Archive for March, 2008

Cinéfranco 2008

Cinéfranco 2008

I’ve been remiss in not mentioning this sooner, especially since I’m planning to actually review a couple of films from this festival. Cinéfranco is Toronto’s festival of films in the French language. The 11th edition is running from March 28-April 6 at the Royal Cinema at 608 College Street West, featuring films from all over the French-speaking world, with a particular focus on Québec and, for this edition, Morocco. All films are subtitled in English, and tickets are available at the cinema for $10 each.

Docs and Indies in Blu-Ray: The Trickle Begins

Helvetica (Blu-Ray)

A few months back, I had an idea for a post. I wanted to know what the plans were for indie and documentary filmmakers to release their work in a high-definition format. I sent queries out to my list of contacts and got precisely ZERO responses. In hindsight, I realize why. Before the format war had been settled, it was simply too expensive for indies and docs to consider releasing on both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray format. It’s expensive enough to release just on one. But now that the dust has cleared in the Red vs. Blu(e) battle, it appears that a few brave souls are stepping up with some HD goodness for us. Though stuff like Planet Earth and Sharkwater have both come out in Blu-Ray already, those are backed by large studios and distributors. The first smaller film (to my knowledge) to appear in Blu-Ray is Gary Hustwit’s stunning font doc Helvetica (review). Released by Plexifilm (which Hustwit founded, by the way), the new Helvetica will feature the same bonus features as the SD (standard definition) release but will boast twice the resolution. All the better since the film was shot natively in high definition, which is actually true of quite a few documentaries and independent productions these days.

It’s probably not worth it to upgrade if you already have the film, but if not, I’m sure the gorgeous visuals will pop even more if you have a Blu-Ray player. Kudos to Plexifilm and here’s hoping this is just the beginning.

Hot Docs 2008 Full Schedule Released

Toronto’s own world-class documentary film festival, Hot Docs, has released its full 2008 schedule. This year’s festival takes place from April 17-27 and features more than 170 films from 36 countries. Reasonably-priced tickets and downright cheap passes are already on sale. In my opinion, this is the best film festival in the city. No celebrities or red carpets, just smart films about real things. I’m excited by a number of films and will be talking about them in the weeks to come, but if you’re able to be in Toronto for Hot Docs, don’t miss it!

2008 Cinema Eye Honors Winners

Here is the complete list of winners at the first annual Cinema Eye Honors, which were presented tonight in New York:

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking

Manda Bala (Director: Jason Kohn) (review)

Outstanding Achievement in an International Feature

The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun (Director: Pernille Rose Grønkjær) (review)

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature

Billy the Kid (Director: Jennifer Venditti) (review)

Outstanding Achievement in Direction

Taxi to the Dark Side (Director: Alex Gibney)

Outstanding Achievement in Production

Ghosts of Cité Soleil (Producers: George Hickenlooper, Wyclef Jean, Seth Kanegis, Jerry “Wonder” Duplessis)

Outstanding Achievement in Editing

Manda Bala (Editors: Doug Abel, Jenny Golden, Andy Grieve) (review)

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography

Manda Bala (Cinematographer: Heloísa Passos) (review)

Outstanding Achievement in Graphics and Animation

Chicago 10 (Director of Animation: Joao Amorim)

Audience Choice Award

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (Director: Seth Gordon) (review)

Congratulations to all the winners and to the nominees as well. I know you’re all enjoying a well-deserved celebration of your achievements tonight!

First Annual Cinema Eye Honors

Tomorrow night at the IFC Center in New York City, a brand-new award ceremony for documentary films will take place. The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking were created by filmmaker/blogger AJ Schnack (Kurt Cobain: About a Son) and some colleagues after their dissatisfaction with the current Academy Awards system for recognizing excellence in documentary filmmaking. AJ and TIFF doc programmer Thom Powers will be co-hosting the event, and they’ve assembled an impressive list of presenters.

I’m disappointed not to be able to attend in person, especially since I was honoured to be asked to contribute a short blog excerpt to the printed programme that will be given out to attendees. I’m not sure if this is being broadcast anywhere (online would be ideal) or recorded, but I’ll post the winners on Wednesday.

UPDATE: According to Pamela Cohn, there will be an edited version of the ceremony webcast on AOL True Stories “soon.” More information as I get it.

Full list of nominees

Official site of the Cinema Eye Honors