The Greatest Doc Quote Ever:

In his definitive documentary text Directing The Documentary, Michael Rabiger writes:

It is better in the end to be clumsily energetic than exquisitely correct - which is to say, silent. To verify and consolidate your commitment, you have only to start making a few short documentaries. Once you have a personal stake in the form, its history and present day issues will come alive as the context to your own work. Make short films and then see what kind of dilemmas your forerunners faced and how they rationalized solving them.

Exploring The COMPETITION Doc: BLAST

If you ever thought science was boring, or lacking the thrills and chills of high adventure than you need to meet Dr. Mark Devlin and his project team of dedicated scientists as they travel the globe attempting to launch a high-altitude balloon that will carry a powerful telescope into the upper atmosphere. If the telescope can launch and land successfully it will hold answers to how this world was created, but if it crashes it will not only destroy years of hard work, but also the reputations of all involved. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the sacrifices greater for this team of scientific pioneers.

So, based on my description above why am I calling BLAST a competition doc?

Here is why:

A competition doc is one in which an individual, or a team of individuals are challenged by a task or a contest.

And, like in the case of BLAST, the competition doc does not have to be about an actual competition, but rather a challenge/task whose finish line is obscured by challenges and obstacles. Sometimes nature is the opposing factor (Lost In La Mancha), and sometimes illness is the wrench being thrown into the works (Warren Zevon: Keep Me in Your Heart).

What most competition docs share in common is:

1. The stakes are high (careers/ reputations are at stake in BLAST).
2. Ideally, more will be gained by pursuing the challenge/ task than by not (the answers to the Universe can be unlocked in BLAST).
3. Those who attempt the challenge/task will be changed by the experience.

There is no shortage of competition-style docs.

Spellbound, Wordplay, Pressure Cooker, Racing Dreams, King of Kong, Mad Hot Ballroom, Word Wars, Pucker Up, Air Guitar Nation and (most recently) The Young Composers Challenge are the titles I can list off the top of my head.

Lastly, and most importantly, what all these docs have in common is they are all populated by interesting characters.

Without engaging, compelling, and charismatic players the competition doc tends to fall flat.

Good Advice! 8 Documentary Dos & Don'ts From a Vet Programmer - indieWIRE

Sometimes good advice is good advice (no matter how much it hurts)

With that said:

Good Advice! 8 Documentary Dos & Don'ts From a Vet Programmer - indieWIRE

Great Documentary Websites

Please forgive the sporadic nature of this site, but when I come across something of doc importance I want to throw it up on this site ASAP.

Great Documentary Websites

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The "Putting on the show" Doc: Girls on the Wall

Within the genre of documentary there are countless sub-genres. I would like to spend the next few posts exploring a few of the doc sub-genres.

Here are a few I've encountered:

THE COMPETITION DOC: Spellbound, Wordplay, Mad Hot Ballroom, King of Kong

THE WAR DOC: Gunner Palace, Iraq For Sale, No End in Sight, Iraq in Fragments, Heavy Metal in Baghdad, How to Fold a Flag, Land of Confusion.

THE FOOD DOC: Food Inc., King Corn, Pressure Cooker, Flow

THE "PUTTING ON A SHOW" DOC : Shakespeare Behind Bars, La Corona, School Play, OT: Our Town, Autism: The Musical.

Heather Ross' Girls on the Wall is a textbook "putting on the show" doc.

GOTW is a solid, competent doc about the bad (and in some cases VERY bad) girls of the Warrenville Juvenile Correctional Facility.

Warrenville attempts to rehabilitate these damaged teens by allowing them to tell their stories in the form of a MUSICAL!

What makes this doc (and Warrenville’s program) so compelling is that the troubled teens write the show themselves - borrowing from their real life experiences. The process proves to be just as cathartic as it is creative.

The story unfolds in an easy manner – introducing us to several of the girls – as they try to come to terms with their lives, their crimes, and what their lives will be like after Warrenville.

The great thing about competition docs is the story arc is almost built into the premise and all they players will be changed by going through the experience.

Docs Not to Miss in 2010: P-STAR RISING

Is this any life for a kid?

Some of the things that happen in Gabriel Noble’s doc P-Star Rising:

9 year old Priscilla Diaz lives in a one room apartment with her father, Jesse, and her sister, Solsky.

Times are hard but the kid has boatloads of talent, and her dad used to be in the music biz, and he used to be somebody before a cocaine bust sent him away.

Pricilla’s mom was strung out for much of her early childhood, so Jesse knew that upon his release from jail had had to get full custody of his kids.

We join the story (in progress) as the kid signs a (bad) record deal.

Meanwhile an older sister, desperate for a mother, clings to her church, but can’t keep her grades from slipping.

Dad tries to manage P-Star’s career, but he fails. He wants the kid to be a RAP STAR.

P-STAR RISING is a doc so good, so tightly edited, and so well constructed that you forget it is a doc.

Chiefland took 2nd place at the Film Slam (at the Enzian) this past Sunday.

I'm always fine with not winning. Sometimes I prefer not winning. What drives me nuts is almost winning - it causes me to ask the question "was it them or me?"

Aside from that neurotic nonsense, the Film Slam was a very positive experience. I think we were one of the few films in the correct aspect ratio, and our film looked pretty good on the big screen.

The real test will be Indie Grits.

c.

Florida Docs Worth Finding

Immokalee U.S.A., directed by Georg Koszulinski, might just be the quintessential show don't tell documentary.

Described as “an account of migrant farmworkers in the U.S.A.” What this film does best is linger. It lingers not only on the people, but also on the machinery, and the sadness that can can grow into madness if the right set of desperate circumstance are in place.

Koszulinski is not interested in story , or any kind of resolution, as much as he is concerned with capturing the reality of daily migrant life.

One reviewer, frustrated by Immokalee USA's approach to storytelling wrote, "... a thoroughly hands-off “see for yourself” approach to filmmaking sidesteps the critical issues. The filmmaker’s responsibility lies in drawing certain conclusions".

I could not disagree more.

Docs I Love: Operation Filmmaker

Helping Baghdad film student, Muthana Mohmed, after his film school was bombed during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, by the United States, must have seemed like the right thing to do for actor/ filmmaker Liev Schreiber.

Schreiber, who at the time, was preparing to direct “Everything is Illuminated,” felt he could provide the young film student an invaluable ‘on set’ learning experience. However the menial responsibilities of a PA bore and aggravate Mohmed. He wants to direct. This is the set-up for Nina Davenport’s documentary OPERATION FILMMAKER.

What follows is the story of how the Mohmed and Davenport relationship deteriorates as the Iraqi struggles to avoid returning to his war torn country. This is a film about filmmaking, cultural differences, war, survival and the relationship between the filmmaker and film subject. Rarely does a documentary so honestly show a filmmaker crossing the objective/ journalistic line and becoming a part of the story.


Both OPERATION FILMMAKER and LOST IN WOONSOCKET tackle the sticky relationship between filmmaker and subject.

Lost in Festival Land

Documentaries I love Made by Filmmakers I Do Not Love

Case Study #1: LOST IN WOONSOCKET

How far will a reality television show go to help a pair of homeless alcoholics living in a tent in the woods of Woonsocket, Rhode Island? Far enough to break all of their established show rules, and continue filming even after the A & E cable network cancels the series. The show, “Random 1,” connected people in need with people in a position to offer help. This simple concept was more of a humanitarian experiment, than television show; however, armed with the notion that their show could spark a movement of people helping people, Filmmaker John Chester and Executive Producer/ Co-host Andre Miller traveled the country documenting how random kindness could change lives. And yet it is the lives of the filmmakers that are forever changed when they stop being observers and become active participants while assisting two down-and-out buddies find a life of sobriety. Reality television has never been so real. -CR

This was the doc I REALLY wanted to have in the 2008 festival.

What I didn't know, and couldn't have known, is the director (John Chester) had long since parted ways with the film, and had basically let the stars of the film (two recovering alcoholics) travel with the film - festival to festival - using the film to promote an organization called Lost and Found in America.

When the "stars" arrived in town they demanded to be taken to an AA meeting immediately (rough flight?) - I'm not judging - just reporting.

After the screening of Lost in Woonsocket (not a dry eye in the theater- it's powerful stuff ) the two gentlemen announced that they would be selling copies of the DVD in the lobby of the theater.

The festival director, a god among men, said he had no problem with this, but (to me) it seemed opportunistic and a little desperate.

My belief is that film festivals are sacred grounds meant for filmmakers to share their work with an audience and in return receive feedback. Audiences at festivals have usually paid enough for their package deals, their popcorn, and their parking that they shouldn't have to pony up for a dvd.

After the festival, I shot an e-mail to the film's director and let him know MY feelings about what was going on with his film.

His response was apologetic, but he also said he was no longer associated with the film and that it was now being used as a means to promote and raise money for Lost and Found in America.

He also stated that the two "stars" of the film were using festivals and other screenings as a means to boost their own egos. Perhaps, that part of his e-mail was meant to be private, but I thought it was a very odd thing to say.

As a member of the selection process, I take my responsibilities very serious. I want the best films to be shown. What I don't want is a film coming to town to promote an organization or boost egos that are in need of boosting.

I stand by my choice, it is a very good doc, but I regret LOST IN WOONSOCKET played the festival.

My Favorite Doc last year

Kimberly Reed (recently featured on Oprah) is an amazing woman, amazing filmmaker, and someone I hope considers me a friend.

Her film, Prodigal Sons, has won awards at nearly every festival it has played, and it continues to wow audiences at every screening.

After Prodigal Sons screened at the FFF, I conducted a Q&A session with Kimberly, and I was amazed at how transfixed, curious, and engaged the audience was with Kim. Because the film is so personal, and Kim is so open, the questions were equally personal and open. This was no "what type of camera did you use" session. The audience didn't want the Q&A to stop! It was one of those nights when nobody wanted to leave the theater.

When we walked off the stage, Kim whispered in my ear "that was intense."

Yes it was.

Check out the trailer for PRODIGAL SONS at the FIRST RUN FEATURES site:

http://firstrunfeatures.com/trailers.html

Average Community, not only won the AUDIENCE AWARD at CMJ last year, but has also managed to generate a lot of great reviews and positive press both here in Central Florida and in NJ.

Campaign Doc Research

I hope my next doc will be about a political campaign.

Inherent in the campaign formula is the all important story arc. One of my favorite campaign docs is called ANYTOWN, USA. It's about a NJ mayor's race.










Watch it here (FOR FREE):
http://www.hulu.com/watch/107095/anytown-usa

We are an OPENING NIGHT FILM!

The Indie Grits Film Festival will be including CHIEFLAND in their first night of films.

Huge honor.

We wanted to be a part of this festival from the start, so it just feels nice to be in a festival that is as enthusiastic about us as we are of them.

c.

www.indiegrits.com/Indie-Grits-Current-Festival.php

Average Community

Fred Zara is both my friend and mentor.

So much of what I learned from making the King Lear doc I learned through Fred, so when it came time to make his own feature documentary he brought me in as a producer. It was the easiest producing gig I will ever have because Fred knew what he wanted from the start.

If I was of any service to him, it was through our many conversations about the theme of Average Community. One of our chats actually made it into the final film (I play the stuttering, hat wearing, coffee drinking producer sitting on a park bench).

Fred fashioned a circular tale of youth, adulthood, career, passion, and friendship, but what struck me most THEMATIC about the film was its use of the Delaware River Bridge. The bridge, a Trenton landmark, and more commonly known as the "Trenton Makes Bridge" because it states (in giant neon letters) TRENTON MAKES THE WORLD TAKES - a slogan the city adopted in 1910.

Bingo!

If I had any influence on Fred, it was addressing the question about what does Trenton make (it made Fred), and how did the World take him, his brothers, and his friends?

Go see AVERAGE COMMUNITY and find out!

c.





www.averagecommunity.com/index.html



Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, a post-industrial wasteland of abandoned factories, neglected row houses and urban decay. Trenton is a relic of America’s once-thriving manufacturing economy, the kind of city most of us have long since forgotten. But for Fred Zara, a 30-something family man living an average suburban life near downtown Orlando, it’s not so easy a place to forget.

Growing up in Trenton in the mid-1980s, Fred went by the name of Fred Fatal, played drums in a punk-rock band called Prisoners of War, and was filled with so much teen angst that he managed to get himself kicked out of high school before reaching the 10th grade.

“Average Community” follows Fred on a 900-mile journey back to his hometown to confront his troubled past, and the troubled people in it, in the hopes of understanding how the person he was made him into the person he is. Fred is joined by his two older brothers, one a disheartened New York journalist, the other a free-spirited Seattle musician, as he reunites with old friends, revisits painful memories and tries to make sense of what it meant to grow up in a dying city.

http//graphiknatur.blogspot.com/2009/07/average-community-documentary-by-zara.html

The Truth is No Excuse

Tim O'Brien's short story How to Tell a True War Story explores the problematic connection between fact and fiction and the roles they play in both war and storytelling. Tim O’Brien makes it abundantly clear that he is far more interested in the narrative construct of story as a means of expressing emotional truth, than he is about writing events as they may have actually occurred. As a writer, and as a soldier, O’Brien relies on the sensory observation of a war that “has the feel - the spiritual texture - of a great ghostly fog,” to serve as the only tangible truth throughout all of his stories. In The Things They Carried, war represents death in all forms: death of innocence, spiritual death, and death of the body. It is in these stories where the “old rules are no longer binding,” and the only order, or logic to be found in country must come from the storyteller.

O’Brien’s position is that although truth (or fact) may be definitive, unemotional and distant – like history—it fails to convey the psychological depth and damage of events that have been seared into the soldier’s memory by traumatic events. For the storyteller, only the regenerative powers of imagination can reshape trauma into a livable and tolerable condition. When Sanders tells O’Brien that “you just go with the vapors," he is admitting that there is music in the jungle, but that the real stories of madness (or supernatural phenomenon) cannot be told or documented as the truth. They must be transformed, re-invented, and projected as shadows of the truth.

Creativity can be defined as the employment of certain tools for the purpose of expression. The obvious tools are imagination and originality; however, a closer examination of the creative process reveals choice as the primary building block of creativity. Choices like setting, character and dialogue all function to shape the story and give it structure.

A literary term for O’Brien’s approach to storytelling is Metafiction, and it implies a self-aware approach that “draws attention to its status as an artifact in order to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality.” The means (or the mechanism) that O’Brien utilizes to probe the problematic connection between fact and fiction is his story structure. O’Brien structures H.T.T.A.T.W.S. around several stories (a letter, music in the jungle, Curt Lemmon, and the buffalo), and each story is filtered through the character of Tim O’Brien who serves as the moral center. However, the real purpose of these stories is the relationship they have to each other and not Tim O’Brien. They function as an interconnected whole, and serve to tell a larger story – a larger truth about war, love and memory.

Rebooting this Blog!

I'm back!

No longer is this blog going to be JUST about my KING LEAR doc.

It's 2010 and I've moved on and (I hope) you have moved on too.

It is time to talk about the other documentaries I have produced since KING LEAR, and the lessons I learned from those experiences.

Also, I want to use this blog to put to good use the knowledge I've gleaned as a part of the doc selection committee for the Florida Film Festival.

And lastly, I want to use this blog to share news about my current projects and to promote the doc projects of my friends.

Stay tuned!

Chris