Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Terra Mater Factual Studios looks back on an eventful decade that made its name synonymous with high-end nature and wildlife productions, while also embracing the ever-expanding opportunities offered by the growth of streaming platforms.
The Austrian company’s productions include Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani’s acclaimed “The Ivory Game,” which exposes the dark world of ivory trafficking; Ladkani’s “Sea of Shadows,” about the efforts to save the smallest whale species in the world from extinction; and Myles Connolly and Florian Schulz’s upcoming “The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness.” CEO Walter Koehler, the former head of Austrian broadcaster Orf’s nature and wildlife unit, Universum, established Terra Mater as a subsidiary of Red Bull in 2011.
“When I opened the company 10 years ago, we started with 12 or 13 people; now we have more than 40 employees,” he says. The figure does not include the many...
The Austrian company’s productions include Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani’s acclaimed “The Ivory Game,” which exposes the dark world of ivory trafficking; Ladkani’s “Sea of Shadows,” about the efforts to save the smallest whale species in the world from extinction; and Myles Connolly and Florian Schulz’s upcoming “The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness.” CEO Walter Koehler, the former head of Austrian broadcaster Orf’s nature and wildlife unit, Universum, established Terra Mater as a subsidiary of Red Bull in 2011.
“When I opened the company 10 years ago, we started with 12 or 13 people; now we have more than 40 employees,” he says. The figure does not include the many...
- 4/23/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
With such a wide array of potential awards contenders in film and television, awards groups like the Cinema Eye Honors help to cull the field. This year, HBO Documentary Films leads the broadcast categories with 10 nominations, including three each for Liz Garbus’ serial killer series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” and David France’s Oscar contender “Welcome to Chechnya.” Cinema Eye also unveiled 10 short documentary semifinalists for the short filmmaking honors.
The Outstanding Broadcast Film nominees also include “Bully. Coward. Victim.: The Story of Roy Cohn,” directed by Ivy Meeropol, 2020 Oscar winner “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl),” directed by Carol Dysinger, “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese,” and “Sea of Shadows,” directed by Richard Ladkani.
Outstanding Series Nominees include “Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children,” directed by Joshua Bennett, Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre, and Sam Pollard, “Hillary,...
The Outstanding Broadcast Film nominees also include “Bully. Coward. Victim.: The Story of Roy Cohn,” directed by Ivy Meeropol, 2020 Oscar winner “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl),” directed by Carol Dysinger, “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese,” and “Sea of Shadows,” directed by Richard Ladkani.
Outstanding Series Nominees include “Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children,” directed by Joshua Bennett, Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre, and Sam Pollard, “Hillary,...
- 11/19/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
With such a wide array of potential awards contenders in film and television, awards groups like the Cinema Eye Honors help to cull the field. This year, HBO Documentary Films leads the broadcast categories with 10 nominations, including three each for Liz Garbus’ serial killer series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” and David France’s Oscar contender “Welcome to Chechnya.” Cinema Eye also unveiled 10 short documentary semifinalists for the short filmmaking honors.
The Outstanding Broadcast Film nominees also include “Bully. Coward. Victim.: The Story of Roy Cohn,” directed by Ivy Meeropol, 2020 Oscar winner “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl),” directed by Carol Dysinger, “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese,” and “Sea of Shadows,” directed by Richard Ladkani.
Outstanding Series Nominees include “Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children,” directed by Joshua Bennett, Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre, and Sam Pollard, “Hillary,...
The Outstanding Broadcast Film nominees also include “Bully. Coward. Victim.: The Story of Roy Cohn,” directed by Ivy Meeropol, 2020 Oscar winner “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl),” directed by Carol Dysinger, “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese,” and “Sea of Shadows,” directed by Richard Ladkani.
Outstanding Series Nominees include “Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children,” directed by Joshua Bennett, Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre, and Sam Pollard, “Hillary,...
- 11/19/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya,” a documentary about LGBTQ activists trying to help during the Chechnya government’s brutal crackdown on gays and lesbians, leads all films in nominations in the Cinema Eye Honors’ broadcast categories, which were announced on Thursday during a virtual edition of its annual fall lunch.
Cinema Eye, a New York-based organization founded in 2007 to recognize all aspects of nonfiction filmmaking, also announced its new Stay Focused initiative. The program spotlights 12 films by up-and-coming filmmakers who lost the chance for theatrical exhibition and film-festival exposure because of the coronavirus pandemic. Cinema Eye has pledged to find “in-person opportunities” for the filmmakers once the pandemic subsides, starting with theatrical screenings at the new Vidiots Theatre in Los Angeles in late 2021.
The 12 films include Cecilia Aldorondo’s “Landfall,” which recently won a jury award at Doc NYC; David Osit’s “Mayor,” about the Christian mayor of a...
Cinema Eye, a New York-based organization founded in 2007 to recognize all aspects of nonfiction filmmaking, also announced its new Stay Focused initiative. The program spotlights 12 films by up-and-coming filmmakers who lost the chance for theatrical exhibition and film-festival exposure because of the coronavirus pandemic. Cinema Eye has pledged to find “in-person opportunities” for the filmmakers once the pandemic subsides, starting with theatrical screenings at the new Vidiots Theatre in Los Angeles in late 2021.
The 12 films include Cecilia Aldorondo’s “Landfall,” which recently won a jury award at Doc NYC; David Osit’s “Mayor,” about the Christian mayor of a...
- 11/19/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
It’s been a year of change for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has responded not only to the pandemic, pushing back the global ABC Oscars telecast from February 28 to April 25, 2021 — setting a new award season calendar as other award shows have followed suit — but the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement.
In its continuing push to swell the Academy membership ranks, 819 artists and executives from 68 countries have been invited to join this year. The branches have increasingly actively sought eligible people to become Academy members, but the Board of Governors makes the final call. People from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities (36 percent) and women (45 percent) are among the many invites, as the Academy continues to address its long-term white-male dominance. As always, actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, but many new members (49 percent) also come from overseas.
In 2019, the Academy invited 842 new members,...
In its continuing push to swell the Academy membership ranks, 819 artists and executives from 68 countries have been invited to join this year. The branches have increasingly actively sought eligible people to become Academy members, but the Board of Governors makes the final call. People from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities (36 percent) and women (45 percent) are among the many invites, as the Academy continues to address its long-term white-male dominance. As always, actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, but many new members (49 percent) also come from overseas.
In 2019, the Academy invited 842 new members,...
- 6/30/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
It’s been a year of change for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has responded not only to the pandemic, pushing back the global ABC Oscars telecast from February 28 to April 25, 2021 — setting a new award season calendar as other award shows have followed suit — but the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement.
In its continuing push to swell the Academy membership ranks, 819 artists and executives from 68 countries have been invited to join this year. The branches have increasingly actively sought eligible people to become Academy members, but the Board of Governors makes the final call. People from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities (36 percent) and women (45 percent) are among the many invites, as the Academy continues to address its long-term white-male dominance. As always, actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, but many new members (49 percent) also come from overseas.
In 2019, the Academy invited 842 new members,...
In its continuing push to swell the Academy membership ranks, 819 artists and executives from 68 countries have been invited to join this year. The branches have increasingly actively sought eligible people to become Academy members, but the Board of Governors makes the final call. People from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities (36 percent) and women (45 percent) are among the many invites, as the Academy continues to address its long-term white-male dominance. As always, actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, but many new members (49 percent) also come from overseas.
In 2019, the Academy invited 842 new members,...
- 6/30/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
National Geographic is getting into the Emmy Fyc podcast game. The network has launched “Consider This,” a new 12-episode series that will feature stars and producers from Nat Geo’s Emmy contenders.
Guests will include Marcia Gay Harden, Dr. Amani Ballour (“The Cave”), Jeff Goldblum (“The World According to Jeff Goldblum”), Dr. Jane Goodall (“Sea of Shadows”), Bear Grylls (“Running Wild with Bear Grylls”), Keegan-Michael Key (“Brain Games”), Gordon Ramsay (“Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”), David Thewlis (“Barkskins”), Neil deGrasse Tyson (“Cosmos: Possible Worlds”) and Sue Aikens (“Life Below Zero”). Journalist Stacey Wilson Hunt hosts the podcast.
“Consider This” will be available to download starting Monday via Apple, Spotify, Radio.com, TuneIn, Deezer, Stitcher, Google Play, Overcast and Pocketcast.The first episode features Tyson, followed by one with Key.
Other interviewees include Ann Druyan (“Cosmos: Possible Worlds”), Sigrid Dyekjær (“The Cave”), Jon Kroll (“Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”), Joseph Litzinger (“Life Below Zero”) and...
Guests will include Marcia Gay Harden, Dr. Amani Ballour (“The Cave”), Jeff Goldblum (“The World According to Jeff Goldblum”), Dr. Jane Goodall (“Sea of Shadows”), Bear Grylls (“Running Wild with Bear Grylls”), Keegan-Michael Key (“Brain Games”), Gordon Ramsay (“Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”), David Thewlis (“Barkskins”), Neil deGrasse Tyson (“Cosmos: Possible Worlds”) and Sue Aikens (“Life Below Zero”). Journalist Stacey Wilson Hunt hosts the podcast.
“Consider This” will be available to download starting Monday via Apple, Spotify, Radio.com, TuneIn, Deezer, Stitcher, Google Play, Overcast and Pocketcast.The first episode features Tyson, followed by one with Key.
Other interviewees include Ann Druyan (“Cosmos: Possible Worlds”), Sigrid Dyekjær (“The Cave”), Jon Kroll (“Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”), Joseph Litzinger (“Life Below Zero”) and...
- 6/15/2020
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
The field of Oscar contenders narrowed significantly in nine different categories on Monday as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released shortlists for documentary feature, documentary short, international feature, makeup and hairstyling, original score, original song, animated short, live action short and visual effects.
Most of the projected doc feature frontrunners are among the 15 finalists — Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert's American Factory (Netflix), Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts' For Sama (PBS), Todd Douglas Miller's Apollo 11 (Neon) and Nanfu Wang's One Child Nation (Amazon) all made the cut. Notably missing are Lauren Greenfield's The Kingmaker (Showtime), Richard Ladkani'...
Most of the projected doc feature frontrunners are among the 15 finalists — Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert's American Factory (Netflix), Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts' For Sama (PBS), Todd Douglas Miller's Apollo 11 (Neon) and Nanfu Wang's One Child Nation (Amazon) all made the cut. Notably missing are Lauren Greenfield's The Kingmaker (Showtime), Richard Ladkani'...
- 12/16/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The field of Oscar contenders narrowed significantly in nine different categories on Monday as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released shortlists for documentary feature, documentary short, international feature, makeup and hairstyling, original score, original song, animated short, live action short and visual effects.
Most of the projected doc feature frontrunners are among the 15 finalists — Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert's American Factory (Netflix), Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts' For Sama (PBS), Todd Douglas Miller's Apollo 11 (Neon) and Nanfu Wang's One Child Nation (Amazon) all made the cut. Notably missing are Lauren Greenfield's The Kingmaker (Showtime), Richard Ladkani'...
Most of the projected doc feature frontrunners are among the 15 finalists — Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert's American Factory (Netflix), Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts' For Sama (PBS), Todd Douglas Miller's Apollo 11 (Neon) and Nanfu Wang's One Child Nation (Amazon) all made the cut. Notably missing are Lauren Greenfield's The Kingmaker (Showtime), Richard Ladkani'...
- 12/16/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Finalists have been revealed for the 2020 Humanitas Prize, which honors film and television writers whose work inspires compassion, hope, and understanding in the human family. Titles include awards-season heavies Bombshell, It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and The Farewell on the film side and When They See Us, Pose, This Is Us and The Handmaid’s Tale on the small-screen side.
It’s the 45th year for the honors that hands out awards in 10 categories — two new categories, Limited Series, TV Movie or Special and Short Film, are newcomers this year.
Winners will be announced at the 45th annual Humanitas Prize ceremony January 24, 2020 at the Beverly Hilton.
Here are this year’s finalists:
Drama Feature Film
A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood
Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster; inspired by the article “Can You Say… Hero?” by Tom Junod
A Hidden Life
Written and directed by Terrence Malick...
It’s the 45th year for the honors that hands out awards in 10 categories — two new categories, Limited Series, TV Movie or Special and Short Film, are newcomers this year.
Winners will be announced at the 45th annual Humanitas Prize ceremony January 24, 2020 at the Beverly Hilton.
Here are this year’s finalists:
Drama Feature Film
A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood
Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster; inspired by the article “Can You Say… Hero?” by Tom Junod
A Hidden Life
Written and directed by Terrence Malick...
- 11/15/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
“Apollo 11” was the big winner at the fourth annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards on Sunday in New York City.
The film took home the award for documentary feature, as well as editing for Todd Douglas Miller and score for Matt Morton. “Apollo 11” was also honored with archival documentary and science/nature documentary prizes.
There was a tie for director between Peter Jackson for “They Shall Not Grow Old,” and Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar for “American Factory.” “They Shall Not Grow Old” also brought home the award for innovative documentary. “American Factory” nabbed the prize for political documentary.
The inaugural D. A. Pennebaker Award, formerly known as the Critics’ Choice lifetime achievement award, was presented to Chris Hegedus, Pennebaker’s longtime collaborator and widow. Michael Apted received the landmark award in honor of his “Up” series.
The ceremony, hosted by “Property Brothers” star Jonathan Scott, was held at Bric in Brooklyn.
The film took home the award for documentary feature, as well as editing for Todd Douglas Miller and score for Matt Morton. “Apollo 11” was also honored with archival documentary and science/nature documentary prizes.
There was a tie for director between Peter Jackson for “They Shall Not Grow Old,” and Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar for “American Factory.” “They Shall Not Grow Old” also brought home the award for innovative documentary. “American Factory” nabbed the prize for political documentary.
The inaugural D. A. Pennebaker Award, formerly known as the Critics’ Choice lifetime achievement award, was presented to Chris Hegedus, Pennebaker’s longtime collaborator and widow. Michael Apted received the landmark award in honor of his “Up” series.
The ceremony, hosted by “Property Brothers” star Jonathan Scott, was held at Bric in Brooklyn.
- 11/11/2019
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Last month, the Critics Choice Documentary Awards announced their nominations, beginning to suggest which documentaries could be the Academy Award favorites this year. Tomorrow, the awards show takes place. In case you weren’t aware, The Biggest Little Farm led the field, grabbing seven nominations, while Apollo 11, One Child Nation, and They Shall Not Grow Old scored five apiece. Other potential Oscar contenders sprinkled throughout this precursors include American Factory, The Cave, Knock Down The House, Western Stars, and more. Below you can see all the nominated works, though what really will be interesting to see is what takes home the top prize. A win here for either American Factory, Apollo 11, The Biggest Little Farm, The Cave, Honeyland, The Kingmaker, Knock Down the House, Leaving Neverland, Maiden, One Child Nation, or They Shall Not Grow Old could really be a feather in its awards season cap. Time will tell,...
- 11/9/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
“Sea of Shadows” is director Richard Ladkani’s second “eco-thriller.” It’s a documentary ostensibly about scientists, activists, and law enforcement agents who are all trying to protect one of the most endangered species on Earth, but it plays more like a popcorn-friendly narrative feature thanks to the fact that Mexican drug cartels and the Chinese mafia are all intertwined in the story.
“Sea of Shadows” follows the intertwined plights of the the Vaquita porpoise and the totoaba fish in the Sea of Cortez as Mexican drug cartels erect illegal gill nets to catch totoaba to export to China, where there is a thriving illegal market for their bladders, which are purported to have medicinal properties. But those nets also catch the extremely endangered vaquita porpoise, posing a threat to the Sea’s entire delicate ecosystem.
The new genre in which the filmmaker has been working is something he and...
“Sea of Shadows” follows the intertwined plights of the the Vaquita porpoise and the totoaba fish in the Sea of Cortez as Mexican drug cartels erect illegal gill nets to catch totoaba to export to China, where there is a thriving illegal market for their bladders, which are purported to have medicinal properties. But those nets also catch the extremely endangered vaquita porpoise, posing a threat to the Sea’s entire delicate ecosystem.
The new genre in which the filmmaker has been working is something he and...
- 11/8/2019
- by Jean Bentley
- Indiewire
Documentaries can give voice to the powerless, focus on issues people have never heard of, and perhaps most importantly, create empathy.
“When I was watching everyone’s films here, I was thinking about how documentary filmmaking is so much about creating empathy,” “The Edge of Democracy” director Petra Costa said at Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts: Documentary panel, moderated by this author (watch above). “We’re empathy machines, the film as a device of creating empathy. … I think documentaries take us back to that place of turning things that happened back into experience because otherwise they just lose themselves in the [repetitiveness] of the events and you don’t have time to digest them and to feel empathy for them.”
Creating empathy was one of Victoria Stone’s goals when she made “The Elephant Queen” with her partner Mark Deeble. The film follows an elephant matriarch, Athena, leading her herd in search of water.
“When I was watching everyone’s films here, I was thinking about how documentary filmmaking is so much about creating empathy,” “The Edge of Democracy” director Petra Costa said at Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts: Documentary panel, moderated by this author (watch above). “We’re empathy machines, the film as a device of creating empathy. … I think documentaries take us back to that place of turning things that happened back into experience because otherwise they just lose themselves in the [repetitiveness] of the events and you don’t have time to digest them and to feel empathy for them.”
Creating empathy was one of Victoria Stone’s goals when she made “The Elephant Queen” with her partner Mark Deeble. The film follows an elephant matriarch, Athena, leading her herd in search of water.
- 11/8/2019
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Victoria Stone and her partner Mark Deeble went through a pretty long casting process – a year and a half, to be exact – to find the pachyderm star of their Apple TV+ documentary “The Elephant Queen.”
“We started working outside the national park [in Africa] and everything’s going fine until price of ivory rose [and] the elephants became extremely scared [of poachers],” Stone revealed during Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts: Documentary panel, moderated by this author (watch above). “She really found us rather than us finding her. We came back one day to camp … and there was this little group of elephants under a tree behind the kitchen tent area, and the matriarch just turned her head and she had these amazingly long, even beautiful tusks, and a very calm manner and a family of youngsters in it and about the size we were looking for. Then we just started following them and she became the subject.
“We started working outside the national park [in Africa] and everything’s going fine until price of ivory rose [and] the elephants became extremely scared [of poachers],” Stone revealed during Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts: Documentary panel, moderated by this author (watch above). “She really found us rather than us finding her. We came back one day to camp … and there was this little group of elephants under a tree behind the kitchen tent area, and the matriarch just turned her head and she had these amazingly long, even beautiful tusks, and a very calm manner and a family of youngsters in it and about the size we were looking for. Then we just started following them and she became the subject.
- 11/7/2019
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
National Geographic’s new documentary “Sea of Shadows,” which will premiere commercial-free on Saturday at 9/8c, is about an endangered animal you’ve probably never heard of: the vaquita. But this is not a simple story of impending extinction. The world’s smallest whale, the vaquita has become collateral damage in an illicit trade between Mexican cartels and the Chinese mob for the swim bladder — aka the “cocaine of the sea” — of another fish, the totoaba, which also resides in the Sea of Cortez with the vaquita off of Baja California.
“We have, in this case, organized crime attacking planet Earth. Very few people know that the wildlife trade is the fourth biggest industry in the world in the black market,” “Sea of Shadows” director Richard Ladkani told Gold Derby at our Meet the Experts: Documentary panel, moderated by this author (watch above). “These organized syndicates around the world are feeding off our precious animals,...
“We have, in this case, organized crime attacking planet Earth. Very few people know that the wildlife trade is the fourth biggest industry in the world in the black market,” “Sea of Shadows” director Richard Ladkani told Gold Derby at our Meet the Experts: Documentary panel, moderated by this author (watch above). “These organized syndicates around the world are feeding off our precious animals,...
- 11/7/2019
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
IndieWire hosted its first-ever Consider This Fyc Brunch in honor of the 2019-2020 film awards season Tuesday, where over two dozen filmmakers, craftspeople, and producers discussed their work on the year’s best films in front of an audience of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters and guild members.
The event at Liaison Restaurant + Lounge in Hollywood was hosted by comedian and actor Sasheer Zamata. IndieWire staff moderated six intimate conversations with the editors, designers, directors, and others behind such films as the Gotham Award-nominated “Marriage Story,” Marvel hit “Avengers: Endgame,” the soon-to-launch Apple TV+’s inaugural film projects “The Elephant Queen” and “The Banker,” four National Geographic documentaries, and more.
“We’re here to celebrate the best films of the year,” IndieWire Editor-in-Chief Dana Harris-Bridson said. “In particular to celebrate the people who make those films possible — and that is the crafts.”
A panel moderated by Toolkit...
The event at Liaison Restaurant + Lounge in Hollywood was hosted by comedian and actor Sasheer Zamata. IndieWire staff moderated six intimate conversations with the editors, designers, directors, and others behind such films as the Gotham Award-nominated “Marriage Story,” Marvel hit “Avengers: Endgame,” the soon-to-launch Apple TV+’s inaugural film projects “The Elephant Queen” and “The Banker,” four National Geographic documentaries, and more.
“We’re here to celebrate the best films of the year,” IndieWire Editor-in-Chief Dana Harris-Bridson said. “In particular to celebrate the people who make those films possible — and that is the crafts.”
A panel moderated by Toolkit...
- 11/6/2019
- by Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
The documentary Sea of Shadows has gained a prominent advocate as it steams into awards season.
Renowned conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall is praising the film, which tells the story of dramatic efforts to save the last few remaining vaquita whales—an adorable dolphin-like creature native to the Sea of Cortez off Baja California.
“Sea of Shadows is so important,” Goodall, who was not involved in the production of the documentary, tells Deadline. “Not only does it bring awareness about the existence of this little whale, and I must say I’d never heard of it, but in addition to that, those people who are out there trying to save the vaquita, risking their lives.”
Goodall, her gray hair pulled back neatly in a ponytail, held a plush toy vaquita in her lap as she spoke with Deadline at a hotel in West Hollywood.
“I think the importance of the vaquita...
Renowned conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall is praising the film, which tells the story of dramatic efforts to save the last few remaining vaquita whales—an adorable dolphin-like creature native to the Sea of Cortez off Baja California.
“Sea of Shadows is so important,” Goodall, who was not involved in the production of the documentary, tells Deadline. “Not only does it bring awareness about the existence of this little whale, and I must say I’d never heard of it, but in addition to that, those people who are out there trying to save the vaquita, risking their lives.”
Goodall, her gray hair pulled back neatly in a ponytail, held a plush toy vaquita in her lap as she spoke with Deadline at a hotel in West Hollywood.
“I think the importance of the vaquita...
- 11/4/2019
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
IndieWire is pleased to announce its first-ever Consider This Fyc Brunch in honor of the 2019-2020 film awards season. Hosted by comedian and actor Sasheer Zamata, the invitation-only brunch will take place on Tuesday, November 5, in Los Angeles. IndieWire will welcome attendees comprised of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members, as well as guild members and select press, for a program that will present panels with this year’s awards-season contenders across both fiction and nonfiction films.
With additional panelists to be announced soon, the IndieWire Consider This Fyc Brunch program will present intimate conversations with the artists behind such films as the Gotham Award-nominated “Marriage Story,” Marvel hit “Avengers: Endgame,” the soon-to-launch Apple TV+’s inaugural film projects “The Elephant Queen” and “The Banker,” four National Geographic documentaries, and more.
Craft Panel Discussion
Jade Healy, production designer, Netflix’s “Marriage Story”
Deborah Cook, costume designer, United Artists Releasing...
With additional panelists to be announced soon, the IndieWire Consider This Fyc Brunch program will present intimate conversations with the artists behind such films as the Gotham Award-nominated “Marriage Story,” Marvel hit “Avengers: Endgame,” the soon-to-launch Apple TV+’s inaugural film projects “The Elephant Queen” and “The Banker,” four National Geographic documentaries, and more.
Craft Panel Discussion
Jade Healy, production designer, Netflix’s “Marriage Story”
Deborah Cook, costume designer, United Artists Releasing...
- 10/26/2019
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
The International Documentary Association (Ida) announced nominees for its annual awards on Wednesday morning. The 10 films nominated in the Best Feature category were culled from the group’s short list announced earlier in the month.
Last year the group previewed four of the five Oscar nominees for Best Documentary Feature, including the winner “Free Solo” as well as Ida champ “Minding the Gap,” “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” and “Of Fathers and Sons.” They predicted two nominees in 2017, four in 2016 and three in 2015.
Among this year’s Ida nominees are five that were also nominated by the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards in Best Documentary Feature: “American Factory,” “Apollo 11,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “Honeyland” and “One Child Nation.” The Ida’s list also includes seven films to be screened in Doc NYC’s eighth annual Short List: Features program: “American Factory,” “Apollo 11,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “The Edge of Democracy,...
Last year the group previewed four of the five Oscar nominees for Best Documentary Feature, including the winner “Free Solo” as well as Ida champ “Minding the Gap,” “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” and “Of Fathers and Sons.” They predicted two nominees in 2017, four in 2016 and three in 2015.
Among this year’s Ida nominees are five that were also nominated by the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards in Best Documentary Feature: “American Factory,” “Apollo 11,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “Honeyland” and “One Child Nation.” The Ida’s list also includes seven films to be screened in Doc NYC’s eighth annual Short List: Features program: “American Factory,” “Apollo 11,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “The Edge of Democracy,...
- 10/23/2019
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
The International Documentary Association revealed nominations for the 2019 Ida Awards, with Neon landing three films in the Best Feature competition, including “Apollo 11” and “Honeyland,” which led the field with three nominations, as well as”The Biggest Little Farm.” “Honeyland” will also collect the Pare Lorentz Award, while Neon’s “Amazing Grace” landed a Best Music Documentary nomination. (The film qualified for the Oscar last year.)
For the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director and, notably, all of the nominated films in that category are directed by women. “We felt the need to more clearly acknowledge the creativity and bold directorial vision that is behind many of the films we are privileged to consider,” said Ida’s Executive Director Simon Kilmurry.
First awarded in 2001, the Ida gives the Courage Under Fire Award to documentarians who display conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth, putting freedom of...
For the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director and, notably, all of the nominated films in that category are directed by women. “We felt the need to more clearly acknowledge the creativity and bold directorial vision that is behind many of the films we are privileged to consider,” said Ida’s Executive Director Simon Kilmurry.
First awarded in 2001, the Ida gives the Courage Under Fire Award to documentarians who display conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth, putting freedom of...
- 10/23/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The International Documentary Association revealed nominations for the 2019 Ida Awards, with Neon landing three films in the Best Feature competition, including “Apollo 11” and “Honeyland,” which led the field with three nominations, as well as”The Biggest Little Farm.” “Honeyland” will also collect the Pare Lorentz Award, while Neon’s “Amazing Grace” landed a Best Music Documentary nomination. (The film qualified for the Oscar last year.)
For the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director and, notably, all of the nominated films in that category are directed by women. “We felt the need to more clearly acknowledge the creativity and bold directorial vision that is behind many of the films we are privileged to consider,” said Ida’s Executive Director Simon Kilmurry.
First awarded in 2001, the Ida gives the Courage Under Fire Award to documentarians who display conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth, putting freedom...
For the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director and, notably, all of the nominated films in that category are directed by women. “We felt the need to more clearly acknowledge the creativity and bold directorial vision that is behind many of the films we are privileged to consider,” said Ida’s Executive Director Simon Kilmurry.
First awarded in 2001, the Ida gives the Courage Under Fire Award to documentarians who display conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth, putting freedom...
- 10/23/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
“American Factory,” “Apollo 11,” “For Sama” and “The Edge of Democracy” have scored multiple nominations for the International Documentary Awards.
“Advocate,” “Honeyland,” “Midnight Family,” “One Child Nation,” “Sea of Shadows,” and “The Biggest Little Farm” also received nods. The 35th Annual Ida Documentary Awards will be held on Dec. 7 at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.
For the first time, the Ida will present an award for best director and all of the nominated films have female directors.
“The Ida Documentary Awards recognizes excellence in nonfiction storytelling across a range of forms, and all of this year’s nominees and winners illustrate that documentary storytelling is one of the most vital art forms today,” said Simon Kilmurry, executive director of the Ida.
The Ida also announced that its Courage Under Fire Award will be presented to Waad Al-Kateab for the film “For Sama,” recounting her life in Aleppo, Syria. It won...
“Advocate,” “Honeyland,” “Midnight Family,” “One Child Nation,” “Sea of Shadows,” and “The Biggest Little Farm” also received nods. The 35th Annual Ida Documentary Awards will be held on Dec. 7 at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.
For the first time, the Ida will present an award for best director and all of the nominated films have female directors.
“The Ida Documentary Awards recognizes excellence in nonfiction storytelling across a range of forms, and all of this year’s nominees and winners illustrate that documentary storytelling is one of the most vital art forms today,” said Simon Kilmurry, executive director of the Ida.
The Ida also announced that its Courage Under Fire Award will be presented to Waad Al-Kateab for the film “For Sama,” recounting her life in Aleppo, Syria. It won...
- 10/23/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
The nominees for the 2019 International Documentary Association (Ida) Awards have been unveiled, with several of this year’s most high-profile docs in the frame. Scroll down for full list of nominees.
For the first time, this year’s ceremony will feature an award for best director, with the five films nominated all directed or co-directed by women: The Edge Of Democracy (Petra Costa); Advocate (Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche); American Factory (Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert); Honeyland (Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov); and For Sama (Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts).
Neon is the most represented distributor in the best feature field with three nominations. Netflix has two of the films in the category (American Factory and The Edge Of Democracy), while Amazon has one (One Child Nation).
This year’s Courage Under Fire Award, which recognizes documentarians who display “conspicuous bravery...
For the first time, this year’s ceremony will feature an award for best director, with the five films nominated all directed or co-directed by women: The Edge Of Democracy (Petra Costa); Advocate (Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche); American Factory (Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert); Honeyland (Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov); and For Sama (Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts).
Neon is the most represented distributor in the best feature field with three nominations. Netflix has two of the films in the category (American Factory and The Edge Of Democracy), while Amazon has one (One Child Nation).
This year’s Courage Under Fire Award, which recognizes documentarians who display “conspicuous bravery...
- 10/23/2019
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Films directed or co-directed by women dominated the nominations for the 35th Ida Documentary Awards, which were announced on Wednesday by the International Documentary Association.
All five films nominated in the new Best Director category — “Advocate,” “American Factory,” “The Edge of Democracy,” “For Sama” and “Honeyland” — were directed or co-directed by women, as was “One Child Nation,” which joined those films in the Best Feature category.
Also nominated in the top category: “Apollo 11,” “Midnight Family,” “Sea of Shadows” and “The Biggest Little Farm.”
Also Read: 'The Biggest Little Farm' Leads Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominations
The nominations, which were made by committees assembled by the Ida, mean that “American Family,” “Apollo 11,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “Honeyland” and “One Child Nation” are now the only nonfiction films to have received nominations by the Ida and the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards and included on Doc NYC’s list...
All five films nominated in the new Best Director category — “Advocate,” “American Factory,” “The Edge of Democracy,” “For Sama” and “Honeyland” — were directed or co-directed by women, as was “One Child Nation,” which joined those films in the Best Feature category.
Also nominated in the top category: “Apollo 11,” “Midnight Family,” “Sea of Shadows” and “The Biggest Little Farm.”
Also Read: 'The Biggest Little Farm' Leads Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominations
The nominations, which were made by committees assembled by the Ida, mean that “American Family,” “Apollo 11,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “Honeyland” and “One Child Nation” are now the only nonfiction films to have received nominations by the Ida and the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards and included on Doc NYC’s list...
- 10/23/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
You are invited to attend our Q&a discussion with four of film’s top documentarians who now compete for Oscars and more. Our event is on Tuesday, November 5, at 7:00 p.m. at the Landmark Theater at 10850 W. Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles. Admission and parking are free. Academy and guild members will get priority seating.
To RSVP, make your reservation here: https://goldderbydocumentarypanel2019.splashthat.com/
Gold Derby managing editor Joyce Eng will moderate this “Meet the Film Experts” panel with the following contenders for 2019/2020 awards consideration:
Petra Costa represents Netflix for “The Edge of Democracy”
The film explores one of the most dramatic periods in Brazilian history, combining unprecedented access to Presidents Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. Costa has had other awards contenders with “Elena,” “Olmo and the Seagull” and “Undertow Eyes.”
Feras Fayyad represents NatGeo for “The Cave”
This film follows a dedicated team of female...
To RSVP, make your reservation here: https://goldderbydocumentarypanel2019.splashthat.com/
Gold Derby managing editor Joyce Eng will moderate this “Meet the Film Experts” panel with the following contenders for 2019/2020 awards consideration:
Petra Costa represents Netflix for “The Edge of Democracy”
The film explores one of the most dramatic periods in Brazilian history, combining unprecedented access to Presidents Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. Costa has had other awards contenders with “Elena,” “Olmo and the Seagull” and “Undertow Eyes.”
Feras Fayyad represents NatGeo for “The Cave”
This film follows a dedicated team of female...
- 10/22/2019
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
National Geographic’s Sundance award-winning documentary Sea of Shadows will make its global broadcast debut on the network on Saturday, November 9 at 9 Pm, premiering commercial free. The premiere will weigh anchor on the film’s global rollout that will see it on small screens in 172 countries and 42 languages.
It’s the latest move for the pic since National Geographic Documentary Films acquired the Richard Ladkani-directed documentary in a $3 million worldwide deal, just after it won the Sundance Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary. The film, produced by Terra Mater Factual Studios in association with Leonardo DiCaprio and Appian Way, Malaika Pictures and Wild Lens Collective, is coming off a limited theatrical release in the U.S., Mexico, the UK and Austria.
Sea of Shadows is constructed as a thriller of sorts that spotlights a rescue mission to save a collapsing ecosystem and with it, the vaquita – the most endangered and elusive whale on earth.
It’s the latest move for the pic since National Geographic Documentary Films acquired the Richard Ladkani-directed documentary in a $3 million worldwide deal, just after it won the Sundance Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary. The film, produced by Terra Mater Factual Studios in association with Leonardo DiCaprio and Appian Way, Malaika Pictures and Wild Lens Collective, is coming off a limited theatrical release in the U.S., Mexico, the UK and Austria.
Sea of Shadows is constructed as a thriller of sorts that spotlights a rescue mission to save a collapsing ecosystem and with it, the vaquita – the most endangered and elusive whale on earth.
- 10/22/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
John Chester‘s “The Biggest Little Farm” leads the fourth annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards with seven nominations, including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director. Right behind it with six bids apiece are Todd Douglas Miller‘s “Apollo 11” and Peter Jackson‘s “They Shall Not Grow Old.” The other eight films nominated for the top prize are “American Factory,” “The Cave,” “Honeyland,” “The Kingmaker,” “Knock Down the House,” “Leaving Neverland,” “Maiden,” and “One Child Nation.”
Chester’s newest documentary follows his family’s journey as they develop a sustainable farm outside of Los Angeles. As the Ccda nomination leader it follows in the footsteps of last year’s eventual Academy Awards winner “Free Solo” who led this group’s field with six nominations. “Free Solo” may have won at the Oscars and three Ccda awards, but it lost the main prize here to “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?...
Chester’s newest documentary follows his family’s journey as they develop a sustainable farm outside of Los Angeles. As the Ccda nomination leader it follows in the footsteps of last year’s eventual Academy Awards winner “Free Solo” who led this group’s field with six nominations. “Free Solo” may have won at the Oscars and three Ccda awards, but it lost the main prize here to “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?...
- 10/15/2019
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
Now in its 18th year, the San Diego Intl. Film Festival, produced by the nonprofit San Diego Film Foundation, once again steals the movie glamour spotlight from its neighbor to the north, combining major regional premieres with a focus on social and environmental issues.
Running Oct. 15-20, the festival received more than 3,000 submissions from 68 countries, including feature films, shorts and documentaries. The result is a lineup that includes 107 films, with five in the narrative spotlight competition, 20 in the narrative contest, nine in the doc competition and 66 short films, says Tonya Mantooth, CEO and artistic director.
Opening night at the historic Balboa Theatre will see the premiere of “Jojo Rabbit,” a World War II black comedy written and directed by Taika Waititi. Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” starring Robert De Niro, opens the screenings at the ArcLight Cinema La Jolla on Oct. 17. “A Hidden Life,” a drama set during WWII, written and directed by Terrence Malick,...
Running Oct. 15-20, the festival received more than 3,000 submissions from 68 countries, including feature films, shorts and documentaries. The result is a lineup that includes 107 films, with five in the narrative spotlight competition, 20 in the narrative contest, nine in the doc competition and 66 short films, says Tonya Mantooth, CEO and artistic director.
Opening night at the historic Balboa Theatre will see the premiere of “Jojo Rabbit,” a World War II black comedy written and directed by Taika Waititi. Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” starring Robert De Niro, opens the screenings at the ArcLight Cinema La Jolla on Oct. 17. “A Hidden Life,” a drama set during WWII, written and directed by Terrence Malick,...
- 10/15/2019
- by Iain Blair
- Variety Film + TV
“The Biggest Little Farm” leads nominees for the fourth annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, with seven bids, followed by “Apollo 11” and “They Shall Not Grow Old.” “One Child Nation” received five nominations.
The winners will be presented their awards at a gala, hosted by Property Brothers’ Jonathan Scott, on Nov. 10 at Bric in Brooklyn.
The awards honor documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms, as determined by the voting of qualified Cca members.
A new honor, the D.A. Pennebaker Award, will be presented to Frederick Wiseman. Michael Apted will receive the landmark award for his work on the “Up” series of films, with “63 Up” opening this year.
“As the film and television industry constantly evolves, documentaries remain a vibrant creative art form that entertains as well as informs,” said Cca CEO Joey Berlin. “We are proud that our awards event has become a...
The winners will be presented their awards at a gala, hosted by Property Brothers’ Jonathan Scott, on Nov. 10 at Bric in Brooklyn.
The awards honor documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms, as determined by the voting of qualified Cca members.
A new honor, the D.A. Pennebaker Award, will be presented to Frederick Wiseman. Michael Apted will receive the landmark award for his work on the “Up” series of films, with “63 Up” opening this year.
“As the film and television industry constantly evolves, documentaries remain a vibrant creative art form that entertains as well as informs,” said Cca CEO Joey Berlin. “We are proud that our awards event has become a...
- 10/14/2019
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
‘Biggest Little Farm’, Peter Jackson, ‘Apollo 11′ Top Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards Nominations
Farm animals, the historic moon landing and World War I veterans back to vivid life top the nominations for the fourth annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards.
The Biggest Little Farm leads this year with seven nominations, including Best Documentary Feature, John Chester for Best Director and noms for Best Cinematography, Editing, Score, Narration and Science/Nature Documentary.
Recognized with six nominations each are Apollo 11 and They Shall Not Grow Old. The nominations for Apollo 11 are Best Documentary Feature, Todd Douglas Miller for Best Director, plus Editing, Score, Archival Documentary and Science/Nature Documentary, The nominations for They Shall Not Grow Old are Best Documentary Feature, Peter Jackson for Best Director, Editing, Score, Archival Documentary and Most Innovative Documentary.
One Child Nation received five nominations: Best Documentary Feature, Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang for Best Director, along with Editing, Narration, and Political Documentary.
The Cave, Honeyland, American Factor, Aquarela...
The Biggest Little Farm leads this year with seven nominations, including Best Documentary Feature, John Chester for Best Director and noms for Best Cinematography, Editing, Score, Narration and Science/Nature Documentary.
Recognized with six nominations each are Apollo 11 and They Shall Not Grow Old. The nominations for Apollo 11 are Best Documentary Feature, Todd Douglas Miller for Best Director, plus Editing, Score, Archival Documentary and Science/Nature Documentary, The nominations for They Shall Not Grow Old are Best Documentary Feature, Peter Jackson for Best Director, Editing, Score, Archival Documentary and Most Innovative Documentary.
One Child Nation received five nominations: Best Documentary Feature, Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang for Best Director, along with Editing, Narration, and Political Documentary.
The Cave, Honeyland, American Factor, Aquarela...
- 10/14/2019
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The Aretha Franklin documentary “Amazing Grace,” the moon-mission chronicle “Apollo 11” and the first film from Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, “American Factory,” have made the short list for the International Documentary Association’s 2019 Ida Documentary Awards, the Ida announced on Thursday.
The announcement narrows the field to 30 feature films and 21 shorts that will move on to a second round of voting.
The IDA’s short list of 30 feature films contains 10 films that were on Doc NYC’s recent 15-film list of the year’s likeliest nonfiction awards contenders: “American Factory,” “The Apollo,” “Apollo 11,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “The Cave,” “Diego Maradona,” “The Edge of Democracy,” “For Sama,” “Honeyland” and “One Child Nation.”
Additional films on the Ida’s list include “Amazing Grace,...
The announcement narrows the field to 30 feature films and 21 shorts that will move on to a second round of voting.
The IDA’s short list of 30 feature films contains 10 films that were on Doc NYC’s recent 15-film list of the year’s likeliest nonfiction awards contenders: “American Factory,” “The Apollo,” “Apollo 11,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “The Cave,” “Diego Maradona,” “The Edge of Democracy,” “For Sama,” “Honeyland” and “One Child Nation.”
Additional films on the Ida’s list include “Amazing Grace,...
- 10/10/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Next year’s Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature will go to “Apollo 11,” “The Cave,” “Diego Maradona,” “For Sama,” “Knock Down the House” or one of 10 other nonfiction films, if the track record for Doc NYC’s annual Short List proves to be as accurate as it has been in past years.
Those five films were included on the documentary festival’s 2019 list, along with “American Factory,” “The Apollo,” “Ask Dr. Ruth,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “The Edge of Democracy,” “The Elephant Queen,” “The Great Hack,” “Honeyland,” “The Kingmaker” and “One Child Nation.”
All of the films will screen at this year’s festival, which runs in New York City from Nov. 6 through Nov. 15, and will be eligible for juried awards in four categories for the first time.
Doc NYC has been compiling its Short List, which identifies the documentaries that its programming team considers to be the year’s strongest awards contenders,...
Those five films were included on the documentary festival’s 2019 list, along with “American Factory,” “The Apollo,” “Ask Dr. Ruth,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “The Edge of Democracy,” “The Elephant Queen,” “The Great Hack,” “Honeyland,” “The Kingmaker” and “One Child Nation.”
All of the films will screen at this year’s festival, which runs in New York City from Nov. 6 through Nov. 15, and will be eligible for juried awards in four categories for the first time.
Doc NYC has been compiling its Short List, which identifies the documentaries that its programming team considers to be the year’s strongest awards contenders,...
- 9/26/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Directed and shot by Richard Ladkani, Sea of Shadows centers on the multi-pronged attempts to save the vaquita porpoise, an endangered species that lives in the Sea of Cortez. Illegal nets are cast in the ocean to catch totoaba, a fish whose swim bladders are sold on the black market. With the Sinaloa drug cartel [...]
The post ‘Sea of Shadows’ Documentary Rides The Wave Of A Cinematic Aesthetic appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
The post ‘Sea of Shadows’ Documentary Rides The Wave Of A Cinematic Aesthetic appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 7/16/2019
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
The new National Geographic documentary Sea Of Shadows brings to light the crisis at the border in Baja California as the native porpoise, the vaquitas are facing extinction because of the poaching of a rare fish by the Mexican drug cartel and the Chinese mafia. The netting is killing both the fish and the vaquitas, and only 15 of the dolphin-like creatures remain. One of the subjects of the documentary by director Richard Ladkani (The Ivory Game) is Mexican investigative journalist Carlos Loret de Mola who has been investigating the cartel behind it but he, along with the filmmakers and subjects of the documentary, have faced death threats from the narcos. We caught up with Carlos to talk about his role in Sea Of Shadows, and why it's important to act now.
- 7/13/2019
- by info@cinemovie.tv (Super User)
- CineMovie
Leonardo DiCaprio‘s latest eco-documentary “Sea of Shadows” doesn’t shy away from taking on Mexican cartels.
“For some of the guys there, he is state enemy number one at the moment,” said producer Wolfgang Knöpfler at the documentary’s premiere on Wednesday night at Neuehouse in Los Angeles. “The cartels don’t like him.”
Appian Way and DiCaprio executive produced the National Geographic documentary, which casts a spotlight on the little-known plight of the endangered vaquita, a species of porpoise that has become collateral damage in a poaching crisis raging in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. Mexican crime syndicates have partnered with the Chinese mafia in the illegal fishing of the native totoaba, whose bladders are believed to have miraculous healing powers and fetch prices upwards of $100,000 on the Chinese black market.
Ensnared in nets meant for the totoaba, with their natural habitat decimated, the vaquita numbers have dwindled to less than fifteen.
“For some of the guys there, he is state enemy number one at the moment,” said producer Wolfgang Knöpfler at the documentary’s premiere on Wednesday night at Neuehouse in Los Angeles. “The cartels don’t like him.”
Appian Way and DiCaprio executive produced the National Geographic documentary, which casts a spotlight on the little-known plight of the endangered vaquita, a species of porpoise that has become collateral damage in a poaching crisis raging in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. Mexican crime syndicates have partnered with the Chinese mafia in the illegal fishing of the native totoaba, whose bladders are believed to have miraculous healing powers and fetch prices upwards of $100,000 on the Chinese black market.
Ensnared in nets meant for the totoaba, with their natural habitat decimated, the vaquita numbers have dwindled to less than fifteen.
- 7/11/2019
- by Ashley Hume
- Variety Film + TV
Directed by Richard Ladkani (The Ivory Game), Sea of Shadows is a riveting documentary that, while providing much needed information about an endangered species, is also an immersive storytelling experience.
There are only 15 vaquita porpoises that survive on this world, and they reside near the Sea of Cortez. Fisherman have cast their nets into the [...]
The post ‘Sea of Shadows’ Review: Riveting Documentary Spotlights Endangered Vaquita Porpoise appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
There are only 15 vaquita porpoises that survive on this world, and they reside near the Sea of Cortez. Fisherman have cast their nets into the [...]
The post ‘Sea of Shadows’ Review: Riveting Documentary Spotlights Endangered Vaquita Porpoise appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 7/11/2019
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
If you’re in search of a first rate documentary to check out in theaters this month, Sea of Shadows should fit the bill. Directed by Richard Ladkani (The Ivory Game) and executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, the project focuses on the push to save the vaquita porpoise, an endangered whale species that resides near the [...]
The post CinemAddicts Podcast Delves Into Eye Opening Documentary ‘Sea of Shadows’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
The post CinemAddicts Podcast Delves Into Eye Opening Documentary ‘Sea of Shadows’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 7/8/2019
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
Platform will screen features The Elephant Queen, Hala at Sicilian festival.
The Taormina Film Festival (June 30-July 6) in Sicily will celebrate the first TV series in its 65-year history when Octavia Spencer flies in on behalf of Apple TV+’s forthcoming true-crime drama Truth Be Told.
The series will debut on the Apple TV app this autumn. Series executive producer/star Spencer will attend the Italian festival, where she will receive the Taormina Arte Award and highlight the series, which is inspired by a true-crime novel by Katherine Barber.
Apple will screen two of its films at the festival. Mark Deeble...
The Taormina Film Festival (June 30-July 6) in Sicily will celebrate the first TV series in its 65-year history when Octavia Spencer flies in on behalf of Apple TV+’s forthcoming true-crime drama Truth Be Told.
The series will debut on the Apple TV app this autumn. Series executive producer/star Spencer will attend the Italian festival, where she will receive the Taormina Arte Award and highlight the series, which is inspired by a true-crime novel by Katherine Barber.
Apple will screen two of its films at the festival. Mark Deeble...
- 6/14/2019
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Platform will screen features The Elephant Queen, Hala at Sicilian festival.
The Taormina Film Festival (June 30-July 6) in Sicily will celebrate the first TV series in its 65-year history when Octavia Spencer flies in to discuss Apple TV+’s forthcoming true-crime drama Truth Be Told.
The series will debut on the Apple TV app this autumn. Series creator and executive producer/star Spencer will attend the Italian festival, where she will receive the Taormina Arte Award and talk about the series, which is inspired by a true-crime novel by Katherine Barber.
The Taormina Film Festival (June 30-July 6) in Sicily will celebrate the first TV series in its 65-year history when Octavia Spencer flies in to discuss Apple TV+’s forthcoming true-crime drama Truth Be Told.
The series will debut on the Apple TV app this autumn. Series creator and executive producer/star Spencer will attend the Italian festival, where she will receive the Taormina Arte Award and talk about the series, which is inspired by a true-crime novel by Katherine Barber.
- 6/14/2019
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Sicilian festival will screen the first TV series in its 65-year history.
The Taormina Film Festival (June 30-July 6) in Sicily will screen the first TV series in its 65-year history, Apple TV+’s forthcoming drama Truth Be Told.
Apple will offer a first-look at the series, which will debut on the Apple TV app this autumn. Series creator and executive producer/star Octavia Spencer will come to Taormina to present the series, which is inspired by a true-crime novel by Katherine Barber.
Apple will also show preview footage of See starring Alfre Woodard, and The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston,...
The Taormina Film Festival (June 30-July 6) in Sicily will screen the first TV series in its 65-year history, Apple TV+’s forthcoming drama Truth Be Told.
Apple will offer a first-look at the series, which will debut on the Apple TV app this autumn. Series creator and executive producer/star Octavia Spencer will come to Taormina to present the series, which is inspired by a true-crime novel by Katherine Barber.
Apple will also show preview footage of See starring Alfre Woodard, and The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston,...
- 6/14/2019
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
The AFI Docs Festival has selected the Steven Bognar-Julia Reichert documentary “American Factory” as its centerpiece film, screening on June 21.
The event will take place at the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
“American Factory” centers on the aftermath of the 2014 purchase of a General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio, which had closed in 2008. A Chinese billionaire reopened the facility as Fuyao Glass America, with the promise of giving work to more than 2,000 local residents, along with bringing hundreds of Chinese workers to Ohio. Tensions mount among the Americans due to low wages and concerns about safety.
The festival revealed its full slate of films Wednesday for the 2019 edition, the 17th year, with 72 films representing 17 countries. The festival runs June 19–23 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, Md.
As previously announced, the festival will open with the world premiere of...
The event will take place at the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
“American Factory” centers on the aftermath of the 2014 purchase of a General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio, which had closed in 2008. A Chinese billionaire reopened the facility as Fuyao Glass America, with the promise of giving work to more than 2,000 local residents, along with bringing hundreds of Chinese workers to Ohio. Tensions mount among the Americans due to low wages and concerns about safety.
The festival revealed its full slate of films Wednesday for the 2019 edition, the 17th year, with 72 films representing 17 countries. The festival runs June 19–23 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, Md.
As previously announced, the festival will open with the world premiere of...
- 5/15/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
AFI Docs has raised the curtain on its 2019 slate — 68% of which are films produced by women and nearly half that feature a female helmer. The lineup features 72 documentaries from 17 countries, including six world premieres.
The films will unspool from June 19-23 in Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, MD. See the full program for the fest below.
This year’s Centerpiece film will be American Factory, directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, which examines the culture clash resulting from the takeover of a Dayton, Oh, factory by a Chinese company. It will screen on Friday, June 21.
“Each year, the AFI Docs slate includes a variety of films exploring topical issues, intriguing personalities and compelling voices,” said Michael Lumpkin, Director of AFI Festivals. “This year’s festival offers audiences a chance to discover new perspectives on familiar topics and unique stories they may be hearing for the first time — demonstrating...
The films will unspool from June 19-23 in Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, MD. See the full program for the fest below.
This year’s Centerpiece film will be American Factory, directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, which examines the culture clash resulting from the takeover of a Dayton, Oh, factory by a Chinese company. It will screen on Friday, June 21.
“Each year, the AFI Docs slate includes a variety of films exploring topical issues, intriguing personalities and compelling voices,” said Michael Lumpkin, Director of AFI Festivals. “This year’s festival offers audiences a chance to discover new perspectives on familiar topics and unique stories they may be hearing for the first time — demonstrating...
- 5/15/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s a decidedly grim circle of life that moves us all in “Sea of Shadows,” a tight, troubling documentary eco-thriller that charts a compelling course of consequence from Chinese black-market apothecaries to the near-extinction of a rare whale in the Sea of Cortez, hitting on Mexican crime cartels and institutional corruption along the way. Austrian director-cinematographer Richard Ladkani has form in this field, having previously co-helmed Netflix’s urgent anti-poaching doc “The Ivory Trade,” and once more brings sturdy conventional craftsmanship and boots-on-the-ground engagement to an environmentally conscious, unabashedly heart-grabbing exposé. With its clear crowd-pleasing credentials confirmed by an audience award win at Sundance, “Sea of Shadows” will sail through the festival circuit; in an ideal match of sensibilities, National Geographic has secured worldwide rights.
Louie Psihoyos’s 2009 Oscar-winner “The Cove” provides the most obvious commercial precedent for “Sea of Shadows,” though Ladkani’s film is something of a shape-shifter,...
Louie Psihoyos’s 2009 Oscar-winner “The Cove” provides the most obvious commercial precedent for “Sea of Shadows,” though Ladkani’s film is something of a shape-shifter,...
- 2/21/2019
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Amazon Studios confirms One Child Nation pick-up.
The Sundance deal-making continues as it emerged Netflix was understood to be closing a deal for Us and select territories on the Zac Efron serial killer drama Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile, while National Geographic picked up the eco doc Sea Of Shadows.
Sources said the Extremely Wicked deal was understood to be closing in the $8m-$9m range. Efron portrays serial killer Ted Bundy and the film directed by Joe Berlinger presents its notorious subject as an innocent family man.
CAA Media Finance and UTA represent Us rights and Voltage Pictures handles international sales.
The Sundance deal-making continues as it emerged Netflix was understood to be closing a deal for Us and select territories on the Zac Efron serial killer drama Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile, while National Geographic picked up the eco doc Sea Of Shadows.
Sources said the Extremely Wicked deal was understood to be closing in the $8m-$9m range. Efron portrays serial killer Ted Bundy and the film directed by Joe Berlinger presents its notorious subject as an innocent family man.
CAA Media Finance and UTA represent Us rights and Voltage Pictures handles international sales.
- 2/4/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
National Geographic Documentary Films has secured worldwide rights to the environmental documentary “Sea of Shadows,” executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Directed by Richard Ladkani (“The Ivory Game”), the documentary premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award for world cinema documentary.
“Sea of Shadows” highlights efforts to save the endangered vaquita whale in the Sea of Cortez, where the native totoaba fish are being poached because of a superstitious belief among some in China that their bladders possess miraculous healing powers. The non-fiction film follows a team of scientists, high-tech conservationists, investigative journalists, undercover agents and the Mexican Navy to save the last remaining vaquita and bring the crime syndicate to justice.
“What is happening in Mexico is yet another example of human-caused devastation due to the greed of a few,” Ladkani said in a statement. “My hope is that this film can raise awareness...
Directed by Richard Ladkani (“The Ivory Game”), the documentary premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award for world cinema documentary.
“Sea of Shadows” highlights efforts to save the endangered vaquita whale in the Sea of Cortez, where the native totoaba fish are being poached because of a superstitious belief among some in China that their bladders possess miraculous healing powers. The non-fiction film follows a team of scientists, high-tech conservationists, investigative journalists, undercover agents and the Mexican Navy to save the last remaining vaquita and bring the crime syndicate to justice.
“What is happening in Mexico is yet another example of human-caused devastation due to the greed of a few,” Ladkani said in a statement. “My hope is that this film can raise awareness...
- 2/4/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
National Geographic Films has acquired the worldwide rights to “Sea of Shadows,” an award-winning Sundance documentary executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, the company announced Monday.
The documentary premiered on Jan. 27 at the Sundance Film Festival and played and won the Audience Award for a documentary from the festival. Richard Ladkani directs the film along with Terra Mater Factual Studios in association with Leonardo DiCaprio and Appian Way, Malaika Pictures and Wild Lens Collective.
The deal was negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers by Josh Braun, Ben Braun, Matt Burke and Ben Schwartz of Submarine.
“Sea of Shadows” examines an environmental crisis formed as a result of actions by Mexican drug cartels and the Chinese mafia. The film looks at the Sea of Cortez, which is collapsing as a result of the hunting of a valuable fish called totoaba...
The documentary premiered on Jan. 27 at the Sundance Film Festival and played and won the Audience Award for a documentary from the festival. Richard Ladkani directs the film along with Terra Mater Factual Studios in association with Leonardo DiCaprio and Appian Way, Malaika Pictures and Wild Lens Collective.
The deal was negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers by Josh Braun, Ben Braun, Matt Burke and Ben Schwartz of Submarine.
“Sea of Shadows” examines an environmental crisis formed as a result of actions by Mexican drug cartels and the Chinese mafia. The film looks at the Sea of Cortez, which is collapsing as a result of the hunting of a valuable fish called totoaba...
- 2/4/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
National Geographic Documentary Films acquired the Richard Ladkani-directed documentary Sea of Shadows in a $3 million worldwide deal. The film just won the Sundance Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary and becomes just the latest of an avalanche of distribution deals at Sundance. Pic’s produced by Terra Mater Factual Studios in association with Leonardo DiCaprio and Appian Way, Malaika Pictures and Wild Lens Collective. The deal was negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers by Josh Braun, Ben Braun, Matt Burke and Ben
Schwartz of Submarine. Pic premiered Sunday, January 27 at the Prospector Square Theater.
The docu is framed as a tense thriller that spotlights a rescue mission to save a collapsing ecosystem and
with it, the vaquita – the most endangered and elusive whale on earth. In the Sea of Cortez, a war is being waged by Mexican drug cartels and Chinese traffickers. A native species of fish, the totoaba,...
Schwartz of Submarine. Pic premiered Sunday, January 27 at the Prospector Square Theater.
The docu is framed as a tense thriller that spotlights a rescue mission to save a collapsing ecosystem and
with it, the vaquita – the most endangered and elusive whale on earth. In the Sea of Cortez, a war is being waged by Mexican drug cartels and Chinese traffickers. A native species of fish, the totoaba,...
- 2/4/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
National Geographic Documentary Films has netted Richard Ladkani's environmental documentary Sea of Shadows, plunking down $3 million for worldwide rights, which is believed to be the biggest doc acquisition of this year's Sundance market. Leonardo DiCaprio, who produced Ladkani's doc The Ivory Game, served as an executive producer.
The nonfiction thriller chronicles the plight of the vaquita, the world's smallest whale, which is near extinction as its habitat is destroyed by Mexican drug cartels and the Chinese mafia, who harvest the swim bladder of the totoaba fish, the "cocaine of the sea." Environmental activists, the Mexican ...
The nonfiction thriller chronicles the plight of the vaquita, the world's smallest whale, which is near extinction as its habitat is destroyed by Mexican drug cartels and the Chinese mafia, who harvest the swim bladder of the totoaba fish, the "cocaine of the sea." Environmental activists, the Mexican ...
National Geographic Documentary Films has netted Richard Ladkani's environmental documentary Sea of Shadows, plunking down $3 million for worldwide rights, which is believed to be the biggest doc acquisition of this year's Sundance market. Leonardo DiCaprio, who produced Ladkani's doc The Ivory Game, served as an executive producer.
The nonfiction thriller chronicles the plight of the vaquita, the world's smallest whale, which is near extinction as its habitat is destroyed by Mexican drug cartels and the Chinese mafia, who harvest the swim bladder of the totoaba fish, the "cocaine of the sea." Environmental activists, the Mexican ...
The nonfiction thriller chronicles the plight of the vaquita, the world's smallest whale, which is near extinction as its habitat is destroyed by Mexican drug cartels and the Chinese mafia, who harvest the swim bladder of the totoaba fish, the "cocaine of the sea." Environmental activists, the Mexican ...
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