Laura Poitras and Rachel Lauren Mueller on Making ICE Doc ‘They’re Here’ Like a “Horror Movie”

Life under ICE is like a horror movie. That’s the message of Oscar-winning documentarian Laura Poitras, whose new short documentary They’re Here chronicles how Immigration Customs Enforcement troops invaded and occupied Minneapolis last year, and the anonymous residents who resisted. Poitras co-directed They’re Here with Minneapolis-based journalist and documentarian Rachel Lauren Mueller. Using dashcam footage,…

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Siri Hustvedt Enters the World of Witches and Peter Zumthor in ‘From Inside Out’ (Exclusive Trailer)

The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively unveil the trailer for Wim Wenders‘ From Inside Out — The Architecture of Peter Zumthor, the German director’s 3D documentary on the Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architect, 14 years in the making. Filmed across more than a dozen locations over fourteen years and shot in cutting-edge 3D, From Inside Out moves…

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Oldenburg Fest to Open With Wordless Elbe Island Doc ‘Strange Neighbors’

Strange Neighbors, an art-house nature documentary with no narration, no interviews and no human protagonists will open this year’s Oldenburg Internationales Film Festival, the first time a doc has launched the German indie fest. The directorial debut of cinematographer Mi Steinbach, Strange Neighbors was shot over three years on Schwarztonnensand, an island and nature preserve…

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‘Harlan County, USA’ Director Barbara Kopple Isn’t Done With Labor Just Yet

‘Harlan County, USA’ Director Barbara Kopple Isn’t Done With Labor Just Yet

When documentarian Barbara Kopple directs a film about the labor movement, she tends to go big. With 1976’s Harlan County, USA, she documented the dramatic 13-month strike waged by Kentucky coal miners against the Eastover Mining Company, filming armed standoffs and violent altercations between workers and management. In 1990’s American Dream Kopple tackled the failed…

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Czech Republic Nominates ‘I’m Not Everything I Want to Be’ for Oscar Race

Czech Republic Nominates ‘I’m Not Everything I Want to Be’ for Oscar Race

The Czech Film and Television Academy has selected Klára Tasovská’s documentary I’m Not Everything I Want to Be as the country’s submission for best international feature at the 98th Academy Awards. The formally daring documentary, which premiered at last year’s Berlinale and won this year’s Czech Lion for best documentary, profiles photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková, an…

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How a New Generation of British Documentarians Is Embracing Politically Charged Storytelling

How a New Generation of British Documentarians Is Embracing Politically Charged Storytelling

It’s no secret that the film and TV industry is getting more risk-averse. The projects awarded generous budgets are often anchored by existing IP (see: Disney’s constant stream of live-action remakes, endless Jurassic Park sequels or HBO’s Harry Potter reboot). Now the industry’s play-it-safe ethos is spilling over into documentaries, with an unrelenting true-crime obsession…

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