TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, NO END IN SIGHT: Contemporary Documentaries
by Andre Soares
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences launches its 27th annual "Contemporary Documentaries" series with two widely praised Iraq War films: Alex Gibney’s Academy Award winner Taxi to the Dark Side and Charles Ferguson’s Academy Award-nominated No End in Sight. The screenings will take place on Wednesday, September 24, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission to all screenings in the series is free. Filmmakers will be present at the screenings whenever possible.
Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin may believe that the US invasion of Iraq was a "task that is from God," but apparently both Alex Gibney and Charles Ferguson think otherwise.
Taxi to the Dark Side revolves around the mysterious death of an Afghan taxi driver at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, exposing the United States government and military’s use of torture and abrogation of human rights. Directed by Gibney, Taxi to the Dark Side was produced by Gibney, Eva Orner, and Susannah Shipman. Orner will take part in a Q&A following the screening.
No End in Sight examines the reasons for Iraq’s descent into guerrilla warfare and anarchy following the 2003 US invasion, one of the biggest — and deadliest — strategic blunders in modern history. Directed by Ferguson, No End in Sight was produced by Ferguson, Jennie Amias, Audrey Marrs, and Jessie Vogelson. Ferguson and Marrs will both be present for a Q&A following the screening.
As per the Academy’s press release, "the 27th annual Contemporary Documentaries series is a showcase for feature-length and short documentaries drawn from the 2007 Academy Award nominations, including the winners, as well as other important and innovative films considered by the Academy that year." The first part of the "Contemporary Documentaries" series comprises 14 films that will screen on Wednesday evenings through December 3. The series will resume in March 2009 and continue through June.
All films, with the exception of those scheduled for December 3, will screen at the Linwood Dunn Theater at the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. All seating is unreserved. Filmmakers will be present at screenings whenever possible.
The December 3 screening will take place at the IMAX Theater at the California Science Center in Exposition Park. For directions and parking information, call (323) SCIENCE.
The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. Free parking is available through the entrance on Homewood Avenue (one block north of Fountain Avenue). For additional information, visit www.oscars.org or call (310) 247-3600.
Photos: Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library
The "Contemporary Documentaries" screening schedule through 2008 is as follows:
September 24
Taxi to the Dark Side
Directed by Alex Gibney
Produced by Gibney, Eva Orner, Susannah Shipman
Academy Award winner: Documentary Feature
No End in Sight
Directed by Charles Ferguson
Produced by Ferguson, Jennie Amias, Audrey Marrs, Jessie Vogelson
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Feature
October 1
Autism: The Musical
Directed by Tricia Regan
Produced by Perrin Chiles, Regan, Sasha Alpert
War/Dance
Directed by Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine
Produced by Albie Hecht
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Feature
October 15
Freeheld
Directed by Cynthia Wade
Produced by Wade, Vanessa Roth, Matthew Syrett
Academy Award winner: Documentary Short Subject
For the Bible Tells Me So
Directed and produced by Daniel G. Karslake
October 22
The 11th Hour
Directed by Leila Conners Petersen, Nadia Conners
Produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Conners Petersen, Chuck Castleberry, Brian Gerber
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Directed by Jim Brown
Produced by Brown, Michael Cohl, William Eigen
November 5
Nanking
Directed by Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman
Produced by Ted Leonsis, Guttentag, Michael Jacobs
White Light/Black Rain
Directed and produced by Steven Okazaki
November 19
La Corona (The Crown)
Directed and produced by Amanda Micheli, Isabel Vega
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Short Subject
The Price of Sugar
Directed by Bill Haney
Produced by Eric Grunebaum, Haney
December 3 At the IMAX Theater, California Science Center, Exposition Park
Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs
Directed by Keith Melton
Produced by Arabella Cecil, Don Kempf, Steve Kempf
Dinosaurs Alive
Directed by Bayley Silleck, David Clark
Produced by Clark
BURN AFTER READING Commentary in THE GUARDIAN
Oscar’s Docs, Part Four: Academy Award-Winning Documentaries from 1988–1997
Disney’s Rights to Mickey Mouse Questioned
THERE WILL BE BLOOD: Great To Be Nominated
DREAMGIRLS: Great To Be Nominated
Patti Smith, The Talking Heads, The Beatles, Bob Dylan at the Aero
HOW THE WEST WAS WON Remastered
Sex and the Single Girl: The Escapades of Busby Berkeley
David Sirota’s Five Political Comedies
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