This monthlong showcase of contemporary nonfiction film and video reveals a rich variety of styles and subjects. It features new films by recognized masters like Robert Drew, a pioneer of cinema vérité, and Barbara Hammer, whose groundbreaking work combines documentary and avant-garde styles. The fourteen short works from Third World Newsreel production workshops display a refreshingly youthful dedication that invigorates the documentary form. One major theme of this year's program is the conflict in Iraq, which courageous filmmakers have been risking their lives to document. Similarly, nonfiction films from Latin America reveal the difficulties that filmmakers and their subjects face when making a film. Violence is an urgent topic in this exhibition. So too are immigration, women’s and gay rights, and poverty. Some films in Documentary Fortnight Expanded examine alternative lifestyles; others explore new styles of the nonfiction visual essay form. Many of the directors will present their screenings, give first-hand reports of their experiences, and discuss the challenges of making documentaries.
A new release by Cinema Tropical, Natalia Almada's Al Otro Lado (The Other Side), is given a special weeklong run at MoMA.
Organized by Sally Berger, Assistant Curator, and William Sloan, Department of Film and Media.