Fourdocs » documentary

Top 10 docs of 2008

Rebecca Frankel — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:55:25 +0000

Tis the season to be making jolly little lists, that show what you like. All the bloggers do it now, to show what they consumed, and thoroughly enjoyed.

I’ve split my list into two though. The first part is for films that I skipped out of and spluttered with superlatives because they resonated on me with such an immediate level of captivation. The second list is for clever documentaries that I found utterly brilliant, especially as I thought about them afterwards. The two lists are obviously not binary; some films could have made it onto both, and other documentaries are nowhere to be seen, but I still carry them round in my thoughts. Anyways, here it is, docs I’ve loved from 2008’s offerings, with links to what I’ve written about them.

PART 1
1. Mechanical Love
2. Severing the Soul
3. Japan: A Story of Love and Hate
4. Man on a Wire
5. American Teen

PART 2
6. Solitary Life of Cranes
7. The Doctor who hears voices
8. The English Surgeon
9. My Winnipeg
10. The Shock Doctrine

What have you guys enjoyed, hated or been inspired by? Think theatrical, television and festivals, as well as your fave FourDocs ever.

Oscar Shortlist for Documentaries and A J Schnack’s Kurt Doc on More4 tonight

Rebecca Frankel — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:19:41 +0000

Here is the Oscar shortlist for documentaries, as read off A J Schnack’s blog, All These Wonderful Things. I agree with Doc/Fest’s Hussain that the money is on Man on The Wire.

There is a great article about theatrical docs, with some insight from the producer, Simon Chinn, about why people flock to life-affirming, but won’t leave their houses for misery that doesn’t go anywhere.

And ironically enough, A J Schnack’s own documentary Kurt Cobain – About a Son is on True Stories on More 4, tonight at 10pm. He managed to secure many hours of audio interview between Kurt Cobain and the music journalist Michael Azerrad, and with it weaves us through Kurt’s life, from his own perspective and his own words. The visuals are footage from the three major cities in Kurt’s life – Aberdeen, Olympia and Seattle, haunting precisely because they lack the man you are imagining. The film is reminiscent of Chris Marker’s San Soleil and Saint Etienne’s psychogeographical films, all very artfully crafted, with acute attention to sound.

This pitching competition – clarification

Rebecca Frankel — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:14:14 +0000

There have been a lot of questions about this Passat Pitching competition and how it works to win the £5000. So, here is the deal. You can do whatever you want, as long as you submit a visual clip up to 3 minutes (it can be shorter if you want though), which gives us an idea of the longer film you want to make. You can provide something like a taster tape, introducing a character or scene, or you can do a photomontage and explain the story, or you can animate a few key moments against a soundtrack. Just imagine that this is the only means you have available to communicate what you want to do, the kind of film you are hoping to make and what it might look like.

You can pitch ANY KIND OF DOCUMENTARY FILM, any style, any subject matter, set in any country. It must somehow be connected to the theme of ‘Beautifully Engineered’ though. Remember, you can creatively connect nearly any story in the world to this theme. If not through the topic, perhaps through the way you might structure the film?

It doesn’t matter if you have started filming already, or if it’s a gem of an idea that you know you could do justice to. The point is to express your intentions within a film format, rather than on a piece of paper, or a chat over tea. Make a clip, upload it and email over the link to fourdocs@channel4.com with ‘Beautifully Engineered’ in the title line. Entries need to be in by 6pm on 28th of November 2008. The winner will get £5000 to spend on a camera of their choice. I’d be choosing the Sony Z7 I think, how about you?

Watch inspired music docs – totally AMAZING!

Rebecca Frankel — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:29:26 +0000

One of my highlights at Britdoc was watching the music short docs that were commissioned for a special 3 Minute Wonder strand. Music tracks were offered up and filmmakers had to pitch the documentary the music was inspiring them to make.

The winners were some of my favourite auteur documentary filmmakers, such as James Lees (who won best short at Sundance this year for The Apology Line), Pinny Grylls (Peter and Ben) and Christopher Allen (of the Light Surgeons). He’s done some really exciting site specific film projects at art galleries music festivals.

For me all 4 are perfect examples of tightly bound films that exhibit flow and mood (like music) rather than text and information plowing across the screen.

You can watch all 4 films:

Hearing a Song, Seeing a Smile – Pinny Grylls (music by Jonny Greenwood)

Pockets – James Lees (music by Saint Etienne)

Home – Christopher Thomas Allen and Robert Rainbow (music by Michael Nyman)

King of Laughter – Nick Hillel (music by Nitin Sawhney)

Confessions of Free Woman – how annoying did you find Jennifer Fox?

Rebecca Frankel — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:04:53 +0000

Never have I known a documentary to aggrivate audiences like Jennifer Fox’s epic 6 part Confessions of a Free Woman (the first 2 installments aired on Storyville last night). Jennifer is an 46 year old American documentary maker, who wanted to push the idea of getting past ‘the performance’ of when people act up for the camera. She spawned a way of filming, which like cinema verite, means she is control of a small camera without a crew. She also “passes the camera” so that the her subjects film her when she is talking, it is more like a circular conversation without a power hierarchy or contrived end point. The way she talks about (I saw her give a talk at this years Birds Eye View) is analogous to the way lesbians make love, which is fitting because the central feminist investigation is into how women see themselves in the world today. It’s also structured around women experience time – fluidly, like a chat over a cup of tea.

Much like Carrie Bradshaw, Jennifer wants to discover what it means to be a woman today, working and living ‘without man and children’. She has affairs and talks freely about sex, like a man, but she isn’t man, cue existential crisis that takes her around the world to ‘pass the camera’ with woman and chat about rape and marriage and masturbation and even FGM in a bid discover why women (but not her) defer to men, and how men stake their claim through cultural rearing practices. This of course give Jennifer ample opportunity to reflect on her own childhood (the only girl with 4 boys), and lifestyle choices. She concludes that only men can be truly free. Except her, presumably.

Jennifer is annoyingly self-involved, and you may want to slap her frequently. She is very rich and spoilt and her flaunting of her coloured married lover in bed is such strange showing off it’s almost untrue. Also her voice is very annoying. However, her extreme self confidence grates so much she prompts you to ask questions and deconstruct her own assumptions. I would term this provocative anthropology and dare you to watch.

Man on Wire out today – the best doc in years

Rebecca Frankel — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:30:33 +0000

Man on Wire is a faultless fantastical film. Philippe Petit is so charismatic, and it’s such a killer story engulfing adventure, artistry and accolade, that the stage is set for exclaiming the magnificence of real life. Yet it is the subtleties of the film that makes it soar above most other factual theatrical releases. It’s a polished journey, which stirred in me a fierce jealousy that I have no desire burning nearly as deep as Phillipe’s dream to cross the tallest towers in all the lands. The romance, the spirit, the freedom!

I got the train back from Britdoc with the Producer, after his winning Best British feature, to add to his double win at Sundance (Documentary Grand Jury and Audience Award), and learnt the extent of the energy spent to make the film so perfect. For example, the amazingly fortuitous archive footage of the training wire was shot by a prolific cinematographer, but never developed. After discovering it in Phillipe’s dusty cellar, obtaining the rights to use it involved lawyers and religion and multiply witnesses. This is a film born out of the dedication of everyone involved, and must be seen.

Chris Waitt interview

Rebecca Frankel — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:12:14 +0000

Chris Waitt’s comic documentary about his lack of enduring relationships is financed through a new Low Budget Feature Film Scheme run through Warp X. They have made edgy and innovative films, such as Shane Meadow’s Dead Man’s Shoes (which I love) and Chris Cunningham’s Rubber Jonny. Warp X received the £4.5m to fund a slate of 6 digital films with directors wishing to explore new visual styles within digital filmmaking. Chris’ film is the first to be relased, Donkey Punch is the next due. (Sex a theme?)

A Complete History of My Sexual Failures has been met with mixed feelings in the documentary world. Some have suggested the documentary label has been falsely plastered to a dramatised version of his past life, and Chris has played up his deadpan image extremely. Is he for real? I met up with Chris to find out whether the film is actually an authentic authored doc, and how deeply buried the serious filmmaker is behind the funny man…

FourDocs connect 4

Rebecca Frankel — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:48:22 +0000

FourDocs crosses under and betwixt all the possible outposts for documentaries on this island and beyond. Indeed, searching out the right space for individual films to flourish is something we’re going to do a lot more of this year. We’re a great place to start and send short films because we connect up with lots of varied players who fund and exhibit in different ways.

Famously FourDocs has direct links with broadcast slots through our relationship with 3 Minute Wonder. 2008 will see us screening 15 films on Channel 4 at prime time and commissioner Kate Vogel will be writing on this blog regularly about what rocks her boat and works for television TX’s. FourDocs has fantastical relationships with the two biggest documentary festivals in the country – BritDoc and Sheffield Doc Fest. Ex-editor of FourDocs (and sorely missed) Charlie Phillips is now in charge of the Market Place at Sheffield Doc Fest, where he courts all the international funders. He’ll pass on his wealth of knowledge about life, and pitching and getting longer documentaries films funded too, here in the blog.

Our exec-producer Patrick Uden will still be be reviewing film as harshly and honestly and helpfully as before, here in the blog. And, his friends at the Grierson Trust have decided to award a brand new prestigious annual prize to the best observational FourDoc (more on that later). And, as the new editor of FourDocs I’ll be on the look out for films on the web and in the wider world, and will be blogging about what i find that inspires and films we want to stream.

fourdocs = free form factual filmmaking

Rebecca Frankel — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:22:42 +0000

Hello, and welcome to the new FourDocs blog! Here we’re going to discuss all things documentary related, whether it be films watched on the web, television, cinema or at festivals, inspirational directors, new talent opportunities, gossip, current affairs or philosophy. This is a space for conversations about what documentaries should, could and can be like!

Luckily, living on the web we’re not hindered by the constraints of television formats, or traditional rules governing the production of high art forms or even topical subject matters. FourDocs instead celebrates factual filmmaking in all it’s diverse forms. We want to continue discovering and fostering filmmakers who want to re-imagine the creation of perfect short documentaries. And of course, perfect is totally subjective. Here at FourDocs we love raw, pulsating personal tales just as much as well structured stories shined up in the edit. Make a short doc your own way and send us your links please – we want to be surprised!