The film industries of the countries of former Yugoslavia continue to evolve and adapt to changing environments, both on the industry level in the broader European landscape, and in the political and economic contexts of their respective countries. At this year’s Berlinale, the region’s continued ability to punch above its weight was proven by Bosnian director Danis Tanović’s Silver Bear win Death in Sarajevo.
The Independent‘s 10 to Filmmakers Watch is our annual shout out to filmmakers, working in documentary, narrative, new media and virtual reality, whose work we think you should see. Now in its 8th year, our list celebrates filmmakers who are taking risks, promoting change, and speaking their minds. And their work, all which will be out this year, shows it.
Abatemarco, who spent nearly seven years making Kivalina, advises first-time documentarians to recognize that some of the hardest work of making a film is not technical or financial, but interpersonal. “It’s about your relationship with your subjects over time. That is the real work and the real difficulty. Somehow you’ll find the money but the most difficult work is to carry the story for however long you have to carry it, because these are heavy subject matters.”
Now in its eighth year, The Independent’s 10 Filmmakers to Watch highlights filmmakers – producers, programmers, animators, and others – whose upcoming work we think will wow you this year. Submit your nominations by February 15, 2016.
If cinema can function as a vehicle for a nation’s collective memory, Afghanistan only recently began to recollect itself. Pietra Brettkelly’s documentary, A Flickering Truth, mines the Afghan Film Archive for the nation’s cultural history and follows the team of people who are working to protect it and share it with the world.
Lizzie Velasquez turned down interest from a lot of TV outlets and documentarians before agreeing to work with first-time director Sara Hirsh Bordo. Together they capture Velasquez’s inspiring story of personal triumph and anti-bullying political activism. A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story hits theaters and VOD on September 25, 2015.
Maddy Kadish reviews films featured at the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival, which is now extending the festival fun with an online screening room.
The Independent‘s Minhae Shim, talks with esteemed filmmaker Ross McElwee (Bright Leaves, Photographic Memory) about filmmaker Amelia Evans. McElwee, Evans’ former professor, was an advisor on her film, Minor Attraction. Read about how he advised Evans through the complex subject matter of her documentary.
New Zealand human rights lawyer turned filmmaker Amelia Evans is not one to shy away from controversy. She follows the lives of pedophiles to find ways to prevent child abuse and understand their taboo attraction to children in her thought-provoking documentary Minor Attraction.