The filmmaker José Luis Guerín at the Princeton Documentary Film Festival 2008

The "Princeton Documentary Festival", called in this edition "Real Stories: Fact and Fiction in the Documentary", will be celebrated in October 2 - 4, on East Pyne 010, Princeton University. All films are in original language with English subtitles and the screenings are free and open to the public. The program is:

Thursday, October 2:

4:30 pm, "The Work of the Real". Talk by Consuelo Lins.

7:00 pm, "Jogo de cena / Playing", by Eduardo Coutinho, Brazil, 2007, 103 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles. An ad in the Rio newspaper brings in women from all walks of life to talk about their experiences, but are they telling the truth? Commentary by Maite Conde (Columbia University).

Friday, October 3:

2:00 pm, "Developing Films of Underdevelopment". Talk by filmmaker Luis Ospina.

2:30 pm, "Agarrando pueblo / The vampires of poverty", by Luis Ospina and Carlos Mayolo, Colombia, 1978, 28 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. A team of committed Colombian filmmakers goes out on the streets of Cali to make a searing exposé of the Colombian underclass for German TV–or is it exploitation? Commentary by Jens Andermann (Birkbeck College).

4:30 pm, "La desazón suprema: Retrato incesante de Fernando Vallejo / The supreme uneasiness: Incessant portrait of Fernando Vallejo", by Luis Ospina, Colombia, 2003, 90 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. Fernando Vallejo, the great Colombian novelist, invites filmmaker Ospina into his home for an unsparing self-portrait. Together, they unravel the writer's bitter love-hate relationship with his native country, which is at the creative root of an astonishing autobiographical oeuvre. Commentary by Rubén Gallo (Princeton University).

Saturday, October 4:

10:00 am, "La guerre d'un seul homme / One man's war", by Edgardo Cozarinsky, France, 1981, 105 min. The war-time diaries of writer Karl Junger, sensitive observer of human behavior and -–at the same time— military governor of Nazi-occupied Paris, serve as a departure for Cozarinsky’s enthralling reflection on personal responsibility and collective guilt. Made in exile, this remains a groundbreaking work of Latin American documentary. Commentary by Gabriela Nouzeilles (Princeton University).

1:30 pm, "Public lies, private truths". Talk by filmmaker Edgardo Cozarinsky.

3:00 pm, "Unas fotos en la ciudad de Sylvia / Photos in the city of Sylvia", by José Luis Guerín, Spain, 2007, 67 min. The quest to find a young woman met long ago in a foreign city allows Guerín to virtually reinvent the possibilities of cinema by a paradoxical process of subtraction: no movement, only photographs, and no sound, only words written on the screen. The result -a new kind of literature according to the filmmaker- is absolutely spellbinding. Discussion with José Luis Guerín. Commentary by Eduardo Cadava (Princeton University).

"Slacker Uprising": Michael Moore in campaign

"Friends,

This is it. The time has arrived! You can be one of the first people ever to legally download, for FREE, a brand new, feature-length film. It's my new movie, 'Slacker Uprising', and I'm giving it to you as a gift of thanks for coming to my films over the 20 years I've been a filmmaker. It's also one of my contributions to help get out the vote November 4th. That's why I'm giving you my blanket permission to not only download it, but also to email it, burn it, and share it with anyone and everyone (in the U.S. and Canada only). I want you to use 'Slacker Uprising' in any way you see fit to help with the election or to do the work that you do in your community. You can show my film in your local theater, your high school classroom, your college auditorium, your church, union hall or community center. You can have your friends and neighbors over to the house for a viewing. You can broadcast it on TV, on cable access, on regular channels or on the web. It's completely free -- I don't want to see a dime from this. And if you want, you can charge admission or ask for a donation if it's to raise money for a candidate, a voter drive, or for any non-profit or educational purpose. In other words -- it's yours!

'Slacker Uprising' chronicles the 62-city tour I did leading up to the 2004 election. It is electrifying to see the tens of thousands of young people who were ready then for the uprising -- and who, this year, are actually making it happen. This is my concert film tribute to the young voters who are going to save this country from four more years of Republican rule. There are a number of ways, that you can download or stream 'Slacker Uprising' thanks to our distributor, Brave New Films:

1) Blip.tv will provide standard resolution streaming, free of commercials and advertising.
2) Amazon Video on Demand will provide a high quality version of the above stream.
3) iTunes will make it easy for you to download 'Slacker Uprising' on your iTunes, iPod, or Apple TV, and view it there or transmit it to your television. This way, the film can be portable as well as for home viewing.
4) Hypernia is providing bandwidth, servers and management to host 'Slacker Uprising' online, so you can download the film and view it at any time or burn it onto a DVD.

I am fortunate to have all these great people bringing you my movie for free. There will be no ads and they have all agreed to supply their services free of charge. All of them wanted to be part of this historic moment when the first major feature-length movie is being released for free on the internet. And for those of you who don't download, there will be a low-cost DVD available). [...].

Yours,

Michael Moore".

Iowa City and experimental documentaries

The Iowa City International Documentary Festival is now accepting submissions for the 2009 Festival, to be held April 9, 10, 11 - 2009. You can see the submission guidelines for more details, including fees, mailing address, preview formats, etc., in the Festival's website or email icdocs@gmail.com. The early deadline is December 12, 2008, and the late one is January 16, 2009.

They are looking to put together a diverse program that covers a broad range of forms, modes and styles; both conventional documentary to experimental non-fiction. In short, anything that adds to the field or to the way we think about what it means to produce a document. All we ask is that the work be less than 30 minutes in length, as programming is tight and very rarely are we able to make space for longer work.

How we fight

"How we fight: Conscripts, mercenaries, terrorists and peacekeepers" is a five program series of documentaries, some experimental some more conventional, on the topic of soldiering, and the names we give it. The event is arranged by Kino 21 y curated by Irina Leimbacher. And all shows take place at Artists' Television Access, 992 Valencia, San Francisco, California.

The program presents international works that explore soldiering and depict the experience of war from the point of view of those on the ground. From Argentina, Russia, Iraq, Germany, France, Holland and the U.S., several of these films are US premieres. The series begins with an assembly of DIY videos from soldiers and militia currently in Iraq and continues through depictions of Russian conscripts in Chechnya, Kurdish PKK rebels in the mountains of Iraq, American veterans returned from Vietnam, and mercenaries and peacekeepers stationed across the globe, from Bosnia to Rwanda, from the Middle East to the USA.

First program was Thursday, September 25th, at 8pm, with the film "Iraqi short films", by Mauro Andrizzi. It's a feature length compilation of short videos shot in the midst of war, whether by US or British soldiers, Iraqi militia members, or corporate workers. These are not films per se. They are a mix of slices of life recorded on video (many shot while firing on the enemy or being fired upon), pithy propaganda pieces, and soldiers visions of war as music video.

Subsequent shows:

Thursday, October 9, 2008. "Conscripts interviews with My Lai veterans" by Joseph Strick(USA, 1971, 22 minutes); "Clean Thursday" by Aleksandr Rastorguev (Russia, 2002, 45 minutes)

Thursday, October 30, 2008. "Terrorists notes of a kurdish rebel", by Stefano Savona (France, 2005, 78 minutes); "November" by Hito Steyerl (Germany, 2004, 24 minutes).

Sunday, November 9, 2008. "Peacekeepers crazy", by Hedy Honigmann (Holland, 1999, 97 minutes).

Sunday November 23, 2008. "Mercenaries Warheads" (pending confirmation), by Romuald Karmaker (Germany, 1992, 182 minutes).

Copyright reform for recorded sound

The following message has been posted by the Outreach Committee of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC). Author Tim BrooksChair, ARSC Copyright & Fair Use Committee:

"American Library Association is the sixth major organization to endorseARSC proposal for sound recording copyright reform. The Council of the 65,000-member American Library Association has voted to endorse the Association for Recorded Sound Collections proposal that Congress direct the U.S. Copyright Office to conduct a study on the desirability of bringing sound recordings made before 1972 under federal jurisdiction. Such a study would be the first step toward realizing the first of ARSC's five major recommendations for sound recording copyright reform, to remove pre-1972 recordings from state control and place the munder a single national law that provides for a public domain, fair use, and preservation exemptions for libraries and archives.

Wording for legislation to authorize the study has been prepared by ARSC and presented to the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. It is being co-sponsored by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH).

Five other organizations have also endorsed some or all of the ARSC proposals, which are designed to encourage preservation of and access to historical recordings, a majority of which are currently inaccessible due tostate laws, while respecting the legitimate interests of rights holders. The Association of Moving Image Archivists is backing the proposal for a Copyright Office study; and the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors, the Music Library Association, the Society for American Music, and the Society of American Archivists have each voted to endorse all five of the ARSC reform proposals, which can be found here.

Following is additional information on the organizations currently supporting ARSC copyright initiatives:

The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with approximately 65,000 members in academic, public, school, government, and special libraries. Its mission is to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all. The ALA maintains an office in Washington to represent libraries on Capitol Hill.

The Association of Moving Image Archivists is a nonprofit professional association established to advance the field of moving image archiving by fostering cooperation among individuals and organizations concerned with the acquisition, description, preservation, exhibition, and use of moving image materials. Moving images include film, television, video, and digital formats. AMIA advocates for the acknowledgement of movingimages as important educational, historical, and cultural resources.

The International Association of Jazz Record Collectors, which describes itself as 'a meeting ground for jazz record collectors of all persuasions', was founded in 1964 to encourage collecting and research; advance the cause of jazz music by creating more recognition of the great jazz musicians; improve communications between and among collectors, dealers, musicians, and the public; and sponsor publications, recordings, and conferences dedicated to jazz music.

The Music Library Association is the professional association for music libraries and librarianship in the UnitedS tates. It has an international membership of librarians, musicians, scholars, educators, and members of the book and music trades. The MLA's purpose is to promote the establishment, growth, and use of music libraries; to increase efficiency in music library service and administration; and to promote the profession of music librarianship.

The Society for American Music was founded in 1975 to stimulate the appreciation, performance, creation, and study of American music in all its diversity, and the full range of activities and institutions associated with that music. "America" is understood to embrace North America, including Central America and the Caribbean, and aspects of its cultures everywhere in the world.

Founded in 1936, the Society of American Archivists is North America' s oldest and largest national archival professional association. SAA's mission is to serve the educational and informational needs of more than 5,000 individual and institutional members and to provide leadership to ensure the identification, preservation, and use of records of historical value.

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and study of sound recordings -- in all genres of music and speech, in all formats, and from all periods. ARSC is unique inbringing together private individuals and institutional professionals -- everyone with a serious interest in recorded sound".

J.M.W. Turner: As alive as a landscape

"J.M.W. Turner". The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Last day.

International Documentary Film Festival "Documenta Madrid" 09: Call for entries

The VI International Film Festival "Documenta Madrid", that will be celebrated from May 1st through the 10th, 2009, has opened the registration of films. This must be done online, at the Festival website. The deadline for submissions is December 31th, 2008.

Documenta Madrid 2009 will have four competitive sections:

Original Documentary Section: All films previously unreleased in Spain with an original or innovative perspective in terms of either form or content will be admitted for competition. This section has two categories: Full-length films, for films exceeding 45 minutes in length. And short films, for films up to 45 minutes in length that do not make up part of a series.

Documentary Reporting Competition: This section is intended for those documentary films previously unreleased in Spain whose point of view is either of an informative nature or about current events in our world. All films made for cinema or television will be admitted for competition, regardless of their duration. In the case of television documentaries belonging to a series, only one episode from the series may be sent for admission.

National Competition: For films previously unreleased in Spain whose production is entirely or mostly of Spanish nationality. This section has two categories: Full-length films, for films exceeding 45 minutes in length. And short films, for films up to 45 minutes in length that do not make up part of a series.

Filmotech.com: For films selected in the three previously mentioned sections and included in the Filmotech website for safe downloads. The conditions are to be announced upon completion of the selection process. The films, the copyright holder of which voluntarily decides to post them on http://www.filmotech.com/ to have them legally downloaded, may compete for the Filmotech.com award.

And the Awards are:

Original Documentary Section:

Full-length films:

- First Prize of the Jury, to be awarded 10,000 € and a trophy.
- Second Prize of the Jury, to be awarded 5,000 € and a trophy.
- Honorable Mention of the Jury, to be awarded a diploma.
- Audience Award for Best Film, to be awarded 3.000 € a diploma, and the possibility for automatic distribution in Spain as part of "The documentary of the Month" initiative.

Short films:

- First Prize of the Jury, to be awarded 5,000 € and a trophy.
- Second Prize of the Jury, to be awarded 3,000 € and a trophy.
- Honorable Mention of the Jury, to be awarded a diploma.
- Audience Award for Best Film, to be awarded 3.000 € and a diploma.

Reporting Competition:

- First Prize of the Jury, to be awarded 10,000 € and a trophy.
- Second Prize of the Jury, to be awarded 5,000 € and a trophy.
- Honorable Mention of the Jury, to be awarded a diploma.
- Audience Award for Best Film, to be awarded 3.000 € and a diploma.

National Competition:

Full-length films:

- First Prize of the Jury, to be awarded 8,000 € and a trophy.
- Second Prize of the Jury, to be awarded 4,000 € and a trophy.
- Audience Award, to be awarded 2.000 € and a diploma.

Short films:

- First Prize of the Jury, to be awarded 4.000 € and a trophy.
- Second Prize of the Jury, to be awarded 3,000 € and a trophy.
- Audience Award, to be awarded 2.000 € and a diploma

Filmotech.com:

Filmotech.com AWARD, with 3,000 € and a diploma.

One, two, three... Wake up!

Today, seven years exactly after the terrorist attacks in Manhattan, the children, siblings, parents, colleagues, and friends of the missing ones met at Ground Zero to read their names, and one felt that all New York embraced them in a hug, sharing their pain. Time and again, one could hear the names of various members of the same family.

The images and sounds were very impressing, maybe because they were simple and natural. I'm sure you can remember watching television on September 11th and thinking that what you were seeing had to be a film -- it could not be real.

The solemn, sad roll-call went on. All of a sudden, I heard a little girl reading a name that sounded strangely similar to mine...