Documentary

Activist Malala Yousafzai, HE NAMED ME MALALA, at 2015 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park NYC

Activist Malala Yousafzai (C) speaks on stage at the 2015 Global Citizen Festival to end extreme poverty by 2030 in Central Park on September 26, 2015 in New York City. Malala is the subject of the documentary HE NAMED ME MALALA from acclaimed documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman). HE NAMED ME MALALA opens in select theaters on Friday, October 2nd 2015.
HE NAMED ME MALALA is an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then 15-year-old (she turned 18 this July) was singled out, along with her father, for advocating for girls’ education, and the attack on her sparked an outcry from supporters around the world. She miraculously survived and is now a leading campaigner for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ghiYve6k68
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THE BOY FROM GEITA, Documentary on Albinism in Africa, Sets October Release Date

THE BOY FROM GEITA, a feature documentary by award-winning filmmaker Vic Sarin (Solitary Journey, Hue: A Matter of Colour) will open in New York on October 16, before expanding to additional markets and VOD. The film follows Adam, a young boy in Tanzania, born with albinism, a genetic condition that affects skin pigment, giving him a white complexion, that sets him apart from others in his village In a remote village in the northwest of Tanzania, a twelve-year old boy sits in the shade of a hut while his siblings play in the light. His pale skin is sensitive to the sun’s rays and his eyes don’t see as well as the other children, but he’s content to sit on his own and draw with pencil and paper. He loves to draw. But his safe little world is about to be shattered… “Ghost” is what a boy like Adam is called in Tanzania or “zero zero” – nothing – because he has albinism, a genetic condition that causes the absence of pigment in skin, hair and eyes. His pale complexion makes him vulnerable not only to the sun but to the most violent and hateful crimes imaginable. Ostracized from society and fearing for his life, Adam finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Peter Ash, a businessman from far across the globe who also has albinism. Together they embark on a journey that transcends cultures and continents. Both heart-breaking and hopeful, THE BOY FROM GEITA is a film about human courage and is part of a growing global effort to break down the stigma and deadly misconceptions surrounding albinism in Africa. https://vimeo.com/138210896
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2016 Cinema Eye Shorts List Revealed for 9th Cinema Eye Honors Awards

Ten nonfiction short films were announced today as finalists for the 2016 Cinema Eye Honors, the 9th edition of the largest annual celebration for and recognition of the nonfiction film artform and the creators of those films. The announcement of the 2016 Cinema Eye Shorts List was made on the opening day of the 2015 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF), a key festival partner of the Cinema Eye Honors. For the second year in a row, all ten films, which are among the most acclaimed short documentaries of the year, will screen this weekend at the 11th Annual Camden International Film Festival. This is the first time that all the filmmakers on the list have never been on the Shorts List before or a previous Cinema Eye nominee. This marks the fourth year that the CEH Shorts List has been announced in Camden. This January will mark the seventh year that CIFF hosts their annual reception on the eve of Cinema Eye’s award ceremony. A key part of Cinema Eye Week, a multi-day event held from January 10-13 in New York City in January 2016, the CIFF reception has become the largest single event for nonfiction film in the city and an important kickoff for the new year in the documentary community. From the ten finalists on this year’s Shorts List, five films will be named as nominees for the Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking Award. Nominees in that category and nearly a dozen feature film categories will be announced on Wednesday, November 11 in Copenhagen, Denmark at CPH:DOX. Awards will be presented during Cinema Eye Honors on January 13, 2016, in New York City. This year’s ten finalists are: Body Team 12 (Liberia/USA) (pictured above) Directed by David Darg Born to Be Mild (UK) Directed by Andy Oxley The Breath (Switzerland) Directed by Fabian Kaiser Buffalo Juggalos (USA) Directed by Scott Cummings Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah (Canada) Directed by Adam Benzine The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul (Australia) Directed by Kitty Green Hotel 22 (USA) Directed by Elizabeth Lo {The And} Marcela & Rock (USA) Directed by Topaz Adizes The Solitude of Memory (Mexico/USA) Directed by Juan Pablo González Super-Unit (Poland) Directed by Teresa Czepiec
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THE HIGH: MAKING THE TOUGHEST RACE ON EARTH to Premiere in NYC this October | TRAILER

BTV Productions’ fascinating documentary THE HIGH: MAKING THE TOUGHEST RACE ON EARTH will make its New York premiere on Saturday, October 24th at the School of Visual Arts. A journey filled with obsession, adventure and a pioneering spirit, the film challenges the essence of human endurance and begs the audience to question their own physical limits. Constructed over five years by American filmmaker Barry Walton, this true-story trails a group of finish-line obsessed competitors as they battle the highest and longest footrace on the planet. The camera follows an Indian doctor, a war journalist, and three adventure-seeking ultra-runners as they take on a running experiment to make the first crossing of a 137- mile footrace covering the two highest motorable passes in the world. “I honestly thought I could have died on the race,” said Mark Cockbain, one of the ultra- runners. “I’ll never have that feeling again of being at the starting point on the edge of the world,” said Bill Andrews, one of the film’s subjects, “and having no idea what was going to happen.” Having worked as a documentary filmmaker for over a decade in Los Angeles, New York and Europe, Detroit native Walton is proud to bring this heroic and untold story to New York. “Making this film was as much a miracle as finishing the race,” said Walton. “It’s a rare look into the culture of ultra-marathoners and the extremes they will go to for their sport.” He traveled to the Himalayas twice in the making of the project. During that time he overcame altitude sickness, a bout of pneumonia, and the unique demands of working in such a remote and challenging region of the world—all to create the largest accomplishment in his work to date. THE HIGH presents one of the most unique stories in sports, bursting with beautiful shots of Himalayan peaks from the surrounding Indian city of Leh, complemented by endurance athletes and ultra-runners. An inspiration to watch, the film captures not only the challenge and disbelief of the race, but also the awe-inspiring beauty of the region. Showing one night only, this is a must-see film for all filmmakers, athletes, and movie- goers alike. https://vimeo.com/88524988 Tickets for the event are now on sale at Eventbrite. via press release
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BEST OF ENEMIES Wins 2015 SummerDocs Audience Award | TRAILER

BEST OF ENEMIES, directed by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon, is the winner of the 2015 SummerDocs Audience Award. The award-winning film chronicles the groundbreaking series of televised debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr., during the 1968 presidential conventions. The film was released by Magnolia Pictures this summer. Directed with consummate skill by filmmakers Robert Gordon and Academy Award-winning Sundance Film Festival alum Morgan Neville (Twenty Feet From Stardom), Best of Enemies unleashes a highbrow blood sport that marked the dawn of pundit television as we know it today. In the summer of 1968 television news changed forever. Dead last in the ratings, ABC hired two towering public intellectuals to debate each other during the Democratic and Republican national conventions. William F. Buckley Jr. was a leading light of the new conservative movement. A Democrat and cousin to Jackie Onassis, Gore Vidal was a leftist novelist and polemicist. Armed with deep-seated distrust and enmity, Vidal and Buckley believed each other’s political ideologies were dangerous for America. Like rounds in a heavyweight battle, they pummeled out policy and personal insult—their explosive exchanges devolving into vitriolic name-calling. Live and unscripted, they kept viewers riveted. Ratings for ABC News skyrocketed. And a new era in public discourse was born. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzgfQvB2dvA
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Pharrell Williams + Daft Punk Documentary DAFT PUNK: UNCHAINED to Screen at Doc’n Roll Film Fest

Doc’n Roll Film Festival will screen the French documentary Daft Punk: Unchained, directed by Hervé Martin Delpierre, and the first film to be made about the pop culture phenomenon. The often elusive duo have sold 12 million albums worldwide and won awards around the globe without ever compromising their vision or sound. Between fiction and reality, magic and secrets, future and reinvention, theatricality and humility, The Robots have built a unique world. The documentary shows Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel Homem-Christo on their permanent quest for creativity, independence and freedom. Unchained has unprecedented access and combines rare archive footage and exclusive interviews with their closest collaborators including Giorgio Moroder, Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, Michel Gondry, Pete Tong, Skrillex and Leiji Matsumoto. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5EofwRzit0
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Doc’n Roll Film Festival to Host Preview Screening of Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain | VIDEO

Doc’n Roll Film Festival which runs from September 25 until October4, at Picturehouse Central in London, will screen a special advanced preview of the crowd-funded new music documentary Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain, a film shot on Sleaford Mods’ 2015 UK tour about the band, the fans and the state of modern Britain.
Directed by Nathan Hannawin and Paul Sng, Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain follows Sleaford Mods on their recent tour of the UK and visits the neglected, broken down and boarded up parts of the country that most would prefer to ignore. Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain aims to tell the story of how one of the most relevant British band in years became an unlikely success story through their expression of pent up rage and anger aimed at ineffectual politicians and the current state of affairs. Taking its cue from the likes of Patrick Keiller’s extraordinary Robinson Trilogy and the wanderings of Iain Sinclair, the documentary is a combination of raw footage of the band, interviews with fans, and a look at what individuals and communities are doing to resist so-called austerity measures. The filmmakers will attend the screening on 3 October for a post-film Q&A session. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pZc3UOG1y0
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The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble Doc to Get Spring 2016 Release | VIDEO

The new documentary film The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble set to World Premiere at the upcoming 2015 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) have been acquired by The Orchard and HBO for release in the U.S. The Orchard is planning a theatrical release in the Spring of 2016 with an HBO premiere to follow. From Morgan Neville, the director of the Oscar®-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom and the critically-acclaimed Best of Enemies, the new film The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble tells the extraordinary story of an international musical collective created by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The film follows this group of diverse instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they explore the power of music to preserve tradition, shape cultural evolution and inspire hope. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjrILQproKU “What could be better than being involved in a film that erases differences in the name of music,” commented Sheila Nevins, President, HBO Documentary Films. “Morgan’s film is an inspiring and soulful experience we are proud to be a part of ” said The Orchard’s SVP of Film and TV, Paul Davidson.
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Laurie Anderson’s HEART OF A DOG to be Released by Abramorama and HBO Documentary Films

Laurie Anderson’s HEART OF A DOG which will world premiere this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival, has been acquired by Abramorama and HBO Documentary Films for release in the U.S. Abramorama will release Heart of a Dog in theaters on October 21 in New York, followed by a national release, while HBO will air the film in 2016. In addition to Telluride Film Festival, Heart of a Dog is set to screen at most of the upcoming major film festivals including Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, New York Film Festival and San Sebastian Film Festival.

Renowned multidisciplinary artist Laurie Anderson returns with this lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.

Laurie Anderson’s eclectic career spans music, drawing, storytelling, performance, and more. She had a surprise hit with her 1981 song “O Superman,” was NASA’s first artist in residence, and toured internationally with her political performance-art piece Homeland. Her new feature film, Heart of a Dog, combines her multiple talents in a personal film essay. The dog of the title is her beloved rat terrier Lolabelle, who passed away in 2011 during a succession of family deaths that also included Anderson’s mother, Mary Louise, and husband, Lou Reed. Anderson’s close bond with Lolabelle underlies the film’s stream of consciousness, which flows through subjects as diverse as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings. She lingers particularly over the concept of thebardo, described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead as the forty-nine-day period between death and rebirth. Overlaying the film’s tapestry of images — which include Anderson’s animation, 8mm home-movie footage, and lots of lovingly photographed dogs — is her melodic narration, full of warmth, humour, and insight. Anderson’s approach has a kinship with that of filmmaker Chris Marker (Sans Soleil), with a similar flair for connecting disparate themes and images. She quotes from other writers and artists, including Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, Gordon Matta-Clark, and David Foster Wallace, whose line “every love story is a ghost story” resonates strongly in this work. If those references sound philosophical, so is this film. But it’s also dreamy, comic, and intensely emotional. Like Anderson, it defies easy categorization.

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Official Poster + Watch 2nd Trailer for Documentary HE NAMED ME MALALA | TRAILER

Fox Searchlight has released the official poster and second trailer for the documentary HE NAMED ME MALALA from acclaimed documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman). HE NAMED ME MALALA opens in select theaters on Friday, October 2nd 2015. HE NAMED ME MALALA is an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then 15-year-old (she turned 18 this July) was singled out, along with her father, for advocating for girls’ education, and the attack on her sparked an outcry from supporters around the world. She miraculously survived and is now a leading campaigner for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund. Documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman) shows us how Malala, her father Zia and her family are committed to fighting for education for all girls worldwide. The film gives us an inside glimpse into this extraordinary young girl’s life – from her close relationship with her father who inspired her love for education, to her impassioned speeches at the UN, to her everyday life with her parents and brothers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ghiYve6k68 “One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.” – Malala Image: Malala Yousafzai in HE NAMED ME MALALA. Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures. © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved
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Jewish Doc “THE PRIME MINISTERS: Soldiers and Peacemakers” Sets Release Date

THE PRIME MINISTERS: Soldiers and Peacemakers, the follow up to the critically acclaimed “The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers”, will open at the AMC Empire in New York on Friday, October 9, and at the Royal in Los Angeles and Town Center in Encino on Wednesday, October 14. A national release will follow. Directed by Richard Trank, the documentary film, THE PRIME MINISTERS: Soldiers and Peacemakers, the fourteenth production of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s two-time Academy Award®- winning Moriah Films, follows the experiences of the late Ambassador Yehuda Avner during the years he worked for Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Menachem Begin. Based on Ambassador Avner’s best-selling book, The Prime Ministers, the film examines Rabin’s election as the country’s first native born Israeli leader in 1974, his negotiating the first bilateral treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1975, the dramatic events surrounding Israel’s rescue of hostages in Entebbe in 1976, the tense relationship between newly elected US President Jimmy Carter and Rabin, and Rabin’s subsequent downfall in a financial scandal involving his wife Leah. The movie also explores Ambassador Avner’s decision to work for Menachem Begin when he surprised the world in 1977 by being elected the Prime Minister of Israel. It looks at the drama behind Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem, the Camp David negotiating process, the difficult relationship between President Carter and Menachem Begin as well as the tense relations that arose between Begin and President Reagan over the 1982 Lebanon War. The documentary also recounts Begin’s decline after the death of his beloved wife Aliza, and Yehuda Avner’s career as a diplomat in the UK and Australia before returning to Israel to work with Yitzhak Rabin not long before his assassination in 1995, after he had been elected a second time as Israel’s Prime Minister. Starring the voices of Michael Douglas as Yitzhak Rabin and Christoph Waltz as Menachem Begin and introducing Nicola Peltz as the voice of Esther Cailingold, THE PRIME MINISTERS: Soldiers and Peacemakers is full of emotion and rich history with rare, never before seen photos and film footage. https://vimeo.com/74139176
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UK’s Music Documentary Festival, 2015 Doc’n Roll Film Festival Unveils Lineup | TRAILERS

Doc’n Roll Film Festival, the UK’s music documentary festival, returns to London for its second edition from September 25 to October 4, 2015. The 2015 Doc’n Roll Film Festival will open with the UK premiere of Morphine: Journey of Dreams, the story of the unique and genre-blurring trio Morphine told through rare performance footage and tour journals, plus a Q&A with the film’s director Mark Shuman. Ten days later the festival will come to a close with the Theatrical World premiere of Lost Songs – The Basement Tapes Continued, a behind the scenes look at a two week recording session with some of today’s most talented musicians as they create new music using long-lost Bob Dylan lyrics from the iconic Basement Tapes sessions.

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