Sunday, June 17----------After five days of what was admittedly some very difficult subject matter explored on screen (torture, imprisonment, war, racism, genocide and all forms of denial of freedom and equality), SILVERDOCS ended on a lighter note, while still staying committed to the issue-oriented nature of the event. The Closing Night Film, making its East Coast Premiere (while screening simultaneously in Seattle, Washington) is this year's nature sensation ARTIC TALE.

Directed by Sarah Robertson and produced by the team that created the sensation MARCH OF THE PENGUINS, the film will be released in late July by Paramount Vantage, the studio muscle behind last year's Oscar winner AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH.  ARTIC TALE is an epic adventure that explores the vast world of the Great North. The film follows the walrus, Seela and the polar bear, Nanu, on their journey from birth to adolescence to maturity and parenthood in the frozen Arctic wilderness. Once a perpetual winter wonderland of snow and ice, the walrus and the polar bear are losing their beautiful icebound world as it melts from underneath them. Narrated by Queen Latifah, with music by Cat Stevens, Ben Harper, Aimee Mann, and The Shins, the film makes its environmental message in a family-friendly format that could mean major box office and offer a potent message on global warming.

AFI Silver Theater"This is the perfect ending to SILVERDOCS, a line-up of the best documentaries of 2007" Festival Director Patricia Finneran exulted. "ARTIC TALE is a visually stunning real-life drama of how global warming is affecting two animal families. With inspiring music and stunning imagery, the film addresses social and environmental concerns and inspires us to think deeper about life on planet earth." SILVERDOCS has put its money where its mouth is this year, having partnered with Clean Current to create one of the first "green film festivals" on the circuit. A fitting end to an exemplary event that has become, in five short years, an indispensable stop for those who make, buy, program or simply love documentary film......all looking quite gorgeous, I might add, in one of the country's most beautiful arthouse complexes, the AFI Silver Theater. Hats off to all........

Sandy Mandelberger, Online Festival Dailies Editor

Please Vote For Me

Sunday, June 17---------After a stimulating and chockful of quality program of 100 films from 42 countries over 5 days (not to mention panels and master classes at the parallel International Documentary Conference), SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival announced its distinguished award winners at ceremonies at the AFI Silver Theater on Saturday evening. Winning filmmakers received over $55,000 in cash, goods and in-kind services. Award winners will have special repeat screenings today and into Monday, allowing enthusiastic audiences to sample this year's group of winning films.

This year’s SILVERDOCS Sterling Award for a Feature Film was won by PLEASE VOTE FOR ME, by Chinese director Weijun Chen. The film explores what democracy looks like in the world’s largest Communist country by following the intense politicking to become class monitor of a third grade class in China's Wuhan Province. The director will receive $10,000 cash and $10,000 in-kind services from Video Labs and $5,000 in film stock from Kodak. Liesl Copland of Red Envelope Entertainment noted on behalf of the Sterling Feature Jury that “the film had everything any movie could hope to have. It was emotionally moving, evoked laughter, invited us to think deeper about ourselves and our democracy, which we learned is not a gift, but a responsibility.” Honorable Mention went to ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS by Eva Mulvad. The film follows Malalai Joya, the first woman elected to Afghanistan’s parliament, whose democratic spirit has made her a heroine to many Afghans.Nomadak TX

The SILVERDOCS Sterling Award for a Short Film was given to LOT 63, GRAVE, directed by Sam Green, which examines the death of Meredith Hunter, who was killed at the Altamont Free Concert in 1969. Although his death became a symbol for the end of the Summer of Love, he now lies forgotten, buried in an unmarked and unvisited grave. The filmmaker will receive $5,000 cash. Special mention went to I WANT TO BE A PILOT directed by Diego Quemada-Díez, a visual poem highlighting the desperation felt by AIDS orphans living in the slums of Kenya, and their hopes of leaving. The SILVERDOCS Music Documentary Award presented by Pump Audio was presented to NOMADAK TX,  directed by Raul De la Fuente. The film follows two musicians as they traverse the world with a magical instrument, the Txalaparta. The Beyond Belief Award, presented to a feature documentary that exhibits excellence in chronicling complex issues of faith and society, was won by  AUDIENCE OF ONE by Michael Jacobs.  The film follows San Francisco Pentecostal minister Richard Ga (...)

Taxi To The Darkside 

Sunday, June 17-------At the risk of being a moth-eaten cliche, the term "fog of war" is now routinely used to describe a state where political, strategic and moral choices in areas of conflict become shaded by the exigencies of human response to violence and an abandonment of an ethical compass that determines policy and behavior. This "fog of war" has certainly descended on the chaos that is now unfolding in the Middle East, both in the five-year conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the yet again dangerously unstable stalemate between Israel and its Arab neighbors. As famously elucidated in Erroll Morris' Oscar-winning documentary THE FOG OF WAR, decisions made in this haze often have unexpected consequences that make the struggles even more vehement.

This past week, SILVERDOCS has presented a program of perceptive, thought-provoking and challenging films that explore the "slippery slope" when individuals and governments betray their innate moral frameworks. This is chillingly explored in two excellent documentaries by American filmmakers that screened in the past few days. NO END IN SIGHT, which had its East Coast Premiere at the event, marks a highly impressive debut for director Charles Ferguson. The director examines in painstaking detail the failed decisions that marked the early years of the Iraq War. By interviewing key strategists responsible for early policymaking (who have since recanted their support) who make clear how the Bush Administration has mismanaged the conflict from its very early days. By dismissing Iraqi experts in the State Department and repressing information that did not fit in with their rhetoric, the Bushies installed policy hacks without the breadth of experience, cultural sensitivity or long hard-won relationships that would have held out any possibility of a successful outcome. That the Republicans, who portray themselves as hardnosed management types (as contrasted to the lilly-livered liberals in the Democratic Party), are shown up to be all facade with little intellectual or strategic backup, is a harrowing critique of the Republican claims for justification for the war or a plan to end it. The film, which demands to be seen by a wide audience, will be released later this year by Magnolia Pictures.

TAXI TO THE DARKSIDE, by Alex Gibney (the prime mover behind the excellent treatise of corporate corruption, ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM)  forces viewers to confront the moral outrage of limitless incarceration, prisoner humiliation and acceptance of torture as a strategic intelligence gathering technique in the current "war on terror". By following the fate of a single  Afghani taxi driver, who is arrested in a dragnet without any real evidence of wrongdoing, the film takes viewers on a "terror tour" of prison abuses at Bagram (Afghanistan), (...)

 Buddha's Lost Children

Saturday, June 16----------With religion and core beliefs the source of both comfort and conflict in the modern world, SILVERDOCS wisely decided to dedicate a special section of the Festival to an exploration of the unique role of religion in social and political discourse. Dubbed BEYOND BELIEF: RELIGION, POLITICS AND FILM, the program has presented a provocative series of films and panel discussions. “The documentary form, which takes personal stories and launches them into the public arena, is the perfect medium in which to explore how deeply personal issues of faith are informing our public discourse" Festival Director Patricia Finneran commented. "This side-bar, drawing filmmakers from around the globe and leveraging the rich resources of the Washington, DC area significantly extends that commitment.” 

As a kick-off to thie program, SILVERDOCS partnered with the “Stranger than Fiction” Documentary film series at New York City’s IFC Film Center to present Bill Jersey’s rarely-screened Academy-Award nominated 1967 documentary A TIME FOR  BURNING this past November. The film follows an idealist Lutheran pastor in Omaha, Nebraska who asks his all-white congregation to reach out to black Lutherans, sending shock waves through the church. The film was originally rejected by major networks for being too controversial, while today it is as relevant as ever. For the Festival itself, the program strand is presenting 7 features and 6 short films, which, for the first time, will be up for a special Beyond Belief Award, that will be announced at the Sterling Awards Ceremony later today. 

Audience Of OneBEYOND BELIEF FEATURES

AUDIENCE OF ONE / USA (Director: Michael Jacobs)—San Francisco Pentecostal minister Richard Gazowsky saw his first movie at the age of 40. A year later, God instructed him to write and direct an epic Biblical sci-fi movie. But when the film crew goes on location in Italy, even a divine mission doesn't spare them from Murphy's Law-or the ravings of an egomaniacal director. Washington, DC Premiere.

BRIDGE OVER THE WADI / ISRAEL (Directors: Barak and Tomer Heymann)—The Bridge over the Wadi school is an experiment-what happens when Arab and Israeli children attend school together, learning each other's language, culture, and religious traditions? The open acceptance of the children throws the complexity of adult religious and political conflicts into stark relief. US Premiere.

Hard As NailsBUDDHA'S LOST CHILDREN / Netherlands (Director: Mark Verkerk)—A former boxing champion turned monk takes in orphaned children in a poor remote region of Thailand near the Burm (...)

Hip Hop Revolution

Saturday, June 16-------One of the most popular sidebar sections at SILVERDOCS is the Best Music Documentary competition. This marriage between cinema and synchopation uses visual technique to give a deeper understanding of how music is evolving and the artists whose passion and commitment to expanding their art can either lead to personal tragedy or personal triumph. This year, six excellent films are competing, covering a wide range of musical styles and visual temperaments. Judging the films and determining the award winner is a stellar jury that includes actress/filmmaker Rosanna Arquette, filmmaker Joe Berlinger (METALLICA) and writer/designer Brian Liu. The winner will be announced later today at the Sterling Awards Competition awards ceremony at the AFI Silver Theater.

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY AWARD COMPETITION

Broken MousetrapBUILDING A BROKEN MOUSETRAP/ USA (Director: Jem Cohen)—From the acclaimed filmmaker of INSTRUMENT, about the band Fugazi, comes an electric concert film featuring the Dutch band the Ex preceded by two lyrical shorts: NYC WEIGHTS AND MEASURES and BLESSED ARE THE DREAMS OF MEN. Washington, DC Premiere.

HIP HOP REVOLUTION / USA (Director: Weamm Williams)—Twenty-five year journey of hip hop in South Africa, from its birth on the Cape Flats to the political uprising in the 80s, giving youth a medium to express themselves and inspire pride when it was needed most. North American Premiere.

KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON /USA (Director: AJ Schnack)—A surprising portrait of the man behind the icon, Kurt Cobain, in his own words narrating this visually stunning film of his childhood, Nirvana’s sudden rise to fame, his controversial relationship with Courtney Love, and his struggles with pain and depression. Washington, DC Premiere.

Note By NoteNOMADAK Tx /Spain (Director: Raul De la Fuente)–The film follows two musicians as they traverse the world with a magical instrument, the Txalaparta. East Coast Premiere.

NOTE BY NOTE (THE MAKING OF STEINWAY L1037) / USA (Director: Benjamin Niles)—Steinway pianos are hand built in the Bronx. The builder imparts unique personality to each. This film elegantly shows the creation of Steinway L1037 and examines the process by which pianists select a Steinway Grand for performances. Washington, DC Premiere.

SCOTT WALKER 30 CENTURY MAN/UK (Director: Stephen Kijak)—With his wry lyrics and reclusive nature, Walker’s creative influence reaches further than his name, inspiring the likes of Bowie, (...)

AFI Silver Theater

Saturday, June 16-----SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival is setting an example by being one of the first such festival events to actively try and reduce its carbon footprint and demonstrate how it can run its Festival efficiently with an eye towards energy conservation. This reporter, when told that the Festival wanted to encourage visitors to use public transporation to come from the Airport to the DC suburb of Silver Spring, was happy to do his part (although the Festival travel coordinator pointedly mentioned that not everyone arriving was ready to make the same sacrifice).  With uber-environmentalist Al Gore a keynote speaker at last year's event, the organizers of SILVERDOCS made a strong commitment to look at its own operations, during the year-long planning and the actual five days of the event.  By securing wind-generated electricity for the entire week, the Festival has shown remarkable initiative in becoming one of the country's first carbon-neutral festival events. With so many films in the program advancing environmental concerns and solutions, this is only right and appropriate.

As quoted in the Washington Post, SILVERDOCS Associate Director Amy King announced that she and her colleagues "are doing our part this year to walk the walk. We decided that if we're showing films that explore these environmental issues, we should set an example as a big public event that can influence its audience." Aside from the wind power, the Festival has printed its posters and information brochures on recycled paper, using an  environmentally certified printer. Festival t-shirts available for sale here were made from organic cotton and imprinted with water-based inks. Even the souvenir bags given out to filmmakers and industry attendees have been recycled from reused soda bottles. By far the most significant endeavor has been the acquisition of 100,000 kilowatt-hours of "carbon offset" wind-power electricity to power the AFI Silver Theater's projectors, marquee and popcorn machines.  The power was donated by Clean Currents, a Silver Spring energy broker that specializes in green electricity.

With these efforts, SILVERDOCS has demonstrated that it is indeed "walking the walk" and draws a line in the sand for other Festival events to follow and even surpass these efforts. Now if only the Cannes Film Festival could harness the sheer electrical power of all those popping flash bulbs of its thousands of papparazzi photographers, that would solve our dependence on foreign oil in a matter of minutes. You go, SILVERDOCS........

Sandy Mandelberger, Festival Online Dailies Editor

Friday, June 15-------With the accent on documentary production, financing and distribution here at SILVERDOCS, an announcement from the Sundance Institute regarding their own documentary lab initiative is particularly relevant. With many of the SILVERDOCS film having received their world premieres at the Sundance Film Festival in January, it is clear that Sundance has a large role to play in the development and disemination of non-fiction material.

The Sundance Institute announced today the selection of four projects to participate in the fifth annual Documentary Film Editing and Story Laboratory, to be held June 22 – 29 at the Sundance Institute headquarters in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. The annual editing and story lab is an integral part of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. The Program provides year-round support to nurture nonfiction filmmakers worldwide. The program advances innovative nonfiction storytelling about a broad range of contemporary social issues, and promotes the exhibition of documentary films to a broad audience. Through the Sundance Documentary Fund, the Documentary Edit and Story Laboratory, Documentary Composers Laboratory as well as the Sundance Film Festival, the Sundance Institute Independent Producers Conference and a variety of international initiatives, the program provides a unique, global center for documentary film.  Films that have received the financial and/or creative support of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program include BORN INTO BROTHELS, IN THE PIT, MANDA BALA, PARAGRAPH 175, MR. DEATH, LOST BOYS OF SUDAN, THE TRIALS OF DARYL HUNT, IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS, and WHY WE FIGHT.

This year’s projects for the Documentary Film Editing and Story Laboratory explore a wide range of subjects including the role of music in Tibet's assertion of cultural heritage, women in the Nepalese army, a moderate Muslim in Jordan forced to confront Jihad, and the emotional journey of several Ninth Ward, New Orleans residents through Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The Lab is a creative environment that provides the participating artists and creative advisors with an intensive, week-long experience focused on the editing process for documentary film, and the role it plays in developing stories and characters.

During the Lab, the Fellows will work directly with an acclaimed group of Creative Advisors, including two directors and four editors, who jointly engage the creative process.  The Creative Advisors for the 2007 Documentary Editing and Story Lab are: editors Jean-Philippe Boucicaut (CITIZEN KING); Kate Amend (The Long Way Home); Lewis Erskine (Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple); Mary Lampson (A Lion in the House) and accomplished directors Robb Moss (SECRECY) a (...)

Friday, June 15------With more than 100 films to catch in a scant five days, it could be assumed that film screenings are the most important element of SILVERDOCS. However, for visiting and local filmmakers, media professionals and government/social organization reps, the parallel International Documentary Conference is where the meat of this event really lies. A series of information panels, master classes and discussions have been assembled that cover a multitude of topics.....from new sources of film funding to innovative uses of the internet to nitty-gritty legal and rights clearance issues. All told, the four day Conference is akin to taking a year long masters program......and is available at no cost to attending filmmakers and industry representatives.

Ted LeonsisDebra ZimmermanThe Conference Keynote Address was given yesterday by Ted Leonsis, Vice Chairman of America Online, producer of the historical documentary NANKING, and a  a leading philanthropist who has turned his attention to documentary film as a means of raising awareness of important social issues. Highlights of the Conference so far has been a three-part discussion of The Future of Real 2.0: an exhaustive review of the expanding world of interactive on-line communities, user-generated content and new distribution platforms; Filmanthropy, exploring innovative links between documentary, non-profits and advocacy groups; Becoming a Green Production House, detailing ways that production companies can become carbon neutral in the creation and disemination of their original film and video product; Spotlight on Discovery, an introduction to the multiple media platforms of Festival co--presenter Discovery Communications (including television, interactive, internet and mobile technology); A Blue Print on Fundraising for Documentaries, an exhaustive how-to series presented by Debra Zimmerman, president of producer/distributor Women Make Movies; Producing for U.S. Public Television, a multi-part seminar series on the ins and outs of producing for US public television outlets; and sessions on the programming, acquisition and commissioning priorities of critical industry players. 

Sandy Mandelberger, Festival Online Dailies Editor

 Enemies of Happiness

Friday, June 15------The Main Competition section of SILVERDOCS consists of 10 documentary features, all competing for the coveted Sterling Award. The films represent some of the most innovative, provocative and compelling non-fiction films of the year. Jurors determining the prizes include: Liesl Copland, head of acquisitions of Red Envelope Entertainment, the newly created original content division of Netflix; Matt Dentler, the Producer of the South by Southwest Film Conference & Festival; and Ross Kauffman, the 2005 Academy Award winning director of BORN INTO BROTHELS. The Sterling Awards will be announced at a special ceremony on Saturday afternoon.

STERLING AWARD FEATURE FILM COMPETITION

BIG RIG / USA (Director: Doug Pray)—This stunningly photographed film follows a dozen long-haul truck drivers as they cross 21,000 miles of American highway. The nation’s beautiful scenery provides the backdrop for personal stories that emphasize how much America relies on their largely invisible labor. East Coast Premiere.

ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS / Denmark (Director: Eva Mulvad)—The first woman elected to Afghanistan’s parliament, Malalai Joya’s democratic spirit and love for her people have made her a heroine to many Afghans. Filmed during the final weeks of her 2005 campaign under threat of death, it reveals Joya’s courage and the human faces behind the news stories of burkas and blue-inked thumbs. East Coast Premiere.

HOTHOUSE / USA (Director: Shimon Dotan)—A gripping look at life behind the prison walls for some of the nearly 10,000 Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli prisons, this film reveals how prison life help forms a brotherhood that fuels the political divide. East Coast Premiere.

HOW TO COOK YOUR LIFE / Germany (Director: Doris Dorrie)—Just as life is a journey, not a destination, eating is about the process of cooking, not just food. This inspiring film follows Zen chef, Edward Brown, and good-naturedly ponders the relationship between cooking, life, and the world around us. North American Premiere.

LOSERS AND WINNERS / Germany (Directors: Michael Loeken, Ulrike Franke)—The idea of a shifting global economy, of the rise of the East and impending economic crisis in the West is in the Zeitgeist, but rarely do we see inside the working culture of either side. East Coast Premiere

MADE IN LA /USA/Spain (Director: Almudena Carracedo)—An intimate look into the blood, sweat and tears of Latina garment workers, who successfully organize against not only the sweatshops, but the glossy mall stores where there labor is displayed. World Premiere.

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME /China (Director: Weijun Chen)—What does democracy look like in the world’s largest Communist country? Start small, very small. This charming film follows the intense politicking to (...)

Thursday, June 14---------Thursday is Demme Day at SILVERDOCS, with Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme being honored and screenings of both new and celebrated non-fiction works from the veteran director. Demme is one of the few Hollywood directors who is equally at home in fiction films and in the documentary arena. In a career that now spans four decades and includes nearly 50 feature films and television programs, nearly 25% of Demme's output has been in the non-fiction world, as either director or producer. Documentary highlights of his career include: STOP MAKING SENSE (1984), SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA (1987), COUSIN BOBBY (1992),  ONE FOOT ON THE BANANA PEEL, ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE (1994), COURAGE AND PAIN (1996), MANDELA (1996), STOREFRONT HITCHCOCK (1998), THE UTMOST (1998), BEA: A BLACK WOMAN SPEAKS (2003), THE AGRONOMIST (2003) and NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD (2006). His latest film, NEW HOME MOVIES FROM THE LOWER NINTH WARD, which chronicles the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans, nearly two years after the devastation, will have its world premiere at the Festival this afternoon.

Demme himself will be honored at the 2007 Charles Guggenheim Symposium at the AFI Silver Theater later this evening, when the veteran director will be interviewed by National Public Radio correspondent Michel Martin. Clips from Demme's varied career will be highlighted, along with a special sneak preview of his newest film project, entitled HE COMES IN PEACE, a profile of former President Jimmy Carter, as he tours the United States to promote his pacifist and humanist agenda for resolving world conflicts. As a special treat, SILVERDOCS audiences will be treated to two free outdoor showings of Demme musical documentaries: tonight's seminal STOP MAKING SENSE (1984), one of the best concert films ever made, starring The Talking Heads, and NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD (2006), a remarkable concert film and portrait of the singular musical artist, who recently survived a brain tumor and has produced songs celebrating the transitory nature of life and death.

Sandy Mandelberger, Festival Online Dailies Editor

Thursday, June 14-------Protecting the rights of animals used in films is a primary concern for the organization Animal Content In Entertainment (ACE), a program of the Humane Society of the United States. This year, ACE is teaming with SILVERD