Around the Block: Doug Block's Doc Blog

The Ten Rules of Personal Documentary Filmmaking - Rule #2

RULE #2: A personal doc is not your personal therapy. 

Imagine your film playing before a packed audience on a big screen.  It's not the place for getting even with nasty ol' mom and dad, believe me. It's not for whining about your rotten childhood.  It's not the vehicle for getting the attention you've desperately craved all your life.

Whether it's a personal doc or not, moviegoers want to be entertained, educated and, most of all, enthralled.  They want to go along with you on your ride, not see you working through your issues.   Spare us, and go see a good shrink.  And save a ton of money in the process, too.

The Ten Rules of Personal Documentary Filmmaking - Rule #1

Anthony Kaufman invited me to speak to his NYU Contemporary Documentary class last week on the subject of the personal doc.  Just for fun, in preparation, I decided to compile a list of my Ten Rules of Personal Documentary Filmmaking. 

Not that I have ten rules, exactly.  Or any rules, for that matter.  But I do have some strong opinions based on having made a couple of personal docs myself, as well as having helped produce a few that I consider rather magnificent examples of the genre (Silverlake Life, Jupiter's Wife and the soon-to-be-released A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory).  Normally I would have tossed these opinions out in the course of the evening and they barely would have caused a ripple.  But the second I announced I had TEN RULES to give the class, everyone excitedly whipped out their notebooks and took down every word.  Lesson learned.

In the past, I also would have listed all ten rules right now, just as I did a while back when I wrote about The Art of Producing.  But I've since learned another lesson: smart (aka lazy) bloggers never write one long post when they can stretch it out over, say, ten days.  So, over that period, give or take (does one really blog on weekends? - not me, peeps!), I'll be posting one rule a day.  This is good - it will give you time to think over each nugget of wisdom very carefully.   Especially those of you egotistical, self-indulgent, narcissistic navel-gazers tempted to pick up a camera and turn the lens around on yourselves.

So, here they are, in no particular order of importance, my Ten Rules of Personal Documentary Filmmaking.  Go ahead, whip out your notebooks...

RULE #1: Don't make it all about you (even though, of course, it's all about you)

Actually, I lied about order of importance.  This, to me, is the rule of rules, the rule every other rule is rolled into.  Because audiences watch a personal doc with a built-in resistance and even resentment.  I'm not sure why that is.  In virtually every other art form critics and audiences eagerly seek out personal works.  Anyone with a reasonably dysfunctional family can pen a best-selling memoir.  In the theater, many of our most honored playrights (Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill, Neil Simon) write thinly-disguised autobiographies.  But for some reason first-person docs are greeted with crossed arms, prove-it-to-me scowls, and an attitude of "who the fuck are you to be putting your life up there on screen?!?"

So the whole art of the personal doc is to appear as if it's not really so much about you.  It's about your remote genius of a father who died mysteriously (My Architect).  Or it's about your relationship with your mentally ill mom (Tarnation).  Or it's about General Sherman's march through the south, for crying out loud.

But, honestly, in the end, it's really all about you.  Your personal journey to enlightenment (and maybe a girlfriend, boyfriend or spouse, along the way). 

On the other hand...

Springsteen In Concert - Still Magical

Drove up to Hartford the other night to catch the opening show of the new Springsteen tour for Magic with my step-son (and Boss fanatic) Josh, and happy to report it was a rocking joy to behold.  I like the album well enough (and it's growing on me, it's growing).  But, as usual with Bruce and the E Street Band, the songs are SO MUCH BETTER live in concert.

Given that the album was finished only recently and the tour was set up relatively hastily, it's astonishing how much it felt like they've been playing the new songs for years.  I would have assumed that comes as a bi-product of, with a few exceptions, having played together as a band for over 30 years.  Except having just seen Thom Zimmy's fascinating doc Wings For Wheels: The Making of Born to Run, it's clear that Bruce is a control freak and perfectionist in the best sense, with an almost ungodly ability to orchestrate the band and bend their sound to his will.  Using rare black-and-white footage shot by Barry Rebo back at the time (1975), it's one of those rare films that gives real insight into the artistic process of a genuinely great artist.

That's exactly when I first saw Bruce in concert, shortly after Born to Run came out and the week after the simultaneous Time and Newsweek cover stories appeared.  All I know is that from the first moment I saw him he's been so head and shoulders above every other performer I've ever seen that he needs to be judged in his own category.  And each Springsteen concert can only be rated against his own previous ones.  I've seen maybe 20 over the years and I'd put this one in the top 5.  But it's hard to tell.  It may just be because I'm so damn glad to see him back with the E Street Band and playing at the top of their game.  Or that I'm so blown away that he can still hold the stage for well over 2 hours (without intermission) with such intensity and command.

So if you hear the album and it doesn't immediately knock you out (and I've heard a broad range of opinions), don't let it stop you from doing whatever it takes to get inside the arena when he's next in your area.  And if somehow you've made it this far and never heard Springsteen live, well, you just haven't fully lived.

KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON - See It Now

AJ Schnack's fascinating doc, Kurt Cobain About A Son, opens today at the IFC Theater in New York City and on Friday in L.A. Highly recommended, even if, like me, you're not a huge Cobain fan. The cinematography is absolutely exquisite, too, so do yourself a big favor and catch it on the big screen while you have the chance.

When I first saw About A Son, at the Toronto Film Festival last year, I only caught the second half and wasn't quite sure about AJ's daring, Koyaanisqatsi-esque visual treatment.  Not being familiar with Cobain's work, I hungered for a more traditional storytelling approach and for seeing him in performance. 

Luckily, I saw it a second time on dvd as a juror for the Sarasota Film Festival and really got it that time.  The first approach might possibly have given AJ an easier path to distribution (who the hell knows anything when it comes to theatrical distribution these days?).  The one he chose gave me enormous respect for his artistic vision and integrity.

By the way, AJ also happens to have the best damn doc blog around. 

51 BIRCH STREET - Available (At Last!) on DVD

Today is the official street date for the 51 Birch Street DVD release and it's a pretty odd notion that the films' real life is only just beginning.  After all, it's been almost two years since its world premiere at Toronto, and in the interim there have been countless festival and theatrical screenings, not to mention broadcasts, all over the globe. 

Yet, face it, all that hard work getting the film out into the world and getting the word out and getting the eyeballs and getting the accolades and, yes, getting the grief has been for this moment.  In the end it's still all about the DVD.

There's less glamour to a DVD release, but there's a big upside, too.  I can move on with my life, for one thing (and I have with a vengeance, but more on that later).  And our DVD extras actually do what I've always thought DVD extras should do - expand the experience of watching the film.  A 21-minute featurette where I interview all my family members about their wide-ranging reactions to the film, and to exposing our family "secrets" so publicly, functions as a fascinating epilogue as opposed to the usual bland filler.

The main thing, though, is from this time forward the film will always be available.  And whenever someone asks how they can see 51 Birch Street, all I have to do is say "GO HERE and click on the link!"

Help Save BBC's "Storyville"

Word has gotten out that Nick Fraser's essential BBC documentary strand, "Storyville," is in grave danger of being subjected to a 60% budget cut. 

Sales agent Jan Rofekamp of Films Transit was one of many imploring the international doc community to take action.  In a recent email, Rofekamp wrote: "Storyville's importance for world wide documentary production stands without any doubt.  The team there MUST count on your support."   

For complete information and to sign an online petition, go to: <http://www.ipetitions.co/petition/savestoryville/>

Personally, I agree with my esteemed D-Word co-host John Burgan, who thinks online petitions are ineffective, and that the protest should be a "real signature" one rather than just an online petition.  So, while it can't hurt to sign the petition, I urge you to go the extra mile and write to to:

Mark Thompson,
Director General of the BBC,
Room MC4D1,
BBC Media Centre,
White City,
201 Wood Lane,
London
W12 7TQ
UK

Tell him how important it is to not only save Storyville from creative death but why they should increase the funding of this strand to strengthen the prospects of single documentaries in the UK.

51 Birch Street Ends 8-Month Boston Run on Thursday

It's not been announced, but I'll be coming up to Boston on Thursday for our final Museum of Fine Arts screening.  It's my way of saying thanks to everyone who supported the film so fervently over the past 8 months.  The remarkable Beantown run has been a wonderful if somewhat confusing experience for this lifelong Yankees fan. 

My special thanks go to Bo Smith, head of the MFA film program, who predicted shortly after our premiere in Toronto that 51 Birch Street would play the MFA for a year (you were way off, Bo!); to Sara Rubin, the tireless director of the Boston Jewish Film Festival, who did such a great job of getting word out about the film; and to Gail Reimer and the Jewish Women's Archive, who originally sponsored our Boston JFF screening and have been such enthusiastic supporters.

Sorry for being so absent from the blog here for the past 5 or 6 weeks.  I have a couple of exciting excuses, which I'll elaborate on shortly.  Stay tuned. 

And thanks again, Boston.  You've managed to take the sting out of running away with the division.  Well, somewhat.

A Distribution Deal For A Walk Into The Sea

It's official, so I can finally blab about our distribution deal with Arthouse Films, in association with Curiously Bright Entertainment and NetFlix's Red Envelope Entertainment (who said deals these days are complicated?). 

Only problem is I'm in Las Vegas with Lori shooting on our next (top secret) doc, so no time for details now. 

Just thrilled for Esther and grateful to Josh Braun (our 51 Birch sales agent) for his role in putting it all together.  And excited for audiences who'll get to see this truly special doc on big screens this fall.

51 Birch Street - U.S. Broadcast Premiere On Cinemax Tonight

It's a pretty bizarre notion to think that after more than 40 festival appearances and a 7-month theatrical run, more people will see 51 Birch Street tonight than all of those screenings combined.  As someone whose formative years were spent in darkened theaters watching movies on the silver screen, the theatrical experience is still somewhat sacred to me (only slightly dampened by the advent of blackberries, cell phones and sandwich wrapping paper). 

Which isn't to say the broadcast on Cinemax tonight is anti-climactic.  It's just that the reality of television is very different for a filmmaker when you're not there to witness the audience laughing or crying, or to take part in intense discussions afterwards.  Instead, it's transmitted over the airwaves to an invisible viewership and... poof, it's gone.  Dissolved into the vapor.  (Actually, I'll miss the broadcast altogether, since I agreed to moderate a panel on documentary self-distribution for New York Women in Film & Television long before I knew the airdate.) 

The panel and broadcast are the culmination of one of the amazing weeks of my life.  It kicked off with a great Tribeca premiere screening and party for A Walk Into the Sea.  A few days later came a fantastic, gala HBO screening and reception for 51 Birch Street, which led to several rounds of drinks at the legendary Algonquin round table c/o our wonderful Exec Producers, the Priddy Brothers, who flew in from Boise for the occasion.  Two nights later, A Walk Into The Sea won one of the the top documentary prizes at Tribeca, then Esther and I and our sales rep, Josh Braun, were up to the wee hours hammering out the fine points of a distribution deal (details to come soon).  Next came a full day of interviews set up by HBO, and a meeting where I agreed to a one-year option with a high-powered producer to turn 51 Birch into a work of fine fiction.  Hopefully with gobs of money coming my way, in the process (and, what the heck, perhaps Brad Pitt playing Yours Truly).  Today, a whole new round of amazing reviews for 51 Birch came in from newspapers and magazines around the country.  My favorite was from Newsday ("soul-jarring yet heartwarming"), while winner of the most over-the-top goes to -- who else? -- the New York Post (referring to my mother's diaries: "Block agonizes and then finally reads them. Oh baby.").

According to the New York Sun, this Doug Block fella is having his "New York moment."  And on the eve of getting my film before hundreds of thousands of fresh eyeballs, I've gotta agree.  Screw the theatrical experience - this is, indeed, quite a moment. 

Festival Madness: From Sarasota to Toronto and Tribeca

One day after returning from doc jury duty at Sarasota, I zipped off this morning to Toronto for Hot Docs and tonight's North American premiere of A Walk Into The Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory.  Then it's back to NY on Friday, just in time for Saturday night's U.S. premiere screening at Tribeca.

Sarasota was great fun, if not enough time in the sun.  Screened 10 worthy docs for the competition with my fabulous jury maties, Ryan Harrington of A&E and Mary Kerr of the Flaherty Seminar.  In the end, one doc stood out for us - Note By Note: The Making of Steinway L1037, directed by Benjamin Niles.  At a time when docs have become so stylish and slick, it was downright refreshing to see a rather simple concept executed with such dedication and craft, not unlike that which goes into the making of a Steinway piano.  It was a fascinating and unexpectedly moving film, and it's nice to reward one that can use a boost in its distribution efforts, too.

In between the docs (including 51 Birch, which had a special screening tied to the upcoming Cinemax broadcast), managed to catch Joe Swanberg's Hannah Takes The Stairs.  I'm very impressed by Joe's talent and drive, and the lovely Greta Gerwig can certainly hold the screen.  I just look forward to the day (or year, since he manages to crank out a film annually) when his storytelling ambition matches his production ingenuity.  In the end, I found myself mildly irritated by the "smallness" of the film's scope.  But also confident that Joe's next film will be another quantum leap forward.  He and his group are the only reason I'd ever want to be in my 20's again.

More to say but need to run off now to the Rogers Center and hunt down a commissioning editor or two.  Still have 4 tickets for tonight's screening, and with the TDF going full force the next two days it'll be near impossible to get them to the Thursday showing.  Later...