CCA Events
Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary Premieres at CCA
California premiere of 2010 Gemini Award nominee, featuring 30 world-renowned filmmaking luminaries
Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 7–9 pm
Carmen M. Christensen Production Stage, San Francisco campus
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Free and open to the public
Press contact: Dylan McGinty
347.873.5160
RSVP required to d.mcginty@nfb.ca
The National Film Board of Canada presents the California premiere of Capturing Reality: The Art Of Documentary (2008, 97 min), written and directed by Pepita Ferrari. The film will be introduced by San Francisco’s Consul of Canada Nadia Scipio del Campo and features
- Albert Maysles
- Errol Morris
- Alanis Obomsawin
- Michel Brault
- Nick Broomfield
- Patricio Guzman
- Kim Longinotto
- and the great iconoclast Werner Herzog
These filmmakers, among others, offer insight into their craft, while reflecting on the nature of representation and the perennially contested status of the "truth."
The film was nominated for a 2010 Gemini Award in the Best Performing Arts Program or Series or Arts Documentary Program or Series category.
Filmmakers have been turning their cameras on the real world since the time of the Lumière Brothers—and the documentary genre has sparked impassioned creative debate ever since.
What comes into play when filmmakers set out to represent reality? What ethical concerns arise when portraying real people on screen? How does music condition our emotional response to film?
From cinema-vérité pioneers Albert Maysles, Joan Churchill, and Michel Brault to maverick moviemakers like Errol Morris and Nick Broomfield—some of the doc world’s brightest lights reflect upon the unique power of the genre in Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary.
Articulate and entertaining, provocative and thoughtful—the cast includes such luminaries as Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán and the innovative British director Kim Longinotto. Studded throughout are intimate interviews with over 30 directors and clips from 50 films—classics such as Grey Gardens and The Thin Blue Line as well as such arresting recent work as Darwin’s Nightmare and The Day I Will Never Forget, offering insight into various aspects of the complex creative process.
Provocative pranksters, courageous activists, and consummate storytellers—directors as diverse as Pakistani feminist Sabiha Sumar, new media guru Peter Wintonick, and Brazilian master Eduardo Couthinho discuss the multiple creative choices involved in making documentary cinema.
Director Pepita Ferrari fashions the kaleidoscopic mix into her own engaging narrative, deftly charting the documentarian’s journey, while probing the perennially contested status of the “truth.”
Can film capture reality? Some contemporary directors challenge the original tenets of cinema-vérité, while the iconoclastic Werner Herzog abandons facts altogether in his quest for the “ecstasy of truth.”
Combining an unalloyed joy in moviemaking with a deep knowledge of film culture, Capturing Reality explores the contemporary documentary scene with intellectual rigor, stylish originality, and a fresh sense of discovery.
Wednesday, September 29, 7 p.m.
California College of the Arts (SF campus)
Film Program at CCA Events Series
Carmen Christiansen Production Stage
1111 Eighth Street
San Francisco CA 94107
Thursday, September 30, 7 p.m.
Christopther B. Smith Rafael Film Center
1118 Fourth Street (between A & B streets)
San Rafael CA 94901
www.cafilm.org/
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