The
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences yesterday released a list of films that will continue on in the voting process in the category of Best Documentary Feature for the 77th Academy Awards. The 12 films from which the five nominees will be selected are listed below in alphabetical order:
Born into Brothels (ThinkFilm), directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kaufmann
The most stigmatized people in Sonagachi, Calcutta's red light district, are not the prostitutes, but their children. In the face of abject poverty, abuse, and despair, these kids have little possibility of escaping their mother's fate or for creating another type of life. Zana Briski gives these kids cameras and teaches them how to use them, igniting latent sparks of artistic genius. The photographs taken by the children are not merely examples of remarkable observation and talent; they reflect something much larger, morally encouraging and even politically volatile: art as an immensely liberating and empowering force.
Home of the Brave (Emerging Pictures), directed by Paola di Florio
Home of the Brave is about the only white woman murdered in the civil rights movement in America and why we
don't know who she is. Told through the eyes of her children, the film follows the on-going struggle of an American family to survive the consequences of their mother's heroism and the mystery behind her killing.
Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train (First Run Features), directed by Deb Ellis and Denis Mueller
The life and times of the historian, activist and author of the best selling classic
A People's History of the United States.
In the Realms of the Unreal (Wellspring), directed by Jessica Yu
Explores the parallel lives of legendary outsider artist
Henry Darger. Reclusive janitor by day, visionary artist by night, Darger's 15,000-page novel
The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, as caused by the Child Slave Rebellion details the exploits of seven angelic sisters who lead a rebellion against godless, child-enslaving men.
Riding Giants (Sony Pictures Classics), directed by Stacey Peralta
Beginning with the history of surfing from its early Polynesian roots to its rebirth in the 20th Century,
Riding Giants traces the development of a fledgling surf culture along the coast of Southern California in the 1940s, highlighting a group of surfers who began searching for bigger and bigger waves, pushing the boundaries of performance to explore the "unridden realm."
The Ritchie Boys, directed by Christian Bauer
The film follows the fates of a band of young German Jewish intellectuals, refugees from Hitler's Germany, who had fled to the U.S and were persuaded to sign up for intelligence work in their former homeland. They trained at the super-secret Camp Ritchie, in Maryland.
The Story of the Weeping Camel (ThinkFilm), directed by Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni
An enchanting tale about a family of herders in Mongolia's Gobi desert who face a crisis when a mother camel unexpectedly rejects her newborn calf.
Super Size Me (Samuel Goldwyn Films), directed by Morgan Spurlock
A tongue-in-cheek -- and burger in hand -- look at the legal, financial and physical costs of America's hunger for fast food.
Tell Them Who You Are (ThinkFilm), directed by Mark S. Wexler
A portrait of the acclaimed cinematographer Haskell Wexler by his son Mark.
Touching the Void (IFC Films), directed by Kevin MacDonald
Two twenty-something mountain climbers descending one of the world's highest peaks face the ultimate tragedy in this stunning true story.
Tupac: Resurrection (Paramount Pictures), directed by Lauren Lazin
The film explores the life of the slain rapper through his own words and music.
Twist of Faith, directed by Kirby Dick
The powerful story of a man who confronts the trauma of past sexual abuse by a local priest, only to find his decision shatters his relationships with his family, community, and his faith.
Eligible documentaries were screened by the AMPAS Documentary Branch Screening Committee, made up of members of the branch who serve on a volunteer basis. The above films were chosen after a preliminary round of screenings. The nominated films will be announced along with nominations in 24 other categories on Tuesday, January 25, at 5:30 a.m. PST.
Surveying the list,
Anthony Kaufman asks, "Where was
Tarnation? Where was
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster? Where was
Control Room?... The rest of the Academy lineup features some expected entries -- from
Super Size Me to
Riding Giants -- but the full list taken as a whole ignores some of the year's most potent nonfiction work."
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 11/18/2004 01:27:00 PM
Comments (2)
"Weeping Camel" has been the surprise demi-hit in Europe over the past few months.
#
posted by Michael Leahy @ 11/21/2004 4:32 PM
scott
from an Indian national:
QUOTE:
First of all I have not seen this film BORN INTO BROTHELS so I would not comment about
> the film-making/art aspect of it.
>
> However, I read about the film and honestly find it pretty pathetic.
>
> Looks like the film-makers are trying to follow the well established
> path: Pick up one wretched corner of the developing world, picture the
> misery of the people and use them for personal gains and throw in
> couple of western (white) characters and show them as saviors of the
> poor 'third-world' souls.
>
> Its true that some Westerners actually do things to help these people
> but vast majority just love to talk about these issues in parties
> particularly the guilt-ridden, patronizing liberal ones. The
> film-makers goes at length to show the bureaucracy in Kolkata schools
> but don't bother to even mention literally hundreds of Indian social
> organizations that play important role in protecting the existing
> prostitutes and rehabilitating others. Kolkata in particular is very
> active in terms of welfare of prostitutes. Prostitutes in Kolkata are
> organized in union and they enjoy legal protection and the spread of
> AIDS is minimal due to active health-care programs. Of course, the
> film-makers won't show it because the people doing real work are not
> westerners, they are Indians. If someone is making a documentary film
> it should be factual not a fairy tale story of white angels saving
> poor and dark people.
>
> This is exactly the same reason Hotel Rwanda won't get the Oscar
> because the heroes of the film are black Africans not westerners.
>
> In any case, the film-makers have a right to make any film they want.
> As long as they don't exploit poor children of the 'third-world' for
> making money its okay. Local media in Kolkata says that the
> film-makers raised false hope among the children and they are worse
> off after taking part in the film. If the film-makers are so desperate
> to picture misery maybe they should take their camera to the
> inner-city slums of New York and picture the troubled and often
> criminalized kids of those neighborhoods. Lets see how much people
> enjoy that! If you really want to watch a good film about poor kids
> living in many slums in urban India, watch "Salaam Bombay" by Mira
> Nair. Its an excellent film but unlike this one does not portray slum
> kids as weak, poor and dependent on western generosity. It depicts the
> reality about how actually the slum kids fight for their survival and
> fight against incredible odds.
#
posted by dan @ 3/01/2005 9:29 AM
