Ken Burns, a renowned documentary filmmaker, has just dropped a massive project about the American Revolution. It's a six-part, 12-hour deep dive into the war that birthed the United States. Burns and his team, Sarah Botstein and David P. Schmidt, spent a decade cooking this up. They faced some tough challenges, like the lack of photos or newsreels from that time. So...
Selin Murat has taken over as the executive director of the IDFA Bertha Fund, stepping into a role previously held by Isabel Arrate Fernandez for 23 years. Murat, who has over 15 years of experience in the industry, finds her new position as a funder both interesting and challenging. Her first few months were hectic, involving multiple rounds of funding and extensive...
Los Angeles is full of stories. And now, three of them just got a helping hand. A grant meant to keep filmmakers in L. A. has given $30, 000 to three documentary projects. That's right, three winners instead of one. The cash will help these films grow and shine. The idea behind the grant is simple: keep filmmakers in L. A. and support local stories. With so many pro...
In the early 1970s, a famous couple, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, watched the world from their small New York apartment. They saw wars, protests, and social issues that seemed familiar. A new documentary, "One to One: John & Yoko, " shows how they reacted to these events. The film focuses on a concert Lennon organized to help kids with intellectual disabilities. But it...
The journey to create a true-crime documentary is a lot like detective work. It requires a lot of digging and a bit of luck. The director is at a point where ideas come to them from various sources. Sometimes, people pitch ideas. Other times, the director and their team are on the hunt for stories that grab their attention. They have a trusted colleague who helps wit...
Shia LaBeouf is known for his intense performances on screen, but his real-life drama is just as captivating. He started a theater workshop in South Los Angeles. It was a free weekly event that drew in a mix of people, mostly young fans eager to be part of anything he did. LaBeouf was between movies and looking for a new creative outlet. One of the participants, ...
Imagine a film that mixes science and art in an exciting way. That's what the new Sandbox Films Science Pitch Prize is all about! This prize, announced by Sandbox Films and the CPH:DOX festival in Copenhagen, will give $25,000 to the best science documentary project pitched at the CPH:FORUM event. The first winner will be chosen in March 2025. Sandbox Films is a com...
Michaela Mabinty DePrince's life was a testament to the human spirit's capacity for resilience and determination. Born in war-torn Sierra Leone, she was an orphan who was adopted by an American couple and went on to become a principal dancer at the Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Dutch National Ballet. Her journey was marked by challenges, including a skin pigmentati...