This weekend, The Paley Center (formerly The Museum of Television and Radio) will be screening all ten of Arts Engine’s films. Many of you might already know this but I had to say it one last time. Check out a short video that features the best of Arts Engine (or AE as we like to call it).

For more 10 year info, check these out:

- Katy wrote a nice entry on The P.O.V Blog about our first ten years.

- Agnes Varnum wrote a nice long article about for IndieWire.

Hope to see you all this weekend and thanks so much for all of your support!

The Bloor Theatre, and right next door, Ghazale, which sells Toronto’s best shawarma sandwiches

In order to attend Hot Docs, I flew to Toronto on Friday April 18 and arrived in time to catch the premiere of Club Native at the Bloor Cinema. At that beautiful theater with capacity for 850 people, Tracy Deer’s documentary played to a house full of her supporters. The film depicts the complexities of Canada’s Bill C-31, which declares that First Nations women who marry non-natives are allowed to maintain their native status. The conflict arises as some groups who do not accept the bill’s decision tacitly force Native women to abandon their reserves when they marry non-native men. Deer focuses on the Mohawks on the Kahnawake reserve in Quebec. Some great things about this film: the range of the women featured in the film whose articulate accounts were both moving and aware, and the wealth of archival footage specially that documenting the 1990 clash between Mohawks and the town of Oka. This stand off lasted almost 4 months and resulted in three deaths. One of the subjects in the film, Waneek Horn-Miller, was fourteen years old at the time, and she recalls being stabbed by a Bayonet and knocked to the ground by Canadian military as she carried supplies for her fellow Mohawks. It was an enraging sight to behold—four adult men fully armed bullying a small teenager. Horn-Miller also recounts being so consumed by this memory that she allots all her energy and attention to water polo to avoid dealing with her trauma. She becomes an athlete and leads the Canadian women’s water polo team to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. After retiring from sports, however, Horn-Miller has to work out her violent experience. The film can be a bit messy in how combines the disparate footage, and there are several talking heads that do not add much to the conversation. Still, what a breath of fresh air was to watch a documentary about Indigenous people made by one of their own!

A view of the CN Tower, the world’s tallest building

Another account of community—albeit one based more on a perceived rather than a material outsider status—is fleshed out in Aaron Rose and Joshua Leonard’s Beautiful Losers. The “losers” of the title are the skaters, punk rockers and graffiti taggers (predominantly men, with the exception of Jo Jackson and the late Margaret Kilgallen) who congregated around Rose’s Lower East Side art gallery and would come to great success in the art world in the 1990s. The film incorporates beautiful cinematography with intentionally (Mike Mills) and unintentionally (a bloated Harmony Korinne) funny anecdotes. It also includes a touching remembrance of Kilgallen, a painter who tagged abandoned train cars with hobo self-portraits.

Not-to-be-missed is Be Like Others. In contemporary Iran, homosexuality is illegal, but sex reassignment surgery for diagnosed transsexuals is not. The film, directed by Tanaz Eshaghian, follows several people about to undergo surgery. Some of the subjects are supported and embraced by their families. We see a mother who makes the transition as well as her offspring. She even confronts the male hairdresser fiancé who won’t marry her daughter. Sadly, the film also shows the characters who—although not female-identified, but rather persecuted for their effeminacy—have no choice but to pursue surgery as to avoid harassment, prison, or worse. Set in the surgeon’s office, there is a scene in the documentary that pits a radio journalist against a conflicted patient. This is a crucial moment in the film as the patient passionately articulates his oppression: in a society that will kill him for being who he is, he has to become someone that he is not—and is that life worth living? The film was well paired with Faisal Aziz’s short, The Unbearable Whiteness of Being. In eleven minutes, Aziz presents a South Asian brother and sister living in England, as they peddle their skin whitening cream at a trade show. Interviews with customers reveal yet another awful remnant of colonialism’s legacy. Eshaghian and Aziz were present for a lively Q&A session, although most of the questions were aimed at Eshaghian, who disclosed that she only featured male-to-female subjects because female-to-male Iranians did not want to “come out” on camera as transgender for fear of harm.

Q&A session with filmmakers Faisal Aziz and Tanaz Eshaghian

Other notable films I saw were British filmmaker James Marsch’s Man On Wire, which debuted at Sundance and is deservedly receiving many accolades; and Tiger Spirit by Min Sook Lee (another awesome female Canadian director premiering at the Bloor). I expected more from Victoire Terminus: described as a portrait of female boxers in Congo and set amidst chaotic presidential elections, directors Renaud Barret and Florent De La Tullaye fail to find storylines for their subjects. In Who’s Afraid of Kathy Acker? German director Barbara Caspar constructs a loving and complicated biography of the transgressive experimental fiction writer. I loved the great archival footage of Acker in interviews and performances. She was truly a magnetic artist and this film is a timely tribute to her. There is some confusing juxtaposition using archival footage, however. For example, grainy footage depicting Acker’s move to New York in 1974 is underscored by Le Tigre’s song “Bang! Bang!” which makes reference to the NYPD’s shootings of Amadou Diallo and Patrick Dorismond in the 1990s. I did enjoy seeing Acker’s friends reminisce about her, especially Kathy Brew, whose new project, Beauty Behind Bars, we fiscally sponsor. Another highlight: Kathleen Hannah stating that Acker told her after a reading that she should share her thoughts and feelings wth the world and form a band. Hannah promptly did as she was told. The rest, as they say, is riot grrrl herstory.

In light of Earth Day (coming up next week) and my love of online quizzes, I wanted to share a nifty website I found where you can calculate your carbon footprint. The footprint for my 2 person household is below the national average of 53 tons of carbon dioxide per year but, admittedly, I could stand to recycle more to move closer to the world average of 11 tons of carbon dioxide per year. What’s your carbon footprint?

Last month I saw Brett Morgen’s Chicago 10. Though the reviews haven’t been raving, the film deserves a defense.

Briefly, the movie is about the eight radicals that were put to trial for conspiracy to start a riot after the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention.

The film had many strong moments from spine tingling and inspiring to horrific and tear evoking. It weaves in an animated trial with actual footage. The trial dialogue was constructed using the authentic court transcripts.

One of the biggest criticisms of the movie was the animation. Cinematical claims the animation was too unrealistic. So unrealistic, in fact, that it was hard to concentrate. This is just a shot in the dark, but if Morgen was going for the realistic look he probably would have hired actors. Though, a live reenactment of the trials would’ve been unconvincing along side the real footage. The animation gave the film a feeling of myth and legend which, apparently, was what Morgen was going for. He told Cinematical that he’s “more interested in creating modern-day mythologies than historical documentaries.”

Another reason the film was criticized was for its lack of factual context. The New York Times review of the movie claims that the film is lacking because it does not “engage any sense of history beyond the superficialities of rhetoric and image.” The reviewer then goes on to say that the candidates of the presidential race were never mentioned in the movie, and that it never mentions whether or not the Yippie movement benefited.

I disagree that this takes away from the movie. It’s not Morgen’s job to teach the viewers American history. That time period was complex and the movie was merely illustrating one event of many. I don’t believe the film’s purpose was to educate viewers about that specific Democratic National Convention. It doesn’t matter who the candidates were. The lesson is timeless and applies to today just as much as it did to the ‘60s. And, come on, it’s 40 years later. If viewers don’t know whether or not the Yippie cause lived on they should research the topic themselves. To explain why the movement died would be another, very different, movie.

I was attracted to the movie because I’ve always been mystified by that era, and that trial in particular. The riots happened because the government wanted to silence the counter-culture. And the trial happened because someone had to be punished. By placing false blame on those eight people, the government was trying to absolve itself from blame.

For the same reason that the Vietnam War is compared to the Iraq War, Chicago 10’s message is still relevant today. There are young people today who oppose the Bush Administration and the Iraq War just as much as those young people opposed Lyndon B. Johnson and the Vietnam War. Where are all the protesters now?

—Posted by Brittany Mayne

I am basically the oldest staff person at Arts Engine (and let me clarify: it’s not that I’m so old — it’s that everyone here is so young!), and so I feel it is incumbent upon me to rhapsodize from time to time about the Old Days. And to point out things from back in the day that have stuck around and are still worthwhile. One of these things is the Film Arts Foundation (FAF). At a time when independent media arts organizations are struggling to survive, it is worth noting the staying power and continuing effectiveness of the San Francisco-based FAF. In addition to supporting a generation of filmmakers through its key activities such as fiscal sponsorship and equipment rental, FAF also publishes the magazine Film Arts, which is great to read and easy on the eyes. Designed with panache and distinguished by its editorial edginess, Film Arts is one of the few glossies arriving on my desk which I actually look forward to reading. In fact, I find it to be the perfect complement to the guilty pleasure offered by Entertainment Weekly and commercial trade mags like Variety. While it’s true that countless articles about the world of independent filmmaking can be found online these days, there’s still something very satisfying about a real-life, honest-to-goodness magazine. You can carry it in your bag and read on the subway, look at the photos, fold down the page on the article you like. And it comes to me without requiring me to search for it online. It’s like a deluxe hard-copy version of an RSS feed, that arrives all in one piece. Okay, maybe I’m sounding old now. But the magazine is also important to me because the need for intelligent independent journalism and editorials on the world of indie filmmaking is only GROWING, not shrinking. I find that a lot of the magazine and websites targeting the independent filmmaker spend most of their time promoting the latest gadgets and software more than they address the practical and aesthetic concerns of the budget-minded filmmaker. Which is all to say, long live Film Arts! They are in the midst of a critical fundraising drive right now, so if you have it in your heart and pocketbook to lend them a hand, now is the time.

Last Monday, I “attended” the first ever Women Who Tech TeleSummit — and by “attended,” I mean all the panels happened virtually via phone and web. I’ve been on phone conferences that have been anything but productive but these tech savvy women did not disappoint! I was able to listen to panelists speak individually via the telephone and chime in with a comment or two via the web, where I was also able to view the Powerpoint presentations given by the panelists. Definitely a multi-media experience!

The information disseminated was also very impressive. In one panel entitled “Tooting Your Own Horn,” panelist Megan Fitzgerald of Career By Choice described how women — but really, anyone — can stand to benefit from creating a personal brand. Essentially, if you want people to perceive you as an expert in your field(s), you have to eat, sleep, live, and breathe it. Your personal brand should be embodied not only by the work you do but how you live. Fitzgerald and fellow panelist Lynne d. Johnson of Fast Company suggested you monitor your brand by using Google Alerts. Also recommended by Fitzgerald was to use Career Distinction’s Online Identity Calculator to see how strong your online identity is (ie: does it best represent the person you think you are?). I recommend you try it out. I took this little quiz myself and found no surprises — well, one pleasant surprise, someone I helped with some code a while back still credits me!

Another panel I attended which I found very interesting was titled “Everything You Wanted to Know About Tech But Were Afraid to Ask (a Man).” Prior to the telesummit, attendees had the opportunity to submit questions which they wanted panelists to answer. The panelists were all very distinguished and came from different backgrounds. In the end, it was nice to see that no question was left without a good thoughtful answer. I certainly left that panel a little bit wiser with all my questions answered.

I thought these panels really embodied the spirit of the entire telesummit. They are testament to the fact that women are capable of being experts in the extremely male dominated field that is tech. Not to mention that women are often at the forefront of fostering opportunities by which we can continue to use increasingly available collaborative technologies to share our collective knowledge and empower each other.

Tonight, DocuClub celebrates its 2008 re-launch by Arts Engine. We will be screening Kimberly Reed’s rough cut of Prodigal Sons; DocuClub founder Susan Kaplan will be facilitating the feedback discussion afterwards. Read more about the new DocuClub on today’s POV blog.

A particularly exciting feature of the new DocuClub site is the interactive section “Talk Back.” In it, folks unable to attend our screenings can still participate with their feedback by responding to recaps of past sessions. We hope you “Talk Back” often!

The Cinema Eye Honors originated to recognize documentary filmmakers as artists deserving of attention for their craft. The first award ceremony was held at the IFC Center, in New York, a few weeks ago. Organizers AJ Schnack and Thom Powers sought to expand the categories under which documentarians are celebrated; for example, awards were given for “Outstanding Achievement in Editing” and “Outstanding Achievement in Graphics & Animation.” The night’s big winner was Manda Bala, which took top prizes in Cinematography (for a female DP, Heloisa Passos—hooray), Editing, and for Best Nonfiction Filmmaking. There were moving tributes to St. Clair Bourne and Tony Silver—by far, these segments were my favorite part of the evening. Nonso Christian Ugbode humbly recalled Bourne as a generous mentor as well as a fierce filmmaker; Ugbode also put together a nice selection of clips of Bourne’s work. As a longtime resident of Alphabet City (and Avenue D at that), it was such a thrill for me to watch the opening scenes of Silver’s Style Wars, with its shots of subway cars covered in graffiti and B-boys flipping on their heads. Another highlight was that The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (a big favorite among the Arts Engine crew) won the Audience Choice Award. Kudos go to distributor IndiePix for sponsoring the awards and to Danielle DiGiacomo for being such a staunch supporter of documentary.