 An image from Albert Maysles and David Maysles’ “Grey Gardens.” Image courtesy of SILVERDOCS.SPECIAL PROGRAMS
CONVENTION / USA, 2009, 93 minutes (Director: AJ Schnack)—In this anticipated ensemble documentary, A.J. Schnack assembles an all-star crew of documentary filmmakers to tell the story of the mounting of one of the biggest events of the decade: the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The film captures Denver through the eyes of organizers, reporters, police and protesters leading up to the historic nomination of Barack Obama.
FACING ALI / USA, 2009, 98 minutes (Director: Pete McCormack)—The film chronicles 10 heavyweight boxers who faced and fought The Greatest—Muhammad Ali. The film reveals the men who stepped into the ring with the three-time heavyweight champion, including Larry Holmes, Joe Frazier and George Foreman. Rare archival film footage and classic photos combine with original intimate interviews that highlight Ali’s colorful combatants.
MORE THAN A GAME / USA, 2008, 105 minutes (Director: Kristopher Belman)—A remarkable coming-of-age story about friendship and loyalty in the face of great adversity, Kristopher Belman’s MORE THAN A GAME follows the incredible rise (and occasional fall) of five talented young basketball players from Akron, Ohio. Led by future NBA superstar LeBron James and coached by the charismatic yet initially inexperienced Dru Joyce III, whose son is on the team, the “Fab Five’s” improbable seven-year journey leads them from a decrepit inner-city gym to the doorstep of a national high school championship.
THE NINE LIVES OF MARION BARRY / USA, 2009, 78 minutes (Directors: Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer)—Many people remember Marion Barry as the scandalous mayor of the nation’s capital, who was famously caught in a 1990 FBI sting operation. Yet others know him as a folk hero, a civil rights champion and defender of the poor. Barry’s soaring achievements, catastrophic failures and phoenix-like rebirths have made him a symbol of mythic indestructibility. Who is Marion Barry, really? A hero? A scoundrel? Why is he such a polarizing force? And why do people still vote for him? For the first time, THE NINE LIVES OF MARION BARRY reveals the complete, unforgettable story.
RIP: A REMIX MANIFESTO / USA, 2009, 89 minutes (Director: Brett Gaylor)—Pivoting off the example of mash-up artist Girl Talk, web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores the nature of creativity, commerce and copyright in the 21st century, incorporating never-before seen footage.
SPLITTING HAIRS / USA, 2008, 28 minutes (Director: F. Stone Roberts)—Meet Americans Bruce Roe and Phil Olsen as they prep for the World Beard and Moustache Championships in Germany, where “bearded stallions” compete for top chops at the 30-year-old event. But the real rivalry between the two is for the presidency of the World Beard and Moustache Association. Who knew facial hair clubs were so cutthroat?
THIRD COAST INTERNATIONAL AUDIO FESTIVAL / USA 2009, 65 minutes (Various)—Documentary film salutes documentary audio. In a darkened room, listen to the best, most compelling and most entertaining documentary programs made for radio and the internet.
RETROSPECTIVE PROGRAMS
FOR ALL MANKIND USA, 1989, 79 minutes / (Director: Al Reinert)—In July 1969, the space race ended when Apollo 11 fulfilled President Kennedy’s challenge of “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” No one who witnessed the lunar landing will ever forget it. Breathtaking both in the scope of its vision and the exhilaration of the human emotions it captures, FOR ALL MANKIND is the story of the 24 men who travelled to the moon, told in their words, in their voices, using the images of their experiences.
WHEN WE WERE KINGS / USA, 1996, 84 MINUTES (Director: Leon Gast)—In 1974, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman travelled to Zaire for the “Rumble in the Jungle.” Leon Gast filmed both the fight and a music festival organized by promoter Don King. Gast’s footage was shelved for 22 years, but he released the completed film, WHEN WE WERE KINGS in 1996. This is a fascinating film that documents one of the greatest sporting and cultural events in recent history.
MAYSLES RETROSPECTIVE PROGRAMS
SALESMAN / USA, 1968, 91 minutes (Directors: Albert Maysles and David Maysles)—This landmark documentary follows four Boston bible salesmen as they struggle to make a living in the cutthroat world of door-to-door sales. The film follows the salesmen as they wheedle, connive and cajole their way into homes and wallets. As the pressure of the job bears down, the film reveals the dark underside of the American Dream.
GREY GARDENS / USA, 1976, 94 minutes (Directors: Albert Maysles and David Maysles)—Meet Big Edie and Little Edie—high-society dropouts and reclusive relatives of Jackie O. This fantastically intimate portrait reveals a mother and daughter living in a world of their own, thriving together amid the decay and disorder of their ramshackle East Hampton mansion.
ANASTASIA / USA,1962, 8 minutes (Directors: Albert Maysles and David Maysles)—An early Maysles brothers “work for hire” for the NBC news program Update. Produced at the height of the Cold War by acclaimed screenwriter Bo Goldman, the subject is one Anastasia Stevens, an American dancer in the Bolshoi Ballet.
CHRISTO’S VALLEY CURTAIN / USA, 1973, 28 minutes (Directors: Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Ellen Hovde)—Nominated for an Academy Award, CHRISTO’S VALLEY CURTAIN celebrates the Bulgarian-born artist’s dramatic hanging of a huge orange curtain between two Colorado mountains. The workers who hung the curtain across the valley discovered a new form of art.
CUT PIECE / USA, 1965, 8 minutes (Directors: Albert Maysles and David Maysles)—Filmed at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Cut Piece documents one of Yoko Ono’s most powerful conceptual pieces.
IBM: A SELF-PORTRAIT / USA 1964, 35 minutes (Directors: Albert Maysles and David Maysles)—Told in the Maysles inimitable style, IBM: A SELF-PORTRAIT captures the future corporate juggernaut at an early stage of its development.
MEET MARLON BRANDO / USA, 1965, 29 minutes (Directors: Albert Maysles and David Maysles)—To help his moribund film MORITURI (1965), Brando agreed to participate in a marathon, daylong series of filmed interviews with reporters from local TV stations across the country. Maylses captured this mind-boggling event on film.
ORSON WELLES IN SPAIN / USA, 1966, 10 minutes (Directors: Albert Maysles and David Maysles)—Orson Welles pitches his vision of a movie about people in Spain who live for bullfights. Welles pontificates on the state of cinema, the filmmaking process and the art of bullfighting.
PSYCHIATRY IN RUSSIA / USA, 1955, 14 minutes (Director: Albert Maysles)—In 1955, Albert Maysles travelled to Russia, 16mm camera in hand. During this trip, he shot what was to become his first film, which offers an unprecedented view into Soviet mental-health care.
WITH LOVE FROM TRUMAN / USA, 1966, 29 minutes (Directors: Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin)—An intimate and candid portrayal of eccentric author and playwright Truman Capote shot during a Newsweek interview following the publication of his literary experiment In Cold Blood.
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