Around the Block: Doug Block's Doc Blog

I'm Off To Jerusalem Next Week. Oy!

51 Birch Street screens at the Jerusalem Film Festival next week, and it figures that just as I'm preparing to visit Israel for the first time ever, Israel seems to be preparing for full-scale hostilities with Hamas.   

Probably because everyone’s starting to get worried, I keep getting asked if I'm worried.  (Well, a bit, I suppose, but I'm a pretty fatalistic New Yorker.)  Marjorie's trying to be cool about it, but today she forwarded a New York Times article on the situation in an email with a one word subject header: Oy! 

Given my erratic recovery from the Australia trip, I'm personally far more terrified by the prospect of another really long plane ride.  On the other hand, I’m also very excited.  The Israeli docmakers I’ve met on the festival circuit tell me Jerusalem is fantastic.  The kick-ass distributor we've just brought on to handle our non-theatrical screenings, Ravit Turjeman of Dragoman Films, is Israeli (in fact, 51 Birch is her first non-Israeli film), and she'll be there to introduce me around.  The festival puts the filmmakers up at the spiffy Mount Zion Hotel, which has a spectacular view of the old city, they say.  And, as an admitedly lapsed Jew, at least in practice, I'll be interested to see if I feel any kind of spiritual connection to the holy homeland. 

Meanwhile, the film continues to make strong connections all around the world.  I've done a lot of press for the New Zealand Film Festival, including a long, late night phone interview with New Zealand's leading critic (according to the festival publicist, at least), who, partly because of an intense experience with his own dying mother, was "blown away" by the film.

I was blown away today by a call from the BritDoc publicist wanting to arrange a time on Monday for an interview with a journalist from the London Times.  The unusual part is the Times wants to fly her out to do the interview with me in person, then have her fly down to Florida the next day to interview my father and Kitty.  I'll actually be out in Amagansett for the holiday weekend, so the poor woman is flying in from London, then taking a 3-hour Jitney ride out to the Hamptons.  She'll probably fall asleep mid interview.

Wednesday, we travel up the coast for a few days for a screening of 51 Birch at the Martha's Vineyard Summer Film Series.  Thomas Bena, who heads the series, emailed the other day to say that none other than Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes will be moderating our Q&A.  He’s a part-time Martha's Vineyard resident, I guess, and apparently was given a list of all the films playing there and picked a few to moderate based on their descriptions.  Anyway, they aren’t advertising his appearance (only mine), so that ought to be fun.

Finally, speaking of strong connections, at 4:43am on June 26, David Morgan Michael Silver entered the world – 8.5 lbs, and off the charts in length.  He's my step-son Josh’s son (his wife Margaret is rumored to have had something to do with it, too). 

The adorable fella had to put up with a video lens in his face for about 10 minutes before he finally met his grandfather, or step-grandfather (or whoever it is I am) face to face.  All I know is it’s the first footage I’ve specifically shot for my next film and he’s the star of the scene. 

Hey, the kid has to get used to this sometime.

Back From Down Under (No Worries, Mates)

Home after two weeks of mostly play, and a dollop of work, in Australia.  It was my first time there, and it's a spectacular country with only one down side: the 20 hours or so it takes to get to it from New York.

My wife was scheduled to speak at a law conference in Perth, and everything was timed perfectly to coordinate with an appearance of 51 Birch Street at the Sydney Film Festival. The only problem is the Sydney programming head, after personally asking me to submit the film, and going on about how fondly she remembered the screening there of my first film, neglected to cooperate (rejecting the film with a dismal form letter sent from a subordinate, no less).  No worries, mates, the film's been picked for a zillion international festivals, but, geez, it would have saved us gobs of money!   

Undeterred, I flew out to Sydney on the 8th with my all-too-grown-up 16-year old daughter Lucy, who had barely returned from being away since September at a School Year Abroad program in France.  Qantas Airlines had an amazing selection of new and fairly recent movies at our disposal and we both went a bit crazy.  I have a really hard time sleeping on planes, so I burned through 5 in a row (I know industry people who routinely see 4 or 5 films a day at festivals and how the hell do they do it?!?).  Wierdly, the films I selected (American Beauty, The Weather Man, Before Sunset, Capote and even Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room), all had a really dark take on the angry, unhappily married white male in midlife crisis.  Just a pretty strange note to begin a family vacation on.

Luckily, Lucy and I spent the entire flight from Sydney to Cairnes the next day (where we were joining Marjorie) talking and catching up on her year away.  I know she reads this blog (and is my severest critic, I should add), so I won't go into detail, other to say that it was one of those seemingly small but unforgettable occasions you get as a parent, and a literal example of life being about the journey not the destination.

Having now survived another 20-hour journey back home to New York today, I'll spare you the vacation itinerary, and even spare you the photos, save for one.  After all, this is supposed to be a film blog.  But it was great fun, got to catch up on a lot of sleep and reading, enjoyed the fine food and wine, successfully navigated driving on the left hand side of the road, and got a feel for the Great Barrier Reef, the tropical rain forest, Brisbaine and Sydney, one of the world's truly beautiful cities.   And got to be reminded once again that, when it comes to family, I'm one lucky dude.

Tomorrow (or today, at this point, but then today's been today for two days), I have a bunch of meetings and negotiations, so it's straight back into the fire.  But no worries, I'm too exhausted to think about anything but zzzzzzzzz's.

A Theatrical Deal For 51 Birch Street...

Oh, the quandary of being a blogger.  Exciting news is on the horizon but nothing is signed yet, so I have to remain tight-lipped.   And I'm off to Australia tomorrow for two weeks, so I'll have to keep you in suspense for a bit.

Let's just say there's a financial backer in the picture.  Let's just say there are theatrical and dvd offers on the table.  Let's just say we're talking about dates in the fall.  Let's just say things are totally hectic.

And, yikes, I really should start packing.

Meanwhile, for those of you going to the Newport Film Festival, you have two chances to see my sister Karen do the Q&A after 51 Birch screens (a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!): today at 1pm at the Opera House and tomorrow at 9pm at the Newport Art Museum.

The Providence Journal writes that the film "glues one to the screen, something fiction films can't even approach."  So come get glued and say howdy to my sis.

The D-Word at SILVERDOCS - Creating International Collaborations and Co-Productions - June 12 to 14

If you're a documentary filmmaker planning to attend the SILVERDOCS Film Festival (June 13 to 18), you should know about a special earlybird event being coordinated by The D-Word, a worldwide networking organization for documentary professionals.

The D-Word International Face 2 Face will bring together 25 professional documentary filmmakers from around the world for a unique opportunity to connect with each other and share projects and knowledge with the goal of creating future collaborations and co-productions.  Participants will meet each other face to face to present their works-in-progress to each other in a nurturing, non-competitive environment, share tips on everything from festival strategies to potential broadcasters and funders to target, learn more about the state of documentary in each other's countries, and make valuable connections.

The program will start in Silver Spring, Maryland the evening of Monday, June 12 and for the two full days which follow.  In addition to this special event, participants will also be able to take advantage of the proximity of the SILVERDOCS Film Festival which will take place from June 13-18 and the SILVERDOCS International Documentary Conference from June 15-17, which draws filmmakers, broadcasters, commissioning editors, distributors, and other documentary film professionals.

The cost to participate in the D-Word International Face 2 Face is $150 on its own or may be combined with a joint package with the SILVERDOCS International Documentary Conference for $400 (essentially a 2-for-1 deal since the Conference alone is valued at $400).  The latter package includes daytime sessions st the D-Word International Face 2 Face June 13-14, daytime sessions at the SILVERDOCS International Documentary Conference June 15-17, eight vouchers to screenings during the SILVERDOCS Film Festival (including the chance to attend the Opening Night Film), and access to the SILVERDOCS Cinema Lounge for sponsored parties, happy hours, special receptions, and the Sterling Awards Ceremony June 13-18.  Participants are responsible for the cost of travel, accommodations, and meals.

The D-Word is an online forum for discussing the art, the craft, the business, and the social impact of documentary film.  It currently has over 1650 registered members from 77 countries.  In addition to hosting a public forum and the private D-Word Community (for documentary professionals), The D-Word also sponsors online salons and panels, collaborative documentary projects, a traveling video library of member works, and face-to-face meeting opportunities at festivals, markets, and other film-related events.  The first D-Word International Face 2 Face took place in 2004 in Rekyjavik, Iceland as an adjacent event to the Nordisk Panorama Film Festival and Pitching Forum.  This will be the first time the event will be held in North America.

Advance registration is required and space is limited.  The final deadline to register is Friday, June 2, 2006. To request a registration form, please send an  e-mail to F2F@d-word.com with "Interest in F2F" in the subject line.  The organizers will follow up with more information.

(DISCLAIMER: Yours Truly proudly admits he is the founder and co-host of The D-Word. And while the event will be great, I promise you, I'm happily not running the sucker.)