Documentaries Panel at Nantucket Film Festival

[Safangelo Sadeghpour]

Hi everyone,
Since I know there's several well-experienced documentarians here, I wanted to let you know we just posted some coverage of the documentaries panel at Nantucket's Film Festival. It'd be great to get some of your thoughts on the ideas that were discussed there, and also if you have seen any of the films. I am certainly not a documentarian, and it'd be great to benefit from your perspective. It's here.
best, Safa

[rhonda moskowitz]

Hi Safa- You wrote an interesting post about doc films and filmmakers. Many of us are lunatics deep down inside, but it's the kind of lunacy that makes life worth living. I saw the Trials of Darryl Hunt at IFF, Boston in 2006, which is an amazing film. I've heard great things about The Devil Came on Horseback, but haven't seen it yet. I don't think it has screened in Boston, unless I missed it. Interesting what you posted about trying to fund docs, which is sheer torture for many indie doc filmmakers. Even the great Albert Maysles has been turned down for funding from several sources, which speaks volumes about how hard it is for doc filmmakers. As Robert Redford once said, "Documentary filmmakers are thrown to the dogs." (I could be paraphrasing.) It's been in the back of my mind for a while that perhaps a funding cooperative should be formed where filmmakers would help raise money for other peoples' films and not their own.

Best,
Rhonda
P.S. I tried to post a comment on the beanywood site. I registered, but never received a confirmation e-mail. It's past midnight, and my brain freezes late at night, so perhaps I made a typo when I typed my e-mail. address. Glad you're seeing some doc films. I highly recommend Crazy Love, at the Coolidge, W. Newton & the Kendall, and I can't wait to see Sicko.

[Safangelo Sadeghpour]

Hi there Rhonda,
Sometimes the activation email ends up in people spam boxes...I manually activated your account, it should be working a-ok now.

Thank you for your thoughts... if you paste them there more people will see them as well. I do think doc film makers live the middle line between passion and obsession.....you only know who you are. :)

Also, I just put up a link to a great video that includes the producer of An Inconvenient Truth as he describes the process that it took to get Al Gore to agree, fund it, make it, and bring it to theatrical distribution. Fascinating challenge and triumph. The live video stream for that event just ended (included Syndey Pollack btw)... but should be available soon in recorded form. You can check it out at beanywood.com/blog
and you should be able to comment easily now! :)

Safa