Curating, for me, is about expanding the circles around the artist. It is a process of cultural production centered on translation, extending from the nucleus and into the cellular system. Curating travels from the studio to the gallery or museum and to the communication or information networks through which the art will inevitably pass, intersecting with other social and cultural phenomena.
The best of the three is a movie that wasn't on many radars before Venice but became a must-see at TIFF after it emotionally devastated Italian audiences. Kaouther Ben Hania's " Four Daughters" was a breakthrough for the Tunisian filmmaker, earning her an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature. She uses her skills with non-fiction filmmaking to emotional effect with the crushing "The Voice of Hind Rajab," a recounting of the events of January 29, 2024, much of which played out on social media.
"I remember coming out of the theater and feeling upset and needing to decompress and grab a drink," Chakarova said. "That's when Randall West, the same firefighter I met a year before walked into the same place I was. Randall said: 'You want to do a documentary of unrecognized heroes? You've got to talk to Wellington. You've got to do a documentary about the kids who are in his program'."
The Shorenstein Center announced today the Fall 2025 cohort of Documentary Film Fellows, who will be working closely with the Documentary Film in the Public Interest (DFPI) initiative. Through the Fellows' projects, the Shorenstein Center will engage in examinations of public impact and media policy. Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs said in a press release, "We are eager to welcome these exceptional leaders into our research community. Prof. Aufderheide's groundbreaking work on ethical practice, and Jax DeLuca's on the civic power of documentary, could not be more timely at this critical moment for the field."
Musician Frank Benbini is most probably known best as the drummer from Fun Lovin' Criminals and a latter incarnation of UB40, although as this documentary (which Benbini executive produced) reveals, he's got a lot of different irons on the proverbial fire; these include a beat combo called Uncle Frank and a reggae group called Radio Riddler. There are other side projects as well, musical and music-adjacent the occasional bit of barbering with an old friend from Leicester with whom he co-owns a salon,
After setting out to follow a family in Ukraine for an independent film the brothers were producing, Brent and Arredondo were gunned down by Russian soldiers on 13 March 2022. Arredondo was heavily wounded; Brent was shot in the neck and did not survive. According to the driver, [the ambush] wasn't more than five minutes, said Arredondo. But for me, it just felt an eternity.
In 1953, when Godard's mother, Odile, sent him to work as a labourer on the construction of the Grande Dixence dam in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, it represented a desperate last throw of the dice for her wayward 22-year-old kleptomaniac son. Godard had returned to Switzerland to avoid being drafted into the Indochina war, but quickly found himself in trouble again.
Chaz Ebert provides an insightful first-hand look at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, covering notable films, interviews, and the vibrant atmosphere surrounding this prestigious event.