Shooting People run a really fun series of networking events with DCTV called Hook Me Up. It’s like speed-dating but you get to talk about your skills and your projects rather than about why blue is your favorite color and why you’re a cat person and not a dog person (look I don’t know what people talk about when they go speed-dating ok!) The next one is happening on Tuesday, June 10th at 7.30pm and this time we’re going to have a room packed with both narrative and documentary filmmakers.

The application deadline is Sunday, June 1st so get your applications in asap if you want to find new, creative people to work with.

I love bikes. And I love films. So I am really chuffed that Shooting People is presenting the FUN BIKE SHORTS program at the Bicycle Film Festival on May 30th. Get tickets and come out to play!

Sandi DuBowski, the producer of A Jihad for Love and Director of Trembling Before G-d, is one of those people who knows a lot of people. And he knows a lot of people because he is awesome - generous and inspiring - so I am jumping in and spreading the word about the film. I haven’t seen it yet but I have been following its progress for a long time and will definitely be going to support the opening weekend. Directed by Parvez Sharma, and filmed over 5 years in 12 countries and 9 languages, A Jihad for Love investigates the stories of gay and lesbian Muslims all over the world.

A strong outreach element includes the following events at the IFC Center:

Fri, May 23rd, 7 pm - Dialogue with Progresive Muslims Meet Up Group
Satur, May 24th - Human Rights Day
Tues, May 27th, 7 pm - Interfaith dialogue
Wednes, May 28th, 7 pm - Forum on HIV/AIDS and Islam
Thurs, May 29th, 7 pm - Forum on South Asian/Diaspora/Gender/Immigration issues

Here’s the trailer:

It’s a poor excuse but I downloaded these photos onto my laptop and then never seemed to have it with me when I wanted to post them to the blog. So here, finally, are a few pics from HotDocs and Tribeca in April.

Hanging out at HotDocs: AJ Schnack, Charlie Phillips, Bjarte Morner Tveit, Maxyne Franklin, and Tine Fischer and Daniella Eversby from CPH: Dox

Me and my old friend and colleague Daniella - showing off our big sunglasses

Max and AJ

AJ shows off his yoga skillz

The wonderful Ricky Leacock receiving his Outstanding Achievement Award

And then straight to Tribeca. . .

Shooting People founding patron Mike Figgis giving a very funny, gloves-off talk: ” I think we’ve lost the plot. We’ve lost perspective. We’ve lost the ability to assess what we’re producing.”

More4’s Sandra Whipham with Still In Motion’s Pamela Cohn at the reception celebrating the Tribeca Film Institute 2008 Media Arts Fellows

Al Maysles and filmmaker Peter Sasowsky at the reception

James Lees is the Director of The Apology Line, a beautifully shot and deeply personal short film based on people confessing their secrets anonymously over the phone. The film has played at a number of festivals including Clermont-Ferrand, Sundance, SXSW and HotDocs. I interviewed him a while back and the interview is now up on Shooter Films.

I was really pleased when James won the Best Short Documentary Award at HotDocs and I happened to be sitting next to AJ Schnack who accepted the award on James’ behalf (I wasn’t aware that they knew each other so was a bit taken aback when AJ got up to accept the award!). Here’s a pic of AJ holding the award with We Are Together Director Paul Taylor in the foreground and Sheffield DocFest’s Charlie Phillips hiding behind the award.

Silverdocs have announced their competition line-up. And here it is:

US FEATURE COMPETITION

BULLETPROOF SALESMAN / USA, 2008, 70 minutes (Director: Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein)—For civilians, diplomats, and soldiers, roadside bombs in war-torn areas are a constant scourge. For Fidelis Cloer, they are a check in the mail. Cloer sells armored vehicles to the highest bidder, and his business acumen provides a disturbingly simple and unsentimental context in which to understand international conflict.

CHEVOLUTION / USA, 2008, 90 minutes (Director: Luis Lopez and Trisha Ziff)—Songs and films pay tribute to Ernesto “Che” Guevara, but he lives on most famously through Alberto Korda’s photograph of his somber yet fiercely proud face. This vibrant study of the image that has outlived the man traces the construction of a mythology launched by a revolution, adopted by worldwide rebellion, and exploited by capitalism.

FOUR SEASONS LODGE / USA, 2008, 109 minutes (Director: Andrew Jacobs)—For decades, a group of Holocaust survivors has met every summer at a bucolic Catskills bungalow colony, despite their ever-dwindling ranks. In what may be their final season together, the lodgers cook, flirt, argue, dance and share stories of loss and survival, while the fate of their community remains uncertain. World Premiere.

THE GARDEN / USA, 2008, 95 minutes (Director: Scott Hamilton Kennedy)—Rising up from the ashes of 1992’s devastating L.A. riots is a 14-acre oasis in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. The South Central Farmers created the garden to provide fresh produce for low-income people. Now, as bulldozers are poised to level it, the farmers won’t give up without a fight. World Premiere.

HARD TIMES AT DOUGLASS HIGH / USA, 2007, 112 minutes (Director: Alan and Susan Raymond)—A year inside Baltimore’s Frederick Douglass High School shows the parts of a broken public education system: dedicated administrators, harried—but present—teachers, and students trying to get by. But isn’t the shaky foundation of the social system outside the school’s walls—marked by poverty, broken homes and lack of opportunity—a set-up for failure? World Premiere.

HERB & DOROTHY / USA, 2008, 85 minutes (Director: Megumi Sasaki)—He’s a postal clerk. She’s a librarian. Despite their modest means, they are the most important contemporary art collectors you’ve never heard of. Meet Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, whose shared passion and discipline defied stereotypes and redefined what it means to be a patron of the arts. World Premiere.

IN THE FAMILY / USA, 2008, 83 minutes (Director: Joanna Rudnick)—Would you surrender your ability to give life if you knew it might save your own? A genetic test has told 27-year-old Joanna Rudnick that she will most likely develop breast and ovarian cancer. Now she must decide if she will take the pre-emptive step of having her breasts and ovaries removed. US Premiere.

KASSIM THE DREAM / USA, 2008, 87 minutes (Director: Kief Davidson)—Kassim Ouma was born in Uganda, kidnapped by the rebel army and trained to be a child soldier at age 6. After a decade of warfare, he defected and began a new life in the U.S., quickly becoming a world champion boxer. Kief Davidson captures Ouma’s passions, tragedies, victories, and emotional and geographic journeys.

PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL / USA, 2008, 72 minutes (Director: Gini Reticker)— An inspiring chronicle of the thousands of Liberian women who peacefully ended the war in their country that killed over 250,000 people. Non-violent protests, sit-ins, and organizational acumen resulted in disarmament and the 2005 election of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

TROUBLE THE WATER / USA, 2008, 95 minutes (Director: Tia Lessin and Carl Deal)—Kimberly Roberts bought a camcorder off the street for $20 just a week before Hurricane Katrina hit her hometown of New Orleans. Veteran filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal weave together Roberts’ footage with their own into an evocative dialogue that reveals a powerful, heart-wrenching, infuriating and ultimately inspiring survival story.

US Feature Jury: Sandi Dubowski, Filmmaker and writer (TREMBLING BEFORE G-D); Ramona Diaz, Filmmaker (IMELDA, SPIRITS RISING); Mila Aungh Thwin, Filmmaker and Producer (CHAIRMAN GEORGE)

WORLD FEATURE COMPETITION

COMEBACK / Germany, 2007, 79 minutes (Director: Maximilian Plettau)—German boxer Jürgen Hartenstein is a 35-year-old former middleweight champion hoping to re-enter the sport in this quiet and lovingly crafted film. Max Plettau’s camera unobtrusively follows Hartenstein as he struggles to revive his career. Hartenstein’s gentle demeanor and unassuming lifestyle elevate his ambition to a noble quest that we are privileged to witness. North American Premiere.

CORRIDOR #8 / Bulgaria, 2008, 74 minutes (Director: Boris Despodov)—The saying “you can’t get there from here” never rang more true than in this fabulously droll road trip across Bulgaria, Albania and Macedonia on Corridor #8—the Balkan antithesis of Route 66. This massive infrastructure project, commissioned by the EU, was designed to connect the Black and Adriatic seas and lift the economic hopes of the working-class residents along its route. But a decade and millions of euros later, little progress has been made.

THE ENGLISH SURGEON / United Kingdom/Ukraine, 2007, 94 minutes (Director: Geoffrey Smith)—British neurosurgeon Henry Marsh resides in an idyllic English village, but he spends several weeks a year in Ukraine performing surgeries with the crudest of tools in a country where neurosurgery barely exists. His skills have saved innumerable lives, yet Dr. Marsh refuses to slow down until he’s saved every possible life. East Coast Premiere.

FOUR WIVES – ONE MAN / Iran, 2007, 76 minutes (Director: Nahid Persson)—A poignant, occasionally hilarious, often harrowing glimpse into an institution oft undertaken but rarely understood—marriage. As the title suggests, this is no conventional marriage, with four wives, dozens of children, and one domineering mother-in-law, all competing for the attention of one man. North American Premiere.

HEAD WIND / Iran, 2008, 65 minutes (Director: Mohammad Rasoulof)—If satellite dishes are illegal in Iran, then why are so many Iranians watching Hollywood blockbusters? This fascinating film reveals a fast-growing subculture determined to gain access to Western media by any means necessary. Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Rasoulof illuminates the growing disparity between what Iranians want and what their Islamic leaders will allow.

THE INFINITE BORDER / Mexico, 2007, 90 minutes (Director: Juan Manuel Sepúlveda)—Some migrants exude a determination that points less to the promise of a bright future and more to an escape from a troubled past. In this visually stunning yet unromantic account of their journey, migrants face starvation and dismemberment on the road from Central America to Mexico and finally to the United States. US Premiere.

MECHANICAL LOVE / Denmark, 2007, 79 minutes (Director: Phie Ambo)—How far we are prepared to go when human intimacy becomes a rare commodity? Robots promise to make our lives easier, but for some people they can be a stand-in for human affection. This fascinating film explores the intimate and complex relationships between people and therapeutic robots.
US Premiere.

MILOSEVIC ON TRIAL / Denmark, 2007, 69 minutes (Director: Michael Christofferson)—When former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic was on trial for crimes against humanity, he acted as his own counsel. Perhaps his most masterful move in the trial was dieing of a heart attack before its conclusion. Michael Christoffersen captures the trial and its defendant, from its historic beginnings to its bizarre end.

MY LIFE INSIDE / Mexico, 2007, 120 minutes (Director: Lucia Gaja)—The tragic story of Rosa, a Mexican citizen living illegally in Texas, addresses the contentious issue of illegal immigration and the pitfalls of the judicial system. Accused of murdering a child under her care, Rosa must battle a system that is as foreign to her as she is to it.

THE RED RACE / China/Germany, 2008, 70 minutes (Director: Chao Gan)—Against the backdrop of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and escalating international condemnation over Chinese policies from Tibet to Darfur, THE RED RACE presents a microscopic insight into the Chinese passion for gymnastics. In training centers, there’s no time for childish games as these aspiring Olympians carry their parents’ and their country’s dreams on their tiny shoulders.
World Premiere.

World Feature Jury: Steve James, Filmmaker (HOOP DREAMS, STEVIE); Almadena Carrecedo, Filmmaker (MADE IN LA, WELCOME, A DOCU-JOURNEY OF IMPRESSIONS); Igor Blazevic, Director, One World, International Human Rights Documentary Festival and co-director of ten documentaries for Czech Television.

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY AWARD

HI MY NAME IS RYAN / USA, 2008, 78 minutes (Director: Paul Eagleston and Stephen Rose)—Cherubic 19-year-old alt-culture renaissance man Ryan Avery is the best thing that happened to the downtown Phoenix art scene since native son Alice Cooper. Though Avery seems destined for an artist’s life, he’s grappling with a different calling. A devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he has chosen to forgo his madcap antics for a religious mission. Yet, with what some might call a god-given gift, Avery must learn to reconcile his two competing callings. North American Premiere.

LA PALOMA / Germany/France, 2008, 88 minutes (Director: Sigrid Faltin)—Long before corporate distribution and file-sharing fused music with globalization, songs traversed the globe. LA PALOMA follows Sebastián de Iradier’s 1861 song, La Paloma, from the Basque country to Latin America, Hawaii, back to Europe, and finally to Africa. In each country, the tune remained while the meaning changed dramatically.

LIFE. SUPPORT. MUSIC. / USA, 2008, 79 minutes (Director: Eric Daniel Metzgar)—At 34, Jason Kriglin has found his calling––making music––and the love of his life––his wife. Suddenly, a massive stroke leaves him in a vegetative state. This is a story of his tenacity, the determined power of familial love, and how music inspires and gives voice to that which words cannot.

SONG SUNG BLUE / USA, 2008, 87 minutes (Director: Greg Kohs)—Decked out in sequined outfits, Mike & Claire Sardina, AKA “Lightning & Thunder,” play to hooting crowds at Milwaukee bars and clubs. But when a freak accident leaves Claire immobile, their Vegas dreams are replaced by a reality of rehabilitation, unpaid bills, drug addiction and lost hopes. Will Lightning only strike once?

THROW DOWN YOUR HEART / USA, 2008, 97 minutes (Director: Sascha Paladino)—American banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck travels to Africa to explore the little-known roots of the instrument and record an album. Fleck’s riveting journey takes him through Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Mali, where he transcends the barriers of language and culture through a shared passion for music.

WILD COMBINATION / USA, 2008, 71 minutes (Director: Matt Wolf)—This visually absorbing film looks at the seminal avant-garde composer, singer-songwriter, cellist and disco producer Arthur Russell. Before his AIDS-related death, Russell created music that spanned pop and the transcendent possibilities of abstract art—a legacy that richly deserves this hip and hypnotic visual tone poem.

Music Documentary Jury: To Be Announced.

STERLING SHORT COMPETITION

The Festival also presents a Sterling Award for Best Short, in recognition of this increasingly acclaimed art form. The Short Film program will be released in the subsequent program announcement. Shorts programmed in SILVERDOCS have gone on to be nominated for an Academy Award each year of the Festival. THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT, directed by Ruby Yang, which had its world premiere at SILVERDOCS 2006, received the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short and 2007’s FREEHELD won the Oscar.

Short Film Jury: Ryan Harrington, Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund; Sarah Price, Filmmaker (SUMMERCAMP, THE YES MEN); A.J. Schnack, Filmmaker and Writer (KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON)

I was walking down the Bowery on Saturday minding my own business when I bumped into a guy with a TV on his head. As you do!

I just linked to this on Twitter but it’s so gobsmackingly creative that I have to post it here too.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

When my job and my life start to feel a bit random and pointless (like when you start saying a word over and over again and it starts to sound bizarre and meaningless) I always wish that I was a war photographer. I think I really want to be a doctor but my camera skills are definitely better than my surgical skills so war photographer it is. I don’t mean to sound facetious. I really do want to be on the front lines sometimes. I think that the life or death immediacy of the job would feel refreshingly solid after a lifetime of always wondering whether I’m doing the right thing or doing enough. I gobble up books like The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a Hidden War and documentaries like War Photographer and Bearing Witness which really make you realize the emotional toll that this sort of work takes but don’t stop me yearning to somehow do more although I’m sure that my intentions are often fairly dubious (ego-trip, martyr-complex etc. etc.)

Watching Triage: Dr. James Orbinski’s Humanitarian Dilemma at HotDocs brought back many of these feelings. Dr Orbinski is such a focused, passionate and inspiring person and I found the film incredibly powerful. It follows Orbinski, who received the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières, as he travels back to Somalia and Rwanda where he worked with Médecins Sans Frontières at the height of the famine and the genocide respectively. The editing of some of the scenes when he reminisces about his experiences works really well, overlapping his heavy silences with words in a way that serves to heighten the moment rather than getting in the way of it. Here’s the trailer for the doc:

Dr Orbinski is now involved with an organization called Dignitas International, doing AIDS/HIV prevention work in Malawi. Which brings me to the Madonna-produced I Am Because We Are, a doc about the AIDS epidemic in Malawi that I saw at Tribeca. Unlike the angry restraint of Triage, I Am Because We Are is all in your face and, although I’m sure the filmmakers’ motives are well-intentioned, there is something really patronizing and frustrating about this film. The second half could have been called Chicken Soup for the Malawi Soul and annoyed me most of all. Surely the focus should be on building a solid public infrastructure and providing real access to good healthcare, not on hollow, Hollywood self-help affirmations.

For a better understanding of the problem of AIDS in Africa and the people throughout the continent who are living with HIV/AIDS and fighting to make things better, read Stephanie Nolen’s 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa. It’s an incredible book, putting a very human face on a problem that often feels too big or too distant to think about.

I may not be a doctor or a war photographer but I believe in the power of stories and there’s nothing random or pointless about that.

It has been so frustrating not having time to blog about all the films and other events I attended at HotDocs and then Tribeca. Work has foiled me every time. It has just been a nutty couple of weeks - full of good things but no time to sit and think and write. Yesterday I got home and was so tired that I watched the end of Music and Lyrics and then the end of Just My Luck before crashing out at 9.30pm. Not one of my better TV-watching moments!

I attended a really interesting panel last week at Tribeca called Reuse Remix Renew - covering copyright and digital culture in advance of the release of the Tribeca Institute’s Sample This! licensing toolkit for filmmakers which should be available later this Summer. The panel included DJ Spooky - aka Paul D. Miller, That Subliminal Kid, who has recently released a book he has edited called Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture. He said that his 1996 album Songs of a Dead Dreamer would probably not be released today because litigation against sampling has become so much more robust. Spooky thinks of this work as an “invisible sculpture made of fragments of history” and the battles over copyright come down to “who owns memory?” for him. He talked about how the old model of copyright is based on scarcity but now culture is “ubiquitous, downloadable, everywhere, all the time” and smart folk, like Google, are tapping into this new model and making millions. He went on to talk about the bootleg economy that is dominant in many countries in the world and to note that the way that the law is currently written and the way that we actually live are parting ways. We are moving toward a gift economy and people are having to work out how to monetize this in new ways. Digital literacy will be a big deal as we move forward in this new world.

Eric Steuer, creative director of Creative Commons, is one of the people working to increase digital literacy and explore new ways of allowing legal reuse, remixing and sharing of creative work. “People are going to engage with things they love,” he said “so you have to create business models that accept this and work around it. People are not going to stop downloading but they respect the flexibility of Creative Commons.”

Jennifer Urban and Himanshu Singh from the USC Intellectual and Technology Law Clinic are working with the Tribeca Film Insitute to develop the Sample This! toolkit. Clinics like theirs help filmmakers with issues over fair use and the toolkit came out of this work.

Himanshu Singh, Eric Steur, Paul D. Miller, Jennifer Urban and moderator Georg Szalai from The Hollywood Reporter.

While I was thinking about fair use, sampling and copyright I re-discovered this awesome performance by Jamie Lidell so I’m embedding it here for some extra sample-tastic pleasure.