Waiting for Something is a short documentary by Alex Hammond and Ian Markiewicz about musician Jay Reatard. For fans, it provides some interesting insight into the dude’s psyche. For the uninitiated, it’s a pretty good primer for what Jay’s all about.
Directed by Alex Hammond and Ian Markiewicz (www.hammproductions.com), “Waiting For Something” explores in detail Jay Reatard’s personal history and roots in Memphis music. “Wating For Something” easily stands as the most complex and detailed portrait of the musician yet to be offered.
45365 is the zip code for Sidney, Ohio and the name of a new documentary film that was filmed there. From the film’s website:
Shot over the course of 9 months in Sidney, Ohio, 45365 follows the lives of a cross section of the town’s residents as their story lines coalesce into a mosaic of faces, places, and events. A judge’s race for re-election, the County Fair, the Barber Shop, the retirement home, a football team, a father and son, a young relationship, arrest and sentencing are all explored in this sweeping survey of life in a small town.
You can watch 45365 in its entirety for free for a limited time by heading over to the film’s site and clicking on “watch.” Otherwise, keep your eyes peeled for a screening.
A friend of mine from Pittsburgh, Ben of Ambulantic, is using Kickstarter.com to fund his experimental documentary film, Vazaha. From his Kickstarter page:
In the summer of 2008, I spent 16 days traveling around Madagascar shooting a sort of essayist documentary. It was an amazing and unforgettable experience and I went there hoping I could find a way to make it beneficial to the people I met, all of whom were generous, welcoming, and extremely warm to me.
I spent months editing the footage and have competed a final version, detailing my experience in a way perhaps best described as a mixture of Chris Marker, Werner Herzog and Phil Collins (the artist, not the dude who was in Genesis). And I am certainly not claiming to be on par with any of those guys, but they have all influenced my work and the project specifically.
The title, Vazaha means foreigner in Malagassy. You hear it a lot traveling through Madagascar. People would call it out to each other as you walked by, smiling and waving.
You can watch a portion of his project and contribute as little as one dollar to help fund it by visiting the project’s Kickstarter page.
The Union is a documentary about the underground marijuana market in British Columbia. I had the chance to see this film recently and it was fascinating. There is a lot of pro-legalization rhetoric, which is pretty tired in my opinion, but the examination of the economic ripples caused by this tremendous illegal market is pretty eye opening.
Ever wonder what British Columbia’s most profitable industries are? Logging? Fishing? Tourism? Ever think to include marijuana? If you haven’t, think again. No longer a hobby for the stereotypical hippie culture of the ’60s, BC’s illegal marijuana trade industry has evolved into a seemingly unstoppable business giant, dubbed by those involved as ‘The Union’. Commanding upwards of $7 billion Canadian annually, The Union’s roots stretch far and wide, directly and indirectly affecting all areas of our society. With 65% to 85% of all ‘BC Bud’ being exported to the United States, it’s clear that the BC marijuana trade has become an international issue with consequences that extend far beyond our borders. When there are record profits to be made, who are the players, and when do their motives become questionable?
In the 1960s, Richard OBarry was the worlds leading authority on dolphin training, working on the set of the popular television program Flipper. Day in and day out, OBarry kept the dolphins working and television audiences smiling. But one day, that all came to a tragic end. THE COVE, directed by Louie Psihoyos, tells the amazing true story of how Psihoyos, OBarry and an elite team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate a hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and deadly secret. The mysteries they uncovered were only the tip of the iceberg.
The Cove was, by far, one of the best documentaries I’ve seen in a while. Read an interview with the film’s protagonist here.
Davy Rothbart, one of the founders of Found Magazine, frequent contributor to This American Life and all-around nice guy, will star in the upcoming documentary My Heart is an Idiot.
From filmmaker David Meiklejohn:
Spanning two years and over a hundred cities, My Heart Is An Idiot captures Davy Rothbart’s manic road-tripping lifestyle as he tours North America in a van promoting his magazine FOUND… Along the way, Davy seeks advice on his tortured love life from a motley crew of characters (including Zooey Deschanel, Ira Glass, Newt Gingrich, and a guy named Steve who is sitting outside a gas station in the mountains of Oregon) and attempts to follow that advice, with surprising results.
And Stephie says: Watch Ira Glass drop an F bomb!!
The upcoming documentary film Herb and Dorothy tells the story of Herb Vogel, a postal clerk, and his wife Dorothy, a librarian. From the film’s website:
In the early 1960s, when very little attention was paid to Minimalist and Conceptual Art, Herb and Dorothy quietly began purchasing the works of unknown artists. Devoting all of Herb’s salary to buy art, and living on Dorothy’s paycheck alone, they continued collecting artworks guided by two rules: the piece had to be affordable, and small enough to fit in their one-bedroom Manhattan apartment. Within these limitations, they proved themselves curatorial visionaries; most of those they supported and befriended went on to become world-renowned artists. Their circle includes: Sol LeWitt, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Richard Tuttle, Chuck Close, Robert and Sylvia Mangold, Lynda Benglis, Pat Steir, Robert Barry, Lucio Pozzi and Lawrence Weiner.
In 1992, thirty years after they began collecting, the Vogels’ collection grew to over 4,000 pieces. That was when Herb and Dorothy decided that they needed to free up some room in that apartment and donated almost the entire collection, which was valued at several million dollars, to the National Gallery of Art.
Timothy “Speed” Levitch is the subject of the documentary film The Cruise (currently available in its entirety on YouTube) and without a doubt, New York City’s most famous tour guide.
And he frequently grows philosophical, as when he surveys the pricey boutiques lining Madison Avenue and tells another group of tourists, ”This is ludicrousness and this cannot last.” Then, without missing a beat, he adds, ”The new Ann Taylor store is on the right.”
Erik on What are you? I’m Batman.: Unrelated to Batman, just wanted to say I love your blog. (This is a separate Erik. I assume BloggerErik is not a narcissist.)
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