Cinéma Vérité: Defining the Moment (2000)

This is a documentary about direct-cinema from its very beginnings (Nanook of the North) to the fake-direct-cinema of the Blair Witch Project. All the important direct-cinema filmmakers are... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Wintonick

Writer:

Kirwan Cox (narration written by)

Stars:

Jean-Pierre Beauviala, Michel Brault, Gillian Caldwell

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Pierre Beauviala
Michel Brault
Gillian Caldwell
Robin Cowie
Robert Drew
Jennifer Fox
William Greaves
Gregg Hale
Wolf Koenig
Roman Kroitor
Barbara Kopple
Richard Leacock
Doug Leiterman	...	(as Douglas Leiterman)
Terence Macartney-Filgate	...	(as Terry Macartney-Filgate)
Albert Maysles

Storyline

This is a documentary about direct-cinema from its very beginnings (Nanook of the North) to the fake-direct-cinema of the Blair Witch Project. All the important direct-cinema filmmakers are portrayed and/or interviewed: Leacock, Wiseman, Maysles, Pennebaker, Reisz and others.

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Plot Keywords:

direct cinema | filmmaker | film history | drama filmmaking | retrospective | 

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Taglines:

The Revolution That Changed Filmmaking. Forever.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Did You Know?

Connections

References The Blair Witch Project (1999)

User Reviews

Wonderful Survey of the Best of Cinema Verite Filmmakers

I had the opportunity to see this film and Peter Wintonick, the director, at the Harvard Film Archives. This was a wonderfully informative documentary about cinema verite filmmakers. The only frustration was that every time a new subject/filmmaker was introduced I wanted to see a two hour documentary on that person and their work. The clips made me want to run to the the video store and rent copies of everything done by these individuals. Highlights included Richard Leacock interview and also the discussion of the making of Primary. A must see for anyone interested in documentary filmmaking and cinema verite.

Details

Official Sites:

National Film Board (Canada)

Country:

Canada

Language:

French English

Release Date:

9 June 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cinema verite

Filming Locations:

Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

193 min 105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1