Docs, 12/20.

Though they may not have been as controversial or as impassioned as last year's round, what with the presidential campaign and all, documentaries have none the less had a very good 2005, writes Jonny Leahan at indieWIRE. He quotes Mark Urman, head of US theatrical for THINKFilm, which released Murderball and The Aristocrats this year: "More docs than ever were released theatrically, and more of them did well. Even though the vast majority still remain in a limited-audience ghetto, the same could be said for most indie films, and unlike low-budget fiction fare and foreign language films, docs have gained ground while the other varieties of alternative film have lost ground in the marketplace."

Meanwhile, Morgan Spurlock posts a bit about his upcoming film based on Chris Mooney's The Republican War on Science: "For me, the film is not going to be so much an attack on one political party, but rather how empirical evidence and faith in science seem to be secondary when it comes to pushing political agendas. Should be pretty amazing and the possibilities of smart folks we could talk to on all sides of certain issues really intrigues me."

Boyd van Hoeij interviews The Art of Flight director Davin Anders Hutchins at the newly redesigned site for Kamera. Also: More from the recent International Documentary Festival Amsterdam.

Lynne Walker in the Independent on In Search of Mozart, "fresh, direct and communicative, bringing Mozart vividly alive, even for those who think they already know everything about him."

At WSWS, Richard Phillips interviews Gallipoli: The Front Line Experience director Tolga Ornëk.

Online viewing tip. TurnHere. Via Ray Pride at Movie City Indie and Chuck Tryon.

Posted by dwhudson at December 20, 2005 2:23 PM