Documentary Filmography suggestions
by Richard Herd on Mar 19, 2012 at 4:56:41 pm
I'll be teaching a documentary filmmaking class to juniors in High School at a school specializing in helping at-risk teens earn their diploma. Many of the kids have never seen a documentary. I wan to show 10 films.
I will definitely be showing "Restrepo," and I am in desperate need of 9 more films that might interest them. One additional problem is I have no money (of course) and stream most of the content on Netflix. So streaming is best.
Re: Documentary Filmography suggestions by Oliver Peters on Mar 21, 2012 at 12:34:43 am
Hi,
Not sure what is and isn't on Netflix or Hulu, but here are some suggestions that are all over spectrum in subject and style:
Murderball
Casino Jack
The Smartest Guys in the Room
The War Tapes
They Were There (the sponsored film about IBM done by Errol Morris)
Shine A Light
It Might Get Loud
Magic Trip
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down A Dream
Blindsided (a film I cut that was running on HBO)
Waking Sleeping Beauty
Re: Documentary Filmography suggestions by Todd Terry on Mar 21, 2012 at 8:01:09 pm
It might not be something you'd want, since it is both a heavily-involved first-person doc, and also pure activism... but I was pretty darn surprised at just how good the KONY 2012 doc is.... not only for its encouragement of its point of view... but just how well made it is as far as filmmaking goes.
And I'm a pretty hard sell, and fairly unmovable.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc. fantasticplastic.com
Re: Documentary Filmography suggestions by Tony Rydzon on Mar 22, 2012 at 10:50:27 pm
Hi- Everyone's suggestions are great so far, I wanted to throw this one at ya also.
-Gimme Shelter-
The Rolling Stones, The Hells Angels, Murder, Greed, Innocence, Vulgarity, and possibly the greatest example of capturing the pure essence of an era, the "60's", on film, all masterfully interwoven and presented by two of the genre's most brilliant auteurs, the Maysles Bros.
I think the "at-risk" teens would be able to relate to the films subject matter; Gang Mentality, Sex Drugs, Rock N' Roll, taking responsibility for ones actions- and the films characters and setting are both easily recognizable even for their generation.
Also, it's a great introduction to Documentary Film. The teens will learn how powerful and compelling the genre can be, they'll learn about the ethics involved when creating a Doc (not just from the directors P.O.V. but from the subjects too), and learn that you don't always have to know what the results are going to be no matter if your creating a Doc film, writing a book or poem, painting a picture, playing music, etc.. and that it's "OK" to not know as long as your pursuing what you feel is right and staying honest to yourself and to your intended audience.
The film also leaves you with a feeling that somehow your or everyone's "innocence" has been taken or ripped away and you suddenly see life in it's entirety. You witness the bad, the cruel, the 'real' world and that's not always a pleasant thing.
Teenager's yearn so badly for this that they tend to 'revolt' against their parents for shielding or protecting them from the real world but, as the old saying goes, be care what you wish for...
Good luck with the class and let us know which one's you choose to show!
Re: Documentary Filmography suggestions by David Roth Weiss on Apr 1, 2012 at 4:26:43 pm
My favorite recent doco is Werner Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams, available on Netflix. It's his tail about the discovery of a new cave in France with walls and walls of the oldest art ever discovered on planet Earth. The very first artists were masters of light and shadow, and it makes you realize how very special we humans really are...
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