Documentary Fest: Broadway (Discovery) Screening Series | Nov 17–24, 2005

On the lineup: March of the Penguins, Grizzly Man, Mondovino, Touching the Void, Crossing the Bridge, Riz, and Murderball.

I have to say, this is a solid selection of documentaries. Even though a few of these played at the Sundance Film Festival previously, I personally haven't managed to catch any of them yet...

I just finished watching *March of the Penguins*—it was quite an experience.

Brilliant. I’m not typically one to gravitate toward nature documentaries—they can be fine to watch, I suppose, but I rarely find much in the way of true cinematic artistry there—but this? This was a masterpiece.

Beautiful music—and the editing is just superb. Truly masterful direction.

King penguins have officially become my absolute favorite animals on the planet—nothing else even comes close. I’ve actually been seriously considering whether it might be feasible to keep one at home... maybe in the bathtub or the refrigerator? : ))

And I won't be mentioning *Riz* again—honestly, enough. It feels like we’re all just stuck in slow motion at home, desperately trying to nail our best moves. 😁

They really hit the nail on the head with that one.

I’m definitely adding Grizzly Man and Murderball to my watchlist, and honestly, I might just end up jotting down everything else too.

I actually just sat down a few days ago to download a handful of documentaries by Errol Morris.

What does that even have to do with anything? 🙂

So, where did you manage to download it?

I've only got Fog of War, Vernon, Florida, and Mr. Death—is there anything else worth grabbing? Please, let me know 🙂

aaa 😍

I am planning to watch the film about Istanbul... wow.

Well, and Herzog too—plus those stories about the climbers and all that.

😁

brightridge19 said:I'm not sure I see how that connects? 🙂

Well, I suppose it's a pretty funny coincidence since there's a documentary festival happening right here in New York City, and lately, I've actually been watching way more documentaries than actual features—well, unless I'm picking up something by American movie or maybe some mockumentaries 😁.

brightridge19 said:so, where did you download them from?

Just Emule and Shareaz Quote.

brightridge19 said:all I have right now is Fog of War, Vernon, Florida, and Mr. Death... is there anything else worth grabbing? pleeease, tell me! 🙂

Gates of Heaven, Fast Cheap & out of Control, and a Breaf history of time plus along with about a hundred other cool commercials and propaganda clips on his website.

brightridge19 said:Rize

And if I'm just bluffing him right now 🙂

I'm looking forward to seeing the penguins and Rize; as for the rest of them, I haven't heard a peep. 😳

steelstag4 said:I'm actually pretty excited about the penguins and Rize, but I haven't heard much regarding the others. 😳

Touching The Void is this intense story about two climbers who go through absolute hell—think falls, broken legs, and some heavy sacrifices—while scaling a mountain in Peru. While they sit there talking to the camera about what went down, the director uses reenactments to piece their whole ordeal together.

Then there's Grizzly man, which is a Werner Herzog film about this amateur grizzly bear researcher. The guy actually lived right alongside the grizzlies to prove that humans and nature can be buddies... at least until one of them decided he looked like a snack. 🙂

Crossing The Bridge is a Fatih Akin film that takes a look at Istanbul, focusing on the people living there and their music.

And Murderball is a documentary about quadriplegics playing rugby, and let me tell you, it is some seriously gritty, rough rugby.

Anyway, I really hope those sound interesting enough to put on your watchlist! 🙂

All right!
At this rate, it’s going to become an absolute impossibility to attend every single film festival happening in New York City!

As for my current lineup, here is what I have managed to squeeze in:
the Asian Film Festival, the Belgian Film Week, the Czech Film Festival, ZFF, Animafest, and Documentaria
not to mention those little indie screenings that are just too good to miss
I am practically going to wither away from exhaustion!

Maria Peterson said:Fine!
At this rate, it will be physically impossible to attend every single film festival in New York City.

My current schedule looks like this:
Asian film week, Belgian film week, Czech film week, ZFF, Animafest, and Documentaria.
Even those minor screenings are piling up.
I am going to collapse.

And once the winter season kicks in... especially with Kieslowski scheduled for December.

It is true. This is easily one of the busiest autumns for cinema I have ever seen.

I couldn't sit still, so I checked the One Take website. It turns out the next One Take Film Festival is scheduled for November 24–26, 2006.

Fine. In a way, it’s a good thing. At least I'll get some rest.🙂

Thanks, kozz. You’ve definitely piqued my interest. If only I could actually hit the jackpot on a Powerball ticket, or at least land a decent job for once. 😁

Just wanted to drop a quick reminder here... 😉

I finally sat down and watched Riz today 🙂
I caught it on DVD, though I have to admit 😳

It was honestly great. If I weren't being so careful with my budget, I would have absolutely gone to see it in a theater. I definitely recommend checking it out 🙂

http://imdb.com/title/tt0436724/

I think Riz is totally overrated... honestly. It’s incredibly shallow, lacks any real structure, and the subject matter itself? Pretty mindless. Black people dancing in a Compton club. Wow. A "primitive subculture" living in one of the most urbanized spots on the planet. My ass. Just an overhyped hack.

I just finished watching a royal journey.
There was something really captivating about seeing how those penguins live their lives.
It was actually quite heavy—morbid and heartbreaking in parts, yet sweet at the same time. It felt like a mix of horror, drama, action, and even romance...

😍

😁

I was just browsing Broadway web and noticed they have Murderball listed as Smrtolopt🙂

Yes, the movie was truly... 😍

Yesterday, the morning news had a massive headline—*don't take your kids to see penguins*

The film is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster—I found myself jumping around my living room from pure joy when those little ones hatched, waving those tiny flippers... then, I nearly fainted from the sheer sadness of it all...

Wonderful. Simply wonderful.

I watched the penguins today, oh my gosh, they are just sooooo cute! 😍 Such a wonderful movie; I had no idea penguins were such a disciplined species. I absolutely loved the part where they kiss 😁 and when the little one hatches 😁 and even when one tries to steal a baby from another female 😁 and yeah, the soundtrack is amazing 👍

PrittPen said:Honestly, I found that movie totally mediocre... and I mean that. It’s incredibly shallow and lacks any real structure, not to mention the subject matter itself is just silly. Black kids in Compton dancing? Give me a break. Calling a subculture in one of the most urbanized communities on the planet "primitive" is a joke. It's just a glorified, overhyped dud.

The minor "flaw" with the film is this tug-of-war between wanting to tell a gritty, complete story about life in an impoverished inner-city neighborhood and trying to be a visually flashy dance flick. It’s a tough balance to strike, but all things considered, I think they managed it pretty well.
But wait, you didn't like the theme of "Black people dancing"? If that was the case, why on earth did you go see the movie 😕? That’s like someone claiming they hate animals, thinking penguins are stupid, and then going to watch a documentary about them just to complain that the topic is dumb. 😵

And then we get to the "brilliant" and deeply thoughtful conclusion of your critique—calling a subculture primitive. Do us all a favor and actually explain what makes them primitive. That sounds like a pretty nasty, racist undertone to me. 🙂