Maryland
The Doc Doctor's Anatomy of a Film: "Muskrat Lovely"
A look at Amy Nicholson's film, which aired on PBS's "Independent Lens"
June 5th, 2008 | Fernanda Rossi
To make Muskrat Lovely (view the trailer), her first full-length documentary, Amy Nicholson packed a small crew into a car and drove from New York City to rural Maryland. Her subjects were the women participating in the 50th anniversary muskrat-skinning competition, which they refer to as a pageant. She had only one camera and under three weeks to get all of the footage she needed. Here, she explains how she pulled it off. Also, check out the Doc Doctor's previous Anatomy columns.
About this column: Many filmmakers ponder in anguish, How do other people—celebrated people—do it? Am I taking too long to make this documentary? Does everybody spend as much money as I am spending, or am I spending too little? And when filmmakers share their lessons learned in interviews in the glossy trade magazines, their tales seem to follow the arc of otherworldy heroes rather than real documentary makers, i.e. human beings like you and me. So each month, the Doc Doctor will go out into the world (this real world) of filmmakers who are successful and find out how they made it. The "Anatomy of a Film Column" is a chance to learn from filmmakers' hits and misses in real life examples. —Fernanda Rossi, story consultant a.k.a. the Documentary Doctor
"Prince Among Slaves": Recreating History on a Budget
Director Andrea Kalin talks about making a film set in the 18th Century and on two continents
March 3rd, 2008 | Mike Hofman
Directors Andrea Kalin and Bill Duke certainly had their work cut out for them when they teamed up to film Prince Among Slaves (watch the trailer), a film that aired recently on PBS. The film tells the story of Abdul Rahman Ibrihima, a Muslim prince who was captured by slave traders in Africa, and sold to the owner of a Mississippi plantation. Recreating the story involved scouting locations, casting the prince, renting a schooner, and scrupulously researching the historical record. Kalin discusses the making of the film with The Independent's Mike Hofman.
Prince Among Slaves, which aired in February on PBS as part of public television's Black History Month programming, is the story of Abdul Rahman Ibrahima, an African prince who was captured by slave traders in 1788. He completed the Middle Passage in shackles, and ended up sold to a farmer of modest means in Natchez, Mississippi.
Baltimore, Maryland
The legendary happy-atmosphere of Waters’ town
September 1st, 2004 | Richard GorelickLanguishing in the shadows of bigger-shouldered cities like Washington and Philadelphia, Baltimore is burdened with something of a municipal chip on its shoulder, exposed in reasonless civic sloganeering like the much-scorned recent campaign proclaimin
Funder FAQ: The National Endowment for the Humanities
November 1st, 2000 | Michelle CoeWhat is the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and why did it come into being?
Distributor FAQ: The Sync
August 1st, 1998 | Lissa GibbsWhat is The Sync?
The Sync is an Internet broadcasting company. We provide streaming audio and video services to businesses and have original content on our site for Internet users.
Why do you consider yourselves distributors?
We consider ourselves distributors because we make it possible for viewers all over the world to watch films, videos, and shows on our site.
The Trailer for "Muskrat Lovely"
Amy Nicholson's film about an offbeat pageant aired on PBS's "Independent Lens"
June 5th, 2008Amy Nicholson's film about an offbeat pageant aired on PBS's "Independent Lens"
Blogging SilverDocs: Closing Night
"The Nine Lives of Marion Barry" draws a large crowd at SilverDocs 2009.
June 22nd, 2009 | Enette Ngoei
Independent blogger Enette Ngoei attends the closing night screening of The Nine Lives of Marion Barry, where filmmakers Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer explore the political career and private life of the former D.C. mayor. The world premiere was kicked off with a visit from Barry, which was ill-received by gay rights protesters (watch a YouTube video of Barry's arrival here) and ended with an after-screening Q&A, where Barry deflected tough questions from the audience.
Excitement at SilverDocs 2009 reached a crescendo on its closing night. Throngs of people turned up in Silver Spring, MD, to catch the sold-out film, The Nine Lives of Marion Barry. Not all of them got a seat in the AFI Silver Theatre.
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