Doc News 2022 - 2023
Dec 20,2023
It's the night before the Oscar short list is announced. Should be a great event. But is the Golden Age of the Documentary Dead? IndieWire has a disturbing story here about how the streamers have won and have beat down the docs.
Dec 13, 2023
Preliminary Oscar voting starts December 13th and some are making predcitions. The craziest of all categories is the feature documentaries. There are 168 films that have qualified and now the first vote will slim down the short list to only 15. In my email earlier this week, I told you some of the best films but Variety has a list of who will make the list. No one can watch all of the films. The Fred Wiseman film alone is four hours, in French. Here is the link to the Variety predictions. Stay tuned.
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Nov 29, 2023
NYPD encrypted their police radios without notice and freelance stringers are pissed. See the story in PetaPixel here. Below is a a famous pic of Weegee the Famous in his room next to the police department in the 1930's. I have been obsessed with him since my teens. During my high school and college years, I had a police and fire radios in my car and supported myself selling short news clips to local and network news department.
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Nov 28, 2023
Archival Producers Alliance want some safeguards for the future use of archive footage. With AI now capable of realistic looking changes, this organization of film researchers wants to make sure that footage changed by AI is not taken for the real thing. See the story in The Hollywood Reporter here.
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Nov 21, 2023
How do you get to make a mini series on the History Channel when you are still a kid living at home in Indiana? Read the story in The Hollywood Reporter here.
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Nov 20, 2023
What happens when a star is part of the making of a documentary about himself? An interesting piece in the NY Times here profiles, several different documentaries featuring well knowns. I would also ask the same about anyone involved producing a documentary if they are the subject of the film.
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Nov 18, 2023
IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund chose eleven projects out of 371 applicants to receive a total of $435,000 in production grants. Awarded projects are currently in production in eleven countries, including the US, Philippines, Brazil, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Italy, and Afghanistan. Amongst the filmmakers at the helm of selected projects, 46% are filmmakers of color, 69% are women or gender-non-conforming filmmakers, 12% identify as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and 8% identify as a D/deaf or disabled person or have long-term health conditions.
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See the story here.
Nov 16, 2023
Catapult Film Fund announced their 2023 Development Grant recipients today. 20 grants totaling $500,000 in early-stage funding to independent documentary artists. See the story here.
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Nov 11, 2023
Ethical standards in documentaries needed? Time Magazine has a piece here, written by Margie Ratliff who is a producer and key participant of Subject, where she examines her participation in the 2018 Netflix true-crime documentary, The Staircase and how it affected her. She is currently starting the non-profit, Documentary Participants’ Empowerment Alliance. The documentary film Subject is also our episode # 100 on Westdoc.
Oct 24, 2023
The International Documentary Association (IDA) announced their short list of nominees for best documentary for the year. Films from; India, Columbia, Denmark, Uganda, France, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, Morocco, Canada, UK, and the USA! It certainly is diverse. What does this list say about the IDA?
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Against the Tide (India)
BBC ‘Storyville’
Director: Sarvnik Kaur
Producers: Koval Bhatia, Sarvnik Kaur
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Anhell69 (Colombia)
Director: Theo Montoya
Producers: Bianca Oana, David Hurst, Theo Montoya, Juan Pablo Castrillon, Balthasar Busmann, Maximilian Haslberger
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Anonymous Sister (U.S.)
Director: Jamie Boyle
Producers: Marilyn Ness, Elizabeth Westrate, Jamie Boyle
Apolonia, Apolonia (Denmark)
HBO Max
Director: Lea Glob
Producer: Sidsel Lønvig Siersted
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Bobi Wine: The People’s President (Uganda, pictured)
National Geographic Documentary Films
Directors: Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp
Producers: Christopher Sharp, John Battsek
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De Humani Corporis Fabrica (France)
Directors: Verena Paravel, Lucien Castaing-Taylor
Producers: Valentina Novati, Charles Gillibert, Pauline Gygax, Max Karli, Verena Paravel, Lucien Castaing-Taylor
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Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (U.S.)
HBO Documentary Films
Directors: Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster
Producers: Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster, Tommy Oliver
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In the Rearview (Poland)
Director: Maciek Hamela
Producer: Maciek Hamela, Piotr Grawender
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Milisuthando (South Africa)
Director: Milisuthando Bongela
Producers: Marion Isaacs, Viviana Gomez, Sonia Barrera, Milisuthando Bongela, Hankyeol Lee
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Motherland (Sweden)
Directors: Alexander Mihalkovich, Hanna Badziaka
Producers: Mario Adamson, Ashley J. Smith, Alexander Mihalkovich, Anita Norfolk
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Nathan-ism (U.S.)
Director: Elan Golod
Producers: Elan Golod, Melanie Vi Levy
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Q (U.S.)
Director: Jude Chehab
Producers: Jude Chehab, Fahd Ahmed
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Rewind & Play (France)
Director: Alain Gomis
Producers: Anouk Khélifa, Arnaud Dommerc
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The Mother of All Lies (Morocco)
Director/producer: Asmae El Moudir
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Twice Colonized (Canada)
Director: Lin Alluna
Producers: Aaju Peter, Emile Hertling Péronard, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Stacey Aglok Macdonald, Bob Moore
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unseen (U.S.)
Director: Set Hernandez
Producers: Set Hernandez, Day Al-Mohamed, Félix Endara, Dorian Gomez-Pestaña
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While We Watched (UK/India)
Director: Vinay Shukla
Producers: Vinay Shukla, Khushboo Ranka, Luke W. Moody​
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Oct 21, 2023
UK documentaries face and existential threat. See the story in Variety here.
Oct 13, 2023
The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating story about Ken Burns and his latest documentary on The American Buffalo. The new two part series will premiere on PBS Oct. 16 & 17th. See the story here.
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Oct 13, 2023
Darren Aronofsky is not known as a documentary filmmaker, but he certainly has a long list of great scripted films including Black Swan, The Wrestler, Requiem For a Dream, and Pi. And now he has the first film to be featured in the new Las Vegas Sphere called POSTCARD FROM EARTH. The Los Angeles Times has a story here that tells us about the experience watching the film inside the new dome.
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Oct 7, 2023
New York Times has a contentious interview with documentary Oscar winner Errol Morris about his new film THE PIGEON TUNNEL here. (Our Westdoc conversation with Morris is now posted episode 136.)
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Oct 6, 2023
Theatrical distribution of documentaries is down, but not out. Read an in depth story from Real Screen here. (You may need to log in with an email address to access the story. But it is worth it.)
Sep 28, 2023
Documentary Emmy Award winners here from the Hollywood Reporter.
Aug 31, 2023
Nancy Buirski, Director of "Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy, passed away two days ago. She was the guest on our Westdoc episode # 127 recorded two months ago and talked all about the making of her new film. She began her professional career as a photo editor at the NY Times. Her first doc was "The Loving Story" (2011) about a couple in an interracial marriage. She also helmed a couple of PBS American Masters docs, the last on director Sidney Lumet. She was the founder of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Her "Midnight Cowboy" doc is certainly going to be a contender in this years' awards.
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Aug 31, 2023
Rave review of Andy Kaufman documentary in Variety today here.
Aug 30, 2023
First time feature director helms the definitive Andy Kaufman bio doc; "Thank You Very Much." See the Guardian story here.
Aug 25, 2023
New documentary about Bella Abzug under a cloud as the subjects daughter is not happy. See the NY Times story here.
Aug 16, 2023
Variety story here discusses the use of AI in Documentaries. "We are supposed to be telling the truth."
Aug 15, 2023
AI is going to change our lives in many ways and already has. Redshark has a story here about four new AI video editing platforms. I'm old fashion and like to make all my own decisions. Take a look and let me know what you think.
Aug 4, 2023
NY Times says Nira Burstein's documentary feature CHARM CIRLE is"tender and funny." See the story here.
Jul 29, 2023
Realscreen seems to be the only press reporting the fact that DGA Documentary members were left out of the “historic deal” with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Take a look here.
Jul 29, 2023
Magnolia picks up N. American rights for “Immediate Family” doc on ’70s session musicians. We will be posting an episode on Westdoc soon with the director of the film, Denny Tedesco in the near future. See the story here on RealScreen.com.
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Jul 26, 2023
"Charm Circle," by Nira Burstein, Westdoc episode #122 will be released on Criterion Channel August 1st.
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Jul 23, 2023
A documentary filmmaker feared his subject had turned on him. So he staged his own murder. LA Times here. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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Jul 19, 2023
He was making a film about the cops then the LAPD tased him in his own home. See the LA Times story here. Also from the LA Times, "The 50 Best True Crime Stories You Can Stream Now," here.
Jul 17, 2023
The NY Times has a review here of THE LEAGUE, the new Sam Pollard directed documentary tracing the history of the Negro baseball leagues. This new film happens to be our next Westdoc episode.
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June 26, 2023
Just after we posted a new Westdoc episode about a wonderful doc on the history of Warner Bros, big brother has arrived. The Hollywood Reporter has a story here that says Warner Bros has contracted with Cinelytic to use artificial intelligence to help green light projects. “The system can calculate in seconds what used to take days to assess by a human when it comes to general film package evaluation or a star’s worth.”
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June 20, 2023
An interesting and unusual case with two networks fighting over a similar documentary style format. RealScreen reports here how a NY judge sides with A&E in a copyright lawsuit against Reelz.
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June 19, 2023
The Wrap has their list of the 25 Best Documentaries currently on Netflix. Story is here.
June 14, 2023
Here is a very comprehensive story from Variety writer Matt Donnelly about the two new co-CEOs and co-chairpeople at Warner Bros. What does this have to with documentary filmmaking? Not much but it is a great companion piece to the new "100 Years of Warner Bros" feature doc. If you care about show biz and what is going on today, watch the series on the new Max and read the Variety story.
June 9, 2023
Milli Vanilli Feature Doc snapped up by Paramount+. The infamous singing duo had to return their Grammy when it was discovered they didn't sing on their hit records. Back to 1989 with the story from Deadline here.
May 26, 2023
Fair Use has been a controversial and somewhat confusing topic for documentary filmmakers for years. When attorney Michael Donaldson wrote the book on Fair Use, his law firm became the go to place to hire when producing any doc that might want to use the Fair Use doctrines. The Andy Warhol vs Lynn Goldsmith case before the Supreme Court last week certainly must have made some producers nervous. The other outspoken authority on the issue is Pat Aufderheide who is a professor at the School of Communication at American University in Washington DC. She has been a steady advocate and a calm voice who often explains what is really happening. Her latest article in Filmmaker Magazine is here telling us not to panic.
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May 24, 2023
What were they thinking? Two of the best known TV brands in the world have merged together today. I guess they didn't like the name HBO or Discovery. So, they are calling it Max. Now I love Max very much. In fact I named one of my sons Max. But when you combine the two (and more), what do you get? To add insult to injury the new Max app didn't work when they launched today. See the story here. And if that's not enough, they pissed off all the creatives in town by dropping the credits from their shows. LA Times story here.
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Update, May 25, 2023 Max Changes Credits After Outcry. LA Times story here.
In another update, here is more info from Variety on why the new Max is better. Read it here.
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May 23, 2023
"Fair Use" is a very important two edge sword for documentary filmmakers. It has spawned a mini industry of law firms that specialize in fair use and service doc production companies. There are more than a few very good docs that could not be made without fair use. The supreme court just made a decision on the Andy Warhol Foundation vs celeb photographer Lynn Goldsmith which could have a huge effect on the future of fair use. The New York Times has a terrific podcast called The Daily which discusses a different story every day. Here is a link to the podcast which explains it all
May 14, 2023
Profile here of documentary filmmaker Jon Alpert in the NY Times today.​
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May 12, 2023
This is not really documentary. But what a great story here in the American Cinematographer magazine. "Behind the Curtain: The Wizard of Oz."
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May 4, 2023
Received an email this morning here from the distribution consultant Peter Broderick. The mass mailing was essentially saying that the heyday of the documentary film is over and that the major streamers and networks aren't buying. At least not what they used to. Not one film was picked up by any streamer at Sundance. It was very unsettling. Also today a headline in a Variety story is "Will the Writers Strike Benefit the Documentary?" You can read it here.
May 3, 2023
Vulture has a story here on the nine best documentaries on Apple TV+.
Apr 27, 2023
Variety story here about some terrific docs not picked up at the major festivals and the alternate methods the filmmakers are pursuing.
Apr 23, 2023
Redshark story here reports that most watch YouTube at a faster than normal speed. And wanna know more about HBO beginnings and where the streamer is headed? See the CNN video here.
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Apr 20, 2023
I asked ChatGPT to name the best documentaries streaming now and here is what it spit out;
There are many great documentaries streaming now across various platforms, but here are some of the best ones to check out:
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"The Social Dilemma" (Netflix) - A thought-provoking documentary that examines the negative impact of social media on society.
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"My Octopus Teacher" (Netflix) - A visually stunning and emotionally moving documentary about a filmmaker who develops a relationship with an octopus while diving in a South African kelp forest.
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"Framing Britney Spears" (Hulu) - A documentary that explores the life and career of pop icon Britney Spears, focusing on her conservatorship and the #FreeBritney movement.
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"Crip Camp" (Netflix) - A heartwarming documentary that follows a group of young people with disabilities who attend a summer camp in the 1970s and become advocates for disability rights.
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"The Last Dance" (Netflix) - A fascinating look at the career of basketball legend Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls, featuring never-before-seen footage from their championship-winning season.
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"The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley" (HBO Max) - A gripping documentary about the rise and fall of Theranos, a fraudulent blood-testing startup founded by Elizabeth Holmes.
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"Seaspiracy" (Netflix) - An eye-opening documentary that exposes the environmental impact of the fishing industry and challenges viewers to consider their own consumption habits.
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"The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (HBO Max) - A nostalgic and informative documentary about the Bee Gees, one of the most successful bands of all time.
These are just a few of the many great documentaries streaming now, so take some time to explore the various platforms and discover more that interest you!
Apr 20, 2023
16 mm has now been around for 100 years. Terrific NY Times piece about why it is still in demand.
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Apr 11, 2023
The Doc Market is Changing. Important story from IndieWire here.
Apr 13, 2023
WTF!?
LA Times story on the killing of HBO here.
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Apr 8, 2023
SAM NOW, Westdoc episode 101 opens this week with a limited theatrical run. Try and catch it before it is on PBS in a couple months. Here is a review in RogerEbert.com.
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Mar 31, 2023
Lisa Nishamura, head of Netflix documentaries, is leaving after leading the non fiction films of the streamer since the DVD days. See The Wrap story here.
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Mar 16, 2023
The 50 Best Crime Documentaries and where to stream them now in the LA Times here.
Mar 15, 2023
Netflix Wins Defamation Suit Over "Making a Murderer." See The Hollywood Reporter story here.
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Mar 13, 2023
Daniel Roher wins the Oscar for Best Documentary and blasts Putin and the war on Ukraine. Here is the story from the LA Times.
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Mar 8, 2023
Ever wonder about the Oscar campaigns and what is behind winning that golden statue? Today the NY Times published a fascinating story by Irina Aleksander online that will be in their Sunday magazine that pulls back the curtain on the huge amounts of money and sharp elbowing that was perfected by Harvey Weinstien. The details are about the nomination of Andrea Riseborough and the film you probably didn't see called "To Leslie." What has this to do with the documentary film? Everything, on a smaller scale. Take a look here.
Mar 1, 2023
Documentary Oscar campaigns getting very expensive. Variety story here.
Feb 28, 2023
"Subject" doc and the ethics of documentary exploitation in the story here in The Guardian. See Westdoc episode # 100.
Feb 17, 2023
Double dipping now allowed again for documentaries at the TV Academy. The Variety story here. ​
And Oscar nominated directors discuss why obsession leads to better films here in The Wrap.
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Feb 14, 2023
Variety publishes a great list of the 25 best documentaries about Hollywood. Here is the link.
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Feb 14, 2023
The LA Times does a interesting interview with Jermy Lin about his participation in "38 At the Garden." Westdoc episode #117. Read it here.
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Feb 12, 2023
Featured on Westdoc episode # 85, Robert Weide the "Vonnegut" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" director pens a moving farewell to his late wife Linda Weide. See the story here in Deadline
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Feb 2, 2023
Is Netflix good or bad for docs? Too much money, too fast, too many cooks in the kitchen? Or has the golden age of docs come and gone? Read in Vulture here the story that is making a buzz in the doc world.
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Jan 31, 2023
"This book has never been more valuable and relevant. It's the bible for professionals, creators, and distributors." That's what Ted Serandos, Co-CEO and Chief Content officer at Netflix had to say. Lisa Calif, one of the authors, was on our Westdoc episode #5 back in 2018 and her law firm has represented some of my films. The book is available for pre-order now on Amazon or at your local book store.
Jan 24, 2023
Oscar nominees
Best Documentary Feature Film
“All That Breathes,” Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov
“Fire of Love,” Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman
“A House Made of Splinters,” Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström
“Navalny,” Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris
Best Documentary Short Film
“The Elephant Whisperers,” Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga
“Haulout,” Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev
“How Do You Measure a Year?” Jay Rosenblatt
“The Martha Mitchell Effect,” Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison
“Stranger at the Gate,” Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones
Jan 20, 2023
John Williams doc in the works from Spielberg's Amblin prodco. See the story here in the Hollywood Reporter.
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Jan 17, 2023
Who says you can't make a couple of bucks in the non fiction film biz? Vin Di Bona just sold a portion of his production company that has produced "America's Funniest Home Videos" for "..believed to be valued in the nine-figure range." Read the story in Variety here.
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Jan 14, 2023
Documentary short listed "The Territory" protagonist profiled here in Deadline.
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Jan 11, 2023
The Directors Guild of America announced today the nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary.
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SARA DOSA
Fire of Love
MATTHEW HEINEMAN
Retrograde
LAURA POITRAS
All The Beauty and the Bloodshed
DANIEL ROHER
Navalny
SHAUNAK SEN
All That Breathes
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Jan5, 2023
The Hollywood Reporter looks at the 15 shortlisted contenders for the documentary feature nomination here. ​
Jan 3, 2023
"An American Family" on PBS 50 years ago was a ground breaking 12 part cinema vérité documentary that changed everything on television. Read the story in The Wrap here.
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Dec 31, 2022
"The best movies here are the documentaries."
Variety year end story here.
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Dec 25, 2022
IndieWire documentary feature predictions after the short list here.
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Dec 21, 2022
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences names the films
short listed in the Documentary Feature and Doc Short Branch.
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FEATURE DOCUMENTARIES:
“All That Breathes”
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
“Bad Axe”
“Children of the Mist”
“Descendant”
“Fire of Love”
“Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song”
“Hidden Letters”
“A House Made of Splinters”
“The Janes”
“Last Flight Home”
“Moonage Daydream”
“Navalny”
“Retrograde”
“The Territory”
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
“American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton”
“Anastasia”
“Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation Prison”
“As Far as They Can Run”
“The Elephant Whisperers”
“The Flagmakers”
“Happiness Is £4 Million”
“Haulout”
“Holding Moses”
“How Do You Measure a Year?”
“The Martha Mitchell Effect”
“Nuisance Bear”
“Shut Up and Paint”
“Stranger at the Gate”
“38 at the Garden”​
Dec 16, 2022
Email received today from Tom White;
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Dear Documentary Community,
After 22 ½ years as Editor of Documentary magazine, I have decided to step down, effective January 4, 2023. I have submitted letters of resignation to the Executive Director and IDA Board of Directors and to the IDA staff. My mental health–namely, my depression–instigated by the exodus of 18 of my colleagues since the beginning of this year, and the toxic context that spurred that exodus, has worsened over the past several months, and it would be best for me, and for the organization, to bow out at this point.
On September 10, 2001, I was on a flight from Boston to Los Angeles, having visited my wife that weekend, who was getting her master’s degree at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. She wanted me to stay an extra day, and leave the next morning–September 11. She was disappointed that I didn’t honor her wishes. And then the same plane I had taken the previous day was flown into the World Trade Center.
In my long tenure as editor, I often think about 9/11. I think about those who were on the plane I might have taken–how so much loss reverberates over so many people, and how the future becomes an unending, horrific present and past. And I think about those who flew out on September 10, and how they might have carried out or redirected their lives in the subsequent decades, having been spared, as I would grow to believe that I was.
It was the 10th anniversary of 9/11 when things began to crystallize–my fortune ten years ago had transformed my job into a calling, a livelihood, a purpose. I feel truly blessed to have had a purpose, a reason for making my work better, for serving the community as honestly, intentionally and creatively as I could, ever mindful of my blind spots and deficiencies, ever intent on addressing them To echo what I wrote back in February, in a letter to the IDA Members, in what seemed like a valediction, my purpose has been fortified in large part by the brilliant and compassionate people I’ve had the pleasure of working with–the staffs at IDA and Documentary magazine, and the awesome corps of writers, Editorial Fellows and interns. I have learned so much from all of you, as well as from the documentary community out there: the filmmakers, the educators, the activists, the gatekeepers, the fans.
I leave IDA and Documentary magazine for destinations unknown. New frontiers are always daunting and inspiring; I relish the challenge of taking those steps into something new. I feel immense gratitude for having had the opportunity to serve the documentary community for 22 1/2 years with the job of a lifetime, and I look forward to seeing what my successor will deliver.
I wish you all the best.
Sincerely,
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Tom White
he/him
Editor, Documentary Magazine
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Dec 10, 2022
"ALL THAT BREATHES" wins the top IDA award. Read the full results here in The Hollywood Reporter.
Dec 9, 2022
Jane Latman and Nancy Daniels out as Discovery slims down to save money. I've worked with both of the these very smart and competent women. See the story here on Deadline.
Dec 6, 2022
The Academy announces the complete list of 144 documentaries eligible for an Oscar this year. Here is the list.
Dec 6, 2022
IDA Executive Director Rick Peréz to Step Down. Hollywood Reporter story here.
Dec 6, 2022
White Males Dominated Documentaries. The Hollywood Reporter story here on the racial make up of doc filmmakers.
Dec 2, 2022
Trump books are poison in the documentary world. Apple kills their doc show based on Maggie Habberman's best selling Trump bio "Confidence Man." A slew of other Trumpian bios also dead in the water. The Wrap story here.
Nov 28, 2022
Pelosi Doc Directed by her Daughter headed to HBO. The Deadline story here tells us about the Alexandra Pelosi footage we first saw on CNN from January 6th will debut as a full doc. "Pelosi In The House" covers three decades of her mothers political life. This is Alexandra's 14th HBO film. (Apparently Alexandria doesn't care about the list of minimum camera requirements published by Netflix. See the list here.)
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Nov 26, 2022
Deadline.com featuring a story here about the Hollywood Black List. It's a good background piece to prep you for our next Westdoc conversation with Billy Shebar and his new doc short "High Noon On The Waterfront."
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Nov 15, 2022
144 feature documentaries have been submitted to the Oscars for possible nomination. The "short list" will be announced December 21st. See The Wrap story here. (I don't like it much when a publication features two or three films like the pictures below. But now I am doing it.)
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Nov 11, 2022
IDA Documentary Award Nominations here on Real Screen.
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Nov 11, 2022
This is a first in the doc world. A sticker on the front page of today's LA Times for a documentary film.
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Nov 8, 2022
"All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" Oscar wining director Laura Poitras to be honored by the Museum of Moving Image and will be the next Westdoc episode. See The Wrap story here.
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Nov 3, 2022
Conspiracies and disinformation being used in documentaries. See the NPR story here.
And a "Sad day for documentaries" as cost cutting CNN eliminates outside productions. See the IndieWire story here. ​
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Oct 11, 2022
NY Times story here about the Baltimore Prosecutors dropping the charges against Adnan Syed. He was convicted of murder and had a life sentence and was the main character in "Serial," the first very successful podcast documentary series.
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Oct 11, 2022
If you are a techie, you will love this story of how "Avatar" was converted from 24 to 48 fps. Not documentary issue, but maybe in the future. See the story here in The Wrap.
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Oct 9, 2022
Ondi Timoner gets a full page in today's Sunday NY Times here on her very personal film "Last Flight Home," the latest episode of Westdoc Online.
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Oct 8, 2022
See the NY Times story here about "Three Great Documentaries available to stream now." Rotten Tomatoes has a story here on the best upcoming documentaries from the latest fall film festivals.
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Sep 26, 2022
Front page on the NY Times today features a story about documentary filmmaker Meg Smaker and her "Jihab Rehab." Sundance Liked Her film on Terrorism, Until Muslim Critics Didn't. So I guess you have to be gay if you want to make a film about anyone who is homosexual. Or should Ken Burns have been allowed to make a film about the Holocaust? Scary story can be seen here.
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Sep 21, 2022
Firehouse Theater Dedicated to Docs opens in NYC. Co-founded in 1972 by Academy Award-nominated docu filmmaker Jon Alpert (“Life of Crime 1984-2020”) and his wife, doc producer Keiko Tsuno, DCTV has supported documentary filmmakers for the last 50 years. The center dedicated to docs helps produce nonfiction projects and hosts community screenings, discussions, youth media, and continuing education programs. The full story from Variety here.
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Sep 19, 2022
The power of the documentary is undeniable. The NY Times reports today that a judge has overturned the conviction of Adnan Syed. That name should be familiar to you from the first very successful podcast "Serial." Read the story here. And the Ken Burns mini series "The U.S. and the Holocaust" is reviewed here in the LA Times. You have probably read and seen the story more than once before. But when Mr. Burns lays it all out in front of you, it makes you think twice about our history. Those who think we should not teach our children critical race theory or anything that questions the good old USA, will not be pleased by this shocking and powerful warning documentary.
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Sep 16, 2022
Yesterday Variety says doc sales are slowing down. But today, the Hollywood Reporter says ..."streaming transforms the once-sleepy nonfiction space into a money-making juggernaut of hit series, cool parties and $30 million single-title sales." Read the Hollywood Reporter story here.
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Sep 15, 2022
Are doc sales slowing down? Is this the age of the corporate doc? Very interesting read from Variety that you can see here. Below is the poster art from Ondi Timoner's latest documentary picked up at Sundance by Sheila Nevins at MTV. We will be discussing the film with Ondi in an upcoming episode.
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Amy Stechler, who was instrumental in the early years of Florentine Films, the company behind the Ken Burns series “The Civil War” and numerous other acclaimed documentaries, and who went on to make an Emmy-nominated documentary of her own on the artist Frida Kahlo, died on Aug. 26 at her home in Walpole, N.H. She was 67. See the full obit here in the NY Times.
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When we produced the live Westdoc Conference in Santa Monica and Los Angles about ten years ago, we were very fortunate to have the best talent booker, Karin Martenson. I'm not sure how she did it, but she seemed to know everyone in the business and was always able to get A list talent. She had a great smile and laugh. Karin passed away in July and leaves two wonderful children. Our hearts are with the family.
August 13, 2022
BITTERBRUSH producer SU KIM discusses the current state of the documentary film here in IndieWire
The non fiction Emmy awards can be a bit confusing at first glance. Even with two glances. But here is the East Coast NY News and Doc nominations by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) as reported in RealScreen. Our episode # 90 "The Rescue" by Chai Vasarhely and Jimmy Chinn is one of the major nominees.
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Directors Guild of America
(You don't have to be a DGA member)
75th Annual Documentary Awards Schedule
Entry forms available online September 8, 2022
Submit Doc Entries Deadline October 17, 2022
Doc nominees announced January 10, 2023
DGA Awards Ceremony February 18, 2023
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July 20, 2022
The Unraveling of an Award Winning Documentary. The NY Times story here.
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July 1, 2022
Justin Timberlake sued by documentary filmmaker for unreleased doc. See the story on Deadline here.
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June 25, 2022
Did you happen to watch our episode #78 on the Matt Yoka film "Whirlybird?" It's a wonderful documentary about the infamous TV helicopter pilot Bob Tur and issues in their domestic life. You already know the MSNBC host Katy Tur and she is their daughter and has a new book out this week. The Washington Post headline reads "NBC’s Katy Tur took abuse from Trump; it reminded her of her childhood." See the story here.
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June 14, 2022
The Washington Post and Imagine Entertainment for partnership to create scripted and non scipted projects. See the story here.
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May 11, 2022
Lucy Walker on the Power of the Documentary film here.
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May 7, 2022
"The Profit" host Marcus Lemonis sued by business he was supposed to help. Read the story in the LA Times here.
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April 24, 2022
The largest and best documentary film festival in North America, Hotdocs starts this coming week in Toronto. Get all the info here.
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April 13, 2022
The ultimate ANDY KAUFMAN feature documentary is now in production. See the details here from the Hollywood Reporter.​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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April 13, 2022
In 1970 I went to Osaka, Japan to attend Expo '70 because I had become a fan of the the multi screen and interactive films from the previous Expo. This expo showed the first Imax film, Tiger Child, in the horizontal 70mm format that is 9 times bigger than a full 35mm frame. The extreme high quality and visual impact, is like seeing film for the first time. In fact, the screen is so big, the language of an Imax film is quite different than 35mm or any smaller format. Here is a link to an editorial in the recent LF Examiner from the retired editor/publisher, James Hyder, who thinks Imax should have better standards. (Reprinted by permission.)
April 7, 2022
Just in case you thought there wasn't enough competition, according to Variety there are now more than 817,000 titles available on U.S. streaming and TV services. See the story here.
Mar 18, 2022
Shorts near $1.5 million theatrical gross as Oscar broadcast creates second class category. ScreenDaily story here.
Mar 3, 2022
More trouble at the International Documentary Association (IDA) as additional staffers depart. Deadline story here.
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Mar 2, 2022
Rolling Stone Magazine has a wonderful piece on the Godmother of Documentaries, Sheila Nevins. The 82 year old Nevins currently is head of the doc unit at MTV. For 38 years she ran the HBO division that produced all their great award winning documentaries and other non fiction series. Read the story here.
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02-24-2022
The Academy Shoots Itself in the Foot
Washing Post perspective on how the Oscars may become irrelevant here.
02-22-2022
Some Awards Not Live This year!
The very day I feature the Documentary Short category on Westdoc, with a great interview with the director of a brilliant short doc, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces that several awards will not be presented live at their March telecast, including the Documentary Short. Here is the story in The Hollywood Reporter today by Scott Feinberg, who was on our episode #1.
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February 18, 2022
Where to Watch all 38 Oscar nominated feature films here in Variety.
January 13, 2022
"Where are the Jews?" Scandal at the Motion Picture Academy. Read the Rolling Stone story here.
I haven't mentioned this yet on Westdoc, but some of you may be aware that I have gotten involved with a couple of Broadway Bound musicals. "PARADISE SQUARE" is finally set to begin previews on Broadway March 15th. Here is a link to a short video and the link below to purchase tickets; https://paradisesquaremusical.com. (What does this have to do with documentary films, not much, yet. But if you enjoy live theater, you will love this show.)
Jan 8, 2022
The Hollywood Reporter has an extensive rundown on the 15 Oscar short listed Documentary features here.
Real Screen Summit scheduled for Austin in January 2022 has been rescheduled to June in Dana Point, Calif., due to Covid. But the folks at Brunico are going to produce a Real Screen Summit Lite February 7-11. Take a look at the agenda here.
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The Guardian is a newspaper worth supporting. Here is a story on upcoming new documentaries to look for.