When the movie started to roll, the image was only a quarter the size of the screen. I’m wondering if I’m in the right place — the IMAX Theater at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin — just as black and white images of Martin Scorsese begin to flash across the screen. He directed the movie I’m about to watch so I’m convinced I’m in the right spot, but won’t it cover whole screen? Why show it at IMAX? I’m not sure of the exact moment, but suddenly the movie is filling the screen and like a roller coaster ride, we are at the top just waiting for the big drop that is The Rolling Stones as they take the stage of the Beacon Theater in New York City for a legendary performance. Read the entire article>>

I know this is late, but since the film will be playing shortly at SXSW, it’s still timely, and curses on flu!

I’m newly aware of David Zellner and Nathan Zellner (pictured with cinematographer and Austinite PJ Ravel). They hail from Austin and in that respect, are now a part of my film world, so I was excited to hit their Sundance screening. I mostly wanted to support of their work and hoped for a good movie. I was maybe a little surprised that I liked the film as much as I did.

Documentary Grand Jury Prize
TROUBLE THE WATER, directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal. An aspiring rap artist and her streetwise husband, armed with a video camera, show what survival means when they are trapped in New Orleans by deadly floodwaters, and seize a chance for a new beginning.

Special Jury Prize in Documentary
GREATEST SILENCE: RAPE IN THE CONGO, directed by Lisa F. Jackson, intimate look into the struggle of the lives of rape survivors.

Documentary World Cinema Jury Prize & World Cinema Audience Award
MAN ON WIRE/United Kingdom, directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles French artist Philippe Petit’s daring dance on a wire suspended between New York’s Twin Towers and his subsequent arrest for what would become known as “the artistic crime of the century.”

Documentary Audience Award
FIELDS OF FUEL, directed by Josh Tickell. A look at America’s addiction to oil, Tickell is a man with a plan and a Veggie Van, who is taking on big oil, big government, and big soy to find solutions in places few people have looked.

Documentary Directing Award
Nanette Burstein, director of AMERICAN TEEN, an irreverent cinema vérité which chronicles four seniors at an Indiana high school and yields a surprising snapshot of Midwestern life.

Documentary World Cinema Directing Award
Nino Kirtadze, director of DURAKOVO: VILLAGE OF FOOLS (DURAKOVO: LE VILLAGE DES FOUS)/ France. The film portrays life in a castle outside Moscow, where Mikhail Morozov rules autonomously over young initiates, laying the groundwork for a rapidly growing right-wing movement.

Documentary Editing Award
Joe Bini for his work on the film ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED. The documentary examines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary director Roman Polanski’s sudden flight from the United States.

World Cinema Documentary Editing Award
Irena Dol for her work on THE ART STAR AND THE SUDANESE TWINS/New Zealand. The film profiles artist Vanessa Beecroft and how her obsession to adopt Sudanese twin orphans drives her marriage to a breaking point and fuels her controversial art.

Excellence in Documentary Cinematography Award
Phillip Hunt and Steven Sebring for their work on the film PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE, an intimate portrait of the poet, painter, musician and singer that mirrors the essence of the artist herself.

World Cinema Documentary Cinematography Award
al Massad for his work on RECYCLE /Jordan. A Jordanian family man living in the hometown of Muslim leader Abu Musa Al Zarqawi struggles to support his family and define his identity in a tense political climate.