FILMS IN THE NEWS

1 FEBRUARY 2022 DOCS IN THE NEWS Investigative journalism outlet Bellingcat made its second major documentary appearance in the upcoming film Navalny (Daniel Roher, 2022), which went home with both the Audience and Festival Favorite awards at Sundance. The film is a “documentary thriller” about the Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, who was poisoned with novichok during a 2020 […]

18 JANUARY 2022 DOCS IN THE NEWS An IndieWire column hit close to home for SDFF this week, pointing to the impact the pandemic has had on local indie film festivals, elaborating on their key role in determining the shape of future cinema, and urging cinephiles’ support to insure their future. Columnist Eric Kohn argues

11 JANUARY 2022 AWARDS. HONORS. FESTIVALS Snowy (Kaitlyn Schwalje & Alex Wolf Lewis, 2021), a short about a tiny turtle’s happiness, is one of five films to make TIME magazine’s list of the year’s best short docs. The magazine is also streaming the short, an SDFF 2021 selection, and also features a substantial interview with the filmmakers. Snowy is about

4 JANUARY 2022 AWARDS. HONORS. FESTIVALS Waad al-Kateab (For Sama w/ Edward Watts, 2019) was recently announced as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Gold Fellowship for Women’s international recipient. The year-long, £20,000 fellowship is intended to aid in global talent development and inclusion. In addition, Al-Kateab is on-location in Tokyo filming a doc about

22 DECEMBER 2021 NEW FILMS + PROJECTS FROM SDFF FILMMAKERS When it premieres at Sundance 2022, ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught) (Brit Hensel with Keli Gonzales, 2021) will be the festival’s first official selection directed by a female citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Filmed on the Qualla Boundary and Cherokee Nation, ᎤᏕᏲᏅ explores expressions of reciprocity in the Cherokee world

14 DECEMBER 2021 NEW FILMS & PROJECTS FROM SDFF FILMMAKERS A new series, Secrets of Playboy, from filmmaker Alexandra Dean (Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, This Is Paris) will premiere on A&E on Jan. 24, and will also be available through the cable network’s app. The docuseries is 10 hours and explores the reality behind the Playboy empire through

7 DECEMBER 2021 ALUMNI AWARDS. HONORS. FESTIVALS. SDFF alumni filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz was on the Gotham Awards jury for Best New Nonfiction TV series, which was handed out on Nov. 29. The winner in Ruiz’s category was Philly D.A. a non-fiction show about he first term of progressive Philadelphia D.A. Larry Krasner. The New York-based awards historically celebrate American