The official shortlist has been announced for the Academy Award’s Documentary Feature category.

Included are those we all expected to see such as Burma VJ, Food Inc, The Beaches of Agnes and The Cove, but there are some some surprising omissions, including The September Issue, Capitalism: A Love Story (although not one I’m unhappy about), Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner We Live in Public, Tyson, The Way We Get By and possibly most notably, Anvil.

Personally I’m really thrilled to see Sergio on the list. It was one of the most powerful documentaries I’ve seen all year. The Most Dangerous Man in America — a real late comer as it has only just started making the festival rounds — also certainly deserves to be on the list. In reaction to the news, Cinetic’s Matt Dentler said that “this might be the most obscure doc features shortlist ever” and he may have a point. It misses out on a large majority of the those most expected to appear on the shortlist. So far reception of the nominees on twitter has seen definite consensus that The Beaches of Agnes and Mugabe and the White African are the frontrunners to grab the statue on the night. What do you think?

The 15 films shortlisted:

* “The Beaches of Agnes,” Agnès Varda, director (Cine-Tamaris)
* “Burma VJ,” Anders Østergaard, director (Magic Hour Films)
* “The Cove,” Louie Psihoyos, director (Oceanic Preservation Society)
* “Every Little Step,” James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo, directors (Endgame Entertainment)
* “Facing Ali,” Pete McCormack, director (Network Films Inc.)
* “Food, Inc.,” Robert Kenner, director (Robert Kenner Films)
* “Garbage Dreams,” Mai Iskander, director (Iskander Films, Inc.)
* “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders,” Mark N. Hopkins, director (Red Floor Pictures LLC)
* “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith, directors (Kovno Communications)
* “Mugabe and the White African,” Andrew Thompson and Lucy Bailey, directors (Arturi Films Limited)
* “Sergio,” Greg Barker, director (Passion Pictures and Silverbridge Productions)
* “Soundtrack for a Revolution,” Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, directors (Freedom Song Productions)
* “Under Our Skin,” Andy Abrahams Wilson, director (Open Eye Pictures)
* “Valentino The Last Emperor,” Matt Tyrnauer, director (Acolyte Films)
* “Which Way Home,” Rebecca Cammisa, director (Mr. Mudd)

You can see the official press release here.

So there was some big news to come out of CPH:DOX; Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers has won the grand jury prize. An interesting choice to say the least, considering the fact that the film is not a documentary. In fact, some seem to be questioning whether or not it should even be considered a film. (Including Korine himself, in his introduction at this years TIFF screening) So…is this just some sort of creative loophole or have the boundaries of non-fiction grown even further? In his recent review of Lars Von Trier’s Anti-Christ, Roger Ebert said “Feature films may be fiction, but they are certainly documentaries showing actors in front of a camera.” It seems as though the jury at CPH:DOX have taken this idea and ran with it, choosing Korine’s ‘found footage’ story of four renegade trash humping outsiders as the best film at this years non-fiction focused festival. As the controversy brews throughout Twitter, I’ve decided to republish my review of Trash Humpers, originally written for Film Junk during our TIFF coverage, as it seems to be somewhat relevant. I do come to the defense of Korine’s film, but I’m not entirely sure I’m on board with this grand jury selection.

Trash Humpers Review (Originally Published at Film Junk)

It’s too easy to write off Harmony Korine’s latest film as mere artsy fartsy film school bullshit. I’m the first to call foul on the self-indulgent and pretentious tendencies of some filmmakers, but there’s a fine line between art and shart (shit+fart), and Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers tap dances its way right down the middle, eliciting a wide arrange of emotional responses from those who are willing to embrace the outright chaotic VHS aesthetics.

Trash Humpers made its trash humping world premiere at the Scotiabank Theatre to a partially unsuspecting Toronto International Film Festival crowd. Luckily, Harmony Korine was in attendance and was sure to warn the masses that if they were ‘prone to walkouts’, they might as well do so immediately; a comment that was likely more sincere than the chuckling audience had thought. He then provided a bit of a preface to what we were about to see, insisting that Trash Humpers isn’t so much a movie but rather an artifact of sorts. A fictional piece of found footage that one might come across at a garage sale or discover stashed away in the closet of an abandoned old house. I guess the easiest comparison would be The Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield meets Jackass, but I’m more reminded of the period in the 90’s when it seemed like every TV news magazine show featured stories of wild teens going on crazy paintballing, mailbox smashing, home invading rampages, all caught on home video! It was under this premise that I felt Trash Humpers retained its credibility as something beyond a shitty art film. While it’s certainly not accessible in any fashion, it does have its moments of humour, sadness and pure creepiness.

For anyone left dumbfounded by the recently released ‘trailer’, you’ll be pleased to hear that Trash Humpers does have a somewhat loose plot. A small gang of elderly folks — and an apparent female burn victim played by Korine’s sister — document their reign of terror in a small neighbourhood, engaging in glass breaking, firework lighting, home invading, and yes, trash humping. Those curious about the meaning behind the title of the film will be pleased to hear that it’s indeed quite literal. In fact, the first image we see is some vigorous garbage can humping, something I didn’t think would be as hilarious as it was. It was the dedication to the act combined with the audible rhythmic banging that hit my sweet spot. There’s also some great commentary provided by the man behind the camera; another elderly gentleman portrayed by Korine himself. His cackling laugh combined with some repetitive catch phrases may ride the nerves of some, but I found it to be quite funny. He actually gives a pretty great monologue in the third act, suddenly reminding me that yes, these are supposed to be human beings of some sort.

Once you get past the aesthetics and the surreal nature of it all, Trash Humpers is pretty straight forward. A band of outsiders raging in a world that for whatever reason, has cast them aside, be it due to age, physical deformity or flat out social retardation. The VHS presentation is aesthetically unique, but more importantly, through Korine’s sheer dedication to the conceit, supports the believability of it all. The film remains 100% commited to its concept. Due to our tight schedule of screenings, I totally missed out on a follow up Q&A session with Harmony Korine, which is unfortunate as I imagine it would’ve been hilarious, if not enlightening. Either way, Trash Humpers will go down as one of my more memorable TIFF experiences and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for this one. Direct to VHS release?

AJ Schnack’s Cinema Eye Awards continues to grow, providing recognition to all of the talented craftsmen/women behind some of the best non-fiction films of the year. I can’t tell you how awesome it is to see a cinematography award dedicated to documentary filmmaking. It looks like the 2010 nominees were announced at this years Sheffield Doc/Fest and there are some inspired choices to be sure. I was thrilled to see that 45365 received a few nods (including best cinematography) and wasn’t surprised to see The Cove (which I still haven’t seen) leading the pack with a total of seven nominations, including Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking. Here are the other nominees for the top prize:

Loot
The Cove
Food, Inc.
October Country
Burma VJ

Head over to the official website for the full list of nominees and share your picks in the comments!

Ah, lists. I’m personally a fan, but I know a lot of people hate them. In many cases I think the fun of compiling them might actually outweigh the worth of reading them, but every now and again you come across a list that hits your sweet spot while opening your eyes to some new films. Paste Magazine’s Top 25 documentaries of the decade isn’t really one of those lists, but it’s not totally terrible either. They hit pretty much all of the crowd pleasers and were sure to include a fair amount of socially conscious docs, but didn’t really throw any curve balls. Maybe The Devil and Daniel Johnston, The White Diamond or The Glenaers and I (which I actually haven’t seen) could be considered somewhat inspired choices? I don’t know. What do you think? Is Supersize Me worthy of mention on this list? Is Man on Wire really the best doc of the decade? Check out the full list below and share your thoughts in the comments. Also, this reminds me that I’ve been working on a list of 50 recommended docs for the The Documentary Blog. I’ll have to get to work on that!

25. Food, Inc. (2009)
24. Dig! (2004)
23. Gleaners and I (2000)
22. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006)
21. No End In Sight (2007)
20. No Direction Home (2005)
19. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
18. Anvil: The Story of Anvil (2008)
17. The White Diamond (2004)
16. God Grew Tired of Us (2007)
15. Super Size Me (2004)
14. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
13. Jesus Camp (2006)
12. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
11. Born into Brothels (2004)
10. Waltz with Bashir (2008)
9. Murderball (2005)
8. Spellbound (2002)
7. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)
6. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
5. Bowling For Columbine (2002)
4. The Fog of War (2003)
3. Grizzly Man (2005)
2. Iraq in Fragments (2007)
1. Man On Wire (2008)

I’m wondering how it is that I completely missed The Carter last year at Sundance? Not just the fact that I didn’t see it, but I hadn’t even heard of it until now. Either way, the official trailer has hit the net and I must say it looks pretty great. I know very little about Lil’ Wayne outside of a few songs and the fact that he can sort of play guitar, so it was definitely a pleasant surprise to see that he is famous for mixing cough syrup and alcohol! What a great combination of flavour profiles.

From what I’ve read, the film was met with some resistance from Lil’ Wayne after its Sundance premiere. Those issues have apparently been resolved (did Lil’ Wayne have director’s cut?) but director Adam Bhala Lough still seems to have captured a bit of a train wreck in his film. Having said that, I’m not one to immediately jump to conclusions of sensationalism or exploitation. Based off of this trailer — and whatever the blurbs throughout it are worth — there seems to be some potential here beyond the crazy stuff. I’m on board! The Carter is ‘about to drop’ on DVD November 17th, so head on over to their official website and go ahead and pre-order it.

Screening today and Saturday at the festival with Shelter in Place is Nick Broomfield’s new film A Time Comes - The Story of the Kingsnorth Six

In this nineteen minute short Nick Broomfield goes back to look at a group of Greenpeace activists who decided to climb the chimney of Kingsnorth power station in protest of government plans for the first new coal-fired power station in Britain for three decades. The protest made national news and the activists were arrested. The resulting court case gained support from the world’s leading scientists and their subsequent acquittal was historic and changed government policy.

Nick Broomfield has not hidden the fact that his arm had to be twisted to get involved in a project like this, which is far removed from his usual work. However, once convinced, he committed fully and pulled together an incredible team all of whom worked free of charge. The subject matter and format are not the only change of form as the film uses an almost Richard Avedon-esque interview style and the release was made online and remains available to watch in full. You can find the film embedded at the end of this post.

The music was provided by Nick Laird-Clowes and features vocal and guitar contributions from David Gilmour, of which has also been made free to download here.

The final freebie is a 30 minute interview with Nick Broomfield talking about the making of ‘A Time Comes’ which can be downloaded here.

The Documentary Blog’s Sheffield Doc/Fest coverage comes to us thanks to our new UK correspondent Charlotte Cook.

On paper P-Star Rising raises certain expectations. It is a story about a 9 year old rapper and you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a standard performance driven music documentary. What actually happens is that all your expectations are turned on their head and you are presented with one of the most intimate insights into poor, struggling America seen on screen.

Director Gabriel Noble shows the highs and lows of success through the innocent eyes of Priscilla “P-Star” Diaz. She’s supported and led by her father Jesse, who for the last four years has desperately tried to find a way to make a success of his daughter’s talent while also raising Priscilla and her sister alone in their cramped one bedroom apartment. The element of risk and potential for failure give the film added suspense, as you can’t help but root for this family to succeed. Any initial judgments that this is a child being exploited are quickly squashed as P-Star’s character progressively bursts through. Even though the pressure of the family’s future evidently weighs firmly on her shoulders, she is truly happy face first in the spot light.

As Father and daughter attempt to navigate their way through the music industry, they also work to maintain their relationship. Their positioning within both worlds constantly changes as Priscilla struggles with attempts to control her own career while also remaining her Daddy’s little girl. Meanwhile, Jesse finds it hard allowing other people to have control over the choices made for his daughter while bringing her up in the best way he can. Parallel to this is the subtle presence of the two girl’s issues with their crack-addicted mother with whom Priscilla’s sister is desperate to find. The family are often forced to swap conventional roles and are constantly making sacrifices for each other. Add into the mix P-Star’s unbelievable talent and infectious personality and you’re left with a very complex but entirely entertaining underdog story.

www.pstarrising.com

 The Documentary Blog’s Sheffield Doc/Fest coverage comes to us thanks to our new UK correspondent Charlotte Cook.

Presumed Guilty is the new film from Geoffrey Smith who made last year’s outstanding documentary, The English Surgeon. This time around he’s sharing the director credit with lawyer Roberto Hernández who shot the majority of the footage.

Geoffrey’s role in this film was to shape and construct a feature documentary from over forty hours of courtroom footage provided by the legal team of Roberto Hernández and Layda Negrete who had felt compelled to document a court case they were fighting in Mexico. The Mexico judicial system works on the basis that someone is guilty until proven innocent and so their prisons are crammed full of people who “might” be guilty. Whilst dipping in and out of incredible access within the prisons, the film centres around the case of José “Toño” Rodriguez, who has been falsely accused of murder and is facing a twenty year jail term.

Luckily the lawyers aren’t strangers to filmmaking having gained success with their previous short documentary The Tunnel, which provoked the release of an innocent man from prison, and so had the foresight to film the court case using a multiple camera setup. This, combined with Geoffrey’s skill at storytelling, creates a tense Law and Order style courtroom drama. As the case progresses the characters within the courthouse and the farcical nature of Mexico’s justice system are so extreme at times it gives the film a shocking level of the blackest comedy and the rollercoaster nature of the outcome of the case is so startling that were it a scripted drama, you wouldn’t believe it.

Presumed Guilty goes far beyond being a snap shot of the flaws of Mexico’s system or even a simple case of injustice but is a film that draws on the conventional structure of a courtroom drama to highlight a story that is so infuriating and emotional that you want to believe it’s not true.

For more information, visit the film’s official website at www.presumedguiltythemovie.com.