French shop keeper turned documentary maker, Thierry Guetta (who goes under the moniker Mr. Brainwash) tells his tale of his search for famed street artist Banksy. Shepard Fairey, Mr. A (Andre), and Space Invaders aid in his quest and make appearances in the film.
It’s the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed.
– Banksy
Last night, I got a really unexpected call from Derek Hambly, a local abstract expressionism minimalist painter. I had met him at the Artsy Fair about a month ago to talk about shooting a video. When I had called him to follow up, I got the vibe that he wasn’t particularly interested. Well, he called me last night and asked if I was still interested.
I talked with his wife for a good 20 minutes about what sort of thing they were interested in. I pitched an idea off the top of my head and they were game!
He was just about to start a new piece, so I got the great fortune to watch as he mounted and primed canvas. I’m going to be able to capture a painting from genesis to completion.
We’ll see how it goes, but I’m pretty excited about the project.
Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary is a collection of videos of documentary filmmakers who talk about the craft, ethics, and other things related to making documentaries.
Errol Morris, Werner Herzog and over 30 of today’s top documentary filmmakers provide an in-depth look at non-fiction filmmaking and the steps to making a documentary. These masters of the craft reflect upon the nature of documentary as a form of storytelling and offer insight into their approach to the ‘truth.’
I’m looking forward to seeing the Green Fuse Films origami documentary, Between the Folds. Between The Folds chronicles the stories of 10 fine artists, theoretical mathematicians and intrepid scientists who have abandoned conventional jobs and scoffed at hard-earned graduate degrees—all to forge lives as modern-day paperfolders.
It gives some great insight into how documentaries or even “reality TV” is written. It would’ve been nice for him to go a little deeper into the process, but it’s still a great little gem.
A beautiful and powerful short documentary. And it’s amazing that they never mention the “C” word once. But as people share their personal stories, you realize that they’re all sharing the same meta-narrative. Errol Morris does a fantastic job of intercutting the dialogue so we get a sense of this one big story.
I also has a personal connection to this because my dad had liver cancer. I know how hard it is to go through chemo, percocet, going through surgery, looking for a donor, and finally getting the call.
Stand Up To Cancer is a groundbreaking movement backed by an innovative approach to cancer research aimed at ending cancer’s reign as a leading cause of death. We have the best and brightest minds on board, and are on the verge of unlocking the door in prevention, detection, treatment and even reversal of this national epidemic.
Half the trip is over. This is if you don’t count our 2 days worth of vacation at the end.
Woke up this morning a little after 7. I wanted to take a shower, but my clothes weren’t back from being washed yet. So I’ll wait and see if I’ll get them later. I’ve been sweating, but it’s mainly been around my neck, which I’ve been washing. A lot.
For breakfast, I had oatmeal porridge with a bit of yogurt. It was a nice light meal. The oatmeal came in a bath of milk, which I thought would be a little hard on the stomach, so I didn’t drink too much of it.
I did my devos as I waited for Marcia. When she came, she looked a little out of it. She said that she wasn’t feeling well from last night. I gave her her book back and asked her what it meant to be a Christian. We talked about it for a little bit and it was a nice conversation.
Afterwards, Elena came over and asked us what our plans would be for the rest of the week. I really wanted to meet with Larisa and told her that were trying to contact her. Then Kostya came over and asked the same thing. Continue Reading »
I woke up at 7, feeling weak and tired. But I had to do work. I took a shower and went down stairs for some breakfast. Even though I didn’t want to eat, I knew that I had to. Luckily, we had pancakes. Nice and light. Just what I needed.
At 8, Marcia came by. I told her what happened as we waited for Nazira. Marcia gave me a book where she has all her friends and stuff sign. I wrote something really quick, but felt like there was so much more I wanted to say, so I held on to it.
At 9, we left for Iskra.
We met with Larisa. She had little cakes and macerated raspberries and was preparing tea for us. I went inside to shoot some b-roll, but ended up starting the interview inside. Continue Reading »
I woke up kind of late, with a bit of rumbling in my tummy, but didn’t think too much about it. I just ate some bars I had brought with me for breakfast and played Final Fantasy: Revenant Wings as I waited for Marcia.
Marcia came by a little after 9 and said that there was breakfast for me. I went down, ate a little bit, but knew that we were on a time crunch, so we left.
We grabbed a taxi to Marcia’s church and we interviewed her pastor. Afterwards, we went to her service.
The singing was great, even without electricity, their voices were so strong and you could really feel like they were worshiping God, not just singing. Continue Reading »