One hundred twenty-four features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 88th Academy Awards®.
The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
“Above and Beyond”
“All Things Must Pass”
“Amy”
“The Armor of Light”
“Ballet 422”
“Batkid Begins”
“Becoming Bulletproof”
“Being Evel”
“Beltracchi – The Art of Forgery”
“Best of Enemies”
“The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution”
“Bolshoi Babylon”
“Brand: A Second Coming”
“A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story”
“Call Me Lucky”
“Cartel Land”
“Censored Voices”
“Champs”
“CodeGirl”
“Coming Home”
“Dark Horse”
“Deli Man”
“Dior and I”
“The Diplomat”
“(Dis)Honesty – The Truth about Lies”
“Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll”
“Dreamcatcher”
“dream/killer”
“Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon”
“Eating Happiness”
“Every Last Child”
“Evidence of Harm”
“Farewell to Hollywood”
“Finders Keepers”
“The Forecaster”
“Frame by Frame”
“Gardeners of Eden”
“A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile”
“Godspeed: The Story of Page Jones”
“Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”
“He Named Me Malala”
“Heart of a Dog”
“Hitchcock/Truffaut”
“How to Change the World”
“Human”
“The Hunting Ground”
“I Am Chris Farley”
“In Jackson Heights”
“In My Father’s House”
“India’s Daughter”
“Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words”
“Iraqi Odyssey”
“Iris”
“Janis: Little Girl Blue”
“Karski & the Lords of Humanity”
“Killing Them Safely”
“Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck”
“Lambert & Stamp”
“A Lego Brickumentary”
“Listen to Me Marlon”
“Live from New York!”
“The Look of Silence”
“Meet the Patels”
“Meru”
“The Mind of Mark DeFriest”
“Misery Loves Comedy”
“Monkey Kingdom”
“A Murder in the Park”
“My Italian Secret”
“My Voice, My Life”
“1971”
“Of Men and War”
“One Cut, One Life”
“Only the Dead See the End of War”
“The Outrageous Sophie Tucker”
“Peace Officer”
“The Pearl Button”
“Pink & Blue: Colors of Hereditary Cancer”
“Poached”
“Polyfaces”
“The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers”
“Prophet’s Prey”
“Racing Extinction”
“The Resurrection of Jake the Snake”
“Ride the Thunder – A Vietnam War Story of Victory & Betrayal”
“Rosenwald”
“The Russian Woodpecker”
“Searching for Home: Coming Back from War”
“Seeds of Time”
“Sembene!”
“The Seven Five”
“Seymour: An Introduction”
“Sherpa”
“A Sinner in Mecca”
“Something Better to Come”
“Song from the Forest”
“Song of Lahore”
“Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine”
“Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans”
“Stray Dog”
“Sunshine Superman”
“Sweet Micky for President”
“Tab Hunter Confidential”
“The Tainted Veil”
“Tap World”
“(T)error”
“Thao’s Library”
“Those Who Feel the Fire Burning”
“3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets”
“The Touch of an Angel”
“TransFatty Lives”
“The True Cost”
“Twinsters”
“Very Semi-Serious: A Partially Thorough Portrait of New Yorker Cartoonists”
“The Wanted 18”
“We Are Many”
“We Come as Friends”
“We Were Not Just…Bicycle Thieves. Neorealism”
“Welcome to Leith”
“What Happened, Miss Simone?”
“What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy”
“Where to Invade Next”
“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” (pictured above)
“The Wolfpack”
Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying releases. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules in order to advance in the voting process. A shortlist of 15 films will be announced in December.
Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.
The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.CALL ME LUCKY (2015)
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124 Documentary Features Submitted For 2015 Oscar Race
One hundred twenty-four features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 88th Academy Awards®.
The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
“Above and Beyond”
“All Things Must Pass”
“Amy”
“The Armor of Light”
“Ballet 422”
“Batkid Begins”
“Becoming Bulletproof”
“Being Evel”
“Beltracchi – The Art of Forgery”
“Best of Enemies”
“The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution”
“Bolshoi Babylon”
“Brand: A Second Coming”
“A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story”
“Call Me Lucky”
“Cartel Land”
“Censored Voices”
“Champs”
“CodeGirl”
“Coming Home”
“Dark Horse”
“Deli Man”
“Dior and I”
“The Diplomat”
“(Dis)Honesty – The Truth about Lies”
“Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll”
“Dreamcatcher”
“dream/killer”
“Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon”
“Eating Happiness”
“Every Last Child”
“Evidence of Harm”
“Farewell to Hollywood”
“Finders Keepers”
“The Forecaster”
“Frame by Frame”
“Gardeners of Eden”
“A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile”
“Godspeed: The Story of Page Jones”
“Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”
“He Named Me Malala”
“Heart of a Dog”
“Hitchcock/Truffaut”
“How to Change the World”
“Human”
“The Hunting Ground”
“I Am Chris Farley”
“In Jackson Heights”
“In My Father’s House”
“India’s Daughter”
“Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words”
“Iraqi Odyssey”
“Iris”
“Janis: Little Girl Blue”
“Karski & the Lords of Humanity”
“Killing Them Safely”
“Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck”
“Lambert & Stamp”
“A Lego Brickumentary”
“Listen to Me Marlon”
“Live from New York!”
“The Look of Silence”
“Meet the Patels”
“Meru”
“The Mind of Mark DeFriest”
“Misery Loves Comedy”
“Monkey Kingdom”
“A Murder in the Park”
“My Italian Secret”
“My Voice, My Life”
“1971”
“Of Men and War”
“One Cut, One Life”
“Only the Dead See the End of War”
“The Outrageous Sophie Tucker”
“Peace Officer”
“The Pearl Button”
“Pink & Blue: Colors of Hereditary Cancer”
“Poached”
“Polyfaces”
“The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers”
“Prophet’s Prey”
“Racing Extinction”
“The Resurrection of Jake the Snake”
“Ride the Thunder – A Vietnam War Story of Victory & Betrayal”
“Rosenwald”
“The Russian Woodpecker”
“Searching for Home: Coming Back from War”
“Seeds of Time”
“Sembene!”
“The Seven Five”
“Seymour: An Introduction”
“Sherpa”
“A Sinner in Mecca”
“Something Better to Come”
“Song from the Forest”
“Song of Lahore”
“Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine”
“Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans”
“Stray Dog”
“Sunshine Superman”
“Sweet Micky for President”
“Tab Hunter Confidential”
“The Tainted Veil”
“Tap World”
“(T)error”
“Thao’s Library”
“Those Who Feel the Fire Burning”
“3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets”
“The Touch of an Angel”
“TransFatty Lives”
“The True Cost”
“Twinsters”
“Very Semi-Serious: A Partially Thorough Portrait of New Yorker Cartoonists”
“The Wanted 18”
“We Are Many”
“We Come as Friends”
“We Were Not Just…Bicycle Thieves. Neorealism”
“Welcome to Leith”
“What Happened, Miss Simone?”
“What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy”
“Where to Invade Next”
“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” (pictured above)
“The Wolfpack”
Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying releases. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules in order to advance in the voting process. A shortlist of 15 films will be announced in December.
Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.
The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
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7th Milwaukee Film Festival Lineup for Art + Artists Program; Incl. U.S. Premiere of Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta | TRAILER
The 7th Milwaukee Film Festival, announced its lineup for Art + Artists. Now in its second year, the Art + Artists program features a selection of films that explore and celebrate creativity in the performing and visual arts.
“Milwaukee art lovers are going to have a lot to choose from at the festival this year—from visual art, opera and experimental film to cartoons and stand-up comedy,” explains Kristopher Pollard, Milwaukee Film Membership Manager and Art + Artists Programmer.
Art + Artists will feature the U.S. Premiere of the Argentinian film Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta (pictured above). One of the most controversial artists in Latin America, Costantino’s photography, sculpture and performance art utilize unconventional materials to evince social commentary. Film Subject Nicola Costantino and Director Natalie Cristiani are scheduled to appear at the Milwaukee Film Festival for the U.S. Premiere screening of the film.
“Costantino is a vital presence in the South American art world, and this film will introduce a U.S. audience to her life as well as her provocative and sometimes controversial work,” says Pollard.
An additional highlight of the program is Bobcat Goldthwait’s new film, Call Me Lucky, a documentary about comedy icon Barry Crimmons. A longtime friend of the legendary comic, Goldthwait interviews some of Crimmons’ biggest fans including Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt and David Cross.
“Crimmons is a loud, pissed-off and important voice, not only for the world of stand-up, but for the country in general,” explains Pollard.
New this year to the program is a single artist showcase of work from media artist Jesse McLean, who is scheduled to appear at the festival. The program, Mediated Realities: Videos by Jesse McLean, will feature her latest film, I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining, which recently won first prize at the Onion City Experimental Film & Video Festival.
2015 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL
ART + ARTISTS
Go into the studio, around the work, and deep into the visionary mind with these films featuring iconic artists, artistic mediums, and everyday creative explorations.
Almost There
(USA / 2014 / Directors: Dan Rybicky, Aaron Wickenden)
A thought-provoking documentary about outsider art perfect for fans of MFF14’s Art and Craft, Almost There is the eight-year Midwestern odyssey of two filmmakers and the 83-year-old artist they’ve discovered. Peter Anton is as outside as an artist could possibly get — living in a home literally crumbling around him and surrounded by personal diaries of collage art. It takes the efforts of filmmakers Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden to secure him his first gallery show. But controversy follows when information about Anton’s complex history comes to light, secrets that whisk him out of his childhood home and into elder care.
https://vimeo.com/109723683
Call Me Lucky
(USA / 2015 / Director: Bobcat Goldthwait)
A loving documentary tribute to an acerbic comedic voice ahead of its time, Call Me Lucky is an insightful portrait of comedian-turned-humanitarian Barry Crimmins. Known for politically incisive satire (his two main targets: the U.S. government and the Catholic church) and the formation of the Boston comedy scene where he helped break numerous comedic talents, Crimmins’ tortured past led him out of the world of comedy and directly to Capitol Hill. Directed by close friend Bobcat Goldthwait and filled with comedians he influenced (Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt, David Cross), this is a personality profile of a comedic legend who channeled his pain into humor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FChmOC-Qjw
Iris
(USA / 2014 / Director: Albert Maysles)
One of the last works from the legendary documentarian Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter) allows an intimate glimpse into the private life of the vibrant, energetic nonagenarian fashion icon Iris Apfel, now 93 years young and still going strong. A character study of a genuine character, the film follows Iris from gala art events to the flea markets where she makes her finds, all the while finding rich insights into her philosophy on life and fashion — a philosophy that values individuality and creativity above all else. After all, as Iris says, “It’s better to be happy than well dressed.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIG2AoiHszY
Magicarena
(Italy / 2014 / Directors: Niccolò Bruna, Andrea Prandstraller)
A performance being held in the remarkable Verona Arena (an awe-inspiringly gorgeous first-century Roman amphitheater) must be equal to its setting, and Spanish theater group La Fura dels Baus’ production of Verdi’s Aida on the bicentennial of Verdi’s birth certainly fits the bill. Mimes, musicians, accomplished opera singers and a flotilla of set, costume and prop designers set forth to bring this sweeping vision to life, and we’re with them every step of the way. From initial auditions to opening night, this fascinating documentary shows the blood, sweat and tears involved in such a massive undertaking, with set disasters threatening to unravel the epic production at every turn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3YenwP_c_Y
Mediated Realities: Videos by Jesse McLean
(USA / 2008-2015 / Director: Jesse McLean)
This special presentation of works by leading avant-garde filmmaker Jesse McLean showcases her deep curiosity about human behavior and relationships, especially as presented and observed through mediated images. Through deft use of collage, each of McLean’s videos subtly questions viewers’ associations with the information we consume daily, while reimagining a world in which everyday media tropes are reclaimed and transformed.
Clip from I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining
https://vimeo.com/130942011
Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta
(Argentina / 2015 / Director: Natalie Cristiani)
One of Latin America’s most celebrated and controversial visual artists is the subject of this fascinating cinematic tribute: Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta. Following this provocateur as she prepares her work for the 55th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, we’re given a behind-the-scenes look at the process behind her macabre works of genius — be it turning her own liposuctioned fat into bars of soap or her series of fetal animals compressed into perfect spheres. Join us for the U.S. premiere of this documentary on an artist whose work reckons with Argentina’s violent history and provokes responses both thoughtful and visceral.
https://vimeo.com/121268676
Station to Station
(USA / 2015 / Director: Doug Aitken)
A runaway train barreling through concepts of modern creativity, Doug Aitken’s Station to Station is a cross-country journey divided into 62 individual one-minute films, featuring an ever-mutating landscape of artists, places, and perspectives that all converge in this wild panoply of artistic expression. Be it Beck performing alongside a gospel choir in the Mojave Desert or other performers such as Cat Power, Thurston Moore, Patti Smith, or Kenneth Anger, this documentary is a must-see for fans of music and art alike, an amazing cross-section of people and places.
https://vimeo.com/79329869
Very Semi-Serious
(USA / 2015 / Director: Leah Wolchok)
The New Yorker has been a cultural institution for over 90 years, combining journalism, cultural criticism and literary fiction in a dazzling blend that has captivated readers. But perhaps most famous of all are its cartoons, single-panel salvos fired at the myriad absurdities of modern life from icons such as James Thurber, Charles Addams and Roz Chast. With editor Bob Mankoff (himself the spitting image of a loosely drawn single-panel character) as our tour guide, the hilarious documentary Very Semi-Serious takes us through the hallways of this venerable institution and introduces us to the quirky creatives behind the cartoons.
https://vimeo.com/67244072
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Maryland Film Festival Reveals Names of 10 More Films on 2015 Lineup
Maryland Film Festival revealed the names of ten more films on the the lineup for the upcoming 17th annual festival, which will take place May 6–10, 2015 in downtown Baltimore. Films include Charles Poekel’s Christmas, Again; Todd Rohal’s comedy Uncle Kent 2; and new documentary work from Bobcat Goldthwait, Amy Berg, and Alex Winter.
The films include:
THE AMINA PROFILE (Sophie Deraspe) Two women, Sandra in Montreal and Amina in Syria, meet online, and begin a flirtatious relationship that quickly turns serious. When Amina begins to blog as “A Gay Girl in Damascus,” she garners international attention as an outspoken representative of a marginalized community. Then Sandra hears that Amina has been kidnapped—and, in this fascinating documentary fueled by mystery, politics, and sexuality, she must examine how much about Amina she truly knows.
BEATS OF THE ANTONOV (Hajooj Kuka) War reporter and documentary filmmaker Hajooj Kuka takes viewers into the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountain regions of South Sudan, where we meet displaced South Sudanese who live under the constant threat of bombardment from the Sudanese military via Antonov cargo planes. But defying familiar victim narratives, Kuka’s camera finds resilient people that summon strength and positivity from music, laughter, and a determination to maintain their culture against any odds.
CALL ME LUCKY (Bobcat Goldthwait) Since the 1980s, Barry Crimmins has established himself as a comedian’s comedian, armed with a rapid-fire technique and a scathing political perspective aimed at shocking American audiences out of their complacency—even as he never quite gets the respect he deserves. Peers like Margaret Cho and Marc Maron join documentarian Bobcat Goldthwait in paying tribute to Crimmins’ many contributions to the comedy community and political activism over the decades.
CHRISTMAS, AGAIN (Charles Poekel) Noel (Kentucker Audley) sells Christmas trees off a lot in New York, living a quiet and solitary life in the camper that anchors the site. As Christmas nears, a mysterious woman lands in Noel’s life, and tries to find a way into the closed-off, emotionally blocked world he’s constructed. Beautiful Super 16mm cinematography and unforgettable performances from Audley and Hannah Gross yield a moving character study of quiet, gentle humanism.
DEEP WEB (Alex Winter) With Downloaded (MFF 2013), Alex Winter established himself as an expert at illuminating complex issues at the intersection of the internet and legality—and giving audiences intimate access to the personalities at the center of his story. Deep Web excitingly confirms that status, turning its lens on the online black market Silk Road, and digging deep into the still-unfolding story of Ross Ulbricht, the man accused of being the site’s creator and moderator, “Dread Pirate Roberts.”
GOD BLESS THE CHILD (Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck) Four brothers spend a day on their own in Davis, California, with their thirteen year-old sister forced to look after them as best she can in the absence of their troubled and unreliable mother. This visually stunning experimental drama, which premiered at SXSW, turns an unflinching eye on the behavior of children in the absence of adults, with results at turns hilarious, awkward, poignant, and unnerving.
PROPHET’S PREY (Amy Berg) The director of Deliver Us From Evil and West of Memphis takes us deep into another explosive story, that of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Exploring allegations of sexual abuse, family expulsions, forced marriages, and other horrors, this Sundance-premiered documentary paints an unforgettable portrait of conformity, fear, and oppression.
TWO SHOTS FIRED (Martin Rejtman) Veteran Argentine filmmaker Martin Rejtman brings his unique deadpan sensibility to the story of a sixteen-year-old who finds a gun in his house. He shoots himself out of boredom—but, after a near-miss with death, finds that the major change in his life is an annoying whistle in his chest, sabotaging the music he makes with an amateur recorder quartet. A disloyal dog, a strange vacation, and a bizarre cast of characters add up to a quietly anarchic comedy that channels Aki Kaurismäki and Roy Andersson’s A Swedish Love Story as it refuses to play by conventional narrative rules.
UNCLE KENT 2 (pictured above) (Todd Rohal) Kent Osborne, the mild-mannered animator whose mundane daily routines and love life fueled Joe Swanberg’s Uncle Kent, is desperate to make a sequel—an idea that excites precisely no one else. But when Swanberg gives Osborne his blessing to take the idea elsewhere, things takes a decidedly warped turn, as MFF favorite Todd Rohal takes over at the helm, steering the film deep into the realm of psychotronic dark comedy.
WESTERN (Bill and Turner Ross) In the neighboring towns of Eagle Pass, Texas and Piedras Negras, Mexico, a rugged cattleman and a populist mayor navigate changing times as the specters of cartel violence and xenophobia threaten harmonious cultural and economic exchanges between the U.S. and Mexico. Marked by muggy days and thunderous nights, this evocative and immersive documentary from the directors of 45365 and Tchoupitoulas delivers a thrilling mix of fascinating characters, riveting narrative, and extraordinary sensory detail.