Documentary Field Notes and Flashpoints: category

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Femmes et cinéma en Suède: du progrès

Ebbe the movie de Jane Magnusson et Karin af Klintberg

Plusieurs films intéressants étaient en nomination pour l’équivalent des Jutras en Suède, les Guldbaggar.
Dans la catégorie documentaire, Ebbe the movie de Jane Magnusson et Karin af Klintberg est un portrait fascinant de l’éditeur Ebbe Carlsson qui a monté les échélons de la politiques suédoise grâce [...]

‘Inside Disaster’ shooting in Haiti

We are all of course terribly sad about the tragedy in Haiti – our family not the least since we have a daughter who lived her first years in Port au Prince. I of course encourage everyone to contribute money to the relief and reconstruction efforts.
Among the many film crews now in Port au Prince [...]

Based on a true story: the Informant!

I just saw the film The Informant! labeled a dark comedy, directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring Matt Damon, based on the 2000 non-fiction book by the same name by journalist Kurt Eichenwald. It tells the story of a bumbling whistleblower who takes on the management of the giant agribusiness corporation he works for, but who [...]

This trade union knows how to use film and video!

Still from the film ‘Final Offer’ directed by Sturla Gunnarsson
I recently had the opportunity to co-direct a 25-minute video for the Canadian Auto Workers with my wife Jocelyne Clarke. This is one of the very few commissioned pieces I have worked on in my 30 years of doing audiovisual work, but the Auto Workers [...]

Thought-provoking! Lech Kowalski and the ‘post-doc’ age

An image from Lech Kowalski’s ‘Hey! Is Dee Dee Home?’
Last week I saw the most creatively radical documentary I have ever seen, East of Paradise (2004) by Lech Kowalski. It breaks every convention of story development. The first half of the film is made up of an interview with Kowalski’s mother, about the horrors [...]

Black Wave - l’héritage désastreux de Exxon Valdez

Manifestation en août 2006, réclamant que Exxon nettoie les plages et qu’il paie pour les dommages.
Un des meilleurs films que j’avais vu aux Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal au mois de novembre sera aussi présenté cette semaine au Festival des Films sur les Droits, aussi à Montréal, et sera également diffusé à Radio-Canada [...]

A couple of links: Age of Stupid, Slumdog Millionaire

I am screening a ton of rushes, not much time for writing. But I thought I’d pass on a couple of interesting links.

An image from the documentary ‘The Age of Stupid’
First, about the ‘crowd-funded’ documentary The Age of Stupid, by British documentarian Director Franny Armstrong and Producer Lizzie Gillett. Film completed, their aim over [...]

The philosopher-filmmaker at Rideau Hall - part 2

Barack Obama, Michaëlle Jean, and Jean-Daniel Lafond
‘Cinéaste frustré, philosophe comblé.‘ (’Frustrated filmmaker, fulfilled philosopher.’)
Following up on my post from last week, here’s part two of my interview with Jean-Daniel Lafond.  How has he adapted to his newest role as “His Excellency” and a very active partner to Canada’s Governor General, Michaëlle Jean?
[Video interview clip further [...]

The philosopher-filmmaker at Rideau Hall - part 1

Jean-Daniel Lafond
The other day, as U.S. President Obama touched down in Ottawa, I asked my students at l’INIS, the Quebec Film school, a question. ‘Which documentary filmmaker will be meeting with Obama today?’ Puzzled looks, no answers. They asked for a lead. ‘OK, I said, he is also a French citizen.’ ‘Oh, of course,’ [...]

A year in class, fiction meets documentary.

A still from Laurent Catnet’s film The Class [original French title: Entre les murs]
Have you noticed how many and how many recent fiction films look like documentaries, or are inspired by documentaries? I recently wrote about Milk - up for several Oscars - which borrows many scenes from the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk. [...]

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