Darryl Hunt vs. the racist U.S. justice system: The Trials of Darryl Hunt.
The Trials of Darryl Hunt & Revolving Doors: Contemporary Documentaries
Marilyn Braverman’s short subject A Revolving Door and Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg’s feature The Trials of Darryl Hunt (above) will be screened as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 26th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission is free.
A Revolving Door tells the story of 33-year-old Tommy Lennon, a bipolar and delusional man beset by manic episodes possibly resulting from a head injury suffered when he was 17. Even though Lennon is stuck in an ongoing cycle of homelessness, drug abuse, institutionalizations, and imprisonment, his parents refused to give up on him. A Revolving Door was produced by Chuck Braverman.
The Trials of Darryl Hunt recounts the case of a black man who was incarcerated for a brutal rape and murder, despite the lack of any physical evidence linking him to the crime. Darryl Hunt spent 10 years in jail in North Carolina before DNA testing provided proof of innocence, and an additional 10 years fighting for his freedom. Making use of personal narratives and exclusive footage, The Trials of Darryl Hunt places Hunt’s judicial fate within the context of class and racial prejudices in the American South.
“In Stern and Sundberg’s hands,” writes Jim Hemphill at Reel.com, “this material serves as the basis for a modern morality tale worthy of Frank Capra – like that director’s best films, The Trials of Darryl Hunt looks deep into the abyss of human self-interest and mob rule but comes to an authentically life-affirming conclusion. It’s an impressive achievement.”
The Trials of Darryl Hunt was produced by Stern, Sundberg, Katie Brown, and William Rexter II.
The first part of the series comprises 13 feature-length and short documentaries that will screen on Wednesday evenings through November 28, and includes several of the 2006 Academy Award-nominated films as well as other documentaries considered by the Academy that year. The series will resume in March 2008 and continue through June.
The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. All seating is unreserved. 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: Braverman Productions, Inc. (A Revolving Door), HBO Documentary Films (The Trials of Darryl Hunt)
‘Flamenco at 5:15,’ ‘He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’: Oscar Documentaries
Cynthia Scott’s Flamenco at 5:15 (right) and Emile Ardolino’s He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’ will be screened on Monday, October 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Linwood Dunn Theater as the next installment of “Oscar’s Docs, Part Three: Academy Award-Winning Documentaries 1977–1988.”
The 1983 Documentary Short Subject winner Flamenco at 5:15 is about National Ballet School of Canada’s senior students learning flamenco dancing.
Cynthia Scott, by the way, is also the director of the excellent 1990 comedy-drama Strangers in Good Company, about a group of elderly women stranded in the Canadian countryside after their bus breaks down.
The 1983 Documentary Feature winner, He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’, shows New York City Ballet principal dancer Jacques d’Amboise giving dance lessons to students at several New York City schools.
Following his Oscar win, Emile Ardolino went on to direct several Hollywood flicks, including Dirty Dancing, 3 Men and a Little Lady, and Sister Act. His burgeoning film career was cut short by AIDS.
“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.
The retrospective will present the best available prints, often featuring newly struck or restored editions from the documentary collection of the Academy Film Archive. The series will continue each Monday evening through November 19 and will be complemented on many nights by onstage discussions with the filmmakers (schedules permitting).
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 online at www.oscars.org, by mail, or at the Academy box office during regular business hours. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved.
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/events or call (310) 247-3600.
Photos: Edgar J. Sherick Associates Productions (He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’), National Film Board of Canada (Flamenco at 5:15)
‘If You Love This Planet’ Screening + Oscar Documentary Shortlist
Terre Nash’s If You Love This Planet and John Zaritsky’s Just Another Missing Kid are the two 1982 Oscar-winning documentaries screening on Monday, Oct. 15, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Linwood Dunn Theater as the next installment of “Oscar’s Docs, Part Three: Academy Award-Winning Documentaries 1977–1988.”
Documentary Short Subject winner If You Love This Planet follows Dr. Helen Caldicott as she traces the development of atomic weapons from the 1940s to the early 1980s. A subject matter that – both tragically and pathetically – remains as timely as ever.
In the Documentary Feature winner Just Another Missing Kid, the family of Ottawa resident Eric Wilson hires a detective to look for the missing teen – who disappeared during a camping trip in the US – after the Canadian and U.S. police are unable to find him. The detective, however, does his job. (The film doesn’t have a happy ending.)
“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.
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 online at www.oscars.org, by mail, or at the Academy box office during regular business hours. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved.
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/events or call (310) 247-3600.
Photos: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Just Another Missing Kid), National Film Board of Canada (If You Love This Planet)
‘Liberty in Restraint’ screening
On Tuesday, Oct. 9, the Cinekink folks will screen Michael Ney’s documentary feature Liberty in Restraints, about recently deceased sex fetishist [see Ney’s comment below] Noel Graydon, at 7 p.m. at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater in New York City.
Ney’s Australian-made film is described as a “riveting documentary [that] introduces the mentors, muses and masochists who inspired Noel’s artistic endeavors over the years, giving a glimpse into a world of S/M enthusiasts who approach their play ‘like an advanced driving course in sex,’ one where the initiated take carnal license to extreme limits.”
Graydon died of a heart attack this past July, after suffering an asthma attack while riding his push bike.
The Two Boots Pioneer Theater is located at 155 E. Third Street, at the corner of Avenue A.
More info, tickets and a preview trailer can be found at http://www.cinekink.com/pioneer/
Documentary Oscar shortlist
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that eight Documentary Short Subject will be considered for the 80th Academy Awards. Three to five of those films will earn Oscar nominations.
Voters from the Academy’s Documentary Branch viewed this year’s 23 eligible contenders and submitted their ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The eight films are listed below in alphabetical order:
Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy
Freeheld
If It Happens
La Corona / The Crown
Ochbergs Orphans
Portraits of a Lady
Salim Baba
Saris Mother
The 80th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
The Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.
1 comment
I am trying to find pictures and more information about Just another missing kid documentary.