Silverdocs Day 1

Silverdocs: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Film Festival opened Tuesday, June 13, 2006, with the East Coast premiere of BOFFO! TINSELTOWN’S BOMBS AND BLOCKBUSTERS by Bill Couturie and a gala at the Discovery Channel’s Silver Spring Headquarters.

Many of the documentarians in the audience lamented the ironic fact that Silverdocs had to open with a film about big blockbuster movies, featuring mainstream stars such as Danny Devito, George Clooney, and Jody Foster. Still, the film offers some words of wisdom for aspiring filmmakers of all stripes. Made in honor of the 100th anniversary of Variety Magazine, BOFFO! TINSELTOWN”S BOMBS AND BLOCKBUSTERS takes a humorous look at big studio movies and why some succeed while others flop. Why Jaws? Why The Godfather? And why not so many other films that we no longer remember? “When an airline crashes, they usually say it was a series of failures” Morgan Freeman explains in a deep, deadpan voice. But the general conclusion seems to be that no one really knows.

The screening was followed by a reception in the lobby of Discovery Headquarters, attended by filmmakers, journalists, and other guests of the festival, and complete with a welcoming band, hors d’oeuvres, and free-flowing cocktails.

Wednesday’s schedule lists 10 feature films, including the DC premieres of JESUS CAMP by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, directors of the highly acclaimed BOYS OF BARAKA, and AMERICAN BLACKOUT, by Ian Anaba, with Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, the film’s main character, in attendance.

Details on the opening night to follow…

Before the official opening of the festival, there was a small gathering in the lobby of the Silver Theater.

Here are some photos of Silver Spring, as the preparations get underway.

It’s a languid rainy Monday, but it’s the beginning of a week that I expect will be full of beauty, controversy, pain, and awe.  We are heading down to DC (Silver Spring, Maryland, to be precise) for Silverdocs, perhaps the most important documentary film festival in America, where I’ll be participating in a filmmakers’ conference and covering the fest for an online magazine called Cinemaminima. The festival, co-founded by AFI (American Film Institute) and the Discovery Channel, will feature some of the best documentaries from around the world, including many world premieres, and special sections on Health and South Africa. Check back here or at Cinemaminima for reviews, interviews, photos, and personal insights.

Among the films I’m most looking forward to:

Road to Guantanamo, by Micheal Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross, which tells the story of four British citizens of Pakistani descent who were detained on their way to a wedding and ended up at the notorious US detention center

Beyond Eyurv, by John Mounier, about a teenaged boy who leaves the close-knit Hasidic community where he was raised and struggles to integrate into the secular world

Danielson: A Family Movie, by JL Aronson, about the enigmatic, Christian indie rock group the Danielson Famile.  I saw the Danielson’s perform in Philadelphia recently, and was both confused and mesmerized.

More soon….

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