Last Day of Freedom

  • Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Celebrates 20th Anniversary with DoubleTake Retrospective

    [caption id="attachment_21642" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]La Laguna (Director: Aaron Schock) La Laguna (Director: Aaron Schock)[/caption] For the 20th anniversary of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the Thematic Program, DoubleTake, will be a retrospective celebrating the films and filmmakers who helped put the festival on the map. “It was a remarkable journey to take, looking back over the milestones and moments highlighting two decades of Full Frame,” said curator, Full Frame artistic director Sadie Tillery. “Above all else, this retrospective is a celebration of the the artistry, courage, and power of storytelling we see every year from documentary filmmakers around the world. We’re proud to continue to provide a stage where their work can be experienced and appreciated.”

    2017 Thematic Program: DoubleTake

    12 Notes Down (12 Toner ned) (Director: Andreas Koefoed) This touching portrayal of transition follows a talented adolescent as he is forced to abandon his longstanding role in the Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir when his voice begins to change. Festival Year: 2009 Benjamin Smoke (Directors: Jem Cohen, Peter Sillen) A portrait of the band Smoke’s lead singer unfolds through a patchwork of still images, rehearsal and performance footage, black-and-white collages, and interviews with Benjamin himself. Festival Year: 2001 Black Out (Director: Eva Weber) With no power at home, Guinean children walk miles to study for exams beneath the humming glow of airport, gas station, and parking lot lights. Festival Year: 2013 The Chances of the World Changing (Director: Eric Daniel Metzgar) What begins as a desire to help save endangered turtles becomes an all-consuming passion for New Yorker Richard Ogust, who eventually shares his apartment with 1,200 tortoises from around the globe. Festival Year: 2006 Father’s Day (Director: Mark Lipman) With its deceptively restrained tone, this film investigates a father’s passing through edited home movies and a contemporary soundtrack in which family members talk about the father’s life. Festival Year: 2004 Flag Wars (Directors: Linda Goode Bryant, Laura Poitras) This stark journey into the heart of a divided community documents the gentrification of an African American working-class neighborhood in Ohio, where the white newcomers are mostly gay. Festival Year: 2003 Helvetica (Director: Gary Hustwit) An insightful examination of typography, graphic design, and global visual culture through the lens of the iconic typeface. Festival Year: 2007 Il Capo (Director: Yuri Ancarani) This stunning cinematic short follows an Italian machinery conductor as he deftly directs his crew to carve marble out of a mountain. Festival Year: 2011 In Harm’s Way (Director: Jan Krawitz) An affecting portrait of the filmmaker’s own life story, told through striking contemporary images and excerpts from the “safety first” films shown in school classrooms during the 1950s and 60s. Festival Year: 1998 La Laguna (Director: Aaron Schock) In the rainforests of southern Mexico, a Mayan boy faces the impending loss of his childhood freedoms as family pressures and economic realities close in. Festival Year: 2016 Last Day of Freedom (Directors: Dee Hibbert-Jones, Nomi Talisman) Beautiful animation accompanies poignant testimony in this haunting short about a man who discovers his brother has committed a serious crime. Festival Year: 2015 Paradise – Three Journeys in This World (Director: Elina Hirvonen) A lyrical exploration of the fragile hopes and harsh realities of African immigrant journeys to Spain. Festival Year: 2008 Phantom Limb (Director: Jay Rosenblatt) This experimental fusion of found footage and home movies takes us through the grieving process the filmmaker, who lost his brother when he was just nine years old, was denied as a child. Festival Year: 2005 Santa Cruz del Islote (Director: Luke Lorentzen) On this remote island, the most densely populated on the planet, a community struggles to maintain their way of life as resources and opportunities dwindle. Festival Year: 2014 Strong at the Broken Places: Turning Trauma into Recovery (Directors: Margaret Lazarus, Renner Wunderlich) Four individuals who survived unspeakable trauma in their youth tell their stories, and in doing so, make profound statements about inner strength and empowerment. Festival Year: 1999 Sun Come Up (Director: Jennifer Redfearn) When climate change causes the ocean to slowly consume their idyllic South Pacific island, residents of the Carteret Atoll must make a painful choice—evacuate or cling to the land they love—and time is running out. Festival Year: 2010 Two Towns of Jasper (Directors: Whitney Dow, Marco Williams) After the murder of a black man makes national headlines, the filmmakers dispatch two crews to Jasper, Texas—one black, one white—to get at the truth of what life in the town is really about. Festival Year: 2002 The Waiting Room (Director: Peter Nicks) This gripping vérité film is a symphony of patients, caregivers, loved ones, bureaucracy, and hard choices in an Oakland ER’s waiting room. Festival Year: 2012 The Way I Look at You: 5 Stories of Driving School (La bonne conduite: 5 histoires d’auto-école) (Director: Jean-Stéphane Bron) This uniquely insightful film explores the relationships that develop between five pairs of Swiss driving school instructors and their students; in their obligatory interactions, complex personal stories are revealed. Festival Year: 2000

    Read more

  • Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Look of Silence” Wins IDA Best Documentary of 2015 Award

    The Look of Silence, Joshua Oppenheimer The Look of Silence, Joshua Oppenheimer’s companion piece to the Oscar-nominated film The Act Of Killing, is the winner of the (International Documentary Association) 2015 IDA Best Feature Award. The other finalist for the award included “Amy” directed by Asif Kapadia, “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” directed by Stanley Nelson, “Listen to Me Marlon” directed by Stevan Riley, “The Russian Woodpecker” directed by Chad Gracia, and “What Happened, Miss Simone?” directed by Liz Garbus. Through Oppenheimer’s footage of perpetrators of the 1965 Indonesian genocide, a family of survivors discovers how their son was murdered, as well as the identities of the killers. The documentary focuses on the youngest son, an optometrist named Adi, who decides to break the suffocating spell of submission and terror by doing something unimaginable in a society where the murderers remain in power: he confronts the men who killed his brother and, while testing their eyesight, asks them to accept responsibility for their actions. This unprecedented film initiates and bears witness to the collapse of fifty years of silence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp1xT302VcY 31st Annual IDA Awards Best Feature Award The Look of Silence (Winner) Director: Joshua Oppenheimer Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen DRAFTHOUSE FILMS AND PARTICIPANT MEDIA Best Short Award Last Day of Freedom (Winner) Directors: Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman Best Curated Series Award Independent Lens (Winner – TIE) Executive Producers: Sally Jo Fifer and Lois Vossen ITVS/PBS POV (Winner – TIE) Executive Producers: Simon Kilmurry and Chris White POV, PBS Best Limited Series Award The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (Winner) Executive Producer: Jason Blum Co-Executive Producer: Zac Stuart-Pontier Produced by: Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling HBO Best Episodic Series Award Chef’s Table (Winner) Executive Producers: David Gelb, Andrew Fried, and Brian McGinn NETFLIX Best Short Form Series Award Do Not Track (Winner) Executive Producer: Hugues Sweeney NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA, UPIAN, ARTE, AND BR David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award This award recognizes exceptional achievement in non-fiction film and video production at the university level and brings greater public and industry awareness to the work of students in the documentary field. The Archipelago (Winner) Director: Benjamin Huguet THE NATIONAL FILM AND TELEVISION SCHOOL Pare Lorentz Award The Pare Lorentz Award recognizes films that demonstrate exemplary filmmaking while focusing on the appropriate use of the natural environment, justice for all and the illumination of pressing social problems. How to Change the World Director: Jerry Rothwell ABC News VideoSource Award This award is given each year for the best use of news footage as an integral component in a documentary. Best of Enemies (Winner) Directors: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville MAGNOLIA PICTURES AND INDEPENDENT LENS Creative Recognition Award Winners The Creative Recognition category recognizes special achievement in cinematography, editing, music and writing in films entered in the Feature Category. Best Cinematography The Russian Woodpecker Cinematography by: Artem Ryzhykov Best Editing Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck Edited by: Joe Beshenkovsky and Brett Morgen Best Writing Listen to Me Marlon Written by: Stevan Riley Co-Writer: Peter Ettedgui Best Music Best of Enemies Original Score by: Jonathan Kirkscey 31st Annual IDA Awards Honorees Career Achievement Award Gordon Quinn The IDA will present its prestigious 2015 Career Achievement Award to Gordon Quinn, Founder and Artistic Director of Kartemquin Films. Quinn was integral to the creation of ITVS, public access television in Chicago, and the Documentary Filmmakers Statement of Best Practice in Fair Use; and in forming the Indie Caucus to support diverse independent voices on Public Television. Over his 50 years at Kartemquin, Quinn has produced, directed, and/or been a cinematographer for over 55 films, and inspired and guided an immeasurable number of media makers whose films have left a lasting impact on millions of viewers. Pioneer Award Ted Sarandos The Pioneer Award is presented to acknowledge extraordinary contributions to advancing the nonfiction form and providing exceptional vision and leadership to the documentary community. This year, the Pioneer Award will be presented to Ted Sarandos, the Chief Content Officer at Netflix, in recognition of his leadership of Netflix’s game-changing and unwavering support of creating and showcasing nonfiction programming, which has greatly broadened its availability and popularity around the world. Amicus Award Tony Tabatznik and the Bertha Foundation Tony Tabatznik and the Bertha Foundation will receive the IDA’s Amicus Award in recognition of their work supporting the essential needs of the non-fiction media landscape. Founded in 2009, the Bertha Foundation’s vision was to connect activists, lawyers and storytellers to fight for fundamental social and economic change. The Bertha Foundation’s Media Program specifically aims to nurture global talent, expose relevant stories and connect them to audiences for powerful, positive social impact. Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe, directors of (T)ERROR, will receive IDA’s Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award, which recognizes the achievements of a filmmaker who has made a significant impact at the beginning of his or her career in documentary film. (T)ERROR received a grant from IDA’s Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund in 2013. Courage Under Fire Award Matthew Heineman Matthew Heineman will receive the IDA’s Courage Under Fire Award, in recognition of conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth. This award is presented to documentary filmmakers by their peers for putting freedom of speech – represented in the crafts of documentary filmmaking and journalism – above all else, even their own personal safety. Heineman’s gripping film, Cartel Land, documents two modern-day vigilante movements – Dr. José Mireles’s citizen-led uprising against a violent drug cartel wreaking havoc in Mexico and the Arizona Border Recon led by Tim “Nailer” Foley, which is working to prevent Mexico’s drug wars from crossing into the United States.

    Read more

  • AMY, Listen To Me Marlon, Among Nominees for 2015 IDA Documentary Awards, Tig Notaro to Host Ceremony

    TIG documentary film Grammy-nominated comedian Tig Notaro will host the 2015 IDA Documentary Awards ceremony. Tig Notaro is the subject of Tig, the Netflix Original documentary chronicling her life after it famously fell apart. The 2015 edition of the Awards will highlight six films in Best Feature Documentary category. These films include AMY, Asif Kapadia’s moving film about six-time Grammy-winner Amy Winehouse; The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, Stanley Nelson’s vibrant chronicle of the birth of the Black Panther Party; Listen To Me Marlon, Stevan Riley’s fascinating self-portrait of Marlon Brando culled from his vast archive of personal audio and visual materials; The Look of Silence, Joshua Oppenheimer’s powerful companion piece to the Oscar®-nominated The Act of Killing; The Russian Woodpecker, Chad Gracia’s riveting examination of eccentric Ukranian artist Fedor Alexandrovich’s obsession with a Soviet-constructed radio antenna near the Chernobyl site; and What Happened, Miss Simone?, Liz Garbus’s sensitive exploration of the legendary singer and activist Nina Simone. In addition to the awards, this year’s honorees include Matthew Heineman, recipient of the IDA’s Courage Under Fire Award in recognition of conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth. Heineman’s gripping film, Cartel Land, documents two modern-day vigilante movements – Dr. José Mireles’s citizen-led uprising against a violent drug cartel wreaking havoc in Mexico and the Arizona Border Recon led by Tim “Nailer” Foley, which is working to prevent Mexico’s drug wars from crossing into the United States. Previous recipients of the award include: Laura Poitras, Christiane Amanpour, Andrew Berends, Jonathan Stack and James Brabazon and Saira Shah. In addition to Heineman, the 2015 IDA Documentary Awards will honor Gordon Quinn with its Career Achievement Award. Tony Tabatznik and the Bertha Foundation (berthafoundation.org) will receive the IDA Amicus Award, and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos will receive IDA’s Pioneer Award. (T)ERROR directors Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe will share the Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award sponsored by the Archibald Family Foundation. The recipients of this year’s IDA Creative Recognition Awards include The Russian Woodpecker (cinematography by Artem Ryzhykov) will be recognized with the award for Best Cinematography; Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (edited by Joe Beshenkovsky and Brett Morgen) will receive the Best Editing award; Best of Enemies (original score by Jonathan Kirkscey) will be presented with the Best Music award, and Listen To Me Marlon (written by Stevan Riley, co-writer Peter Ettedgui) will receive the Best Writing award. The 31st Annual IDA Documentary Awards will take place on Saturday, December 5th at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles, CA 31st Annual IDA Awards Nominees Best Feature Award Amy Director: Asif Kapadia Producer: James Gay-Rees A24 The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution Director: Stanley Nelson Producer: Laurens Grant PBS DISTRIBUTION Listen to Me Marlon Director: Stevan Riley Producer: John Battsek SHOWTIME DOCUMENTARY FILMS The Look of Silence Director: Joshua Oppenheimer Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen DRAFTHOUSE FILMS AND PARTICIPANT MEDIA The Russian Woodpecker Director: Chad Gracia Producer: Ram Devineni and Mike Lerner FILMBUFF What Happened, Miss Simone? Director: Liz Garbus NETFLIX Best Short Award Body Team 12 Director: David Darg Producer: Bryn Mooser RYOT FILMS AND VULCAN PRODUCTIONS Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah Director: Adam Benzine HBO The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul Director: Kitty Green Producer: Philippa Campey KURZFILMAGENTUR HAMBURG (GERMANY) Last Day of Freedom Directors: Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman Object Director: Paulina Skibińska MUNK STUDIO AND POLISH FILMMAKERS ASSOCIATION Best Curated Series Award 30 for 30 Executive Producers John Dahl and Connor Schell ESPN America ReFramed Executive Producers: Chris Hastings and Simon Kilmurry WORLD CHANNEL Independent Lens Executive Producers: Sally Jo Fifer and Lois Vossen ITVS/PBS POV Executive Producers: Simon Kilmurry and Chris White POV, PBS Storyville Series Editor: Nick Fraser Executive Producer: Kate Townsend BBC TV, BBC WORLD NEWS Best Limited Series Award Blood Brothers Executive Producers: Kees Schaap and Anja van Oostrom VARA TELEVISION (THE NETHERLANDS) Hard Earned Executive Producers: Steve James, Justine Nagan, and Gordon Quinn Series Producer: Maggie Bowman AL JAZEERA AMERICA AND KARTEMQUIN FILMS The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst Executive Producer: Jason Blum Co-Executive Producer: Zac Stuart-Pontier Produced by: Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling HBO Life Story Executive Producer: Mike Gunton DISCOVERY Rebel Architecture Executive Producer: Fiona Lawson-Baker AL JAZEERA ENGLISH Best Episodic Series Award Chef’s Table Executive Producers: David Gelb, Andrew Fried, and Brian McGinn NETFLIX Morgan Spurlock Inside Man Executive Producers: Jeremy Chilnick, Matthew Galkin, and Morgan Spurlock CNN AND WARRIOR POETS NOVA Senior Executive Producer: Paula Apsell Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Cort PBS The Seventies Executive Producers: Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Mark Herzog CNN, PLAYTONE, AND HERZOG & COMPANY This is Life with Lisa Ling Executive Producers: Amy Bucher, Lisa Ling, and David Shadrack Smith CNN AND PART2 PICTURES Best Short Form Series Award Do Not Track Executive Producer: Hugues Sweeney NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA, UPIAN, ARTE, AND BR Highrise: Universe Within Executive Producers: Anita Lee and Silva Basmajian NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA The New York Times Op-Docs Executive Producer: Jason Spingarn-Koff THE NEW YORK TIMES POV Interactive Documentaries Executive Producer: Simon Kilmurry and Adnaan Wasey POV AND PBS WE THE ECONOMY: 20 Short Films You Can’t Afford to Miss Executive Producer: Paul G. Allen and Morgan Spurlock VULCAN PRODUCTIONS AND CINELAN David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award This award recognizes exceptional achievement in non-fiction film and video production at the university level and brings greater public and industry awareness to the work of students in the documentary field. The Archipelago Director: Benjamin Huguet THE NATIONAL FILM AND TELEVISION SCHOOL The Blue Wall Director: Michael Milano UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY El Cacao Director: Michelle Aguilar University of California Santa Cruz In Attla’s Tracks Director: Catharine Axley STANFORD UNIVERSITY Looking at the Stars Director: Alexandre Peralta UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Pare Lorentz Award The Pare Lorentz Award recognizes films that demonstrate exemplary filmmaking while focusing on the appropriate use of the natural environment, justice for all and the illumination of pressing social problems. How to Change the World Director: Jerry Rothwell ABC News VideoSource Award This award is given each year for the best use of news footage as an integral component in a documentary. (T)ERROR Directors: Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe INDEPENDENT LENS ALONG WITH BBC Best of Enemies Directors: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville MAGNOLIA PICTURES AND INDEPENDENT LENS Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll Director: John Pirozzi ARGOT PICTURES Night Will Fall Director: André Singer HBO What Happened, Miss Simone? Director: Liz Garbus NETFLIX Creative Recognition Award Winners The Creative Recognition category recognizes special achievement in cinematography, editing, music and writing in films entered in the Feature Category. Best Cinematography The Russian Woodpecker Cinematography by: Artem Ryzhykov Best Editing Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck Edited by: Joe Beshenkovsky and Brett Morgen Best Writing Listen to Me Marlon Written by: Stevan Riley Co-Writer: Peter Ettedgui Best Music Best of Enemies Original Score by: Jonathan Kirkscey

    Read more

  • 10 Documentary Shorts on 2015 Oscar’s Shortlist | TRAILERS

    Body Team 12 Directed by David Darg The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject contenders for the 88th Academy Awards® has been narrowed to 10 films, of which five will earn Oscar® nominations. Voters from the Academy’s Documentary Branch viewed this year’s 74 eligible entries and submitted their ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers for tabulation. The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies: “Body Team 12,” RYOT Films and Vulcan Productions (pictured above) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2eT2P1TfB8 “Chau, beyond the Lines,” Cynasty Films “Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah,” Jet Black Iris America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJPWP3udqE8 “50 Feet from Syria,” Spin Film https://vimeo.com/141567000 “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness,” SOC Films “Last Day of Freedom,” Living Condition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5diBuNHV75U “Minerita,” Kanaki Films https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY5mbbmN0V4 “My Enemy, My Brother,” Fathom Film Group https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42YFUwCnWzE “Starting Point,” Munk Studio – Polish Filmmakers Association https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAUTn6q2TVo “The Testimony,” Atria Film in association with Escape Artists THE TESTIMONY 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.

    Read more

  • 2015 Tallgrass Film Festival Awards, TAKE ME TO THE RIVER, ARMOR OF LIGHT Win Best Film Honors

    TAKE ME TO THE RIVER, Matt Sobel The 2015 Tallgrass Film Festival announced their filmmaker awards during a rousing ceremony preceding their Closing Night Gala screening of Ian and Eshom Nelms’ WAFFLE STREET on Sunday, October 18 at the Orpheum Theater in Wichita, Kansas. Matt Sobel’s TAKE ME TO THE RIVER, (pictured above) was named “Best Narrative Feature,” and Abigail Disney & Kathleen Hughes’ ARMOR OF LIGHT, chosen as “Best Documentary Feature.” DOUBLE DIGITS: THE STORY OF A NEIGHBORHOOD MOVIE STAR Justin Johnson’s DOUBLE DIGITS: THE STORY OF A NEIGHBORHOOD MOVIE STAR (pictured above) got the nod for both “Best First Feature,” as well as the Golden Strands Vanguard Award for “Dedication to the Craft of Filmmaking” for the film’s subject, R.G. Miller. The Vimeo Audience Awards were led by Emily Ting, who added to her big night by receiving the $1000 Narrative prize for ALREADY TOMORROW IN HONG KONG. Producer Dennie Aig was on hand to accept the $1000 Documentary prize for Philllip Barbeau’s UNBRANDED. Benjamin Wolff’s BIS GLIECH took home the Audience Award and $500 prize for the short film category. The awards for Emily Ting provided a happy exclamation point to the filmmaker’s return to Tallgrass following her films MAN FROM RENO (2014), THE KITCHEN (2012), and BIG BAD SWIM (2005) (all of which she served as either a producer, associate producer or executive producer). 2015 Tallgrass Film Festival Filmmaker Awards Vimeo Audience Awards Audience Award Winning Narrative Film: ($1,000) IT’S ALREADY TOMORROW IN HONG KONG, Directed by Emily Ting Vimeo Audience Award Winning Documentary Film: ($1,000) UNBRANDED, Directed by Phillip Barbeau Vimeo Audience Award winning Short Film: ($500) BIS GLIECH (Germany), directed Benjamin Wolff Golden Strands Programming Awards Best Emerging Student Award: THE GIRL, WHO’S SHADOW REFLECTS THE MOON, Directed by Walaa Al Alawi (Syria) Best Kansas Short Film Award: EPIC OF HERSHEY, Douglas McGinness, New York/Wichita, KS Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Female Filmmaker: Emily Ting, IT’S ALREADY TOMORROW IN HONG KONG (Award is the Venus Award which is designed by Glass Artist Claire Anderson and is a representation of a Paleolithic Era Venus de Lespugue) Golden Strands Award for Courage in Filmmaking: PERVERT PARK, Directed by Frida & Lasse Barkfors of Sweden Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Cinematography: OMO CHILD: THE RIVER AND THE BUSH, Sebastian Humphreys Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Ensemble Cast: TANGERINE Golden Strands Vanguard Award for Dedication to the Craft Of Filmmaking: R.G. Miller, DOUBLE DIGITS (Award designed by Fisch Haus) Golden Strands Award, Best First Feature: DOUBLE DIGITS: THE STORY OF A NEIGHBORHOOD MOVIE STAR, Directed by Justin Johnson Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Documentary Short Film: LAST DAY OF FREEDOM, Directors Dee Hibbert-Jones/Nomi Talisman Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Narrative Short Film: GUEST ROOM, Directed by Joshua Tate Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Documentary Feature: ARMOR OF LIGHT, Abigail Disney & Kathleen Hughes Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Narrative Feature: TAKE ME TO THE RIVER, Directed by Matt Sobel

    Read more

  • 2015 Hamptons International Film Festival Awards, RAMS, and MISSING PEOPLE Win Top Awards

    RAMS, Director: Grímur Hákonarson The 2015 Hamptons International Film Festival announced their award winners, and RAMS, directed by Grimur Hákonarson won The HIFF Award for Best Narrative Feature. RAMS is Iceland’s official selection for the Academy Awards. MISSING PEOPLE, directed by David Shapiro, received the HIFF Award for Best Documentary Feature. OVER, directed by Jörn Threlfall, and LAST DAY OF FREEDOM, directed by Dee Hibbert-Jones, Nomi Talisman, received the HIFF Awards for Best Narrative Short Film and for Best Documentary Short Film, respectively. EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT, directed by Ciro Guerra, received the Honorable Mention for Narrative Feature and PATRIOT, directed by Eva Riley, received Honorable Mention for Narrative Short Film. CHUCK NORRIS VS. COMMUNISM, directed by Ilinca Calugareanu, received the Honorable Mention for Documentary Feature. HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2015 WINNERS: HIFF Award Winner for Best Narrative Feature sponsored by The Wall Street Journal Rams, directed by Grimur Hákonarson Honorable Mention for Narrative Feature Embrace of the Serpent, directed by Ciro Guerra HIFF Award Winner for Best Documentary Feature sponsored by ID Films Missing People, directed by David Shapiro Honorable Mention for Documentary Feature Chuck Norris Vs. Communism, directed by Ilinca Calugareanu HIFF Award Winner for Best Narrative Short Film sponsored by The Wall Street Journal Over, directed by Jörn Threlfall Honorable Mention for Narrative Short Film Patriot, directed by Eva Riley HIFF Award Winner for Best Documentary Short Film sponsored by ID Films Last Day of Freedom, directed by Dee Hibbert-Jones, Nomi Talisman Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice The Uncondemned, directed by Michele Mitchell, Nick Louvel Tangerine Entertainment Juice Fund Award Suffragette, directed by Sarah Gavron Suffolk County Film Commission Next Exposure Grant When I Live My Life Over Again, directed by Robert Edwards The 2015 Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for a Film of Conflict and Resolution The Uncondemned, directed by Michele Mitchell, Nick Louvel The Zelda Penzel “Giving Voice to the Voiceless” Award: Dedicated to Those Who Suffer in Silence The Champions, directed by Darcy Dennett 2015 VARIETY 10 ACTORS T0 WATCH Christopher Abbott, James White Emory Cohen, Brooklyn Thomas Mann, The Preppie Connection Bel Powley, A Royal Night Out Rebecca Ferguson, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation Jason Mitchell, Straight Outta Compton Maika Monroe, It Follows Keith Stanfield, Straight Outta Compton Tessa Thompson, Selma Jessie T. Usher, Independence Day: Resurgence

    Read more

  • “CURIOUS WORLDS” “CROCODILE GENNADLY ” Win 2015 SF Documentary Festival

    CROCODILE GENNADLY directed by Steve Hoover CURIOUS WORLDS: The Art and Imagination of David Deck directed by Olympia Stone is the winner of the Audience Award for Best Feature at 2015 SF Documentary Festival (SF DocFest). CROCODILE GENNADLY (pictured above) directed by Steve Hoover is the winner of Jury Prize for Best Feature. In ‘CURIOUS WORLDS: The Art and Imagination of David Deck’ the curtain is pulled back on one of America’s (and San Francisco’s) most accomplished and original — yet least-known working artists — David Beck. A master sculptor, carver, painter and miniature architect, Beck works in a fantastical genre all his own, creating intricate worlds, alive with playful and incisive observations of the world we know. With wit and charm Curious Worlds captures the artist at work in his studio, reflecting on his process in an intimate portrait illuminating what it takes to create a masterwork. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1a8AOWPxwU In ‘CROCODILE GENNADLY’ Ex-Soviet soldier turned self-proclaimed savior and pastor, “Crocodile Gennadiy,” doesn’t feel he needs permission to do good deeds. So he has taken up the fight against child homelessness in Ukraine by kidnapping drug addicted street kids and bringing them to his DIY rehab center for forced treatment. His ongoing efforts and unabashedly tough love approach to his country’s problems has made him a folk hero for some, and a lawless vigilante to others. It’s a beautifully cinematic film that is a testament to the good in all of us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fTBwDUAgnU Other winners include LAST DAY OF FREEDOM for Audience Award for Best Short, and THE MAN BEHIND 55000 DRESSES winning Jury Prize for Best Short.

    Read more

  • KINGS OF NOWHERE and (T)ERROR Win Top Prize at 2015 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

    Kings of Nowhere directed by Betzabé Garcia The 2015 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Award winners were announced on Sunday afternoon at the festival’s annual Awards Barbecue. The top prize, Reva and David Logan Grand Jury Award was won by Kings of Nowhere (pictured above), directed by Betzabé Garcia, and (T)ERROR, directed by Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe. One of the nation’s premier documentary film festivals, Full Frame is celebrating its 18th annual festival. Full Frame is a qualifying event for consideration for nominations for both the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject and The Producers Guild of America Awards. The 19th annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will take place April 7–10, 2016. 2015 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Award Winners

    The Reva and David Logan Grand Jury Award Sponsored by the Reva and David Logan Foundation

    The Reva and David Logan Grand Jury Award was presented to Kings of Nowhere, directed by Betzabé Garcia, and (T)ERROR, directed by Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe. Thanks to the generosity of the Reva and David Logan Foundation, each film will receive the full award amount of $10,000. In the poetically and patiently photographed Kings of Nowhere, a handful of residents stay their ground after a flood leaves their Mexican village semi-submerged. In (T)ERROR, FBI informant “Shariff” grants filmmakers unprecedented access as he engages in a counterterrorism sting against a white Muslim man, illuminating the controversial methods employed in the government’s war on terror. The Jury, Marilyn Ness, Sam Pollard, and Bernardo Ruiz, stated, “We are very pleased to honor two important films deserving of greater attention on an international stage, both of which speak to the heart of documentary storytelling in unique and compelling ways. With remarkably assured direction, especially from a first-time filmmaker, Kings of Nowhere delivers artful and thoughtfully paced storytelling. ThoughKings of Nowhere on its face appears to be a local story, in fact it speaks to universal themes confronting humanity worldwide: people abandoned by their governments, facing unimaginable violence, and enduring neglect. Kings of Nowhere represents its characters with dignity and depth and it does so at the highest levels of our craft. But we also wanted to acknowledge the different ways in which films can take risks. With exceptional access, the two filmmakers of (T)ERROR took great personal risks to highlight an urgent issue in the United States while navigating complex journalistic and ethical terrain.”

    The Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short Provided by Drs. Andrew and Barbra Rothschild

    The Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short was given to Last Day of Freedom, directed by Nomi Talisman and Dee Hibbert-Jones. Beautiful animation accompanies poignant testimony in this haunting short about a man who discovers his brother has committed a serious crime. The Jury, J. Christian Jensen, Yael Melamede, and Nicole Triche, stated, “This film demonstrates and reminds us of the simple power and intimacy of the human voice. It interweaves different visual styles of animation and engages the audience fully in an increasingly fraught tale that ultimately presents the supreme cost of doing the right thing.”

    Full Frame Audience Award – Feature Sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina

    How to Dance in Ohio, directed by Alexandra Shiva, received the Full Frame Audience Award Feature. Three young women on the autism spectrum attempt to navigate social rules and the impending challenges of adulthood as they prepare for their first formal dance.
     Full Frame Audience Award – Short
    The Full Frame Audience Award Short was given to Giovanni and the Water Ballet, directed by Astrid Bussink. In this film, Giovanni dreams of becoming the first boy to compete in the Dutch synchronized swimming championship. With the support of his girlfriend, Kim, can he pass one final exam?

    The Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award Provided by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University

    The Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award was presented to Last Day of Freedom, directed by Nomi Talisman and Dee Hibbert-Jones. Beautiful animation accompanies poignant testimony in this haunting short about a man who discovers his brother has committed a serious crime. This award honors a documentary artist whose work is a potential catalyst for education and change. Representatives from the Center for Documentary Studies juried the prize: Randy Benson, Morgan Capps, Wesley Hogan, Katie Hyde, Lynn McKnight, Dan Partridge, Teka Selman, Brooke Darrah Shuman, and April Walton.

    The Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award Provided by the Charles E. Guggenheim Family

    Tocando la Luz (Touch the Light), directed by Jennifer Redfearn, received the Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award. In this quietly arresting film, three blind women in Havana, Cuba, share their heartbreaks and hopes, and navigate their profound desire for independence. Provided by the Charles E. Guggenheim family, this prize honors a first-time documentary feature director. Matthew Hamachek, Bari Pearlman, and Maxim Pozdorovkin participated on the Jury.

    Full Frame Inspiration Award Sponsored by the Hartley Film Foundation

    The Full Frame Inspiration Award was awarded to The Storm Makers, directed by Guillaume Suon. This film is a heartbreaking exposé of Cambodia’s human trafficking system, revealed through the stories of two guiltless “recruiters” and a young woman who was sold into slavery and escaped. This award is presented to the film that best exemplifies the value and relevance of world religions and spirituality. Ross Kauffman, Sarah Masters, and Ryan White participated on the Jury.

    Full Frame President’s Award Sponsored by Duke University

    The Farewell, directed by Alejandro Alonso, was given the Full Frame President’s Award. Long retired from the local mine, Pablo Fabelo spends his days smoking cigars, playing cards, and quietly reminiscing in this languid, lushly photographed short. Representatives on behalf of the President’s Office of Duke University juried the prize.

    The Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights Sponsored by the Julian Price Family Foundation in memory of Melanie Taylor

    The Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights was awarded to Peace Officer, directed by Brad Barber and Scott Christopherson. After a former sheriff sees his son-in-law killed in a controversial police standoff, he dives into an obsessive investigation of the militarization of American law enforcement. 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 Sponsored by the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University

    Good Things Await, directed by Phie Ambo, received the Nicholas School Environmental Award. In this film, an aging farmer runs a biodynamic farm in the Danish countryside, prioritizing spiritual methods over contemporary standards. Will new regulations threaten his way of life? Overburden, directed by Chad A. Stevens, received an Honorable Mention from the Nicholas School Environmental Award Jury. In this film, an environmentalist and a former pro-coal activist in the heart of Appalachia join forces to protect their home from the industry that’s divided their community for decades. 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. Daniel Junge, Sam Cullman, and Farihah Zaman participated on the Jury.

    Read more