Michael Moore shooting Bowling for Columbine
Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine, Kevin Macdonald's One Day in September, and Errol Morris' The Fog of War are among the 12 Oscar-winning short and feature documentaries to be screened as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ "Oscar’s Docs, Part Five: Academy Award-Winning Documentaries 1998–2003" beginning Monday, October 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. The screenings will be held Monday evenings through November 23.
"Oscar’s Docs" is a comprehensive screening series of every short subject and feature to win the Academy Award for documentary filmmaking since the category was established in 1941.
As per the Academy's press release, "the retrospective will feature the best available prints from the documentary collection of the Academy Film Archive. All of the evenings will feature panel discussions with the filmmakers (schedules permitting)."
The complete "Oscar’s Docs" screening schedule, from the Academy's release, is as follows:
The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years by Keiko Ibi (top); Dan Keplinger in King Gimp (bottom)
Monday, October 19
The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years (1998) – 37 mins.
At a community theater in Manhattan, a group of senior citizens rehearse and perform an original play about their romantic lives.
Featuring an onstage discussion with producer-director Keiko Ibi.The Last Days (1998) – 87 mins. Five Jewish Hungarians, now U.S. citizens, tell their stories of joyous lives before World War II, the horrors of Nazi persecution, and how they survived the Holocaust.
Featuring an onstage discussion with director-editor James Moll, producer June Beallor and Holocaust survivor Renee Firestone.Monday, October 26
King Gimp (1999) – 40 mins. This film follows Dan Keplinger, born with cerebral palsy, from age 12 until his graduation from college, documenting his struggles with mainstream acceptance and his birth as an artist.
Featuring an onstage discussion with co-director and producer Susan Hannah Hadary.One Day in September (1999) – 94 mins. This film revisits the international crisis that unfolded when members of the Palestinian group Black September took Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.
Monday, November 2
Big Mama (2000) – 40 mins. An 89-year-old African-American woman in Los Angeles struggles to raise her troubled grandson against immense odds.
Featuring an onstage discussion with producer-director Tracy Seretean.Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000) – 122 mins. One of the lesser-known stories of the Holocaust is that of the Kindertransport, which saved the lives of 10,000 Jewish children.
Followed by a panel discussion with writer-director Mark Jonathan Harris, producer Deborah Oppenheimer and editor Kate Amend.Monday, November 9
Thoth (2001) – 40 mins. In New York’s Central Park, the iconoclastic artist Thoth presents original one-man operas in an unknown language, accompanied by his exuberant violin performances.
Featuring an onstage discussion with producer Lynn Appelle.Murder on a Sunday Morning (2001) – 111 mins. An African-American teenager is accused of murdering a woman in Florida, but his lawyer reopens the investigation and finds some crucial evidence supporting his client's innocence.
Monday, November 16
Twin Towers (2002) – 34 mins. An elite NYPD emergency response unit, on call for a variety of extreme situations, took a heavy blow on 9/11, including the loss of Detective Joseph Vigiano, a talented officer whose family was rooted in public service.
Featuring an onstage discussion with executive producer and co-director Robert David Port, and producer Dan Sturman.Bowling for Columbine (2002) – 120 mins. As filmmaker Michael Moore explores gun culture and the roots of gun violence in the United States, he offers a personal examination of the fear, bigotry and brutality that pervades American society.
Monday, November 23
Chernobyl Heart (2003) – 39 mins. This film traces the effects of a radiation disaster on the children of Belarus, through the country's hospitals, cancer centers, orphanages and mental asylums.
Featuring an onstage discussion with producer-director Maryann DeLeo.The Fog of War (2003) – 107 mins. Former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara provides startling insights into his involvement in World War II, his controversial decisions during the Vietnam War, and his later years as president of the World Bank.
Tickets to Oscar’s Docs are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets are available for purchase by mail, at the Academy box office (8949 Wilshire Boulevard, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ), or online at www.oscars.org.
A limited number of series passes for all six evenings of screenings are available for $15 for the general public and $10 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. (Previous "Oscar’s Docs" passholders can renew their old passes for a $5 discount. )
Doors open one hour prior to the event. All seating is unreserved. The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study, 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. For more information call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.
Photos: Courtesy A.M.P.A.S.