NC Flix

New 54 Film Festival coming to Wilmington, NC

2013-05-15T11:23:00.001-04:00

Jenngo's Playhouse in Wilmington hosts indie films all year.

A new film festival is coming to Wilmington, NC, within the year. The 54 Film Festival, one of the timed-format film competitions now gaining popularity in cities around the world, is tentatively scheduled to debut in Winter, 2013.

Catch up with the latest news about the Wilmington 54 Fest on its Facebook page.

A family-friendly and youth-oriented festival, the 54 will include high school and college age teams competing to capture their ideas within a single weekend. The design of the festival encourages networking within the local film community, including local actors, video photographers, screenwriters, editors, and producers. Teams have 54 hours to script, shoot, and edit a 4-7 minute film.

At the beginning of the festival, teams are told what genre of film they must make and are given three elements, an action, prop, and line of dialogue, that must appear in the finished film. Then, 24 hours into the competition, they receive a message containing a "curve ball": a fourth element that can be added to qualify for a special "Curve Ball" award.

The competition is followed a couple of weeks later by a screening and award ceremony at a local cinema. A variety of awards, from Best Film to Best Makeup to Best Child Actress, are presented based on judging by industry professionals.

54 Film Festivals are expanding around the Southeast. The initial events took place in Knoxville, TN in February, and Murfreesboro, TN in March of this year.

For more information on the planned Wilmington festival, contact: Ms. Rita Ozolins, City Producer, rita@54filmfest.com

Wilmington, sometimes referred to as "Wilmywood," is full of aspiring filmmakers, actors, and other film production students eager for a challenge, as well as the sort of experience and exposure a competition such as this can bring, so the 54 Film Festival should do well there.

I wrote about Wilmington's film festival scene in my recent guidebook Explorer's Guide to Myrtle Beach, the Grand Strand, and NC's Southern Coast, published by Countryman Press last year.

Here's an excerpt describing the local film scene:

"As you’d expect in such a film-oriented city, home of ECU/Film Gems Studios, Wilmington hosts numerous film festivals and opportunities to view indie films abound. Both the University of North Carolina-Wilmington (UNCW) and Cape Fear Community College run burgeoning programs for young filmmakers and the results can be seen on screens all over the city.
One of the highest rated (and most fun) film festivals in the country, the annual Cucalorus Film Festival (910-343-5995; www.cucalorus.org), held every November, also sponsors films the rest of the year at Jengo’s Playhouse (910-343-5995), a funky-yet-state-of-the-art microcinema at 815 Princess Street.
The film studies department at UNCW (www.uncw.edu/filmstudies) hosts a busy schedule of films and festivals in its Lumina Film Theater, including an International Cinema Series, lectures by prominent filmmakers, and several film festivals, including the Visions FilmFestival, featuring undergraduate films from around the world, in April; DocuTime Film Festival in January; and Exclusif, a festival of French films, in December. Best of all, most of these events are free (or very low cost) and open to the public. Check the current schedule at www.uncw.edu/lumina. Other annual film festivals in Wilmington include the Cape Fear Independent Film Festival (www.cfifn.org) at the end of April or early May and the North Carolina Black Film Festival (www.blackartsalliance.org) every March."

For additional information on film activity in Wilmington, visit the Wilmington Visitor's Bureau website.

Sir Alan Parker joins Euroshorts Jury

2013-05-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

Sir Alan Parker, acclaimed director of Midnight Express, The Wall, and Mississipi Burning, will join the EuroShorts Film Competition Jury charged with selecting the winning filmmaker.

The competition, sponsored by the European Travel Commission and the UK-based Screen South, is looking for a talented new filmmaker to create an inspirational short film on the theme: "Europe - A Never-Ending Journey," capturing the essence of Europe, its history, culture and multi-faceted everyday lives, in three minutes.

Filmmakers from across Europe are invited to submit their ideas for a film in whatever genre - doc, drama, or animation - on the theme. The winner will receive a 20 000€ budget to make their idea a reality, plus a first class InterRail pass for the production team. The resulting film will be promoted internationally.

The submission deadline for ideas is May 13, 2013.

Visit www.euroshorts-films.com for more information.

Get a Free Copy of Robert Greenwald’s New Documentary

2013-05-01T12:23:00.000-04:00

A new documentary by Robert Greenwald War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security highlights four cases where whistleblowers noticed government wrong-doing and were forced to turn to the media in order to expose fraud and abuse. These champions of our society are often cast as pariahs, and make great personal sacrifices, but in fact have helped us move forward as a society. People like Galileo, Daniel Ellsberg, Frank Serpico and Karen Silkwood have made a difference. Ellsberg is among the whistleblowers interviewed for the film.

The doc is showing theatrically in New York and Los Angeles, but is unlikely to see wide general release. To get the story that the film tells out, the producers are offering a free DVD of the film. All they ask is that you host a house screening to share the film with your friends and send a picture of the gathering. Donations are, of course, much appreciated. An Action Guide, outlining steps you can take in your community, is available for download.

"They sacrifice their careers, all because they believed that American government could do better to serve its soldiers overseas and its citizenry at home." – AlterNet

GayCharlotte Film Festival this weekend

2013-04-27T10:33:00.004-04:00

The annual GayCharlotte Film Festival continues this weekend at Theatre Charlotte, 501 Queens Road.

Tickets for all features are $8 online, $10 at the door. Discount ticket packs available.

SATURDAY

Saturday, April 27th at 1 PM:

"The Men Next Door" a fast-paced comedy about a 40-year-old gay man dating two lovable men. Directed by Rob Williams.

At 3:00 PM, A North Carolina Premier; "Raid Of The Rainbow Lounge", a full length documentary film recounting the events surrounding the controversial raid of a Fort Worth, Texas gay bar in 2009. Writer and director, Robert Camina, will lead a post film discussion.

At 7:00 PM, Mosquita Y Mari, a coming of age story about a tender friendship between two young Chicanas.

At 9:00 PM, "Cloudburst" a romantic road movie written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald, starring Oscar-winning actresses Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker as Stella and Dot, an aging couple who escape from a nursing home in Maine and drive to Nova Scotia to get legally married.

Afterparty at at Marigny Dance Club

SUNDAY

Sunday, April 28th at 1 PM: "United In Anger-A History Of ACT UP" A doc about the birth and life of the AIDS activist movement A post film discussion will follow led by Dale Pierce.

At 3:00 PM, "My Life In Pink" Golden Globe Award winner of Best Foreign Language Film addresses gender issues through the eyes of a child.

At 5:00 PM, "Gayby" Jenn (Jenn Harris) and Matt (Matthew Wilkas) are best friends from college preparing for parenthood.

Back Alley Film Series presents exclusive Charlotte engagement of 'To the Wonder'

2013-04-26T11:42:00.000-04:00

The Back Alley Film Series, known for its adventurous lineup of films, is sponsoring an exclusive screening of To the Wonder, a new feature written and directed by Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life, Badlands, The Thin Red Line), starring Ben Affleck,Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem and Rachel McAdams.

A complex and compelling love story, the film follows Neil (Ben Affleck), a tourist from the U.S., and Marina (Olga Kurylenko), a Parisian single mother, as they fall swiftly in love in France, then run into complications after a move to Oklahoma.

To the Wonder will screen at Carolina Cinemas Crownpoint for a full week, from Apr. 26 to May 2, at 3:45 and 8 pm. Tickets are $5 for members of the Charlotte Film Society, $10 for non-members.

Other films on the Back Alley Films schedule include: Upstream Color (May 2 & 5) and Hors Satan (May 30).

The Charlotte Film Society also sponsors the Saturday Night Cine Club, screening foreign films at Theatre Charlote. Membership to the Society is $10.

'Banished' screens in Wilmington

2013-04-22T10:00:00.000-04:00

A free screening of Banished, Marco Williams' exploration of ethnic cleansing in America, is scheduled for 7 pm at Jengo's Playhouse on Friday, April 26, 2013.

The PBS Independent Lens film follows dispossessed families driven out of three communities in Arkansas, Georgia, and Missouri in the early years of the 20th century.

Presented by the Cucalorus Film Festival in conjunction with the YWCA's "Stand Against Racism," the evening will include free popcorn.

Jengo's Playhouse

815 Princess Street

Wilmington

This would make a terrific double feature with The Editor and the Dragon: Horace Carter Fights Klan, which we recently viewed at Full Frame.

Madeleine Martin among luminaries at 2013 RiverRun Film Festival

2013-04-16T14:34:00.001-04:00

Madeleine Martin and the cast of The Discoverers

Madeleine Martin

Madeleine Martin, best known for her role as Becca Moody, David Duchovny’s daughter on the Showtime hit Californication, is one of the winners of the new Spark Awards debuting at this year's RiverRun. Martin stars along with Griffin Dunne in Justin Schwarz’s debut feature film, The Discoverers. Martin and Schwarz will answer questions after the screenings on April 19 & 20.

The Spark Awards, recognizing exciting new filmmakers and breakthrough performers on the cusp of wider recognition, will also go to Anna Margaret Hollyman and Terence Nance this year.

Anna Margaret Hollyman in White Reindeer

Hollyman starred in the features Social Butterfly by Lauren Wolkstein, the 2012 RiverRun Altered States Audience Award winner, as well as Small, Beautifully Moving Parts by Annie Howell and Lisa Robinson. Her latest film, UNCSA alum Zach Clark’s White Reindeer, screens at RiverRun on April 14, 18 & 19. Hollyman and Clark will both attend the screenings.

Terrance Nance

Nance, who records music under the name Terence Etc., premiered his first feature film, An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and won the 2012 Gotham Award for “Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You.” (And, indeed, it is not scheduled to screen at RiverRun.) Filmmaker magazine named him one of the 25 new faces of independent film. Nance is currently working on his second feature, The Lobbyist.

Jeff Nichols

UPDATE: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Jeff Nichols will not appear at RiverRun.
The 2013 RiverRun Emerging Master award goes to Jeff Nichols, a UNCSA School of Filmmaking alum, who will participate in a Q&A about his career with a mystery moderator on April 20. Admission to the conversation is free.

Matthew McConaughey in Mud

Nichols' latest feature Mud, starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Michael Shannon, and Sam Shepard, is also screening at RiverRun on April 19. Nichols will attend the screening.

Killer Films founders Christine Vachon (left) and Pamela Koffler (right)

The 2013 RiverRun Master of Cinema award goes to Killer Films, the indie powerhouse founded by Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler and producer of acclaimed films Far From Heaven, Boys Don’t Cry, One Hour Photo, Happiness, and I’m Not There as well as executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce, starring Kate Winslet. Their most recent project is RiverRun's closing night feature, At Any Price. Vachon and Koffler will receive their award and participate in a moderated conversation at 4:30 pm on Sunday, April 21. Admission is free.

Dennis Quaid in At Any Price

At Any Price, starring Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron, is the latest feature from filmmaker Ramin Bahrani, a native of Winston-Salem and recipient of 2012's Emerging Master award. It screens at 7 pm on April 21 with a Q&A with director Ramin Bahrani and producer Christine Vachon following.

Jerry Rees's new feature, Susie's Hope, is this year's most anticipated film at RiverRun, with additional screenings added after an early sell-out. Filmed in Winston-Salem and featuring numerous local faces, the film stars Emmanuelle Vaugier, Burgess Jenkins and Andrea Powell in a tale based on true events. Many of the cast and crew will attend the screenings.
Susie's Hope tells the story that led to the founding of Susie's Miracle Fund, dedicated to saving other abused, tortured, and neglected animals like Susie.

CPCC's Sensoria screens Jewish Film Festival docs and more

2013-04-14T12:31:00.001-04:00

CPCC's Overcash Building houses both Tate Hall and the Halton Theater

Central Piedmont Community College's annual week-long orgy of arts and culture, Sensoria, Celebration of the Arts runs April 12-20 at various venues and campuses around the region, although most events are held at the Main Campus on Elizabeth Avenue near downtown Charlotte.

Sensoria is a gift to the community, with most of its events, including all of the films and film-related events below, free and open to the public.

Several films are in the line-up, including two sponsored by the Charlotte Jewish Film Festival:

Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy
Sunday, April 14th at 7 p.m.
Tate Hall
A film about the unique contributions of Jewish composers and lyricists to the modern American musical includes interviews with some of the greats.

Nicky's Family
Tuesday, April 16th at 2 p.m.
Tate Hall
Nicholas Winton's rescue of 669 Czech and Slovak children in 1939 remained a secret for decades until his wife found letters and lists in an old leather briefcase.

Other films and film-related events during Sensoria include:

The Final Gift & Life Without: Youth With Incarcerated Parents Tell their Own Stories
Monday, April 15th at 9 a.m.
Tate Hall
NC filmmaker Therese Bartholomew’s seven-year pursuit to find meaning in her brother’s murder, her final gift to him, concludes with her historic meeting with his killer in a South Carolina prison. Melissa Mummert's doc Life Without is the second part of this double header of documentaries made by women about the American justice system. Discussion with Therese Bartholomew and Melissa Mummert follows.

Sin Nombre
Monday, April 15th at 1:30 p.m.
CPCC Levine Campus – LV 2150 (second floor auditorium)
This film exploring immigration from Middle American countries and the power of gangs in these countries is sponsored by the Film Club at Central Piedmont Community College. A discussion with Clauida Lemus Farnandez, Co-Founder and Board Member of the Hispanic Cultural Center of Charlotte.

PLAY AGAIN
Monday, April 15th at 6:30 p.m.
Harris Campus, Harris 1 Auditorium
Documentary following six teens who put down their video games for their first experience in the wilderness explores a future where virtual reality will be more familiar than nature.

Why The Movie Can Never Be Like The Book
Monday, April 15th at 7 p.m.
Tate Hall
A lecture by former Charlotte Observer and Business Journal editor Mark Ethridge explains how a true story that took place in South Carolina became his novel Grievances, and eventually the 2012 Hollywood movie titled Deadline starring Eric Roberts and set in Alabama.

Digital Film People
Tuesday, April 16th at 7:30 p.m.
Halton Theater
An evening of discussion with communications industry leaders about the film industry in North Carolina and beyond. Free.

Poetry of Resilience
Wednesday, April 17th at 12:30 p.m. in Pease Auditorium
Thursday, April 18 at 9:30 a.m. in Tate Hall
Filmmaker Katja Esson explores the lives of six poets who lived through the 20th century's most horrific events, including Hiroshima, the Holocaust, China's Cultural Revolution, the Kurdish Genocide in Iraq, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Iranian Revolution.
Associated Events:

A Discussion On The Making of Poetry of Resilience, Thursday, April 18th at 11 a.m. in Halton Theater with filmmaker Katja Esson and Li-Young Lee, one of the poets featured in her doc.
Li-Young Lee Poetry Reading, Thursday, April 18th at 7 p.m. in Tate Hall

Carbon Nation
Wednesday, April 17th at 7:30 p.m.
Tate Hall
Doc follows young entrepreneurs developing business that mitigate greenhouse gases and climate change.

All films are free and open to the public.
For a full schedule of events, visit the Sensoria website.

Free family events at RiverRun Film Festival

2013-04-13T13:32:00.000-04:00

RiverRun continues its community outreach with a variety of free events associated with this year's festival in Winston-Salem.

Babe

Sat., April 13 6 pm
Fourth Street (between Marshall and Spruce Streets)
In addition to a screening of the film classic about a pig raised by sheepdogs, the family street festival includes a DJ, games, the Forsyth Humane Society’s mobile van, Project Pearl’s booth, vendors and the Fido Photo Booth (humans and dogs only).

Pride and Joy followed by Southern Locavore Bazaar
Sunday, Apr. 14 4 pm (film); 5:45 (bazaar)
Screening at Hanesbrands Theatre, 251 N. Spruce Street; bazaar at the adjacent Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts
A filmed ode to Southern food traditions is followed by regional food vendors and live music by Big Daddy Love

The Muppets Movie
Tuesday, Apr. 16, 6:30 pm
Hanesbrands Theatre
Pick up ticket vouchers at the Hanesbrands Outlet Store in the Thruway Mall

Saturday Morning Cartoons
Saturday, Apr. 13 & 20, 10 am
Hanesbrands Theatre
Free for children 18 and under
Festivities begin at 9 am with kid's music from Chuck Folds' band Big Bang Boom. Free Krispy Kreme donuts after the performance.

For more information, visit the RiverRun International Film Festival website.

Full Frame winners screen at RiverRun

2013-04-12T12:58:00.000-04:00

Persona, one of the films featured in the Spotlight on Ingmar Bergman at RiverRun

April is a busy month for film enthusiasts in North Carolina. RiverRun, an offspring of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, follows close on the heels of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, dedicated exclusively to non-fiction films.

The festivals have several things in common - their international reach and reputation, the wide range of films and filmmakers in attendance, and most especially the excellence of their offerings. Both festivals typically sell out many of their screenings.

RiverRun has expanded over the years to cover two complete weekends, and the week between. It includes both documentaries and "fiction" films, in both feature and short lengths. RiverRun also has a strong animation division, thanks in large part, at least initially, to the presence of the award-winning Out of Our Minds Animation Studios in Winston-Salem. Free Saturday morning cartoons for kids are a yearly feature.

Programming at RiverRun also includes classic films, such as this year's spotlight on Ingmar Bergman, and films from the UNCSA film archives (the fifth largest non-commercial collection of its kind), including this year, screenings of Hitchcock's The Birds and Orson Welles' Touch of Evil.

This year, RiverRun also includes the opportunity to catch several of the documentaries that received awards at this year's Full Frame.

A River Changes Course, directed by Kalyanee Mam, winner of Full Frame's Center For Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award, as well as the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for a Documentary at Sundance, screens on April 14, 19, and 20 in Winston-Salem. The feature length doc follows three Cambodian families caught up in the transformation of their country.

After Tiller, directed by Martha Shane and Lana Wilson, winner of the Full Frame Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights, screens April 13 and 15 at RiverRun. The feature follows the aftermath of the murder of Dr. George Tiller, as just four physicians continue to perform late-term abortions, risking their lives for women’s right to choose.

The Record Breaker, directed by Brian McGinn, winner of the Audience Award for a Short at Full Frame, screens April 14 and 20 at RiverRun as part of the Documentary Shorts 1 program. The 25 minute film tellsl the story of the health food store owner who hold the most Guinness World Records by one individual, including such creative records as "Largest Hula Hoop," "Most Apples Sliced in Mid-Air with a Samurai Sword," and dozens more.

Other documentaries featured at Full Frame that will be screening at RiverRun include:

Remote Area Medical, a World Premiere at Full Frame, directed by Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman, about the free healthcare clinic on the infield of Bristol’s NASCAR Speedway. April 17, 18, 21.

Slomo, directed by Joshua Izenberg, a short film about a N.C. neurologist who abandons his career to move to California to take up a life of spiritual rollerblading on one foot. April 13, 20, in the Documentary Shorts 2 program.

Taxidermists, directed by Nicole Triche, exploring the world and art of taxidermy, part of the NC Shorts 2 program.

Filmmakers and Food at Full Frame 2013

2013-04-08T16:03:00.002-04:00

Full Frame 2013 honored the career achievements of Academy award-winning filmmaker Jessica Yu

Filmmaker Steve Hoover presented the Sundance double winner "Blood Brother"

Filmmakers Scott Calonico, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and Penny Lane, "Our Nixon"

N.C. filmmaker Nicole Triche presented her short film "Taxidermists"

Danish filmmaker Katrine Philp brought "Dance For Me" a look inside the world of ballroom dancing competition, to Durham for its North American premiere

John Winter and Amir Bar-Lev discuss Winter's 2006 "Theater of War" part of the Themed Program, Stories about Stories, curated by Bar-Lev

Filmmaker Jane Gillooly's film "Suitcase of Love and Shame" (a North American premiere) reconstructs a 1960's extramarital affair recorded on reel-to-reel tapes.

Thumbs up for smoothly run, memorable Full Frame.

The World Premiere of "If You Build It" made in Bertie County, NC, brought many of the cast, including the designers and several students who participated in the project, to Full Frame. (above and below)

Filmmaker Nina Davenport had two docs at Full Frame: "Operation Filmmaker" part of the Thematic Program, and a doc in competition "First Comes Love" chronicling her own journey to motherhood.

The Carolina Theatre

Indomitable restaurateur Giorgios Bakatsias feeds the masses

Caffeine from the Seladelia stand fueled the festival.

The filmmakers of "Wolf Mountain" were a great addition to the festival, as was their lovely, contemplative short.

Najeeb Mirza traveled across several continents to present "Buzkashi!" a film about a popular mounted sport in far Tajikistan.

The handsome set of the free A&E IndieFilm Speakeasy Conversations in the Durham Convention Center

Participants in the Speakeasy Conversations enjoyed some tasty confections from Rise Biscuits and Donuts.

The North Carolina filmmakers behind the Full Frame Audience Award winner "A Will for the Woods" received a strong audience reaction to their film about green burial.

The West End Wine Bar was a popular place for post-screening get-togethers.

Filmmakers John Walter (also below) and Amir Bar-Lev teamed to introduce several of the films of the "Stories about Stories" themed program.

Durham's excellent food trucks provided meals during the free screenings at Durham's Central Park.

The World Premiere of North Carolina filmmakers Martin Clark and Walter Campbell's new doc "The Editor and the Dragon: Horace Carter Fights the Klan" was the first sell-out of the festival. Events take place in the NC town of Tabor City in the late 1940s-early 1950s.

Martin M. Clark

Until next year...

Sundance award winner 'Blood Brother' at Full Frame

2013-04-07T13:37:00.002-04:00

Filmmaker Steve Hoover at Full Frame

By Allan Maurer

Rocky Braat visited an orphanage for children with HIV while on what was supposed to be a short trip to India and lost his heart.
He simply could not just go home and leave those children to their fate. He sold everything he owned and remains in India, married to an Indian woman and continuing to help the children of the orphanage.
Watching him with them, taking food from their hands, cleaning their oozing wounds, crying with them when one of them dies, you may feel a bit guilty for not doing more to help suffering children yourself. We did.

Rocky and one of his kids in Blood Brother

Rocky is a good name for Braat, because much like the hero of the "Rocky" movies, he's a winner.
Like some other films at Full Frame this year, parts of his tale are tough to watch. AIDS is not a pretty disease and what it does to children may make you want to turn away. But it didn't make Braat turn away.
We have this much-awarded film because Braat's friend Steve Hoover knew a good story when he heard one and visited the orphanage and filmed this moving documentary.

"I always wanted to make a documentary and when I got Rocky's letters, something just clicked," he said after the film.
I'd be deeply surprised if something didn't click with you when you watch the film that resulted, "Blood Brother."

Visit the "Blood Brother" website to find ways you can help.

Blood Brother's awards so far:

WINNER Sundance 2013 Grand Jury Prize
WINNER Sundance 2013 Audience Award
WINNER Thessaloniki Documentary Festival Audience Award
WINNER Big Sky Documentary Festival Best Feature
WINNER Thin Line Documentary Festival Audience Award
NOMINEE Cinema for Peace Most Valuable Documentary of the Year

We saw "Blood Brother" at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, in Durham, NC.

Operation Filmmaker: Selling a dream is easier than living it

2013-04-06T16:23:00.001-04:00

Operation Filmmaker

Review by Allan Maurer

The problem with being a certain kind of con man, the type who talks a great game but never delivers, is that people do eventually catch on.
It all started when actor Liev Schreiber decided to yank an Iraqi film student from the murderous environment of Baghdad and bring him to the U.S. to intern on the Hollywood film, "Everything is Illuminated."
The young man in question, Muthana Mohmed, inspires many smart, creative people to project their own aspirations on Muthana, a process he appears expert at encouraging. But, while Muthana vividly expresses his passion for film and filmmaking, he shows little or no inclination to actually do any actual work toward that end.

Nina Davenport answers questions at Full Frame

We've all met people like this. They talk a great game that often pries money from many a backer, but end up giving little if anything in return, despite their alleged "passion."

It became clear to Nina Davenport, director of "Operation Filmmaker," which we saw at the Full Frame doc fest Saturday, that the people on the first movie set where she initially found Muthana didn't like him.

Watching this film, you see why. As Davenport notes after the film, that while she never short-circuited any of his con man blather while doing the film, it's clear that Muthana is self-centered, arrogant, and proud. On the other hand, he shows very little talent. The one time he discusses a specific film ("Sixth Sense"), his comments are barely sensible. His audition for an acting school is ludicrously bad and he fails to qualify to direct his own project at the London film school he attends on a conned actor's money.

Nina Davenport

He does show a remarkable talent for getting extended visas to keep he from going back to Iraq (and you can't blame him for that). He's also very good at extracting money from the people who try to help him, continuing to do so until he just plain wears them out.

Davenport says that by the end she didn't like Muthana very much. We didn't either. But he does seem to like himself quite a lot.

For more on Full Frame visit its website.

Nixon and LBJ docs expose their personal sides

2013-04-06T15:48:00.000-04:00

You Can't Always Get What You Want...

Review by +Allan Maurer

Yesterday, I heard former President Lyndon Baines Johnson talking about his bung hole and his nuts on a recording he made himself while in the White House.

The archival film and tape recordings we have of former Presidents LBJ and Richard Nixon, many of them only now becoming publicly available, reveal few state secrets, but do expose the human side of two men who became iconographic media figures.

We saw behind the curtain to the private Nixon and LBJ Friday at the Full Frame Documentary Festival, watching director Penny Lane's "Our Nixon," and +Scott Calonico's "You Can't Always Get What You Want."

Both films are entertaining and each makes a point about its respective subjects without beating you over the head with a stick at the same time. Lane, however, said that one of three main sources of home movies she used in "Our Nixon," Dick Chapin, later told a news outlet that he would have preferred the film to be more objective and portray the former leader as one of the best presidents the country ever had.

Our Nixon

Uh huh. It does show Richard Nixon clearly deluding himself regarding his own involvement in Watergate and the other back door activities that led to his resignation.

But the real revelations are of a more personal nature. One of his closest aides said all those in Nixon's inner circle were aware of and joked about the President's mannerisms, quirks, and prejudices. You get to see them kissing up to those very things in the film.

You also get to see some of Nixon's quirks first hand, such as his praise for his own speeches and his neediness for praise from others.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want," is based on tape recordings LBJ made while in the White House.After the film we learned that LBJ was actually responsible for Nixon reinstalling a recording system that sealed his eventual fall from power. Unlike LBJ's system, which could be turned on and off, Nixon's was voice activated because "Nixon was inept with technical things."

Why LBJ turned his recorder on while he discussed his nuts and his butt or complained about lukewarm bullion sent up from the kitchen and his need for a low calorie but voluminous dessert such as tapioca or jello, remains a puzzle.

I've read several biographies of LBJ and Richard Nixon. +Robert Caro's multi-volume bio on LBJ is a work of art as well of biography, but even it doesn't give you quite the feel of the man that listening to these recordings do.

The same is true for Nixon, who is one of the most iconic figures of the second half of the 20th century.

Both films let you look behind the curtain of the political and media spin to see human beings. In this case, it's often humorous, but seldom a pretty sight.

Find out more about Full Frame on its website

Center Frame and NC films at Full Frame

2013-04-04T13:42:00.000-04:00

Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children

Full Frame packs an incredible number and variety of documentary films into its four days of programming. All are worth watching, if time would allow. But some occupy special places in the genre, and Full Frame names these its Center Frame films, with special guests and special showings in Fletcher Hall, the largest venue in the Carolina Theatre.
For 2013, the Center Frame films are:

Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children (Friday, Apr. 5, 5 p.m.), North American Premiere of director Patrick Reed follows former U.N. commander Roméo Dallaire across Africa in his crusade against child soldiers. Retired Lieutenant-General Dallaire will appear in person along with the filmmakers after this important film.

Manhunt (Sat., 1:50 p.m.). Greg Barker's HBO doc dissects the successful investigation that led to Osama bin Laden conducted by "the Sisterhood," a team of CIA analysts. Cindy Storer and Susan Hasler, members of the original CIA Sisterhood, appear following the film.

If You Build It (Sat., 5 p.m.). Director Patrick Creadon documents the efforts of two designers to transform the Bertie County, N.C.school system using innovative, even radical, methods. Designers Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller, along with filmmaker Creadon and several students who participated in the experiment, will be present at this World premiere.

Other films by North Carolina filmmakers screening at the 2013 Full Frame include:

Yucca Mtn Tally (Friday, 10:30 a.m.) short; Q&A with filmmaker Phoebe Brush
Good Ol Freda (Friday, 2 pm); feature; Q&A with filmmaker Ryan White
You Can't Always Get What You Want (Friday, 4:10) short; Q&A with filmmaker Scott Calonico
Taxidermists (Friday, 4:30 p.m.) short; Q&A with filmmaker Nicole Triche
Nile Perch (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.) short; Q&A with filmmaker Josh Gibson

A Will For the Woods (Sat. 1:20 pm), feature; World premiere with filmmakers

True-Life Adventure (Sat. 4:20 pm), short; North American premiere with filmmaker Erin Espelie
The Editor and the Dragon: Horace Carter Fights the Clan (Sunday, 10:40 am) feature; Q&A with the filmmakers
Southern Documentary Fund: In the Works (Sunday, 1:40 pm); shorts, conversations with filmmakers
School of Doc: Pelican's SnoBalls (Sunday, 3 pm); Q&A with Durham teen filmmakers; no ticket required
In So Many Words (Sunday, 5:10 p.m.) feature; World premiere with filmmaker Elisabeth Haviland James

For details, visit the Full Frame website.

Free films and programming at Full Frame 2013

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Reaching out to the community - both the local Durham community and the broader community of documentary filmmakers - is a Full Frame tradition. This year, the festival presents several free films open to the general public, as well as a series of free conversations with filmmakers.

Free Speakeasy Conversations take place on Friday and Saturday, April 5-6 in the Durham Convention Center. For a full schedule, go here.

Highlights include:
Pay the F**king Filmmakers (Friday, 3:30 pm) a follow-up to the series of articles written by Sean Farnel, former programmer for Hot Docs, about the economics of festivals, and the burning question of whether filmmakers should be paid. Panelists include Farnel himself, plus Caroline Libresco, senior programmer at Sundance; and David Wilson, filmmaker and co-director, True/False.

To Be Seen, (Sat., 12:30 pm), exploring the ethics of using explicit footage in docs.

Stories About Stories (Sat, 3:30 pm), a dip into the complex world of storytelling using examples from this year's thematic program, with filmmakers Amir Bar-Lev, Jessica Yu, and John Walter.

Free films include:

Trash Dance, (photo above), Friday, April 5 6:30 at the Power Plant Theater on the American Tobacco campus, and Sat., April 6, 8:30 pm, outdoors in Durham Central Park.
A collaboration between a dancer and the Austin TX Dept of Solid Waste climaxes in a performance combining the workers and their machines in a ballet like none you've seen before. The film debuted at NYC's Lincoln Center, and last year won the Audience Awards at both Silver Docs and Full Frame.

Chasing Ice, Friday, April 5 6:30 outdoors in Durham Central Park, and Sat., April 6, 8:30 pm, at the Power Plant Theater on the American Tobacco campus.
A film both beautiful and chilling documents the loss of earth's glaciers and ice caps to global warming using time-lapse photography. You may have seen this on the National Geographic channel, but this is one to see on the big screen.

Borat, Saturday, Carolina Theatre, 10:30 p.m.
Part of the Stories About Stories Thematic Program, this hilarious and offensive comedy doc needs no introduction.

School of Doc presentation: Pelican's SnoBalls, Sunday, 3 p.m., Carolina Theatre.
This doc about a family run culinary landmark in Durham is the work of local high school students who participated in Full Frame's annual free camp, the School of Doc.

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, Sunday, 7:30 p.m (music), 8 p.m. (film)., Fletcher Hall, Carolina Theatre.
The 2013 Full Frame concludes with a special event featuring a film documenting the rise, fall, and subsequent influence of early 1970s cult icon, Big Star. Before the film, the Fellow Travellers, featuring Skylar Gudasz, Brett Harris, Django Haskins, Chris Stamey, and other guests, will play a selection of Big Star songs, including original string-quartet arrangements from the third album, "Sister Lovers." A discussion with filmmakers Drew DeNicola, Olivia Mori, and Danielle McCarthy follows the film.

Amit Virmani films screen in Durham

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Amit Virmani's 2009 documentary film Cowboys in Paradise (http://www.cowboysinparadise.com/) screens Thursday, April 4, 3pm at the FHI Garage (Smith Warehouse, Bay 4), followed by Q & A with the director.

This screening is co-sponsored by Duke University's AMES, AMI, Women's Studies, and the FHI. Visit:
http://www.fhi.duke.edu/events/cowboys-paradise for more information.

The film, an eye-opening view of Bali's "holiday romance" trade, focuses on the "Kuta Cowboys" of the beaches of Bali, one of the world's leading destination for female sex tourism. Raising issues of gender roles and sexuality as well as Third World exploitation, the film is the subject of this CNN interview: http://youtu.be/mKXfWOi7YCM

Virmani's newest film Menstrual Man (http://www.menstrualman.com/), about the surprising intersection of micro-entrepreneurship and women's health in a rural India, enjoys its world premiere at the 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham on Friday, April 5, at 1:40 p.m. Amit Vermani will attend the premiere and answer questions after the screening.

Full Frame's 2013 luminaries

2013-04-01T09:44:00.000-04:00

UPDATE: Jessica Yu and Amir Bar-Lev will both participate in the free Speakeasy Conversation, Stories About Stories, Saturday, April 6, 3:30 – 4:30 pm, in the Durham Convention Center.

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival brings the cream of the documentary film community to Durham every year, and 2013 is no different. Award-winners participating in this year's festival include filmmakers Jessica Yu and Amir Bar-Lev, and the head of A&E's IndieFilm program Molly Thompson.

Full Frame's career award goes to Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jessica Yu. A retrospective of her work will screen during the festival, including her latest, The Guide.

Full Frame 2013 Thematic Program is curated by award-winning filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev. He has chosen the theme “Stories About Stories,” examining the intersections of truth and perspective through a series of films.

“Attending Full Frame, what always inspires me most is the infinite variety of approaches to storytelling,” said Bar-Lev. “Every documentary is a unique, thorny relationship – between filmmaker and ‘character,’ fact and representation, reality and story. As guest curator, I’ve selected a handful of films that wrestle, each in their own way, with the medium of documentary filmmaking itself.”

Amir Bar-Lev directed the documentary films “Fighter” (2001), “My Kid Could Paint That” (2007), both included in the Thematic Program in 2013, as well as “The Tillman Story” (2010), and co-produced the documentary “Trouble The Water” (2008), which won the 2008 Full Frame Grand Jury Award and was a 2009 Academy Award Nominee. Bar-Lev is currently directing “Happy Valley,” a film about the Penn State scandal. Bar-Lev served on the Full Frame Grand Jury in 2011.

"Both Jessica Yu and Amir Bar-Lev are incredibly dynamic documentary filmmakers at the height of their careers. I am equally excited and honored to have them join us at Full Frame to showcase their work and to be a part of our annual conversation around documentaries," said Sadie Tillery, Full Frame's Director of Programming.

A&E IndieFilm Vice President Molly Thompson will receive Full Frame's 2013 Advocate Award.

"Thompson has emerged as one of the most powerful women in the documentary field," said Deirdre Haj, Full Frame's Executive Director. "She has used her position to not only advance the mission of documentaries at her company, but also boost up individuals and institutions - including Full Frame - and advocate for their long-term success."

JESSICA YU FILMS INCLUDED IN THE FULL FRAME TRIBUTE::

BREATHING LESSONS: THE LIFE AND WORK OF MARK O'BRIEN
THE GUIDE (World Premiere)
THE KINDA SUTRA
IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL
LAST CALL AT THE OASIS
MEET MR. TOILET
PROTAGONIST
SOUR DEATH BALL

FULL FRAME THEMATIC PROGRAM: STORIES ABOUT STORIES

DRIVING ME CRAZY / Nick Broomfield
F FOR FAKE / Orson Welles
FIGHTER / Amir Bar-Lev
FORBIDDEN LIE$ / Anna Broinowski
A MAN VANISHES / Shohei Imamura
MY KID COULD PAINT THAT / Amir Bar-Lev
OPERATION FILMMAKER / Nina Davenport
STORIES WE TELL / Sarah Polley
THEATER OF WAR / John Walter

For dates and times visit the Full Frame website.

21st Annual French Film Festival in Richmond, March 21-24

2013-03-19T15:29:00.000-04:00

Sponsored by the University of Richmond, the 21st French Film Festival gets underway March 21st – 24th, 2013 in Richmond, Virginia's historic Byrd Theatre. The annual event is the largest French Film Festival in the United States.

Special guest include actresses Josiane Balasko and Julie Gayet and director Raoul Peck, plus thirty more French actors, directors, and film producers.

The festival will screen 28 feature-length and short films, all in French with English sub-titles. All films, the latest from the French cinema industry, are introduced by their actors and/or directors. Q&A sessions follow the screenings.

The full Festival schedule with times and descriptions is available on-line at www.frenchfilmfestival.us.

Full Frame named an Academy Award qualifying festival

2013-03-05T10:08:00.000-05:00

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, held in Durham April 4-7, 2013, is now a qualifying festival for the documentary division of the Academy Awards. The winner of the Jury Award for Best Short, defined as 40 minutes long or less, will be considered in the Documentary Short Subject category of the annual awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, without the usually required theatrical run.

"This announcement today has energized the entire Full Frame community," said Deirdre Haj, Full Frame's Executive Director. "We view this as a recognition of the strength of the festival, the quality of its programming and a commitment to including film festivals in the process of discovering new filmmakers and films and helping them qualify for one of the industry's highest honors."

Several of the films in the running for this year's Academy Awards on Feb. 24, 2013, screened at the 2012 Full Frame including How to Survive a Plague and The Invisible War, as well as Searching for Sugar Man, which screened during Full Frame’s year-round programming.

Full Frame is also a qualifying event for the Producers Guild of America awards.

Charlotte Jewish Film Festival March 2-17, 2013

2013-02-27T11:59:00.000-05:00

The 9th annual Charlotte Jewish Film Festival includes over two weeks of films, many never shown before in the region. The broad array of offerings include everything from romantic comedies to serious dramas, with a few documentaries thrown in and a free children's program.

The eleven films included in the festival show at Temple Israel, Regal Ballantyne Village Stadium 5, and the Sam Lerner Center in Shalom Park. In addition, several films screen at the Alvarez College Union at Davidson College. Ticket prices vary, and are available at the door, or online at the Festival's website www.charlottejewishfilm.com

The festival opens on Saturday, March 2, with Hava Nagila, a lighthearted look at the evolution of the popular song and dance that is the centerpiece of many celebrations. The screening is followed by a Q&A with the film's director, Roberta Grossman, a dessert reception, and live music by Bill Averbach and the Carolina Klezmer Project.

March 3 features another don't miss film: Wunderkinder, created by the producers of the hit Europa Europa, and winner of Audience Awards at Jewish film festivals in San Diego, Los Angeles and Atlanta. The movie tells the moving story of three child prodigies struggling to survive the Holocaust, from the children's point of view.

Other standouts:

A Bottle in the Gaza Sea, based on a popular novel.

The Day I Saw Your Heart (Et soudain tout le monde me manqué), especially written for Mélanie Laurent, who appeared in Inglourious Basterds as well as La Rafle and The Concert, audience favorites at the 2012 Charlotte Jewish Film Festival.
Dorfman in Love, starring Sara Rue and Elliott Gould, in a film that was named Best Comedy at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the Miami Jewish Film Festival.
A.K.A. Doc Pomus, a documentary tracing the life of legendary songwriter Jerome Felder, composer of Viva Las Vegas, Save the Last Dance for Me, This Magic Moment, and many other hits.

Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story, winner of Best Documentary awards at the 2012 Palm Beach International Film Festival and the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival. Sharon Kabalo, Deputy Consul General of Israel to the Southeast, will attend the screening.

The festival also sponsors a free children's program on Sunday, March 3. The Seder on Planet Matzah Ball screens at 10:30 am at Gorelick Hall in the Levine JCC.

For more information, visit the Charlotte Jewish Film Festival.

Winning films announced at Nevermore 2013

2013-02-22T00:26:00.000-05:00

Nevermore gives awards in five different categories in 2013:

Best Feature
Best North American Short
Best International Short
Best North American Long-Form Short
Best International Long-Form Short

These awards are determined by audience vote, as they have been in the past, and will be announced at the end of the festival on Nevermore's Facebook page.

However, this year the committee members who select the Nevermore films have weighed in as well, announcing their own awards in advance of the festival. This is a growing trend, and one we like. It helps cut through the many offerings crowding a busy weekend and gives us a chance to see the best films. Besides, no one could be more experienced than these dedicated horror fans who watch hundreds of submissions each year. If they like something, it's a fair bet that we'll like it too.

The 2013 Committee Awards are:

2013 Best Feature:

Found, a Canadian horror comedy

2013 Best North American Short:

Torturous (part of the They're Coming to Get You, Barbra! program)

2013 Best Long-form Short:

Baby-sitting, a 20-minute short film from France (part of the Boogeymen from Beyond the Sea program)

2013 Best International Short:

We Will Call Him Bobby, by Paco Cavero (part of the Wrath of the Foreign Invaders program)

We Will Call Him Bobby comes to Durham from the House of Films, a film production and distribution company based in Madrid, Spain. The company is promoting two other short films screening at Nevermore.

Ocho (above) by Raúl Cerezo, is also in the Wrath of the Foreign Invaders block.

The third film, Till Death Do Us Part by Julián Lara, competes in the North American Shorts category, in the They're Coming to Get You, Barbra! block. The filmmaker is well-known in the Spanish speaking world for his Deadhunter zombie film series. This is his first film produced in English (with Spanish subtitles). It's set in Los Angeles and was produced in the U.S.

14th Nevermore Horror Fest in Durham Feb. 23-25, 2013

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The most requested film ever comes to Nevermore: George Romero's 1978 classic Dawn of the Dead. It will be shown on the big screen in the Carolina Theatre's Fletcher Hall on Saturday evening. Romero can claim the credit for inventing/popularizing the zombie genre, now come to full flower with hit TV show The Walking Dead plus numerous movies "starring" the living dead.

Writer Allan Maurer actually was an extra on the set of Dawn of the Dead, shot in a Pennsylvania shopping mall. Here's his take on the Romero's zombie franchise.

Some people claim to have spotted Allan in background shots. He also interviewed George Romero in 2009. Here's a brief clip.

Another film we're looking forward to at this year's Nevermore is John Dies at the End (below), written and directed by Don Coscarelli. He's the mastermind behind Bubba Ho-Tep, another seminal movie, one of the first to mix humor and horror.

Bubba Ho-Tep was one of Nevermore's earliest successes. It sold out Fletcher Hall, still the highest-attended screening in the festival’s history. Our Allan Maurer was there in 2004 to report.

John Dies at the End is headed to general theatrical release. It debuted at Sundance 2012 to enthusiastic reviews.

Nevermore is known for its great short film programs. This year they've increased in number again, to four programs. The categories include both long form (17 minutes up) and short form categories, from North America and around the world.

This year's shorts programs include:

They're Coming to Get You, Barbra! (North American Shorts)
Wrath of the Foreign Invaders (Foreign Shorts)
Dead Men Tell No Tales (North American Long-Form Shorts)
Boogeymen from Beyond the Sea (International Long-Form Shorts Program).

All four screen several times during the weekend. Check the Nevermore website for times.

The ABCs of Death, officially a feature film offering, is also something of a short film program. The 123-minute compilation includes 26 films (one for each letter of the alphabet) from 15 different countries and 26 different directors. The included films were themselves selected in a competition. For instance, the winner for the letter "T" was T is for Toilet (below). The ABCs is headed for general theatrical release after its festival run.

Zombies are usually thick on both the screens and sidewalks of Nevermore, but this year only Romero's classic stars the rotting undead among the feature length films. Here's some video of local zombies on the stroll at Nevermore 2010.

Villains at this year's Nevermore range from demented kids to Bigfoot.

As much sci-fi as horror, Found In Time (above) is a time traveling drama, set in a future where psychic powers are commonplace.

Dead Weight is set in a post-apocalyptic future.

Two Nevermore movies explore the rich "haunted house/ghost hunter" genre:

The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh, written and directed by Rodrigo Gudiño, publisher of the horror magazine Rue Morgue; and

The Casebook of Eddie Brewer, a British film harvesting awards at film festivals on both sides of the Atlantic.

Oscar Trivia 2013

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©A.M.P.A.S.®

Looking for more Oscar Trivia? Visit BestFilmFests.com

1) Which actors are nominated for Best in a Leading Role for the first time this year?

Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)
Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables)
Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)
Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

Quvenzhané Walliscourtesy of Fox Searchlight/Mary Cybulski

Emmanuelle Rivacourtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Hugh Jackman
Courtesy of Universal/Laurie Sparham

Bradley Cooper
Courtesy of The Weinstein Company/Jojo Whilden

2) Which actor or actress was also nominated last year?

Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) was nominated in 2012 for Best Supporting Actress in The Help.

Jessica Chastain
Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing/Jonathan Olley

3) Which category is setting nominee age records this year?

The Best Actress competition has both its oldest (Emmanuelle Riva, 87) and youngest (Quvenzhané Wallis, 9) nominees ever. Gloria Stuart, 87, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Titanic (1997). Justin Henry, 9, was the youngest Supporting Actor nominee for his role in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979).

4) Which 5 films have been nominated for both Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film Oscars?

Michael Haneke, writer/director of Amour
Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Amour, this year; Z, which won Best Foreign Language Film in 1969; The Emigrants, nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in 1971 and Best Picture in 1972; Life Is Beautiful, winner in the Best Foreign Language Film category in 1998; and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, winner of Best Foreign Language Film in 2000.

5) Emmanuelle Riva's performance in Amour, nominated for Best Actress, is in French. What performers have won Academy Awards for performances in a language other than English?

AmourCourtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Sophia Loren (1961, Best Actress in Two Women); Robert De Niro (1974, Best Supporting Actor in The Godfather Part II); Roberto Benigni (1998, Best Actor in Life Is Beautiful); Benicio Del Toro (2000, Best Supporting Actor in Traffic); Marion Cotillard (2007, Best Actress in La Vie en Rose); Marlee Matlin (1986, Best Actress in Children of a Lesser God, performed almost entirely in American Sign Language).

Silver Linings Playbook, courtesy of The Weinstein Company

6) Silver Linings Playbook received nominations for Best Picture, Directing, and Writing and in all four acting categories. When was the last time this happened?

Reds (1981).

Jennifer Lawrence, nominated for Best Actress for her role in Silver Linings Playbook
Courtesy of The Weinstein Company/Jojo Whilden

Robert de Niro, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Silver Linings Playbook
Courtesy of The Weinstein Company/Jojo Whilden

7) Which directors hold the record for most Best Picture nominations?

Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg (both for Lincoln) have 8 nominations each.

Steven Spielberg
Courtesy of Walt Disney/20th Century Fox

8) Which individuals have been nominated for Best Picture, directing, writing and acting, all in the same year?

At the 2006 award ceremony, George Clooney (one of the producers of Argo) was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture for Good Night, and Good Luck, and won the Best Supporting Actor award for Syriana. At the 1982 Academy Award show, Warren Beatty was nominated for Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Picture, and won the Best Directing Oscar, for Reds.


Daniel Day-Lewis in *Lincoln*Courtesy of Walt Disney/20th Century Fox/David James

9) Who is the most nominated film editor of all time?

Michael Kahn, who racked up his eighth nomination for Lincoln this year.

Sally Field, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Lincoln
Courtesy of Walt Disney/20th Century Fox/David James

10) Who has the most nominations of any living person?

John Williams, who created the score for Lincoln, has the most with 48, 43 of them in the Best Original Score category. Walt Disney still holds the "living-or-dead" all-time record at 59. The record for second most nominations among the living goes to Woody Allen with 43.

11) Which families have the most Academy Award nominations?

Roman Coppola, nominated for his screenplay, Moonrise Kingdom
Courtesy of Focus Features

The musical Newman family (Alfred, Lionel, Emil, Thomas, David and Randy) takes the lead with Thomas Newman's nomination for Skyfall's Original Score bringing the family total to 87. The Coppola family (Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola, Talia Shire, Nicolas Cage and Sofia Coppola) is runner-up, with Roman's nomination for Moonrise Kingdom's Original Screenplay bringing the family total to 24.

More Oscar Trivia: Oscar Facts & Fables

Naomi Watts, nominated for The Impossible
Courtesy of Summit Entertainment/Jose Haro

More Oscar Trivia: The Women of Oscar

Anne Hathaway, nominated for Les Miserables
Courtesy of Universal Pictures

More Oscar Trivia: The Men of Oscar

Quentin Tarantino, nominated for his screenplay, Django Unchained
Courtesy of The Weinstein Company/Andrew Cooper

N.C Filmmaker Allen Weiss tackles the 1898 Wilmington Uprising

2013-01-21T13:57:00.000-05:00

Filmmaker Allen Weiss

Weiss, a resident of Raleigh, recently announced the completion of his script for the film "A Reckoning," the story of one of North Carolina's, and the country's, darkest moments. The film is currently in pre-production.

Based on the story of the little-known White Supremacist uprising and literal coup d'etat that took place in Wilmington, NC, in the waning years of the 19th century, the film will explore a horrific history largely untold.

Here is how Weiss describes those events:

On a November day in 1898, a group of White Supremacists, led by Civil War luminary Colonel Alfred Waddell, burned down the offices of local newspaper, the Daily Record, the only black-owned daily in the country, and overthrew the legitimately elected local government of Wilmington, which included many African Americans. As the mob of white men swelled to 2000, the leaders confirmed their intention to fulfill Waddell's mission to shoot every black man or woman they came across until they "choked the current of the Cape Fear with carcasses." Hundreds of black citizens fled to nearby swamps to hide. Ultimately, more than 2000 black residents left the city permanently, turning Wilmington from a black-majority to a white-majority city. As this was never investigated or prosecuted, there is no official death toll.

This deadly coup d'etat, the only such event ever committed on American soil, not only went unprosecuted, but it is also absent from history books in America.

Alex Manly

Alfred Waddell

Weiss himself learned about the coup 20 years ago at a Wilmington dinner party attended by the late Frank Capra Jr. He was amazed that, despite growing up in North Carolina and attending the state's public schools, he'd never heard of the event. Known by various names, including the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, the Wilmington Massacre of 1898, and, most erroneously, the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898, the facts in the case were finally exposed in 2005 by the state-appointed Wilmington Race Riot Commission in a 500- page report.

The script Weiss wrote is not a documentary, but, he says, "a fictitious love story woven around and through the historical events leading up to, and including, that day. The townspeople have been fictionalized. Only Alex Manly, owner of The Daily Record, Confederate Colonel Alfred Waddell, and published transcripts from the press of the time are identified."

Burning of The Daily Record

Weiss plans to make the film "as North Carolina-centric as possible" and will hire the majority of the cast and crew within the state.

The movie "Lincoln" has renewed public interest in the time period, and, Weiss believes, will created public interest in the telling of this little-known tragedy in American history.

"The White Supremacists, or Redshirts as they were known, called for 'taking back our city.' Hearing calls over the last several years about 'taking back our country' sent a chill down my spine. It's time to produce a film to reflect on this part of American history," Weiss says.

"Another aspect I'm excited about is that, with all the features shot in Wilmington -- from 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' to 'The Crow,' 'The Secret Life of Bees,' and 'Ironman 3' -- Wilmington has always been a good location to shoot movies. In this film, Wilmington itself plays a starring role."

Weiss spent 15 years as a professional photographer in Raleigh and New York before getting into filmmaking. His work has been included in the "New Directors Showcase" at the Cannes Film Festival.

For more information, visit: "A Reckoning"