It’s been a couple months since the last edition of What’s Up Doc? placed Michael Moore’s surprise world premiere of Where To Invade Next at the top of this list and in the meantime much shuffling has taken place and much time has been spent on various new endeavors (namely my Buffalo-based film series, Cultivate Cinema Circle). Finally taking its rightful place at the top, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hagedus’ Unlocking the Cage is in the midst of being scored by composer James Lavino, according to Lavino’s own personal site. Though the project has been taking shape at its own leisurely pace, I’d expect to see the film making its festival debut in early 2016.
Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...
Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...
- 11/5/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
The fall festival rush is upon us. Locarno is currently ramping up. Venice has released their line-up and Thom Powers and the Toronto International Film Festival team have dropped a bomb with a previously unannounced new feature from powerhouse docu-provocateur Michael Moore. It is truly a miracle that the production of a film such as Moore’s upcoming Where To Invade Next (see still above) managed to go completely undetected by the filmmaking community until it was literally announced to world premiere at one of the largest film festivals in the world. Programmed as a one of the key films in the Special Presentations section at Tiff, the film sees Moore telling “the Pentagon to ‘stand down’ — he will do the invading for America from now on.” Also announced to premiere at Tiff was Avi Lewis’ This Changes Everything, which has slowly been rising up this list, as well as...
- 8/7/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
It’s been a surprisingly interesting month of moving and shaking in terms of doc development. Just a month after making his first public funding pitch at Toronto’s Hot Docs Forum, legendary doc filmmaker Frederick Wiseman took to Kickstarter to help cover the remaining expenses for his 40th feature film In Jackson Heights (see the film’s first trailer below). Unrelentingly rigorous in his determination to capture the American institutional landscape on film, his latest continues down this thematic rabbit hole, taking on the immensely diverse New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights as his latest subject. According to the Kickstarter page, Wiseman is currently editing the 120 hours of rushes he shot with hopes of having the film ready for a fall festival premiere (my guess would be Tiff, where both National Gallery and At Berkeley made their North American debut), though he’s currently quite a ways away from his $75,000 goal.
- 7/6/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Ask Leon Russell a straight question — say, about the documentary made about him in the early Seventies that's just now seeing the light of day — and the iconoclastic singer-songwriter's answer will eventually wind its way back to the subject after rambling down the crookedest of backroads. "We had a guy at the studio at the time, a harmonica player," he begins. "And one day he put a mic on his heart and started playing harmonica. He played more and more as his heartbeat got faster and faster, until he finally passed out.
- 7/2/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Well folks, after a rather long and brutal winter (at least for me here in Buffalo), we are finally heading into the wonderful warmth of summer, but with that blast of sunshine and steamy humidity comes the mid-year drought of major film fests. After the Sheffield Doc/Fest concludes on June 10th and AFI Docs wraps on June 21st, we likely won’t see any major influx in our charts until Locarno, Venice, Telluride and Tiff announce their line-ups in rapid succession. In the meantime, we can look forward to the intriguing onslaught of films making their debut in Sheffield, including Brian Hill’s intriguing examination of Sweden’s most notorious serial killer, The Confessions of Thomas Quick, and Sean McAllister’s film for which he himself was jailed in the process of making, A Syrian Love Story, the only two films world premiering in the festival’s main competition.
- 6/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
It should come as no surprise that Cannes Film Festival will play host to Kent Jones’s doc on the touchstone of filmmaking interview tomes, Hitchcock/Truffaut (see photo above). The film has been floating near the top of this list since it was announced last year as in development, while Jones himself has a history with the festival, having co-written both Arnaud Desplechin’s Jimmy P. and Martin Scorsese’s My Voyage To Italy, both of which premiered in Cannes. The film is scheduled to screen as part of the Cannes Classics sidebar alongside the likes of Stig Björkman’s Ingrid Bergman, in Her Own Words, which will play as part of the festival’s tribute to the late starlet, and Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna’s Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans (see trailer below). As someone who grew up watching road races with my dad in Watkins Glen,...
- 5/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Now that the busy winter fest schedule of Sundance, Rotterdam and the Berlinale has concluded, we’ve now got our eyes on the likes of True/False and SXSW. While, True/False does not specialize in attention grabbing world premieres, it does provide a late winter haven for cream of the crop non-fiction fare from all the previously mentioned fests and a selection of overlooked genre blending films presented in a down home setting. This year will mark my first trip to the Columbia, Missouri based fest, where I hope to catch a little of everything, from their hush-hush secret screenings, to selections from their Neither/Nor series, this year featuring chimeric Polish cinema of decades past, to a spotlight of Adam Curtis’s incisive oeuvre. But truth be told, it is SXSW, with its slew of high profile world premieres being announced, such as Alex Gibney’s Steve Jobs...
- 2/27/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Turkey or no turkey, these next couple of days lucky filmmakers who’ve been selected to screen as part of the Sundance Film Festival will get the invitation notice straight from John Cooper and the Park City programming team, and thus, those that we’re betting have made the cut have also inched up the list a bit. One of those that seem an obvious choice to premiere at the fest is director Steve Hoover and producer Danny Yourd’s Crocodile Gennadiy. Following up their Grand Jury Prize winning Blood Brother with incredible turnaround time, our new most anticipated film tracks the delicate operations of Gennadiy Mokhnenko, a Ukrainian activist, orphanage manager and savior of countless children whose addict parents favor injected cold medicine and alcohol over them. Part heartwrenching domestic drama, part sleuth thriller, the film looks to use the Ukrainian uprising as a backdrop to highlight its protagonist...
- 11/27/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
On the heels of the 39th edition of the Toronto Int. Film Festival (Sept 4-14), Ifp’s Independent Film Week is where a plethora of fiction, non-fiction and new this year, web-based series from the likes of Desiree Akhavan and Calvin Reeder find future coin. Sectioned off as projects at the very beginning of financing to those that are nearing completion, there happens to be tons of Sundance alumni in the names below. Among those that caught our attention we have Medicine for Melancholy‘s Barry Jenkins’ sophomore feature, produced by Bad Milo!‘s Adele Romanski, Moonlight is about “two Miami boys navigate the temptations of the drug trade and their burgeoning sexuality in this triptych drama about black queer youth”. Concussion‘s Stacie Passon digs into the thriller genre with Strange Things Started Happening. Produced by vet Mary Jane Skalski (Mysterious Skin), this is about “a woman who has...
- 7/24/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
I frigging fear clowns. So when horror personality Ted Venemann passed along news that he's producing an entire event based on the creepy bastards, I e-mailed him back a big box of 'no.'
But since I'm a professional, here's the information anyway on an event that'll certainly drive anyone coulrophobic into tears.
Taking place Saturday, October 12, 2013, from 8pm to midnight at The Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel and Convention Center (2500 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California), Oculus Outré and The Chiodo Bros. have teamed to present The Killer Klown Karnival. Hosted by Son of Monsterpalooza (the horror convention takes place that weekend in the very same hotel), the event is a celebration of the 25th Anniversary of The Chiodo Bros.' cult classic feature Killer Klowns from Outer Space and will feature live performances by seminal punk rock legends The Dickies (who will showcase songs from their 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space...
But since I'm a professional, here's the information anyway on an event that'll certainly drive anyone coulrophobic into tears.
Taking place Saturday, October 12, 2013, from 8pm to midnight at The Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel and Convention Center (2500 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California), Oculus Outré and The Chiodo Bros. have teamed to present The Killer Klown Karnival. Hosted by Son of Monsterpalooza (the horror convention takes place that weekend in the very same hotel), the event is a celebration of the 25th Anniversary of The Chiodo Bros.' cult classic feature Killer Klowns from Outer Space and will feature live performances by seminal punk rock legends The Dickies (who will showcase songs from their 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space...
- 10/4/2013
- by Sean Decker
- DreadCentral.com
It's never too early to start planning…and horror fans in the La/Burbank area know that Son of Monsterpalooza is certainly an event to put on their calendars! Read on for the first info on this year's event.
Son of Monsterpalooza 2013 will be held at the Marriott Burbank Convention Center (2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA) from October 11-13. To keep up with all the latest info, visit the official Son of Monsterpalooza website and 'like' Monsterpalooza on Facebook.
From the Press Release
Award-winning FX artists, monster-related artwork displayed and sold, special presentations, a walk-through monster museum, as well as costume contests, prizes, and special guests from horror and sci-fi films will all be featured at this year's Son of Monsterpalooza festival.
Special Celebrity Guests From The Genre And Beyond!
Straight from Japan! Akira Takarada (Godzilla, Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster, Mothra Vs. Godzilla, King Kong Escapes)
Killer Klowns From Outer Space...
Son of Monsterpalooza 2013 will be held at the Marriott Burbank Convention Center (2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA) from October 11-13. To keep up with all the latest info, visit the official Son of Monsterpalooza website and 'like' Monsterpalooza on Facebook.
From the Press Release
Award-winning FX artists, monster-related artwork displayed and sold, special presentations, a walk-through monster museum, as well as costume contests, prizes, and special guests from horror and sci-fi films will all be featured at this year's Son of Monsterpalooza festival.
Special Celebrity Guests From The Genre And Beyond!
Straight from Japan! Akira Takarada (Godzilla, Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster, Mothra Vs. Godzilla, King Kong Escapes)
Killer Klowns From Outer Space...
- 7/3/2013
- by Scott Hallam
- DreadCentral.com
Of course it's a cliche to say that the honoree at a memorial service would have enjoyed it -- but in Les Blank's case, it's impossible to avoid. The party was designed by Les' two sons, Harrod and Beau, and Team Blank, a host of friends and supporters, to encompass many of the pursuits that Les delighted in and made the subject of his films, such as irresistibly catchy music and delicious strong-flavored food, as well as rituals designed to honor Les and allow his friends and colleagues to say goodbye. The afternoon began on a beautiful sunny day at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, where a procession of art cars -- one of the preoccupations of Harrod Blank, who has made two films about them -- assembled, including Les' own, a modest burgundy Toyota covered with beautiful photo-realist paintings of birds. Most of the others were much more sculptural in nature,...
- 6/27/2013
- by Meredith Brody
- Thompson on Hollywood
Film-maker behind intimate, rounded portraits of musicians including Dizzy Gillespie and Lightnin' Hopkins
Les Blank and Werner Herzog: strange dreams and sole food
The film-maker Les Blank, who has died aged 77, explored the margins of America's music, capturing and framing idioms such as Louisiana Cajun and zydeco, the norteño music of the Texas-Mexico border, blues, polka, and Appalachian old-time music. He was also fascinated by traditions of eating and cookery, and when screening his film Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers (1980) he sometimes created what he called "smellovision" by cooking garlicky dishes in the auditorium.
Blank made more than 40 films, including Burden of Dreams (1982), about the shooting of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo. While few of his documentaries were known to a wide public, many were admired by other directors. In 2007, he received the Edward MacDowell medal, an annual award for achievement in the arts, only twice before given to film directors,...
Les Blank and Werner Herzog: strange dreams and sole food
The film-maker Les Blank, who has died aged 77, explored the margins of America's music, capturing and framing idioms such as Louisiana Cajun and zydeco, the norteño music of the Texas-Mexico border, blues, polka, and Appalachian old-time music. He was also fascinated by traditions of eating and cookery, and when screening his film Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers (1980) he sometimes created what he called "smellovision" by cooking garlicky dishes in the auditorium.
Blank made more than 40 films, including Burden of Dreams (1982), about the shooting of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo. While few of his documentaries were known to a wide public, many were admired by other directors. In 2007, he received the Edward MacDowell medal, an annual award for achievement in the arts, only twice before given to film directors,...
- 4/12/2013
- by Tony Russell
- The Guardian - Film News
Prolific documentary filmmaker Les Blank died on Sunday (April 7) at the age of 77, according to The New York Times. He passed away from bladder cancer in his home in Berkely, Ca.
Blank (full name: Leslie Harrod Blank Jr.) was born on November 27, 1935 in Tampa, Fla. While he never became a household name, his lengthy career earned him lifetime achievement awards from the American Film Institute and the International Documentary Association, though he didn't think of himself as a documentarian. Rather, he saw himself as a filmmaker whose work happened to be about real people, according to his former wife Chris Simon.
Best known for his films that turned the lens on fellow filmmaker Werner Herzog (1979's "Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe" and 1982's "Burden of Dreams"), Blank was also known for spotlighting the periphery of America, providing exposure on pockets of culture that Hollywood often steered away from.
Of Blank,...
Blank (full name: Leslie Harrod Blank Jr.) was born on November 27, 1935 in Tampa, Fla. While he never became a household name, his lengthy career earned him lifetime achievement awards from the American Film Institute and the International Documentary Association, though he didn't think of himself as a documentarian. Rather, he saw himself as a filmmaker whose work happened to be about real people, according to his former wife Chris Simon.
Best known for his films that turned the lens on fellow filmmaker Werner Herzog (1979's "Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe" and 1982's "Burden of Dreams"), Blank was also known for spotlighting the periphery of America, providing exposure on pockets of culture that Hollywood often steered away from.
Of Blank,...
- 4/9/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Berkeley, Calif. — Les Blank, an acclaimed documentary maker who focused his camera on cultural corners ranging from blues music, to garlic lovers, to shoe-eating artists, died Sunday at age 77, his son said.
Blank died at his home in Berkeley, Calif. nearly a year after being diagnosed with bladder cancer, Harrod Blank said.
Blank's 42 films earned him a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute.
"I think he's a national treasure," filmmaker Taylor Hackford, president of the Directors Guild of America, told the New York Times. "Although his films are not well known at the moment, they'll take their place"
The Florida-born Blank's early documentaries focused on musicians, including 1965's "Dizzy Gillespie" and "The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins," a portrait of the Texas bluesman that won Blank his first wide renown.
He shifted to food with documentaries like 1980's "Garlic is as Good as 10 Mothers," and 2007's "All in This Tea.
Blank died at his home in Berkeley, Calif. nearly a year after being diagnosed with bladder cancer, Harrod Blank said.
Blank's 42 films earned him a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute.
"I think he's a national treasure," filmmaker Taylor Hackford, president of the Directors Guild of America, told the New York Times. "Although his films are not well known at the moment, they'll take their place"
The Florida-born Blank's early documentaries focused on musicians, including 1965's "Dizzy Gillespie" and "The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins," a portrait of the Texas bluesman that won Blank his first wide renown.
He shifted to food with documentaries like 1980's "Garlic is as Good as 10 Mothers," and 2007's "All in This Tea.
- 4/8/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Documentary director best known for his unusual collaborations with German director Herzog died earlier today Les Blank, among whose directorial efforts is the British Film Academy-winning documentary Burden of Dreams, about the bizarre events surrounding the making of Werner Herzog's Amazon-set Fitzcarraldo, died in Berkeley, California, earlier today, according to an article found on the web site Deadline.com. Blank, who had been suffering from cancer, was 77. Pictured above: Herzog is the maddeningly obsessive star of the 1982 documentary Burden of Dreams. Near the end of the 1960s, Blank was directing industrial and promotional shorts in order to bankroll his i documentary shorts, including Chicago Film Festival winner The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins (1969) and God Respects Us When We Work, But Loves Us When We Dance (1969), about the burgeoning "flower children" scene. Music and the cultural context encompassing it were frequent themes in Blank's work. Examples include the norteño...
- 4/7/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Happy Fourth of July to all of Bad Lit’s U.S. readers! Celebrate Independence Day by reading all about great independent cinema. Loads of reviews and other surprises in the underground film link list this week:
It seems film festival notices have been going out: Kill Your Television, Hooka Face and the Virgin Boy and Wheels of Death all have been accepted into the Atlanta Underground Film Festival. And Hanging at Picnic Rock has been appropriately selected for the Melbourne Underground Film Festival. If you want a print of the 2010 Chicago Underground Film Festival poster, then indiePulse has the details. Art:21 has an absolutely fascinating history of an early “forgotten” film pioneer, Alice Guy-Blaché, the Head of Production of Gaumont from 1896 to 1906. Rhizome has video and images from Harun Farocki’s Deep Play installation, which is an artistic interpretation of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. j. j. murphy reviews the...
It seems film festival notices have been going out: Kill Your Television, Hooka Face and the Virgin Boy and Wheels of Death all have been accepted into the Atlanta Underground Film Festival. And Hanging at Picnic Rock has been appropriately selected for the Melbourne Underground Film Festival. If you want a print of the 2010 Chicago Underground Film Festival poster, then indiePulse has the details. Art:21 has an absolutely fascinating history of an early “forgotten” film pioneer, Alice Guy-Blaché, the Head of Production of Gaumont from 1896 to 1906. Rhizome has video and images from Harun Farocki’s Deep Play installation, which is an artistic interpretation of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. j. j. murphy reviews the...
- 7/4/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 6th annual Portland Underground Film Festival is ready to once again take over the historic Clinton St. Theater for four straight nights of demented and deranged movies on June 10-13.
The big highlight of the event — from Bad Lit’s perspective — is the closing night film: The touching and heartwarming story of a man who became a beloved alien, clown and, most importantly, a vampire. That’s right, it’s Every Other Day Is Halloween, the documentary portrait of Dick Dyzel, who transformed himself into Bozo, Captain 20 and Count Gore DeVol on local Washington, D.C. TV.
As for the rest of the fest, there’s the always popular “Bike Porn” short film program; the made-in-Oregon feature The Corners; the Jaws documentary The Shark Is Still Working and more. Plus, don’t miss the short film program that includes Spree All the Way to Mexico, made by one of...
The big highlight of the event — from Bad Lit’s perspective — is the closing night film: The touching and heartwarming story of a man who became a beloved alien, clown and, most importantly, a vampire. That’s right, it’s Every Other Day Is Halloween, the documentary portrait of Dick Dyzel, who transformed himself into Bozo, Captain 20 and Count Gore DeVol on local Washington, D.C. TV.
As for the rest of the fest, there’s the always popular “Bike Porn” short film program; the made-in-Oregon feature The Corners; the Jaws documentary The Shark Is Still Working and more. Plus, don’t miss the short film program that includes Spree All the Way to Mexico, made by one of...
- 6/8/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Webster University Film Series Presents
Weekend, Aug 21, 22 & 23 at 7:30 Pm
Automorphosis (2009, USA, 73 min.) is a film directed by Harrod Blank, son of the legendary documentary filmmaker Les Blank (Burden of Dreams). Don’t assume he’s just riding on his dad’s coat tails though, especially since Les Blank is known mostly by avid cinephiles and movie geeks. Harrod is a fascinating artist and a quality filmmaker in his own rite. This is Harrod’s third film on the subject of car-art, following his first feature-length documentary Wild Wheels (1992) and his short film Driving The Dream (1998). If you love movies, cars and/or art, this is a film you want to see!
What if you could morph your car into a mobile work of art, and drive it down the road for all to see? What would it look like? What would the world think of you? How would you be changed?...
Weekend, Aug 21, 22 & 23 at 7:30 Pm
Automorphosis (2009, USA, 73 min.) is a film directed by Harrod Blank, son of the legendary documentary filmmaker Les Blank (Burden of Dreams). Don’t assume he’s just riding on his dad’s coat tails though, especially since Les Blank is known mostly by avid cinephiles and movie geeks. Harrod is a fascinating artist and a quality filmmaker in his own rite. This is Harrod’s third film on the subject of car-art, following his first feature-length documentary Wild Wheels (1992) and his short film Driving The Dream (1998). If you love movies, cars and/or art, this is a film you want to see!
What if you could morph your car into a mobile work of art, and drive it down the road for all to see? What would it look like? What would the world think of you? How would you be changed?...
- 8/20/2009
- by Travis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Slamdance competition is open only to under-$1 million budgeted films from first-time filmmakers and runs at the same time as Sundance (in Utah) to show a more truer "independent" film style. This year they've got some great looking films, including a sweet looking vampire flick which has the Karate Kid Ralph Macchio himself, Rosencantz and Guildenstern are Undead. I Sell the Dead which was well received at Tad will be opening the fest. Also playing will be The Broken Lizard's latest film The Slammin' Salmon, and Mum and Dad.
Checkout the full lineup after the break!
Narrative Feature Competition
The Ante
Max Perrier (Director), Danek S. Kaus, James Chancellor & Simon Perrier (Writers)
West Coast Premiere, Black Comedy/Thriller, 2006, Canada, 82 minutes
An innocent man becomes the killer everyone wants him to be when he gambles with his freedom in order to save it.
A Quiet Little Marriage
Mo Perkins (Director/Writer)
Utah Premiere,...
Checkout the full lineup after the break!
Narrative Feature Competition
The Ante
Max Perrier (Director), Danek S. Kaus, James Chancellor & Simon Perrier (Writers)
West Coast Premiere, Black Comedy/Thriller, 2006, Canada, 82 minutes
An innocent man becomes the killer everyone wants him to be when he gambles with his freedom in order to save it.
A Quiet Little Marriage
Mo Perkins (Director/Writer)
Utah Premiere,...
- 12/8/2008
- QuietEarth.us
"I Sell the Dead," Glenn McQuaid's darkly comic horror tale about bumbling grave robbers starring Dominic Monaghan and Ron Perlman, will serve as the opening-night film of the 15th annual Slamdance Film Festival, which runs Jan. 15-23 in Park City.
The fest will screen 29 narrative and documentary features, 20 of which come from the U.S. and 31% of which were directed by women. The 100-film lineup also includes shorts and, for the first time, music videos.
"This year we look forward to increasing our audience through new online formats we believe have the ability, in the long run, to level the playing field for the independent filmmaker," Slamdance president and co-founder Peter Baxter said.
Bringing the fest to a worldwide audience for the first time, the films also will stream live at a new Web site, indieroad.net/slamdance, part of Slamdance's newly formed online venture with Indieroad.net.
The...
The fest will screen 29 narrative and documentary features, 20 of which come from the U.S. and 31% of which were directed by women. The 100-film lineup also includes shorts and, for the first time, music videos.
"This year we look forward to increasing our audience through new online formats we believe have the ability, in the long run, to level the playing field for the independent filmmaker," Slamdance president and co-founder Peter Baxter said.
Bringing the fest to a worldwide audience for the first time, the films also will stream live at a new Web site, indieroad.net/slamdance, part of Slamdance's newly formed online venture with Indieroad.net.
The...
- 12/8/2008
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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