My biggest concern before watching Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut was: what if the documentary ends up making me feel miserable? Because of the title, it did seem like an extended version of one of those preachy health commercials, which do nothing but scare you about your own health. But Hack Your Health turned out to be much different and definitely better than that. It surely didn’t make me feel worried. In fact, I would say that the very informative documentary is actually a pleasant watch. Let’s take a closer look.
What Happens in the Documentary?
It was evident from the title that the documentary was going to be about the gut. Staying true to that, Hack Your Health doesn’t waste a minute to get into the point. It begins by telling the audience that the gut is much more than the organ from...
What Happens in the Documentary?
It was evident from the title that the documentary was going to be about the gut. Staying true to that, Hack Your Health doesn’t waste a minute to get into the point. It begins by telling the audience that the gut is much more than the organ from...
- 4/28/2024
- by Rohitavra Majumdar
- Film Fugitives
The DGA’s Women’s Steering Committee (Wsc) has announced the 2023 class of its Wsc Squad Mentorship Program. The latest class, which began in September, pairs 13 mid-career directors with well-established director-mentors.
“It is always exciting to kick off another year of the Wsc Mentorship Program,” said Shaz Bennett, cochair of the DGA’s Women’s Steering Committee. “The Wsc remains inspired by our community of mentors and mentees who have come together, united by a shared purpose — to uplift and empower one another. By joining forces on this journey of guidance and encouragement, we can all accomplish more than any one of us could alone. I can’t wait to see how these talented women lift each other up.”
The Wsc Squad Mentorship Program is led by directors DeMane Davis, Ashley Eakin, Morenike Joela Evans, Marie Jamora, Jen McGowan, and Rachel Raimist. The Wsc is cochaired by directors Shaz Bennett and Valerie Weiss,...
“It is always exciting to kick off another year of the Wsc Mentorship Program,” said Shaz Bennett, cochair of the DGA’s Women’s Steering Committee. “The Wsc remains inspired by our community of mentors and mentees who have come together, united by a shared purpose — to uplift and empower one another. By joining forces on this journey of guidance and encouragement, we can all accomplish more than any one of us could alone. I can’t wait to see how these talented women lift each other up.”
The Wsc Squad Mentorship Program is led by directors DeMane Davis, Ashley Eakin, Morenike Joela Evans, Marie Jamora, Jen McGowan, and Rachel Raimist. The Wsc is cochaired by directors Shaz Bennett and Valerie Weiss,...
- 10/5/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Forty eight projects have been chosen for the online edition,
Projects on climate change movement Extinction Rebellion and the Saudi Arabia women’s football team are among those selected for Sheffield Doc/Fest’s 2020 online marketplace MeetMarket.
The documentary market will take place via virtual video-conferencing from June 8-10 June, with the Alternate Realities Talent Market running on the same dates.
Among the 48 projects from 500 applications selected for the MeetMarket is Xr Beyond The Emergency from the UK. Directed by Maia Kenworthy and Elena Sánchez Bellot and produced by Katrina Mansoor, it centres on the ordinary people who are devoting...
Projects on climate change movement Extinction Rebellion and the Saudi Arabia women’s football team are among those selected for Sheffield Doc/Fest’s 2020 online marketplace MeetMarket.
The documentary market will take place via virtual video-conferencing from June 8-10 June, with the Alternate Realities Talent Market running on the same dates.
Among the 48 projects from 500 applications selected for the MeetMarket is Xr Beyond The Emergency from the UK. Directed by Maia Kenworthy and Elena Sánchez Bellot and produced by Katrina Mansoor, it centres on the ordinary people who are devoting...
- 4/14/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
Durban — “The Reports on Sarah and Saleem,” directed by Muayad Alayan, scooped best picture at the 39th Durban Intl. Film Festival, which wrapped Saturday night with an award ceremony at the Suncoast Cine Center complex.
The film tells the story of the political ramifications of an extra-marital affair between a Palestinian man and an Israeli woman. Variety described it as a “taut psychosocial drama.”
In a pre-recorded message from Jerusalem, Alayan offered thanks to the audience in South Africa – a country, he said, “which we as Palestinians hold in a very special place in our hearts” – while dedicating the award to “all the filmmakers out there in this world who are fighting all forms of injustice with their films and their art.”
The award punctuated a Diff whose 2018 edition “had a very special focus on hearing and seeing the marginal voices, with a focus on celebrating diversity,” according to Lliane Loots,...
The film tells the story of the political ramifications of an extra-marital affair between a Palestinian man and an Israeli woman. Variety described it as a “taut psychosocial drama.”
In a pre-recorded message from Jerusalem, Alayan offered thanks to the audience in South Africa – a country, he said, “which we as Palestinians hold in a very special place in our hearts” – while dedicating the award to “all the filmmakers out there in this world who are fighting all forms of injustice with their films and their art.”
The award punctuated a Diff whose 2018 edition “had a very special focus on hearing and seeing the marginal voices, with a focus on celebrating diversity,” according to Lliane Loots,...
- 7/29/2018
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Leonardo DiCaprio and Appian Way Productions are to executive produce Silas, a documentary about a Liberian environmental activist debuting at the Toronto Film Festival.
Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman direct the profile of Silas Siakor, who crusades against illegal logging in Liberia. It will have its world premiere at Tiff on Sept. 11. Appian Way's DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson join Oscar-winning Edward Zwick and Jonathan Stack (The Farm: Angola, USA) as executive producers on the Canada-South Africa co-production.
The Oscar-winning actor has been a strong advocate of fighting climate change and preserving wildlife, and his documentary, Before the Flood, directed...
Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman direct the profile of Silas Siakor, who crusades against illegal logging in Liberia. It will have its world premiere at Tiff on Sept. 11. Appian Way's DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson join Oscar-winning Edward Zwick and Jonathan Stack (The Farm: Angola, USA) as executive producers on the Canada-South Africa co-production.
The Oscar-winning actor has been a strong advocate of fighting climate change and preserving wildlife, and his documentary, Before the Flood, directed...
- 9/1/2017
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
By Thom Powers
“Resistance is a key theme in this year’s documentaries,” said Tiff Docs Programmer Thom Powers. “We pay witness to rebels challenging the status quo in art, politics, sexuality, religion, fashion, sports and entertainment. They speak powerfully to our times as audiences seek inspirations for battling powerful and corrupt systems.”
Tiff’s 2017 documentary lineup goes deep into the lives of boundary-pushing characters — Grace Jones, Jim Carrey, Jane Goodall, and Eric Clapton, to name only a few of the most famous. But the celebrity factor isn’t enough to make a great film. What sets these docs apart is their directors’ ability to a bring fresh perspective.
Azmaish: A Journey through the SubcontinentBoom For Real The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat
Then there are figures whose names you may not recognize, but they become unforgettable after you see them on screen. They include Scotty Bowers, who was...
“Resistance is a key theme in this year’s documentaries,” said Tiff Docs Programmer Thom Powers. “We pay witness to rebels challenging the status quo in art, politics, sexuality, religion, fashion, sports and entertainment. They speak powerfully to our times as audiences seek inspirations for battling powerful and corrupt systems.”
Tiff’s 2017 documentary lineup goes deep into the lives of boundary-pushing characters — Grace Jones, Jim Carrey, Jane Goodall, and Eric Clapton, to name only a few of the most famous. But the celebrity factor isn’t enough to make a great film. What sets these docs apart is their directors’ ability to a bring fresh perspective.
Azmaish: A Journey through the SubcontinentBoom For Real The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat
Then there are figures whose names you may not recognize, but they become unforgettable after you see them on screen. They include Scotty Bowers, who was...
- 8/3/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
ThelmaA selection of films from the 2017 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival has been unveiled, with new films by Sebastián Lelio, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Darren Aronofsky, Greta Gerwig, Guillermo Del Toro, Joachim Trier, Wim Wenders, and many more.Special PRESENTATIONSOpening Night: Ladybird (Greta Gerwig)Closing Night: Sheikh Jackson (Amr Salama)Battle of the Sexes (Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton)Bpm (Beats Per Minute) (Robin Campillo)The Brawler (Anurag Kashyap)The Breadwinner (Nora Twomey)Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino)Catch the Wind (Gaël Morel)The Children Act (Richard Eyre)The Current War (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon)Disobedience (Sebastián Lelio)Downsizing (Alexander Payne)A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio)First They Killed My Father (Angelina Jolie)The Guardians (Xavier Beauvois)Hostiles (Scott Cooper)The Hungry (Bornila Chatterjee)I, Tonya (Craig Gillespie)Mother! (Darren Aronofsky)Novitiate (Maggie Betts)Omerta (Hansal Mehta)Plonger (Mélanie Laurent)The Price of Success (Teddy Lussi-Modeste)Professor Marston & the Wonder Women...
- 8/3/2017
- MUBI
Following an initial round of premieres and the announcement that Borg vs. McEnroe will open Toronto International Film Festival 2017, they’ve now announced their lineup for Midnight Madness and Documentaries. Leading the pack of our most-anticipated among midnight tiles is Brawl in Cell Block 99, which is S. Craig Zahler’s follow-up to Bone Tomahawk and will premiere at Venice beforehand. There’s also the latest film from Joseph Kahn, Bodied, which will open the sidebar, and the first trailer has landed.
On the documentary side, there is Frederick Wiseman’s Ex Libris – The New York Public Library, as well as new films from Morgan Spurlock, Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp), Brett Morgen (Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck), and more. Check out the new additions below, along with images and trailers where available.
Midnight Madness
Midnight Madness Opening Film
Bodied Joseph Kahn, USA
World Premiere
Our #TIFF17 Midnight Madness Opening Night Film is @JosephKahn’s Bodied,...
On the documentary side, there is Frederick Wiseman’s Ex Libris – The New York Public Library, as well as new films from Morgan Spurlock, Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp), Brett Morgen (Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck), and more. Check out the new additions below, along with images and trailers where available.
Midnight Madness
Midnight Madness Opening Film
Bodied Joseph Kahn, USA
World Premiere
Our #TIFF17 Midnight Madness Opening Night Film is @JosephKahn’s Bodied,...
- 8/2/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Morgan Spurlock re-engages with the food industry, James Franco digs into the ‘worst film ever made’.
Top brass at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) unveiled on Tuesday selections in the Tiff Docs, Midnight Madness, and Short Cuts programmes.
The Canadian titles that are part of this year’s programme will be announced on August 9. The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to run from September 7-17 and will open with Borg/McEnroe.
Tiff Docs
The world premiere of Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! joins a marquee Tiff Docs roster from renowned filmmakers that opens with Sophie Fiennes’ Grace Jones: Bloodlight And Bami.
Selections include Brett Morgen’s profile of primatologist Jane Goodall in Jane; the story of three Hasidic Jews who attempt to join the secular world in One Of Us by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady; Violeta Ayala’s Bolivian drug trade film Cocaine Prison; and Emmanuel Gras’ closing film Makala...
Top brass at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) unveiled on Tuesday selections in the Tiff Docs, Midnight Madness, and Short Cuts programmes.
The Canadian titles that are part of this year’s programme will be announced on August 9. The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to run from September 7-17 and will open with Borg/McEnroe.
Tiff Docs
The world premiere of Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! joins a marquee Tiff Docs roster from renowned filmmakers that opens with Sophie Fiennes’ Grace Jones: Bloodlight And Bami.
Selections include Brett Morgen’s profile of primatologist Jane Goodall in Jane; the story of three Hasidic Jews who attempt to join the secular world in One Of Us by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady; Violeta Ayala’s Bolivian drug trade film Cocaine Prison; and Emmanuel Gras’ closing film Makala...
- 8/1/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
They are two of the Toronto International Film Festival’s wildest sections — for very different reasons — and this year’s slate of both Midnight Madness and Documentary offerings appear to signal another strong lineup for the festival. Thrills, chills, terror, and scares await movie-goers, all care of unbelievable real-life stories and slightly less true tales for genre fans of all stripes.
This year’s Midnight Madness section will open with Joseph Kahn’s provocative World Premiere of “Bodied,” and also offers up the World Premiere of “The Disaster Artist,” directed by James Franco and based on the making of Tommy Wiseau’s 2003 cult film, “The Room.” (The film previously screened as a work-in-progress at SXSW.)
Read MoreTIFF Reveals First Slate of 2017 Titles, Including ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘Downsizing,’ and ‘Call Me By Your Name’
In his first year as programmer, Peter Kuplowsky is also welcoming back several fest alumni, including David Bruckner,...
This year’s Midnight Madness section will open with Joseph Kahn’s provocative World Premiere of “Bodied,” and also offers up the World Premiere of “The Disaster Artist,” directed by James Franco and based on the making of Tommy Wiseau’s 2003 cult film, “The Room.” (The film previously screened as a work-in-progress at SXSW.)
Read MoreTIFF Reveals First Slate of 2017 Titles, Including ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘Downsizing,’ and ‘Call Me By Your Name’
In his first year as programmer, Peter Kuplowsky is also welcoming back several fest alumni, including David Bruckner,...
- 8/1/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The National Film Board Of Canada (Nfb) has pledged to ensure at least half its productions will be directed by women and half of all production spending will be allocated to films directed by women.
Nfb head Claude Joli-Coeur announced the development at a Vancouver International Women in Film Festival panel on International Women’s Day on Wednesday.
This Nfb commitment will be rolled out over the next three years, during which the public will be able to keep track of its progress through updates on the Nfb’s website.
“The Nfb has always taken a leadership role in women’s filmmaking,” said Claude Joli-Coeur (pictured), government film commissioner and Nfb chairperson.
“In our current fiscal year, films directed by women represent half of our total spending on production. In 2016‒2017, the numbers are projected to be well above that. But numbers can fluctuate. There have been good years and lean years for women’s filmmaking at the...
Nfb head Claude Joli-Coeur announced the development at a Vancouver International Women in Film Festival panel on International Women’s Day on Wednesday.
This Nfb commitment will be rolled out over the next three years, during which the public will be able to keep track of its progress through updates on the Nfb’s website.
“The Nfb has always taken a leadership role in women’s filmmaking,” said Claude Joli-Coeur (pictured), government film commissioner and Nfb chairperson.
“In our current fiscal year, films directed by women represent half of our total spending on production. In 2016‒2017, the numbers are projected to be well above that. But numbers can fluctuate. There have been good years and lean years for women’s filmmaking at the...
- 3/8/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
It’s been a couple months since the last edition of What’s Up Doc? placed Michael Moore’s surprise world premiere of Where To Invade Next at the top of this list and in the meantime much shuffling has taken place and much time has been spent on various new endeavors (namely my Buffalo-based film series, Cultivate Cinema Circle). Finally taking its rightful place at the top, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hagedus’ Unlocking the Cage is in the midst of being scored by composer James Lavino, according to Lavino’s own personal site. Though the project has been taking shape at its own leisurely pace, I’d expect to see the film making its festival debut in early 2016.
Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...
Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...
- 11/5/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
The fall festival rush is upon us. Locarno is currently ramping up. Venice has released their line-up and Thom Powers and the Toronto International Film Festival team have dropped a bomb with a previously unannounced new feature from powerhouse docu-provocateur Michael Moore. It is truly a miracle that the production of a film such as Moore’s upcoming Where To Invade Next (see still above) managed to go completely undetected by the filmmaking community until it was literally announced to world premiere at one of the largest film festivals in the world. Programmed as a one of the key films in the Special Presentations section at Tiff, the film sees Moore telling “the Pentagon to ‘stand down’ — he will do the invading for America from now on.” Also announced to premiere at Tiff was Avi Lewis’ This Changes Everything, which has slowly been rising up this list, as well as...
- 8/7/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
It’s been a surprisingly interesting month of moving and shaking in terms of doc development. Just a month after making his first public funding pitch at Toronto’s Hot Docs Forum, legendary doc filmmaker Frederick Wiseman took to Kickstarter to help cover the remaining expenses for his 40th feature film In Jackson Heights (see the film’s first trailer below). Unrelentingly rigorous in his determination to capture the American institutional landscape on film, his latest continues down this thematic rabbit hole, taking on the immensely diverse New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights as his latest subject. According to the Kickstarter page, Wiseman is currently editing the 120 hours of rushes he shot with hopes of having the film ready for a fall festival premiere (my guess would be Tiff, where both National Gallery and At Berkeley made their North American debut), though he’s currently quite a ways away from his $75,000 goal.
- 7/6/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Well folks, after a rather long and brutal winter (at least for me here in Buffalo), we are finally heading into the wonderful warmth of summer, but with that blast of sunshine and steamy humidity comes the mid-year drought of major film fests. After the Sheffield Doc/Fest concludes on June 10th and AFI Docs wraps on June 21st, we likely won’t see any major influx in our charts until Locarno, Venice, Telluride and Tiff announce their line-ups in rapid succession. In the meantime, we can look forward to the intriguing onslaught of films making their debut in Sheffield, including Brian Hill’s intriguing examination of Sweden’s most notorious serial killer, The Confessions of Thomas Quick, and Sean McAllister’s film for which he himself was jailed in the process of making, A Syrian Love Story, the only two films world premiering in the festival’s main competition.
- 6/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
It should come as no surprise that Cannes Film Festival will play host to Kent Jones’s doc on the touchstone of filmmaking interview tomes, Hitchcock/Truffaut (see photo above). The film has been floating near the top of this list since it was announced last year as in development, while Jones himself has a history with the festival, having co-written both Arnaud Desplechin’s Jimmy P. and Martin Scorsese’s My Voyage To Italy, both of which premiered in Cannes. The film is scheduled to screen as part of the Cannes Classics sidebar alongside the likes of Stig Björkman’s Ingrid Bergman, in Her Own Words, which will play as part of the festival’s tribute to the late starlet, and Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna’s Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans (see trailer below). As someone who grew up watching road races with my dad in Watkins Glen,...
- 5/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Now that the busy winter fest schedule of Sundance, Rotterdam and the Berlinale has concluded, we’ve now got our eyes on the likes of True/False and SXSW. While, True/False does not specialize in attention grabbing world premieres, it does provide a late winter haven for cream of the crop non-fiction fare from all the previously mentioned fests and a selection of overlooked genre blending films presented in a down home setting. This year will mark my first trip to the Columbia, Missouri based fest, where I hope to catch a little of everything, from their hush-hush secret screenings, to selections from their Neither/Nor series, this year featuring chimeric Polish cinema of decades past, to a spotlight of Adam Curtis’s incisive oeuvre. But truth be told, it is SXSW, with its slew of high profile world premieres being announced, such as Alex Gibney’s Steve Jobs...
- 2/27/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Turkey or no turkey, these next couple of days lucky filmmakers who’ve been selected to screen as part of the Sundance Film Festival will get the invitation notice straight from John Cooper and the Park City programming team, and thus, those that we’re betting have made the cut have also inched up the list a bit. One of those that seem an obvious choice to premiere at the fest is director Steve Hoover and producer Danny Yourd’s Crocodile Gennadiy. Following up their Grand Jury Prize winning Blood Brother with incredible turnaround time, our new most anticipated film tracks the delicate operations of Gennadiy Mokhnenko, a Ukrainian activist, orphanage manager and savior of countless children whose addict parents favor injected cold medicine and alcohol over them. Part heartwrenching domestic drama, part sleuth thriller, the film looks to use the Ukrainian uprising as a backdrop to highlight its protagonist...
- 11/27/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Congratulations to Kenyan director Hawa Essuman, Anjali Nayar and South African producer Steven Markovitz on their feature documentary project, Logs Of War, being selected for the 2014 Hot Docs Forum, regarded as the most effective international documentary market in North America - a dynamic pitching event that stimulates international co-production financing for projects at various levels of completion. It's a two-day, focused on a slate of pre-selected international project presentations showcased in front of a round table of commissioning editors, programming executives and delegates from around the globe. The South African/Kenyan production, Logs Of War, follows a...
- 3/12/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Six interactive non-fiction transmedia projects awarded a total of $400,000.
The Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi) has announced the grant recipients for the 2013 Tfi New Media Fund.
In partnership with the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms Initiative, the six interactive non-fiction transmedia projects from around the world were awarded between $50,000 and $100,000 apiece with funding effective immediately. Total funding equalled $400,000.
The recipients will also take part in regular peer-to-peer meetings and a lab focused on interactive storytelling to help them develop their projects and build engagement with audiences.
Selected from a pool of 285 submissions, the projects selected are as follows:
Chasing the Sun
Key participants: Paul Shoebridge, Michael Simons (The Goggles)
The Yes Men are Revolting
Key participants: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Laura Nix, Mary Notari, The Public Society, Glocal
Who is Dayani Cristal?
Key participants: Gael Garcia Bernal, Marc Silver, Lina Srivastava
This is My Backyard (Logs of War)
Key participants: Anjali Nayar, Jude Mwenda...
The Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi) has announced the grant recipients for the 2013 Tfi New Media Fund.
In partnership with the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms Initiative, the six interactive non-fiction transmedia projects from around the world were awarded between $50,000 and $100,000 apiece with funding effective immediately. Total funding equalled $400,000.
The recipients will also take part in regular peer-to-peer meetings and a lab focused on interactive storytelling to help them develop their projects and build engagement with audiences.
Selected from a pool of 285 submissions, the projects selected are as follows:
Chasing the Sun
Key participants: Paul Shoebridge, Michael Simons (The Goggles)
The Yes Men are Revolting
Key participants: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Laura Nix, Mary Notari, The Public Society, Glocal
Who is Dayani Cristal?
Key participants: Gael Garcia Bernal, Marc Silver, Lina Srivastava
This is My Backyard (Logs of War)
Key participants: Anjali Nayar, Jude Mwenda...
- 6/27/2013
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
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