DocHouse Conversations Bertha DocHouse

DocHouse Conversations returns for a second series! Our host Carol Nahra will be talking to three filmmakers, the films which influenced them and more. Our guest for the next episode will be two-time Emmy and Peabody-winning documentarian Katerina Cizek.

With her community-based and ground-breaking projects Highrise and Filmmaker-in-Residence at the National Film Board of Canada, Kat has received international acclaim and transformed the NFBC into a world leading digital-hub.

Highrise, a multi-year and many-media documentary experiment, explores vertical living in suburbs around the globe. Its aim is to investigate urban living in the 21st century and examines how the process of documentary making can steer and take part in social change rather than just documenting it.

Kat’s work across various emergent digital platforms continues as artistic director and co-founder of the Co-Creation Studio at MIT Open Documentary Lab. There, she published (with Uricchio et al.) the world’s first field study on co-creating media called Collective Wisdom.

Her earlier films and human rights documentaries supported criminal investigations, helped to change UN policies, and were also screened as evidence at an International Criminal Tribunal. Some of these films are Hampton-Prize winner Seeing is Believing: Handicams, Human Rights and the News (2002, co-directed with Peter Wintonick), In Search of the African Queen: A People Smuggling Operation (1999, co-director), and The Dead are Alive: Eyewitness in Rwanda (1995 editor, co-writer, narrator).

In this episode which will be released 11th January, Carol talks with Kat about the Emmy and Peabody award winning Highrise project and how it has impacted her career. They also look at a film which she admires and is close to her heart: Wintopia. It’s a moving portrait of Kat’s friend and co-director of Seeing is Believing Peter Wintonick, made by his daughter Mira.

For many years Peter Wintonick roamed the world, searching for Utopia, planning to make a film about his quest. When he dies in 2013 at aged 60, his mourning daughter Mira begins sorting through the 300 tapes he left behind. She decides to finish her father’s film, merging it with a portrait of the man himself. In doing so she probes the painful reality that while generously giving his time to the global documentary community, Peter deprived his wife and daughter of his presence for months on end.

DocHouse Conversations are  thrilled to come back for a second mini-series.  Carol Nahra, our podcast host, talks to international filmmakers about what films inspired them and what films have changed their careers. For this episode Carol is in conversation with award-winning director José Padilha.

Jose is a critically-acclaimed filmmaker for both his nonfiction and fiction (Narcos, Elite Squad) work. His feature doc directing debut Bus 174 chronicles the hijacking of a public bus in Rio de Janeiro on 12th June 2000. With real-time media footage we follow the events of a young and armed man taking the eleven other passengers hostage. At the same time José explores the societal factors that contributed to the young man’s homelessness and alienation. José and Carol will discuss the impact that Bus 174 had on his career - and how filmmakers such as Albert Maysles and Jonathan Demme supported him along the way. You can watch this Peabody-winning doc on Kanopy.

They also discuss José’s choice for inspirational documentary: Leon Gast’s Academy Award- winning When We Were Kings. The film chronicles the famous 1974 heavyweight championship, baptised ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’, between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. Watch When We Were Kings on BBC iPlayer.

Finally, Carol and José revisit the film through which they met: Secrets of the Tribe (2010), which Carol produced and José directed. The BBC Storyville film was eight years in the making, had its world premiere at Sundance, and was bought by HBO.  Through the stories of Yanomami anthropologists Napoleon Chagnon and Jacques Lizot, the film casts doubt on the entire science of anthropology. Find out more and watch the film on YouTube, Kanopy or Amazon.

DocHouse Conversations is delighted to be kicking off a three episode second series. Carol Nahra talks with three directors about a film which inspired them - and a film which changed their lives. 


First up is Smriti Mundhra, an Academy Award-nominated director/producer and one of DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40 Filmmakers to Watch. Her short film St. Louis Superman, co-directed with Sami Khan, was nominated for a 2020 Oscar in the short documentary category.  The film follows Bruce Franks Jr., a celebrated battle rapper and activist. Franks had  won a seat on the Missouri State Legislature; the directors followed him in the summer of 2018 as he worked to get a law passed that would recognise gun violence as a public health epidemic. Read Smriti's and Sami's IDA interview here.

In July, Netflix launched the eight part Netflix series Indian Matchmaking, which Smriti created and executive produced. The series features matchmaker Sima Taparia as she tries to connect Hindi singles in India and the US. The global release of the show created a media buzz.

Smriti's feature doc debut, A Suitable Girl (2017), co-directed with Sarita Khurana, is an observational documentary covering many of the same themes of Indian Matchmaking in a very different style. The film world premiered in competition at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival to rave reviews from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Magazine and was awarded the Albert Maysles Best Documentary Director prize at the festival. Watch a Suitable Girl on Netflix.

In this DocHouse Conversations episode Carol talks to Smriti about the making of A Suitable Girl and how it changed her life. They also discuss what it’s like covering the same subject matter in two very different styles: an independent observational documentary shot over many years, and a fast turnaround reality series for Netflix. 

Smriti’s choice for the film that has inspired her is Paul Thomas Anderson’s Junun. The 2015 immersive documentary chronicles a three week musical collaboration between Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and ‘The Rajasthan Express’, in a 15th century fort in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Rent Junun on Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes

This week our Programme Associate Carol Nahra is in conversation with veteran documentary maker Vanessa Engle.

In the first 15 years of her career Vanessa made arts documentaries for the BBC. Since 2005, Vanessa has been making authored social affairs documentaries on a wide range of subjects, many of which explore our fundamental values and belief systems.

Read more about Vanessa and her work in our Filmmaker Spotlight blog here: https://dochouse.org/online/news/filmmaker-spotlight-vanessa-engle

See what’s on our online hub here: https://dochouse.org/online

Find out more about Carol Nahra here: https://dochouse.org/content/about-our-mission



Films made available to watch online:

THE FUNERAL MURDERS (2018): https://vimeo.com/254890766

THE CULT NEXT DOOR (2017): https://vimeo.com/199854967

LOVE YOU TO DEATH: A YEAR OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (2015): https://vimeo.com/428581797

INSIDE HARLEY STREET: EP 3 MAKE ME WELL (2015): https://vimeo.com/199687406

WALKING WITH DOGS (2012): https://vimeo.com/207806684

MONEY Series:

MONEY: EP 1 WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? (2011): https://vimeo.com/199687434

MONEY: EP 2 COUPLES (2011): https://vimeo.com/203309640

WOMEN Series: WOMEN: EP 1 LIBBERS (2010): https://vimeo.com/199687800

JEWS Series: JEWS: EP 1 THE PRISONER (2008): https://vimeo.com/204906690

JEWS: EP 2 THE NEXT GENERATION (2008): https://vimeo.com/202956587

LEFTIES Series:LEFTIES: EP 1 PROPERTY IS THEFT (2006): https://vimeo.com/203302351

LEFTIES: EP 3 A LOT OF BALLS (2006): https://vimeo.com/198846049

ART & THE 60s Series: ART & THE 60s: EP 2 FROM BRONZE TO BAKED BEANS (2004): https://vimeo.com/198854670



LINKS

Late Show Arts Magazine Programme:

Mary Harron: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0366004/

Paul Greengrass: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0339030/

James Marsh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Marsh_(director)

Alan Hayling: https://www.renegadepictures.co.uk/person/alan-hayling_136.aspx

Natalie Briggs article: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/dec/08/subject-tv-documentary

Natalie Briggs article: https://www.cilexlawschool.ac.uk/news-resources/news/bbc-two-documentary-leads-to-life-changing-opportunity-for-natalie-briggs/

Patrick Caulfield: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/patrick-caulfield-873

Barry Flanagan: https://barryflanagan.com/

Adam Curtis: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0193231/

Sheffield Doc/Fest session mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4g8fz92lHk&t=671s



Follow us at @BerthaDocHouse

Check out our website for upcoming watch parties and podcasts: https://dochouse.org/

This week our Programme Associate Carol Nahra welcomes Oscar-nominated, Emmy Award-winning director-producer Yance Ford.

When Strong Island was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards, Yance made history as the first openly transgender director nominated for the Oscar.

Yance is a former Series Producer of the PBS documentary series POV. During his tenure, his work garnered 5 Emmy Awards and 16 Emmy nominations.

Read more about Yance’s doc Strong Island in our ‘Docs to watch: #BlackLivesMatter’ blog: https://dochouse.org/online/news/docs-watch-blacklivesmatter

See what’s on our online hub here: https://dochouse.org/online

Find out more about Carol Nahra here: https://dochouse.org/content/about-our-mission

FILMS:

Strong Island (2017) - Currently available for free on YouTube as part of Netflix’s Black Lives Matter Collection, watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdmm4m3ft3Y

Alan Jacobsen - DOP for Strong Island http://moveablefest.com/alan-jacobsen-strong-island/

Tongues Untied (1989) - Available to watch on Kanopy here: https://www.kanopy.com/product/tongues-untied-giving-voice-black-gay-men

Read Yance’s article ‘Remembering Tongues Untied’ here: http://archive.pov.org/blog/news/2008/03/remembering_tongues_untied/

Nostalgia For The Light (2010: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/nostalgiaforthelight

Battle Of Chile (1998): http://icarusfilms.com/if-boc

High School (1968): https://www.kanopy.com/product/high-school

Risk (2016) - Laura Poitras doc about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange: https://www.amazon.com/Risk-Julian-Assange/dp/B071JT39PL

The Infiltrators (2019) Cristina Ibarra, Alex Rivera: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6885114/

Whose Streets? (2017) Sabaah Folayan & Damon Davis: https://www.whosestreetsfilm.com/

LINKS:

Walker Evans Photographer: http://www.artnet.com/artists/walker-evans/

Chris Burden - Performance Art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drZIWs3Dl1k

Coco Fusco: https://www.cocofusco.com/

Gordon Parks: https://www.nga.gov/education/teachers/lessons-activities/uncovering-america/parks-photography.html

Follow us at @BerthaDocHouse

This week our Programme Associate Carol Nahra welcomes Open City’s Documentary Festival’s Director of Film Programme, Oliver Wright.

They will be discussing how Oliver selects films, and how Open City are dealing with COVID-19.



Read more about Open City Documentary Festival and their programme here: https://opencitylondon.com/

See Open City’s archive of documentaries to watch online here: https://opencitylondon.com/news/news-open-city-documentary-festival-online-archive/ Read our ‘An Open City Doc For Every Mood’ here: https://dochouse.org/online/news/open-city-doc-every-mood



See what’s on our online hub here: https://dochouse.org/online

Find out more about Carol Nahra here: https://dochouse.org/content/about-our-mission



FILMS:

Open City 2019: Movements of a Nearby Mountain

https://opencitylondon.com/events/movements-of-a-nearby-mountain/

Open City 2018 - Baronesa

https://opencitylondon.com/events/baronesa/

Open City 2011 - El Sicario

https://dafilms.com/film/8916-el-sicario-room-164



FILMMAKERS IN FOCUS:

Open City 2018 : Kazuo Hara

https://opencitylondon.com/news/open-city-documentary-festival-2018-focus-kazuo-hara-shoes-still-on/

Open City 2018: Laura Huertas Milan

https://opencitylondon.com/events/the-ethno-fictions-of-laura-huertas-millan/



Follow us at @BerthaDocHouse

Check out our website for upcoming watch parties and podcasts: https://dochouse.org/