Recommended Documentaries

I recently saw Gypsy Blood on TV in the UK and was incredibly happy to see this style of doc (no voice over and space between the scenes) on main stream TV with a prime-time slot of 10pm. The trailer makes it look like a doc on bare knuckle fighting. But this, i believe, was just a way to sell it to the masses as in fact it goes much deeper than that, in to a community and their values, as well as the relationship between father and sons. A first ever film, shot by photographer Leo Maguire on a Canon 5D it looks beautiful and i hope gets some festival showings as it deserves to be seen on a large screen.
The embed video would not take this URL for some reason –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldDwfNLD5F8

Tribute to an almost entirely forgotten documentary filmmaker: Robert Vas came to London as a refugee from Hungary in 1956, to make over thirty films in the next twenty years, most of them for the BBC. This tribute made shortly after his death in 1978 is presented by fellow exile Karel Reisz (note that the film starts very quietly)

Full disclosure: a decade ago, I tried to make a film portrait of Vas with producer John Wyver, but we couldn't get anywhere with the BBC (a certain commissioning editor's explanation being "we're interested in the future not the past"); in the meantime, many of those who knew him have passed on themselves. Check out this entry on Vas, Robert who? on the excellent blog John maintains for his company Illuminations.

Just saw THE ACT OF KILLING at the Telluride Film Festival (its world premiere, I believe). I had to pick up my jaw off the floor after they turned on the lights at the end of the show. This has been one of the most talked about films of the festival and I can't wait to hear the broader doc community react to this one.....

Wow. That looks astonishing.

Fiona, what was your personal reaction, thoughts?

Already heard amazing things about The Act of Killing. What else did you see there that you liked, Fiona?

In reply to Fiona Otway's post on Mon 3 Sep 2012 :

That's amazing. The only other doc treatment of the 65' massacres is in a multi-part Australian doc "Riding the Tiger", which used some B/W footage from the time. (BBC I think). My doc on the Indonesian Student movement of 98 used some BBC footage and interviewed some of the survivors and witnesses. I have a good friend in Indonesia, Lexy Rambedeta, who has also worked on this issue.

Watch Sean McAllister's films for free at Doc Alliance between Sept 10-16

Sean McAllister is a British documentary filmmaker who has brought stories from Israel, Iraq, Japan, and most recently Syria and Yemen. Sean's films portray people with characteristic intimacy and frankness, specifically in the film Japan: A Story of Love and Hate.

Watch the retrospective of a filmmaker who Michael Moore marks as "one of the most brave and powerful filmmakers around" for FREE from September 10 to 16

In reply to Fiona Otway's post on Mon 3 Sep 2012 :

A friend of mine just saw it at TIFF and was one of his favourite films. The other very intriguing doc at TIFF is Leviathan by Lucien Castaing-Taylor (Sweetgrass) and Véréna Paravel.. can't wait to watch those films.

In reply to Danielle Beverly's post on Tue 4 Sep 2012 :

I thought THE ACT OF KILLING was fascinating for its attentive form/content relationships, which raise lots of juicy questions about the representation of history (personal/social/political), propaganda, memory, truth, witnessing, power, violence, forgiveness, performance, transformation.... Some people in the audience were very suspicious of having been emotionally manipulated by the filmmaker, others had moral qualms with the premise of the film as well as the filmmaker giving voice to warlords (similar to critiques of REDEMPTION OF GENERAL BUTTNAKED, I think), and some were concerned about sensationalizing genocide. Personally, I think this is one of those films that leaves you with way more questions than answers – questions that you have to really ponder for a while and hopefully talk to others about too – and I loved it for that reason. There are so many layers for discussion in this film.... I really enjoyed hearing the director, Joshua Oppenheimer, speak about the film too – a very thoughtful guy.

In reply to Doug Block's post on Tue 4 Sep 2012 :

None of the other films I saw really affected me as strongly as THE ACT OF KILLING. But I also ended up seeing more fiction than documentary at this festival.

THE GATEKEEPERS was another very popular doc at the festival. It has some incredible historical significance, however in terms of form, it's a fairly conventional talking heads documentary. The motion graphics were very impressive immersive 3D recreations of archival photographs.

WADJDA was very charming. A simple story about a spunky Saudi Arabian girl who wants a bicycle. Well told and satisfying. First-ever film by a Saudi Arabian woman, they said.

GINGER AND ROSA was pretty and sweet. Made me want to see more of the director, Sally Potter's work. That said, I met a few people at the festival who walked out of this screening because they were bored and disappointed.

NO was a little too long, but interesting. Also deliberately plays with the relationship between form and content. I'm still thinking about it.

AMOUR won the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year. Most everyone I talked to loved this film, but I saw a short documentary on the same subject at Full Frame earlier this year, and I was way more moved by that.

Wish I could have seen STORIES WE TELL, WHAT IS THIS FILM CALLED LOVE, and PARADISE LOVE. I've been hearing great things.

Pablo, I'm also very eager to see LEVIATHAN!

I'm really eager to see STORIES WE TELL. More than anything.

I saw SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN last night in a regular commercial Regal movie theater with a Sony 4k projector. Wow, how nice to see a good doc on a great screen with great audio. So glad to see docs getting some decent venues lately.

Did a search here looking for more info on the Sundance audience winner and haven't seen anyone mention it, so thought I'd recommend it.

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN, by Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul, is a quest story. Some South African fans of 1970's Detroit musician 'Rodriguez', (bigger than Elvis and the Beatles in SA but in total obscurity in the US,) try to find out what happened to the "better than Dylan" voice that fueled revolt against apartheid. Well-told story that holds your attention and it has great music. Good production values. Not challenging, so ranks high in entertainment value.

Interesting to see how they put the story together with a slow reveal yet managed to keep it engaging. Great use of animation in some scenes.

The official trailer on YouTube is ad-ridden, so here's one with subtitles (movie is in English.)

that got good reviews here in Seattle – yet i didn't see it. sounds like you liked it pretty well, but wouldn't necessarily give it an "A"?

I think I wrote about this in the bar or the member's doc section.

I would give it an A. It is very well made and unexpected. I don't want to give away anything, so see it, then we can discuss.

"Searching For Sugarman" is a wonderful story. Sixto Rodriguez is almost like a bodhisattva – ok I won't give anything away.

I did wonder if the people who produced his earlier records really understood him. They put all this lush, syrupy instrumental sound under his very strong guitar & voice. I wonder if that is why the albums tanked in the U.S. His lyrics are still relevant.

In reply to Riley Morton's post on Mon 17 Sep 2012 :

Oh, I LOVED Searching for Sugarman. Great film. Definitely an A. When I said "not challenging," I meant that it doesn't beat you over the head with academic or intellectual highbrow-ness. Like most great stories, it's simple and lovely.

hi, im new here and a freelance filmmaker and cinematographer from germany...
nice community here and so i decidet to show you my documentaryteaser i done... i think the hole film is very interesting and some times probably controversal...

"Tarna" is a 40min. documentary film about "Lady Tarna", a extrem/scat domina from Berlin. I followed her one day with the camera, to show the everydays life of a domina, but also to show the person behind.

i shot the hole film alone in one day... this was the concept, beeing only one day with tarna and triying to make it as real as possibly...

hope you like the small teaser...

greets

Chris, welcome to The D-Word, but please read the text at the top of this Page which makes it absolutely clear that posting your own work is not what this Topic is for.

As such, the link to your video has been removed. You are welcome to repost as suggested. Thanks.

hi john and sorry for this, i read it now on the top of this topic... sorry and greets

Just saw this short, Caine's Arcade, about a 9 year old boy who built a cardboad arcade in his dad's used car parts shop in Los Angeles. It is an amazing story, where a filmmaker was Caine's first customer and he was so impressed, he created a flash mob set of customers last October. The whole thing has really exploded, including a Cardboard Challenge for kids around the world, coming up on 6 October.

In reply to Marth Christensen's post on Tue 18 Sep 2012 :

isn't that piece just fantastic? didn't know about the 'cardboard challenge.' thats very cool.

Please check it out x

Jake – this looks a lot of fun, but you have clearly not read the statement at the top of this page which makes it clear that this topic is not to showcase your own work. Feel free however to repost the link in the suggested topic.

This is a great short piece. I looked back and didn't see this posted, so I thought I would share. I especially like the end where Burns talks about his mother and how it relates to his film making. Fascinating stuff, and so true.

In reply to Jason Boone's post on Sat 13 Oct 2012 :

Yes, I loved that short piece about Ken Burns, especially when he mentions who he's "actually trying to wake up."

Landfill Harmonic is an upcoming feature-length documentary about a remarkable musical orchestra in Paraguay, where young musicians play instruments made from trash.

More at www.facebook.com/landfillharmonicmovie.

Request to have your documentary reviewed! http://timetogetsome.tumblr.com/

In reply to John Burgan's post on Sat 8 Dec 2012 :
Thanks for posting, John. Really want to see this. The moment where Bebi plays the Cello is amazing.

Wow. What about the brass instruments? Surely those aren't made from recycled parts??

The excellent Doc Alliance website has regular free streaming events for limited periods. For a week from January 21st 2013 the theme is World Economics – actually a cultural phenomenon? – check out a selection of free docs from Canada, Austria, Germany & Belgium.

Check out this New Yorker article by Richard Brody about Godard, Pennebaker & Leacock in the late 60's One P.M. All Day

Sugar Man blew my mind.

In reply to Jason Boone's post on Sat 13 Oct 2012 :

For those of us who enjoy the work of Ken Burns, "City of Gold" was the film that deeply inspired him in his youth as to how still images could be fully incorporated into the documentary genre.

This film is what inspired Ken Burns to incorporate what came to be known as the "Ken Burns Effect" so extensively in his work.

Also available to view on the excellent National Film Board of Canada website

Nice moment at 5:13, the first instance of the "Ken Burns effect," it's a near-seamless dissolve from a live footage tilt-and-pan to a tilt-and-pan across a still.

Another nice KBE at 12:49, with a tilt-and-pan across the photo, before cutting to a wide shot of the full photo.

I agree Summers, it was a revelation to stumble across this pioneering film, which still has some of the finest examples of the technique I have seen. A real master class.

Those are two great exemplars you mentioned. And it's interesting how at 13:15 it's a jump cut to the wide shot in its entirety, which is done very well.

And John is correct. The entire catalogue of the National Film Board of Canada is really quite a treasure trove of free clinics with the masters.

That was really great- thanks for posting it. What a gem having that old guy nattering with his mates with a saw in his hand. I love the shooting that they did up there in 1958 and plan on channeling it.

I originally saw this in school and still feel that it is quite near perfection.

In reply to Jason Osder's post on Thu 7 Feb 2013 :

Beautiful film!

Also available here in a higher rez version.....

http://www.nfb.ca/film/paul_tomkowicz_street_railway_switchman

What a treasure trove. I enjoyed the switchman too. And this one about Paul Anka by the same guy that made City of Gold Wolf Koenig http://www.nfb.ca/film/lonely_boy

They are all shot so well, super solid and they hold their shots forever which has to be every editors dream and a great reminder to do the same.

another great NFB film, Corral by Colin Low

http://www.nfb.ca/film/corral

French legend Agnes Varda, streaming for free at Doc Alliance till February 17th...

I'm addicted to the Canadian National Film Board archive. Thanks for hooking me up. This one is a 15 minute gem that we watched with our daughter. Its about a family in canada with 12 kids....12 kids.......yikes!

It's Just Better

Keeping the Higgins clan entertained. A job well done.

BTW the NFB also has a free iPad/iPhone App which you can use to stream movies to your TV

http://www.nfb.ca/free-downloads/nfb-ipad-app/

Done.

I'm really inspired by the shooting in these older c1950/60's short films. They're shot so deliberately and they seem to hold their shots forever (the number one criticism from every documentary editor). I'm guessing part of the reason is that in the 50's the only folk that were commissioned to go out and shoot on film were the ones that had really done their time in the trenches. I'm lapping up Director/DP Wolf Koenigs work.

The Area...Amazing and powerful work from the good folks behind "The Grid" project, based out of Chicago. Dont know who did what on this one, but Brian Ashby who did scrappers was one of the people involved. So gritty and real, and I love the style and the voices that are featured, definitely check this out...https://vimeo.com/59895906

wow John, thanks so much for posting the "Landfill Harmonic" trailer. Incredibly inspiring.

Documentary/Metafilm/Musical/Ididn'tknowthisshithappend/itsbizarre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQhIRBxbchU

see dir.cut/longversion