. But timing is every thing. Sackler landed right in the middle of the hot button charter school controversy currently roiling the waters at the delta where education policy meets political action. The documentary shuttles between the personal and the political, as Sackler unpacks the stories of the four families, charter school advocates, the Uft, local politicians and screaming Acorn protesters. I talked to Sackler at an Upper East Side hotel and began by asking what drew the filmmaker to this subject: Madeleine Sackler: A lot of people in my generation are profoundly affected by moral incongruities. I...
- 6/15/2010
- by Thelma Adams
- Huffington Post
Given the recent announcement that New York State was raising its cap on charter schools from 200 to more than 400 -- in an effort to win more than $700 million in federal education funds from the "Race to the Top" program -- Madeleine Sackler's The Lottery couldn't be timelier. Sackler's documentary, opening in limited release Friday, follows a handful of Harlem families, who are literally forced to rely on the luck of the draw to ensure their preschool children's education prospects. Specifically, each family puts the child's name into a lottery for one of fewer than 500 spots at one of Harlem's charter school marvels, the Harlem Success Academy. They are among more than 3,400 families competing for the same spots -- so they have a 1 in 7 chance. The attraction of the charter schools, of course, is their ability...
- 6/7/2010
- by Marshall Fine
- Huffington Post
Making a documentary is always a crapshoot, but Madeleine Sackler is hoping she'll get a little help from the headline. Sackler's documentary, The Lottery, opening in limited release on Friday, deals with the issue of charter school in Harlem. It reaches theaters just as New York State made the decision to raise its cap on charter schools from 200 - which it has nearly reached - to more than 400. In doing so, the state will qualify for more than $700 million in federal education funds under President Obama's "Race to the Top" incentive program. "It's a historical moment, a critical moment, and this is another example," says Sackler, 27, a Greenwich, Conn., native. "The fact that the president is articulating reform and that it's working is great. Giving parents more choices is fantastic. If I was a parent with a child,...
- 6/7/2010
- by Marshall Fine
- Huffington Post
The Lottery is a winner. The feature length documentary hones in on four families who are vying for their children to win spots in the charter school lottery for Harlem Success Academy. The four tykes, Eddie Jr., Ameenah, Christian, and George Jr., deserve a seat in the classroom. The problem is that all four kids live in low performing school zones in the Bronx and Harlem. As if the heart-wrenching game of musical chairs doesn't provide enough tension, the astute director Madeline Sackler delves into the politics, personalities, and players involved in the polarizing issue of education reform. Interlaced into footage from education reform hearings, are "talking head" type interviews with head honchos, including Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker, New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, and the Head of Harlem Success Academy, Eva Moskowitz. The film's heart lies in its four stars who are equally bright, utterly adorable,...
- 4/30/2010
- TribecaFilm.com
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