Even as festivals incorporate more media platforms into their presentation, nothing can replace that sense of walking into a room and encountering a film and its filmmaker. Particularly when the filmmaker in question is the indefatigably frisky, incomparably quotable master auteur Paul Verhoeven. If you missed the sole screening of Tricked at the Tribeca Film Festival, let the following tide you over until it next projects—and until Verhoeven next holds court on matters of crowd-sourcing, Hollywood, Jesus, and adulterous women. … Read More
Festival Coverage
WATCH: Olivier Assayas on Something in the Air
“I really wanted to transmit something of what those years had been, because they have been so terribly misunderstood. It was both crazier and more serious than it had been made out to be”: In this SundanceNOW original video interview, Olivier Assayas talks about revisiting 70s youth activism in his autobiographical new film, Something in the Air.
Docutopia #44: Plumbing the Depths of Character at Tribeca 2013
During the actual ten days of the Tribeca Film Festival, with its red carpet star sightings—Naomi Watts! Zac Ephron!—and celebrity talks—Ben Stiller! Clint Eastwood!—it’s easy to forget that the fest has become one of the country’s preeminent launching pads for documentary films. Jesus Camp, Taxi to the Dark Side, and Jiro: Dreams of Sushi are among the stellar nonfiction films that have premiered at Tribeca. While these docs might have gotten shorter shrift from the paparazzi, their legacy has endured … Read More
VIDEO: Brandon Cronenberg on Antiviral
“I had this fever dream”: Brandon Cronenberg talks about the origin of his new film, Antiviral, in this SundanceNOW original video interview.
SXSW 2013: Two Takes on Austin’s Cinema Carnival
Critics Nick Pinkerton and Leah Churner converse about their experiences at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival.
True/False 2013: Two Freewheeling Takes On the Doc Fest
Critics Nick Pinkerton and Nicolas Rapold converse about their maiden voyage to the True/False Film Festival.
Docutopia #31: The Issue Doc Aesthetics of Sundance 2013
Not all of Sundance’s docs were created equally, but they were made in mostly the same mold: some TV-ready combination of first-person interviews, verité observations, archival footage and informational text. Whether it’s the tyranny of broadcast television executives or the conventional training of most documentary filmmakers, Sundance was awash in issues, not artistry.
Docutopia #30: Searching for Sundance’s Nonfiction Outliers
For cinephiles, the most exciting aspect of Sundance’s nonfiction programming is the showcasing of the head-scratchers, the outliers, the genre-busters—films that seemingly came from out of nowhere, about topics that are completely outside of the media-sphere and that manage to kick-start entirely new cultural conversations.
