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International Documentary Association Reveals Incubator Fund, Development Grants

International Documentary Association Reveals Incubator Fund, Development Grants
The International Documentary Association (IDA) and Xrm Media have launched a new international fund to support short verité documentaries with an emphasis on emerging filmmakers.

The IDA+Xrm Media Incubator will provide three filmmakers with $25,000 each. In addition, Academy Award-nominated directors Skye Fitzgerald (“Hunger Ward”) and Smriti Mundhra (“St. Louis Superman”), and Emmy-nominated director Nadia Hallgren (“Becoming”) will be paired with the grantees as mentors.

Applications will open July 5 and close Aug. 2.

Simon Kilmurry, IDA’s executive director, said: “Xrm Media’s commitment to filmmakers aligns very well with IDA’s mission, and by joining forces we can ensure that filmmakers receive all the resources they need to make high-impact films.”

Michael Y. Chow, chief instigator at Xrm Media, added: “Xrm Media has long respected and valued what Simon Kilmurry and the entire IDA team have brought to the documentary filmmaking community and are thrilled to announce our partnership and
See full article at Variety »

Facebook’s Oculus, EA and Respawn Win Game Industry’s First Oscar for ‘Colette’ Documentary Short

Facebook’s Oculus, EA and Respawn Win Game Industry’s First Oscar for ‘Colette’ Documentary Short
Facebook just won its first Oscar.

“Colette,” from the social giant’s Oculus Studios and EA’s Respawn Entertainment game studio, picked up the trophy for documentary short subject Sunday at the 93rd Academy Awards. It’s also the first project from the game industry to win an Oscar.

The 25-minute film follows former French Resistance member Colette Marin-Catherine as she travels to Germany for the first time in 74 years. “Colette” was created for the World War II-set VR video game “Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.”

“Colette” beat out the other contenders on the category: “A Concerto Is a Conversation,” from Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers; “Do Not Split,” from Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook; “Hunger Ward,” from Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Scheuerman; and “A Love Song for Latasha,” from Sophia Nahli Allison and Janice Duncan.

In “Colette,” directed by Anthony Giacchino and produced by Alice Doyard, Marin-Catherine’s
See full article at Variety »

‘2021 Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Documentary’ Review: Seeking Transcendence in Tragedy

‘2021 Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Documentary’ Review: Seeking Transcendence in Tragedy
For decades, the three Oscar shorts prizes — live action, animated and especially documentary — have confounded those who watch the awards. Shorts were all but impossible to see and subject to a different set of rules. That was until ShortsTV came along to distribute the nominees, but even then, at the qualification stage, virtually every other category had to play theatrically, whereas the shorts didn’t, causing some to question whether they even belonged in the Oscar telecast at all. And then the pandemic hit: In 2020, hardly any features opened in cinemas, whereas short films enjoyed more exposure than ever, thanks to the rapidly expanding number of streaming platforms that carried them — from Netflix to Paramount Plus to outlets like The Guardian and The New York Times. Suddenly, the doc shorts category seems more accessible and relevant than ever.

When it comes to topicality, it’s hard to beat Sophia Nahli Allison
See full article at Variety »

2021 Oscars: Best Documentary Short cheat sheet

2021 Oscars: Best Documentary Short cheat sheet
If you’re looking at our official racetrack odds, you’d see that “A Love Song for Latasha” looks to be out front for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. The odds that are shown in our predictions center are taken from the predictions made by our Expert film journalists, Gold Derby Editors, Top 24 Users and our regular Gold Derby readers making their predictions.

But could another contender come in and take the honor on April 25th? Do any of the other nominees fit a more conventional mold of what usually wins in this category? Let’s answer these questions by taking a detailed look at the five short documentaries that make up this year’s nominees, in order by their current Gold Derby odds.

“A Love Song for Latasha” (odds of winning: 17/5)

Friends of Latasha Harlins remember the person she was before her untimely shooting death at age 15 that
See full article at Gold Derby »

How 2021 Oscar Short Doc Nominees Tackled Tales of Past and Present Injustice (Video)

How 2021 Oscar Short Doc Nominees Tackled Tales of Past and Present Injustice (Video)
TheWrap has continued its annual tradition of showcasing the Oscar nominees for Best Documentary Short, gathering the filmmakers behind them to discuss how they brought their stories of injustice past and present to the screen.

Joining TheWrap awards editor Steve Pond on this year’s nominee panel were producer Alice Doyard, (“Colette”) along with directors Sophia Nahli Allison (“A Love Song For Latasha”), Skye Fitzgerald (“Hunger Ward”), Anders Hammer (“Do Not Split”) and Kris Bowers (“A Concerto Is A Conversation”).

Doyard, alongside “Colette” director Anthony Giacchino, took a great deal of time gaining the trust of the film’s subject, Colette Marin-Catherine, one of the last remaining veterans of the French Resistance. The film follows the 90-year-old Colette as she travels with teenage student Lucie Fouble for the first time to the ruins of Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp, where her brother was imprisoned as a Resistance member and was worked to
See full article at The Wrap »

‘Hunger Ward’ Director Skye Fitzgerald On How He And His Crew Got “Really Small” To Document Yemen’s “Invisible War” – Contenders Film: The Nominees

‘Hunger Ward’ Director Skye Fitzgerald On How He And His Crew Got “Really Small” To Document Yemen’s “Invisible War” – Contenders Film: The Nominees
Skye Fitzgerald’s experience making films about human rights issues in the Middle East prepared him for one practical aspect of making Hunger Ward.

“There was only ever going to be one way we were going to be able to shoot this film, and that was by being really, really small,” the director said during a session at Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees awards-season event. That meant no boom operator or other typical crew; just Fitzgerald and his director of photography, Jeffrey Ball, shooting continuously.

The resulting MTV Documentary Films release, which is nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary – Short Subject, captures what Fitzgerald calls the “invisible war” in Yemen. Due to years of civil conflict and the blocking of aid shipments from being delivered, Yemeni children are starving.
See full article at Deadline »

Oscars 2021: The Best Documentary Shorts Nominees, Ranked

Oscars 2021: The Best Documentary Shorts Nominees, Ranked
With the growing overlap between journalism and non-fiction filmmaking, documentary shorts have become an increasingly powerful showcase for critical real-world stories. Easily accessible and shareable online, non-fiction filmmaking has a greater potential to have a far-reaching impact than ever before. More filmmakers are drawn to the genre, which has only improved the quality, subject matter, and level of artistic risk-taking.

The five contenders for Best Documentary Short tackle devastating humanitarian crises, urgent political movements, and deep-rooted social justice causes. Two of the year’s contenders hail from up-and-coming Black filmmakers, who address vastly different facets of racial inequality in ways both lyrical and profound. Another film has provoked the Chinese government to ban the Oscars broadcast from the country, proving the undeniable power of the medium. Here’s a ranking of all five contenders.

5. “Hunger Ward” (Skye Fitzgerald)

Certain tragedies cannot be ignored, even if they feel impossible to look at.
See full article at Indiewire »

Deadline’s New Contenders Film Event Adds 45 Nominated Stars And Filmmakers Of Major Movie Awards Hopefuls; Carey Mulligan, Andra Day, Sacha Baron Cohen And More

Deadline’s New Contenders Film Event Adds 45 Nominated Stars And Filmmakers Of Major Movie Awards Hopefuls; Carey Mulligan, Andra Day, Sacha Baron Cohen And More
A sterling final lineup of talent, filmmakers and stars will be participating in Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees virtual event on Saturday. Among nominated actors appearing are Leslie Odom Jr., Riz Ahmed, Paul Raci, Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova, Carey Mulligan, Andra Day, Amanda Seyfried, BAFTA nominee Mads Mikkelsen, as well as stars from International Film contender The Man Who Sold His Skin including Monica Bellucci, Yahya, Mahayni and Dea Liane.

Filmmakers include all five directors of the International Film nominees, Kemp Powers, Darius Marder, Garrett Bradley, Tomm Moore, Maite Alberdi, Alexander Nanau, Skye Fitzgerald, Aaron Sorkin, Emerald Fennell, Thomas Vinterberg and many other artisans poised to possibly receive the film industry’s highest honors.

A total of 18 Oscar-nominated films from 11 studios and distributors will be highlighted in Deadline’s first-ever nominees Contenders Film for the movie awards season. The all-day livestreamed event is Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.
See full article at Deadline »

Skye Fitzgerald (‘Hunger Ward’ director): ‘Cinema can be a force for good’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Skye Fitzgerald (‘Hunger Ward’ director): ‘Cinema can be a force for good’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“It became even more important to do a direct look at death and grief and loss,” declares Skye Fitzgerald, the director the documentary “Hunger Ward.” The film about the deadly impacts of civil war has been nominated for Best Documentary Short at this year’s Oscars. MTV Documentary Films recently acquired “Hunger Ward,” which is now streaming on Paramount+. Watch our exclusive video interview with Fitzgerald above.

“Hunger Ward” is the third in a trilogy of films about refugees and displaced peoples, following 2015’s “50 Feet from Syria” and 2018’s “Lifeboat,” which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Short. “Hunger Ward” focuses on the widespread famine and starvation in Yemen caused by the ongoing civil war. Much of the film follows Dr. Aida Al-Sadeeq and nurse Mekkia Mahdi as they treat children dying of starvation and malnutrition.

SEE2021 Oscar nominations: Full list of nominees in all 23 categories at the 93rd
See full article at Gold Derby »

MTV Documentary Films’ Oscar-Nominated ‘Hunger Ward’ Set For Paramount+ Debut

MTV Documentary Films’ Oscar-Nominated ‘Hunger Ward’ Set For Paramount+ Debut
Exclusive: A wider audience is about to get the chance to see director Skye Fitzgerald’s Hunger Ward, the Oscar-nominated short film from MTV Documentary Films.

The film, an unsparing look at the suffering of children in Yemen who have been reduced to starvation during the country’s civil war, will premiere on the Paramount+ streaming platform on Friday. Hunger Ward will be released the same day in more than 120 theaters, coupled with virtual cinema engagements, as part of the Academy’s 2021 Oscar Nominated Short Films program.

“It is an honor to have MTV Documentary Films and Paramount+ bring Hunger Ward’s urgent message of the humanitarian crisis affecting children of Yemen to a broad and engaged audience,” Fitzgerald said. Added Sheila Nevins, head of MTV Documentary Films, “The greatest humanitarian crisis exists in Yemen. Children are starving to death in front of America’s eyes. Filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald
See full article at Deadline »

ShortsTV Sets Theatrical & Virtual Release Dates For 2021’s Oscar-Nominated Short Films

ShortsTV Sets Theatrical & Virtual Release Dates For 2021’s Oscar-Nominated Short Films
Every year, ShortsTV brings the best in short film to the big screen, with a presentation of Oscar nominated shorts in the Animated, Live-Action and Documentary arenas. While movie theaters only recently reopened in Los Angeles and Orange County—with Covid cases, hospitalizations and fatalities on the descent—the distributor has already set theatrical and virtual premiere dates in both counties, for the Oscar Nominated Shorts of 2021.

ShortsTV’s live-action and animated short film programs will be released theatrically and virtually on Friday, April 2. Its documentary program, meanwhile, will become available virtually on April 2, with a theatrical opening scheduled for April 9.

Nominees in the category of Best Live-Action Short Film that will screen for LA audiences include Feeling Through (directed by Doug Roland), Oscar Isaac-starrer The Letter Room (Elvira Lind), The Present (Farah Nabulsi), Two Distant Strangers (Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe) and White Eye (Tomer Sushan).

Doc
See full article at Deadline »

Oscars: Best Documentary Short Subject Film Predictions 2021

Oscars: Best Documentary Short Subject Film Predictions 2021
Never underestimate the power of a good short film prediction to give you an edge on the office Oscars pool. With the Academy nominations newly announced, the Oscar contenders for documentary short have been whittled down to a lucky 5 films for the 93rd Academy Awards. Per usual, the group includes a range of social issue films, addressing topics from gun violence to the war in Yemen to the Hong Kong protests. When it comes time to bet on the winners, always go for old people and tearjerkers.

Netflix scored a nomination with Sophia Nahli Allison’s powerful “A Love Song for Latasha,” a lyrical ode to Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old girl from South Central Los Angeles whose 1991 shooting death became a flashpoint in the LA uprisings. The 19-minute film, which screened as part of Ava DuVernay’s Array 360 programming, is bursting with sun-kissed sidewalks and faded basketball courts, clean line
See full article at Indiewire »

Oscar’s Documentary Short Nominees Celebrate A Magical Monday: “It’s Gratifying For Sure”

Oscar’s Documentary Short Nominees Celebrate A Magical Monday: “It’s Gratifying For Sure”
For Colette Catherine, the subject of the Oscar-nominated short documentary Colette, April 25 will be a very special day—for a couple of reasons.

“April 25th is Colette’s 93rd birthday, which is the 93rd Oscars…The two dates cross over,” director Anthony Giacchino tells Deadline. “It was meant to be. She turns 93 on the 93rd Academy Awards.”

By a curious coincidence, Colette is not the only subject of a nominated short documentary to be the same age as Oscar. So is Horace Bowers Sr., who along with his grandson Kris Bowers are the focus of A Concerto Is a Conversation.

“The first Oscar nominations were announced in 1928…Horace Bowers was born in 1928,” notes Ben Proudfoot, who directed A Concerto Is a Conversation with Kris Bowers. “So this is a story 93 years in the making.”

Horace Bowers Sr. was born in the Jim Crow South of Bascom, Florida and hitchhiked cross
See full article at Deadline »

Oscars Predictions: Best Documentary Short – Netflix Could Dominate With Sophia Loren, ‘Latasha’ and ‘Speed Cubers’

Oscars Predictions: Best Documentary Short – Netflix Could Dominate With Sophia Loren, ‘Latasha’ and ‘Speed Cubers’
Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars from Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis. Following Academy Awards history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Oscar predictions are updated regularly with the current year's contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year long: Draft, Pre-Season, Regular Season and Post Season. Eligibility calendar and dates of awards will determine how long each phase lasts and will be displayed next to revision date.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Collective

Draft>>>Pre Season>>>Regular Season>>>Post Season

2021 Oscars Predictions:

Best Documentary Short Film

Updated: Feb. 25, 2021

Awards Prediction Commentary: Netflix has three contenders, all of which have the goods to win the category. The prestige of “What Would Sophia Loren Do” will keep it in the conversation while the charms of “Speed
See full article at Variety »

MTV Documentary Films Acquires Oscar-Shortlisted Doc ‘Hunger Ward,’ Sets March 1 Premiere

MTV Documentary Films Acquires Oscar-Shortlisted Doc ‘Hunger Ward,’ Sets March 1 Premiere
Exclusive: MTV Documentary Films is adding Skye Fitzgerald’s Hunger Ward to its portfolio of Oscar-contending films.

The MTV division led by Sheila Nevins announced Tuesday it has acquired the short film, a devastating look at children suffering starvation in Yemen as a direct result of war in the Middle Eastern country. Hunger Ward, which made the Oscar documentary short subject shortlist earlier this month, will premiere on Pluto TV March 1.

“The greatest humanitarian crisis exists in Yemen. Children are starving to death in front of America’s eyes,” Nevins noted. “Filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald has made a documentary that says ‘no more.’ It is a must see for anyone with heart.”

Hunger Ward marks the third installment in a trilogy of short films by Fitzgerald exploring the plight of refugees and other people displaced by conflict. His 2015 film 50 Feet from Syria made the Oscar documentary shortlist and his 2018 Lifeboat earned an Oscar nomination.
See full article at Deadline »

Hunger Ward - Jennie Kermode - 16580

Hunger Ward - Jennie Kermode - 16580
At the time of writing, around 100,000 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict in Yemen. 24 million are in urgent need of assistance, yet media coverage of the civilian crisis has been sparse. Part of the reason for this is the danger faced by journalists operating in the country. Skye Fitzgerald's Oscar-nominated short represents real personal courage, and illustrates the courage of those who have nowhere else to go but are willing to look their situation full in the face every day.

It hinges on two interviews. The first is with Aida Alsadeeq, a doctor in one of the country's principal therapeutic feeding centres. The other is with Mekkia Mahdi, a nurse doing similar work. Both women face desperation on a daily basis and sometimes become targets of abuse for the distraught families of their young patients, who have nobody else available to blame for a situation that is.
See full article at eyeforfilm.co.uk »

All Oscar charts have been updated. But first, look how starry the shorts are!

All Oscar charts have been updated. But first, look how starry the shorts are!
by Nathaniel R

After the shortlist announcement we had to cram in some  quick research on the shorts categories. Live action short might prove rather starry because one of the ten stars Tilda Swinton (The Human Voice) and another stars Oscar Isaac and Alia Shawkat (The Letter Room). Most of the filmmakers behind this years 30 finalist shorts (across the 3 categories) would be receiving their first nominations but there are a few previous Oscar players in the mix too:  Skye Fitzgerald, Pedro Almodovar, Max Lang 

We'll discuss each category in its own post as we approach the Academy's nomination ballot week (which is still almost a month away if you can believe it!) but in the meantime all the charts are freshly updated...

Index | Picture | Director

Actress | Actor | Supp' Actress | Supp' Actor | 

Screenplays | Visual | Sound | 

Animated & Documentary | International Feature 
See full article at FilmExperience »

Oscars Documentary Feature Shortlist: Snubs, Surprises And A Netflix-Amazon Showdown

Oscars Documentary Feature Shortlist: Snubs, Surprises And A Netflix-Amazon Showdown
Netflix has dominated the Oscar documentary race the last few years, winning Documentary Feature in 2020 and 2018, but the release of the Academy shortlists Tuesday confirms it faces a battle this time around, from a rival streamer.

Amazon Studios landed two films on the feature shortlist—Time, directed by Garrett Bradley, and All In: The Fight for Democracy, directed by Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés. Time, which touches on mass incarceration through the experience of one Black family in Louisiana, must be considered a solid favorite in the Oscar race, having tied for the Gotham Award and amassing multiple critics’ prizes.

Netflix made the Oscar shortlist, as expected, with its top two contenders—Crip Camp, directed by Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht, and Dick Johnson Is Dead, from director Kirsten Johnson. It also muscled in with mollusk-themed My Octopus Teacher, ensnaring in its tentacles a fifth of the 15 shortlist slots. But
See full article at Deadline »

Starvation As “Weapon Of War”: Oscar Contender ‘Hunger Ward’ Shows How Children Bear Brunt In Yemen Conflict

Starvation As “Weapon Of War”: Oscar Contender ‘Hunger Ward’ Shows How Children Bear Brunt In Yemen Conflict
Abeer, one of the main subjects of Skye Fitzgerald’s short documentary Hunger Ward, is as pretty as a fairytale princess, with eloquent brown eyes and a smile—when it appears—to melt the heart.

But the conditions of Abeer’s life, far from storybook, are those of cruel reality. She is one of an estimated two million children in Yemen facing starvation as a result of the country’s civil war.

“This lack of food, or lack of access to food, it’s human-caused,” Fitzgerald tells Deadline. “We often think of famine, and we think of drought, we think of crop failure, we think of locusts. This is not the case in Yemen…Hunger being used as a weapon of war [is] such a horrible thought to me.”

Aged 6, Abeer weights but 12 pounds. Omeima, a 10-year-old girl who appears in Hunger Ward, weighs only 24 pounds.

“I have a 10-year-old son who weighs 93 pounds,
See full article at Deadline »

‘Gunda,’ ‘Crip Camp,’ ‘Time’ Land on Doc NYC List of Awards-Worthy Documentaries

‘Gunda,’ ‘Crip Camp,’ ‘Time’ Land on Doc NYC List of Awards-Worthy Documentaries
“Crip Camp,” “Gunda” and “Time” are among the films that have made Doc NYC’s 2020 “Short List,” an annual attempt by the New York-based festival to identify the nonfiction films most likely to play a significant part in awards season.

Those three films were also included in the Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominations for Best Documentary Feature, and on the International Documentary Association’s shortlist from which the Ida chooses nominees for the Ida Documentary Awards. They are the only three movies to land on all three lists.

Nine additional films on the Doc NYC list were also singled out either by the Ida or Critics Choice: “Boys State,” “Collective,” “Dick Johnson Is Dead,” “The Fight,” “MLK/FBI,” “76 Days,” “The Social Dilemma,” “The Truffle Hunters” and “Welcome to Chechnya.”

Other films on the Doc NYC list, which is made up of 15 documentaries, are “I Am Greta,” “On the Record” and “A Thousand Cuts.
See full article at The Wrap »
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