Doc NYC Artistic Director Thom Powers Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
James Crump's Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco is the Grand Jury Prize Metropolis Competition winner and The Stranger, directed by Nicole N Horanyi, tops the Viewfinders Competition in the 2017 Doc NYC juried feature programs.
Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco poster
Statement from Metropolis jurors Andrew Rossi (The First Monday In May, Bronx Gothic), Art Basel film programmer Marian Masone and Nantucket Film Festival executive director Mystelle Brabbée: "For rescuing a vital figure in the fashion industry from the background of New York in the 1970s, when the joy and diversity of a new creative vision helped the city emerge from darkness, the Metropolis jury awards Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco by filmmaker James Crump."
Statement from Viewfinders jurors Doug Block (The Kids Grow Up, 51 Birch Street), Vox film critic Alissa Wilkinson and Women Make Movies executive...
James Crump's Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco is the Grand Jury Prize Metropolis Competition winner and The Stranger, directed by Nicole N Horanyi, tops the Viewfinders Competition in the 2017 Doc NYC juried feature programs.
Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco poster
Statement from Metropolis jurors Andrew Rossi (The First Monday In May, Bronx Gothic), Art Basel film programmer Marian Masone and Nantucket Film Festival executive director Mystelle Brabbée: "For rescuing a vital figure in the fashion industry from the background of New York in the 1970s, when the joy and diversity of a new creative vision helped the city emerge from darkness, the Metropolis jury awards Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco by filmmaker James Crump."
Statement from Viewfinders jurors Doug Block (The Kids Grow Up, 51 Birch Street), Vox film critic Alissa Wilkinson and Women Make Movies executive...
- 11/17/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Premiering at the Full Frame Film Festival in 2014 with stops at notable docu-geared fests such as HotDocs, Sheffield, Traverse and Cph:dox, 112 Weddings would see Doug Block make the rare choice to skip over a U.S. theatrical release and favor a stateside release during the wedding season friendly month of June via HBO.
Over the years, Block has proven himself to be an astute chronicler of the interpersonal, a filmmaker interested in the emotional impact of human relationships and the distinct difference between their public and private implications. Both his personal account of his own parents’ complex relationship in 51 Birch Street and the multilayered look at how child/parent relationships transform over time in The Kids Grow Up perfectly exemplify Block’s fascination with the topic, and his supplemental work as a wedding videographer proves to be yet another avenue for investigation within. Two decades ago, Block decided to start...
Over the years, Block has proven himself to be an astute chronicler of the interpersonal, a filmmaker interested in the emotional impact of human relationships and the distinct difference between their public and private implications. Both his personal account of his own parents’ complex relationship in 51 Birch Street and the multilayered look at how child/parent relationships transform over time in The Kids Grow Up perfectly exemplify Block’s fascination with the topic, and his supplemental work as a wedding videographer proves to be yet another avenue for investigation within. Two decades ago, Block decided to start...
- 7/28/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
We Are Gathered Here Today To Reconsider: Block Delves Into The Meaning of Marriage Via 20 Years of Wedding Videography
Over the years, director Doug Block has proven himself to be an astute chronicler of the interpersonal, a filmmaker interested in the emotional impact of human relationships and the distinct difference between their public and private implications. Both his personal account of his own parents’ complex relationship in 51 Birch Street and the multilayered look at how child/parent relationships transform over time in The Kids Grow Up perfectly exemplify Block’s fascination with the topic, and his supplemental work as a wedding videographer proves to be yet another avenue for investigation within. Two decades ago, Block decided to start shooting weddings for a little extra income and soon realized his privileged responsibility of documenting one of the most monumental, odd and often moving day in the lives of his subjects. Looking...
Over the years, director Doug Block has proven himself to be an astute chronicler of the interpersonal, a filmmaker interested in the emotional impact of human relationships and the distinct difference between their public and private implications. Both his personal account of his own parents’ complex relationship in 51 Birch Street and the multilayered look at how child/parent relationships transform over time in The Kids Grow Up perfectly exemplify Block’s fascination with the topic, and his supplemental work as a wedding videographer proves to be yet another avenue for investigation within. Two decades ago, Block decided to start shooting weddings for a little extra income and soon realized his privileged responsibility of documenting one of the most monumental, odd and often moving day in the lives of his subjects. Looking...
- 6/30/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
★★☆☆☆With approximately half of all marriages ending in divorce, what is it that still compels couples to take the matrimonial plunge? This is the question posed by 112 Weddings (2013), the latest film from documentary filmmaker Doug Block (51 Birch Street, The Kids Grow Up). For over two decades, Block, like many others, has supplemented his income by filming wedding ceremonies. Known on the circuit for his cinéma vérité approach (as aloof as that sounds) and highly-regarded by his satisfied customers, Block now utilises his connections to revisit the "happy couples" years on after the big day. Unfortunately, and perhaps inevitably, the results are a truly mixed bag, often offering limited insight.
- 6/13/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Documentary filmmaker Doug Block, whose previous credits include 51 Birch Street and The Kids Grow Up, revisits selected couples from the 112 weddings he filmed over 20 years as an official wedding videographer, in an attempt to discover what happens when the party is over and what married life really means. The successes of the numerous wedding-based reality TV programs, BBC3’s Don’t Tell The Bride and C4’s My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding to name just two, prove the strong public interest in weddings as a subject, particularly in a “reality” context. Perhaps this is surprising, given the 50/50 success rate of modern marriages, a statistic touched upon in Block’s rather tentative exploration of the contemporary relevance of the institution. There is still something voyeuristically attractive about weddings and marriage, even more so in a contemporary setting where such traditions are seen less and less as socially essential. For some reason,...
- 6/12/2014
- by Georgia Fleury Reynolds
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Hot Docs launches in Toronto tonight with the Canadian premiere of Sundance hit "The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz." The screening -- at the festival's hub The Bloor Cinema -- kicks off 11 days and nights of North America's largest documentary festival. And while plenty of other breakout films from Sundance and the like will certainly be a big part of the festival, Hot Docs also offers plenty of opportunity for discovery with dozens of world premieres. So here are 10 films you might not have heard of yet with buzz heading into Hot Docs that we're particularly excited to see. Check them out at Hot Docs, or at many doc film festivals to come (and hopefully theaters soon after that): "112 Weddings," directed by Doug Block Over the past two decades, Doug Block has supported his career as a documentary film director ("51 Birch Street," "The Kids Grow Up...
- 4/24/2014
- by Paula Bernstein and Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
The 2014 Nantucket Film Festival has announced the centerpiece, opening and closing films to be featured at the festival, which runs June 25-30. The festival will open with "The Skeleton Twins," starring Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader as estranged siblings with a new bond. The opening day will also include a screening of Pixar shorts. The festival will also screen Mike Cahill's "I Origins," a drama sci-fi mystery with Michael Pitt and Brit Marling, as its centerpiece. Richard Linklater's "Boyhood," a coming-of-age epic from Richard Linklater will serve as its closing night entry. The full feature film lineup is also complete: check out the list below. 112 Weddings Documentary Feature Director: Doug Block Director Doug Block’s previous films, 51 Birch Street and The Kids Grow Up, explore universal themes of love, marriage, and family as revealed through his personal experiences. For the past two decades, Block has supported his filmmaking career by documenting the.
- 4/22/2014
- by Taylor Lindsay
- Indiewire
Independent Film Week is currently underway in New York City, and the "Filmmaking in Conflict" panel discussion held Thursday incited an engaging conversation about the trials of documentary filmmaking in the modern age. From conflicts with subjects to dealing with lawsuits, the discussion's panelists provided insight into the process of getting a documentary made and navigating the roadblocks along the way. The talk was led by Heather Croall, the festival director of Sheffield Doc/Fest, and the three panelists were Joe Berlinger ("Paradise Lost"), Doug Block ("The Kids Grow Up") and Alison Klayman ("Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry"). In an attempt to make the most of the 60-minute time frame, Croall broke down the conflicts into seven categories: Subject, Team, Government, Corporations, Family, Other Filmmakers and Funders. Of course, any filmmaker could attest to the fact that there are countless complexities and unforeseen conflicts...
- 9/21/2012
- by Claire Easton
- Indiewire
Filmmaker‘s annual holiday subscription sale is in its last three days. From now through Christmas you can gift a one or two-year subscription to Filmmaker to a friend, family member or yourself for 40% off our normal rates. A one-year subscription is only $10 for our print edition and $6 for our digital. And as we do each year, we’ve reached out to our friends in the community for bonus prizes that will be given to randomly selected new and returning subscribers. It’s a fantastic list, and I’d like to list each item and thank the distributors and publishers who supported Filmmaker by gifting them to our readers.
Subscribe to Filmmaker by Christmas night and be eligible to receive:
* Oscilloscope’s Circle of Trust — A subscription of 10 new DVD releases from this excellent indie distributor.
* Oscilloscope T-shirt.
* From Kimstim and Zeitgeist Films, a DVD of Josh and Benny Safdie...
Subscribe to Filmmaker by Christmas night and be eligible to receive:
* Oscilloscope’s Circle of Trust — A subscription of 10 new DVD releases from this excellent indie distributor.
* Oscilloscope T-shirt.
* From Kimstim and Zeitgeist Films, a DVD of Josh and Benny Safdie...
- 12/23/2011
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Sometimes it’s personal, writes Matt Brennan in this week’s “Now and Then” column on the two documentaries The Kids Grow Up and Sherman’s March (trailers below):One is inherently subjective, a collation of interviews, impressions, laughter and tears. The other is only ostensibly objective, a historical artifact turned private heirloom. Both, however, are sure on one thing: there really is no place like home video. Doug Block has made a career out of having a family. His most well-known documentary, 51 Birch Street (2005), was a biopsy of the mysteries of his parents’ marriage; his most recent, The Kids Grow Up (HBO, DVD released July 19), excavates his own life as a father during the year before his daughter, Lucy, leaves for college. This is an ...
- 7/25/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
Doug Block The International Documentary Association will present "The Art of the Personal Documentary: A Conversation with Doug Block" at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 16, at The Cinefamily (the old Silent Movie Theatre). Doug Block is the New York-based director of 51 Birch Street and The Kids Grow Up. He and moderator Marjan Safinia (But You Speak Such Good English, Seeds) will discuss the following topics: How did his filmmaker journey lead him to making personal documentaries? What are the hardest moments he’s had to face while making work about his family? How has he developed the ability to still make strong directorial choice when the subject of his films is, quite literally, so close to home? How does he navigate production as a self-shooter who is in the film? Doc U is the International Documentary Association’s series of educational seminars and workshops for aspiring and experienced documentary filmmakers.
- 5/12/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
One of the surprise word-of-mouth hits at Sundance comes from an unexpected source: first-time filmmaker Jon Foy, of Philadelphia, who landed in the Sundance competition with Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles. Veteran doc filmmaker Doug Block (Home Page, The Kids Grow Up), who runs the doc community site The D-Word, got a call from the rookie Philadelphia filmmaker and film school dropout, seeking advice. He had been toiling away for more than five years on a doc about the Toynbee Tiles, which crop up embedded in roads around the country, from the North East spreading all the way to South America, inspiring many theories about their origin. Update: The doc won the best directing documentary prize Saturday at Sundance. Here's the Sundance ...
- 1/30/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
As his cherished only child prepared to leave home, documentary-maker Doug Block came to terms with it by making a film of her childhood and teenage years. How does he justify the often excruciatingly intrusive footage?
'Just think," says Doug Block's wife, Marjorie, while he trains his camera on her, "when she works all this through in therapy she can take the footage with her. Her therapist won't have to imagine what you were like." Block, a documentary-maker, filmed their daughter Lucy's final year at high school – interspersed with footage of her over the years. His film, The Kids Grow Up, is ostensibly about how a father copes with the prospect of his cherished only child leaving home to go to college. But there is lots more here. It is about his own childhood – "I was a lousy parent in the main," admits Block's elderly, ailing father – and about...
'Just think," says Doug Block's wife, Marjorie, while he trains his camera on her, "when she works all this through in therapy she can take the footage with her. Her therapist won't have to imagine what you were like." Block, a documentary-maker, filmed their daughter Lucy's final year at high school – interspersed with footage of her over the years. His film, The Kids Grow Up, is ostensibly about how a father copes with the prospect of his cherished only child leaving home to go to college. But there is lots more here. It is about his own childhood – "I was a lousy parent in the main," admits Block's elderly, ailing father – and about...
- 1/8/2011
- by Emine Saner
- The Guardian - Film News
Doug Block is a distinct type of documentary filmmaker - the subjects in his last few films have been those closest in his life: his family. From Home Page to 51 Birch Street and now with his recently released The Kids Grow Up, he's tackled the complex issues of being both a son and a father, and of growing up and letting go. We sat with Doug over BLTs at a sandwich shop around the corner from his office in Dumbo, a Brooklyn neighborhood home to many filmmakers, musicians and new technology types. Much like the subjects in his films, Doug was extremely open about his experiences making The Kids Grow Up and the unique relationship he has with his daughter, Lucy. Tribeca: It appears that you had to deal with a fair amount of resentment from your daughter Lucy. How did you deal with the dual roles of both filmmaker...
- 11/15/2010
- TribecaFilm.com
Back in 2005 Doug Block released a documentary about his parents, "51 Birch Street," which received raves in Toronto and beyond. His follow-up film, “The Kids Grow Up," opening this Friday at New York’s Angelika Film Center, exhibits the same deeply personal sort of narrative that fueled his last outing. This time, Block focuses on his own role as a parent, chronicling the last year of his daughter’s life before ...
- 10/28/2010
- indieWIRE - People
Back in 2005 Doug Block released a documentary about his parents, "51 Birch Street," which received raves in Toronto and beyond. His follow-up film, “The Kids Grow Up," opening this Friday at New York’s Angelika Film Center, exhibits the same deeply personal sort of narrative that fueled his last outing. This time, Block focuses on his own role as a parent, chronicling the last year of his daughter’s life before ...
- 10/28/2010
- indieWIRE - People
Back in 2005 Doug Block released a documentary about his parents, "51 Birch Street," which received raves in Toronto and beyond. His follow-up film, “The Kids Grow Up," opening this Friday at New York’s Angelika Film Center, exhibits the same deeply personal sort of narrative that fueled his last outing. This time, Block focuses on his own role as a parent, chronicling the last year of his daughter’s life before ...
- 10/28/2010
- Indiewire
Sometimes we have to do things we don't like. Maybe for you this includes humoring your father while he documents every minute of your day with a video camera. For most of my fellow writers, it entails seeing and then reviewing stuff like Grown-Ups. For me, as a documentary critic, it means bucking up and watching Doug Block's latest film, The Kids Grow Up, despite my immense distaste for his self-indulgent style and subject matter. I hadn't planned on including the film in my Silverdocs viewing and admit I only forced myself after walking out of something else, but what I came away with was at least an appreciation for this as a follow-up and compliment to 51 Birch Street and the qualification to honestly recommend it to at least fans of that earlier doc, of which I disappointingly know there are plenty.
Like Block, who is more of a...
Like Block, who is more of a...
- 6/30/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- Cinematical
This year's Hot Docs [1] festival ended a couple of weeks ago, and and only now have we finally managed to purge our thoughts on the many documentaries that we've seen this year. Jay put up a much more comprehensive post over on The Documentary Blog [2], but I have taken a selection of these reviews and reposted them here for your convenience. If you like what you see, be sure to head over there and read the rest. Also, don't forget to check out previous reviews of the following films: Teenage Paparazzo [3] The People vs. George Lucas [4] Gasland [5] Arsy-Versy [6] Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage [7] American: The Bill Hicks Story [8] The Invention of Dr Nakamats [9] 12th & Delaware [10] The Oath [11] Secrets of the Tribe [12] Capsule reviews for more films including Steven Soderbergh's And Everything is Going Fine, Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker's Kings of Pastry, and the David Lynch transcendental meditation...
- 5/21/2010
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Durham - Once more The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is a four day film festival that plays like it should last a week They show so many films that it’s impossible to even come close to seeing them all. Five theaters are going at once and the only repeats are the award winning movies. It’s hard to pick while going through the schedule. I’ve yet to hear anyone complain about the movie they saw so much as wishing they could have seen two or three of the other ones that were showing concurrently. This is the best festival for documentary film viewers. The 2010 edition kept up the lofty standards with films about basketball, pork, pastries, scoundrels, nomads and undiscovered superstars.
Steve James created the greatest film about the dirty business of Chicago high school basketball in Hoop Dreams. Espn gave him a chance to look into...
Steve James created the greatest film about the dirty business of Chicago high school basketball in Hoop Dreams. Espn gave him a chance to look into...
- 5/14/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
Last night’s Stranger Than Fiction screening of Doug Block’s The Kids Grow Up was a homecoming of sorts. Block’s previous foray into personal documentary 51 Birch Street was actually the first ever film to be screened in the series, a fact announced by its organizer, Thom Powers, when he introduced it (and his new baby) to the audience. In 51 Birch Street, Block recounted how his mother’s death and his father’s subsequent remarriage crystallized doubts he’d always had about his parent’s marriage. Block’s latest outing, The Kids Grow Up, is similarly a family affair — it weaves archival footage of his daughter into a larger story of how he, like many parents, is dreading her leaving for college, terrified of what will happen when she...
- 4/21/2010
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
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