AFI DOCS, AFI’s annual documentary celebration in the nation’s capital, announces the Opening and Closing Night films for its 15th annual edition. The festival will open with the East Coast premiere of Netflix’s ICARUS, directed by Bryan Fogel, and will close with ESPN Films’ YEAR OF THE SCAB, directed by Emmy® winner John Dorsey. Both screenings will be held at the Newseum, the festival’s Official Gala Screening Partner. AFI DOCS runs June 14–18, 2017, in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD.

AFI DOCS is proud to announce the return of AT&T as Presenting Sponsor. AT&T’s continued support enables AFI DOCS to connect audiences, policymakers and storytellers in the heart of our national government.

“We are thrilled to have two extraordinary films, ICARUS and YEAR OF THE SCAB, open and close AFI DOCS 2017,” said Michael Lumpkin, Director, AFI DOCS. “Filmmakers Bryan Fogel and John Dorsey tell two very different David-and-Goliath tales. Remarkable — even unthinkable — stories like these are what make documentaries such compelling cinema. We look forward to celebrating these films with AFI DOCS audiences.”

The Opening Night screening of ICARUS will be held on June 14 at the Newseum and will feature a Q&A with director Fogel after the film. In ICARUS, he sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports. His journey to outsmart performance-enhancing drug tests transforms into a real-life thriller involving the biggest scandal in sports history — the cover-up of doping activities among Russian Olympians. ICARUS is Fogel’s first documentary feature.

The Closing Night screening of YEAR OF THE SCAB will be held on June 18 at the Newseum and will feature a Q&A with director Dorsey. His film chronicles the 1987 NFL strike and the Washington Redskins’ team of substitute players who overcame tremendous odds in order to defeat the best teams in the NFL. The perseverance of these players ultimately led the Washington Redskins to victory and helped end the strike.

Tickets to AFI DOCS, including Opening Night and Closing Night screenings, will be available early to AFI members exclusively beginning May 11, and to the public on May 15. Passes for AFI DOCS 2017 are now on sale. More information about AFI DOCS screenings and other special events will be announced soon. Stay tuned!

Source: Here are the AFI DOCS 2017 Opening Night and Closing Night Films

Posted by Larry Gleeson

Statement by AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER directors Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk on Today’s Decision by the Trump Administration to Withdraw from the Paris Agreement

June 1, 2017 by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk

“We were shocked and disappointed to hear President Trump’s announcement today regarding withdrawing the U.S. from the historic international deal reached in Paris. In our new film, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power we filmed behind-the-scenes in Paris to show the hard work, finesse, and passion that went into making the agreement happen.  We hope that the hard work of those who made the deal happen will not be in vain. The good news is that there is a great deal to be hopeful about. The technology exists to create enough clean energy for the world economy and to avoid total climate catastrophe. Now that President Trump is pledging to do less to keep America’s commitment to the world, we must all step up to do more to ensure the health of our planet.”

A decade after AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH brought climate change into the heart of popular culture, comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. Vice President Al Gore continues his tireless fight traveling around the world training an army of climate champions and influencing international climate policy. Cameras follow him behind the scenes – in moments both private and public, funny and poignant — as he pursues the inspirational idea that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion.

Statement by Former Vice President Al Gore on Today’s Decision by the Trump Administration to Withdraw from the Paris Agreement

June 1, 2017 by Al Gore

“Removing the United States from the Paris Agreement is a reckless and indefensible action. It undermines America’s standing in the world and threatens to damage humanity’s ability to solve the climate crisis in time. But make no mistake: if President Trump won’t lead, the American people will.

Civic leaders, mayors, governors, CEOs, investors and the majority of the business community will take up this challenge. We are in the middle of a clean energy revolution that no single person or group can stop. President Trump’s decision is profoundly in conflict with what the majority of Americans want from our president; but no matter what he does, we will ensure that our inevitable transition to a clean energy economy continues.”

(Source: Paramount Pictures)

Posted by Larry Gleeson

The American Film Institute’s Jan Schuette is stepping down as Dean of the AFI Conservatory after this year’s June 5th Commencement Ceremony on the grounds of the Hollywood Chinese Theater.  Schuette has led AFI’s prestigious film school for three years and intends to continue his work in academia and also resume his professional work as a filmmaker and producer.

“It has been a distinct honor to serve as Dean of one of the world’s great film schools,” said Schuette. “When AFI invited me to take this role, its directive was to build upon its proud past and plant the seeds of growth for the future. Like filmmaking itself, these years have been both challenging and rewarding. I’m proud to say that many of these goals have been accomplished, and it’s the right time to turn the work over to a new Dean who will take the Conservatory forward. I care deeply about the Fellows and plan to continue my work in academia, which I love, while also resuming my career making films. Through commencement next June, my focus will remain on achieving another successful academic year and ensuring a smooth transition to the future.”

AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale said, “Jan’s devotion to the high standards of AFI will ensure the Conservatory remains a foremost training ground for the artists of tomorrow. In Jan, as is the spirit in the halls at AFI, our Fellows have been led by an artist who has lived it — who has been on the set and told the stories. We deeply appreciate his contributions and respect that he feels this is the right moment to pass the mantle of leadership to a new Dean and pursue the next steps in his own academic career, as well as his passion for filmmaking. We thank him for his commitment to the Fellows as well as championing essential issues like diversity, recruitment and ensuring the Conservatory evolves and changes as film does.”

An award-winning director, Schuette’s films have screened at the Cannes, Venice, San Sebastian, Toronto and Sundance film festivals. In 2002, he was a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, along with Martin Scorsese, Abbas Kiarostami and Tilda Swinton. As an academic, Schuette designed and founded three highly successful post-graduate film training programs in Europe. Prior to becoming Dean of the AFI Conservatory, Schuette was the Director of the German Film and Television Academy Berlin and taught at Harvard and Dartmouth Universities. He has also been a professor at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and is currently a member of the Academy of Arts in Berlin and the European Film Academy.

Posted by Larry Gleeson

RESURRECTING HASSAN follows a family of blind street musicians in Montreal as they cope with the death of their youngest member. As their lives begin to slowly fall apart, the family make a desperate attempt to overcome their tragedy by trying to find a way to bring their fallen kin back from the dead.

RESURRECTING HASSAN screens at AFI DOCS on Thursday, June 15. AFI spoke with director Carlo Guillermo Proto about the film.

AFI: What led you to pursue documentary filmmaking?

CGP: Canada has always held a long tradition with documentary filmmaking. It’s that lineage that made me start telling stories with this particular tool. The immediacy that documentary gives a storyteller is infectious and almost addictive. You don’t have sit in front of a blank screen or typewriter, trying to find a story from nothing like you do with fiction filmmaking. You can just go out into the world and mine something profound from what life produces. 

AFI: What inspired you to tell this story?

CGP: The family’s tenacity and how they almost seamlessly maneuver themselves in a slighted world through such adversity was a big inspiration. When telling this story, it was important for me to capture the family’s fragility, their dreams and deepest fears, but at the same time create a framework within the story where the audience actually not only feels sympathy, but empathy, for the characters.

AFI: How did you find the subjects in your film?

CGP: When I was in film school at Concordia University in Montreal, I heard a family sing in a way that I’ve never heard since. The father would hit these high falsetto notes that I’d only heard Minnie Riperton or Mariah Carey sing. Mesmerized by their presence, every time I took the metro, I would miss countless rides as I stared in awe at this blind family of three. After a year of trying to work up the courage to speak to these incredible people, I asked them if they wanted to collaborate and we immediately began work on my second-year film, where I gave each member of the family a Super 8 camera and asked them to show us what they wanted us to see. It was during this time that I first heard the story of Hassan.

AFI: What was a particular obstacle you faced while making the film?

CGP: Although the idea to tell this story and capture their journey to try and resurrect Hassan was the family’s idea, the moment the story shifted, the family wanted to go into another direction. A massive discussion ensued. Finally, I had to remind them that they were the ones who wanted me to tell their story and we eventually came to an agreement that, if there was public interest after the film was done, that we would tell the second part of the their story in another documentary. 

AFI: What do you want audiences to walk away with after screening your film?

CGP: I think initially, people read the synopsis and they’re not prepared or willing to go on this journey. This film does not let you hide from your fears but confront them with an intensity that isn’t very popular. Those who have ventured into the cinemas to experience this family’s life will come out as different people. They’ll have experienced moments that may echo their own pain and misgivings, forcing them to face something more universal than they initially suspected from a blind family of three. 

AFI: Why is DC a valuable location to screen your film?

CGP: Honestly? Three words. Fugazi and Dischord Records. I was raised on the ethics of the hardcore punk scene of North America. Having gone to a Catholic School all my life, it was my only real religion. Ian MacKaye — who should be knighted or whatever they do to honor their local DC heroes — is someone who’s had a big impact on me. The DC hardcore punk rock community has fueled my urge to tell difficult and socially challenging stories with respect and empathy. The bands of Dischord Records gave my art practice and storytelling a purpose. Presenting RESURRECTING HASSAN close to the Dischord headquarters is something that excites me tremendously. 

AFI: What are your thoughts on what documentaries mean today in 2017?

North American audiences like their documentaries sexy. It’s hard to present compelling stories that make audiences confront their deepest fears and really challenge them emotionally. I think today’s audiences desperately need to be challenged to feel empathy, and not just sympathy, in order for documentaries to have a true impact.

We have to educate and advocate for difficult documentaries — to promote them and entice our audiences to feel and have an open dialogue about those emotions, so our communities  can better themselves not just with momentary sympathy but true empathy. Films that make us feel empathy are the films that matter, the films that make us feel things that we may not be ready to feel, which can lead to real constructive change.

(Source: afi.com)

Posted by Larry Gleeson

MOSQUITO is an urgent report from the frontlines of humankind’s millennia-long war against the tiny creature that is one of the biggest threats to the survival of our species. The film is by turns taut, suspenseful, frightening and full of vital information, including the efforts of scientists to keep this deadly menace at bay.

Directed by Su Rynard, MOSQUITO world-premieres at AFI DOCS on Thursday, June 15.  AFI spoke with Rynard about the film.

AFI: What led you to pursue documentary filmmaking?

SR: After graduating from art school I began making video art, then short dramatic films, then feature dramas and documentary. Truthfully, sometimes all of these things happen at the same time! What I love about documentary is that it brings me into worlds that I would otherwise never have access too. It forces me to face things that are outside my comfort zone, to ask questions and search for meaning in every situation. My role as a director is to translate this into something the viewer can experience, intellectually, emotionally and viscerally.

AFI: What inspired you to tell this story?

MOSQUITO is the brainchild of Yap Films producers Elizabeth Trojian and Elliott Halpern, produced for Discovery Channel’s Discovery Impact strand. Elizabeth was inspired to come up with the idea of a film about mosquitos, growing up with a South African stepfather who had experienced malaria firsthand. I was lucky in this case that the project came to me. As a filmmaker, I’m interested in the human relationship with the natural world, and much of my work over the last 15 years has explored this question. MOSQUITO looks at the ways humans drive some species to extinction while making the world a better place for mosquitoes, and especially the ones that spread disease. In short, much of the mosquito problem is a human-made problem. Given that we are at a critical time ecologically, these are exactly the kind of questions that are really worth exploring.

AFI: How did you find the subjects in your film?

SR: Team work. Film is a visual medium, so I’m always looking at subjects who, in addition to being great characters, are engaged in film-able events that are interesting to watch. Associate producer Alex Ranken works all over the world, and had great connections in the countries where we were shooting, so we engaged people to work locally and research several candidates that we could then interview. Researcher Wendy Kirschner found ingenious ways to track down many of the people in our film. This ranged from cold-calling famous scientists, to creating a flyer and poster campaign that reached into the hearts of communities, and speaking with medical professionals willing to refer a patient who could share their story.

AFI: What was a particular obstacle you faced while making the film?

SR: Health and safety issues were paramount in filming MOSQUITO. We were filming in Brazil, Puerto Rico and Florida at the height of the Zika epidemic. We also filmed in Kenya in an area where we were exposed to active malaria cases. We are incredibly fortunate to come from Canada where we have full, top-notch health care benefits available to us, so we were able to access all the medical precautions available. There are, however, no vaccines or drugs for many mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile or Zika, to which we were exposed. We used insect repellent and all other recommended individual precautions. Despite our efforts, we were bitten by mosquitoes. In the end, it was luck that brought us all home safe and sound.

AFI: How do you want audiences to walk away from MOSQUITO?

SR: MOSQUITO is a cautionary tale. Today’s world is a global community — and with interconnectedness comes many benefits but also many challenges. There are no borders that will protect you from disease. One person with a highly contagious disease anywhere in the world can affect the health of potentially everyone on earth. So we have to think about how we live and use the planet. Otherwise, we will never solve the mosquito problem.

AFI: Why is DC a valuable location to screen your film?

SR: One of our scenes is shot in DC, featuring Public Health Entomologist Andy Lima, who shows us how urbanization can create new habitat for mosquitoes. People will be surprised and amazed to learn, from a mosquito perspective, what is really going on in DC! Importantly, we really want to bring the film and its message to the attention of policy-makers and public health authorities, so it’s great to be exhibiting the film in a prestigious festival in the U.S. capital.

(Source: blog.afi.com)

Posted by Larry Gleeson

AT&T RETURNS TO AFI DOCS AS PRESENTING SPONSOR

Festival Sponsors Include Cultural Institutions, Major Companies and Foundations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — JUNE 2, 2017, WASHINGTON, DC — The American Film Institute (AFI) is proud to announce the sponsors for AFI DOCS 2017. AT&T returns as the Presenting Sponsor of the festival for the fourth consecutive year.

Support for AFI DOCS comes from a wide range of major companies, cultural institutions, foundations, philanthropists and government agencies. The 15th edition of AFI DOCS will run June 14–18, 2017, in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD.

“AT&T’s sponsorship of AFI DOCS supports the festival’s ability to connect audiences with impassioned storytellers, policy leaders and industry insiders,” said Michael Lumpkin, Director of AFI DOCS. “We are grateful to all of our supporters for their dedication to the festival and its mission of championing the documentary form.”

AT&T will host the Opening Night Screening of Netflix’s ICARUS at the Newseum. Additionally, AT&T will present its powerful public service announcement, “It Can Wait,” which showcases the dangers of distracted driving, at the festival.

Additional top sponsors include the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the official public media sponsor; NBCUniversal, official sponsor of the AFI DOCS Impact Lab; and VIZIO, official home theater sponsor of AFI. American Airlines returns as the official airline of AFI. VIZIO will generously outfit the AFI DOCS Festival Hub with the company’s latest home theater equipment and technology. NBCUniversal will once again sponsor the Impact Lab, a two-day intensive program for a select group of AFI DOCS filmmakers with issue-driven projects. CPB will underwrite a day focused on public media programs at the AFI DOCS Forum.

The Newseum — AFI DOCS’ Official Gala Screening Sponsor located on historic Pennsylvania Avenue between the United States Capitol and the White House — returns to host the Opening and Closing Night Screenings, Spotlight Screenings and the AFI DOCS Charles Guggenheim Symposium honoring filmmaker Laura Poitras.

Screen Sponsors are Audi, Discovery Communications, HBO and Netflix. Joining as a Screen Sponsor is Showtime Documentary Films, which will host the Filmmaker Welcome Reception.

The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands; CrossCurrents Foundation; DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment; and Maryland Film Office all return this year as Major Sponsors. Joining the festival as Major Sponsors are the Embassy of Canada, Embrey Family Foundation, IMDbPro, Participant Media and Yorktel.

Contributing Sponsors are DC-Camera, International Documentary Association and Lear Family Foundation. Cultural Sponsors are Embassy of Australia, Embassy of Israel, Mexican Cultural Institute and SPAIN arts & culture. The Supporting Sponsor is Great Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce.

Official Media Sponsors include Here TV, Screen International, Variety, The Wall Street Journal, Washington City Paper, WHUT-TV and WTOP 103.5FM. This year’s Affiliate Media Sponsor is WAMU 88.5 FM.

This year’s Official Hotels are Hotel George and Hotel Monaco.

In addition to supporting AFI DOCS film programming and festival events, sponsors provide services to filmmakers and festival attendees throughout the week. Participation ranges from sponsoring specific film screenings and receptions to outfitting venues with technology infrastructure and creating event spaces. Sponsors also participate in national and local promotion of the festival.

About AFI DOCS
AFI DOCS is the American Film Institute’s annual documentary festival in Washington, DC. Presenting the year’s best documentaries, AFI DOCS is the only festival in the U.S. dedicated to screenings and events that connect audiences, filmmakers and policy leaders in the heart of our nation’s government. The AFI DOCS advisory board includes Ken Burns, Davis Guggenheim, Chris Hegedus, Werner Herzog, Rory Kennedy, Barbara Kopple, Spike Lee, Errol Morris, Stanley Nelson, D A Pennebaker, Agnès Varda and Frederick Wiseman. Now in its 15th year, the festival will be held June 14–18, 2017, in landmark Washington, DC, venues and at the historic AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, MD. Visit AFI.com/AFIDOCS and connect on twitter.com/AFIDOCS, facebook.com/AFIDOCS, youtube.com/AFI and instagram.com/AmericanFilmInstitute.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions around the globe connect with leading entertainment, business, mobile and high speed internet services. We offer the nation’s best data network* and the best global coverage of any U.S. wireless provider.** We’re one of the world’s largest providers of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries. Nearly 3.5 million companies, from small to large businesses around the globe, turn to AT&T for our highly secure smart solutions.

AT&T Products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc. Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at facebook.com/att and YouTube at youtube.com/att.

© 2017 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

*Claim based on the Nielsen Certified Data Network Score. Score includes data reported by wireless consumers in the Nielsen Mobile Insights survey, network measurements from Nielsen Mobile Performance and Nielsen Drive Test Benchmarks for Q3+Q4 2016 across 121 markets.

**Global coverage claim based on offering discounted voice and data roaming; LTE roaming; and voice roaming in more countries than any other U.S. based carrier. International service required. Coverage not available in all areas. Coverage may vary per country and be limited/restricted in some countries.

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CONTACT:
Gabrielle Flamand, AFI DOCS PR, 202.339.9598 or gabrielle@prcollaborative.com
Liza Ameen, American Film Institute, 323.856.7885 or LAmeen@AFI.com