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Considered one of the most innovative and influential films of the silent era, MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA from 1929 is startlingly modern, unflinchingly honest, and incredibly full of power and energy, placing director Dziga Vertov in film’s history books.
Director: Dziga Vertiv
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Read The Man with the Movie Camera: The Film Companion by Graham Roberts, which offers a look at the production as well as the film’s place in Russian and world cinema.
Make your own documentary film! Cinereach offers plenty of helpful tips on funding and getting started and PBS’s site POV: For Filmmakers provides a wide range of resources for filmmakers.
Dare to trust your instinct in your art. Like Dziga Vertov did when he broke through preconceived notions of filmmaking.
The 2002 BFI re-lease of MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA featured a new score by Michael Nyman.
“I deliberately refused to consult Dziga Vertov’s musical notes on the film and the reason is that I knew he was trained as a com-poser. I had read that there were notes and, normally, that would have been the first thing to do…”
Read the full inteview on Academia.
The 36th Moscow International Film Festival: Sometimes Moscow can seem like New York or Chicago, except for higher prices for anything but vodka and the subway. But the challenges for those who make movies in Russia have no immediate parallel. The festival provided a microcosm of the struggles among Russian filmmakers today.
Check out the article by Indie Wire addressing the hardship of indie film making in Russia.
“This month, for the first time, the British Film Institute’s ‘Sight and Sound’ magazine launched a ‘Best Ever Documentaries’ poll in parallel to its long-running vote every decade for the greatest films of all time. At the top of the new documentaries’ poll was Dziga Vertov’s mesmerising film ‘Man with a Movie Camera’. Editor, Nick James wrote: ‘To have a silent film from 1929 at the top of the list is an absolute joy.'”
Read the full article here.
“For me, I think, to relegate documentaries to small screens or as a subdivision I think is doing a disservice…”
Martin Scorsese talks about the history of documentary feature films at the AFI Silver Theatre. Watch the video on Youtube.
Some documentary films educate about things that aren’t well-known. Others tell detailed stories about important people or events. Whatever subject you choose, filming a documentary can be a serious undertaking. Follow this tutorial for some tips on creating a documentary film you can be proud of.
Read about how filmmakers in the Soviet Union invented a new language of film here.
“Money’s been called the lifeblood of politics, and it’s clearly a vital ingredient that also brings documentaries to life. No matter how brilliant your idea is, without funding, it’s just an idea.
“Film is the most expensive art form under the sun–except maybe for opera,” says Morrie Warshawski, author of the book Shaking the Money Tree.”
Check out the full article on funding documentaries here.
Biography on Dziga Vertov by Sense of Cinema.
