News
Two New Projects in Sundance Doc Competition
This just in — we are excited to have two films in the Sundance Documentary competition this year.
Whirlybird
Dir: Matt Yoka; Editor, Brian Palmer; Story Supervisor, Barry Poltermann; Additional Editing, Erin Elders; Assistant Editor, Dan Black.
Soaring above the chaotic spectacle of ‘80s and ‘90s Los Angeles, a young couple revolutionized breaking news with their brazen helicopter reporting. Culled from this news duo’s sprawling video archive is a poignant L.A. story of a family in turbulence hovering over a city unhinged.
Boys State
Dirs: Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine; Editor Jeff Gilbert; Co-Editor Michael Vollmann; Assistant Editors Sam Kirchoff and Michael Bourne. In an unusual experiment, a thousand 17-year-old boys from Texas join together to build a representative government from the ground up.
Good luck to everyone!
“The Animal People” Los Angeles Premiere
After it’s debut at the Austin Film Festival last month, this weekend our own Casey Suchan, Sasha Perry and Brian Palmer brought “The Animal People” to Los Angeles at the Santa Monica Film Festival. They were joined for the West Coast premiere by Executive Producer Joaquin Phoenix.
Third Audience Award of Three Festivals for “I Am Not Alone”
People seem to like this one.
“AFI Fest said Friday that I Am Not Alone, Garin Hovannisian’s documentary about the 2018 Armenian revolution, won this year’s feature film Audience Award, topping the list of prizes given for the annual festival that wrapped its run last night in Hollywood.
“I Am Not Alone” wins DocNYC Audience Award
From Realscreen:
Audiences at the 10th annual DOC NYC documentary film festival have selected I Am Not Alone as the Audience Award winner, voted in from among all new features at the fest.
I Am Not Alone (pictured) is directed by Garin Hovannisian and follows former Armenian political prisoner turned Member of Parliament Nikol Pashinyan as he leads a peaceful protest to transform his country in 2018.
“I Am Not Alone” wins Audience Award at TIFF
Premiering earlier this week, I AM NOT ALONE was a breakout film at the Toronto International Film Festival, winning first-runner up for the The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award and garnering rave reviews.
From the Hollywood Reporter:
“Had they unfolded in a work of fiction, the events of I Am Not Alone might be hard to buy. Over a mere 40 days, one man’s cross-country walk to protest political corruption draws a small following that blossoms into huge gatherings and acts of civil disobedience, ultimately taking down Armenia’s authoritarian regime. Not only that, but in what might otherwise be considered a heavy touch of Hollywood corn, this people’s power movement gains an adorable, loyal mascot in the form of a stray dog who joins the march on day one.
These recent events, not widely reported in the United States, are captured from the impassioned front lines as well as the more calmly considered aftereffects in Garin Hovannisian’s eye-opening documentary. Filming alongside the movement’s leader from the first days of the 2018 rebellion, and incorporating footage recorded by citizen journalists and phone-wielding protesters, the director manages to convey personal and national histories in succinct fashion. He’s less interested in political specifics, which aren’t always clear, than in a communal sense of awakening. In this heightened political moment, the film (whose executive producers include Joe Berlinger and System of a Down’s Serj Tankian) will likely find eager audiences on the fest circuit and beyond for its compelling vision of contemporary nonviolent revolution.”
“Don’t Break Down” Released
From ROLLING STONE.
“Jawbreaker, the influential post-hardcore band who notched the Number Four album on Rolling Stone’s 40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time with 1995’s Dear You, are now the subject of a documentary that is finally getting a wide release.
Filmmakers first teased the picture, Don’t Break Down, two years ago but it hasn’t been available. That will change on August 6th when it goes up for sale on Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes; it will also be streamable via Amazon Prime.”
Jimmy Fallon and AMERICAN MOVIE
Jimmy Fallon sat down with Rotten Tomatoes to make a list of his five favorite comedy movies ever.
This movie is called American Movie, and it’s a documentary comedy. Man, oh man, I remember seeing this film with Horatio Sanz: we were in the theater, and we were crying so hard from laughing, we were hugging each other and punching each other because we were laughing too hard. It’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. It will make you cry laughing. If you love filmmaking, you will appreciate this. The two guys, the two stars of the movie, are true stars.
“Red, White & Wasted” Premieres at Tribeca Film Festival
Editor Michael Vollmann was on hand at the Tribeca Film Festival yesterday for the world premiere of “Red, White & Wasted”.
Early review from FILM PULSE:
“Red, White & Wasted is an entertaining and, dare I say, fascinating look into this world that many of us simply aren’t a part of, and therein lies the need for slice-of life-documentaries like this. It may be almost as messy as the trucks heading back from the Yacht Club, but movies like this are a gateway into the nooks and crannies of our country and serve as a sociological time capsule of this time and place.”
“The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann” drops on Netflix
Launching tomorrow on Netflix — we were honored to be brought in as part of the team of editors to help put this mammoth undertaking together.
From The Atlantic:
“Over eight episodes, available on Netflix on March 15, the series compiles a staggering amount of information, patching together archival news footage and hundreds of hours of new interviews with key figures in the case. It’s granular, but also gripping. In the show, as in real life, the answer to the question of what happened to Madeleine seems to be perpetually, tantalizingly just out of reach.”
BLOOD AT THE DOORSTEP OFFICIAL RELEASE
The Blood is at the Doorstep has had an inspired festival run and is finally available streaming as of today on SundanceNow, and is available to rent on iTunes, Amazon, GooglePlay, VuduFans, Xbox & PlayStation starting September 28th.
Here are some of the awards we’ve picked up over the last year for this amazing film.
AWARDS
The Hollywood Reporter Critics Pick from SXSW 2017
WINNER: 2018 Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA) – Best Editing of a Feature Documentary
WINNER: 2018 Salem Film Festival – Michael Sullivan FRONTLINE Award for Best Journalism in a Documentary
WINNER: Audience Award for Best Feature Film, 2017 Milwaukee Film Festival
WINNER: Ron Tibbett Award for Excellence in Filmmaking – Indie Memphis Film Festival – 2017
WINNER: Golden Badger Award, 2018 Wisconsin Film Festival
WINNER: Best Documentary Feature – Monmouth Film Festival 2017
WINNER: Best Documentary Storytelling – Destiny City Film Festival 2017
Jim & Andy gets an Emmy nomination
We are excited to announce that Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond has just been nominated for an Emmy in the category of “Documentary or Nonfiction Special”. The competition is tough! The nominees are: Icarus Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond — Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton Mister Rogers: It’s You I Like Spielberg The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling
Netflix buys JIM & ANDY
From Variety: Netflix has 
bought worldwide rights to “Jim & Andy,” Chris Smith’s documentary about Jim Carrey’s portrayal of comedian Andy Kaufman. The deal was announced Monday at the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie uses approximately 100 hours of footage shot on the set of “Man on the Moon” documenting Carrey’s transformation into Kaufman for four months. The Vice Documentary Films production premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is produced by Spike Jonze, and Vice Films’ Danny Gabai and Brendan Fitzgerald. “For almost two decades this brilliant performance from Jim Carrey has resonated with audiences and fans of Kaufman’s, but the story behind the film – a true piece of entertainment history has remained largely unknown,” said Lisa Nishimura, VP of original documentaries for Netflix. “Chris Smith and Spike Jonze have masterfully unearthed and explored Jim’s complex and artful creative process, hurling audiences right into the mind of a genius.” The complete title is “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton.” Executive producers are Eddy Moretti, Shane Smith, Tony Clifton, Michael Kronish, Jim Czarnecki, and Nicole Montez. “Vice is always focused on telling stories you can’t see anywhere else, and Chris’ film is an incredibly humanistic deep-dive into the mind of a brilliant artist,” said Danny Gabai, exeutive creative director of Vice. “Chris, Spike and Jim have made a film that makes us question what we really want in the world, and we couldn’t be more excited that Netflix is bringing it to the world.”
“Jim & Andy” Premieres in Venice
Yesterday Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Jim & Andy was edited by September Club working with Vice Documentary Films.
Chris Smith (Director) and Jim Carrey
“Man on the Moon” remains one of the most misunderstood great movies of the ’90s (a lot of people just saw it as Carrey doing Kaufman’s greatest hits), because it’s really about how Andy Kaufman sacrificed his identity to showbiz — and, in doing so, became a herald.
for the age when entertainment would consume everything in its path, from our dreams to our identities. When Kaufman wrestled women, coming on like Bobby Riggs on steroids and taunting the redneck crowds who turned out to see him, was it a put-on or was it a deep-down reflection of “the real Andy”? Actually, it was the real Andy pretending to be what he hated, and realizing that he loved being that way, but mostly because of the reaction it provoked. Except that he cherished that reaction more than anything, so maybe it was the real him. Or maybe there was no real him. In one of the greatest scenes in “Man on the Moon,” Carrey, as Kaufman, as Tony Clifton gets up on stage and does his unspeakable rendition of “I’ve Gotta Be Me.” It’s bottom-of-the-barrel sentimental showbiz hooey, but it’s all built around a conundrum: Who, exactly, is me? “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond” shows you that the answer is a grand illusion.”Editor Barry Poltermann
Jawbreaker Premiere in San Francisco
The band was on hand last night for the San Francisco premiere of Don’t Break Down: A Film About Jawbreaker. Edited by Erin Elders and co-produced by Dan Didier. Don’t Break Down has been over a decade in the making, with the release of the film coinciding with the band’s 2017 reunion announcement. Upcoming screenings include Riot Fest (in Chicago) & The Alamo Drafthouse theaters. The Los Angeles premiere is at Hollywood’s Vista Theater on Wednesday, October 4. Pitchfork dropped the trailer a couple of weeks ago.
First Clip From the Definitive Jawbreaker Documentary Released
Don’t Break Down: A Film About Jawbreaker. The new September Club documentary about one of the most influential acts of the 1990’s new punk scene has been in the works for ten years. The film explores the trajectory of the band’s career. In addition to interviews with the band members and Albini, it will also feature interviews with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Chris Shiflett of Foo Fighters, Josh Caterer of Smoking Popes, chef Graham Elliot, former Pitchfork editor Jessica Hopper, and more. With the recent announcement of the band’s reunion after 21 years we’re excited to share with you the first official clip from the project which premiered on Pitchfork today.
“The Blood is at the Doorstep” Premieres at SXSW
The new September Club feature length documentary three years in the making “The Blood is at The Doorstep” from Director Erik Ljung premiered at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas tonight. The film edited by Michael Vollmann and produced by Barry Poltermann chronicles the fatal police shooting of Dontre Hamilton and the tireless efforts of his family as they seek answers. The story follows his brother, mother and Milwaukee’s police and politicians as they struggle to come to terms with the lost of a son and a brother — and attempt to overcome a legacy of racism in a city that is arguably the most segregated in America.
“Ljung’s clear-eyed film finds hope within terrible circumstances, and strength within heartbreak. Given the continued unfortunate timeliness of the subject, the doc would certainly find an audience in a wider platform beyond the fest circuit.”
“SPLIT SCREEN” finds a new home with The Criterion Channel on FilmStruck
In 1996 we made our first short documentary, when we were asked by John Pierson to do a piece for the pilot episode of IFC’s SPLIT SCREEN which later became a beloved series by cinephiles. Twenty years later and the entire series and all it’s glory has found a new home with The Criterion Channel on FilmStruck.
Zedd: True Colors Released
Zedd: True Colors is now available for your viewing pleasure. Ever since its June premiere, fans have been waiting for the chance to see Zedd‘s documentary True Colors, based on his album of the same name. Directed by Susan Bonds and Alex Lieu (and edited by our own Barry Poltermann), the film follows the professional and personal exploits experienced by Zedd during the creation of the 2015 album. True Colors was premiered at the Los Angeles film festival in June, where Zedd himself arrived for a Q&A and acoustic performance to follow its screening. Now, after six months, the film is finally available for fans to view for themselves. By visiting its iTunes page here, True Colors can be purchased for $12.99 and downloaded immediately. “TRUE COLORS is about more than the making of an album and an epic world tour, it’s a story about the unique relationship between a musician and his fans, and the journey of an artist finding his own voice.”
“Zedd: True Colors” Premieres at LA Film Fest
A documentary on the EDM superstar ZEDD, which we’ve been editing lately here at September Club, premiered last night at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Highlights included an acoustic performance by Zedd playing with special guests Kesha, Echosmith and Aloe Blacc. Pretty fun night! 
“The documentary, directed by Susan Bonds and Alex Lieu, chronicles the making of Zedd’s latest album True Colors, as well as the series of elaborate listening parties that the artist and his team put on for a small group of loyal fans ahead of the album’s release. Taking place in a series of exotic locations—from the Grand Canyon to the Empire State Building to Alcatraz Island—each event allowed fifty lucky fans to hear one of the album’s tracks for the very first time in a meticulously designed setting, and to have a meet-and-greet with Zedd afterward. Zedd’s personal investment in engaging directly with fans became the uniting theme of the evening, which certainly had the most exuberant and vocal audience I’ve ever seen at a documentary screening. (Screams of “I love you!” and “Marry me!” were not infrequent.)”
“Raiders!” is Released from the Well Of Souls
Raiders!: The Story Of The Greatest Fan Film Ever Made will be hitting select theaters and home video on June 17, just in time for the 35th anniversary of Spielberg’s action-adventure classic. Two of the original filmmakers—Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala—will also be hitting the road to promote the doc on the Raiders: Follow Your Dreams Tour. Starting on June 2, the guys will be doing Q&As in several cities, leading up to ad just after the film’s wide release. A full list of tour dates is available on the Drafthouse Cinema website.
“Local Man” Story on OPERATION ALLIE
From Tulsa OK local news: Manny Marquez directed short documentary ‘OPERATION ALLIE’ is headed to the Gi Film Festival in Washington DC. It’s a touching portrait of his brother, Anthony, and dog, Allie. Whom were inseparable while deployed in Afghanistan. . Manny is clear that the documentary is not about PTSD or the war. “It’s just a story about a man being reunited with his dog,” explained Manny. “And I think it’s about the power of love and healing.” And those are two things more powerful than pain and suffering.