Category
Sundance
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02.14.11The Documentary Blog Podcast Episode #9: Sundance SpecialYes Sundance was a few weeks ago, but I promise this will have been worth the wait. Jay was busy finishing his film, but Josh and I were fortunate enough to go to the festival again this year, and while we were there we recorded a special Sundance episode of the Documentary Blog Podcast. Josh must take all the credit as he ran around getting no less than seven interviews for this show with filmmakers at the festival (I think he may even have a few more up his sleeve for future shows). We really hope you enjoy the podcast, the ...
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01.31.11Sundance 2011 Documentary AwardsSo this year's Sundance has come to an end. It now seems to be a yearly tradition that I'll fly home the day of the awards and jetlag will allow me to stay awake and watch the ceremony that runs until 4am UK time. We tried to predict the winners this year during the festival but, as always, the majority that win are the films I didn't get a chance to see. Next year I'll make my predictions solely on that basis. Sundance 2011 was an amazing year for documentaries, and an extremely eclectic one when it came to subject matter. The new Documentary Premieres ...
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01.24.11Sundance Review: Beats, Rhymes & LifeI went into Beats, Rhymes and Life with extreme trepidation. Like many people of my generation A Tribe Called Quest hold an extremely special place in our hearts and were a huge component to the soundtrack of our youth. I was uneasy about the film being made at all; any film about a band that means so much to a huge group of people has high expectations to meet and has a near impossible task of pleasing everyone. Often these films can fall short of the mark, and where a film on any other subject would be allowed certain leeway, documentaries ...
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01.22.11Sundance Review: Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975Made entirely of 16mm footage filmed by Swedish journalists between 1967-1975, Black Power Mixtape is their journey through the culture and figureheads of the Black Power Movement. Left in a basement until now, the footage is absolutely stunning and this is combined with a gorgeous soundtrack provided by Questlove of The Roots. There are numerous documentaries about this period and the culture, but what makes Black Power Mixtape stand out is just how classy it is. In audio commentary throughout the film, we hear from artists and activists involved in or influenced by the movement. The lack of talking heads keeps ...
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12.02.10Sundance 2011 Non-Competition Lineups announcedThe full Sundance lineup has now been announced and below are the documentaries showing out of competition. The new Documentary Premieres category sees 8 films from some of the biggest names in documentary filmmakers - all of which look incredible. The other films at the festival fall into the Premieres, Native Showcase and New Frontier categories. Kevin McDonald's Life in a Day project is under the Premieres category; twenty minutes of the film was shown at Sheffield Doc/Fest last month and it was stunning. In New Frontier is John Akomfrah's The Nine Muses and !Women Art Revolution by Lynn Hershman, ...
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12.01.10Sundance 2011 Films in Competition announcedToday the list of films in competition at the 2011 Sundance was announced. Of those were the 28 documentaries that make up the US and World Cinema documentary competitions. We'll go into more depth with each of the films on the site as we get closer to the festival, but an initial look shows a fantastic mixture of first-time filmmakers alongside big names such as James Marsh, Marshall Curry and David Sington. Last year saw a large number of heavyweight directors at the festival and so it will be great to see such a variety of filmmakers and subject matter. However, ...
