rolling documentary thread 2012

MoMA doc fortnight:

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1246

whatever happened to Tape Store

he is watching a five thousand hour long chinese documentary

An old Toronto rep cinema, the Bloor, closed down last spring for renovations, and it's finally reopening as a full-time documentary theatre:

http://bloorcinema.com/2012/02/15/grandopening-of-the-newly-renovated-bloor-hot-docs-cinema-set-for-march-14/

That's nice, I still wish ppl would stop saying "docs" however

you nonfiction people and your abundance of syllables

Right

Anyway, the Naomi Uman films in your MoMA doc fortnight are good. I know the folks who made the Silver Platter movie, I bet that is worth a look

seeing some fun ones at the wisconsin film fest next month, 'Ecstasy of Order' (Tetris world championship!) and 'Hit So Hard' (lol '90s Patty Schemel bio)

also that raiders of the lost ark remade by teenagers thing

You should go to Iowa and watch my documentary too

what's your documentary??

It's just a short portrait I finished on 16mm. It is playing at a festival there.

Saw the Gerhard Richter film last night. Very frustrating--spent the whole time wondering if there was a problem with the sound. If anyone's seen this, can you let me know if there are actually long sections of interview footage with subtitles and no sound. I asked someone on staff after the film and didn't get much of an answer. Unless this was a stylistic thing, I think I want my money back.

The documentary festival here ends tomorrow. I saw Jeff last night, about Dahmer--thought it was very ordinary for such an incendiary topic. (Not a fan of re-enactment scenes, but Jeff's were low key and pretty good.) I felt like people were warily eyeing each other in line beforehand, trying to figure out which of us were practicing and/or aspiring serial killers. I was one of only a few people who wasn't with anybody, so I'm sure a number of people guessed me.

Rolling documentary not rolling too swiftly...I saw Vito tonight, about Vito Russo. Conventional, maybe, but really good, encompassing a lot of history. It seems like something that would have a good shot at the Academy Award, especially with recent events as a political backdrop (and maybe especially especially if Romney were to win), but it's an HBO film, and I don't think anything that plays on TV is eligible. Plus the usual problem of who knows what the criteria is even to get a nomination in that category. The director, Jeffrey Schwarz, was there, and he's already finished shooting his next film on Divine.

This one looks like catnip: Texas textbooks tainted by Tea!

http://www.salon.com/2012/10/24/the_revisionaries_texas_schoolbook_battle_%E2%80%94_crazier_than_you_thought/

'tchoupitoulas', new one by the directors of tape store favorite '45365', is very good, a dreamy tour of nighttime new orleans. sort of wish it looked better, though

also seriously now how has 'wildness', which was SHOT here, only played in LA once?? (to my knowledge)

Watched the first four parts of Baseball by Kay Burns. It is a pretty good introduction to the sport. That diamond thing was so enigmatic to me. Exited for the rest.

miss tape store

any recommends for DOC NYC?

http://www.fandor.com/blog/daily-doc-nyc-sf-docfest

I just saw Searching for Sugar Man on the weekend. I see that it opened in other places much earlier. Anyway, I thought it was great! Fascinating story. Anyone else seen it?

Anybody has seen Leviathan? I don't think any documentary will top it anytime soon. It's phenomenal.

i tried to go last night but it was sold out :/
so frustrated.

consolation: did catch & really enjoyed room 237.

So I saw Detropia, pretty much how I want a documentary about about the dying-and-resurrecting city to be, for the better. It's very good, despite some gratuitous cuts.

is anyone talking abt queen of versailles anywhere?

it's p good, even if it felt like the real housewives of orlando done as an episode of frontline

ppl are talking about it, I would prefer to take the cast hostage.

I meant are ppl on ILX talking about it

I really liked Detropia too! So much to look at, so many emotional stories. But I couldn't help but laugh during the young white artists segment. Even though I'm a big proponent of unsanctioned public art. Maybe we were supposed to laugh though - it seemed to really hit the class issues home.

leviathan is great.

end of time by peter mettler is flawed but pretty incredible in some ways, i recommend it.

ya detropia was rad, altho the actual movie was eclipsed by someone on the sidewalk outside theatre yelling "Worst. Documentary. Ever" as they pushed through the doors on their way out. thought it was interesting/tragic how, like, the government/authority are so powerless, both ito practically dealing with the exodus and just in terms of just straight up having to respond to these desperate pleas with "haven't you heard? we're broke!" can't tell if i appreciate or :-/ the lack of any mention whatsoever of crime, felt like it kept it a bit more light-hearted & "human" (and it could easily have focused too much on crime)

I'm quite sure they filmed a whole lot of crime (there is some drug dealing iirc) and just decided to edit it out. A decision I would agree with, 90 minutes was good timing and I'm happy they focused on other problems.

I agree with you, basically.

I just saw Searching for Sugar Man on the weekend. I see that it opened in other places much earlier. Anyway, I thought it was great! Fascinating story. Anyone else seen it?

There's a Rodriguez thread where people talk about it...I saw it on a plane a couple of weeks ago, definitely enjoyed it but coming back and learning how they finessed the backstory took away some of my good vibes. So maybe don't do any further research!

In Toronto, we'll be getting our fruit on tonight.

Im going this weekend. Anything eyesteelfilm does, needs to be seen.

Just saw Searching for Sugar Man and liked it alright. It IS pretty slick, though, and I assumed we were only getting a third of what a more curious filmmaker might've investigated.

And some of his songs are good but I am gonna chalk up the Dylanesque hyperbole to 'there's something for everybody.'

nice to meet ya tonight clemenza!! i mean last night

Enjoyed the film, and you guys were really funny during the Q&A. What I'll call the phone scene was probably the funniest thing I've seen this year. Someone at my school asked me to bring her some fruit, but having already been cut up, I didn't think it would last the weekend. So I just ate the piece of whatever it was that someone handed me, and it was quite good.

going tonight, quite excited.

thanks clemenza - means a lot from a guy who's opinion i respect.

and how funny that we have AS in common! we should swap war stories one day.

Only playing in NYC right now... def in my Best Doc '12 upper crust.

http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-law-in-these-parts/6687

noted, thanks Dr Morbius.

Fruit Hunters = a lot of fun.

Not sure how much play The World Before Her is getting outside of Canada. Well done, but it felt to me like the film didn't add a whole lot that I hadn't already gotten from seeing the trailer a number of times before other films. The scenes of the militaristic Prachi with her parents were good.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=j21b1r13hbE

Booker's Place burrows into Mississippi 1965, based on one minute of an archival interview with a black waiter/cafe owner who'd HAD IT. (and likely paid with his life)

http://blog.sundancenow.com/weekly-columns/docutopia-25-docs-rule%E2%80%94top-10-nonfiction-films-of-2012

On that note, I'm really not doing well with docs this year. I've seen one of these and one of the runners up.

Two for me, others on the way. Plus a lot of those only played fests.

The House I Live In didn't tell me all that much new, but it's cogent and focused except when Jarecki's autobiog intervenes a bit much.

(but I didn't realize rural Midwesterners were now serving life sentences for selling 3 oz of meth, I guess that what comes from missing Breaking Bad)

also I kind of sigh heavily when I see This Is Not a Film pigeonholed as a documentary when it's very cannily a crafted, scripted statement, knowing that it's the only way it's going to be paid much heed on these listicles.

Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

to wit:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/oscar-doc-race-narrows-to-15

anyone who knows how I can see 5 Broken Cameras in the next 3 weeks, give a shout

For the love of god, doc committee, pass over Bully.

Bill Clinton screaming "I -- FEEL -- YOUR -- PAIN" at an ACT UP heckler in How to Survive a Plague may be his most loathsome public moment.