Bert Marcus (Champs)
Watching boxing when I was little was kind of a bonding experience between my parents and I. We used to watch every major heavyweight bout during the '90s, so it's no surprise to say that Mike Tyson was one of my favorite boxers growing up. Recently, the man formerly known as Iron Mike has experienced a renaissance of sorts with his various ventures in entertainment. One such venture saw Tyson produce Champs, an exceptional documentary that explores the socioeconomic issues that plagued Bernard Hopkins, Evander Holyfield, and Tyson during their boxing heydays.
I had the chance to speak with Bert Marcus, the writer/director/co-producer of Champs, where we discussed the documentary's focus, working with Tyson, his production company's plans for the future, and more. Read on for the full interview, and keep an eye out for our review of the documentary later.
Champs is in theaters, on Demand, and on iTunes today, March 13th!
[Review] Breastmilk
To be honest, I'm out of my element with this one. I'm at that age where all of my friends are starting their families, and being a single guy surrounded by married couples and kids has been a huge change of pace from my early 20s. Lately, I've been on the receiving end of parenting from who I consider to be a "Super Mom," getting a very detailed perspective on child rearing from a maternal point of view. In saying that, I felt like watching Breastmilk, a documentary on breast feeding, would be a more formal extension of those conversations. I didn't exactly get what I was looking for... then again, I don't really know what I was trying to get out of a documentary on breast feeding.
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Breastmilk
Director: Dana Ben-Ari
Rating: N/A
Release Date: August 5th, 2014 (Purchase Here)
Breastmilk follows a handful of women through their first year of motherhood, linked together by the topic of breast feeding. Based on my external conversations on the subject, I know that breast feeding is very important and nutritious for newborns. However, I don't really know why. I was hoping that Breastmilk would illuminate the pros and cons of breast feeding... but it doesn't do that. In fact, where most documentaries will have a stringent narrative (complete with a narrator guiding the documentary along), Breastmilk follows a loose outline over the course of the year, keying in on specific points relating to the trials and hardships of breast feeding.
Without the proper background information, I don't know why women choose breast feeding over formula. Breastmilk does hone in on the emotional and psychological connection a mother has with her child through breast feeding, but I was expecting a more scientific explanation for it. I really love loose narratives in documentaries, as it lets the subjects (and editors) set the tone for the films; however, I guess I just had too much of an expectation that, ultimately, can't be wholly held against director Dana Ben-Ari.
In saying that, I'm obviously not the demographic Breastmilk was targeting. I think the documentary would be a great supplementary tool for expectant mothers to see what breast feeding is like over the course of a baby's first year alongside the standard texts recommended by doctors. However, it doesn't inform or educate as much as I think it could have. As a single male in his late-20s, I guess what I expected were first-hand, entertaining lessons on breast feeding directly from first-time mothers. Instead, I got inundated with stories about latching, inabilities to produce excess breast milk, and more. While I loved learning about the other aspects to breast feeding, I still felt slighted not truly being explained the benefits of it in the first place.
[Interview] Jeremy Snead (Video Games: The Movie)
As a life-long gamer, Video Games: The Movie resonated well with me as it represented the de facto documentary on gaming. After all, it was created by a gamer, and the passion and understanding of the culture was very apparent throughout the film. I had the chance to speak to Jeremy Snead, writer, director, and producer of the documentary, about the process compiling Video Games: The Movie together, his views on the current state of gaming, and more. Read the full interview over the next few pages!
Ron Howard Is Directing The Beatles Official Documentary
Ron Howard is no stranger to music documentaries, especially with last week's release of the Jay Z documentary, Made in America. It's somewhat fitting, then, that the storied actor/director/producer would turn his sights from one of the most influential rappers to the most influential band in history, The Beatles. With full support from Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, and Olivia Harrison, Howard will be directing the official documentary on The Fab Four. The currently untitled documentary will feature 12 to 20 songs from The Beatles' catalog, fan-submitted videos, and more; the doc will also take a look at the band's history and their impact on culture. No date has been set, but a 2015 release is targeted.
In a statement released by Howard, the director had this to say about the project:
I am excited and honored to be working with Apple and the White Horse team on this astounding story of these four young men who stormed the world in 1964. Their impact on popular culture and the human experience cannot be exaggerated.
Considering how huge The Beatles still are these days (hey Shawn and Blake!), it was only a matter of time before an "official" documentary on the band was produced. Thankfully, it's in the very capable hands of Ron Howard, so the film's quality should be very high and treated with utmost respect. Now, it's only a matter of time before an official documentary on The Monkees is released...
[via /Film]
Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna Kickstart U.S. Documentary Tour
Gael García Bernal (Amores perros) and Diego Luna (Cesar Chavez) are on a mission to launch a rogue documentary tour across the U.S. in order to democratize documentary culture. The nonprofit group overseeing the project, Ambulante, is working on using Kickstarter in order to raise $52,780, begin their documentary tour in California, and ultimately get the ball rolling on initiating their tour across the United States.
The California-based pilot plan is centered on advocating the discovery of alternative filmmaking and storytelling rooted in non-fiction film. Ambulante will curate their screenings in outdoor and makeshift spaces between September 21st and October 4th, and screen films from all over the world, with special attention called to eclectic Mexican documentaries. Some of the documentaries they have been showing over the past ten years while touring in Mexico include Searching for Sugar Man, All Tomorrow’s Parties, and The Act of Killing.
Once the project comes together, Ambulante will program one free screening event and welcome filmmakers, subjects, and other guests to speak with audiences after the film. There are also plans set for after-parties and musical performances that will be free and open to the public. The funds raised on Kickstarter will contribute to projection fees, transportation costs, and the supplying of food and gas to Ambulante volunteers. Contributing to the campaign guarantees perks ranging from a private screening of never-before released short film, Revolucion, to spending time with Diego Luna at a backers only party right before the festival, receiving collectables, and being offered an apprenticeship with Pablo Cruz.
You have until July 17th to get this documentary tour funded. Check out a detailed video on Ambulante and their Kickstarter campaign below.
[kickstarter id="ambulantecalifornia/ambulante-create-a-rogue-documentary-tour-across-t"]
[Review] The Next Black
The Next Black introduces us to the Brave New World of fashion, placing the garment industry in a futuristic context that most of us growing up with stores like H&M or Zara never thought would be possible. The documentary comes at the viewer in a minimalist, straight-forward and tsunami-like manner, similarly to the clothing industry itself, which holds promises of one day wearing the surface of computers- washable tech, soft tech, and silky tech - on our bodies.
The documentary opens up by explaining that textiles today still cover bodies and indicate social code. However, fusing fashion and technology introduces us to a drastic transformation in textiles- to a machine that alters the way we dress, or a factory disguised as a garment. While this idea seems too cyborg-like or OD science fiction for some, wearable tech is going to make its way to the market sooner or later, and scientists collaborating with designers are ready to tackle the breakthrough. While few interviewees are featured in this documentary, each is an expert in his or her field, and effectively hits viewers with numerous facts about the quickly transforming world of fashion.
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The Next Black
Director: Phil Marthinsen
Rating: N/A
Release Date: June 3, 2014 (VOD)
The New Black brings to the table the concept of smart clothing. In Germany, Adidas has figured out how to monitor athletes’ performance using real time, equipping their clothing with heart rate sensors and working on adding respiration sensors and other features. Elite sportswear is still in the “bacteria” stage, as is most wearable tech, and is focused on developing smaller, faster, and smarter platforms. The concept of bacteria is also introduced to the viewer in a more literal and concrete way, with The New Black suggesting that innovations can take textiles to the next level by embracing nature and growing a dress in a vat of liquid using microorganisms. This process is described as being much closer to brewing beer or baking than one of fashion, but can move efficiently from the lab to the market and also reduce waste. It opens up a broad range of possibilities for what fashion will be able to do for us in the future, potentially being able to protect our skin or even provide us with nutrients.
Almost more important than introducing possibilities stemming from the fusion of science, technology, and fashion, the documentary calls out the concept of “fast fashion,” which is fashion that’s mass-produced, has a fixed price, and is standardly sized. We often blame unethical brands and polluting factories for fast fashion dominating our culture, but The Next Black stresses that the most important shift in textiles rides on the shoulders of consumers, who critically need to come to terms with their place in the garment industry. It’s important for us to be cognizant of the fact that relentless production and consumption stems from companies needing to satisfy our ever-changing desires and needs. Change derives from buying less clothing, but also from caring about the clothes we already own. By being proactive with what we wear, we become proactive with our product, and the tangible experience allows us to develop a more emotional connection with clothing, changing the future of fashion on both an intimate and a grand scale.
The Next Black gives us this sneak peak into what the future holds for fashion in a fitting minimalistic and informative manner, especially considering how dense the reality of tech innovation is for generations growing up deciphering dial-up Internet. Going from having dial-up to having potentially digital skin is not a concept that can be taken lightly, especially by an age group that is still the beta for such drastic changes. While the synthesis of textiles, innovative technology and science offers what seems to be hopeful change in the world where fashion meets futuristic function, such extreme transformations call for a large amount of unknowns. We must be on our game as consumers to avoid being passive with these shifts, in order to enter this Brave New World on alert and fully guarded.
[Trailer] Life Itself
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Roger Ebert touched my life in a number of ways, not only as a film critic or a fan of movies, but as a Chicagoan. Somehow, Ebert became the de facto voice in film criticism during his long tenure at the Chicago Sun-Times. I'll never become half the critic he was, but I acknowledge his influence every time I sit down to watch a film and every time I sit down to gather my thoughts together for a review. Everybody knew who Ebert was, highlighting just how iconic he became in his lifetime while writing for a local newspaper (that was distributed nationally, to be fair). Ebert never lost his voice, even after he very literally lost his voice to cancer towards the end of his life. Finally, a fitting testimony to his legacy will be appearing in theaters across the country later this summer.
Entitled Life Itself, the documentary follows Ebert's life as an amateur writer to becoming the icon he eventually became, complete with the trials and tribulations he had to face. I wrote a bit about the documentary while its crowd funding campaign was going on last year. While I unfortunately missed the doc back at Sundance, I look forward to seeing what director Steve James (Hoop Dreams) was able to put together.
Life Itself will be released on July 4th.
[Documentary] Instafame
Internet fame is such a mixed bag of "success." Is it even fair to encapsulate internet fame as being "successful"? Many so-called internet celebrities are known for arbitrary reasons, whether they're super attractive or know the right people or any stupid reason. Some legitimately have earned that fame, such as the many musicians and artists that have found their following through their interactions online.
One such platform used to attain internet fame is Instagram. Since the social network platform/application launched back in October 10th, it has become a formidable platform for users to share their amateur photos, selfies, food, you name it. After Facebook acquired the business in 2012, the platform has seen an enormous growth, both in users and visibility. As a pro-Instagram lot, we give so called "Instagrammers" their due with our "IG Weekly" posts, sharing the spotlight on those who have taken to the service in creative, inspiring ways.
In a documentary entitled Instafame, a "strategic planning consultancy" called Sylvain Labs centered on the 15-year-old Shawn Megira, an Instagram user with more than 81,000 followers. By focusing on and following him, they attempt to analyze what it is about this so-called "Instafame" that drives teenagers, and whether it can be seen as a true measure of success. However, by doing so, they lose sight of their main goal: analyzing what exactly it is that brings this so-called fame. What did Megira do to attain so many followers, to be followed when out in public, to amass a purported "fan page" in his honor?
They pose an interesting thesis, but don't ultimately delve into whether Megira's "instafame" was gained by merit or circumstance. Without it, all of the speculation about how online fame affects teenagers and their personal dreams and goals is a bit moot. Nevertheless, the documentary serves a purpose by exploring this rising level of "success" that seemingly anybody can attain. If you have 12 minutes to spare, it won't be wasted watching Instafame.
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