Posts Tagged 'Laura Poitras'

MFF Alum Laura Poitras’ New Documentary CITIZENFOUR Opens Friday in Select Cities!

Published October 23, 2014 Documentary Film , Sneak Preview Closed
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William Binney and Laura Poitras

L to R: Former NSA Official William Binney and Filmmaker Laura Poitras at the 10/22 sneak preview of CITIZENFOUR in Washington, DC.

MFF Director Jed Dietz was in attendance at last night’s sneak preview of CITIZENFOUR, the new documentary from Academy Award-nominated director Laura Poitras about governmental surveillance and Edward Snowden. Poitras is a 2012 MacArthur Genius Fellowship recipient and two-time MFF Alum, screening both Oscar-nominated MY COUNTRY MY COUNTRY (MFF 2006) and THE OATH (MFF 2010).  She was in attendance for the screening, along with several people featured in the film, including former NSA official William Binney.

Poitras’ new documentary is a real life thriller, unfolding by the minute, giving audiences unprecedented access to the filmmaker and journalist Glenn Greenwald’s encounters with Edward Snowden in Hong Kong, as he hands over classified documents providing evidence of mass indiscriminate and illegal invasions of privacy by the National Security Agency (NSA).

“The film is so tense and surprising as you go through it.  It’s as good as any of the Bourne movies, but better because it’s real.  It’s amazing storytelling,” Dietz said.

CITIZENFOUR places you in the room with Poitras, Greenwald, and Snowden as they attempt to manage the media storm raging outside, forced to make quick decisions that will impact their lives and all of those around them. The film not only shows you the dangers of governmental surveillance—it makes you feel them. After seeing the film, you may never think the same way about your phone, email, credit card, web browser, or profile, ever again.

CITIZENFOUR opens in select cities this Friday and will tentatively open in Baltimore at the Charles Theatre on Friday 10/31.  See the Charles’ website for more details.

CITIZENFOUR Trailer

MFF Alum Laura Poitras on Front Page of The New York Times!

Published June 17, 2013 Uncategorized Closed
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laura-poitrasDocumentary filmmaker and MFF Alum Laura Poitras is now at the center of the story about government surveillance whistleblower Edward J. Snowden. The story appears on the front page of Saturday’s edition of The New York Times. Click here for the article.

Poitras is one of three Oscar-nominated documentary filmmakers who participated in MFF’s 2011 fundraiser “Are Documentary Filmmakers the New Journalists?” moderated by Meredith Vieira.

Poitras is also a two time MFF Alum, screening both Oscar-nominated MY COUNTRY MY COUNTRY (MFF 2006) and THE OATH (MFF 2010). Last year she was the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant.

Interestingly, the Times‘ story ends with Poitras warning the reporter that her version of the evolving story will be “very different from the way a newspaper would tell it.”

Sundance: A Gathering of the Tribe

Published January 27, 2012 Uncategorized 1 Comment
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Sightings from Sundance 2012: a festivalgoer looking for tickets.

In addition to being an invaluable marketing tool for independent (and not-so-independent) film and also new products of all sorts (cars, Brita filters, coconut water, et al), Sundance is also a gathering of the tribe, like any convention. Few examples:

I ran in to SXSW‘s head, Janet Pierson, while re-filling my water bottle at the Library Center Theater. She’s been to MFF a couple of times and it’s always fun catching up with her. She introduced me to Sarah Green, a terrific producer whose work I’ve admired (TREE OF LIFE, TAKE SHELTER, Mamet’s works, etc. ) but had never met.

Walking into a screening, I noticed an MFF bag and saw it was on Marcus Hu‘s shoulder, the head of Strand Releasing, one of the great art house distributors. He introduced me to Carl Spence, Artistic Director of the Seattle International Film Festival, a wonderful 25-day extravaganza that contends with Toronto for title of Biggest Film Festival in North America.

At another screening, I sat next to filmmaker Michael Tully (director of SEPTIEN) and a few seats down from writer/director Lynn Shelton (director of YOUR SISTER’S SISTER and Sundance jury this year), both MFF alums, and then, coming out of DETROPIA I hear a woman introduce herself to one of the film’s directors, MFF Board member Rachel Grady, and it is Laura Bennett, the new Artistic Director of the Chesapeake Film Festival in Easton whom I’d never met despite some emailing .

I drop by the temporary WireImage studio to see its CEO, and Baltimore native, Jeff Vespa, and run in to Mark Duplass who is an MFF alum and is in two movies here and produced several. Oscar-nominated Laura Poitras was at the screening of Eugene Jarecki‘s new film about the disastrous drug war, THE HOUSE I LIVE IN,  (he did WHY WE FIGHT and last year’s fascinating documentary on Ronald Reagan) and the new film features excellent interviews with David Simon. Well, you get the picture.

-Jed Dietz, Thursday 1/26

MEREDITH VIEIRA to interview RACHEL GRADY, MARSHALL CURRY and LAURA POITRAS at the MFF FUNDRAISER!

Published February 23, 2011 Uncategorized Closed
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On March 11th, MEREDITH VIEIRA will interview three distinguished documentary filmmakers during our MFF PRODUCES fundraising event. Each has been nominated for an Academy Award, and each has honored films about important subjects in the news.

Vieira will engage our filmmaker guests in a discussion around the subject “Are Documentary Filmmakers the New Journalists?”


Rachel Grady– (BOYS OF BARAKA, JESUS CAMP, and 12th & DELAWARE). Exploring issues of educating urban boys, children in the world of fundamentalist Christianity, and abortion, Rachel Grady and filmmaker partner Heidi Ewing have always brought incredible insight to issues that divide people. Cited by Time Magazine as one of five innovator filmmakers in 2007, MFF has had the privilege of showcasing all of her films. Rachel Grady is currently working on her newest film, DETROIT HUSTLES HARDER.

Marshall Curry– (STREET FIGHT, RACING DREAMS, IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION MOVEMENT). A self taught documentary filmmaker, Marshall’s first film, STREET FIGHT, chronicled Cory Booker’s first attempt to run for Mayor of Newark, NJ. Booker was a Stanford and Yale grad who had a good record as a councilman and had been living in Newark’s infamous projects. He immediately attracted attention, and gathered around him a tireless group of volunteers. He got crushed. The film was nominated for both an Academy Award and an Emmy. RACING DREAMS, Marshall’s second film, followed a few teenage race car drivers as they learned to contend on the NASCAR circuit, and won Best Documentary at Tribeca 2009. His latest film, covering the issue of eco-terrorism, was in the competition of Sundance 2011, and, like each of the first two, will be part of MFF.

Laura Poitras– (MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY; THE OATH) Diving in to two of the most reported news stories of the past few years, Laura gained access to a physician in Baghdad as he decided to run in the first election after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and then spent a year with Osama Bin Laden’s driver/bodyguard in Yemen. The results are two remarkable films, taking the viewer deep inside of stories that were all over the front pages.

 

More information about the event and how to purchase tickets below…

 

After 40 films, I’m heading home….

Published January 31, 2010 1 Closed
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…thrilled about what I’ve seen; not just the movies, but the gatherings, the enthusiasm, the incredible economic impact Sundance has had on this little former mining community. It’s hard to overstate what they’ve built. -Jed

MFF alum Laura Poitras (MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY) and her crew after a screening of THE OATH  – an amazing study of Islam, through the eyes of Osama Bin Laden’s former bodyguard. Laura’s cinematographer is standing next to her- they won the jury award for cinematography.

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