It’s been a surprisingly interesting month of moving and shaking in terms of doc development. Just a month after making his first public funding pitch at Toronto’s Hot Docs Forum, legendary doc filmmaker Frederick Wiseman took to Kickstarter to help cover the remaining expenses for his 40th feature film In Jackson Heights (see the film’s first trailer below). Unrelentingly rigorous in his determination to capture the American institutional landscape on film, his latest continues down this thematic rabbit hole, taking on the immensely diverse New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights as his latest subject. According to the Kickstarter page, Wiseman is currently editing the 120 hours of rushes he shot with hopes of having the film ready for a fall festival premiere (my guess would be TIFF, where both National Gallery and At Berkeley made their North American debut), though he’s currently quite a ways away from his $75,000 goal.
https://vimeo.com/126135695
Just a couple weeks prior, director John Walter launched his own Kickstarter campaign in hopes of raising funds for his new film The Earth Moves, which looks to tell the story of “Philip Glass, Robert Wilson, Einstein on the Beach, and the connection between physics, opera, and human imagination”. Seemingly as dense and mysterious as his heady subjects, Walter was still able to raise over a hundred grand, surpassing his funding goals. Like Wiseman, he hopes to have the film ready for a fall festival premiere later this year. An Indiegogo campaign was also launched around the same time by Jacqueline Olive in hopes of garnering cash to finish her film Always in Season. The film “explores the impact of the racial terrorism of more than a century of lynching African Americans”. Originally backed by the Southern Documentary Fund, Chicken & Egg Pictures and the Catapult Film Fund, Olive needs additional funding to cover the expenses of additional shoots with with activist and scholar Angela Davis and Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative.
https://vimeo.com/128913378
Two years ago, Ted Griswold and Chris Valdes raised $40,000 for a project titled The Sound of Sangre about a young accordionist who makes a living performing for drug cartels in Honduras via their own Kickstarter. Since then, they’ve renamed the film Olancho, released a pair of trailers (one of which can be seen below), and taken part in various funding forums like the Big Sky Pitch, the Hot Docs Forum (their pitch can be seen here) and most recently the National Association of Latino Independent Producers Media Market 2015 where they were given an award for 2015 NALIP Official Selection after the film’s trailer as shown. From the sound of their increasingly frequent updates, the film is nearing completion and could make for an interesting pairing with Shaul Schwarz‘s Narco Cultura.
https://vimeo.com/104630488
More mysteriously, a pair of Lithuanian multimedia artists by the name of Berta Tilmantaitė (whose Mermology project was recently part of the Sheffield Doc/Fest Crossover Market) and Artūras Morozovas (whose photographic work has been featured in The Guardian, News Week and more) released a teaser trailer for Monotone Days (see below), their first documentary project under the banner of their new production venture, Nanook Multimedia. Through intimate interviews and intricate observation the film looks at the lives of various women currently living in a correctional facility in Lithuania. No word yet on further details.
One of the most intriguing developments of the last month was Sight & Sound’s photographic report on Ben Rivers’ latest film, The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers (see still of Rivers shooting at top). While his other mysteriously titled in-the-making project Rose floats up and down this list, he’s apparently been hard at work in Morocco on another non-fiction/fiction blending film that “encompasses an adaptation of Paul Bowles’s 1947 brutal short story A Distant Episode, about the atrocities befalling a Western linguist wandering North Africa, along with elements from the life and stories of Moroccan writer and artist Mohammed Mrabet and visits to the sets of Moroccan-based films by Spanish director Oliver Laxe and British artist Shezad Dawood”. The project sounds more ambitious than anything he’s attempted thus far and from the production photos shot by Yuki Yamamoto, it is shaping up to be quite a beautifully enigmatic project. It may be too early in the production, but fingers crossed for its inclusion in TIFF’s Wavelength’s program, like his miraculous collaboration with fellow filmmaker Ben Russell on A Spell To Ward Off The Darkness which played the festival a couple years back.
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. Here is my most anticipated Top 100 docs in the pipeline.
# |
Film Title |
Filmmaker(s) |
Producer(s) |
Status |
Last Month’s Ranking |
1 |
He Named Me Malala |
Davis Guggenheim |
Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes |
Completed |
⬆#4 |
2 |
In Jackson Heights |
Frederick Wiseman |
Frederick Wiseman |
Post Production |
⬆#5 |
3 |
Unlocking The Cage |
DA Pennebaker & Chris Hagedus |
DA Pennebaker & Chris Hagedus |
In Production |
⬇#1 |
4 |
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time |
Robert Weide & Don Argott |
Robert Weide |
In Production |
⬇#2 |
5 |
Dear John Grierson: A Postscript to The Story of Film |
Mark Cousins |
TBD |
Unknown |
⬆#6 |
6 |
LoveTrue |
Alma Har’el |
Alma Har’el, Christopher Leggett, Rafael Marmor, Rhea Scott |
In Production |
⬆#7 |
7 |
Into The Inferno |
Werner Herzog |
TBD |
In Production |
⬆#9 |
8 |
Voyage of Time |
Terrence Malick |
Dede Gardner, Nicolas Gonda, Sarah Green, Grant Hill, Brad Pitt, Bill Pohlad, Andreas Roald, Sophokles Tasioulis |
Post Production |
⬆#164 |
9 |
Ken Loach: Untitled |
Louise Osmond |
Rebecca O’Brien |
In Production |
⬆#15 |
10 |
Beatles Touring Doc |
Ron Howard |
Nigel Sinclair |
In Production |
⬆#21 |
11 |
Sarah |
Tracy Droz Tragos |
TBD |
Unknown |
#11 |
12 |
Diamond, Silver and Gold |
Jason Kohn |
Jared I. Goldman, Amanda Branson Gill |
In Production |
⬆#17 |
13 |
Untitled Grateful Dead Doc |
Amir Bar-Lev |
Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Andrew Heller, Sanford Heller, Rick Yorn |
Post Production |
⬆#18 |
14 |
The Settlers |
Shimon Dotan |
TBD |
In Production |
⬆#20 |
15 |
Mixed Feelings |
Guy Davidi |
Anna Somershaf, Kristian Mosvold |
Unknown |
⬆#23 |
16 |
Be Natural: The untold story of Alice Guy-Blaché |
Pamela Green & Jarik van Sluijs |
EP: Robert Redford |
In Production |
⬆#25 |
17 |
The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers |
Ben Rivers |
TBD |
In Production |
⭑New! |
18 |
Strong Island |
Yance Ford |
Esther Robinson |
Post Production |
⬆#26 |
19 |
A Better Man |
Attiya Khan & Lawrence Jackman |
Christine Kleckner |
Post Production |
⬆#27 |
20 |
untitled Iggy Pop doc |
Jim Jarmusch |
TBD |
Unknown |
⬆#28 |
21 |
Being George Clooney |
Paul Mariano |
Christine O’Malley, Rivkah Beth Medow |
Completed |
⬆#29 |
22 |
Les Blank: A Quiet Revelation |
Gina Leibrecht |
Harrod Blank |
Unknown |
⬆#30 |
23 |
Trapped |
Dawn Porter |
TBD |
Unknown |
⬆#41 |
24 |
Home Movie |
Chantal Akerman |
TBD |
In Production |
⬆#31 |
25 |
Uncle Andy: The Andy Warhol Family Film |
Abby Warhola & Jesse Best |
TBD |
Unknown |
⬆#33 |
26 |
David Millar Project |
Finlay Pretsell |
Iain Smith, Sonja Henrici |
In Production |
⬆#42 |
27 |
Rats NYC |
Morgan Spurlock |
EP: Morgan Spurlock, Jeremy Chilnick |
Pre-Production |
⬆#34 |
28 |
The Reagan Years |
Pacho Velez |
Sierra Pettengill |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
29 |
The Island and the Whales |
Mike Day |
TBD |
Post Production |
⬆#35 |
30 |
Command and Control |
Robert Kenner |
Robert Kenner, Eric Schlosser, Melissa Robledo |
In Production |
⬆#36 |
31 |
The Brainwashing of My Dad |
Jen Senko |
Matthew Modine, Adam Rackoff, Jen Senko |
Post Production |
⬆#87 |
32 |
Untitled Missouri Doc |
Rebecca Cammisa |
TBD |
Announced |
⬆#38 |
33 |
Driving with Selvi |
Elisa Paloschi |
TBD |
Post Production |
⬆#43 |
34 |
The Lovers and the Despot |
Robert Cannan & Ross Adam |
TBD |
Post Production |
⬆#52 |
35 |
Mythical Creatures |
David Charles |
Lanette Philips |
Post Production |
⬆#39 |
36 |
Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer |
Matt Tyrnauer |
Josh Braun |
Post Production |
⬆#73 |
37 |
The Prison in Twelve Landscapes |
Brett Story |
TBD |
In Production |
⬆#48 |
38 |
Left on Purpose: The Disruptive Life of Mayer Vishner |
Justin Schein |
Eden Wurmfeld |
Post Production |
⬆#46 |
39 |
I Am Chris Farley |
Brent Hodge, Derik Murray |
Brent Hodge, Derik Murray |
August VOD Release |
⭑New! |
40 |
Rose |
Ben Rivers |
TBD |
In Production |
⬇#32 |
41 |
Phantom Cowboys |
Annie P. Waldman & Daniel Carbone |
Ryan Scafuro |
Post Production |
⬆#67 |
42 |
Janis: Little Blue Girl |
Amy Berg |
TBD |
In Production |
⬆#44 |
43 |
Fixing Dad |
Ian and Anthony Whitington |
Ian and Anthony Whitington |
Completed |
⬆#151 |
44 |
Gun Runners |
Anjali Nayar |
Annette Clarke, Kat Baulu |
Post Production |
⬆#45 |
45 |
Ask the Sexpert |
Vaishali Sinha |
TBD |
In Production |
⬆#47 |
46 |
So Help You God |
Ashley York |
TBD |
Post Production |
⬆#49 |
47 |
Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four |
Deborah Esquenazi |
TBD |
Post Production |
⬆#50 |
48 |
Logs of War |
Anjali Nayar |
Steven Markovitz, Anjali Nayar. EP: Jonathan Stack, Edward Zwick |
In Production |
⬆#55 |
49 |
Pieces of a Man |
Orlando Bagwell |
TBD |
In Production |
⬆#51 |
50 |
Ring Girls |
Amy Berg |
TBD |
Post Production |
⬆#37 |
Legend:
⭑ New to Chart
⬄ No Change
⬆ Position Increase
⬇ Position Drop
# |
Film Title |
Filmmaker(s) |
Producer(s) |
Status |
Last Month’s Ranking |
51 |
52: The Search for the Loneliest Whale in the World |
Joshua Zeman |
TBD |
In Production |
⬆#57 |
52 |
Buena Vista Social Club – Adios |
Lucy Walker |
Christine Cowin, Zak Kilberg |
Announced |
⬆#58 |
53 |
Night School |
Andrew Cohn |
Steve Bannatyne, Jason Orans, Zachary Shields, Louis Venezia |
In Production |
⬆#53 |
54 |
Cocaine Prison |
Violeta Ayala |
In Production |
Post Production |
⬆#59 |
55 |
Mudflow |
Cynthia Wade, Sasha Friedlander |
Cynthia Wade, Sasha Friedlander. CP: Tracie Holder |
In Production |
⬆#56 |
56 |
On the Outside: The Year After Prison |
Matthew O’Neill |
John Kennedy, Cynthia Farrar, Jon Alpert, Shannon Sonenstein Sonrouille, Reina Higashitani, Matthew O’Neill |
Announced |
⬆#56 |
57 |
The Marion Stokes Project |
Matt Wolf |
Kyle Martin |
In Production |
⬆#64 |
58 |
Hispaniola |
Michele Stephenson & Joe Brewster |
Lea Marin |
In Development |
⬆#61 |
59 |
Unseen Enemy |
Janet Tobia, Cesar Charlone |
Janet Tobias, Michael Ehrenzweig, Peter W. Klein, Rogger Lopez |
In Production |
⬆#62 |
60 |
Big Sonia |
Leah Warshawsk, Todd Soliday |
TBD |
Post Production |
⬆#70 |
61 |
Block Seven |
Jordie Montevecchi |
TBD |
In Production |
⬆#68 |
62 |
The Murder and the Journalists |
Francisco Bello |
Rebecca Richman Cohen |
Pre-Production |
⬆#63 |
63 |
Dream Away |
Marouan Omara, Johanna Domke |
TBD |
TBD |
⬆#65 |
64 |
The Life, The Sea and The Space Viking |
Nelly Ben Hayoun |
Nelly Ben Hayoun |
In Production |
⬆#72 |
65 |
NIGHT/vision |
Eva Weber |
Elhum Shakerifar & Nicole Stott |
TBD |
⬆#66 |
66 |
For the Love of Spock |
Adam Nimoy |
David Zappone, Kevin Layne, Joseph Kornbrodt |
Pre-Production |
⭑New! |
67 |
What Tomorrow Brings |
Beth Murphy |
TBD |
Post Production |
⬆#82 |
68 |
The New Missionaries |
Yoav Shamir |
TBD |
TBD |
⬆#69 |
69 |
The Oakland Police Project |
Peter Nicks |
TBD Producer 19 |
In Production |
⬆#85 |
70 |
Olancho |
Christopher Valdes, Theodore Griswold |
Esther Anino |
Post Production |
⬆#165 |
71 |
Road to Home |
Calvin Skaggs |
Cal Skaggs. AP: Ashley Panzera |
In Production |
⬆#71 |
72 |
Back in Time |
Jason Aron |
Lee Leshen |
Post Production |
⬆#108 |
73 |
Out in Alabama |
Bonnie Blue Edwards |
Cynthia Wade |
In Production |
⬆#148 |
74 |
Count Me In |
Ines Sommer |
TBD |
In Production |
#74 |
75 |
To the Amazon |
Clare Weiskopf |
Nicolas Van Hemelryck |
In Production |
⬆#160 |
76 |
Survivors |
Banker White & Arthur Pratt |
TBD |
In Production |
⬆#75 |
77 |
Les habitants |
Raymond Depardon |
Raymond Depardon |
In Production |
⬆#84 |
78 |
The Earth Moves |
John Walter |
Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith |
Announced |
⭑New! |
79 |
Always in Season |
Jacqueline Olive |
TBD |
Post Production |
⬆#163 |
80 |
Monotone Days |
Berta Tilmantaite, Arturas Morozovas |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑New! |
81 |
Now Playing |
Gwen Gordon |
Gwen Gordon. EP: Josh Rosen, Susanna Pollack |
In Production |
⬆#152 |
82 |
This Changes Everything |
Avi Lewis |
Avi Lewis |
Post Production |
⬇#80 |
83 |
Like Ants for Sugar |
Shirley Abraham, Amit Madheshiya |
TBD |
Post Production |
⬆#128 |
84 |
Paris to Pyongyang |
Helen Lee |
Anita Lee |
Pre-Production |
⬇#76 |
85 |
Ronaldo |
Anthony Wonke |
Paul Martin. EP: James Gay-Rees, Asif Kapadia |
In Production |
⭑New! |
86 |
Memories Of A Penitent Heart |
Cecilia Aldarondo |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑New! |
87 |
The Return |
Kelly Duane de la Vega, Katie Galloway |
Ariella Ben-Dov |
In Production |
⬇#77 |
88 |
Death by Design |
Sue Williams |
Sue Williams, Hilary Steinman, Julie Goldman |
Announced |
⬇#78 |
89 |
Untitled Ennio Morricone doc |
Giuseppe Tornatore |
Bobby Păunescu, Dragoṣ Săvulescu, George Shu, Serena Menarini |
Pre-Production |
⬇#79 |
90 |
People from Nowhere |
Jaak Kilmi |
Antra Gaile |
Post Production |
⬇#81 |
91 |
Brick |
Jessica Dimmock, Christopher LaMarca |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑New! |
92 |
Cheer The F**k Up |
Christy Garland |
Liisa Juntunen |
TBD |
⬇#83 |
93 |
Swing Low |
Javid Soriana |
TBD |
Post Production |
⭑ New! |
44 |
Unarmed Verses |
Charles Officer |
Lea Marin |
In Production |
⬆#110 |
95 |
The Arrivals |
Heidi Ewing |
TBD |
Announced |
⭑New! |
96 |
Holy Cow |
Imam Hasanov |
Veronika Janatkova/Andra Popescu |
In Production |
⬆#157 |
97 |
What is Democracy? |
Astra Taylor |
Lea Marin |
In Production |
⬆#140 |
98 |
The Bad Kids |
Keith Fulton & Lou Pepe |
Keith Fulton & Lou Pepe |
Post Production |
⭑New! |