Now that the busy winter fest schedule of Sundance, Rotterdam and the Berlinale has concluded, we’ve now got our eyes on the likes of True/False and SXSW. While, True/False does not specialize in attention grabbing world premieres, it does provide a late winter haven for cream of the crop non-fiction fare from all the previously mentioned fests and a selection of overlooked genre blending films presented in a down home setting. This year will mark my first trip to the Columbia, Missouri based fest, where I hope to catch a little of everything, from their hush-hush secret screenings, to selections from their Neither/Nor series, this year featuring chimeric Polish cinema of decades past, to a spotlight of Adam Curtis’s incisive oeuvre. But truth be told, it is SXSW, with its slew of high profile world premieres being announced, such as Alex Gibney’s Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine, Alex Winter’s Deep Web (trailer below) and Ondi Timoner’s Brand: A Second Coming, that have taken over the list this month.
http://youtu.be/BRTps__Ym5M
At the tippy top you’ll find a cinematic gem once thought lost and forgotten in A Poem Is A Naked Person, a film by the late, great chronicler of Americana, Les Blank. Shot during the years of 1972 and 1974, A Poem documents beloved singer-songwriter and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leon Russell in and around his recording in his studio in Oklahoma while working on new material and performing live. With help from Blank’s frequent collaborator Maureen Gosling and his son Harrod Blank, the film has seemingly come back to life with Blank’s signature vérité encapsulation of life’s joys in music and art, in people and creative partnerships. The trailer (below) even boasts of guest appearances by Willie Nelson and George Jones. What more could we ask for from a filmmaker we thought we’d sadly heard the last of?
http://youtu.be/n6KpbMxxV64
After having tracked Fredrik Gertten’s line drawing Bikes vs Cars since the success of its Kickstarter campaign back in November of 2013, it’s lovely to see that prior to screening at SXSW, the film will have its world premiere as the opener of Stockholm’s increasingly relevant Tempo Documentary Festival. It’s Gertten’s first feature since the Dole Food Company tried to smother him out of cinematic existence in Big Boys Gone Bananas!*. No less socially incisive, his latest looks to turn our attention toward the global issue of humanity’s detrimental reliance on the personal vehicle and its easiest answer: Bikes. As a daily bicyclist myself, I couldn’t be more excited for my favorite mode of moral transportation to be the focus of a feature doc with a proven track record.
There are a few films new to the list and yet unrelated to a looming festival premiere, the most exciting of which is Robert Weide and Don Argott’s long in the making Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time. 33 years ago, Weide embarked on a journey to document the life and times of beloved American author Kurt Vonnegut, but as filming commenced on and off throughout the years, the film became harder to complete as the two became close friends and the production needed ever more money. As evidenced by the lovingly rendered teaser (below) that was recently released to promote the currently running Kickstarter campaign to complete the film, he’s collected a wealth of material to piece together an elegant, personal film. As of today, the filmmakers are still a bit short of their goal of $250,000, so consider kicking in a few bucks if this piques your interest at all.
As mentioned previously, for those attached to any of the docs mentioned below — please feel free to share any updates on the status of your projects. I can be reached at jordan [at] ioncinema dot com. Newly expanded, here is our most anticipated Top 100 docs in the pipeline.
# |
Film Title |
Filmmaker(s) |
Producer(s) |
Status |
Last Month’s Ranking |
1 |
A Poem Is A Naked Person |
Les Blank |
Leon Russell, Denny Cordell |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
2 |
Crocodile Gennadiy |
Steve Hoover |
Danny Yourd |
Post Production |
⬆ #11 |
3 |
Bikes vs. Cars |
Fredrik Gertten |
Elin Kamlert, Margarete Jangård |
Tempo Preem |
⭑ New! |
4 |
Unlocking The Cage |
DA Pennebaker & Chris Hagedus |
DA Pennebaker & Chris Hagedus |
Post Production |
⬆ #20 |
5 |
Hitchcock/Truffaut |
Kent Jones |
Cohen Media Group, Artline Films & Arte |
In Production |
⬆ #23 |
6 |
Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine |
Alex Gibney |
Alex Gibney, Viva Van Loock |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
7 |
I Am Belfast |
Mark Cousins |
John Archer, Chris Martin |
Completed |
⬆ #28 |
8 |
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time |
Robert Weide & Don Argott |
Robert Weide, Sheena M. Joyce |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
9 |
Ice & Sky |
Luc Jacquet |
Luc Jacquet |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
10 |
Untitled Malala Yousafzai Project |
Davis Guggenheim |
Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes |
Post Production |
⬆#38 |
11 |
Untitled Frank Sinatra Portrait |
Alex Gibney |
Nancy Sinatra, Jeff Pollack |
Pre-Production |
⬆#40 |
12 |
Sarah |
Tracy Droz Tragos |
Tracy Droz Tragos |
In Production |
⬆#43 |
13 |
The Flickering Flame |
Jim Loach |
Rebecca O’Brien |
In Production |
⬆#44 |
14 |
Deep Web |
Alex Winter |
Marc Schiller, Glen Zipper, Alex Winter |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
15 |
Barge |
Ben Powell |
Ben Powell, Dave Schachter |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
16 |
Dear John Grierson: A Postscript to The Story of Film |
Mark Cousins |
Mark Cousins |
Post Production |
⬆ #47 |
17 |
Diamond, Silver and Gold |
Jason Kahn |
Jared I. Goldman, Amanda Branson Gill |
In Production |
⬆ #42 |
18 |
Untitled Jackson Heights, Queens Project |
Frederick Wiseman |
TBD |
Pre Production |
⬇#17 |
19 |
Sailing A Sinking Sea |
Olivia Wyatt |
Olivia Wyatt |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
20 |
Brand: A Second Coming |
Ondi Timoner |
Ondi Timoner |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
21 |
Untitled Grateful Dead Doc |
Amir Bar-Lev |
Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Andrew Heller, Sanford Heller, and Rick Yorn |
Unknown |
⬆ #50 |
22 |
The Settlers |
Shimon Dotan |
TBD |
in Production |
⭑ New! |
23 |
Mixed Feelings |
Guy Davidi |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
24 |
Bounce: How the Ball Taught the World to Play |
Jerome Thelia |
Jerome Thelia, Anne Carkeet, David McLain, Bill Mershon, Phil Mershon |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
25 |
Be Natural: The untold story of Alice Guy-Blaché |
Pamela Green & Jarik van Sluijs |
Robert Redford – exec producer |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
26 |
Beatles Touring Doc |
Ron Howard |
Nigel Sinclair |
Completed |
⭑ New! |
27 |
Strong Island |
Yance Ford |
Esther Robinson |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
28 |
For Grace |
Kevin Pang & Mark Helenowski |
Executive Producer: Mark Helenowski, Kevin Pang |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
29 |
She’s The Best Thing In It |
Ron Nyswaner |
Ron Nyswaner, Jeffrey Schwarz, Neda Armian |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
30 |
Knock Knock, It’s Tig Notaro |
Michael LaHaie & Christopher Wilcha |
Kevin Vargas, Mark Dudzinski |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
31 |
Les Blank: A Quiet Revelation |
Gina Leibrecht |
Harrod Blank |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
32 |
Home Movie |
Chantal Akerman |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
33 |
Poached |
Timothy Wheeler |
Steve Brown |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
34 |
Rose |
Ben Rivers |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
35 |
Ring Girls |
Amy Berg |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
36 |
The Sandwich Nazi |
Lewis Bennett |
Calum MacLeod, Lewis Bennett, Benjamin Taft |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
37 |
Peace Officer |
Scott Christopherson & Brad Barber |
Scott Christopherson, Brad Barber, Dave Lawrence |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
38 |
Rats NYC |
Morgan Spurlock |
Morgan Spurlock & Jeremy Chilnick – exec producers |
Pre Production |
⭑ New! |
39 |
Volcano |
Werner Herzog |
TBD |
Pre Production |
⭑ New! |
40 |
Command and Control |
Robert Kenner |
Robert Kenner, Eric Schlosser, Melissa Robledo |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
41 |
Janis: Little Blue Girl |
Amy Berg |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
42 |
Breaking A Monster |
Luke Meyer |
Tom Davis, Thad Luckinbill, Trent Luckinbill, Molly Smith |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
43 |
Untitled Missouri Doc |
Rebecca Cammisa |
TBD |
Announced |
⭑ New! |
44 |
David Millar Project |
Finlay Pretsell |
Iain Smith, Sonja Henrici |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
45 |
GTFO: Get the F&#% Out |
Shannon Sun-Higginson |
Shannon Sun-Higginson |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
46 |
Driving with Selvi |
Elisa Paloschi |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
47 |
Mythical Creatures |
David Charles |
Lanette Philips |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
48 |
Gun Runners |
Anjali Nayar |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
49 |
Speed Sisters |
Amber Fares |
Jessica Devaney |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
50 |
Madina’s Dream |
Andrew Berends |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
Legend:
⭑ New to Chart
⬄ No Change
⬆ Position Increase
⬇ Position Drop
# |
Film Title |
Filmmaker(s) |
Producer(s) |
Status |
Last Month’s Ranking |
51 |
A Better Man |
Attiya Khan & Lawrence Jackman |
Sarah Polley – exec producer, Christine Kleckner |
In Production |
⬇#49 |
52 |
Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four |
Deborah Esquenazi |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
53 |
Pieces of a Man |
Orlando Bagwell |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
54 |
Twinsters |
Samantha Futerman & Ryan Miyamoto |
Samantha Futerman, Ryan Miyamoto, Steve Brown, Yamato Cibulka, Jeff Consiglio, Kanoa Goo, James J. Yi |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
55 |
Frame by Frame |
Alexandria Bombach, Mo Scarpelli |
Alexandria Bombach, Mo Scarpelli |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
56 |
Catching the Sun |
Shalini Kantayya |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
57 |
Night School |
Andrew Cohn |
Steve Bannatyne, Jason Orans, Zachary Shields, Louis Venezia |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
58 |
Mudflow |
Cynthia Wade and Sasha Friedlander |
Cynthia Wade, Sasha Friedlander, Tracie Holder (Co-Producer) |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
59 |
Logs of War |
Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman |
Steven Markovitz, Anjali Nayar, Jonathan Stack (Executive Producer), Edward Zwick (Executive Producer) |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
60 |
Deep Time |
Noah Hutton |
Noah Hutton, Jesse Miller, Sara’o Bery |
SXSW Preem |
⭑ New! |
61 |
The Prison in Twelve Landscapes |
Brett Story |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
62 |
On the Outside: The Year After Prison |
Matthew O’Neill |
John Kennedy, Cynthia Farrar, Jon Alpert, Shannon Sonenstein Sonrouille, Reina Higashitani, Matthew O’Neill |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
63 |
Cocaine Prison |
Violeta Ayala |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
64 |
The Murder and the Journalists |
Francisco Bello |
Rebecca Richman Cohen |
In Development |
⭑ New! |
65 |
Phantom Cowboys |
Annie P. Waldman & Daniel Carbone |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
66 |
Containment |
Robb Moss & Peter Galison |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
67 |
Block Seven |
Jordie Montevecchi |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
68 |
Being George Clooney |
Paul Mariano |
Christine O’Malley, Rivkah Beth Medow |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
69 |
The Lovers and the Despot |
Robert Cannan & Ross Adam |
TBD |
In Devlopment |
⭑ New! |
70 |
Trapped |
Dawn Porter |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
71 |
Untitled Pandemic Doc |
Janet Tobias & Cesar Charlone |
Janet Tobias, Michael Ehrenzweig, Peter W. Klein and Rogger Lopez |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
72 |
Road to Home |
Calvin Skaggs |
Cal Skaggs, Ashley Panzera (Associate Producer) |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
73 |
Count Me In |
Ines Sommer |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
74 |
Survivors |
Banker White & Arthur Pratt |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
75 |
The Babushkas of Chernobyl |
Holly Morris and Anne Bogart |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
76 |
Dream Away |
Marouan Omara |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
77 |
The Return |
Kelly Duane de la Vega & Katie Galloway |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
78 |
Death by Design |
Sue Williams |
Sue Williams, Hilary Steinman, Julie Goldman, Diana Barrett (Executive Producer), Victoria Wang (Executive Producer), Dan Cogan (Executive Producer) |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
79 |
Yula’s Dream |
Hanna Polak |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
80 |
Ask the Sexpert |
Vaishali Sinha |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
81 |
Indian Point |
Ivy Meeropol |
Ivy Meeropol, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements (Co-Producer), Carolyn Hepburn (Co-Producer) |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
82 |
The Holly |
Julian Rubinstein |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
83 |
Uncertain |
Anna Sandilands & Ewan McNicol |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
34 |
The Brainwashing of My Dad |
Jen Senko |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
35 |
Return to Timbuktu |
Michael Meredith |
Alex Gibney |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
36 |
The Arrivals |
Heidi Ewing |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
87 |
A Flickering Truth |
Pietra Brettkelly |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
88 |
Down By Law |
George Amponsah |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
89 |
Out of Mind |
Kristi Jacobson |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
90 |
The Blind Cinema Club |
Jennifer Redfearn |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
91 |
This is America |
Amby Berg |
TBD |
Filming |
⭑ New! |
92 |
O.P.D. |
Pete Nicks |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
93 |
Like Ants for Sugar |
Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
94 |
All Eyes and Ears |
Vanessa Hope |
Vanessa Hope, Ted Hope, Carlton Evans, Geralyn White Dreyfous |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
95 |
League of Exotique Dancers |
Rama Rau |
Ed Barreveld |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
96 |
So Help You God |
Ashley York |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
97 |
White Elephants |
Kristof Bilsen |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
98 |
The Negotiators |
Victor Buhler |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑ New! |
99 |
The Bill |
Ramona Diaz |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |
100 |
The Girl Who Knew Too Much |
Amy Benson & Scott Squire |
TBD |
Unknown |
⭑ New! |