ReelPolitik

Protest Songs: "Under African Skies" and the Power of Music Docs

Anthony Kaufman — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:34:32 GMT

There are no shortage of music docs out there, and more than a few also intermingle song with notions of political protest ("Sing Your Song," "Amandla: A Revolution in Four Part...

"God Bless America": A Rollicking Liberal Revenge Fantasy

Anthony Kaufman — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:24:58 GMT

Going into Bobcat Goldthwait's murder-spree social satire "God Bless America," which is opening in theaters this week, I was highly skeptical. We've been down the road of murderous...

The Politics of "The Avengers"; Or, Can Clean Energy and Old-Fashioned Jingoism Mix?

Anthony Kaufman — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:10:37 GMT

I couldn't help myself. Not because I'm a fan of comic books, blockbusters or Josh Whedon, but because I'm always curious about a cultural phenonemon, and often feel the need to...

Why Monopolies Are Bad: Withoutabox's Film Fest Stranglehold

Anthony Kaufman — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:54:49 GMT

No one likes a monopoly. Even an anti-capitalist like me knows that a lack of competition leads to higher prices as well as less freedom and innovation for everyone in the marketplace. That's why...

"Dark Knight" Trailer Rises on OWS May Day; Stock Exchange Erupts

Anthony Kaufman — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:40:50 GMT

Now that the third and final trailer of "The Dark Knight Rises" has emerged--on Occupy Wall Street's May Day, no less--it's hard not to see some major zeitgeisty OWS issues coming...

The Next "Inconvenient Truth"? Jeremy Irons Talks New Cannes Doc "Trashed"

Anthony Kaufman — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:47:34 GMT

The Cannes Film Festival isn't best known for its nonfiction, but ever since Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" won the top prize in 2004, there has been a steady increase in...

"#whilewewatch": First Definitive Doc of #OccupyWallStreet Emerges?

Anthony Kaufman — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:57:36 GMT

Tonight, at 8pm EST, a documentary calling itself "the first definitive film to emerge from Zuccotti Park," "#whilewewatch," will have its world premiere online at SnagFilms.com...

The Top 5 Documentaries at Tribeca

Anthony Kaufman — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:57:06 GMT

"The docs are good," says one industry insider, on two separate occasions, as I pass them by during the Tribeca Fest over the past few days. Indeed, I saw a handful of the nonfiction...

Doc Filmmakers Win Fight Against I.R.S.; Work Not Hobby, But Profit-Losing Biz?

Anthony Kaufman — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 15:44:56 GMT

It's a pyrrhic victory for documentary filmmakers eveywhere. Last Thursday, a U.S. Tax Court judge ruled that filmmaker Lee Storey could write off hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses from...

Does the NEA Think Documentaries Are Irrelevant?

Anthony Kaufman — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:17:06 GMT

Earlier this week, when it was announced the National Endowment of the Arts was slashing more than a $1 million from funding PBS shows, including major cuts to important (and embattled) documentary...

The War on Indie Docs: After Surviving PBS Debacle, NEA Slashes Doc Program Funds More Than 60%

Anthony Kaufman — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:25:20 GMT

I'm beginning to wonder if there's a conspiracy afoot. After PBS' highly controversial move to re-schedule its independent documentary shows, Independent Lens and POV, damaging their...

Homeland Security Interrogates and Harasses Oscar-Nominee Laura Poitras During Making of New Doc

Anthony Kaufman — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:00:24 GMT

Laura Poitras, the Oscar-nominated director of "My Country, My Country" and "The Oath," has suffered extreme harrassment at the hands of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)...

Van Sant and Damon Attack Fracking with "The Promised Land"

Anthony Kaufman — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:32:31 GMT

I normally wouldn't write a post on a production announcement, but this one is making major political waves in the mediasphere: Turns out Gus van Sant and Matt Damon's new film "The...

The Secret World of Video on Demand Sales; Conspiracy or Just Corporate Practice?

Anthony Kaufman — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:38:00 GMT

If Video on Demand is saving the world of independent film, how come no one knows anything about it? I've been covering the VoD business for the last six years, ever since HDNet's release of...

Robert Redford's Political Action Cinema; Revisits Watergate and Weather Underground

Anthony Kaufman — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:34:30 GMT

Robert Redford is revving up his activist pursuits with a spate of political-minded projects, from "The Company You Keep," his political thriller starring Shia LaBeouf, which could premiere...

Activist Filmmaker Robert Greenwald Attacks Koch Bros, "Worst of 1%"

Anthony Kaufman — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:37:34 GMT

Robert Greenwald's documentary resume now offers a near complete litany of right-wing scourges: He's gone after, most famously, Fox News ("Outfoxed"), the Iraq War ("Iraq for...

Christine Vachon and Rubba Nadda Tackle Syrian Repression with "Inescapable"

Anthony Kaufman — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:43:52 GMT

On a recent episode of "The Daily Show," there was a sketch involving the viral video hype raising awareness for the atrocities of Ugandan guerilla fighter Joseph Kony, and whether a...

4 Healthcare Movies the Supreme Court Needs to See

Anthony Kaufman — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:19:17 GMT

As the debate around the future of America's healthcare rages on in the Supreme Court and the media, with many observers suggesting that the conservatives members of the court plan to strike down...

"Scenes of a Crime": Unjust Verdict Upheld as Doc Winner Hits Theaters

Anthony Kaufman — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:23:31 GMT

Adrian Thomas, the man at the center of the award-winning documentary "Scenes of a Crime" (Filmmaker Magazine's Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You, Grand Jury Prize Winner at...

Anti-Abortion Propaganda Film Ranks #8 At Weekend Box-Office

Anthony Kaufman — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:23:13 GMT

Not far behind Warner Bros's "Project X" and Paramount's "A Thousand Words" at the weekend box-office, a little indie film called "October Baby" has broken out,...

The Politics of "The Hunger Games," from Fox News to Salon to Ebert

Anthony Kaufman — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:02:24 GMT

As I suspected, "The Hunger Games" is becoming hot political fodder for the mediasphere, with outlets on both the right and the left geting on board the politicizing bandwagon and making an...

Protesting Filmmakers Cry Victory, But How Will PBS Resurrect Indie Docs?

Anthony Kaufman — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:37:26 GMT

After PBS was aggressively petitioned by independent documentary filmmakers last week (see my article "The PBS Debacle") over changes to their programming schedule, the New York Times is...

"Cosmopolis": Post 9/11 Allegory or Economic Crash Parable?

Anthony Kaufman — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:30:50 GMT

Don DeLillo is my favorite author, and David Cronenberg is one of my favorite filmmakers. The announcement that Cronenberg would lend his "Crash"-like sensibility to the first film...

Documentary Filmmakers Turn Up the Heat on PBS; More from the Trenches

Anthony Kaufman — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:06:21 GMT

Don't piss off documentary filmmakers. They are an activist bunch, by nature, and when they feel wronged, they band together and fight back. As Kartemquin Films' Tim Horsburgh told me, while...

Is "The Hunger Games" Anti-Capitalist Cinema for the 99%? Or Anti-Gov't Agit-Prop?

Anthony Kaufman — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:58:03 GMT

While I'm loathe to promote a pop cultural event such as "The Hunger Games," it'll be interesting to see where the culture wars take positions on the new teen fantasy franchise,...