“Journalism is not dead!” was the defiant cry from Thursday night’s Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards. Columbia Journalism School Dean Nicholas Lemann exhorted the “connected crowd” to turn off their phones and go off the grid for an hour to celebrate the journalistic achievements of their colleagues. The awards, presented as they have been since
Continue reading this entry »David Nanasi
Patti Smith: A Perfect Storm
The Patti Smith celebrations continue! Last week was the POV broadcast of Steven Sebring‘s Patti Smith: Dream of Life, as well as her New Year’s concerts in New York City. Last night saw the opening of “Objects of Life” at the Robert Miller Gallery in Manhattan’s Chelsea Art District, on West 26th Street. The show
Continue reading this entry »Making a Difference in the Classroom
Picture this: You’re a high school social studies teacher, trying to raise issues of social injustice in a way that resonates with your students. How do you get them to connect with an issue in such a way that the ideas behind your lessons stay with them beyond the midterm? A documentary might just do
Continue reading this entry »Moore or Less: Slacker Uprising
Michael Moore scored a big buzz with the online release of his latest doc Slacker Uprising, a kind of concert film of his 2004 efforts to get out the (young Democratic) vote in advance of the election. The release, timed for the ’08 contest, functions as a cautionary tale to “not get fooled again” —
Continue reading this entry »What happens when you’re sick and uninsured in America?
Roger Weisberg‘s Critical Condition, which airs this fall on POV, answers the question with the stories of four individuals who struggle with health problems without insurance: together with their loved ones, they are forced to confront difficult financial and emotional decisions as they fight for their lives. It’s a problem that faces a sixth of
Continue reading this entry »‘Traces of the Trade’ at Upstate Films
Have you been looking for a reason to take a trip to upstate New York this weekend? Look no further — here’s the perfect opportunity to see a great film in one of the prettiest towns in the region. Katrina Browne’s Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North will have a special
Continue reading this entry »Word Play
Calling all crossword puzzlers and Scrabble fans! You know who are — you can’t get enough word play. You do crossword puzzles on the train, play games of Scrabble in cafes or in the park, or on Scrabulous. Maybe you’ve read Marc Romano‘s Crossworld or Stephen Fatzis‘ Word Freaks, recent books on the worlds of
Continue reading this entry »Envirodocs: The Day Before the Day After Tomorrow
In light of Earth Day yesterday, the environment is on everyone’s minds. Or is it? How prominent are environmental stories the day after Earth Day? There’s no shortage of docs sounding the environmental crisis alarm. By all accounts we’re half way to Armageddon, with the environmental situation so precarious only the swiftest about-face in energy
Continue reading this entry »Biting Back at the Media
To all those who rail against the media for overzealous reporting, taking advantage of those in crisis, or using underhanded methods to get a cheap scoop, meet your new hero, Alan Abel, whose lifelong pursuit has been to hang the media out to dry. Preying on mainstream media’s insatiable thirst for the lurid, the perverse,
Continue reading this entry »Upstate Update: Taxi to the Dark Side
As we blogged a couple weeks ago in our Arthouse Confidential post about independent theaters, there’s a lot of cool stuff going on at local arthouse cinemas around the country. If you’re lucky enough to live near one, you can take advantage of all sorts of great opportunities to see films that may be otherwise
Continue reading this entry »Upcoming Events
Racing Dreams
February 15, 2012
8:30 pm
Nashville, Tennessee
Racing Dreams is heading to Nashville as part of Liscomb Univerity's HumanDocs Film Series on February 15th at 8:30 pm. This screening is presented in partnership with the Nashville Film Festival and NPT.
More info »