Not exactly hot off the press this, but I went to see Jonathan Demme’s The Agronomist at Stranger Than Fiction last Tuesday and the Q&A was fantastic. Jean Dominique’s widow, Michèle Montas, got a highly deserved standing ovation. Danny Glover walked in and joined the group on stage and Montas proceeded to have everyone in tears talking about how the team at Radio Haiti-Inter convinced her to keep the station running for three years after Dominique’s death (until an assassination attempt, which resulted in the death of her bodyguard, forced her to leave Haiti in 2003). The bravery and determination of Dominque and Montas in their fight for democracy and freedom of the press in Haiti comes across so powerfully in the film and it was a real privilege to hear Montas speak.

Meira Blaustein (representing screening co-presenter: Woodstock Film Festival), Executive Producer Daniel Wolff, Producer Peter Saraf, Director Jonathan Demme, the incredible Michèle Montas, and Danny Glover.

Albert Maysles’ Psychiatry in Russia and the little seen Showman are screening at the last of this season’s Stranger Than Fiction tomorrow night. Al will be there for the Q&A – should be a treat.

Stranger Than Fiction’s Fall Season launched last week at the IFC Center with Nina Davenport’s Operation Filmmaker. The story starts simply enough: shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, MTV aired a documentary about Muthana Mohmed, a young Baghdad film student. Liev Schreiber saw the MTV piece while preparing to direct his first feature, Everything is Illuminated, and decided to invite Muthana to be an intern on the film. Davenport was hired to document the feel-good experience. But nothing goes according to plan. Muthana has never lived away from home and is used to being looked after by his doting mother. He doesn’t know how to do his own laundry and is unhappy about his junior role on set. He also horrifies Peter Saraf, Everything is Illuminated’s producer, with his pro-Bush stance. The well-meaning Americans feel guilty about what has happened in Iraq but are rather put out by Muthana’s lack of gratitude for the opportunities they have given him.

Davenport, meanwhile, is slowly sucked into the story as Muthana becomes increasingly (and understandably) determined not to return to Iraq and starts asking for money and help with his visa. At this point Davenport realized that she had a story that was far more than just a DVD extra and ultimately it is Davenport herself who ends up looking for an exit strategy, as filmmaker and subject become increasingly co-dependent.

Operation Filmmaker is a fascinating study into what happens when people try to do the right thing in a world where the dice are loaded and misunderstanding is rife. Schreiber and Saraf are good people who have no idea of the minefield they are walking into and frankly haven’t thought through the repercussions of their actions. The road to hell, after all, is paved with good intentions. The relationship between Davenport and Muthana adds another layer to the story and is a sobering portrayal of the complicated power relationships between a documentary filmmaker and her subject. Who is exploiting who? Davenport handles all this material with admirable humor and skill – allowing herself to become part of the story in a way that feels both natural and inevitable. It is often uncomfortable viewing but then it is always hard when somebody holds a mirror up to us, exposing sides of ourselves that we would rather not see.

Billy The Kid is showing at Stranger Than Fiction tomorrow night – this film has been scooping up awards at festivals this year and I fell in love with it when I saw it. The other wonderful thing about Stranger Than Fiction is that it is a great connector for the documentary community in NYC and it always reminds me of how creative and supportive this community is. Plus it is on a Tuesday and I have always hated Tuesdays so it is nice to have something good to look forward to!