July 2018

AlphaGo – Gret Kohs

Greg Kohs (USA), AlphaGo, Doc Feature – Ten-time Emmy winner Kohs delivers with AlphaGo – a story that chronicles a journey from the backstreets of Bordeaux, past the coding terminals of Google DeepMind, to Seoul, where legendary Go master Lee Sedol faces an unproven AI challenger. As the drama unfolds, questions emerge: What can artificial intelligence reveal about a 3000-year-old game? What will it teach us about humanity?  The possible ways to apply these revolutionary advances in machine learning and ability to mimic human creativity and intuition—are virtually endless. And ultimately they push ourselves beyond what we thought was possible.  Human and machine working together.  A perfectly crafted, well-paced story that creates all the tension of a major competition intricately connected to deep human emotions and ground-breaking innovations that force us to examine our own humanity and implications for our future.  With an exceptional crew including Oscar-nominee Volker Bertelmann (Lion), Emmy winner Gary Krieg, Emmy-nominee Robert Fernandez and outstanding sound department and production crew.

The Girl and the Picture – Vanessa Roth

Vanessa Roth, Stephen D. Smith, Devorah Palladino, USC Shoah Foundation (USA), The Girl and The Picture, Doc Short – Oscar-winner Roth conveys a story of loss, legacy, and the power to change the future. In 1937, an orphaned Chinese girl and an American missionary with a camera came face-to-face in a moment that shaped history…. At age eight, Xia Shuqin and her younger sister witnessed the murder of their entire family in the Nanjing Massacre. In the days that followed, missionary John Magee documented the horror, taking in the little girls and filming them in front of the remains of their family home, creating evidence of the carnage and binding his family and theirs forever.  Roth delivers a story with skill, creativity and compassion supported by a talented group of filmmakers including two-time Emmy winner Andi Gitow, Emmy-nominee McKenzie Stubbert and Emmy-nominee Daniel B. Gold.

Brent Foster (Canada), ENOUGH | The Empowered Women of Korogocho, Doc Short – Elderly women in Nairobi’s dangerous slum Korogocho are being targeted for rape and murder.  A group of women, led by feisty Beatrice, learn to fight back and teach the community to help.  Deft direction, compelling music and sound design and beautiful cinematography.

Karina Holden (Australia), BLUE, Doc Feature – Filmed around the globe with engaging activists – it tackles habitat destruction, species loss and pollution while promoting responsible stewardship.  Compelling and tight from an award winning team including Emmy-nominated Jon Shaw, Sarah Beard, Jody Muston, Vanessa Milton and Ash Gibson Greig.

Maggie Burnette Stogner, Blue Bear Films (USA), In the Executioner’s Shadow – The realities of death row, the death penalty and the Justice system. Riveting personal stories from an executioner and victims’ families challenge  beliefs about justice.  An all-star crew with Emmy-winners Doug Gritzmacher,  Lenny Williams, Chris Biondo and Penny Trams.

Robin Hauser (USA), bias, Doc Feature – bias challenges us to confront our hidden biases and understand what we risk when we follow our gut. Through exposing her own biases, filmmaker Hauser highlights the nature of implicit bias, the grip it holds on our social and professional lives, and what it will take to induce change.  Well crafted, fresh, insightful and provocative.

Patrick Lindsay (Australia), KOKODA, The Spirit Lives, Doc Feature: Best-selling author turned director Lindsay weaves vintage footage and captivating interviews from fascinating and robust survivors, to follow in the footsteps of the Diggers, who, against all odds, preserved Australia’s freedom in WWII. Compelling with superb interviews. Aired on Nat Geo.

Grant Korgan and Brian Niles (USA), The Push, Doc Feature – Korgan had it all, lost it in a tragic accident, and rose up to become the first spinal cord injured athlete to ski to the South Pole. Facing brutal elements, demanding topography, failing gear, hypothermia, physical and mental exhaustion  – this is the inspirational story of overcoming adversity.

Collin Monda (USA), The Trouble With Wolves, Doc Feature – Wolves takes an up-close look at one of the most heated and controversial wildlife conservation debates of our time. The film explores whether coexistence is truly possible by hearing from people directly involved.  A balanced and thought-provoking doc that presents real-world solutions.

Malcolm Green (United Kingdom), Edek, Doc Short – Janine, an 85-year old Holocaust survivor and Kapoo, a young American rapper collaborate to deliver a poignant and uniquely challenging fusion of prose, music and rap – changing the rules of film-making and storytelling, to bring a crucial part of history to a younger audience in a way never heard before.

Danielle Da Silva (Canada), Photographers Without Borders TV: HAART Kenya, Doc Short – Photographer Matilde Simas  delivers a fresh look at the lives and stories of those affected by human trafficking in Kenya. An intimate look at how survivors use that experience to help others at-risk in the community.  Part of a larger series featured on PWB-TV.

Amy Hart and Jeffrey Smith, Butterflies & Bees Productions (USA), Secret Ingredients, Documentary Feature
Anne Makepeace (USA), Tribal Justice, Documentary Feature
Ben Niles (USA), The 5 Browns: Digging Through the Darkness, Documentary Feature, Contemporary Issues / Awareness Raising, Viewer Impact: Content / Message Delivery, Use of Film / Video for Social Change
Bernard McCoy (USA), Black Jack Pershing: Love and War, Documentary Feature
Brandon Thompson (Canada), waałšiʔaƛin (Coming Home), Documentary Feature
Cari Stein (USA), Hidden Health Hazards, Documentary Short
Celia Haig-Brown (Canada), Listen to the Land, Documentary Short
Cilla Whatcott (USA), Real Immunity, Documentary Feature
Danielle Da Silva and Jeffrey Garriock (Canada), Photographers Without Borders TV: East Bali Poverty Project, Documentary Short
David Barnhart (USA), Locked in a Box: Immigration Detention, Documentary Short and Trigger: The Ripple Effect of Gun Violence, Documentary Feature
Elton Hubner (Canada), The Fit Generation, Documentary Feature
Erica Tucherman (Brazil), The Other Side, Documentary Short, Editing, Direction, Cinematography, Women Filmmakers
Eros Zhao (USA), Traces of the Brush – the Heartprint of Fu Shen, Documentary Feature

EYESTEELFILM Matthieu Rytz (Canada), Anote’s Ark, Documentary Feature
Filip Zaruba (Czech Republic), Bufo Alvarius – The Underground Secret, Original Score (Bufo Alvarius composed by Satori, Filip Zaruba, Maok, Jose A. Jansasoy), Special Effects: Animation, Viewer Impact: Content / Message Delivery
Healing Seekers (USA), Expedition Congo, Documentary Feature
Ida Kleppe (Norway), Picture Perfect, Documentary Feature
James Higginson (Germany), DEVOUT, Documentary Feature, Cinematography, Original Score (Devout Soundtrack composed by Roland Hackl), Sound Editing / Sound Mixing
James Theres (USA), The Hello Girls, Documentary Feature
Janet Solomon (South Africa), Becoming Visible, Documentary Short
Juan Solera (Spain), Blame Game, Documentary Feature
Kelly Bakos (USA), A Herd of Orphans, Documentary Feature, Nature / Environment / Wildlife, Contemporary Issues / Awareness Raising, Viewer Impact: Content / Message Delivery, Women Filmmakers
Klaus Scherer, NDR/ARD (Germany), The War Of Nerves With North Korea. Where Is Kim Jong Un Heading?, Documentary Feature
Laura E. Swanson (USA), Break the Chain, Documentary Feature
Linda Midgett (USA), Same God, Documentary Feature
Lucian Perkins (USA), The Messengers, Documentary Feature

Marion Lipschutz (USA), Bei Bei, Documentary Feature
Matthew Testa (USA), The Human Element, Documentary Feature
Robert Blaise (USA), Human Weeds, Religion / Ethics
Robin Greenberg (New Zealand), TEAM TIBET – Home away from Home, Documentary Feature
Samuel Bathrick (USA), 16 Bars, Documentary Feature
Sasha Rainbow (United Kingdom), Kofi and Lartey, Documentary Short
Shalom Almond (Australia), Prisoners and Pups, Documentary Feature
Stephanie Seldin Howard (USA), The Weight of Honor, Documentary Feature
Taira Malaney (India), The Call of Pashmina, Documentary Short
Tony Valentino (USA), Reinventing Power: America’s Renewable Energy Boom, Documentary Feature
Vanessa Roth, Stephen D. Smith, Devorah Palladino, USC Shoah Foundation (USA), The Girl and The Picture, Women Filmmakers, History / Biographical
Victor  Nieto (USA), Buzo Baby, Documentary Feature

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