“Nuisance Bear” First Documentary Short Film to Receive Three Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations

Posted on October 19, 2022 by admin

The New Yorker débuted a new short documentary today, “Nuisance Bear,” which presents a portrait of a Manitoba town where travellers arrive in droves every autumn to observe the migration of polar bears. The footage that filmmakers Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden captured reveals as much about the behavior of the humans—including the scrums of wilderness paparazzi that descend on Churchill, Manitoba every fall—as that of the bears.

Earlier this week, “Nuisance Bear” received three Critics Choice Documentary Award nominations—a first for a short—for Best Cinematography, Best Short Documentary, and Best Science/Nature Documentary. These nominations join a list of more than a dozen other honors for the film.

In a genre that relies heavily on voice-overs to bridge the gap between humans and wildlife, Weisman and Osio Vanden chose not to include narration or music in the film. Weisman told The New Yorker, “We were curious: Can we make it an experiment—a challenge to ourselves as artists and filmmakers—to tell this narrative and have people really feel engaged without those elements?” Another pivotal moment came during the filming, when they decided to mount a camera on their car, at the eye level of the bears. “It was important for us to maintain that animal’s perspective,” Osio Vanden said. The result is a film that pushes the conventions of the nature documentary.

“Nuisance Bear,” which was executive produced by Sigrid Dyekjær and Alex Pritz, has screened at more than ninety festivals and received numerous honors, including an Honorable Mention for Best Canadian Short Film at the Toronto International Film Festival, as well as selections at the SXSW Film Festival and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. It also won the Academy Award® -qualifying awards for Best International Short Film at the 2022 American Documentary and Animation Film Festival (AmDocs) and Best Non-Fiction Film at the 2022 Short Shorts Film Festival.

“Young Plato” Documentary Opening Theatrically in NY and Major Cities

Posted on September 18, 2022 by admin

Award-winning documentary “Young Plato” will open theatrically next week in New York (Angelika Film Center) and Boston (Dedham Community Theater) on Friday, September 23 with a regional expansion to follow on Friday, September 30 in Washington DC (Anglelika Pop Up), Dallas (Angelika Dallas), San Diego (Angelika Carmel Mountain), Sacramento (Tower Theater), Plano, TX (Angelika Plano), Fairfax, VA (Angelika Mosaic) and more.

Directed by Neasa Ní Chianáín (School Life) and Declan McGrath and from producer David Rane, the film is a winner of nine international and Irish awards, including the Irish Film & Television Academy Award for Best Feature Doc 2022.

Here’s the film’s synopsis:
An observational documentary set in post-conflict Belfast’s Ardoyne, where a marginalized, working class community has for generations been plagued by poverty, drugs and guns. This film charts the dream of Headmaster Kevin McArevey and his dedicated, visionary team illustrating how critical thinking and pastoral care can empower and encourage children to see beyond the boundaries and limitations of their own community. We see how philosophy encourages young boys to question the mythologies of war and of violence, and sometimes challenge the narratives their parents, peers and socio-economic group would dictate.

Documentary “Flight/Risk” Released on Amazon

Posted on September 16, 2022 by admin

Flight/Risk follows everyday people who find themselves in the midst of a global tragedy when two Boeing 737 Max planes crashed only five months apart in 2018 & 2019.

This powerful documentary is told through the perspective of affected family members, their legal teams, whistleblowers, and Pulitzer-winning Seattle Times journalist Dominic Gates.

The film is directed by Karim Amer and Omar Mullick, and from producer Karim Amer, Paul McGuire, Jia, Leen Karadsheh, and Mike Lerner.

Here is the film’s official synopsis:
From the Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated team behind The Square, The Great Hack, and The Vow, comes another urgent global investigation, Flight/Risk. Whistleblowers, journalists, lawyers, and everyday people from 32 different countries find themselves pitted against a corporate Goliath, whose new flagship aircraft crashed only five months apart, killing 346 people. Gumshoe journalist Dominic Gates and sterling patriot Ed Pierson are the one-two punch to Boeing that triggers the international outcry over the crashes. Following the making of a whistleblower in real time, Flight/Risk is a documentary thriller that investigates what it takes for ordinary people to hold a larger-than-life corporation to account. Pulling in family members who lost loved ones in the crash, lawyers fighting for compensation of victims, and loud public voices in the fray, here is what a portrait of heroism looks like.

Documentary “Our American Family” Release Dates Set

Posted on September 1, 2022 by admin

“Our American Family” is set for release in the US Theatrically in New York (Cinema Village), Los Angeles (Laemmle Monica) on September 2 and on VOD in the US, Canada, UK and major territories on September 6, both timed to National Recovery Month.

Directed and produced by Hallee Adelman & Sean King O’Grady, Our American Family provides a look at a close-knit Philadelphia family dealing with generational substance abuse. Captured at a pivotal “nothing to lose” moment, for over the course of a year, five family members tired of life with addiction on center stage, each struggle to transcend their crippling histories.

Hallee Adelman is a writer, filmmaker, and co-founder of World of HA Productions. She is an executive producer on the Emmy-winning documentary “The Social Dilemma,” and the Oscar-nominated international film, “Writing with Fire.”

Sean King O’Grady is a filmmaker based in Michigan. His award-winning feature films have screened at Sundance, Tribeca, Telluride, Berlinale, Sitges, SXSW and dozens of other festivals around the world.

“Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche” Doc Sets Release Date

Posted on August 19, 2022 by admin

Greenwich Entertainment has acquired of U.S. and Canadian distribution rights to “Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche”. The documentary premiered at the Telluride’s Mountainfilm festival where it won the Audience Award, the first of several subsequent festival awards.

The film, which tells the gripping account of the deadliest avalanche in US ski resort history, opens in New York City, San Francisco, and Northern California theaters on September 23rd and expands to subsequent markets the following weeks during a 45 day exclusive theatrical window. TVOD/EST and DVD begin on November 8, 2022.

“Buried” was produced by Jared Drake and Steven Siig and executive produced by Academy Award-winning producer Evan Hayes (Free Solo) of Ace Content, Oscar winner Michael Sugar (Spotlight) and eight-time Emmy nominee David Hillman (The Tipping Point) of Sugar23, Mark Gogolewski and Shannon Houchins. Greenwich’s co-president Edward Arentz negotiated the acquisition with the filmmakers. Rocket Science is handling international sales.

“Essential viewing for skiers but all audiences – skiers and non-skiers alike – will find Buried a riveting account of a natural disaster, not only in the details of the avalanche itself and subsequent rescue efforts, but on how the disaster effected people in the years following and became a dividing line in time for the survivors and their community” says Greenwich’s Arentz.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
In the early 1980’s, the ski patrol at the Alpine Meadows ski resort were the undisputed gods of winter in the mountain hamlet of Lake Tahoe, California. Their esprit de corps was centered around keeping the skiing public safe, primarily through avalanche control and largely through triggering slides with explosives. For this group and the others caught up in these events, the innocent era of seemingly endless sun drenched powder and apres-ski parties would come to a sudden and harrowing close on March 31st, 1982.
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Yellow Veil Pictures Acquires World Sales Rights For Kyra Elise Gardner’s Debut Documentary “Living With Chucky”

Posted on August 15, 2022 by admin

Yellow Veil Pictures have acquired world sales rights to Kyra Elise Gardner’s debut documentary feature Living With Chucky. The documentary screened last weekend at Popcorn Frights and this will be followed by key festival premieres at Frightfest in the UK, and more to be announced throughout the fall.

Living With Chucky explores the iconic Child’s Play franchise through a personal and social perspective. Directed and conceived by Kyra Gardner — daughter to chief puppeteer for the majority of the franchise Tony Gardner — Living With Chucky utilizes new and archival interview footage to expose the series cultural impact over the years, with principal cast, crew members including Don Mancini, Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Tony Gardner, and David Kirshner, alongside fans of the franchise like Marlon Wayans, John Waters, and Abigail Breslin.

Joe Yanick, Co-Founder from YVP said: “Living With Chucky is an essential look at the impact and longevity of the Child’s Play series, imbued with so much heart and soul. It’s a family effort that will appeal to a diverse and sprawling fan base around the world.”

The deal was negotiated by Yellow Veil Pictures Co-Founders Hugues Barbier, Justin Timms, and Joe Yanick, with Kyra Elise Gardner.

MTV Documentary Films Sets Release Of “Art & Krimes By Krimes”

Posted on August 12, 2022 by admin

MTV Documentary Films has set the release of “Art & Krimes By Krimes”, a documentary featuring visual artists Jesse Krimes, Russell Craig, Jared Owens, Gilberto Rivera.

The film is set for release on theaters starting Friday, September 30 in New York at Quad Cinema, and Los Angeles at Laemmle Monica Film Center.

While locked up for six years in federal prison, artist Jesse Krimes secretly creates monumental works of art—including an astonishing 30-foot mural made with prison bed sheets, hair gel, and newspaper. He smuggles out each panel piece-by-piece with the help of fellow artists, only seeing the mural in totality upon coming home.

As Jesse’s work captures the art world’s attention, he struggles to adjust to life outside, living with the threat that any misstep will trigger a life sentence.

The film is directed by Alysa Nahmias and produced by Alysa Nahmias, Amanda Spain, Benjamin Murray and executive produced by Sheila Nevins.

New Trailer Release For Genre Doc “The Horror Crowd

Posted on August 11, 2022 by admin

Buffalo 8 has announced a release date of September 2 on digital and video on demand for The Horror Crowd. The documentary also marks the feature directorial debut for Ruben Pla.

The film has played to film festivals such as FrightFest and Grimmfest and has earned several festival honors including Santa Fe Film Festival’s “Best Director,” “Best Horror Feature” from London Independent Film Festival and “Best Documentary” at Seattle Film Festival.

The film features an all-star cast of actors and filmmakers to discuss the Hollywood horror community, covering such wide-ranging topics as women in horror, race relations, “being the weird kid,” and film festivals, as well as the unique community and support that exists in the space.

Among the near-40 people who appear are Lin Shaye (Insidious), Director Russell Mulcahy (Highlander, Resident Evil: Extinction), Producer/Director Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), Brea Grant (“Dexter”), Director Ernest R. Dickerson (“The Walking Dead”), Director Adam Robitel (Escape Room), Clare Kramer (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Blumhouse’s Director of Development Ryan Turek, Greg Grunberg (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), Director Chelsea Stardust (Satanic Panic), Director Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw franchise) and many, many more.

Documentary “The Youth Governor” Sets Release

Posted on August 8, 2022 by admin

Directed by Matthew and Jaron Halmy for Blum Television, documentary “The Youth Governor” will open in limited theaters and on VOD on Amazon and Apple TV on August 26.

The Youth Governor tells the story of the candidacy, campaign, and election of the 72nd California Youth Governor. In the halls of California’s Capitol, 4,000 teenagers run a fully functioning government complete with legislators, lobbyists, political party bosses, and elections.

Over the course of four months, three candidates emerge from a field of 40. On the campaign trail, in their homes, and with their peers watching their every word, these young candidates put together the unique mix of ambition, confidence, shamelessness, and pure motivation it takes to win.

Here’s the film’s trailer:

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Documentary “Let The Little Light Shine” Sets Theatrical Release

Posted on August 3, 2022 by admin

The documentary feature from director Kevin Shaw is set to have US theatrical release in August and September

The film is directed and Produced by Kevin Shaw, from producer by Rachel Dickson and executive producers Steve James Sally Jo Fifer Erika Dilday Chris White Leslie Fields Cruz.

The documentary is set to open on August 12 in Chicago at Siskel Film Center, August 26 in New York IFC Center, nad on September 9 in Los Angeles, Laemmle Monica.

Here’s the film’s official storyline:
When a thriving, top-ranked African American elementary school is threatened to be replaced by a new high school favoring the community’s wealthier residents, parents, students and educators fight for the elementary school’s survival.