News

Netflix has partnered with the International Olympic Committee for The Redeem Team—a new documentary looking at the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball team’s iconic victory of 2008, which will be released globally on the streamer on October 7th.

Using unprecedented Olympic footage and behind-the-scenes material, The Redeem Team tells the story of the U.S Olympic Men’s Basketball Team’s quest for gold at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 following the previous team’s shocking, low-point performance four years earlier in Athens. The documentary offers a portrait of team building and features interviews with athletes and coaches from Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski, who reflect on how The Redeem Team set a new standard for American basketball.

The Redeem Team is an Olympic Channel, Kennedy/Marshall Company & Mandalay Sports Media production in association with 59th and Prairie Entertainment, Uninterrupted, NBA Entertainment & USA Basketball.

NBA legends LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have teamed up once more — this time as executive producers and subjects of the new documentary “The Redeem Team,” which celebrates the victorious 2008 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball team.

Directed by Jon Weinbach (“The Last Dance”), the documentary marks the first collaboration between the International Olympic Committee (Ioc) and Netflix, as the project uses “unprecedented Olympic footage and behind-the-scenes material” to chronicle Team USA’s quest for Olympic gold at the 2008 games in Beijing.

According to the documentary’s official logline, “The Redeem Team” tells the story of the 2008 squad’s journey as they followed the previous team’s shocking performance four years earlier in Athens, where they took home a bronze medal after winning gold in the previous three straight Olympic Games. The film is said to offer “a fascinating portrait of team building” as it features interviews with the athletes and coaches,...

The Stephanie Allain era of Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival is over.

The prolific producer (“Beyond the Lights”) is leaving her role of five years as director of the summer festival to spend more time on her first avocation. She will be replaced by another independent producer, Jennifer Cochis (“Smashed”), who for the past two years worked closely as Creative Director with Allain on all aspects of the festival.

Allain is currently in production on Justin Simien’s Netflix series “Dear White People,” in post-production on Gerard McMurray’s “Burning Sands” and prepping Clark Johnson’s “Juanita,” set to star Alfre Woodard.

Film Independent President Josh Welsh has watched Cochis move up from Senior Programmer to Creative Director, he said in a statement. Working with Allain, she was instrumental in “turning the Festival into a powerful platform for discovering new and diverse talent.”

Promoting Allain’s protege suggests...

The Stephanie Allain era of Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival is over.

The prolific producer (“Beyond the Lights”) is leaving her role of five years as director of the summer festival to spend more time on her first avocation. She will be replaced by another independent producer, Jennifer Cochis (“Smashed”), who for the past two years worked closely as Creative Director with Allain on all aspects of the festival.

Allain is currently in production on Justin Simien’s Netflix series “Dear White People,” in post-production on Gerard McMurray’s “Burning Sands” and prepping Clark Johnson’s “Juanita,” set to star Alfre Woodard.

Film Independent President Josh Welsh has watched Cochis move up from Senior Programmer to Creative Director, he said in a statement. Working with Allain, she was instrumental in “turning the Festival into a powerful platform for discovering new and diverse talent.”

Promoting Allain’s protege suggests...

Lisa Loven Kongsli (upcoming Wonder Woman, Force Majeure), Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Secret Service), and Peter Franzen (History Channel’s ‘Vikings’, The Gunman) have joined 2016 BAFTA Rising Star nominee Bel Powley (upcoming Carrie Pilby, The Diary Of A Teenage Girl), Jonah Hauer-King, and Martin Wallstrom (FX series ‘Mr. Robot’) in Marius Markevicius’ riveting Ashes In The Snow, it was announced by Radiant Films International President and CEO, Mimi Steinbauer.

Rounding out the newly announced cast are Sam Hazeldine (The Huntsman: Winter’S War, Monuments Men), James Cosmo (HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’, upcoming Ben-hur), Adrian Schiller (The Danish Girl, Suffragette) and Tom Sweet.

Currently in production, Radiant will present the project to international buyers at the upcoming Marche du Film in Cannes.

Ashes In The Snow is the poignant story of a 16-year-old heroine Lina Vilkas (Powley) who is separated from her family amidst Stalin’s reign of terror in the Baltic region during WWII.

Sorrento Productions and Tauras Films have teamed to option Ruta Sepetys’ bestselling novel “Between Shades of Gray,” an individual familiar with the indie project has told TheWrap. The producers plan to change the title of the movie because of Universal Pictures and Focus Features’ adaptation of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which is due in 2015. Also Read: ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Poster: ‘Mr. Grey Will See You Now’ Marius Markevicius (basketball documentary “The Other Dream Team”) will direct from an adapted screenplay by Ben York Jones, who co-wrote “Like Crazy” with director Drake Doremus. The scribe has proven adept at illustrating the.

Ruta Sepetys’ New York Times bestselling WWII-era novel Between Shades of Gray has been optioned by Sorrento Productions and Tauras Films. Ben York Jones, who co-wrote 2011 Sundance winner Like Crazy and 2013's Breathe In, has written the film adaptation and The Other Dream Team helmer Marius Markevicius will direct. Markevicius will produce alongside European-based producer Zilvinas Naujokas of Tauras Films. The U.S./European co-production is scheduled to begin filming in 2014 and will be meeting with financiers at the Berlin Film Festival. Published in more than 40 countries and 26 languages, Between Shades of

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Those who follow movies more than they follow sports might have been confused when they heard Adam Scott won The Masters golf tournament recently. No, the star of Step Brothers and "Parks & Recreation" with the same name is not a golfer, but he does have something else to celebrate this week. Film Arcade (via ComingSoon) has just announced their acquisition of the Sundance selected comedy A.C.O.D. (Adult Children of Divorce) for theatrical release (along with home video release by Paramount). Film Arcade is a relatively young company, but they snagged the doc The Other Dream Team last year from Sundance too. The film follows Carter (Scott), a seemingly well-adjusted Adult Child of Divorce. Having survived the madness of his parents' (Richard Jenkins and Catherine O'Hara) divorce, Carter now has a successful career and supportive girlfriend (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). But when his younger brother (Clark Duke) gets engaged, Carter is forced...

Epix has announced its spring documentary line-up, the majority of which are films original to the premium cable channel. One of those, "Lunarcy!", is set to screen at SXSW this month. The two non-originals are LCD Soundsystem concert film "Shut Up and Play the Hits" and basketball doc "The Other Dream Team," both of which have received theatrical releases. Of particular interest to sports fans will be "Amar’e Stoudemire: In The Moment," which will offer a profile of the Knicks' power forward on the eve of the NBA playoffs. Here's the full line-up: April 3: Lunarcy! (An Epix Original Documentary) – Lunarcy! follows an unforgettable group of unique characters, whose obsession with the moon and lunar colonization has given birth to utopian dreams of truly galactic proportions. Starring Apollo 12 Astronaut Alan Bean, the fourth man to walk on the Moon, among other memorable characters, Lunarcy! will play at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival.

During the 1992 Summer Olympics, the Lithuanian basketball team brought great pride to their country. They received the Bronze medal for their heroic efforts against Michael Jordan and the USA team. Having been a newly independent nation at the time, Lithuania’s journey to freedom and into the Olympics is certainly one for the books. The absorbing documentary The Other Dream Team is a program rich with history, emotion and entertainment.

Throughout the course of The Other Dream Team, viewers will get a detailed look into the odyssey of Lithuania’s pro basketball team. Various players from the 1988 and 1992 teams give their testimony, painting a vivid picture of their rise to victory. The documentary highlights the team’s triumphs on the court while at the same time, their national independence was won from the then Soviet Union.

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The Producers Guild of America announced the winners of its theatrical motion picture and TV nominations for the 2013 PGA Awards. Check out the full list of nominees and winners (marked in red) below. This year's big winner was Ben Affleck's "Argo," which means that the film will likely also go on to win the Oscar for Best Pictures since the PGA Awards predict the Academy Award winner almost 80% of the time, including last year when PGA and the Oscars both selected "The Artist." In the animation category, "Wreck-It Ralph" won, beating out Pixar's "Brave." On television, "Modern Family" was once again chosen as the best comedy and "Homeland" as the best drama. Theatrical Motion Picture Nominees: Theatrical Motion Pictures: * Argo * Beasts of the Southern Wild * Django Unchained * Les Miserables * Life of Pi * Lincoln * Moonrise Kingdom * Silver Linings Playbook * Skyfall * Zero Dark Thirty Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures: * Wreck-It Ralph * Brave...

Tonight the Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced this year’s winning motion picture and television productions at the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. In addition to the competitive awards, the PGA recognized several producers with honorary awards including Bob and Harvey Weinstein (Milestone Award), Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), J.J. Abrams (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Russell Simmons (Visionary Award), and Bully (Stanley Kramer Award). The 2013 Producers Guild Awards were chaired by Michael De Luca. The 2013 Producers Guild nominated films and television programs are listed below in alphabetical order by category, along with producers. The producers’ names for each nominated production are listed in alphabetical order and may not reflect the order of screen credits. The winners are indicated in bold and with an asterisk (*). The theatrical motion picture...

Silver Linings Playbook: The case for The Weinstein Company PGA Award ‘threepeat’ [See previous post: "Ben Affleck Argo: PGA Awards 2013 Top Contenders."] The case for Silver Linings Playbook is The Weinstein Company itself, the domestic distributor of the last two PGA Award winners: Michel Hazanavicius’ French-made silent comedy-drama The Artist and Tom Hooper’s British-made The King’s Speech, both of which went on to win Best Picture Oscars. (Photo: Silver Linings Playbook Bradley Cooper.) I should add that neither The Artist nor The King’s Speech were "likely" PGA Award winners. Last year, Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, Tate Taylor’s The Help, and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo would have been more to the (potentially 5,400) PGA Award voters’ tastes; the year before, David Fincher’s The Social Network had been the overwhelming favorite. Also worth noting: initially perceived as a box-office disappointment, Silver Linings Playbook has earned $56m to date in the Us/Canada and could theoretically surpass...

Vol. I Issue 6

Send us links to your sizzle reels and film sites.

Note: See Issues 1, 2, 3, and 4 for reviews and clips of the Academy documentary films and short films. Additional reviews of the documentary features follow in this issue.

Best documentary feature

5 Broken Cameras Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi

The Gatekeepers Nominees to be determined *See note below

How to Survive a Plague Nominees to be determined

The Invisible War Nominees to be determined

Searching for Sugar Man Nominees to be determined

Best documentary short subject

Inocente Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine

Kings Point Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider

Mondays at Racine Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan

Open Heart Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern

Redemption Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill

Best animated short film

Adam and Dog Minkyu Lee

Fresh Guacamole Pes

Head over Heels Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly

Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare David Silverman

Paperman John Kahrs

Best live action short film

Asad Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura

Buzkashi Boys Sam French and Ariel Nasr

Curfew Shawn Christensen

Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw) Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele

Henry Yan England

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) from a documentary

Before My Time from The documentary feature Chasing Ice Music and Lyric by J. Ralph

Note: *Nominees to be determined* The Documentary Brand gives the nomination to the individual(s) most involved in the key creative aspects of the filmmaking process. A maximum of two persons may be designated as nominees, one of whom must be the credited director who exercised directorial control, and the other of whom must have a producer or director credit. If a producer is named, that individual must have performed a major portion of the producing functions, in accordance with Academy producer criteria. No more than two statuettes will normally be given in the Documentary Feature category. All individuals with a “Producer” or “Produced by” credit on films that reach the semifinal round will automatically be vetted.

The Documentary Branch Executive Committee will determine which producers, if any, are eligible to receive an Oscar. In the unlikely event of a dispute, filmmakers may appeal the committee’s decision. In extremely rare circumstances, a third statuette may be awarded.

Production companies or persons with the screen credit of executive producer, co-producer or any credit other than director or producer shall not be eligible as nominees for the motion picture.

DGA Documentary Award Nominations

Kirby Dick The Invisible War

This is Mr. Dick’s first DGA Award nomination.

Malik Bendjelloul Searching For Sugar Man

This is Mr. Bendjelloul’s first DGA Award nomination.

Lauren Greenfield The Queen of Versailles

This is Ms. Greenfield’s first DGA Award nomination.

David France How To Survive A Plague

This is Mr. France’s first DGA Award nomination.

Alison Klayman Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry

This is Ms. Klayman’s first DGA Award nomination.

Two Academy Nominated Documentary Features

& One Academy Short Listed Documentary Reviewed

The Gatekeepers, directed by Dror Moreh

Documentary Feature Nominee

Six former heads of Israel’s domestic secret service agency, the Shin Bet, share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions in The Gatekeepers, a film by Dror Moreh. These six heads of the Shin Bet stood at the center of Israel's decision-making process in all matters pertaining to security. They worked closely with every Israeli prime minister, and their assessments and insights had—and continue to have—a profound impact on Israeli policy. The Gatekeepers is an exclusive account of their successes and failures.

I find The Gatekeepers remarkable. Not for its craft but for its concept and vision. Imagine

J Edger Hoover talking about his tenure at the FBI, his successes and his failures, his interactions with the Presidents and members of Congress, and his critical self-evaluation of his mission and how his agency’s work affected our nation. Imagine. Dror Moreh accomplished this feat when he convinced these six surviving members of the Shin Bet, to speak on camera.

The film provides a historical perspective of Israel that is both candid and critical of the successive governments in this rare Middle Eastern democracy. The Shin Bet was created in 1949 by David Ben-Gurion’s government to focus on the internal affairs of Israel and evolved into dealing with counterterrorism and intelligence gathering in the West Bank and Gaza.

These intelligence heads, like ours, report to the President/Prime Minister. They are not part of the military complex. It is this context that gives this work its power. We hear the story of Israel’s struggle to protect itself from both its internal and external enemies; the bombers, terrorists, agents and others who worked to destroy this small country. These men are not glamorous or like the fictional heads of the spy agencies we have seen in James Bond and Bourne films. They are bald or balding grandfather-types. Articulate, highly educated, calm and yet we know that they protected Israel from its enemies even if they had them killed.

This is one of the strongest of the nominated docs. It raises significant issues of personal responsibilities. Despite the lack of oversight we don’t feel that this is an organization gone amuck like the Catholic Church not protecting children or the Us Military not protecting its members from sexual harassment. We see these articulate men as guardians and protectors of their nation steadfastly doing their duty within the confines of their moral beliefs. What is scary about The Gatekeepers is that clearly there could have been abuses and wrongs done by the Shin Bet if these six had less character or their mission was redefined by the government without regard to moral or ethical standards. The film on reflection is troubling for regardless of how the spectator might feel about Israel it forces us to look at this conflict through the lenses of these six guardians and we can only wonder what they don’t tell us about what they did in the name of their country.

Credits:

Director: Dror Moreh

Camera: Avner Shahaf

Producers: Dror Moreh, Estelle Fialon, Philippa Kowarsky

Co Producer: Anna Van Der Wee

Sound: Amos Zipori

Sound Design: Aex Claude

Music: Ab Ovo, Jérôme Chassagnard, Régis Baillet

Editor: Oron Adar

Production Companies: Dror Moreh Productions, Les Films du Poisson, Cinephil

In Co-Production with: Mac Guff, Wild Heart Productions, Arte France, Iba, Ndr, Rtbf

With the support of: Cnc, Media, Région Ile-de-France, Procirep, Angoa, The Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts – Cinema Project

Distribution: Sony Classics

Trailer: http://www.sonyclassics.com/thegatekeepers/

The House I Live In, directed by Eugene Jarecki

Short Listed Documentary Feature for Academy Award nomination

The House I Live In looks at how America has waged war on some of its poorest citizens, costing countless lives, destroying families, and inflicting untold damage on future generations of Americans. It posits that over the last forty years, the War on Drugs has accounted for more than 45 million arrests and shows how America became the world’s largest jailer, damaging poor communities at home and abroad. Yet today drugs are cheaper, purer and more available than ever before. It shows that drug abuse is a public health issue. Despite this, it is treated by our society as a criminal matter and a vast machine has been created that feeds on the men and women who are incarcerated. Because of this, the prisoners are not offered help or a cure for their underlying problems, so they return to prison in a never ending cycle.

Eugene Jarecki, whose previous films looked at the military industrial complex (Why We Fight and The Trials of Henry Kissinger), won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at Sundance in both 2005 and 2010. The film tackles difficult material. Material that has been in scores of documentaries and television shows over the years. Yet Jarecki, using his personal experience, a wealth of interviews and strong case studies, builds a compelling case for changing the sentencing guidelines for crack (and cocaine) and for dealing with both addiction and the underlying causes of addiction. Jarecki is a skillful filmmaker who has picked a vast and complex subject and has created a work that while rich in content moves along at a good pace although it might have been stronger if it had tried to do less. The film editor Paul Frost and the composer Robert Miller do an excellent job building strong sequences with evocative music. It was nicely shot by Sam Cullman and Derek Hallquist. Richard Abramowitz’s Abramorama handled the distribution and was successful getting the work out which is never easy for such an issue oriented film.

Credits:

Director, Producer, Screenwriter: Eugene Jarecki

Producers: Melinda Shopsin, Sam Cullman, Christopher St. John

Executive Producers: Eugene Jarecki, Nick Fraser, Joslyn Barnes, Danny Glover, Russell Simmons, Roy Ackerman, John Legend, Sally Jo Feifer, Nick Fraser

Camera: Sam Cullman, Derek Hallquist

Sound: Matthew Freed, Art Jaso

Music: Robert Milller

Editor: Paul Frost

Production Companies: Charlotte Street Films, Zdf Enterprises, Independent Television Services, BBC, Aljazeera Documentary Channel, Vpro, Special Broadcasting Service Corporation, Louverture Films, Nhk

Distribution (Us): Abramorama Entertainment, Snag Films

How to Survive a Plague, directed by David France

Documentary Feature Nominee

How to Survive a Plague by writer and filmmaker David France tells the story of how two coalitions came together to lobby for effective treatments and funding for treatments of AIDS in the late 1980s when it was evident that the Us government and its health and other agencies were not being very effective dealing with the AIDS epidemic. The coalitions, Act Up and Tag (Treatment Action Group) helped to make AIDS more treatable. While there is still no cure for AIDS and thousands of people globally still die from the virus, it is now possible to prolong life with treatments that have been developed.

Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time. With access to never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs. Faced with their own mortality an improbable group of young men and women, many of them HIV-positive took on Washington and the medical establishment.

While there have been a handful of outstanding films dealing with the AIDS epidemic including Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, The Broadcast Tapes of Dr. Peter and Silverlake Life, to name a few, How to Survive a Plague picks up on the story begun in the landmark Common Threads and updates the struggle, looking at the quest to find a treatment and possibly a cure for this vicious disease. The film weaves together stories of activism and shows how a small determined group can effect change not just nationally but globally. While the film is not as well made as Common Threads or Dr. Peter, it’s powerful. The archival footage manages to capture some of the key figures of Act Up and Tag showing actions as they take place. Instead of relying on talking heads to tell this amazing story, it is presented with footage shot as the story unfolded. This footage and its solid editing distinguishes this film from so many of the works that have tried to tell this story.

Few documentaries have such powerful antagonists, the government, incompetence, a lack of urgency on the part of the medical community and fear. Throw in homophobia and it is evident that the dramatic actions of these heroes saved hundreds of thousands of possible victims from this mostly sexually spread plague.

My only serious criticism of this documentary is its failure to be clearer that the plague continues, that there is no cure for HIV/AIDS and that the community continues to give a false sense of hope. Currently the Cdc states:

” ..estimates that 1,148,200 persons aged 13 years and older are living with HIV infection, including 207,600 (18.1%) who are unaware of their infection1. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, while the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. Still, the pace of new infections continues at far too high a level—particularly among certain groups.

HIV Incidence(new infections): The estimated incidence of HIV has remained stable overall in recent years, at about 50,000 new HIV infections per year.2 Within the overall estimates, however, some groups are affected more than others. Msm (men who have sex with men) continue to bear the greatest burden of HIV infection, and among races/ethnicities, African Americans continue to be disproportionately affected.”

This information could have been contained in the last few minutes of this powerful work, to inspire and warn the audience that testing is critical and that safe sex is still the only way to contain AIDS.

The Filmmaker

David France, Director, Producer

David France is an award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author who has been writing about AIDS since 1982 and today is one of the best-known chroniclers of the epidemic. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, GQ, and New York magazine, where he is a contributing editor, and has received the National Headliner Award and the GLAAD Media Award, among others. Several films have been inspired by his work, most recently the Emmy-nominated Showtime film Our Fathers, for which he received a WGA nomination. He is at work on a major history of AIDS, due from Alfred A. Knopf in 2013. Based on decades of reporting, How to Survive a Plague is his directorial debut.

Credits

Director: David France

Writers: David France, Todd Woody Richman, Tyler H. Walk

Producers: David France, Howard Gertler

Executive Producers: Dan Cogan, Joy A. Tomchin

Co-Producer: Todd Woody Richman

Camera: Derek Wieshahn

Sound: Stuart Deutsch, Topher Reifeiss

Original Music: Stuart Bogie

Editor: Todd Woody Richman, Tyler H. Walk

Production Companies: Public Square Films, Ninety Thousand Words

Distribution (Us): Sundance Selects

Short Notes and Update:

The International Documentary Association in Los Angeles presents Doc U: The Doc Reporter

Navigating the Intersection of Documentary and Journalism

Moderated by: Karin Skellwagen (The Brooks Institute)

With Panelists:

Sarah Burns (The Central Park Five)

Michael Donaldson (Partner, Donaldson & Callif)

David France (How To Survive A Plague)

For information: http://doc-u-jan-2013-la.eventbrite.com/

Sundance Announces 2013 International Documentary Competition:

Fallen City/ China (Director: Qi Zhao) — Fallen City spans four years to reveal how three families who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to embark on a journey searching for hope, purpose, identity, and to rebuild their lives in a new China torn between tradition and modernity. North American Premiere

Fire in the Blood/ India (Director: Dylan Mohan Gray) — In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Western governments and pharmaceutical companies blocked low-cost antiretroviral drugs from reaching AIDS-stricken Africa, causing 10 million or more unnecessary deaths. An improbable group of people decided to fight back. North American Premiere

Google and the World Brain/ Spain, United Kingdom (Director: Ben Lewis) — In the most ambitious Internet project ever conceived, Google is working to scan every book in the world. Google says it is building a library for mankind. But some are trying to stop it, claiming that Google may have other intentions. World Premiere

The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear/ Georgia, Germany (Director: Tinatin Gurchiani) — A film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call. She follows those who prove to be interesting enough through various dramatic and funny situations. North American Premiere

The Moo Man/ United Kingdom (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. World Premiere

Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer/ Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere

A River Changes Course/ Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World Premiere

Salma/ United Kingdom, India (Director: Kim Longinotto) — When Salma, a young girl in South India, reached puberty, her parents locked her away. Millions of girls all over the world share the same fate. Twenty-five years later, Salma has fought her way back to the outside world. World Premiere

The Square (Al Midan)/ Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere

The Stuart Hall Project/ United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere

The Summit/ Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers' code, he might still be alive. International Premiere

Who is Dayani Cristal?/ United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere. Day One Film

Producer’s Guild Announces Nominations for the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures and Non-Fiction Television:

A People Uncounted(Urbinder Films)

Producers: Marc Swenker, Aaron Yeger

The Gatekeepers(Sony Pictures Classics)

Producers: Estelle Fialon, Philippa Kowarsky, Dror Moreh

The Island President(Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Producers: Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen

The Other Dream Team(The Film Arcade)

Producers: Marius Markevicius, Jon Weinbach

Searching For Sugar Man(Sony Pictures Classics)

Producers: Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn

Nominations for the Award for Outstanding Producer of

Non-Fiction Television:

American Masters(PBS)

Producers: Prudence Glass, Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations(Travel Channel)

Producers: Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandy Zweig

Deadliest Catch(Discovery Channel)

Producers: Thom Beers, Jeff Conroy, Sean Dash, John Gray, Sheila McCormack, Bill Pruitt, Decker Watson

Inside the Actors Studio(Bravo)

Producers: James Lipton, Shawn Tesser, Jeff Wurtz

Shark Tank(ABC)

Producers: Rhett Bachner, Becky Blitz, Mark Burnett, Bill Gaudsmith, Yun Lingner, Brien Meagher, Clay Newbill, Jim Roush, Laura Skowlund, Paul Sutera, Patrick Wood

BAFTA Short and Documentary Feature Nominations (British Academy of Film and Television Arts, London)

Documentary Feature

The ImposterBart Layton, Dimitri Doganis

Marley Kevin Macdonald, Steve Bing, Charles Steel

McCullin David Morris, Jacqui Morris

Searching for Sugar Man Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn

West of Memphis Amy Berg

Short Animation

Here to Fall Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath

I’m Fine Thanks Eamonn O'Neill

The Making of Longbird Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson

Short Film

The Curse Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries

Good Night Muriel d'Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir

Swimmer Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw

Tumult Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews

The Voorman Problem Mark Gill, Baldwin Li

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca)

Documentary Feature Nominations

Bully

The Imposter

Queen of Versailles

Searching for Sugar Man (Winner)

The Central Park Five

West of Memphis

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Credits: Editing by Jessica Just for SydneysBuzz

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Block Doc Workshops in Los Angeles February 2013 Ida Doc U

The International Documentary Association will be hosting Documentary Funding and Documentary Tune-Up Workshops with Block on February 9/10. http://www.documentary.org/news/february-documentary-producing-workshops-mitchell-block

Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).

Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.

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Pick Of The Week: New The Other Dream Team (Lionsgate) The 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona were dominated by the “Dream Team,” arguably the greatest team ever assembled for any sport, a U.S. basketball juggernaut stocked with future hall-of-famers like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. There was never any doubt that Team USA would embarrass the competition—though the international game would catch up fast in the years that followed—but all the attention they received took away from the bigger story of the Bronze Metal-winning Lithuanians. The Other Dream Team chronicles the triumphant journey of athletes ...

A few movies will be on Blu-ray and DVD this week. The best picks will be action thriller “Taken 2” and horror “The Possession.”

Taken 2

Synopsis: Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated actor, Liam Neeson (Clash of the Titans, Taken, Batman Begins) returns as Mills, the retired CIA agent who stopped at nothing to save his daughter Kim from kidnappers. When the father of one of the villains Bryan killed swears revenge, and takes him and his wife hostage in Istanbul, Bryan must enlist the help of Kim to escape. Bryan then employs his unique tactics to get his family to safety and systematically take out the kidnappers, one by one.

Blu-Ray Extended Features

Unrated and Theatrical Cut Black Ops Field Manual and Kill Counter Tools of the Trade Deleted and Extended Scenes Alternative Ending FX Piece

Brief Review: “Taken 2” is pretty much a rehash of Liam Neeson kicking some butt.

This week: The former CIA agent played by Liam Neeson is the one who ends up being abducted instead of his daughter in "Taken 2," the hit action sequel that also features the return of Maggie Grace as Neeson's daughter and Famke Janssen as his ex-wife in a story that moves the action to Istanbul.

Also new this week is the Sam Raimi-produced Jewish exorcism flick "The Possession" and a new collector's edition of "The Notebook" packaged with movie-inspired keepsakes.

'Taken 2'

Box Office: $139 million

Rotten Tomatoes: 21% Rotten

Storyline: Retired CIA agent Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) returns to America with his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), and gets closer with his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Jannsen), after having rescued Kim from being sold as a sex slave in Paris. Now the relatives of the slain Albanians from the first film swear to avenge their dead by kidnapping Bryan and...

Earlier this week The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced the nominations for their annual awards for theatrical motion picture, animated motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 2013 Producers Guild Awards.

This was an incredible year for films, and most of the movies nominated here deserve to be. Out of all the films listed here, I'd like to see Zero Dark Thirty or Silver Linings Playbook take the top prize for motion picture, Paranorman for animated film, Game of Thrones for TV drama, and Curb Your Enthusiasm for TV Comedy. In case you missed them, here they are! Look them over and let us know what films you'd like to see win!

Ten nominations in the theatrical motion picture category include:

Argo (Warner Bros.)

Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)

Django Unchained (The Weinstein Company)

Life of Pi (20th Century Fox)

Lincoln (DreamWorks)

Les Misérables (Universal)

Moonrise Kingdom...

The Producers Guild of America has revealed the 10 films Wednesday nominated for the Darryl F. Zanuck producer of the year award for theatrical motion pictures.

From A to Z – literally, from Argo to Zero Dark Thirty, the nominees include the year final contenders Lincoln, Life of Pi, Les Miserables and Django Unchained as well as the producers of Beasts of the Southern Wild, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook and Skyfall, the 23rd and most successful James Bond movie.

Skyfall is also the first James Bond movie that has earned a nomination.

In the animated film producer’s category are the producers of Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, Rise of the Guardians and Wreck-It-Ralph.

The Producers Guild Awards will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on January 26th and will be a closely watched indicator of Oscar sentiment. Eight of the movies are also in the running for best picture...

Daniel Craig's third outing as James Bond nominated for prize traditionally regarded as Academy Awards signpost

The latest James Bond film, Skyfall, could be making a late run for recognition at this year's Oscars after being named among the top 10 films of 2012 by the Producers Guild of America (PGA).

The guild also named awards season frontrunners Argo, Les Miserables, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook in its list of nominees for the Darryl F Zanuck award for outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures.

Most of the other contenders have also been feted by various critics' groups in the runup to the Academy Awards at the Dolby theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on 24 February. Quentin Tarantino's blood-spattered spaghetti western homage, Django Unchained, is starting to look a good bet for Oscar nominations after picking up another nod in the wake of its five Golden Globe nominations last month.

Ang Lee's...

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) have announced the nominations for their annual Producers Guild Awards. The nominees in the six key categories are:

Theatrical Motion Picture

Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Les Misérables, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall, Zero Dark Thirty

Animated Feature

Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, Rise of the Guardians, Wreck-It Ralph

Documentary Feature

A People Uncounted, The Gatekeepers, The Island President, The Other Dream Team, Searching For Sugar Man

Episodic Television, Drama

Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland, Mad Men

Episodic Television, Comedy

30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Louie, Modern Family

Mini-Series of TV Movie

American Horror Story, The Dust Bowl, Game Change, Hatfields & McCoys, Sherlock

Source: Producersguild.org...

Finally, some love for the animated movie about the kid who sees dead people!

Dissed by the Golden Globes and other official accolade-givers so far, "ParaNorman" has emerged as the number-one champion of the Producers Guild Awards nominations. Then again, we're not sure how much credit we should give to an organization that also nominated "Rise of the Guardians" in the same category, but still, it's the thought that counts.

Non-animated nominees include "Skyfall" (also oddly shunned by the Golden Globes, except for that terrific Adele theme song) and a bunch of predictable choices such as "Les Miserables," "Lincoln," "Argo" and "Zero Dark Thirty." Meanwhile, it's good to see the "Django" love spreading, and any further support for "Life of Pi" and "Moonrise Kingdom" is okay in our book.

The complete list of the nominated films for 2013 is below. The winners of the 24th Annual PGA Awards will be announced on Saturday,...

The Producers Guild of America has announced its nominations for best productions of the year, in what is often looked to as an indicator for how the Academy Awards may go.

The guild selected 10 films — most of them common guesses for the group that could make up the Oscar list of the best films of 2012: Argo, Lincoln, Les Misérables, among others.

The one surprise: Skyfall. No 007 film has ever cracked the Best Picture list, but if this nomination is any indication, that could change when the Oscar nods are revealed Jan. 10.

Check out the full list …

The Darryl F. Zanuck...

I know very little about the Lithuanian basketball team, who medaled in the sport during the 1992 Olympics, the same year Jordan, Pippin, Byrd, Johnson, and Barkley tore up the floor to win gold. The U.S. men.s basketball team has gone on to become a legendary story, but for director Marius A. Markevičius, the better story was the tell of the Lithuanian team.s journey out of the Iron Curtain and on to the world.s stage at the Olympics games. The film, aptly titled The Other Dream Team, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at this year.s Sundance Film Festival. If you missed it then, but feel like giving it a whirl, Lionsgate is bringing the flick to DVD on January 15, and if you are more of an On Demand sort of person, you.ll be able to catch it starting on December 21. The Other ...

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has announced the nominees for the Documentary Motion Picture category for the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards. I'm bummed that "The Imposter" and "Queen of Versailles" were not included :sad

All the other nominations for the Producers Guild Awards will be announced on January 3, 2013. Winners will be revealed on January 26 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

And the nominees are:

A People Uncounted

The Gatekeepers

The Island President

The Other Dream Team

Searching For Sugar Man...

The Producers Guild of America has nominated five documentary motion pictures. The documentary field is large and competitive this year, so any spotlight will help Oscar voters make tough choices. Never have so many worthy docs been produced and released into the indie marketplace. The Academy doc branch has already submitted their Oscar short list of 15 which should be announced shortly. The International Documentary Association awards will be announced on December 7 (stay tuned for our report). This week's Oscar Talk podcast delves into the doc race. The PGA nominees are: "A People Uncounted" (Director Aaron Yeger; Producers Yeger, Tom Rasky, Marc Swenker, Stephen Chandler Whitehead), "The Gatekeepers" (Dror Moreh; Moreh, Estelle Fialon, Philippa Kowarsky), "The Island President" (Jon Shenk; Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen), "The Other Dream Team" (Marius Markevicius; Markevicius, Jon Weinbach) and "Searching for Sugar Man"...

"Searching for Sugar Man" is the best-known of the five films whose producers have been nominated for documentary motion pictures by Producers Guild of America, which announced its nominations on Friday. Malik Bendjelloul's film about the rediscovery of '70s recording artist Rodriguez joined a slate of nominees that also includes Jon Shenk's doc about the outsted president of the Maldives, "The Island President"; Marius A. Merkevicius' story of the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic basketball team, "The Other Dream Team"; Dror Moreh's chronicle of some members of the Israeli intelligence services, "The Gatekeepers";...

The Producers Guild of America has nominated five films, ranging from Aaron Yeger's A People Uncounted to Malik Bendjelloul's Searching for Sugar Man, for its Documentary Motion Picture Award. The nominees also include Dror Moreh's The Gatekeepers, Jon Shenk's The Island President and Marius A. Markevicius' The Other Dream Team. The nominees tackle a range of social issues and feature a number of striking personalities. A People Uncounted looks at the history of the Roma people of Central and Eastern Europe, also known as gypsies, who faced annihilation under the Nazis, while The Other Dream Team, which is being distributed by

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The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced the Documentary Motion Picture nominees for the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards. The nominated films, listed below in alphabetical order, are: A People Uncounted The Gatekeepers The Island President The Other Dream Team Searching For Sugar Man Last year "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest," "Bill Cunningham New York," "Project Nim," "Senna" and "The Union" nade up the nominees, with "Beats" winning. Notably, none of those films went on to be nominated for an Oscar. All other nominations for the 2013 Producers Guild Award categories will be announced on January 3, 2013, along with the individual producers. All 2013 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 26, 2013 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Los Angeles, CA (November 30, 2012) – The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the Documentary Motion Picture nominees that will advance in the voting process for the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards.

The Producers Guild of America is beginning to announce their nominees for the 2012 award season and today unveiled their list of five documentary nominees, four of which I've heard of but only one I've actually seen. A People Uncounted is the new title for me and it centers on the story of the Roma (Gypsies) that faced annihilation during the Nazi 'Final Solution' and still today are victims of extreme and often violent racial persecution. It appears to have played film festivals throughout the latter half of 2011 and early part of 2012, but has yet to see a theatrical release domestically. The Gatekeepers is a Sony Classics film centered on the stories of various members of Israel's secret service and it played the end of the year festivals including Telluride and New York, but has yet to be released. The Island President focuses on President Mohamed Nasheed of the...

This coming week offers some special offers for Austin Film Society (Afs) members with discounts to special screenings. Afs Selects series is partnering with the Violet Crown Cinema to present Smashed with a $2 discount on tickets purchased by phone or at the box office during the run of the selection excluding the first show of the day. Find out more about this film later in this article.

To kick off the opening weekend of the inaugural United States Grand Prix in Austin, Afs members can enjoy $5 off the $15 regular ticket price for a sneak peek screening at The Paramount on Thursday, November 15, of a new documentary, 1, featuring interviews with Formula One icons including Mario Andretti, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. Using rare archive footage, 1 features the drivers who raced during the dangerous era in the from the 1960s into the 1970s, and fought to improve safety standards for their sport.

Any American who follows the Olympics will recall that the 1992 Us men's Olympic basketball team was known as The Dream Team, but the bronze medal-winning Lithuanian team the Americans defeated is the focus of the documentary The Other Dream Team. Their journey to the Olympics was not an easy one, embroiled with politics and oppression existing for over 50 years, although it helped resolve the America misperception that all Soviets are Russian.

Lithuania was one of three ex-Soviet republics to compete individually in 1992, and their team beat the Unified Team in Barcelona. The significance of their triumph was extensive --at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, four of the five starters for the Ussr basketball team were Lithuianian, defeating the Us team to win the gold medal. Ussr team members Sarunas Marciulionis and Arvydas Sabonis were the poster boys for the Russian sports program, and were threatened should they not stick to the...

Presenting an unfiltered view of Lithuanian oppression under communist rule, the new historic sports documentary The Other Dream Team might just be the most condemning movie depiction of the Soviet regime since Red Dawn. If that sounds heavy, never fear, we're actually dealing with a documentary about a basketball team (the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic team, to be exact) that ascends to unlikely glory. They are depicted as admirably proud of their country, never wanting the "Soviet Union" branding that they were so often shackled with. A lot of the players hailed from the same small geographic area, not unlike the U.S. 1950 Olympic soccer team that was made up multiple players from the Italian "Hill" area in St. Louis, Missouri....

Could there be a new trend in the field of feature-length documentaries? After last year’s Oscar winner Undefeated and the surprise box office success of this year’s Searching For Sugarman, are we seeing a spate of “feel-good” doc? They’ve had an unfair rep as dour and somber for quite some time now. Many film goers avoid them completely, feeling that they’re the movie equivalent of a dull lecture or homework (“shudder”)! But The Other Dream Team is a truly uplifting movie. And to quote one of the film’s subjects, “What a long, strange, trip it’s been”.

This is primarily the story of the 1992 Lithuanian basketball team whose tale really begins in 1940. That’s when the Ussr, in order to battle the Axis menace, took over the country of Lithuania. During those many dark days of occupation Lithuanians sought relief by indulging in their favorite national sport of basketball.

The Other Dream Team focuses on the role basketball has played in the Lithuanian community by helping them through bleak economic and social times, focusing specifically on the members of the first ever Olympic Lithuanian basketball team in 1992 after the collapse of communism. Marius Markevicius’s documentary begins in 1988 when the Ussr were led to a gold medal over America in the Seoul Olympics thanks to the four Lithuanian men who had been recruited for the team. At those ’88 Olympics, Valdemaras Chomicius, Arvydas Sabonis, Sarunas Marciullonis and Rimas Kurtinaitis were not only given a taste of what it...

Following two weeks with outstanding new limited openings of anticipated Toronto premieres, this week offered only one new opening -- Film Arcade's "The Other Dream Team" -- with any traction in the market. At least ten other films opening in significant specialized theaters didn't even report grosses, suggesting very little business. Meanwhile, the wider marketplace has several outstanding films competing for adults ($32 million gross total in the top ten for three acclaimed films with smart-house appeal), plus "Arbitrage," which is still going strong. But the low grosses for most of the new openings were more a factor of their limited draw than their competition. Although several significant films are opening in the next few weeks ("The Paperboy," "The House I Live In," "The Sessions") it seems likely that September's specialized openings could wind up performing better than October's --which is...

With only one specialty debut reporting estimates this weekend (basketball doc "The Other Dream Team," which did quite well), the weekend's big stories belonged to the holdovers. Summit successfully expanded last weekend's big debut "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" to over 100 screens, while The Weinstein Company saw its Paul Thomas Anderson offering "The Master" start to slow after a big expansion last weekend. Full rundown below. The Debuts: "The Other Dream Team" (The Film Arcade) Marius A. Markevicius's doc "The Other Dream Team" follows the story of the 1992 Lithuanian basketball team, who became symbols of Lithuania's independence movement, and - with help from the Grateful Dead - triumphed at the Barcelona Olympics. On 2 screens, the film did quite well, taking in $22,714 for a healthy $11,357 per-theater-average. The sole debut to report estimates, it had the third highest average of any...

Most of the focus this weekend will be on the showdown between family-friendly animated comedy Hotel Transylvania and the sci-fi action flick Looper. A few new indies hit the theaters this weekend, but we should also point out that Pitch Perfect opens in limited release before it expands nationwide next week. This week's indie offerings include a trip back to the '90s with The Other Dream Team, Milla Jovovich in a family comedy, a stirring look at American health care and Thai action-thriller Headshot.   The Other Dream Team This stirring documentary chronicles the 1992 Lithuanian national basketball team, whose athletes struggled under Soviet rule and eventually became symbols for Lithuania's independence movement, with help from The Grateful Dead. The team...

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Marius Markevicius could say that the story of The Other Dream Team is in his blood. Born in Los Angeles but from a Lithuanian background, Markevicius was immersed in Lithuanian culture growing up, even spending weekends at Lithuanian Saturday school. Sundance Review: The Other Dream Team Also a huge basketball fan, Markevicius grew up admiring both American and Lithuanian athletes. He can still remember when he was 12 years old and the Soviet Union beat the U.S. basketball team at the 1988 Olympic Games. Looking at a photo in the newspaper the next day, Markevicius saw a photo of

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It's been a pretty slow September as far as movies are concerned with Resident Evil: Retribution being the only movie to crack $20 million in its opening weekend. This week we have a couple of potential heavy hitters entering theatres, although neither are necessarily a sure thing. Rian Johnson's sci-fi action flick Looper has been getting a pretty big marketing push over the past few weeks and could end up being a decent-sized hit, but it will have to go through the CG-animated comedy Hotel Transylvania featuring the voices of Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Andy Samberg. The other new movie in wide release is the Oscar bait-y drama Won't Back Down starring Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal. In select theatres we also have the musical high school comedy Pitch Perfect, the upside-down crime thriller Headshot and Solomon Kane starring James Purefoy. What will you be watching this weekend?...

This weekly column is intended to provide reviews of nearly every new indie release (and in certain cases studio films). Specific release dates and locations follow each review. Reviews This Week "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel" "Looper" "The Other Dream Team" "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" "The Waiting Room" "Won't Back Down" "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel" Finally, something that can begin to capture, if never quite contain, the genius of one of the most fascinating figures of the 20th century. In this documentary, it takes a barrage of images from Diana Vreeland's heyday as the editor-in-chief of Vogue to even begin to capture the "rhythm, madness and surprise" that defined Vreeland's perfect taste. Though the portrait is supported by worshipful testimonials from aged beauties like Ali McGraw and Veruschka, these never take...

With NHL players and NFL referees currently locked out, for people who aren't sports fans to begin with, it's hard to sympathize with players making hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, in billion dollar industries. For the most part, in our day-to-day lives, sports doesn't mingle with politics or history, except every four years when nations come together to compete on the global stage. And while the Olympics do indeed anchor the key moments of Marius A. Markevicius' winning documentary "The Other Dream Team," the film wisely constructs a decades-spanning and wholly riveting narrative that chronicles how one basketball team became the hope of an entire country. Before one can begin to talk about just what basketball means to the people of Lithuania, you have to understand their history, which is essentially one of endurance and pain. Occupied by the Soviet Union during WWII right through to the...

Check out the latest trailer for Marius Markevicius The Other Dream Team documentary with names like Sarunas Marciulionis, Arvydas Sabonis, David Remnick, Jim Lampley, Bill Walton and Mickey Hart in the mix. The Film Arcade sends this one to theaters on September 28th, under the direction of Marius Markevicius, who also produced alongside Jon Weinbach. After leading the Ussr to a gold medal (and victory over the U.S.A.) at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Sarunas Marciulionis and Arvydas Sabonis were poster boys for their oppressor’s sports machine. Four year later, after the fall of the Soviet Union, they emerged as symbols of democracy, helping their country break free from the shackles of Communism, and willing newly independent Lithuania to the medal stand at the Barcelona Olympics.

Check out the latest trailer for Marius Markevicius The Other Dream Team documentary with names like Sarunas Marciulionis, Arvydas Sabonis, David Remnick, Jim Lampley, Bill Walton and Mickey Hart in the mix. The Film Arcade sends this one to theaters on September 28th, under the direction of Marius Markevicius, who also produced alongside Jon Weinbach. After leading the Ussr to a gold medal (and victory over the U.S.A.) at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Sarunas Marciulionis and Arvydas Sabonis were poster boys for their oppressor’s sports machine. Four year later, after the fall of the Soviet Union, they emerged as symbols of democracy, helping their country break free from the shackles of Communism, and willing newly independent Lithuania to the medal stand at the Barcelona Olympics.

Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Larry Byrd at the Olympics, crushing dudes and destroying national pride with every dunk and steal and pass. That’s cool and all, and it changed the way America viewed the Olympic games, but let’s face it, it lacked real drama. Was anyone really going to beat them? Of course not. But what about the Lithuanian National Team in the same year, at the same Olympics, featuring a roster that included players who could, finally, play for their country after decades of conscription into the Russian national team? And to eventually have to go up against the Russians, the overlords of their recently freed nation for half a century? Now That is some drama there, folks. Check out a trailer and poster for the documentary “The Other Dream Team”. It’s a documentary, so you know how it’s going to end, but it’s still pretty damn cool.

The Film Arcade has released the new poster for their documentary The Other Dream Team. For 50 years, Lithuanian basketball players were forced to play for the Ussr Olympic team, but this film tells the story of how 1992 Lithuanian basketball team was able to rise to greatness (with a little help from The Grateful Dead) once the Soviet Union collapsed. The Other Dream Team hits theaters on September 28th!

After leading the Ussr to a gold medal (and victory over the U.S.A.) at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Sarunas Marciulionis and Arvydas Sabonis were poster boys for their oppressor’s sports machine. Four year later, after the fall of the Soviet Union, they emerged as symbols of democracy, helping their country break free from the shackles of Communism, and willing newly independent Lithuania to the medal stand at the Barcelona Olympics.

The Other Dream Team documents the Lithuanians’ experiences behind the Iron Curtain for 50 years,...

Newbie specialty distributor The Film Arcade has acquired its second film, Lisa Ohlin’s “Simon and the Oaks.” The company picked up all U.S. rights to the Swedish drama and has an October 12 release scheduled for New York and L.A. Ambush Entertainment producers Miranda Bailey and Matthew Leutwyler launched Film Arcade with former Might Entertainment execs Andy Bohn and Jason Beck during the Sundance Film Festival in January. Along with Lionsgate, Film Arcade acquired the 2012 Sundance documentary “The Other Dream Team,” also scheduled for a fall opening. Based on the Marianne Fredriksson novel, “Oaks” tells the story of a gifted boy coming of age in Sweden during the Second World War. Bill Skarsgard, Helen Sjoholm and Jan Josef Liefers star. “Lisa Ohlin has crafted a poignant coming-of-age story about hope and survival during the darkest hours of the 20th century,” said Film Arcade execs. “We believe U.S.

Twenty years ago at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, the Dream Team restored the United States to prominence in basketball, a game it had long dominated on the international level. After settling for bronze at the 1988 Games — the last Olympics that did not allow professional athletes — U.S. Olympic officials and the NBA united to send a team composed of all-timers, including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Charles Barkley. They cruised to the gold at Barcelona, drubbing opposing teams who seemed more interested in autographs than actually defeating their NBA heroes.

This Wednesday, NBA TV will air a...

HollywoodNews.com: The 38th Seattle International Film Festival, the largest and most highly-attended event of its kind in the United States concluded today with the announcement of the Siff 2012 Competition Awards and Golden Space Needle Audience Awards. The 25-day Festival, which began May 17, featured over 460 films from more than 70 countries, including 65 feature premieres (24 World, 25 North American, 16 U.S.) and over 700 screenings. Additionally, Siff brought in more than 300 directors, actors and industry professionals.

“A festival’s success is dependent on two basic principles: providing a platform for filmmakers to be celebrated and connecting them to audience members that would not otherwise be aware of their remarkable stories,” said Siff Artistic Director Carl Spence. “This year a record number of filmmakers participated in person and online with virtual Q&A’s successfully expanding the conversation around the best in cinema with passionate audiences, illuminating guests and distinguished industry in attendance.”

Siff Managing Director Deborah Person said,...