Simon Chambers’ documentary is unsparing in capturing his theatrical relation’s endearing, sometimes desperate and often infuriating decline
Films about film-makers and their kith and kin sometimes get dismissed as self-serving, self-indulgent or even – everyone’s favourite smear word these days – narcissistic. Director Simon Chambers’s wrenching film about his relationship with his aged uncle David is none of those things; I can think of few documentaries that are more honest, self-scrutinising and revelatory about ageing, familial love and its limits, and the whole tragicomic process of dying. It’s the sort of thing you might call “raw” – in the sense that wounds are raw – but the craftsmanship is never raw, despite the obvious lack of budget.
Chambers, mostly a voice narrating the story, and occasionally a presence on screen, explains how he was effectively summoned back to London from Delhi where he was making a film about cars. (The...
Films about film-makers and their kith and kin sometimes get dismissed as self-serving, self-indulgent or even – everyone’s favourite smear word these days – narcissistic. Director Simon Chambers’s wrenching film about his relationship with his aged uncle David is none of those things; I can think of few documentaries that are more honest, self-scrutinising and revelatory about ageing, familial love and its limits, and the whole tragicomic process of dying. It’s the sort of thing you might call “raw” – in the sense that wounds are raw – but the craftsmanship is never raw, despite the obvious lack of budget.
Chambers, mostly a voice narrating the story, and occasionally a presence on screen, explains how he was effectively summoned back to London from Delhi where he was making a film about cars. (The...
- 5/2/2024
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
As David Newlyn Gale reached his mid-80s, he lived in his own home, but not in the most resplendent conditions. He cohabitated with an untold number of mice in a hoarder’s horror of detritus, a place chocked with tins of food that probably fell off store shelves around World War II.
Gale’s legs were swollen and reddened by eczema, and he could best be described as only semi-ambulatory. Despite the challenges of his circumstances, the former stage actor and teacher took tremendous joy in life, erupting into song or quoting Shakespeare continually. But he could also be a bit of a drama queen – frequently convinced he was nearing his last breath.
This unforgettable man stars in Much Ado About Dying, directed by Simon Chambers, David’s (one must say) longsuffering nephew. The director is our guest on the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, discussing...
Gale’s legs were swollen and reddened by eczema, and he could best be described as only semi-ambulatory. Despite the challenges of his circumstances, the former stage actor and teacher took tremendous joy in life, erupting into song or quoting Shakespeare continually. But he could also be a bit of a drama queen – frequently convinced he was nearing his last breath.
This unforgettable man stars in Much Ado About Dying, directed by Simon Chambers, David’s (one must say) longsuffering nephew. The director is our guest on the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, discussing...
- 3/19/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Filmmaker Simon Chambers was living in New Delhi and planning to shoot a documentary about traffic congestion in India when his 85-year-old Uncle David called him to say that he thinks he may be dying. But when Simon returned to London, he found David not on the brink of death but rather starved for attention. A former thespian with the flair for the dramatic, David insisted Simon bring his camera with him whenever he visited his house to check up on him. The camera’s presence clearly boosts David’s spirits because it allows him to “perform” for someone once again, even if that mostly amounts to singing bits of old songs or quoting passages from “King Lear.”
“Much Ado About Dying” follows Simon as he struggles to care for his aging uncle in his final years, a difficult feat under any circumstances but made even more challenging by David Newlyn Gale’s cheeky stubbornness.
“Much Ado About Dying” follows Simon as he struggles to care for his aging uncle in his final years, a difficult feat under any circumstances but made even more challenging by David Newlyn Gale’s cheeky stubbornness.
- 3/14/2024
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
“Much Ado About Dying,” Simon Chamber’s documentary about elderly care that won the best directing award at IDFA in 2022, has been acquired by First Run Features for the U.S. and Canada.
The feature, produced by Soilsiú Films and Tiffin Films, will have its U.S. festival premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival ahead of a national theatrical release set to launch at New York’s Film Forum on March 15.
Chambers’ third feature-length documentary, “Much Ado About Dying” deals with the issue of caring for elderly and dying relatives. Producers describe the film as “poignant and moving, but also hilariously funny,” following Chambers as he get very close to his dying uncle, a retired gay actor who still wants to perform “King Lear” before it’s too late. The director’s previous films, “Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears” and “Cowboys in India,” both toured the festival...
The feature, produced by Soilsiú Films and Tiffin Films, will have its U.S. festival premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival ahead of a national theatrical release set to launch at New York’s Film Forum on March 15.
Chambers’ third feature-length documentary, “Much Ado About Dying” deals with the issue of caring for elderly and dying relatives. Producers describe the film as “poignant and moving, but also hilariously funny,” following Chambers as he get very close to his dying uncle, a retired gay actor who still wants to perform “King Lear” before it’s too late. The director’s previous films, “Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears” and “Cowboys in India,” both toured the festival...
- 2/2/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Lea Glob’s documentary Apolonia, Apolonia, a 13-year portrait of Paris-born painter Apolonia Sokol, has won best film at the 2022 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the world’s largest documentary film fest.
The honor, announced at an awards ceremony in Amsterdam on Thursday night, comes with a €15,000 (15,000) cash prize.
The Danish director stitched her doc together from multiple meetings over the years with Sokol, as she traced the artist’s development and reflects on her personal and professional obsessions, including art, love, motherhood, sexuality, queerness, capitalism and the patriarchy.
The best film prize in the IDFA’s Envision Competition section, and its 15,000 cash prize, went to Angie Vinchito’s Manifesto, a found-footage doc compiled from videos Russian teenagers posted on social media.
IDFA’s best director honor in the international category, and a €5,000 (5,200) cash prize, went to Simon Chambers for Much Ado About Dying,...
Lea Glob’s documentary Apolonia, Apolonia, a 13-year portrait of Paris-born painter Apolonia Sokol, has won best film at the 2022 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the world’s largest documentary film fest.
The honor, announced at an awards ceremony in Amsterdam on Thursday night, comes with a €15,000 (15,000) cash prize.
The Danish director stitched her doc together from multiple meetings over the years with Sokol, as she traced the artist’s development and reflects on her personal and professional obsessions, including art, love, motherhood, sexuality, queerness, capitalism and the patriarchy.
The best film prize in the IDFA’s Envision Competition section, and its 15,000 cash prize, went to Angie Vinchito’s Manifesto, a found-footage doc compiled from videos Russian teenagers posted on social media.
IDFA’s best director honor in the international category, and a €5,000 (5,200) cash prize, went to Simon Chambers for Much Ado About Dying,...
- 11/17/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Festival continues through Sunday.
Danish director Lea Glob’s Apolonia, Apolonia has won best film in the international competition at the 35th edition of International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), running 9-20 November.
The award,which comes with a €15,000 euro cash prize, was confirmed on Thursday evening in a ceremony at Ita (International Theatre Amsterdam) that was streamed live.
Apolonia, Apolonia, backed by HBO Max and Arte and sold by Cat&Docs, follows brilliant young artist Apolonia Sokol over a period of 13 years. It was produced by Sidsel Siersted for Danish Documentary Production.
“This film has characters who breathe life and take us on a journey,...
Danish director Lea Glob’s Apolonia, Apolonia has won best film in the international competition at the 35th edition of International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), running 9-20 November.
The award,which comes with a €15,000 euro cash prize, was confirmed on Thursday evening in a ceremony at Ita (International Theatre Amsterdam) that was streamed live.
Apolonia, Apolonia, backed by HBO Max and Arte and sold by Cat&Docs, follows brilliant young artist Apolonia Sokol over a period of 13 years. It was produced by Sidsel Siersted for Danish Documentary Production.
“This film has characters who breathe life and take us on a journey,...
- 11/17/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Lea Glob’s documentary Apolonia, Apolonia, about the Paris-born painter Apolonia Sokol, earned Best Film in international competition as the IDFA awards ceremony unfolded in Amsterdam tonight.
The prestigious honor comes with a €15,000 cash prize. Announcing the award, the five-member jury noted, “This film has characters who breathe life and take us on a journey, opening us up to the worlds of culture and art, of business and politics, of the mechanics of a success story. It is infused with love.”
Glob has been following Soko’s career for well over a decade. According to the Villa Medici website, the figurative painter is “known for her political stance on the art of portraiture, claiming the need to use it as a tool of empowerment and deconstruction of marginalization or domination. That is why she addresses multiple issues such as feminisms, queerness, women’s representation throughout art history and body politics in general.
The prestigious honor comes with a €15,000 cash prize. Announcing the award, the five-member jury noted, “This film has characters who breathe life and take us on a journey, opening us up to the worlds of culture and art, of business and politics, of the mechanics of a success story. It is infused with love.”
Glob has been following Soko’s career for well over a decade. According to the Villa Medici website, the figurative painter is “known for her political stance on the art of portraiture, claiming the need to use it as a tool of empowerment and deconstruction of marginalization or domination. That is why she addresses multiple issues such as feminisms, queerness, women’s representation throughout art history and body politics in general.
- 11/17/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Lea Glob’s documentary “Apolonia, Apolonia,” depicting French figurative painter Apolonia Sokol over the course of 13 years, has won the best film award in the International Competition section as well as €15,000 at documentary film festival IDFA in Amsterdam.
The coming-of-age story with Bohemian Paris as its backdrop was pitched at IDFA Forum back in 2015. In his Variety review for “Apolonia, Apolonia” Guy Lodge described the docu as “an impressively idiosyncratic, far-reaching work, assured of further festival play and specialist arthouse attention.” The film is a co-production between Denmark, Poland and France.
This marks the third time that Glob, a Danish director, has been at IDFA with a docu.
Glob’s “Olmo & the Seagull” which she co-directed with Petra Costa screened at IDFA 2015, while “Venus,” which was co-directed with Mette Carla Albrechtse, made its world premiere at IDFA in 2016.
“(‘Apolonia, Apolonia’) has characters who breathe life and take us on a journey,...
The coming-of-age story with Bohemian Paris as its backdrop was pitched at IDFA Forum back in 2015. In his Variety review for “Apolonia, Apolonia” Guy Lodge described the docu as “an impressively idiosyncratic, far-reaching work, assured of further festival play and specialist arthouse attention.” The film is a co-production between Denmark, Poland and France.
This marks the third time that Glob, a Danish director, has been at IDFA with a docu.
Glob’s “Olmo & the Seagull” which she co-directed with Petra Costa screened at IDFA 2015, while “Venus,” which was co-directed with Mette Carla Albrechtse, made its world premiere at IDFA in 2016.
“(‘Apolonia, Apolonia’) has characters who breathe life and take us on a journey,...
- 11/17/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
One of the biggest hits emerging at IDFA pulls off a remarkable feat: a story of an elderly man’s farewell that manages to be simultaneously touching, endearing and often riotously funny.
That sounds unlikely, if not impossible, and would be were it not for the protagonist of Much Ado About Dying – the vivacious and vexatious David Newlyn Gale. As death approached, rather more slowly than his nearest relatives expected, “Uncle David” was cared for by his nephew Simon Chambers, who filmed, wrote and directed the documentary. A good deal of the humor results from the interplay between uncle and nephew, who exasperate each other and “lovingly bicker” – if one can put it that way.
Director Simon Chambers in Amsterdam, Sunday, November 13, 2022
Within the first five minutes of the film, Chambers has noted in voiceover about his aging uncle, “Once I’d had to rescue him from a wardrobe when...
That sounds unlikely, if not impossible, and would be were it not for the protagonist of Much Ado About Dying – the vivacious and vexatious David Newlyn Gale. As death approached, rather more slowly than his nearest relatives expected, “Uncle David” was cared for by his nephew Simon Chambers, who filmed, wrote and directed the documentary. A good deal of the humor results from the interplay between uncle and nephew, who exasperate each other and “lovingly bicker” – if one can put it that way.
Director Simon Chambers in Amsterdam, Sunday, November 13, 2022
Within the first five minutes of the film, Chambers has noted in voiceover about his aging uncle, “Once I’d had to rescue him from a wardrobe when...
- 11/14/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The 35th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, will open with the world premiere of Iranian-Dutch filmmaker Niki Padidar’s “All You See.”
The festival has also revealed the titles in its competition lineups. In all, 277 titles will be screened at the in-person festival.
Artistic director Orwa Nyrabia said: “Here’s an eclectic lineup that is united only by originality. Through the subjectivities of these filmmakers, an image of a world in pain emerges – a humanity that is trying hard, that is vulnerable and sincere, that is complex and persistent. The diversity of artistic forms is astonishing, and there are no boundaries when it comes to tackling the biggest powers or inventing new grammar.”
“The Envision Competition introduces artistically and politically courageous films, memorable journeys, and new questions. The International Competition brings together profound films that will tour the world and inspire audiences for years to come. IDFA...
The festival has also revealed the titles in its competition lineups. In all, 277 titles will be screened at the in-person festival.
Artistic director Orwa Nyrabia said: “Here’s an eclectic lineup that is united only by originality. Through the subjectivities of these filmmakers, an image of a world in pain emerges – a humanity that is trying hard, that is vulnerable and sincere, that is complex and persistent. The diversity of artistic forms is astonishing, and there are no boundaries when it comes to tackling the biggest powers or inventing new grammar.”
“The Envision Competition introduces artistically and politically courageous films, memorable journeys, and new questions. The International Competition brings together profound films that will tour the world and inspire audiences for years to come. IDFA...
- 10/20/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The 35th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) will open with Iranian-Dutch filmmaker Niki Padidar’s All You See.
The feature explores themes of exclusion and being an outsider through Padidar’s own experiences in the Netherlands, which are interwoven with the stories of three other immigrants who have made a life in the country.
The festival, which will showcase 277 titles this year, has also unveiled the selections for its main Envision and International Competitions.
A total of 13 titles will play in the International Competition line-up.
Highlights include Mila Turajlić’s Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels, which will be presented as a diptych and performance and explores the never-before-seen footage of Tito’s cameraman documenting his trips to Africa and Asia to promote a third way amidst the Cold War.
Further competition titles include Paradise by Alexander Abaturov, which enters the heart of a raging forest fire in northeastern Siberia,...
The feature explores themes of exclusion and being an outsider through Padidar’s own experiences in the Netherlands, which are interwoven with the stories of three other immigrants who have made a life in the country.
The festival, which will showcase 277 titles this year, has also unveiled the selections for its main Envision and International Competitions.
A total of 13 titles will play in the International Competition line-up.
Highlights include Mila Turajlić’s Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels, which will be presented as a diptych and performance and explores the never-before-seen footage of Tito’s cameraman documenting his trips to Africa and Asia to promote a third way amidst the Cold War.
Further competition titles include Paradise by Alexander Abaturov, which enters the heart of a raging forest fire in northeastern Siberia,...
- 10/20/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Persistence Resistance 2011: Documentary Practices in India, a festival of documentary films will be held in London from November 1-8, 2011.
“While we start with a focus on Indian documentary practice to create a more informed ground to explore its specific histories, styles and provocations, the aim is to explore further political and aesthetic affiliations across geographical locations and disciplines,” reads a statement on the official website of the festival.
Filmmaker like Arun Khopkar, Deepa Dhanraj, Rahul Roy, Rajula and Shah Saba Dewan, from India, Yasmine Kabir from Bangladesh, as well as UK based filmmakers John Wyver, Mairead McClean, Mao Mollona, Margaret Dickinson and Simon Chambers and will be joined by, and be in conversations with, Alisa Lebow, Alpa Shah, Guilia Battaglia, Laura Bear, Lotte Hoek, Lucia King, Nicole Wolf, Partha Mitter, Radha D’Souza, Ravi Vasudevan, Ros Gray, Rosie Thomas, Stephen Hughes, Stewart Motha and Ziba Mir Hosseini.
The documentaries...
“While we start with a focus on Indian documentary practice to create a more informed ground to explore its specific histories, styles and provocations, the aim is to explore further political and aesthetic affiliations across geographical locations and disciplines,” reads a statement on the official website of the festival.
Filmmaker like Arun Khopkar, Deepa Dhanraj, Rahul Roy, Rajula and Shah Saba Dewan, from India, Yasmine Kabir from Bangladesh, as well as UK based filmmakers John Wyver, Mairead McClean, Mao Mollona, Margaret Dickinson and Simon Chambers and will be joined by, and be in conversations with, Alisa Lebow, Alpa Shah, Guilia Battaglia, Laura Bear, Lotte Hoek, Lucia King, Nicole Wolf, Partha Mitter, Radha D’Souza, Ravi Vasudevan, Ros Gray, Rosie Thomas, Stephen Hughes, Stewart Motha and Ziba Mir Hosseini.
The documentaries...
- 10/22/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
A good number of Indian documentaries will be presented at the eight edition of Film Southasia to be held from September 29-October 2, 2011 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Film Southasia is a biennial festival of documentaries organized in Nepal. Tickets are available for Rs. 50 at the venue of the festival Kumari Cinema, Kathmandu.
The films at the festival will be judged by a three-member South-asian jury and the best film will be awarded the ‘Ram Bahadur Trophy’ for Best Film along with a citation and a cash prize of Usd 2,000. The second best film will be awarded a citation and cash prize of Usd 1,000 and the Best Debut Film will be awarded a citation and cash prize of Usd 1,000.
Journey to Yarsa (55 min) by Dipendra Bhandari of Nepal will be screened as the opening film of the festival.
An event called ‘Tareque Masud Memorial: A Dialogue’ will be conducted on the theme– ‘Documentary:...
Film Southasia is a biennial festival of documentaries organized in Nepal. Tickets are available for Rs. 50 at the venue of the festival Kumari Cinema, Kathmandu.
The films at the festival will be judged by a three-member South-asian jury and the best film will be awarded the ‘Ram Bahadur Trophy’ for Best Film along with a citation and a cash prize of Usd 2,000. The second best film will be awarded a citation and cash prize of Usd 1,000 and the Best Debut Film will be awarded a citation and cash prize of Usd 1,000.
Journey to Yarsa (55 min) by Dipendra Bhandari of Nepal will be screened as the opening film of the festival.
An event called ‘Tareque Masud Memorial: A Dialogue’ will be conducted on the theme– ‘Documentary:...
- 9/26/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
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