doc it out

Obama’s Political Ad/Doc

Agnes Varnum — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:23:27 +0000

If you had a chance to read my recent contribution to Documentary magazine about Jeffrey Tuchman’s The Man From Hope, you might have gleaned that it can sometimes be difficult to discern political media from documentary. Obama, taking a page from Clinton working with Tuchman, hired Al Gore biographer Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Deadwood) to make his recent half-hour ad. I really take issue with the New York Time political blogger Jim Rutenberg’s snide comments, like “unavoidable” and “heavy-handed style of filmmaking.” But, I think we are down to the time when people who are undecided need to figure it out for themselves rather than listening to pundits. So, in case you didn’t catch it, watch for yourself.

Let the Doc/Fest Commence

Agnes Varnum — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:24:26 +0000

I’m sitting in the now-empty, soon-to-be-full press room (view from the window at right) at this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest, which begins officially opens tonight with Thriller in Manilla. It is a long journey from Austin, Texas to Sheffield, England but as usual, I had my share of adventures that I can muse on later. Of course, I was sad to be leaving the States on the cusp of such an important election, but I was able to vote early so I could leave knowing I had done my part. Jet lag worked in my favor because I kept waking up in the middle of the night to check the results. I must have been feeling the American vibe because I woke up at about 4:30 AM just in time to see the speeches. I’ve been tearing up all morning with the enormity of it, but Obama’s win is such a major relief! Now I can sit back and enjoy the festival.

I haven’t figured out my schedule yet, but I have a list of films to check out and Q&As to moderate, so I’ll be busy. I’ll post when I can.

SDF 08: Thriller in Manilla

Agnes Varnum — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:12:58 +0000

A sports fan, I am not. And to boot, I have a very low opinion of boxing. But, I was ready for Thriller in Manila because I know very little about Muhammad Ali and even less about his famous fights with Joe Frazier—the central focus of this excellent film by John Dower. As Sheffield Doc/Fest director Heather Croall promised at the outset, the film captivated the audience from the first frame.

Ali is beloved. He inspires people with his electrifying presence. He is a man of conviction and also a man who won when he stepped into the ring. But he also had affairs outside of his marriage, and to view his rivalry with Joe Frazier from Frazier’s perspective, he allowed his fear to turn him into a first rate bully. As evidenced by his apologies for his behavior over these incidents, Ali knew it was not his shining moment.

The story begins when Ali lost his license to box for his conscientious objection to fighting in the Vietnam War. For his refusal to fight, he was banished from his profession and stripped of his World Heavyweight Champion title. The then-open championship title was won by Joe Frazier. But Frazier didn’t want the title by default. He wanted to know that he earned it by beating the best, and the other best was Ali. So Frazier campaigned to get Ali back into fighting, which was accomplished after the tide of public opinion turned against the war. In their first fight, Frazier beat Muhammad Ali. It was the first time Ali had ever lost, and he was bitter.

The story that unfolds from there is unknown to many, and may bring Ali down to Earth in the minds of his fans, should they be brave enough to watch such a film. The beautiful cinematography, unbelievably rare archival footage (like Ali talking about speaking at a Klu Klux Klan rally!), and candid interviews with many of the principal players in the drama, including Frazier, their surviving ring crew members and many journalists who covered those auspicious fights, make this a must-see. It has been picked up by HBO in the US.

SDF 08: BLAST!

Agnes Varnum — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:17:28 +0000

It was with great pleasure that I was finally able to catch up with Paul Devlin’s BLAST! at Sheffield. Paul brought the project to IFP as a work-in-progress in 2006 and being a bit of a science geek myself, I was looking forward to seeing the finished work. I enjoyed the film, which follows his brother, an astrophysicist, as he and a team put together a telescope that will be launched by a balloon into the Earth’s upper atmosphere where it will record data about galaxy formation. Cool stuff, especially if the filmmaker can make it entertaining. And it is. It’s a movie about a scientific project but it is also about learning through trail and error, about what we know and don’t know about the universe, and also a smattering of faith in science. It is on this point that I feel compelled to write about the movie.

Paul told me that he has been having a tough time finding a US broadcaster, and one of the reasons seems to be that for science-based outlets, they don’t want any discussion of religion. For non-science outlets, there is too much science. Ugh. We’re back to the lowest-common-denominator programming. Programs that challenge our intellect and/or our beliefs can’t be included among the format programming? Aren’t Religulous and Expelled the top grossing docs of this year? People want to discuss faith but only if it is within groups that believe the same thing.

The really sad part for the BLAST! folks is that there isn’t really even that much discussion of faith. It pops up a couple of times with one of the team leaders who happens to also be a Christian. He, like most of us, doesn’t take the Bible as literal. He allows his scientific exploration to live alongside his faith. You don’t have to believe that the Earth is 2000 years old to feel the presence of God in your life. Most of us understand that that religious texts were written by men. Some of the most learned and interesting teachers I have had are scientists who approach their discipline with an understanding that it is but one among arts and humanities. Each discipline contributes to our whole knowledge.

I don’t think BLAST! attempts to answer any questions in the realm of faith, only to mention them within the portrait of a project and the people who contribute to it. It is an unusual film and I’m rooting for an outlet to step up and take a chance that there is an audience for this kind of story.

iW: Sheffield Doc/Fest: Born Again and Joining Forces

Agnes Varnum — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:28:06 +0000

The Sheffield Doc/Fest in Sheffield, England just wound up its fifteenth incarnation, yet the air of it feels new, emerging, and in a way, it is. Director Heather Croall took over three years ago and under her leadership, this five-day event is expanding its horizons and gunning to be one of the top international documentary festivals. Croall said, “I feel like this year we really got into gear, our organization is better than ever.” Evidenced by the energy and good will present despite the damp November weather, it is well on its way. Read the rest of my coverage from Sheffield>>

Link Round-Up: Get Your Movie On

Agnes Varnum — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:31:00 +0000

Lots of very cool screenings to announce. Days are getting shorter and temps are dropping, so it’s time to catch up on the great stuff that is coming to a screen near you.

- a/k/a Tommy Chong is now on Showtime, preeming tonight. Not just for stoners, Chong underwent an ordeal that should make everyone’s skin crawl. Unopposed US attorneys can make the life of an ordinary citizen hell. This doc by Josh Gilbert is compelling and has had a tough road getting to you, so be sure to check it out.

- If you are in NYC, the Margaret Mead Film Festival is this weekend. Don’t miss Jesse Epstein’s The Guarantee and Throw Down Your Heart by Sascha Paladino.

- Ellen Kuras and Thavi Phrasavath’s The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) starts at the IFC Center in NYC on November 21. As you all know, it’s important to hit the theater early to keep it in the theater for word-of-mouth to build. I first saw this film at Sundance, and watched it again at Sheffield last week. It’s beautiful and well worth the price of admission.

- Arthur Dong’s superb Hollywood Chinese is now out on DVD. This film is a must for movie buffs, but it features many well-known Chinese-American actors and clips from many of your favorites so it can be enjoyed by all.

And in case you didn’t follow my instructions to follow Byron Hurt’s lead-up to his short film release, Barack & Curtis, the time has come and the film is now available… right here. Enjoy!

I.O.U.S.A.

Agnes Varnum — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:37:15 +0000

There is a scene in Patrick Creadon’s I.O.U.S.A. where a team of financial experts, who have gone on a bi-partisan speaking tour to alert Americans to the dire financial straits our country is in, are ignored by local media. Mind you, this occurred long before recent events brought the subject to the forefront via a political election. These experts foresaw the current crisis and were trying to warn Americans. They were interviewed by an ABC news affiliate in New Hampshire. The reporter admits that the story might run in the middle of the broadcast, and indeed, the show leads with an important story about a man who swallowed a diamond ring. The financial experts who came just to speak with citizens about an important subject weren’t included in the broadcast at all.

This illustrates one point in sharp relief: our news media are failing us miserably and have been for years. I.O.U.S.A. is hopefully the first of many films that will help us get a handle on how serious our financial situation is, and while the subject matter is tough to watch, viewing it and understanding it is imperative. We literally can’t afford to continue to be ignorant and apathetic about the challenges we are facing, even if the nightly news refuses to bring these subjects to our attention in a meaningful way.

The other day, I was reading a Times article that said that Obama would be using his campaign fundraising machine again to help cover the cost of that shiny new economic crisis team. When I read that, I was annoyed. Why should we have to pay again for a team of consultants, made up largely of corporate giants who can afford to donate some of their time to public service? And, while I was interested in giving money to the campaign, I really didn’t expect that they would keep hitting me up once Obama had control of the federal budget.

What I.O.U.S.A. makes clear is that we all are going to have to tighten our belts. Obama made it plain that he would hit the wealthiest first, but what the film makes clear is that none will come out untapped. This is simply too bad for every American not to pitch in. We’ve been buying our way of life on credit as a society, and while numbers in the trillions are inconceivable and exactly when the credit line will dry up is unclear, it is obvious that we are putting our very freedom at risk. I say all of this not to frighten you but to ask that you please see this movie, and hopefully more like it, to get yourself informed. Creadon makes sure that you don’t need an MBA to understand the issues.

Someone recently asked me where I was after September 11. I was in New Jersey and the thing I remember most vividly is that after the shock and sadness, was an amazing outpouring of love and support between neighbors. We need to call upon that now because this situation is going to get much worse before it gets better. The medicine for what ails our country will be bitter, but we can figure it out if we work together and realize that we are all in this together. Start paying off your debts and saving your money (no one will convince me that continuing to spend money we don’t have, a/k/a economic stimulus, will make this go away). And while it’s tempting to blame it all on W., he merely exacerbated an already impossible situation.

When Obama takes office, I hope that he and his fancy-pants team will roll up their sleeves, put the country first and tell us honestly what we need to do without regard to elections or re-elections, and that we will do what needs to be done because we understand the severity of the situation.

Oscar’s Documentary Short List

Agnes Varnum — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:04:22 +0000

Each year the Academy whittles down their documentary Oscar contenders to a list of 15 from which they will choose the 5 nominations. The list of 15 for this year are:

At the Death House Door by Steve James
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh by Roberta Grossman
Encounters at the End of the World by Werner Herzog
Fuel by Josh Tickell
The Garden by Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts by Scott Hicks
I.O.U.S.A. by Patrick Creadon
In a Dream by Jeremiah Zagar
Made in America by Stacy Peralta
Man on Wire by James Marsh
Pray the Devil Back to Hell by Gini Reticker
Standard Operating Procedure by Errol Morris
They Killed Sister Dorothy by Daniel Junge
Trouble the Water by Tia Lessin and Carol Deal

Congratulations to all, but particularly Daniel Junge, Jeremiah Zagar, Patrick Creadon, PJ Raval, Tia Lessin and Thavi Phrasavath.

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