Daniel McCabe on the grasshoppers: 'They're delicious. They've got a very specific and unique flavor. I'd say it's like, shrimp meets popcorn in a nutty way' Photo: Taskovski Films Daniel McCabe’s Grasshopper Republic opens a window into a world of commerce that few people will be aware of - the Uganda insect trade. The grasshoppers, which swarm unpredictably during one season of the year, make serious cash for those trappers lucky enough to snare them.
The American director, who previously made the documentary This Is Congo, came to the project through his friendship with Italian photographer Michele Sibiloni, who also acts as cinematographer on the film, and who had made a book about the grasshopper phenomenon previously.
McCabe explained: “During the making of This Is Congo, my previous film, I was based in eastern Congo for some years. Michele was based in Kampala, Uganda, and would travel into the...
The American director, who previously made the documentary This Is Congo, came to the project through his friendship with Italian photographer Michele Sibiloni, who also acts as cinematographer on the film, and who had made a book about the grasshopper phenomenon previously.
McCabe explained: “During the making of This Is Congo, my previous film, I was based in eastern Congo for some years. Michele was based in Kampala, Uganda, and would travel into the...
- 5/16/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
American director Daniel McCabe and his team have opened up to Variety about the making of “Grasshopper Republic” at Swiss international documentary film fest Visions du Réel, where the pic is nominated in the main competition.
Based on a book of photographs by Michele Sibiloni, a photographer and long-time friend of McCabe, who co-shot the film with him and his brother Michael, “Grasshopper Republic” takes viewers on an immersive vérité style journey alongside Uganda’s grasshopper trappers as they set out to make the catch they hope will make them rich: prices and demand for grasshoppers are high in Uganda, where they are considered a delicacy.
The director was keen to emphasize the collaborative nature of the film, which was shot over three seasons in Uganda. Access to the trappers was made possible thanks to Sibiloni’s well established contacts with them.
“We really wanted to make something that was observational,...
Based on a book of photographs by Michele Sibiloni, a photographer and long-time friend of McCabe, who co-shot the film with him and his brother Michael, “Grasshopper Republic” takes viewers on an immersive vérité style journey alongside Uganda’s grasshopper trappers as they set out to make the catch they hope will make them rich: prices and demand for grasshoppers are high in Uganda, where they are considered a delicacy.
The director was keen to emphasize the collaborative nature of the film, which was shot over three seasons in Uganda. Access to the trappers was made possible thanks to Sibiloni’s well established contacts with them.
“We really wanted to make something that was observational,...
- 4/26/2023
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
While there will always be documentaries focused on the headlines or known hotbed issues and warzones, there are few things more captivating than being transported to a world you know nothing about and being shown how it works. This is what happens with Daniel McCabe’s visually - and aurally - impressive Grasshopper Republic.
The American filmmaker offers a show rather than tell approach as he opens the fim with large wads of cash which are, apparently, exchanging hands in return for large bags of grasshoppers - a tantalising taste of what to come.
Taking his lead from the photographic book Nsenene, by Michael Sibiloni - who co-shoots the flm - McCabe spends time letting us admire these delicate and intricate creatures close up as the young, grass-green nymphs pull themselves from their eggs or straw-coloured adults make their way along a leaf or attempt to gnaw their way out of.
The American filmmaker offers a show rather than tell approach as he opens the fim with large wads of cash which are, apparently, exchanging hands in return for large bags of grasshoppers - a tantalising taste of what to come.
Taking his lead from the photographic book Nsenene, by Michael Sibiloni - who co-shoots the flm - McCabe spends time letting us admire these delicate and intricate creatures close up as the young, grass-green nymphs pull themselves from their eggs or straw-coloured adults make their way along a leaf or attempt to gnaw their way out of.
- 4/25/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Taskovski Films, the London-based world film sales company, has picked up “Grasshopper Republic,” which will have its world premiere in the International Competition at Visions du Réel documentary festival in Switzerland.
Filmed by Daniel McCabe over the course of three seasons in Uganda, “Grasshopper Republic” follows a grasshopper trapping team in verité style as these modern-day prospectors push into remote forests seeking their fortune by capturing this elusive prey.
We witness massive generators being hauled up collapsing mudbanks. Light posts are erected with chemically treated bulbs, casting a lurid neon green pall over the tree canopy, irresistibly attracting the swarm to their corrugated iron traps.
The trappers, who have suffered through injury, sickness and exhaustion, finally have their moment and relief washes over them. As for the grasshoppers who have been lured into a trap through unnatural trickery, their path ends in a frying pan.
McCabe says: “ ‘Grasshopper Republic’ is...
Filmed by Daniel McCabe over the course of three seasons in Uganda, “Grasshopper Republic” follows a grasshopper trapping team in verité style as these modern-day prospectors push into remote forests seeking their fortune by capturing this elusive prey.
We witness massive generators being hauled up collapsing mudbanks. Light posts are erected with chemically treated bulbs, casting a lurid neon green pall over the tree canopy, irresistibly attracting the swarm to their corrugated iron traps.
The trappers, who have suffered through injury, sickness and exhaustion, finally have their moment and relief washes over them. As for the grasshoppers who have been lured into a trap through unnatural trickery, their path ends in a frying pan.
McCabe says: “ ‘Grasshopper Republic’ is...
- 4/19/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Argentinian filmmaker Lucrecia Martel is guest of honour at Swiss non-fiction festival
Swiss documentary festival Visions du Réel (VdR) has revealed the line-up for its 54th edition which opens with Juliette de Marcillac’s Nightwatchers and runs April 21-30.
The festival has programmed 163 films – including 82 world premieres.
Nightwatchers is part of the previously announced Grand Angle competition. Filmed at high-end ski resort Montgenèvre on the French-Italian border, it tells the story of volunteers trying to help migrants, and the authorities trying to catch them.
VdR’s flagship international competition has 14 competing films, including 12 world premieres and two international premieres.
Swiss...
Swiss documentary festival Visions du Réel (VdR) has revealed the line-up for its 54th edition which opens with Juliette de Marcillac’s Nightwatchers and runs April 21-30.
The festival has programmed 163 films – including 82 world premieres.
Nightwatchers is part of the previously announced Grand Angle competition. Filmed at high-end ski resort Montgenèvre on the French-Italian border, it tells the story of volunteers trying to help migrants, and the authorities trying to catch them.
VdR’s flagship international competition has 14 competing films, including 12 world premieres and two international premieres.
Swiss...
- 3/28/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel (VdR) has unveiled the lineup of its 54th edition, which features a broad panorama of both established names and newcomers from around the world.
The festival kicks off on April 21 with the world premiere of “Nightwatchers” by Juliette de Marcillac and runs through April 30. The event will screen a total of 163 films from 46 countries, with a 50-50 parity between female and male directors.
No fewer than 12 out of 14 films in the main International Competition and 13 out of 15 in the Burning Lights section, the festival sidebar dedicated to new documentary expression, are world premieres, bearing testimony to the fest’s reputation for setting the trend on the global doc scene.
“I am thrilled to see that Visions du Réel is confirming both its role as a trailblazer – there are 24 first feature length films whilst 82 of the films screened are world premieres – and strong ties...
The festival kicks off on April 21 with the world premiere of “Nightwatchers” by Juliette de Marcillac and runs through April 30. The event will screen a total of 163 films from 46 countries, with a 50-50 parity between female and male directors.
No fewer than 12 out of 14 films in the main International Competition and 13 out of 15 in the Burning Lights section, the festival sidebar dedicated to new documentary expression, are world premieres, bearing testimony to the fest’s reputation for setting the trend on the global doc scene.
“I am thrilled to see that Visions du Réel is confirming both its role as a trailblazer – there are 24 first feature length films whilst 82 of the films screened are world premieres – and strong ties...
- 3/28/2023
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Cinema Eye Honors said that Eyes on the Prize, the landmark civil rights docuseries that first aired on public television in 1987, will receive the group’s 2019 Legacy Award. The honor will be bestowed January 10 during the 12th annual Cinema Eye Honors awards ceremony in New York.
“For me and so many others, Eyes on the Prize was a transformational cinematic experience, artfully crafting the history of a nation into an unforgettable story,” Cinema Eye board co-chair Dawn Porter said Thursday. “Countless filmmakers have been inspired by this elegant body of work.”
Created and by the late Henry Hampton’s Blackside, the 14-part Eyes on the Prize is considered the definitive documentary record of the American civil rights era, tracing the country’s long and brutal march toward equality and the fight to end decades of discrimination and segregation. It aired in two parts, the first covering the years 1954–1965 and...
“For me and so many others, Eyes on the Prize was a transformational cinematic experience, artfully crafting the history of a nation into an unforgettable story,” Cinema Eye board co-chair Dawn Porter said Thursday. “Countless filmmakers have been inspired by this elegant body of work.”
Created and by the late Henry Hampton’s Blackside, the 14-part Eyes on the Prize is considered the definitive documentary record of the American civil rights era, tracing the country’s long and brutal march toward equality and the fight to end decades of discrimination and segregation. It aired in two parts, the first covering the years 1954–1965 and...
- 12/20/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The Cinema Eye Honors, which annually presents awards to “celebrate outstanding artistry and craft in nonfiction film,” has revealed its nominees in 10 categories, including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature and Outstanding Nonfiction Short. Multiple nominees include Robert Greene’s ”Bisbee ‘17,” Sandi Tan’s “Shirkers,” and RaMell Ross’ ”Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” with five nods each. While Greene is a Cinema Eye Honors vet, both Tan and Ross are first-time filmmakers.
Another first-time filmmaker on the rise: Bing Liu, whose autobiographical skateboarding doc “Minding the Gap,” leads the nominees with a total of seven nominations. That’s good enough to put the newbie filmmaker into rarefied territory, tying his film with lauded documentaries like Louie Psihoyos’ ”The Cove,” Lixin Fan’s ”Last Train Home,” and Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” for most Cinema Eye Honors nods ever. As Liu is a named nominee for six of those awards, he’s...
Another first-time filmmaker on the rise: Bing Liu, whose autobiographical skateboarding doc “Minding the Gap,” leads the nominees with a total of seven nominations. That’s good enough to put the newbie filmmaker into rarefied territory, tying his film with lauded documentaries like Louie Psihoyos’ ”The Cove,” Lixin Fan’s ”Last Train Home,” and Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” for most Cinema Eye Honors nods ever. As Liu is a named nominee for six of those awards, he’s...
- 11/8/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
“Minding the Gap,” a documentary that mixes stories of skateboarding teens with a dark family story, led all films in nominations for the Cinema Eye Honors, one of the top awards devoted to all facets of nonfiction filmmaking.
Bing Liu’s highly personal film tied a Cinema Eye record by receiving seven nominations overall, one in a previously announced category and six in the 10 categories that Cinema Eye announced on Thursday. Those included nominations for directing, editing, cinematography and music, as well as one in the marquee category, Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking.
Other nominees in that category were Robert Greene’s “Bisbee ’17,” RaMell Ross’ “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” Talal Derki’s “Of Fathers and Son,” Tim Wardle’s “Three Identical Strangers” and the 12th highest-grossing documentary of all time, Morgan Neville’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Also Read: 'Minding the Gap' Film Review: Powerful...
Bing Liu’s highly personal film tied a Cinema Eye record by receiving seven nominations overall, one in a previously announced category and six in the 10 categories that Cinema Eye announced on Thursday. Those included nominations for directing, editing, cinematography and music, as well as one in the marquee category, Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking.
Other nominees in that category were Robert Greene’s “Bisbee ’17,” RaMell Ross’ “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” Talal Derki’s “Of Fathers and Son,” Tim Wardle’s “Three Identical Strangers” and the 12th highest-grossing documentary of all time, Morgan Neville’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Also Read: 'Minding the Gap' Film Review: Powerful...
- 11/8/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Daniel McCabe’s potted documentary about the Drc takes in colonial history, independence and its dire modern struggles. It’s a difficult, necessary watch
Photographer-turned-filmmaker Daniel McCabe’s This Is Congo feels like the documentary equivalent of a long read about the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The film’s potted history in 92 minutes will no doubt frustrate experts as superficial. But here’s a necessary reminder of a conflict that has gone on for so long that the world seems to have disengaged and moved on to other war zones.
McCabe interviews two soldiers; one of them a high-ranking officer, the other a charismatic young colonel who boasts that his soldiers have been trained in human rights. (Earlier in the film we watch a few of them beat a man with a belt). Bibianne, known to everyone as Mama Romance, is a single mother who...
Photographer-turned-filmmaker Daniel McCabe’s This Is Congo feels like the documentary equivalent of a long read about the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The film’s potted history in 92 minutes will no doubt frustrate experts as superficial. But here’s a necessary reminder of a conflict that has gone on for so long that the world seems to have disengaged and moved on to other war zones.
McCabe interviews two soldiers; one of them a high-ranking officer, the other a charismatic young colonel who boasts that his soldiers have been trained in human rights. (Earlier in the film we watch a few of them beat a man with a belt). Bibianne, known to everyone as Mama Romance, is a single mother who...
- 5/25/2018
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
"Our hope was always to bring civilization to Congo..." Abramorama has debuted the official trailer for a documentary titled This Is Congo, a film made by war photographer Daniel McCabe. This looks like an incredible inside look at the African country known as the Congo (in full: the Democratic Republic of the Congo). "From embedding on the front lines with the national army, to displacement camps, to the black market for minerals, McCabe had unprecedented access to many sides of a decades long struggle for control over the most mineral-rich country in Africa. To capture the footage, McCabe shot with customized camera rigs and used creative sound recording solutions often acting as a one-man crew." This will be released in theaters in NY & La in late June this summer, timed to the 60th Anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Congo's independence. Holy hell does this look terrific, a definitive portrait...
- 5/11/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Abramorama has landed rights and set a release date for This Is Congo, the documentary from celebrated war photographer Daniel McCabe. The docu is set to open in New York City at the Maysles Documentary Center and in Los Angeles at Laemmle’s Music Hall on June 29 before a U.S. and Canada rollout.
Check out the exclusive clip above.
This Is Congo marks the feature debut of McCabe and its release date is timed to the 60th anniversary of The Democratic Republic of Congo’s independence on June 30. This is Congo made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the fall of 2017.
McCabe’s docu provides an immersive and unfiltered look into Africa’s longest continuing conflict and those who are surviving within it. By following four compelling characters — a whistleblower, a patriotic military commander, a mineral dealer and a displaced tailor — the film offers viewers...
Check out the exclusive clip above.
This Is Congo marks the feature debut of McCabe and its release date is timed to the 60th anniversary of The Democratic Republic of Congo’s independence on June 30. This is Congo made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the fall of 2017.
McCabe’s docu provides an immersive and unfiltered look into Africa’s longest continuing conflict and those who are surviving within it. By following four compelling characters — a whistleblower, a patriotic military commander, a mineral dealer and a displaced tailor — the film offers viewers...
- 5/10/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Documentarian Daniel McCabe wastes no time getting to the point of his film This is Congo with the words of Drc National Army Colonel Mamadou Ndala. This smiling dreamer of peace and unity speaks about his home like a philosopher as far as its riches (nature, minerals, and beauty) providing its people pure joy from God despite the contrasting prevalence of misery brought by the greed of men seeking to wrest it away for selfish gain rather than public need. He’s an optimist caught within an age-old fight he knows he probably won’t survive and yet he remains upbeat just the same. Mamadou is fearless because his motivations are forever pure. He’s a hero to the people, a symbol for the military, and a free man without freedom.
As this look at a war-torn nation trapped within a never-ending cycle of conflict presents freedom, only one man...
As this look at a war-torn nation trapped within a never-ending cycle of conflict presents freedom, only one man...
- 11/16/2017
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
There’s a pliability to the title of Daniel McCabe’s documentary “This Is Congo”: It’s both a contract between the author and his audience and an apathetic shrug of the shoulders. McCabe immediately announces his purpose in making the film, a primer on the status of the Democratic Republic of Congo, while also capturing the surrender his subjects give to that status. Dr Congo is a land in flux and has been for centuries thanks to incursions from foreign interlopers as well as corrupt Congolese rulers.
Continue reading ‘This Is Congo’ Is A Gripping Look At Congo’s Troubled History [Doc NYC Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘This Is Congo’ Is A Gripping Look At Congo’s Troubled History [Doc NYC Review] at The Playlist.
- 11/16/2017
- by Andrew Crump
- The Playlist
Both an unexciting and by-the-numbers history lesson and an inside-view, you-are-there look at an underreported armed conflict, the documentary This Is Congo is almost as full of contradictions as the nation it is trying to portray. Directed by New York-based photographer-turned-documentarian Daniel McCabe, who directed and shot the film, this investigation into a recent armed struggle in the Democratic Republic of the Congo premiered in Venice as an Out of Competition title and looked decent if not always great on the big screen.
Based on its topic, it should see interest from festivals and distributors specialized in nonfiction fare or...
Based on its topic, it should see interest from festivals and distributors specialized in nonfiction fare or...
- 8/31/2017
- by Boyd van Hoeij
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
ZamaThe programme for the 2017 edition of the Venice Film Festival has been unveiled, and includes new films from Darren Aronofsky, Lucrecia Martel, Frederick Wiseman, Alexander Payne, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Abdellatif Kechiche, Takeshi Kitano and many more.COMPETITIONmother! (Darren Aronofsky)First Reformed (Paul Schrader)Sweet Country (Warwick Thornton)The Leisure Seeker (Paolo Virzi)Una Famiglia (Sebastiano Riso)Ex Libris - The New York Public Library (Frederick Wiseman)Angels Wear White (Vivian Qu)The Whale (Andrea Pallaoro)Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh)Foxtrot (Samuel Maoz)Ammore e malavita (Manetti Brothers)Jusqu'a la garde (Xavier Legrand)The Third Murder (Hirokazu Kore-eda)Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno (Abdellatif Kechiche)Lean on Pete (Andrew Haigh)L'insulte (Ziad Doueiri)La Villa (Robert Guediguian)The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro)Suburbicon (George Clooney)Human Flow (Ai Weiwei)Downsizing (Alexander Payne)Out Of COMPETITIONFeaturesOur Souls at Night (Ritesh Batra)Il Signor Rotpeter (Antonietta de Lillo)Victoria...
- 7/27/2017
- MUBI
On the heels of the Toronto International Film Festival announcement earlier this week, Venice Film Festival have now delivered their full lineup and while there’s no Terrence Malick as rumored, there’s a plethora of highly-anticipated titles. Along with the previously-announced opener Downsizing and the expected Suburbicon, mother!, The Shape of Water, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, there’s Lucrecia Martel’s Zama, Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete, Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue is the Warmest Color follow-up Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno, and Brawl In Cell Block 99, the latest film from Bone Tomahawk director S. Craig Zahler.
Also in the lineup is Errol Morris’s Netflix crime drama Wormwood, Paul Schrader’s First Reformed, Frederick Wiseman’s Ex Libris – New York Public Library, Hirokazu Koreeda’s The Third Murder, Takeshi Kitano’s closing night film Outrage Coda, Michaël R. Roskam’s Racer and The Jailbird, the Kirsten Dunst-led Woodshock,...
Also in the lineup is Errol Morris’s Netflix crime drama Wormwood, Paul Schrader’s First Reformed, Frederick Wiseman’s Ex Libris – New York Public Library, Hirokazu Koreeda’s The Third Murder, Takeshi Kitano’s closing night film Outrage Coda, Michaël R. Roskam’s Racer and The Jailbird, the Kirsten Dunst-led Woodshock,...
- 7/27/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Venice Announces 2017 Lineup, Including ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘Suburbicon,’ ‘mother!,’ and Many More
Will 2017 be the year that Venice gets its king-making mojo back? After a steady run of debuting recent best picture winners — from “Spotlight” to “Birdman” — the festival missed out on last year’s big winner, “Moonlight,” which bowed at Telluride. This year’s lineup is a promising one, and while it’s still very early in the process, it’s difficult not to pick through today’s announcement of the festival’s slate and not search for the big contenders.
As was previously announced, the festival will open with Alexander Payne’s social satire “Downsizing,” starring Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig. The festival will also play home to the premiere of the Netflix original “Our Souls at Night,” as part of their planned tribute to stars Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. Annette Bening will lead the competition jury, ending an 11-year succession of male jury chiefs.
Read MoreIndieWire Fall Film...
As was previously announced, the festival will open with Alexander Payne’s social satire “Downsizing,” starring Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig. The festival will also play home to the premiere of the Netflix original “Our Souls at Night,” as part of their planned tribute to stars Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. Annette Bening will lead the competition jury, ending an 11-year succession of male jury chiefs.
Read MoreIndieWire Fall Film...
- 7/27/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
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
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.