Docs, 10/31.

The European Film Academy has announced that this year's documentary award (Prix Arte) goes to Philip Gröning's Die Grosse Stille (Into Great Silence). "As the jury explained, 'for almost three hours, we were taken into another world - Into Great Silence. And we appreciated it.'" The European Film Awards ceremony will be held December 2 in Warsaw.

It's been fascinating watching a documentary as personal and moving as Tara Wray's Manhattan, Kansas move from production (when I interviewed Tara) through its first screenings (when I reviewed the film) through to this latest stage: self-distribution: "Each DVD comes packaged in a limited edition hand-made origami case." Recommended.

Paddy Johnson for the Reeler on Absolute Wilson: "Maybe I'm asking too much from a documentary that is essentially done in collaboration with its subject, but I would have liked to have seen more critical analysis of the work; in the end, you have to put aside the limitations of filmmaking and evaluate the film on its own terms. And I, for one, can't pretend that a cold documentary pairing a lineage of the artist's productions and his superficial personal biography is the same as a portrait of the artist, his life and work." Related: Robert Wilson's video portrait of Brad Pitt. At Vanity Fair via Alex Ross.

"Art docs are the new black," suggests Ed Gonzalez, opening a review of Who the $#%& is Jackson Pollock?. More from David D'Arcy.

At IFC News, Dan Persons notes "The Rise of the Fanumentary," e.g., 95 Miles to Go, The Outsider, Sketches of Frank Gehry and Wrestling with Angels.

Time's Richards Corliss and Schickel offer their takes on some of the most interesting docs out there right now: S&Man, 49 Up, Jesus Camp, Deliver Us From Evil and, in general, Werner Herzog (at the end of last year, Corliss named The White Diamond the best film of 2005; Schickel, Grizzly Man).

In the meantime, the "Jesus Camp" itself, that is, Kids on Fire, is closing down following acts vandalism and threats to safety directed at the organization. Pointing to an AP report, Jessica Barnes has more at Cinematical.

"A case study in documentary dialectics," suggests J Hoberman: "In opposition to the death cult of Stanley Nelson's sensational Jonestown, we have the positive vibes of Jonathan Berman's mellow account of Black Bear Ranch, Commune."

Also in the Voice:

• Jordan Harper finds Romántico "moving almost to the point of exploitation."

• R Emmet Sweeney on As the Call, So the Echo, a "stealthy love letter from son to father."

• Drew Tillman on Deeper Than Y, "a lithe documentary about the trials and rewards of reaching advanced age, as well as a gentle rebuke to a society that has little time for the elderly."

Brian Brooks has an overview of the Sheffield Documentary Festival at indieWIRE.

How are all these docs doing at the box office? An overview from AJ Schnack.

Online listening tip. For NPR, Christopher Johnson talks with James Spooner about Afro Punk.

Online viewing tip. The trailer for What is Said About Arabs and Terrorism.

Posted by dwhudson at October 31, 2006 2:12 PM