FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 1, 2007   

 

Contact:

Amy Douthett in New York

Cassin Donn, DKC

Caitlin O’Neill, DKC

212 621 6785

212 981 5144

(212) 981-5275

adouthett@paleycenter.org

Cassin_Donn@dkcnews.com

Caitlin_O'Neill@dkcnews.com

 

 

The Paley Center for Media Announces Line-Up for DocFest07
Eighth Annual Documentary Festival

October 24 to November 1, 2007, in New York

 

Premiering Great Stories

  • Opening Night: Ambassador Dennis Ross and NY Premiere of HBO’s
    To Die in Jerusalem
  • Closing Night: Brett Morgen Presents the NY Premiere of Chicago 10
  • Larry Flynt Talks about The Right to be Left Alone

 

Celebrating Creativity, Excellence, and the History of the Doc

  • Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who
  • Architect Peter Eisenman on Building Germany’s Holocaust Memorial
  • A Unique Celebration of 20 Years of P.O.V. with Alan Berliner, Ralph Arlyck, and series founder Marc Weiss

 

New York, NY—The Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television & Radio) today announced a diverse international lineup of documentaries to be screened at its eighth annual documentary festival, DocFest07, in New York from October 24 to November 1, 2007. Following each screening, the documentary filmmakers and special guests will take part in the lively Q&A discussions that have become a hallmark of the festival.

 

DocFest07 opens with the New York premiere of To Die in Jerusalem, an extraordinary story from the Middle East about a suicide bomber and her victim. Filmmaker Hilla Medalia’s harrowing work follows the mother of the victim on her quest to meet the mother of her daughter’s killer. Ambassador Dennis Ross, Distinguished Fellow at Washington Institute for Near East Policy, will be on hand to lead the discussion with Medalia following the screening

 

DocFest07 continues over nine days with a slate of new and noteworthy works of nonfiction exploring a vast range of subjects—from the rise of legendary British band The Who (U.S. premiere of Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who) to the Soviet Union’s launching of Sputnik fifty years ago (New York premiere of David Hoffman’s Sputnik Mania). 

 

Building on the success of previous festivals, in which the Paley Center has premiered such award-winning films as Born Into Brothels and Street Fight, this year’s slate of premieres includes such highly anticipated documentaries as Ted Braun’s Darfur Now (to be released by Warner Independent Pictures this fall), Michael Chandler’s Knee Deep (presented by The Full Frame Institute), Greg Whiteley’s Resolved (winner of the Audience Award at this year's Los Angeles Film Festival), and Michael Blackwood’s Peter Eisenman: Building Germany’s Holocaust Memorial (presented in conjunction with the Architectual League of New York).  A smash hit during its Oscar-qualifying run in Los Angeles this summer, Joan Brooker-Mark’s Larry Flynt: The Right to be Left Alone will make its New York premiere with a special appearance by the Hustler publisher himself.

 

The Festival will close with the New York premiere of Chicago 10, in which director Brett Morgen (On the Ropes, The Kid Stays in the Picture) mixes animation and archival footage to present the players and ideas of the sixties, notably Abbie Hoffman (voiced by Hank Azaria) and Jerry Rubin (Mark Ruffalo).  Earlier in the festival, Morgen will present two unseen episodes of his acclaimed Sundance Channel series Nimrod Nation.

 

DocFest07 will also celebrate two decades of remarkable nonfiction television from P.O.V. with 20 Years of P.O.V.: The Art of Personal Storytelling, a roundtable discussion involving filmmakers Alan Berliner and Ralph Arlyck, P.O.V. founder Marc Wess, and current P.O.V. chief Simon Kilmurry. P.O.V. is also an instrumental part of one of the festival’s most popular offerings, the workshop-competition, The Art of the Documentary Pitch, cosponsored by the International Documentary Association (IDA). Five emerging filmmakers (pre-selected from a call for entries) will have the opportunity to pitch their nonfiction concept to a panel of television executives and producers, who will then award the winning filmmaker with $5000 grant, sponsored by American Documentary Inc., producers of the award-winning P.O.V. series for PBS.

 

As part of the Paley Center’s commitment to global issues, the festival will feature a side-bar, “Focus: Africa,” which showcases such topics as the impact of AIDS in South Africa, the brutal civil war in Uganda, and the topsy-turvy world of Nigeria’s blossoming film industry.

 

The Festival also travels to Afghanistan with a screening of Afghanistan Unveiled, an exploration of the struggle for women’s rights in the war-torn country, which will be followed by a conversation with Afghan documentarian Jamila Emami.  The Paley Center’s Taffner International Gallery offers another look at this country through a gallery exhibit, “Documenting A Changing Afghanistan: Photographs of Kabul from Andrew Xenios,” which runs from October 23, 2007, through January 6, 2008. Xenios’ work offers a unique look at current-day Afghanistan where change is seen in the computer screens, cell phones, and televisions that appear within the traditional images of the marketplace as well as in the stories of the women photographed. Funding for this exhibit has been provided by the New Hudson Foundation and Creative Visions Foundation.

 

A complete schedule for DocFest07 is attached. For additional information and to purchase tickets, please visit: www.paleycenter.org. 

 

The Paley Center’s annual documentary festival was inaugurated in 2000 with the mission of bringing exemplary documentaries and works of nonfiction to the public.  Previous festivals have introduced audiences to such acclaimed films as Ken Burns’s The War, Born Into Brothels, Street Fight, Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story, and Lalee’s Kin. Over the years, the festival has hosted screenings and dialogues with such participants as Jon Alpert, Peter Arnett, Ken Burns, Ric Burns, Glenn Close, Robert Drew, Eve Ensler, Liz Garbus, Mikhail Gorbachev, Taylor Hackford, Eugene Jarecki, Sebastian Junger, Susan Lacy, Annie Leibovitz, Jerome Liebling, Nathanial Kahn, Rory Kennedy, Al Maysles, Michael Moore, Jehame Noujaim, Sam Pollard, Gordon Parks, Alexandra Pelosi, DA Pennebaker, Alvin Perlmutter, Sam Phillips, Alan and Susan Raymond, Gore Vidal, Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Weide, and Gideon Yago.  Now in its eighth year, the annual DocFest is the centerpiece of the Paley Center’s ongoing commitment to the documentary form.

 

Support for this Festival has been generously provided by The Hearst Corporation, The Goldenson-Arbus Foundation, A&E IndieFilms, HBO Documentary Films, The History Channel, The Muse Hotel, The New York Sun, Village Voice, International Documentary Association, Court TV, and Thirteen/WNET.

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The Paley Center for Media, with locations in New York and Los Angeles, leads the discussion about the cultural, creative, and social significance of television, radio, and emerging platforms for the professional community and media-interested public. Drawing upon its curatorial expertise, an international collection, and close relationships with the leaders of the media community, the Paley Center examines the intersections between media and society. The general public can access the collection and participate in programs that explore and celebrate the creativity, the innovations, the personalities, and the leaders who are shaping media. Through the global programs of its Media Council and International Council, the Paley Center also serves as a neutral setting where media professionals can engage in discussion and debate about the evolving media landscape. Previously known as The Museum of Television & Radio, the Paley Center was founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, a pioneering innovator in the industry.  For more information, please visit www.paleycenter.org.

THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA: DocFest07

CONCOURSE THEATER SCREENINGS

Schedule of Events

 

Opening Night—New York Premiere
TO DIE IN JERUSALEM
Wednesday, October 24; 7:00 pm

After her daughter is killed by a suicide bomber, an Israeli mother seeks out the mother of the killer, a schoolgirl from a Palestinian refugee camp who looked remarkably like her victim.

Q&A: Filmmaker Hilla Medalia; Ambassador Dennis Ross

 

New York Premiere
SPUTNIK MANIA

Thursday, October 25; 7:00 pm

An engrossing exploration of the contradictory reactions engendered by the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik fifty years ago.
Q&A: Filmmaker David Hoffman

 

New York Premiere

LARRY FLYNT: THE RIGHT TO BE LEFT ALONE
Friday, October 26; 7:00 pm

In this brisk profile we learn how the provocative pornographer parlayed a chain of go-go clubs into a multimedia empire—and became one of the unlikeliest defenders of American civil liberties.

Q&A: Filmmaker Joan Brooker-Marks; Paul Cambria, First Amendment Attorney; Larry Flynt, Publisher, Hustler magazine; Walter Marks, Producer

 

THE ART OF THE DOCUMENTARY PITCH
Cosponsored by the International Documentary Association (IDA)

Saturday, October 27; 2:00 pm

A workshop-competition in which five emerging documentary filmmakers pitch their ideas to a panel of distinguished producers.  The winner will receive a $5000 grant.

Panel: Diana Holtzberg, Films Transit International; Lauren Lazin, MTV Networks; Cynthia Lopez, P.O.V.; Molly Thompson, A&E IndieFilms; Susan Werbe, The History Channel

 

New York Premiere
THE FULL FRAME INSTITUTE PRESENTS KNEE DEEP

Saturday, October 27; 4:30 pm

An engrossing true-crime story unfolds in rural Maine when a farmer shoots his mother in a desperate bid to keep hold of the family farm.
Q&A: Filmmaker Michael Chandler; Nancy Buirski, CEO, Founder, and Artistic Dir., Full Frame Documentary Festival

 

New York Premiere
NIMROD NATION

Saturday, October 27; 7:00 pm

Acclaimed filmmaker Brett Morgen's documentary series for the Sundance Channel is an affectionate paean to the quirky life of a tiny Michigan hamlet.

Q&A: Filmmaker Brett Morgen; Adam Pincus, Exec. Prod.; Kevin Proudfoot, Exec. Prod.; Lynne Kirby, Exec. Prod., Sundance Channel

New York Premiere
RESOLVED

Sunday, October 28; 2:30 pm

A riveting look at race and class divisions in the U.S. from the perspectives of two high school debate teams.  Winner of the Audience Award at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival.

Q&A: Filmmaker Greg Whiteley

American Premiere
PETER EISENMAN: BUILDING GERMANY’S HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL
Sunday, October 28; 5:00 pm

Presented in conjunction with the Architectural League of New York

Michael Blackwood chronicles the creation of Eisenman's lauded Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin.

Q&A: Filmmaker Michael Blackwood; Architect Peter Eisenman

 

20 YEARS OF P.O.V.: THE ART OF PERSONAL STORYTELLING
Monday, October 29; 7:00 pm

Filmmakers Ralph Arlyck (Following Sean) and Alan Berliner (Intimate Stranger) join P.O.V. Exec. Dir. Simon Kilmurry and series founder Marc Weiss for a discussion on how the independent documentary has evolved over the past two decades.

 

U.S. Premiere
AMAZING JOURNEY: THE STORY OF THE WHO
Tuesday, October 30; 7:00 pm

The definitive documentary of one of the greatest rock bands in the world. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend scheduled to attend.

 

New York Premiere

DARFUR NOW
Wednesday, October 31; 7:00 pm

Darfur Now profiles the struggles and achievements of six very different individuals, including actor-activist Don Cheadle, with one common goal: ending the genocide in Darfur.

Q&A: Filmmaker Ted Braun

 

Closing Night—New York Premiere
CHICAGO 10
Thursday, November 1; 7:00 pm

It's a doc (from the director of the hit film The Kid Stays in the Picture) about the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention like you've never seen, using animation and archival footage to present the players and ideas of the sixties.

Q&A: Filmmaker Brett Morgen

THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA: DocFest07

GOODSON THEATER SCREENINGS

Schedule of Events

 

Focus: Africa
SATURDAYS ARE FOR THE DEAD

Saturday, October 27; 1:00 pm

Filmmakers Lies Niezen and Lee-Ann Cotton take a poignant look at the human face of AIDS in South Africa.

Focus: Africa
WELCOME TO NOLLYWOOD

Saturday, October 27; 3:00 pm

Jamie Meltzer's hugely entertaining doc goes behind the scenes of the world’s third largest film industry in Nigeria.

Focus: Africa
UGANDA RISING

Saturday, October 27; 5:00 pm

Winner of the Audience Award at HotDocs, Pete McCormack and Jesse James Miller’s film captures a nation seeking to release itself from decades of violence.

 

AFGHANISTAN UNVEILED
Sunday, October 28; 12:15 pm

A team of female video journalists examines women's rights in Afghanistan before and after the Taliban.

 

THE STRUGGLE FOR WOMEN’S EXPRESSION IN AFGHANISTAN:

A CONVERSATION WITH JAMILA EMAMI
Sunday, October 28; 1:30 pm

The Afghan documentarian discusses her career and the changing role of women in her country.

 

CRUDE IMPACT

Sunday, October 28; 3:30 pm

Director James Jandak Wood journeys around the world to expose the dire economic and sociological implications of peak oil.  “That road trip you were planning for 2057 might look a tad less likely after viewing this film.” – Variety

 

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