20 Under 40: Film Industry Talent to Watch

Following the heels of the 2010 CINEMA EYE HONORS, Toronto IFF and Stranger Than Fiction’s Thom Powers put together a list of 20 industry leaders worth keeping an eye on.  Listed among the talented and hard-working leaders of the non-fiction frontier is  Camden International Film Festival’s Founder and Director, Ben Fowlie.  Put simply by Power’s, “Ben Fowlie, founding director of the Camden Film Festival, has put a small town on the map of a crowded festival calendar. In order for film culture to flourish, we could use an organizer like Ben in every small town.”

Thanks for the recognition Thom!  Powers and his top-notch programming has been a major influence in our programming over the years.  We’ve been fortunate enough to have Thom’s wife, Raphaela Niehausen (who also made the list!) attend CIFF (MISS GULAG, CIFF ’07) and have also collaborated with his NY based Stranger Than Fiction Screening Series (THE WAY WE GET BY, STF SPRING ’09).

Congrats to everyone else mentioned.  CIFF is in exceptional company!  A special shout out to list-makers and major CIFF alums, David Redmon and Ashley Sabin!  For a complete list of the 20 Under 40: Film Industry Talent to Watch, visit the STF blog.

CIFF Conquers the Big Apple!

A sincere apology for the radio silence this past month.  We’ve been extremely busy this New Year (Happy belated 2010!), holding events in association with the 2010 Cinema Eye Honors in NYC, as well as gearing up for what some are already saying is going to be a very dynamic year for docs!  Although CIFF was unable to attend Sundance this year, we’ve got some choice representatives luring doc filmmakers NorthEast for this years CIFF (Thanks Sean Flynn!).

For those who don’t know, the CINEMA EYE HONORS for NONFICTION FILMMAKING is an annual event recognizing and honoring exemplary craft and innovation in nonfiction film.  The event is the brainchild of doc moguls, AJ Schnack (Convention, CIFF ’09 and ALL THESE WONDERFUL THINGS blog) and Thom Powers (Toronto Intl Film Festival Head Programmer / STF Program Director).  This year AJ asked CIFF Director, Ben Fowile, to take-part as a member of the nominating committee, a group of 11 documentary programmers from the best festivals from all over the world.

The night before the awards, CIFF held a reception for all nominated filmmakers and a number of industry guests.  The event went smashingly, thanks to sponsors Above Allen, Thompsons Hotel LES and of course, Maker’s Mark.  Thanks also to Leah Hurley, CIFF ’09’s producer for helping put this event together.  I think the consensus of the entire CE weekend was just how gracious and supportive the documentary community is.  In a city of over 10 million, somehow it felt like the only people who surrounded you were people who eat, sleep and breath nonfiction.  CINEMA EYE reminds us that there are several reasons why we devote our time and energy to nonfiction filmmaking, whether it’s creation, consumption or exhibition.  Thanks to everyone involved in making this special weekend happen.  It was an honor to have CIFF be a part of an event that recognizes craft and innovation in an art form that is continually pushing its own boundaries.

It should also be mentioned that there were tons of CIFF alum there as nominated filmmakers including the filmmakers from BECAUSE WE WERE BORN, THE WAY WE GET BY, OCTOBER COUNTRY and even a special appearance by CIFF alum, Peter Davis!  Below are a few pictures from the event.  If you are interested in seeing more, join us on facebook here. We’ll also be posting them to our flickr account soon.

Finally, big ups to Mike and Donal from OCTOBER COUNTRY for taking home two awards, BEST DEBUT FEATURE and BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE.  Also, congrats to our good friend Jessica Oreck and her film BEETLE QUEEN CONQUERS TOKYO for taking home the SPOTLIGHT AWARD.  Check out a complete listing of winners here.

2010 SPIRIT AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Over on the west coast nominations for the 2010 SPIRIT AWARDS were announced earlier today.  Several of these films we’ve been following for quite some time so it’s a real joy to see them making it to the finals in the awards season.  Congrats to all nominated doc films.  Michael Palmieri’s and Donal Mosher’s OCTOBER COUNTRY (CIFF ’09) scored yet another nomination, this time for BEST DOCUMENTARY proving that it’s the biggest little independent film taking the awards season by storm.  Here’s hoping everyone will have a shot to see this film sometime soon, no matter what corner of the country you are in!

Also congrats to the TRUER THAN FICTION nominations.  We’ve been gushing about these three films since their premieres earlier this year!  All very well deserved.  And if you don’t believe us, check here, here and here.

Jessica Oreck – BEETLE QUEEN CONQUERS TOKYO

Bill and Turner Ross – 45365

Natalia Almada – EL GENERAL (This film had a very quiet festival run but has been making waves during the awards season)

Awards Season Ramping Up!

CIFF is over and snow has already fallen so that must mean its time for the award season to begin (despite it only being mid-October).  We expect lots of this years films to be among the many nominated in some form or another for one award or another.  IFP announced the nominations for their GOTHAM AWARDS today and a very special congrats to Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher for their nod.  OCTOBER COUNTRY was nominated for a Gotham Award – Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You.  We were honored to be able to present the New England Premiere of this acclaimed documentary and wish Donal and Michael the best of luck.

Two days ago AJ Schnack announced the 98 features eligible for the prestigious CINEMA EYE HONORS, which will be held in January in NYC ( an earlier date for the Awards’s Ceremony this year).  CIFF Founder and Director, Ben Fowlie has been asked to be on the Nominating Committee for the 2010 Awards.  Features will be whittled down and nominations will be announced in November at the Sheffield Doc Fest.  For more information, and a complete listing of this years films, visit AJ’s blog post here, or the Cinema Eye Honors site.  Going through the list of films reaffirms what an incredible year for nonfiction it was.  Thanks to all the filmmakers for making such incredible works and good luck!  We’ll have much much more on this event, leading up to the big night in January!

And The Winners Are….

The Camden International Film Festival announced its award winning films at the Closing Night Ceremony on Sunday, October 4^th at the Camden Opera House in Camden.  The Closing Reception ended 09 festival activities that included screening 45 films representing numerous countries, the inaugural edition of the POINTS NORTH Documentary Film Forum, live musical performances and video installation exhibits.  Winning filmmakers received $1,000 cash prize and the CIFF Award Winner receives a scholarship to attend courses at the Maine Media Workshops in Rockport, Maine through a sponsorship from Maine Media Workshops.

This year’s Harrell Award for Best Documentary goes to BECAUSE WE WERE BORN directed by Jean Pierre Duret and Andrea Santana.  The film documents two young teenage boys who hang out at a service station in Pernambouc in the poor northeast of Brazil, watching trucks and travelers and hearing stories about a wider world they can only dream of.

The Harrell Award Jury noted: “The jury gives Jean-Pierre Duret and Andrea Santana’s BECAUSE WE WERE BORN the Harrell Award for Best Documentary Feature for its excellence in cinematic craft and for its rigorously pure vérité aesthetic.  The filmmakers have created a work that challenges the viewer on many levels.  Told with a quiet intensity and deep love and respect for their subjects, in our opinion, this piece represents the best of what nonfiction cinema has to offer.”

This years CIFF Award for Emerging Cinematic Vision goes to Patrick Shen’s THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS.  The film documents the search of wisdom in unlikely places. The Philosopher Kings takes us on a journey through the halls of the most prestigious colleges and universities in America to learn from the staff members who see it all and have been through it all: the custodians.

The CIFF Award Jury noted: “The jury is thrilled to present the CIFF Award to Patrick “Die Hard” Shen for his remarkable achievement, PHILOSOPHER KINGS.  The film took a sensitive and humanistic approach to its material, allowing its unconventional yet universal subjects to speak for themselves.  Though they all had experiences that bordered on the extreme – from losing an arm in an accident to being traumatized by war – the subjects were individuals with wisdom and emotion before being victims of any tragedy.  Shen, through his subjects, managed to touch on larger social issues through the eyes of several disparate, and remarkable, characters.  In short, we wanted to marry every single character on screen, or at least, hang out with them in the stairwells or bathrooms of Princeton, Duke, Cornish College of Art, and other higher learned institutions.  So, for an amazing combination of casting, crafting, editing, and thinking outside the box about what makes a compelling film, we are proud to honor Patrick Shen and PHILOSOPHER KINGS.”

Benjamin Fowlie, Festival Director said, “We are honored to have had the opportunity to share such a wonderful nonfiction program with our audiences, and congratulate all of this year’s winners.  We would also like to thank our jury members for their dedication and commitment to this very challenging role.  Congratulations to BECAUSE WE WERE BORN and PHILOSOPHER KINGS.  We are honored to be a part of both films successful festival run.”

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The Camden International Film Festival award winners were chosen by a distinguished jury including:

Harrell Award Jury: Pamela Cohn (PFunk Productions), Ryan Harrington (Gucci Tribeca Fund) and Dana Rae Warren (Moody Mountain Media).

CIFF Award Jury: Sara Archambault (LEF Foundation), Ian Cheney (King Corn, The Greening of Southie), Danielle DiGiacomo (IFP).

FILMMAKER MAG ANNOUNCES 25 NEW FACES IN FILM

The 09 list is here and we’re VERY happy to see some familiar faces…and several emerging voices in the nonfiction world.  A big congrats to everyone selected, especially to Jessica Oreck, Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher.  We were lucky enough to catch Oreck’s first feature, The Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo last March at SXSW and boy, what a cinematic treat!  Mosher’s and Palmieri’s film, October Country just took home the award of all awards at Silverdocs and continues to garner some serious buzz in the doc blogosphere.  Kudos to the True / False Film Festival for picking that one up early and for giving us the opportunity to see it as a “sneak preview.”  We’ll be talking lots more about these two films in months to come!

Big ups to all the other documentary filmmakers announced in this list including, Ian Olds (Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi  – Acquired by HBO), Nicole Opper (Off and Running) and Jody Lee Lipes (Brock Enright: Good Times Will Never Be the Same)

For a complete list, visit Filmmaker online…

CIFF ALUMS WIN PEABODY!

Big ups to Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis for their 2008 Peabody Award. Their film, King Corn continues to garner serious attention two years after completion. For all aspiring filmmakers out there…the path they’ve forged is a serious model to study and learn from, and for those of you wondering what the Peabody is, its administered by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and is the oldest, and one of the most prestigious honors in electronic media given out each year.

Not to shabby! For a list of other winners, check it here.

If you don’t know much about the film…or are just obsessed with corn, check out this sweet little video blog from POV shot last month at SXSW.

Oscar Nominations Announced

With all that’s happened this week in Washington D.C. Official Oscar Nominations may have gone under the radar for some.  But at 8:38 ET Forest Whitaker and the Academy announced their top picks for the 2009 Academy Awards.   Chances are whatever brief bit you hear or see on television will only talk about Brad Pitt and Heath Ledger, so we’d like to take this time to congratulate the final nominations for documentary feature.

The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) – Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath

Encounters at the End of the World – Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser

The Garden – Scott Hamilton Kennedy

Man on Wire – James Marsh and Simon Chinn

Trouble the Water -Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

A very special congratulations to Scott Hamilton Kennedy and his film THE GARDEN for the nod.  His  film took home our inaugural Harrell Award for Best Documentary at the 2008 CIFF and it was our pleasure to host Kennedy.  His connection to our audience during the films post-screening Q&A is something that even the Oscars can’t measure.

CIFF Best of Fest Screenings | December 27 & 28, 2008

We hear it all the time around this time of year….people who’ve heard about a film or two from last falls CIFF who couldn’t make it for one reason or another.  So we decided to act.  Our passion for nonfiction filmmaking is only matched by our desire to do our part to help films reach their largest audience possible.  So if you’re around the Midcoast for the Holidays and are looking for something truly independent come check out two of CIFF ’08’s award winning films! Stay tuned for more film screenings in the next couple months.

The Garden – Harrell Award for Best Documentary, CIFF 08

Saturday, December 27 | Bayview Street Cinema | 7:00PM and Sunday, December 28 | Colonial Theatre, Belfast, ME | 5:00PM

Winner, Sterling U.S. Competition, Silverdocs
Official Selection, Los Angeles Film Fest
Nominee, Intl Documentary Association Pare Lorentz Award
Short-list – 2009 Academy Awards

“The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community. But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis… This film is an unflinching look at backroom deals, green politics, racial discord, money, poverty, and power.”

Red Gold – CIFF ’08 Award for Cinematic Vision

Sunday, December 28 | Colonial Theatre, Belfast ME | 3:30PM

2008 Mountainfilm in Telluride, Best Director, Audience Choice Award
2008 Banff Mountain Film Festival, Audience Choice Award for Best Film

“At the headwaters of the Kvichak and Nushagak rivers in Bristol Bay, Alaska — the two largest remaining sockeye salmon runs on the planet — mining companies have proposed to extract what may be the richest deposit of gold and copper in the world. This film documents the growing unrest among native, commercial, and sport fishermen who oppose the proposed Pebble Mine, as well as giving mine officials a chance to argue their case. Red Gold is a portrait of a unique way of life that would not exist if the salmon didn’t return with Bristol Bay’s tide.”

Tickets are $8.00 and can be purchased at the appropriate venues the day of the show.  If you have any further questions about these events, send us an email.

CIFF Alums Represent at the 2008 CINEMA EYE HONORS

On December 1st, the 2009 nominees for the CINEMA EYE HONORS Awards were announced and we’re happy to say that several CIFF ’08 films made the cut! Created last year in response to the abysmal Oscar nominations for documentary film by Indiepix and a whose who from the independent documentary community, including blogger extraordinaire, AJ Schnack, the Cinema Eye Honors honors nonfiction films and filmmakers, recognizing the breadth of the genre and including the crafts of cinematography, editing, producing, directing, etc.
A big congrats and good luck to Full Battle Rattle, Secrecy, Life.Support.Music., and The Garden. Nominations will be whittled down by Sundance with awards in late March in New York.

“The Garden” shortlisted for an Oscar!

Yes folks, it’s that time of year again.  Whether you love ’em or hate ’em we have now officially entered the 2009 Oscar Season.  The documentary shortlist came out yesterday, and despite a few surprises the list seems to be a pretty solid representation of this years achievements in nonfiction filmmaking.  Former SXSW programmer and indie film GOD, Matt Dentler had this to say, “It’s a pretty strong list…perhaps the strongest one the Academy has revealed in the three years since they started unveiling this primer to the final five nominations.”

All of us at CIFF are happy to announce that our Closing Night Film, and Winner of the Harrell Award for Best Documentary, The Garden was 1 of 15 who made the list, despite a VERY strong year for documentaries.  Only time will tell if The Garden will get the final nod, but a big congratulations to Scott Kennedy for his work with the film.  This is quite an honor.

Each year we seem to have one film that goes on to at least a shortlist nomination, 4 for 4 ain’t so bad. Looking back, here are the trailers for CIFF screened, Oscar nominated films…
2005 – Darwin’s Nightmare OFFICIAL NOMINATION

2006 – Iraq in Fragments OFFICIAL NOMINATION

2007 – The Price of Sugar SHORTLISTED

2008 – The Garden OFFICIAL NOMINATION