Passing Strange, Moving on to Life at IFC Center

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

It’s been a while since we’ve had a bona fide documentary blockbuster. But as far as Thom Powers, a documentary programmer at Toronto International Film Festival and the organizer of the weekly Stranger Than Fiction documentary series at Manhattan’s IFC Center, is concerned, the rumors surrounding the genre’s demise are greatly exaggerated.

“There have been plenty of doom-and-gloom articles about the documentary market, but these pieces often focus on the wrong indicators, looking only at ‘blockbuster docs,'” Mr. Powers said on the phone from Canada a few days after the closing ceremonies in Toronto. “If you cross out Michael Moore, or those films featuring penguins and Al Gore, documentaries are doing better now than they ever have before. This year, there are seven docs that have made over a million dollars. That’s fairly rare.”

Still, the “doom and gloom” has become a popular topic for a handful of trade publications, all of which trace the arc of such documentaries as “My Kid Could Paint That,” which sold for big bucks on the festival circuit before opening to weak receipts at the art-house box office. There’s no mistaking that these are tough times for documentaries — and all independent films, for that matter — as they try to cut through the crowded marketplace to reach a target audience. But Mr. Powers nevertheless sees this as a golden era for the nonfiction film, as more moviegoers than ever before enjoy access to documentaries via the art house, DVD, and the Internet. (Mr. Moore’s newest film, “Slacker Uprising,” makes its Web-only premiere tomorrow.)

In its seven seasons, Mr. Powers’s Stranger Than Fiction showcase, which kicks off its eighth season tomorrow, has become an increasingly important pit stop for projects in need of exposure. Having cultivated a loyal following of attendees and offered some filmmakers their entrée into the New York movie scene, Stranger Than Fiction is more than just a weekly film series; it’s often a celebration of those unsung documentary films that Mr. Powers wants to share with his friends and colleagues.

“The series has always aimed to be a mix of films, some of which you’re definitely going to see later in long runs and some that you might never have a chance to see again,” Mr. Powers said. “I also set out to organize revivals, and this year we have two tributes to filmmakers with long careers: St. Clair Bourne, who passed away last year and was not only important as an African-American filmmaker but also as a community builder. And then there’s a tribute to George Stoney, who has always been as important a teacher at NYU as he has been a filmmaker.”

This new season of Stranger Than Fiction kicks off tomorrow with a screening of a film that made its premiere at Toronto, Dan Stone and Patrick Gambuti Jr.’s “At the Edge of the World,” about a band of modern-day pirates of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society who journey into the waters of the Arctic Ocean to combat Japanese whalers. The film features stunning photography and brings the viewer right into the middle of an unusual naval battle. Mr. Powers said it also serves as a representation of some of the new documentaries he saw this year at Toronto.

“This film got a standing ovation at its premiere, and as I was programming documentaries at Toronto, I noticed a heavy presence of films like this, with environment-related themes,” he said. “Still, this one stood out from the pack. These people are really putting their lives at risk, and as a viewer, even if you couldn’t imagine going to those lengths yourself, it’s a film that leads you to ask just what commitments you’d be willing to make for your own beliefs.”

The series will continue next week with “What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann” (September 30), which will feature an appearance by director Steven Cantor. Ms. Mann, long a controversial artist for taking nude portraits of her children, is scrutinized by Mr. Cantor in a film described by the Stranger Than Fiction program as “a beautiful observation of an artist pushing boundaries.” Kicking off the October schedule is “Blood Trail” (October 7), a film 15 years in the making that follows the photographer Robert King from his various assignments in Bosnia to places such as Chechnya and Iraq.

Now complete with a new Web site (STFdocs.com), on which Mr. Powers aims to write about the documentary world, as well as a regular slate of returning filmmakers and loyal cineastes, Mr. Powers’s grassroots Sixth Avenue documentary club looks to have a bright future ahead.

“We’re getting to the point where we’re bringing filmmakers back a second time, and now that we’re in our eighth season, I definitely feel as if we’ve featured an impressive catalog of filmmaking,” he said. “We’ve shown over 50 films, and there’s a group of filmmakers who now feel as if they’re part of this Stranger Than Fiction family.”

ssnyder@nysun.com


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use