Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

10 Things Michael Moore Wants You to Know About the Academy's New Documentary Rules

Robert Silva — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:26:11 GMT

This year, Michael Moore helped rewrite the rules on which documentaries are eligible for the Academy Awards, and who votes for them. This has resulted in some heated exchanges with other filmmakers, largely because the new rules require a nominated film to have a review in either the New York Times or the L.A. Times.

At the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival on April 12, Moore set the record straight about criticisms regarding the new rules. He appeared via Skype in a brown hoodie -- degrading into a pixelated Yoda when the Internet stream slowed -- and explained why he believes the rule changes are (mostly) for the good.

#1. Change Is Obviously Needed

"If I said to you that Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Woody Allen, none of them have never ever won an Oscar -- that would seem really bizarre wouldn't it?" Moore said.

"Now, let me say this: Frederick Wiseman, the Maysles Brothers, D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, Steve James. I could go down a very long list of people who never won an Oscar, and many, like Fred Wiseman, who've never been nominated. How can that happen? How could these godfathers of our genre -- modern documentary -- never have even been nominated or won?"

#2 The Old System Was Weird, Insular, and Corrupt

"For many years a small committee watched the documentary films. The committee was made up of volunteers from the Academy. They were not documentary filmmakers, and they were not from the documentary branch. And so they would sit there with the 16mm projector running and -- after 10 minutes, 20 minutes, everybody had a little flashlight and they hit the flashlight, and they would stop the projector and they wouldn't watch the rest of the film," Moore said.

"And Roger Ebert about 20 years ago did a story about one of the reasons why this was. . . There was a documentary distributor on the committee. And according to Ebert, a third and half of all nominated films were distributed by this documentary distributor who sat on the selection committee. In fact, in the year of 'Roger & Me,' 1989, three of the five nominees were distributed by this man's company."

#3 The New Process Will Be More Democratic

"When I was elected to the Board of Governor for my branch, this was one of the things I really wanted to fix. I said, 'We should create a democracy movement within the documentary branch of the Oscar. We should bring democracy to our branch, meaning the entire branch should vote on who the five nominees are going to be, and then the entire Academy -- all 6,000 members -- should pick the winner from those five nominees,'" Moore said. "It was decided it was time to let everyone vote."

#4 More Documentaries Will Get Seen

"We're setting up procedures to guarantee that every [submitted] film does get seen by someone,” Moore said. “And I asked the Academy if they would shoulder the expense of sending every qualified movie to every member of the documentary branch and they've agreed to do it. So, in other words, if you've made a documentary, you want to submit it this year and your film will be sent to all 160 members of the documentary branch," Moore said.

"You can submit and will submit your documentary films when they are released throughout the year. So, your film comes out in June, we will get your movie in July. This way, no one's going to have to watch 100 movies in December, like the Oscars work now. We're going to watch them throughout the year."

#5 Bigger Movies Will Benefit (and They Should)

"I know that people have said, 'The little films will be overlooked.' But actually the history of the Oscar for documentaries is that the little film has not been overlooked; it's the larger film that has been overlooked.

"And the joke 15, 20 years ago was that if you were critically acclaimed, if you got good notices, if you were thought well of by the audience as one of the best documentaries of the year, that would be the kiss of death. You were guaranteed of not even being nominated. It was a weird feeling like, 'Oh my god, I've got all they great reviews -- oh, we're screwed!'"
#6 Glorified TV Movies, So Long!

"Too many of our nominated movies seemed to be made for television and the network and were qualified by sneaking a quiet run in New York and L.A. that wouldn’t be announced publicly and wouldn't get a review in the New York Times and L.A. Times because they wanted to get that review when the film showed on the network in a few months. They kept to the letter of the law, but not the spirit. They were really TV movies that weren't satisfied with just winning an Emmy; they wanted to win an Oscar, too."

#7 Why the New York Times Matters, But Not as Much as It Thinks It Does

"We were told by the New York Times that it is their policy to review every movie that gets a true theatrical release that opens in Manhattan, regardless of how big or small the film is. We thought, 'Wow, that's the way to guarantee this was really and truly in theaters,'" Moore said.

"This got reported initially by the New York Times that somehow we were ceding control of who can get nominated over to the New York Times. That is absolutely not true. We're only using them because of their rule. If they change that policy, we'll change."

#8 "If A.O Scott Has a Cold," Filmmakers Can Appeal

"We’ve instituted a very liberal appeal process where essentially all the documentary filmmaker has to do is say, 'Hey, here is the day my film opened in Manhattan, there's no review in the New York Times, but the film was there. Well, our attitude is: you're in, you're qualified, you are eligible. We're not going to be sticklers about this. We're using it pretty much as a guidepost to guarantee that the film was at the theaters."

#9 The New Rules Favor the Coasts, and It Sucks

"It is [cultural imperialism]. It's not right," Moore said. "I say that as someone from Michigan. But the larger Academy, though, for all the other fiction movies, they have to play that week in New York and L.A. So we're just lining up our rules to be totally in sync with the rest of the Academy to be totally the same, so documentaries are not looked at as the bastard stepcousins of cinema. The L.A. - New York thing, I'm not the biggest proponent of that. It's there simply because that's the general rule of the Academy for all movies."

#10 The New Rules Will Ensure the Survival of the Documentary Category

"Those who want to remove documentaries from the Oscar show, they still exist in large numbers. They're not the majority right now, and one thing I'm hoping to do with these new rules is take away any of their ammunition. And one of the biggest things is that they don't get to vote for documentaries unless they happen to be in New York or L.A. during one of those three nights [where all five nominees are shown in theaters] in January or February," Moore said.

"Starting this year, there's none of that. We'll have screeners, you can watch them at home, we're going to start streaming them next year,” he said. “Once we get more these 6,000 Academy members engaged, I think the talk of removing the documentaries from the Oscars will never come again."

"Special Flight' Tops 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Awards

Indiewire — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:49:19 GMT

“Special Flight” took two top awards at the 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, which screened 102 films in its run April 12-15 in Durham, NC.

Directed by Fernand Melgar, "Special Flight" won the Anne Dellinger Grand Jury Award and the Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award. The film focuses on a Swiss detention center where tensions build as rejected asylum seekers await their forced removal from the country. The awards are sponsored by Chuck Pell, CSO Physcient, Inc. and Alpha Cine Labs, Seattle, and by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.

Representatives from the Center for Documentary Studies jurors were Randy Benson, Katie Hyde, Marc Maximov, Lynn McKnight, Dan Partridge, Tom Rankin, Elena Rue, Teka Selman and April Walton.

The grand jury, comprised of Judith Ehrlich, Eric Metzgar, and Marco Williams, said, “Director Fernand Melgar takes us deep inside the world of detained immigrants in Switzerland. With incredible access and patient observation, we experience the complex and powerful relationships between the captives and their captors. An exceptional work of vérité filmmaking, “Special Flight” forces us to confront the contradictions of humane incarceration.”

A Special Jury Award was also presented to “The Law in These Parts (Shilton Ha’Chok),” directed by Ra’anan Alexandrowicz, a meticulously constructed exploration of the complex military laws imposed by Israel on citizens in the occupied territories.

The jury commented, “The Law in These Parts” we honor with a Special Jury Award. We admire its intelligence and unique Brechtian treatment of a very controversial subject.”

The Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short was given to “The Time We Have (Den tid vi har),” directed by Mira Jargil, a beautiful, intimate, and deeply tender look at saying goodbye to the love of your life after 67 years of marriage. The Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short is provided by Drs. Andrew and Barbra Rothschild.

The jury, comprised of Steven Ascher, Jessica Edwards, and Edwin Martinez, said: “The Jury Award goes to an elegantly realized portrait of a marriage that tenderly explores a husband’s last days with his wife. Beautifully observed, expertly paced, “The Time We Have” intimately captures the power of simple gestures between two people who will always be in love.”

The jury also awarded an honorable mention to “Sivan,” directed by Zohar Elefant, a minimalist portrait of an Israeli soccer fan in thrall to a team and an obsession,describing the film as employing "an innovative directorial approach to a fascinating character to capture a myriad of themes and emotions from one camera angle.”

“Trash Dance,” directed by Andrew Garrison, received the Full Frame Audience Award. The film documents an unusual partnership between a dancer and the Austin Department of Solid Waste Services to stage a public performance starring man, music, and machine. Sponsored by Merge Records, the Audience Award is determined by counting audience ballots filled out during the festival.

An Honorable Mention was presented to the short with the highest score, “Fanuzzi’s Gold,” directed by Georgia Gruzen. The film focuses on Ed Fanuzzi, a Staten Island inventor, treasure hunter, and eternal optimist, who sees gold where others see trash.

"Waiting Room,” directed by Peter Nicks, was awarded the Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award. This gripping vérité film is a symphony of patients, caregivers, and loved ones, bureaucracy and hard choices, in an Oakland ER’s waiting room. Provided by the Charles E. Guggenheim family,this prize honors a first-time documentary feature director. Natalie Bullock Brown, Heather Courtney, and Mark Elijah Rosenberg participated on the Jury.

“Mr. Cao Goes to Washington,” directed by S. Leo Chiang, received the Full Frame Inspiration Award. The film captures rookie congressman Joseph Cao of Louisiana as he angers fellow Republicans by befriending President Obama. Sponsored by the Hartley Film Foundation, this award is presented to the film that best exemplifies the value and relevance of world religions and spirituality. Jim Klein, Sarah Masters, and Fiona Otway participated on the jury.

The Full Frame President’s Award was presented to the “Grandmothers (Abuelas),” directed by Afarin Eghbal. This animated documentary about Argentina’s Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo features stories of women who search for their missing grandchildren. Sponsored by Duke University and aimed at recognizing up-and-coming filmmakers, this prize is awarded to the best student film.

“ESCAPE FIRE: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare,” directed by Susan Froemke and Matthew Heineman, received The Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights. Provided by the Julian Price Family Foundation, this award is presented to a film that addresses a significant human rights issue in the United States. Representatives from the Kathleen Bryan Edwards family juried the prize: Anne Arwood, Laura Edwards, Clay Farland, Margaret Griffin, and Pricey Harrison.

The Nicholas School Environmental Award was presented to “Chasing Ice” directed by Jeff Orlowski. In this film, scientific fact and aesthetic beauty merge in monumental and dramatic time-lapse photos illustrating global warming’s chilling ravages. The Nicholas School Environmental Award honors the film that best depicts the conflict between our drive to improve living standards through development and modernization, and the imperative to preserve both the natural environment that sustains us and the heritages that define us. Representatives from the Nicholas School of the Environment juried the Prize: Cindy Horn, Stephen Nemeth, Rebecca Patton, and Tom Rankin.

Full Frame Announces 2012 NEW DOCS Lineup

Austin Dale — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:01:55 GMT

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced 57 selections for the 2012 NEW DOCS program, which will take place in Durham, North Carolina from April 12-15.

Highlights include several high-profile Sundance award-winners, including "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry," "Chasing Ice," "DETROPIA," "The Invisible War" and "The House I Live In."

Full lineup of documentaries reprinted below:

2012 NEW DOCS * Indicates short film, 40 minutes or under in length

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry     (Director: Alison Klayman)
This portrait of the intrepid artist and his work is also a reflection on modern-day China and the struggle for freedom of expression.

An Angel in Doel (De Engel van Doel)     (Director: Tom Fassaert)
In this mesmerizing black-and-white elegy to the Belgian village of Doel, Emilienne, an older resident, is caught between past and future. US Premiere

Aranda     (Director: Anu Kuivalainen)
Existential explorers aboard a marine research vessel contemplate iceburgs, ocean currents, and life itself. North American Premiere

Beauty Is Embarrassing     (Director: Neil Berkeley)
Paul Reubens, Todd Oldham, Mark Mothersbaugh, Matt Groening, and Mimi Pond love this LBJ puppet suit–wearing, profanity-spewing, banjo-picking artist and iconoclast—you will too!

CatCam *     (Director: Seth Keal)
Ever wonder what your pet does all day? This romp with Mr. Lee satisfies an itch most animal owners never dreamed they’d get to scratch.

Chasing Ice     (Director: Jeff Orlowski)
Scientific fact and aesthetic beauty merge in monumental and dramatic time-lapse photos illustrating global warming’s chilling ravages.

Children of the Sea (Les enfants de la mer/mère) *     (Director: Annabel Verbeke)
Students at Belgium’s Ibis school are urchins in uniform, reflecting the maritime tradition of this institution for troubled boys.

Cutting Loose *     (Directors: Finlay Pretsell, Adrian McDowall)
Francis Duffy, three-time champ of the Scottish Prison Service hairdressing competition, defends his title just days before his release.

The D Train *     (Director: Jay Rosenblatt)
To the accompaniment of a jaunty Shostakovich waltz, black-and-white found footage tells a life story, at once singular and universal.

DETROPIA     (Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady)
An affecting and surprising portrait of Detroit, heart of the American Dream, and the unprecedented challenges facing its citizens.

Eating Alabama     (Director: Andrew Beck Grace)
Attempts to eat locally in Alabama yield surprising, often funny results, for one couple on a quest for a simpler life.

ESCAPE FIRE: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare      (Directors: Matthew Heineman, Susan Froemke)
American healthcare has evolved into a profit-driven disease-care system—this film closely examines the medical industry and bold new measures that may help ease what ails us.

Ethel      (Director: Rory Kennedy)
Ethel Kennedy’s life, told in intimate interviews and never-before-seen archival footage, reveals her place, both public and private, in the Kennedy legacy.

Fanuzzi's Gold *     (Director: Georgia Gruzen)
Ed Fanuzzi is a Staten Island inventor, treasure hunter, and eternal optimist—he sees gold where others see trash.   World Premiere

Five Star Existence     (Director: Sonja Lindén)
A stimulating and exquisitely filmed exploration of technology’s ever-increasing affect on our lives—its benefits, and its limitations. North American Premiere

A Girl Like Her     (Director: Ann Fessler)
“Nice” girls didn’t get pregnant in the 50s and 60s. They had their babies far away from prying eyes and were then forced to give them up. World Premiere

Girl Model     (Directors: David Redmon, A. Sabin)
Hunting for beauty and the fulfillment of dreams, two women bookend this story of hope, ambition and exploitation.

Grandmothers (Abuelas) *     (Director: Afarin Eghbal)
This animated documentary about Argentina’s Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo features stories of women who search for their missing grandchildren.

Herman's House     (Director: Angad Singh Bhalla)
An artist forms a relationship with a man who’s been in solitary confinement for over three decades, embarking on a project to design and construct his dream home. World Premiere

The House I Live In     (Director: Eugene Jarecki)
The impact of narcotics on one family’s lives gives way to this comprehensive, multilayered interpretation of America’s War on Drugs.

How to Survive a Plague     (Director: David France)
Astounding archival footage chronicles the courageous, and innovative, battle waged by early AIDS activists against drug companies and the government as they fight the epidemic.

I Send You This Place     (Directors: Andrea Sisson, Peter Ohs)
A personal and experimental essay that transports the viewer to and from Iceland in search of clues to a family mystery. World Premiere

The Imposter     (Director: Bart Layton)
A Texas boy who mysteriously disappeared resurfaces years later in Spain. There’s a remarkable reunion, but something’s not quite right.

The Invisible War     (Director: Kirby Dick)
A shocking percentage of servicewomen and men are sexually assaulted by fellow soldiers. This film bears witness to their powerful and emotional stories.

ITALY LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT     (Directors: Gustav Hofer, Luca Ragazzi)
A couple sets out on a road trip through Italy, to decide whether or not they should stay in the country, or leave it, like so many of their other friends have done already.

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet     (Director: Jesse Vile)
Twenty years after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, the metal guitar god has not only survived, he continues to compose music.

Justice for Sale     (Directors: Ilse van Velzen, Femke van Velzen)
Attorney Claudine Tsongo winds her way through the Congo’s evolving justice system in search of truth in the case of a soldier who may have been unjustly convicted of rape. North American Premiere

The Kingdom of Mister Edhi     (Director: Amélie Saillez)
Mr. Edhi’s kingdom is a sprawling network of support systems for Pakistan’s most vulnerable, especially at-risk women and children. North American Premiere

Kiss the Paper *     (Director: Fiona Otway)
No amount of technology has been able to curb one man’s passion for hand-set type and the poetry of letterpress printing.

The Law in These Parts (Shilton Ha'Chok)     (Director: Ra’anan Alexandrowicz)
A meticulously constructed exploration of the complex military laws imposed by Israel on citizens in the occupied territories.

A Letter to Dad (Pismo ocu)      (Director: Srdjan Keca)
When his father dies unexpectedly in a Serbian hospital, a son interviews close friends and family to piece together his own unfocused recollections. North American Premiere

The Lifeguard (El Salvavidas) *     (Director: Maite Alberdo)
A Chilean beach is the setting for this vividly filmed collection of interactions with Mauricio, the complicated titular subject. North American Premiere

Light Plate *     (Director: Josh Gibson)
Hand processed film presents an evocative, whimsical and contemplative document of an Italian interlude.

Mr. Cao Goes to Washington     (Director: S. Leo Chiang)
Rookie congressman Joseph Cao of Louisiana angers fellow Republicans by befriending President Obama; will bipartisanship reward or ruin his chances for re-election?

Nation (Nació)     (Director: Homer Etminani)
A young man in Catalonia tirelessly trains amidst a sprawling landscape in this meditation on extensive preparation toward a mysterious end. North American Premiere

Needle Exchange *     (Director: Colm Quinn)
Spencer and Glenn are best mates and recovering addicts who have traded heroin for copious amounts of tattoo ink, and each other.

Peak     (Director: Hannes Lang)
The Alps are the backdrop for this wry take on climate change and the idiosyncratic responses to its affects on natives and tourists alike. North American Premiere

A People Uncounted     (Director: Aaron Yeger)
This film bears witness to the Porrajmos or “devouring” of the Roma by the Nazis during WWII and their ongoing struggles.

The Photographer's Wife (Die Frau des Fotografen) *     (Directors: Karsten Krause, Philip Widmann)
A widow revisits four decades of photos her husband took of her—nude portraits taken at home, in cars, and in the great outdoors. North American Premiere

Radio Unnameable     (Directors: Paul Lovelace, Jessica Wolfson)
Bob Fass has been broadcasting his midnight free-form show from New York City for nearly 50 years to reflect the decades’ alternative cultural scenes. World Premiere

Raising Resistance     (Directors: Bettina Borgfeld, David Bernet)
For some in Paraguay transgenic soy is “green gold,” but for others it is an unprecedented ecological and cultural disaster. North American Premiere

Reportero     (Director: Bernardo Ruiz)
A veteran journalist and his fearless colleagues at the Mexican newspaper Zeta investigate corrupt officials and drug lords despite increasing violence and repeated death threats. US Premiere

Santa Land *    (Director: Kim Nguyen)
Meet a husband and wife Mr. and Mrs. Claus team and the Real Bearded Santas—men so committed to portraying Santa they maintain their lustrous whiskers year-round. North American Premiere

Silent Springs *     (Director: Erin Espelie)
Taking a cue from Rachel Carson, this experimental film attempts to make visible what’s hard to see, the disappearance of species and a natural world under mortal threat.

Sivan *     (Director: Zohar Elefant)
A minimalist portrait of an Israeli soccer fan in thrall to a team and an obsession.

Special Flight (Vol Spécial)     (Director: Fernand Melgar)
Tensions build at a Swiss detention center as rejected asylum seekers await their forced removal from the country they now call home. US Premiere

Tahrir: Liberation Square     (Director: Stefano Savona)
An intense and deft account of the first weeks of protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square at the beginning of the Egyptian Arab Spring.

The Time We Have (Den tid vi har) *     (Director: Mira Jargil)
A beautiful, intimate, and deeply tender look at saying goodbye to the love of your life after 67 years of marriage. US Premiere

Trash Dance     (Director: Andrew Garrison)
An unusual partnership between a dancer and the Austin Solid Waste Services to stage a public performance starring man, music, and machine.

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom *    (Director: Lucy Walker)
Survivors of Japan’s recent tsunami find courage and solace in the cherry blossoms that emerge not long after the disaster.

Unfinished Spaces     (Directors: Alysa Nahmias, Benjamin Murray)
A thrilling and unknown story of the visionary architecture of the early Cuban revolution—its creation, decay, renewal, and rediscovery.

Violated Letters (Cudze Listy)    (Director: Maciej Drygas)
The Polish Secret Service monitored private correspondence during the Cold War. Brilliantly edited footage sets the stage for this story of repression, censorship, letters never delivered. North American Premiere

The Waiting Room     (Director: Peter Nicks)
This gripping vérité film is a symphony of patients, caregivers, and loved ones, bureaucracy and hard choices, in an Oakland ER’s waiting room. World Premiere

While You Were Gone (Medan du var borta) *     (Director: Frida Kempff)
Absence doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder. It can sometimes make it cold, violent, or even forgiving.

Winter Light (Vinterlys) *     (Director: Skule Eriksen)
In the Arctic archipelago of Lofoten in Norway, winter sun makes for a subtle yet spectacular landscape.

Without A Fight     (Director: Jason Arthurs)   North American Premiere
Far more than a mere sport, soccer equals survival and a sensible haven for the young men of Kibera, Kenya's largest slum. North American Premiere

Young Bird Season *    (Director: Nellie Kluz)
The flyers at the Braintree Pigeon Racing Club pass the time as their treasured birds race the hundreds of miles back home.

Full Frame Fest Announces Lineup of Ross McElwee's Family-Themed Retrospective Screenings

Bryce J. Renninger — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:09:21 GMT

Ross McElwee ("Sherman's March," "Bright Leaves") will be a guest of honor at Durham, North Carolina's Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and as part of his trip to the festival, he has programmed a series of eight features and two short films to be a part of a special retrospective series about families.

“There are, of course, countless documentaries about American families. There are many about other people’s families, but the documentaries selected for this program are films about the families of the filmmakers,” said McElwee. “They are a kind of autobiographical subset of a larger documentary category, and thus exhibit a whole additional layer of emotional, psychological, and aesthetic complexity. The viewer of these films must not only consider what is happening before the camera but also how events portrayed in the film are connected to the person behind the camera—the filmmaker who also happens to be a daughter, a son, or a parent. To understate the matter, this complicates things considerably. I speak from personal experience.”

Full Frame runs from April 12-15, 2012.

The complete lineup for the Family Affairs series is below, with descriptions courtesy of the festival.

Family Affairs

51 Birch Street (Director: Doug Block)

Shortly after his mother's death, Doug Block is stunned to learn that his father is moving in with his secretary from 40 years before—so begins his journey to understand the parents he thought he knew.

Diaries (Director: Ed Pincus)

In this intensely personal memoir, Ed Pincus films his wife, children, and lovers in an effort to faithfully record his, and their, struggle to find and experience intimacy, commitment, and fulfillment.

Family Portrait Sittings (Director: Alfred Guzzetti)

First released in 1975, this introspective and unprecedented film depicts Alfred Guzzetti's family history through extended and candid interviews and carefully curated home recordings.

In Search of Our Fathers (Director: Marco Williams)

Marco Williams's quest to discover the father he never knew ultimately reveals more about the women in his family, particularly his mother and her efforts to enrich his upbringing.

Intimate Stranger (Director: Alan Berliner)

This vibrant film is full of the still photographs, celluloid film, and ephemera of a well-traveled life, that of Alan Berliner's grandfather, whose yearning for success and acclaim took him far away from home.

Must Read After My Death (Director: Morgan Dews)

After uncovering a trove of family movies and audio recordings, Morgan Dews assembles the materials together to present this daring portrait of his grandparents' strained relationship, and their very different expectations of family life.

My Father, The Genius (Director: Lucia Small)

Architect Glen Small asks his estranged daughter, Lucia, to craft his biography, which ultimately evolves into this documentary that delicately traces the lines of tension between artistic brilliance and familial disappointment.

Time Exposure (Director: Alfred Guzzetti)

In this short, Alfred Guzzetti deconstructs a single photograph taken by his father some seven decades earlier.

TRANSLATING EDWIN HONIG: A Poet's Alzheimer's (Director: Alan Berliner)

A transfixing portrayal of a poet as he succumbs to a fading memory, and his patterns of speech give way to new kinds of artistic expression.

TROUBLESOME CREEK: A Midwestern (Directors: Jeanne Jordan, Steven Ascher)

Faced with mounting debts, the Jordan family embraces a radical plan to save their Iowa farm. With husband Steven Ascher, Jeanne Jordan poignantly chronicles the emotional and physical landscape of her parents' attempt to maintain their way of life.

Jesse Owens Doc World Premiere Will Open Full Frame 2012 + Tribute Honoring Stanley Nelson

Tambay — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 02:06:57 GMT

Announced earlier today... The opening night film of the 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival on Thursday April 12th will be the World Premiere of Laurens Grant’s Jesse Owens, which was produced and written by 2012 Full Frame Tribute honoree Stanley Nelson.

The PBS-produced film centers on the track and field star, who silenced the opposition at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin amidst Nazi propaganda.

This is obviously not to be confused with Anthony Mackie's long-in-development Jesse Owens narrative biopic.

“We are thrilled to be the home for the World Premiere of Jesse Owens... This film, while looking back at history, begs questions that still call for answers today about sports, celebrity, and race in our culture. It is a great example of documentary creating a platform for further examination and discussion, which is what Full Frame thrives on,” said Full frame executive director Deirdre Haj.

In addition to Grant's Owens doc, Full Frame also announced its lineup of films selected for its 2012 Tribute honoring Stanley Nelson. Four titles have been selected, including early work from Nelson like The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, A Place of Our Own, and Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice.

“Having this wonderful tribute to my work and the World Premiere of “Jesse Owens” at this year's Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is for me a double honor,” said Nelson, who'll be present for screenings of his work throughout the festival, including a moderated conversation with Lauren Grant following the Opening Night screening event.

The 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will be held April 12-15, in Durham, N.C.

Full Frame Announces Opening Night and Tribute Programming

Austin Dale — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:38:56 GMT

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced the world premiere of Laurens Grant's "Jesse Owens" as its Opening Night film on Thursday, April 12 in Durham, NC. The film about the African American track and field star is produced and written by Full Frame Tribute honoree Stanley Nelson.

Nelson will receive a tribute with a line-up of four of his titles: "The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords," "Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple," "A Place of Our Own" and "Sweet Honey in the Rock."

Full press release reprinted below:

Full Frame Announces Opening Night Film and

2012 Tribute Programming Honoring Stanley Nelson

Durham, N.C., - March 6, 2012 – The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced the World Premiere of Laurens Grant’s “Jesse Owens” as its 2012 Opening Night Film on Thursday, April 12, at the Carolina Theatre. Produced and written by 2012 Full Frame Tribute honoree Stanley Nelson, the film centers on the African American track and field star, who triumphed at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin amidst the rise of Nazi propaganda.

“Jesse Owens” is an American Experience film in association with Firelight Films. It is the first feature documentary Laurens Grant has directed for PBS. Grant has a long history with Stanley Nelson and American Experience. She produced the 2010 award-winning film “Freedom Riders” directed by Nelson and was a coordinating producer for Nelson’s film “The Murder of Emmett Till” in 2003. Both were American Experience titles. Grant previously attended Full Frame with “Freedom Riders” in 2010 and as a juror for the Award for Best Short in 2011.

“To have my film screen at Full Frame is an incredible honor. And to screen as the Opening Night Film is just tremendous,” said Grant. “Full Frame is an incredible festival that really appreciates documentary films, and I am truly delighted to be a part of it. It is also a great tribute to Jesse Owens, and serves to ensure his legacy is not forgotten.”

Full Frame also announced its lineup of films around its 2012 Tribute honoring Stanley Nelson. Four titles have been selected, including early work from his Firelight Films banner: “The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords,” “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple,” “A Place of Our Own,” and “Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice.”

“Having this wonderful tribute to my work and the World Premiere of “Jesse Owens” at this year's Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is for me a double honor,” said Nelson.

Nelson and Grant will take part in a moderated conversation following the film on Opening Night. Nelson will also be on hand for screenings of his work throughout the weekend. Other attending guests will be announced closer to the festival. Screening times and venues will be available March 22.

“We are thrilled to be the home for the World Premiere of “Jesse Owens,” said Full frame executive director Deirdre Haj. “This film, while looking back at history, begs questions that still call for answers today about sports, celebrity, and race in our culture. It is a great example of documentary creating a platform for further examination and discussion, which is what Full Frame thrives on.”

The 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will be held April 12-15, in Durham, N.C., with Duke University as the presenting sponsor. Tickets for programs are available to passholders beginning March 23 and will go on sale to the general public at fullframefest.org on April 2.

2012 Opening Night Film

Jesse Owens (Director: Laurens Grant)

African American track and field star, Jesse Owens, triumphed at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin amidst the rise of Nazi propaganda. Despite winning four gold medals, the iconic athlete found the brilliant start to his career would not be met with easy opportunity. World Premiere

2012 Full Frame Tribute Films

The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords (Director: Stanley Nelson)

The little known history of Black newspapers is highlighted in this film about the pioneering men and women who gave voice to the African American experience across the nation.

Jonestown: The Life and the Death of Peoples Temple (Director: Stanley Nelson)

Over 900 people died at the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project in Guyana, the largest mass suicide in history. The film traces the optimistic rise and devastating collapse of this utopian movement.

A Place of Our Own (Director: Stanley Nelson)

A personal meditation on the significance of Oak Bluffs, a town on Martha’s Vineyard where generations of upper-middle class black families, including Stanley Nelson’s own, have vacationed undisturbed by the tensions of racial America.

Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice (Director: Stanley Nelson)

Unprecedented footage from Sweet Honey in the Rock’s 30th anniversary tour is accented with in-depth interviews exploring the influence of the African American women’s a cappella group.

About Full Frame

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema. Each spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to historic downtown Durham, N.C., for a four-day, morning to midnight array of over 100 films as well as discussions, panels, and southern hospitality. Set within a four-block radius, the intimate festival landscape fosters community and conversation between filmmakers, film professionals and the general public.

Full Frame Documentary Festival Will Pay Tribute to Stanley Nelson

Nigel M Smith — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:37:27 GMT

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival (April 12-15) has chosen to highlight the career of Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson ("Freedom Riders," "A Place of Our Own") for its annual Full Frame Tribute.

In addition, the festival has announced that this year's Thematic Program -- curated by filmmaker Ross McElwee ("Bright Leaves") -- will focus on family.

Titles for both the Thematic Program and the Full Frame Tribute will be announced in March.

At the Full Frame Festival, Archives Are the Future

Indiewire Staff — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 06:09:09 GMT

Documentary cinema tends to balance the past and present. A few months after Charles Ferguson's “Inside Job” received the Academy Award for best documentary, the 2011 edition of the Full Frame Documentary Festival presented a strong program that drew heavily on themes of poverty, struggle and injustice. However, it was the past that set this year's Durham, N.C. festival apart.

"One Foot in the Archives," a 10-film sidebar dedicated to archival footage curated by filmmaker and archivist Rick Prelinger, utilized a wide range of films to explore the use of archival footage. From structurally difficult works like Phillipe Mora's 1979 "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" to this year's Sundance favorite from Göran Hugo Olssen, "The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975," the films represented a cross-section of perspectives that extended the dialogue into the competition screenings.

Mora's film spends a great deal of time showing images of the great depression's poverty, presenting viewers with a sentiment they would later find in films like U. Roberto Romano's "The Harvest," Marianna Kaat's heart-wrenching "Pit No. 8" (winner of the festival's Emerging Artist and Environmental awards), Leonard Retel Helmrich's "Position Amongst the Stars" and Steve James' Special Jury Award-winning "The Interrupters."

People struggling against society were featured across a number of films in the program. Nancy Buirski, Full Frame's founder and former director, returned with the world premiere of her directing debut, "The Loving Story." A look into the complicated trial that took anti-miscegenation laws in Virginia to the Supreme Court, the use of archival footage in "The Loving Story" stood out as a parallel example to the festival's Thematic program.

Babcock and Blue Hadaegh's "Scenes of a Crime" also explored an arduous legal battle through archival footage -- in this case, access to a 10-hour-plus videotaped confession at the center of a case against a man accused of killing his four-month-old son. (The film received the festival’s Anne Dellinger Grand Jury Award.) And Chad Freidrich's "The Pruitt-Irgoe Myth" tackles the high-profile/highly segregated public housing disaster in St. Louis by relying heavily on images culled from moving image archives.

Not all of Full Frame's 2011 highlights took on heavy subjects. “Square Grouper: The Godfathers of Ganja” utilized archival footage to tell the unbelievable tale South Florida’s pot smuggling culture in the 1970s. Julie Moggan's "Guilty Pleasures" enjoyed its U.S. premiere as Full Frame's opening night, screening to a crowd who welcomed the quirky doc about the global reach and influence of romance novels (yes, the same ones at supermarket check-out counters).

Films like Tally Abecassis' hour-long "Unlikely Treasures" on the obsessive (to say the least) world of collectors and Constance Marks' Sundance hit "Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey" also gave the festival a lighter edge without sacrificing quality or entertainment. And Cindy Meehl's "Buck" also proved to be a crowd-pleasing success, taking home Full Frame's Audience Award.

However, the weekend’s most entertaining -- or perhaps most interesting -- screening was Prelinger's interactive presentation of “Lost Landscapes of Detroit.” The 70-minute nearly silent film is made entirely out of home and industrial footage, forming as thin a narrative as one could ask. Before the screening, Prelinger invited the audience to create its own soundtrack, thus promoting an interaction similar to watching home movies in the living room. The filmmaker, who also encouraged the use of social media during the screening, wrote of the experience on his Twitter account during the screening: "Favorite moment at ["Lost Landscapes of Detroit"] screening: lights go down, room sizzles with unmuffled conversation. Not your ordinary screening or audience."

It might not have been ordinary, but it was certainly unforgettable. The weekend proved that Full Frame is firmly positioned in the current moment of the documentary film scene, a stance solidified by revealing that it has one foot following the present trends in the doc world and the other in the archives.

Full Frame Announces 2011 Opening Night Film

Indiewire Staff — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 09:40:19 GMT

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival announced it will open on Thursday, April 14 with the U.S. premiere of Julie Moggan's documentary "Guilty Pleasures."

"Guilty Pleasures" chronicles the impact of Mills & Boon romance novels upon the lives of five individuals, including a novelist, a male model and three female readers. Moggan, known for her non-fiction work for the BBC and Channel 4, will be on hand at Carolina Theatre's Fletcher Hall for the debut of her first feature length documentary.

The 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival takes place April 14-17 in Durham, N.C.

The full release from the festival follows.

Durham, N.C., - February 24, 2011 – The 14th annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will open with the U.S. Premiere of “Guilty Pleasures.” Director Julie Moggan’s vibrant feature traces the experiences of five individuals from around the world marked by their particular connections to Mills & Boon romance novels. We meet a successful romance novelist whose female pseudonym produces countless bestsellers, a male cover model in search of a soul mate and three women enraptured by paperback romances, whose perceptions of relationships are entangled with the scripted portrayal of courtship. As they navigate love in a modern age, we are captivated by their endearing and all-too-human journey.

“We are thrilled to host ‘Guilty Pleasures’ on Opening Night,” said director of programming, Sadie Tillery. “The film is an awesomely colorful, musical celebration of the desires and realities of the people it portrays. In examining the collision of fantasy and day-to-day life, the film offers a rare combination of levity and heart and serves as a reminder that documentary can be humorous while heartfelt. We could not ask for a more festive opening to our 2011 event.”

Julie Moggan’s extensive travels and background in anthropology have led her to making documentaries that focus on the beauty, drama and humor in everyday life. She has made films for the BBC and Channel 4, and “Guilty Pleasures” is her first feature length documentary.

“Full Frame has a reputation for showing some of the most inspiring films around to huge audiences of passionate documentary lovers,” said director Julie Moggan. “So it's a thrill and honor to have our U.S. premiere of ‘Guilty Pleasures’ at this festival. We hope that our romance novel documentary will get things off to an entertaining and uplifting start.”

Moggan will attend the premiere, along with a number of subjects from the film. The Opening Night Screening will take place the evening of Thursday, April 14 in the Carolina Theatre’s historic Fletcher Hall. The Screening is sponsored by the American Tobacco Campus and Capitol Broadcasting Company. The Opening Night Party will follow the screening next door at the Durham Arts Council. One of the Festival’s oldest traditions, the Opening Night Party will again be hosted by Giorgios Hospitality Group. Tickets for both the Screening and the Party are available to passholders beginning March 24 and on sale online April 4.

The 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will be held April 14-17, in Durham, N.C., with Duke University as the presenting sponsor. Passes can be purchased online at www.fullframefest.org.

Full Frame Announces First 2011 Programming

Peter Knegt — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:44:23 GMT

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has begun preparations for its 14th annual event, announcing that "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" directors Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg will receive the fest's 2011 Career Award and also present the U.S. premiere of their new film, "Burma Soldier."

Full release below.

Durham, N.C., - January 13, 2011 - The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced their Thematic Program, 2011 Career Award and the first US Premiere of the 2011 festival. Rick Prelinger will curate a series around archival footage for the Festival's 2011 thematic program. The 2011 Career Award will be presented to Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, who will present the US Premiere of their most recent film "Burma Soldier" at the 14th annual event.

"I'm excited to have the opportunity to work with Rick Prelinger," said director of programming Sadie Tillery. "I hope the series will encourage audiences to consider how archival footage is contextualized, while also giving viewers the rare opportunity to screen work that is less available."

Archivist, writer, lecturer and filmmaker Rick Prelinger founded Prelinger Archives in 1982 in New York. At its peak, the archives held over 60,000 ephemeral (advertising, industrial, educational, documentary and amateur) films and over 50,000 cans of unedited footage. The core film collection was acquired by the Library of Congress in 2002. Beginning in 2000, Prelinger Archives partnered with the Internet Archive to make 2,100 key films available online for researchers, scholars, media makers and the public to view and reuse without charge. With Megan Shaw Prelinger, he co-founded an appropriation-friendly research library in 2002, which is currently open to the public in San Francisco. He is a long-time advocate of increased public access to archives and cultural material, and frequently writes and lectures in this field. His long-form films include "Panorama Ephemera," "Lost Landscapes of Detroit," and "The Lives of Energy," among others. He is currently in pre-production on "No More Road Trips," a feature-length exploration of "peak travel" and our fascination with tourism and the road.

"While archival material has been an integral component of documentary filmmaking since the earliest days, I believe makers have just begun to explore its creative potential. As archives slowly open up to the public, as new collections come online for reuse, and as we look to history for clues to help us understand our accelerating present, once-ignored images and sounds are becoming increasingly relevant," said Prelinger.

He continued, "archival imagery is ubiquitous today, appearing not only in documentary films but in advertising, educational media, and online. It's invoked in countless tweets and Facebook pages every day. What grew our fascination with these images? Will we still be interested in them as they become available to anyone with a few clicks? Perhaps most pertinent, will ever-more-immersive dramatic recreations of historical events, places and personalities cause authentic archival images to fade into the background?"

The Festival will honor filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg with the 2011 Career Award. For more than a decade, Stern and Sundberg have collaborated on a critically acclaimed body of work including "The Trials of Darryl Hunt," "The Devil Came on Horseback," "The End of America," and last year's "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work."

"We have been proud to exhibit Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg's films over the years and are incredibly excited to present their body of work at the 2011 Festival," said Tillery. "Time after time they have put forward incredible subjects and stories, which are made all the more influential by the quality of Stern and Sundberg's filmmaking."

"We are elated to be honored with the Full Frame 2011 Career Award," said Stern and Sundberg. "As we look through the list of past recipients, filmmakers whose work we have long admired, we are honored to be part of this community."

The tribute will include screenings of Stern and Sundberg's work throughout the Festival, with a number of the films' subjects in attendance. Specifically, Full Frame will host the US Premiere of Stern and Sundberg's latest film "Burma Soldier," directed with Nic Dunlop. The film tells the unforgettable story of Myo Myint, a former Burmese soldier turned pro-democracy activist. Myint will be on hand to discuss his life and film following the premiere. Additional titles and guests will be announced in March.

Stern and Sundberg continued, "It is particularly meaningful for us to be able to have the US Premiere of "Burma Soldier" at Full Frame this April, as we know from our own experiences how audiences at this special festival embrace and engage with documentary film."

Stern and Sundberg's first collaboration "In My Corner" screened at Full Frame in 1999. "The Trials of Darryl Hunt" received Full Frame's Audience Award in 2006. Their next project, "The Devil Came on Horseback," won both the Full Frame/Working Films Award and The Seeds of War prize at the 2007 Festival. All of their films have garnered great critical acclaim, receiving national theatrical releases, television broadcasts and festival screenings around the world.

"To be honored by Full Frame with the Career Award comes as a wonderful surprise," said Stern. "Full Frame is not only a home to the documentary filmmaker and its audience, it truly celebrates the documentary film form and community. For me, it is a creative haven and all around great time!"

"We first attended the festival back when it was known as Doubletake, and it's been amazing to see how Full Frame has grown in presence and industry recognition over the years," said Sundberg.

The 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will be held April 14-17, in Durham, N.C., with Duke University as the presenting sponsor. Festival passes can be purchased online at www.fullframefest.org.