International Report From the Field with Cynthia Kane

Greetings from DocsBarcelona!

Cecilia Lidin, moderator; Justin Webster, moderator; Muriel Ortmans, Clap d'Ort Sales; and Wim Van Rompaey, Lichtpunt.

Earlier this week, I arrived in vibrant, charismatic Barcelona, Spain and attended the opening screening of 1973 Revolution per Minute, by Chilean director Fernando Valenzuela, and a welcome dinner afterward. By the way, the food is fantastic as is the wine!

Joan Gonzalez, director of the festival, gave a warm welcome and introduced Line Sansmark, the new European Documentary Network (EDN) director. Line follows in the footsteps of documentary powerhouses Tue Steen Muller and Leena Pasanen. Just two months into the job, she seems confident and energetic in her new position.

Despite the late night, we all woke up early yesterday morning for the first round of pitches at the Teatreneu, which literally means “Theatre of Snow” or “Snow Theatre” in Catalan. No one really knows why or how the theatre was named “snow”–– rarely seen here––but it is a real working theatre. In fact, we had to finish our one-on-one meetings before 7:00 PM so the current production’s actors could come in and take over! For me, the space is very alive––feeling shades of my former incarnation as an actress. It’s also a fantastic space to pitch. You have the audience in the palm of your hand!

Many old friends and recognizable faces are here: Valerie Delpierre, Barcelona resident and producer of ITVS International’s END OF WAITING TIME; Charlotte Uzu of Film d’Ici, one of our co-pro partners on WALTZ WITH BASHIR; Israeli filmmakers Ruthie Shatz of Fig Films, who also directed the Sundance award-winning documentary Garden; Duki Dror whose film SideWalk is in the festival; Ayelet Cohen, who told me she’s definitely applying again for International Call; Finnish producer John Hakalax and Finnish filmmaker John Webster with Recipes for Disaster; Polish filmmakers Mariusz Pilis and Marcin Mamon, who made the extraordinary Smell of Paradise and are both fearless and never fail to astonish me. Plus, they make me a bit anxious with what they’re up to next!

I must not forget the lovely Fleur Knopperts, a producer who had the distinction of pitching first this morning along with Dutch filmmaker Allard Detiger. Their project, The New Saint, looks at religion, nationalism and the story of a young soldier who died in Chechnya and his to canonization in contemporary Russia––one of the 4000-some new saints since the demise of the Soviet Union.

And to add to this a line-up young and talented emerging filmmakers––perhaps new to the scene––but no doubt rising stars in the documentary world.

Back at the hotel, I’m taking a short break and catching up on calls, emails and helping ITVS’s Claire Aguilar and Joy Scott prepare for the upcoming International Call (with a deadline next Friday, February 6!).

Soon, I’ll be fed and wined once more and awake bright and early for another round of pitching. Ah, I love it! There is also a master class to attend with Avi Mograbi, plenty of docs to catch up on and a stunning city to see on foot. Experiencing the Gaudi buildings, the Sagrada Familia up close and in person is something else. I’m just hoping after last weekend’s windstorm Park Güell will reopen.

So much to do in this city of arts and beauty––I must walk along the sea before the long flight home. And finally it’s quite tempting to catch a late screening of Vicki, Christina, Barcelona… it, too, is playing here… that could be a wonderful, guilty pleasure…

-Cynthia
Programming Manager, ITVS International

Tags: Barcelona, film festival

Filmmaker Profile: Edna and Elinor Kowarsky, SEEDS OF SUMMER

Israeli filmmakers Edna and Elinor Kowarsky once thought that they would never be able to reach U.S. audiences with their films.

In 1989, they formed their production company, Eden Productions, to make films about social issues in the Middle East. While their company grew to become a leading source of documentary content in Israel, working with the top directors in the region to get their films broadcast in Israeli and in European markets, the U.S. audience remained elusive.

“Americans are only interested to see films about themselves,” was one of the warnings Edna heard much too often from broadcasters and funders in other parts of the world. “They won’t watch a film in a foreign language” was another. But then they discovered ITVS International.

The mother-daughter team learned of International Call, ITVS’s fund for international documentary filmmakers, at a co-production forum in Tel Aviv where they met Vice President of Programming Claire Aguilar. At first, the Kowarskys were skeptical that their projects would be competitive, especially because they were mostly in Hebrew and Arabic. Nonetheless, in 2007, they submitted a project proposal to International Call requesting completion funds for the film SEEDS OF SUMMER.

A production with first-time director Hen Lasker, this verité film follows a group of young women during one of the most rigorous combat courses in the Israeli army over the course of 66 days and nights. It was the first time that the Israeli military allowed any filmmaker such intimate access to female soldiers. The peer review panel for ITVS International chose this project in part because the story speaks in a very personal way to universal themes of coming of age and living under constant threat of war.

“Although we tell a local story, the girl’s difficulties, their conflicts and their personal dilemmas are easy to identify with,” says Edna.

Not only did the Kowarskys receive the money they needed to finish the film, but they also formed a creative relationship with the ITVS International team, which helped them navigate the U.S. marketplace to find a home for the program on cablecaster The Documentary Channel. (SEEDS OF SUMMER aired nationally on January 12.)

“ITVS made it possible for us to produce our film and made it possible for U.S. viewers to widen their perspective and be exposed to a reality so distant from them, yet so very close,” remarked Edna.

Interested in watching this film? It is now available to watch online through our digital partners Caachi and Jaman.

Download to own on Caachi >>

Visit Jaman to rent online >>

Check out the video preview below:

Tags: caachi, film resources, Israel, Military

Watch Independent Lens on Hulu

ITVS and PBS have partnered with Hulu, a top destination for watching film and television online, to offer full-length Independent Lens programs. Hulu has been touted as a great success in the online video world. Since it’s debut in 2008, Hulu has become the sixth most visited site for online video viewing.

Hulu’s intuitive user interface streams ITVS content in a browser without having to open a separate application.

The following Independent Lens shows are currently available:

THE CREEK RUNS RED
A DREAM IN DOUBT
THE LOSS OF NAMELESS THINGS
MAPPING STEM CELL RESEARCH: Terra Incognita

Visit the Independent Lens Channel on Hulu >>

Tags: digital, Hulu, online video

FRONTLINE and ITVS Explore Parkinson’s Disease

David Iverson and his father, Bill, in 1949.

Next Tuesday, February 3 at 9:00 PM on PBS, FRONTLINE, in a co-production with ITVS, will present MY FATHER, MY BROTHER AND ME, a film that explores life with Parkinson’s disease.

In 2004, journalist Dave Iverson received the same news that had been delivered to his father and older brother years earlier: He had Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative neurological disorder that affects about one million Americans. In a FRONTLINE and ITVS joint production, Iverson sets off on a personal journey to explore the scientific, ethical and political debate that surrounds Parkinson’s, a disease at the center of the ongoing controversy over embryonic stem cell research. Iverson talks to scientists on the cutting edge of new cures and therapies for Parkinson’s and other major neurological conditions, and he has intimate conversations with fellow Parkinson’s sufferers like actor Michael J. Fox and writer Michael Kinsley.

Can’t wait until next Tuesday? FRONTLINE is pre-releasing the program today in high-quality streaming video.

Watch MY FATHER MY BROTHER AND ME on the FRONTLINE Web site >>

Check out excerpts from the upcoming broadcast below:

Michael J. Fox shares the story of his diagnosis and how he copes from day to day.

IS EXERCISE THE ANSWER? Dave Iverson finds out what monkeys on treadmills are teaching scientists about Parkinson’s.

Tags: Frontline, Parkinson's Disease

Scott Kirsner’s Case Study for FRONTLINE Broadcast

Filmmaker David Iverson

To keep up with the shifting landscape of new technology, ITVS commissioned author Scott Kirsner to find out what independent filmmakers are doing in the field.

For the documentary MY FATHER, MY BROTHER AND ME, airing Feb. 3 on FRONTLINE, David Iverson and Michael Schwarz set out to tell a “detective story” about research that seeks to understand the workings of Parkinson’s disease—as well as a personal story of his own confrontation with the disease. As part of his process, and for the first time, Iverson decided to create a series of Internet videos that would lead up to the film’s broadcast.

Read the case study on MY FATHER, MY BROTHER AND ME >>

Be sure to check out other case studies and interviews with Byron Hurt (HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes), Katy Chevigny (ELECTION DAY), Curt Ellis (KING CORN), Hunter Weeks and Josh Caldwell (10 MPH), Tiffany Shlain (THE TRIBE) and Brad Lichtenstein (WHAT WE GOT) for their perspectives on distributing and marketing films

Get Scott Kirsner’s “Top Five Digital Strategies for Social Issue Filmmakers” >>

Tags: digital, film resources, Frontline

Boston Public Library Presents TULIA, TEXAS

A crowd gathers at the Rabb Auditorium at the Boston Public Library to listen to a panel discussion and watch TULIA, TEXAS.

It was a packed screening of TULIA, TEXAS last night at the Boston Public Library. The film, which looks at one of the biggest drug busts in Texas history, prompted a conversation about the difficult task of prisoner re-entry into the community as well as the lack of compensation for those wrongly accused.

Following the screening, a discussion was led by Robert Feldman, a partner at Birnbaum & Godkin and a coordinator of the New England Innocence Project, Peter Yeager, a professor of sociology from Boston University and Andrea Leverentz, an assistant professor of sociology at UMASS Boston.

Robert Feldman, who works on many local cases, discussed the difficulties of being released after spending time in prison. His personal experience with clients provided a glimpse at the intricacies of prisoner re-entry into the community, including a story about one of his clients who was murdered after being released.

Many people in attendance were surprised by the film–expecting to hear about America’s battle against drugs, but walked away learning more about the justice system in their community.

This event was made possible by our Boston Producing Partners, Hostelling International, Eastern New England Council and Boston Cares, a member of the HandsOn Network and Points of Light Institute. Community Cinema works with a diverse group of Producing Partner organizations to produce Community Cinema events in 40 cities across the U.S. Producing Partner organizations range from public television stations to national organizations to local civic groups. Our partners collaborate with leading social issue organizations in their local community to co-present screening events and provide resources to educate audiences and promote civic engagement.

Visit the Community Cinema Web site to find screenings near you >>

Want to produce an Independent Lens Community Cinema event in your town? Learn how >>

Tags: independent film, justice system

Encore Presentation: THE ATOM SMASHERS Tonight on Independent Lens

In a leading U.S. government laboratory, physicists race to discover one of the biggest secrets in the universe before their European competitors. But, with a growing national deficit made worse by military conflicts and natural disasters, the lab struggles to survive. Will the discovery happen before the funds run out? Or will America watch the greatest minds in physics drift across the Atlantic?

Watch a preview below:

A special encore presentation of THE ATOM SMASHERS airs tonight at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS.

Tags: independent film, science

EL GENERAL Wins at Sundance

Natalia Almada

The jury and audience award-winners of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival were announced over the weekend at the Festival’s closing Awards Ceremony. Winning this year’s Directing Award for U.S. Documentary was Natalia Almada for the ITVS film EL GENERAL, which will air this year on P.O.V. on PBS.

Through the legacy of filmmaker Natalia Almada, great-granddaughter of Mexican President Plutarco Elias Calles, EL GENERAL is a portrait of a family and explores a country living under the shadow of its past.

Visit the Sundance Web site for a complete list of winners >>

Tags: film festival, P.O.V., Sundance

Community Cinema Screens TULIA, TEXAS in Seattle

A crowd gathers at the SIFF Cinema at the Seattle Center for a free Community Cinema screening of TULIA, TEXAS

Over the weekend, a crowd gathered at the SIFF Cinema at the Seattle Center for a free Community Cinema screening of TULIA, TEXAS, directed by Cassandra Herrman and Kelly Whalen.

A big hit at last year’s Seattle International Film Festival, some audience members came with questions in mind to ask the panel of local community members, which included Harry Williams, one of the lawyers who worked on the Tulia case and currently works at the ACLU of Washington as a staff attorney. Before coming to Seattle, Williams worked in Texas with the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project and was a staff attorney at the Texas Fair Defense Project. As a member of the legal defense team in Tulia and a Seattle resident, he was able to bridge connections between these seemingly very distant communities. Williams was also joined by Alison Holcomb, director, ACLU of Washington’s drug policy, and Jacque Larrainzar, policy and outreach manager at the Seattle office for civil rights and a member of the Seattle Human Rights Commission.

Together the panel fielded questions related from local race relations to Seattle’s initiative to identify institutionalized racism in the city government to felon rights and the legalization of marijuana. Hildy Ko of KCTS, the Seattle PBS station, was also at the screening and gave out information about the film and other KCTS materials such as bumper stickers and program guides.

Want to join the discussion and attend a free screening in your area?
Check out Community Cinema in your neighborhood >>

Tags: African American, Seattle

Final Day of Sundance: Claire Aguilar Reports

Andy Bilchlbaum and Mike Bonnano travel the world posing as representatives of Halliburton, HUD and the WTO as the Yes Men in their film at Sundance.

So many movies, so little time. Posters plaster the walls at Sundance in an attempt to attract a large crowd--the trick is to be the last one to put your poster up.

I was there for the second wave of the festival that started after Obama’s inauguration. Exhilaration was in the air along with hope and warm and fuzzy feelings that made the Sundance experience really special this year. And maybe less than the normal challenge, because “working” Sundance is fun but hard. Because of trying to shoehorn everything into a 24 hour day (midnight screenings, early morning meetings, bus trips, slogging through snow and black ice), basic human needs such as food, water and sleep are often at a minimum. Everyone is watching, promoting, developing, networking, organizing and discussing films so you tend to forget about lunch. But anyway, as a wimpy Californian it wasn’t too snowy this year and I had fewer waves of panic at the sight of black ice. The Sundance survival kit this year included cute green Nalgene water bottles and hand warmers.

Caroline Libresco from Sundance organized industry meetings with filmmakers and industry professionals where I got to meet with international filmmakers and talk about projects in development. I had great conversations with filmmakers Hubert Sauper (Darwin’s Nightmare), Havana Marking (Afghan Star), Christo Hird and Rupert Murray (End of the Line), NC Heikin (Kimjongilia), John Dower (Thrilla in Manila) and Ngawang Choephel (Tibet in Song). Thanks to Sundance for connecting industry documentary people with these filmmakers––it’s a good thing.

Since I’m at the festival mostly looking for projects in development and to talk with producers, watching films is more of a treat than a priority. But I got to see some wonderful features, such as the heart-warming Amreeka (a project in development by ITVS-funded filmmaker Cherin Dabis) and the odd and funny Brief Encounters with Hideous Men, based on the book by the late David Foster Wallace.

As for docs, I went to a screening of the premiere of The Yes Men Fix the World. The Yes Men are two guys who plan and execute hilarious hoaxes aimed at the corporate world. Andy Bilchlbaum and Mike Bonnano travel the world posing as representatives of Halliburton, HUD and the WTO. In their most famous hoax, Andy posed as a Dow Chemical spokesperson (“Jude Finisterra”). On the anniversary of the Bhopal disaster––an industrial disaster that took place at a Union Carbide, a chemical plant in the city of Bhopal, India––Andy promises that Dow will dissolve their company Union Carbide. With the 12 billion dollars from the sale, they’ll clean up the site and provide medical care for the thousands of victims of the Bhopal chemical spill. The news reaches millions of viewers before the BBC discovers it was all a hoax and the Yes Men are exposed. Dow suffered a great plunge in their stock and felt an enormous backlash from the stunt. The film is filled with other pranks but also has fun sequences of the Yes Men in their power suits strategizing in a barn/office, lovely shots of them synchronized swimming and creating and crafting their props. The young and energetic audience gave the Yes Men a standing ovation after the film, relishing their latest “hoax of hope,” a fake edition of The New York Times (dated July 4, 2009) with the headline “War in Iraq Ends.” A total of 1.2 million copies of the fake paper were distributed, including at the screening, where we read about “Maximum Wage Law Passes Congress” and “All Public Universities To Be Free.” A fitting sign that the Yes Men are the social issue tricksters in the Era of Obama.

-Claire Aguilar, ITVS vice president of Programming

Tags: film festival, independent film, Sundance