Canada’s Hot Docs documentary festival has wrapped its 31st edition in Toronto (May 5) and named Yintah the winner of its Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary.
The award, whose winner is determined by an audience poll, comes with a cash prize of Cad 50,000.
Directed by Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell and Michael Toledano, Yintah is about the efforts of the Canadian First Nation Wet’suwet’en people to resist the construction of pipelines across their territory.
On Friday evening (May 3) Hot Docs announced the prize winners from its official competition line-up (full list below).
The festival’s Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award,...
The award, whose winner is determined by an audience poll, comes with a cash prize of Cad 50,000.
Directed by Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell and Michael Toledano, Yintah is about the efforts of the Canadian First Nation Wet’suwet’en people to resist the construction of pipelines across their territory.
On Friday evening (May 3) Hot Docs announced the prize winners from its official competition line-up (full list below).
The festival’s Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award,...
- 5/6/2024
- ScreenDaily
Nishta Jain’s “Farming the Revolution” has won Hot Docs’ Best International Feature Documentary Award, it was announced Friday at the festival’s awards ceremony, held in Toronto at the Centre for Social Innovation–Annex.
Produced by Jain (Raintree Films) and Valérie Montmartin (Little Big Story) and co-directed by cinematographer Akash Basumatari, the film follows the massive year-long gathering of Indian farmers protesting unjust new farm laws that they felt would impact their markets.
The jury said, “‘Farming the Revolution’ spotlights the power of ordinary people with an enduring cinematic sophistication and an indomitable lyrical presence.” The award comes with a Cnd. $10,000 cash prize.
The film, a co-production between India and Norway, now automatically qualifies for consideration in the Academy’s Best Documentary Feature category without the standard theatrical run, providing it complies with Academy rules. It is distributed by Cinephil.
Pablo Álvarez-Mesa’s “The Soldier’s Lagoon”—which traces...
Produced by Jain (Raintree Films) and Valérie Montmartin (Little Big Story) and co-directed by cinematographer Akash Basumatari, the film follows the massive year-long gathering of Indian farmers protesting unjust new farm laws that they felt would impact their markets.
The jury said, “‘Farming the Revolution’ spotlights the power of ordinary people with an enduring cinematic sophistication and an indomitable lyrical presence.” The award comes with a Cnd. $10,000 cash prize.
The film, a co-production between India and Norway, now automatically qualifies for consideration in the Academy’s Best Documentary Feature category without the standard theatrical run, providing it complies with Academy rules. It is distributed by Cinephil.
Pablo Álvarez-Mesa’s “The Soldier’s Lagoon”—which traces...
- 5/4/2024
- by Jennie Punter
- Variety Film + TV
“The Battle for Laikipia” offers a prescient perspective by focusing on the communities that are living with the consequences of climate change right now: the ranchers and pastoralists of Laikipia, located on the equator in Kenya. These people, their cattle, their farms — their means of life — have been dealing with drought. Over a period of approximately two years, the documentary’s directors Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi show how climate change can directly resurface tensions that have been kept at bay for generations. When resources dwindle, battles arise.
The framework for the feature is how colonialism still manages to impact indigenous people many years after their nations were granted independence. Many Brits migrated to Kenya during the time of the empire; their descendants still live there and own much of the land in Laikipia. The region is also home to many indigenous, semi-nomadic people who raise cattle. “The Battle for...
The framework for the feature is how colonialism still manages to impact indigenous people many years after their nations were granted independence. Many Brits migrated to Kenya during the time of the empire; their descendants still live there and own much of the land in Laikipia. The region is also home to many indigenous, semi-nomadic people who raise cattle. “The Battle for...
- 5/2/2024
- by Murtada Elfadl
- Variety Film + TV
Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (Cph:Dox) has unveiled the line-ups for its five competitive sections for its 2024 edition. All films in the main Dox:Award competition are world premieres for the second successive year.
Scroll down for the full list of competition titles
Titles in that section include Alessandra Celesia’s The Flats, a France-uk-Ireland-Belgium co-production about Belfast youngsters accessing their memories of the Troubles. Belfast-based Italian filmmaker Celesia has previously made documentaries including 2017’s Anatomy Of A Miracle, which played at Locarno.
The 12-strong Dox:Award competition also includes Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter’s UK title Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other,...
Scroll down for the full list of competition titles
Titles in that section include Alessandra Celesia’s The Flats, a France-uk-Ireland-Belgium co-production about Belfast youngsters accessing their memories of the Troubles. Belfast-based Italian filmmaker Celesia has previously made documentaries including 2017’s Anatomy Of A Miracle, which played at Locarno.
The 12-strong Dox:Award competition also includes Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter’s UK title Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other,...
- 2/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
When film composer and multi-instrumentalist William Ryan Fritch got the call to work on the new Sundance documentary, “The Battle for Laikipia,” he remembers his first reaction. 20 to 24 cues in two and a half weeks. Wow. But after watching the film, it was a no-brainer. “I’ll figure out the how,” he said.
Co-directed by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi, “The Battle for Laikipia” follows the story of Indigenous pastoralists — farmers who breed and care for animals in the wildlife conservation haven of Laikipia, Kenya — as they struggle to overcome conflicts with landowners and the impact of colonialism.
“It’s just take-your-breath away, raw, arresting humanity, done so exquisitely well,” says Fritch.
Fritch says his admiration for the film’s crew made it an easy decision to join the sprint to finish the production in time for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
“I knew they were extraordinarily thoughtful, ethical documentarians,” says Fritch.
Co-directed by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi, “The Battle for Laikipia” follows the story of Indigenous pastoralists — farmers who breed and care for animals in the wildlife conservation haven of Laikipia, Kenya — as they struggle to overcome conflicts with landowners and the impact of colonialism.
“It’s just take-your-breath away, raw, arresting humanity, done so exquisitely well,” says Fritch.
Fritch says his admiration for the film’s crew made it an easy decision to join the sprint to finish the production in time for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
“I knew they were extraordinarily thoughtful, ethical documentarians,” says Fritch.
- 1/29/2024
- by Drew Pearce for Dropbox
- Indiewire
Exclusive: The Ford Foundation is coming through for documentary filmmakers in a big way.
Today, the nonprofit philanthropic institution announced its latest round of grants under the foundation’s JustFilms division — $4.2 million that will go to support “59 innovative film projects centered on social justice globally and in the United States.”
Among the recipients are Union, the film directed by Stephen Maing and Brett Story that just held its world premiere at Sundance, and fellow Sundance premiere The Battle for Laikipia, directed by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi. Union, about the battle to unionize an Amazon facility on Staten Island, New York, is in U.S. Documentary Competition at Sundance. The Battle for Laikipia, in World Cinema Documentary Competition at the festival, examines “a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven.” Roger Ross Williams and Toni Kamau are among the producers of Laikipia.
Today, the nonprofit philanthropic institution announced its latest round of grants under the foundation’s JustFilms division — $4.2 million that will go to support “59 innovative film projects centered on social justice globally and in the United States.”
Among the recipients are Union, the film directed by Stephen Maing and Brett Story that just held its world premiere at Sundance, and fellow Sundance premiere The Battle for Laikipia, directed by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi. Union, about the battle to unionize an Amazon facility on Staten Island, New York, is in U.S. Documentary Competition at Sundance. The Battle for Laikipia, in World Cinema Documentary Competition at the festival, examines “a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven.” Roger Ross Williams and Toni Kamau are among the producers of Laikipia.
- 1/25/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
This year’s World Cinema Docu Competition sees The Painter and the Thief (2020) filmmaker Benjamin Ree among the pack of ten. Here is the line-up:
Agent of Happiness / Bhutan, Hungary — Amber is one of the many agents working for the Bhutanese government to measure people’s happiness levels among the remote Himalayan mountains. But will he find his own along the way? World Premiere. Available online for Public.
The Battle for Laikipia / Kenya, U.S.A. — Unresolved historical injustices and climate change raise the stakes in a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven.…...
Agent of Happiness / Bhutan, Hungary — Amber is one of the many agents working for the Bhutanese government to measure people’s happiness levels among the remote Himalayan mountains. But will he find his own along the way? World Premiere. Available online for Public.
The Battle for Laikipia / Kenya, U.S.A. — Unresolved historical injustices and climate change raise the stakes in a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven.…...
- 12/6/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
A programme of in-person and online events will run from March 6-10.
Glasgow Film Festival has confirmed the full programme for its 2022 industry focus strand, with participating speakers including BFI Film Fund director Mia Bays and Screen Scotland executive director Isabel Davis.
The programme will run both in-person and online from March 6-10, with physical events held at the main festival hub in Glasgow’s DoubleTree Hilton hotel.
Bays is attending in the latest stop on her listening tour, meeting with filmmakers, creatives and other industry figures to hear about their experience with the BFI Film Fund and what they...
Glasgow Film Festival has confirmed the full programme for its 2022 industry focus strand, with participating speakers including BFI Film Fund director Mia Bays and Screen Scotland executive director Isabel Davis.
The programme will run both in-person and online from March 6-10, with physical events held at the main festival hub in Glasgow’s DoubleTree Hilton hotel.
Bays is attending in the latest stop on her listening tour, meeting with filmmakers, creatives and other industry figures to hear about their experience with the BFI Film Fund and what they...
- 2/17/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is on the jury for the key UK film prize.
Lee Haven Jones, Harry Wootliff and Rob Savage, the directors of The Feast, True Things and Dashcam respectively, have been shortlisted for the £50,000 Iwc Schaffhausen Filmmaker Bursary Award in association with the BFI, which will be presented on Sunday October 17 as part of the BFI London Film Festival (Lff).
Haven Jones has been selected for his debut feature, while Wootliff and Savage are both selected for their second films. This year’s winner will be chosen by writer, actor and producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, alongside BFI CEO Ben Roberts.
Lee Haven Jones, Harry Wootliff and Rob Savage, the directors of The Feast, True Things and Dashcam respectively, have been shortlisted for the £50,000 Iwc Schaffhausen Filmmaker Bursary Award in association with the BFI, which will be presented on Sunday October 17 as part of the BFI London Film Festival (Lff).
Haven Jones has been selected for his debut feature, while Wootliff and Savage are both selected for their second films. This year’s winner will be chosen by writer, actor and producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, alongside BFI CEO Ben Roberts.
- 10/1/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Kenyan Film Classification Board has done it again — and by “it,” we mean “banned a movie for depicting same-sex relationships in a positive way.”
The film in question is “I Am Samuel,” a documentary from director Peter Murimi, in which “Samuel, a gay Kenyan man, balances duty to his family with his love for his partner, Alex, in a country where their love is criminalised,” according to the film’s logline.
In a statement made public Thursday, the Kfcb denounced the film as “a clear and deliberate attempt by the producer, to promote same-sex marriage as an acceptable way of life.” The board also complained that this is a violation of the country’s laws outlawing homosexuality.
In addition, the board seems to have been particularly offended that the film attempted to show that Kenyans are becoming tolerant of sexual minorities. “I am Samuel,” the statement said, “tries to...
The film in question is “I Am Samuel,” a documentary from director Peter Murimi, in which “Samuel, a gay Kenyan man, balances duty to his family with his love for his partner, Alex, in a country where their love is criminalised,” according to the film’s logline.
In a statement made public Thursday, the Kfcb denounced the film as “a clear and deliberate attempt by the producer, to promote same-sex marriage as an acceptable way of life.” The board also complained that this is a violation of the country’s laws outlawing homosexuality.
In addition, the board seems to have been particularly offended that the film attempted to show that Kenyans are becoming tolerant of sexual minorities. “I am Samuel,” the statement said, “tries to...
- 9/24/2021
- by Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
Peter Murimi’s film vividly conveys resilience, contrasting the intimacy of a brave couple with the brutality of prejudice
Filmed over five years, this documentary, directed by Peter Murimi, opens on a striking note that contrasts intimacy with cruelty. A date between Sam, the film’s subject, and his boyfriend Alex is juxtaposed with the brutal footage of a violent attack on one of Murimi’s own friends. Witnessing the tender connection between the couple in a society where people in such relationships can undergo physical harm as well as legal punishment affirms the courageous, moving joy of queer love and the bravery of the men who participate in the documentary.
Having grown up in a small Kenyan village, Sam struggles with his sexuality until he moves to Nairobi, where he finds romance and acceptance. The bustling city might seem claustrophobic, with its rows of cramped apartments, yet introspective moments,...
Filmed over five years, this documentary, directed by Peter Murimi, opens on a striking note that contrasts intimacy with cruelty. A date between Sam, the film’s subject, and his boyfriend Alex is juxtaposed with the brutal footage of a violent attack on one of Murimi’s own friends. Witnessing the tender connection between the couple in a society where people in such relationships can undergo physical harm as well as legal punishment affirms the courageous, moving joy of queer love and the bravery of the men who participate in the documentary.
Having grown up in a small Kenyan village, Sam struggles with his sexuality until he moves to Nairobi, where he finds romance and acceptance. The bustling city might seem claustrophobic, with its rows of cramped apartments, yet introspective moments,...
- 5/31/2021
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
Peter Murimi’s documentary to launch on digital platform Bohemia Euphoria.
Bohemia Media has acquired UK, Ireland and North America rights to documentary I Am Samuel and plans to launch it on upcoming streaming platform, Bohemia Euphoria.
The feature directorial debut of Kenyan journalist Peter Murimi is an intimate portrait of a queer Kenyan man and his partner, and their experiences in a country where their love is criminalized. The documentary previously played at the UK’s BFI Flare and London film festivals.
The deal, which was struck directly with the filmmakers, will see the film launch on June 3 in...
Bohemia Media has acquired UK, Ireland and North America rights to documentary I Am Samuel and plans to launch it on upcoming streaming platform, Bohemia Euphoria.
The feature directorial debut of Kenyan journalist Peter Murimi is an intimate portrait of a queer Kenyan man and his partner, and their experiences in a country where their love is criminalized. The documentary previously played at the UK’s BFI Flare and London film festivals.
The deal, which was struck directly with the filmmakers, will see the film launch on June 3 in...
- 4/30/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Not to be confused with Sean Penn’s attempt at Oscar bait, I Am Samuel is a documentary from Peter Murimi about the gay community in Kenya. Focused on Samuel, a rural Kenyan and his partner Alex, as they journey back and forth from their adopted home in Nairobi to the village where Samuel grew up. Following Samuel’s attempt to live peacefully with his conservative family, but also honestly about himself and his relationship.
There’s a breadth to I Am Samuel which highlights the benefits and pitfalls of documentary filmmaking. Absent of any real narrative direction Samuel’s situation, a gay man living in Kenya, where homosexuality is punishable by prison and gay men are routinely beaten on the street by cheering crowds, has enough drama in itself. The documentary is merely an attempt to capture Samuel’s life in all its tensions and mundanities. Work, play, family,...
There’s a breadth to I Am Samuel which highlights the benefits and pitfalls of documentary filmmaking. Absent of any real narrative direction Samuel’s situation, a gay man living in Kenya, where homosexuality is punishable by prison and gay men are routinely beaten on the street by cheering crowds, has enough drama in itself. The documentary is merely an attempt to capture Samuel’s life in all its tensions and mundanities. Work, play, family,...
- 10/12/2020
- by Liam Macleod
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival presents its first full digital edition of bold new films that will be available nationwide, in response to this time of crisis, Human Rights Watch said today. The film festival will feature in-depth online discussions with filmmakers, film subjects, and Human Rights Watch researchers.
As individuals and communities across the world struggle to face the challenges of an unprecedented global pandemic, the restriction of basic human rights – including pathways to medical and economic survival – are felt most severely by those already impacted by stark inequalities. Now more than ever, the world needs powerful and uplifting stories about those demanding justice, equality and safety for themselves, their communities and future generations.
John Biaggi, Director of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival says “At a time when the world is experiencing a profound shared adversity, it is particularly heartening to witness the brave individuals and strong...
As individuals and communities across the world struggle to face the challenges of an unprecedented global pandemic, the restriction of basic human rights – including pathways to medical and economic survival – are felt most severely by those already impacted by stark inequalities. Now more than ever, the world needs powerful and uplifting stories about those demanding justice, equality and safety for themselves, their communities and future generations.
John Biaggi, Director of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival says “At a time when the world is experiencing a profound shared adversity, it is particularly heartening to witness the brave individuals and strong...
- 6/6/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
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