In my @filmquarterly.bsky.social debut, here’s my review of The Oxford Handbook of American Documentary, edited by Joshua Glick and Patricia Aufderheide, and The Intellect Handbook of Documentary, edited by Kate Nash and Deane Williams. online.ucpress.edu/fq/article/7...

Sonny Rollins, who left us yesterday, played with Miles Davis, whose centenary we celebrate today, in the early days of their remarkable careers. Here they are performing Rollins' composition "Aerigin." www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQxJ...

Get ready for a 5-part series of posts! I was in Toronto recently to cover the Hot Docs Industry Conference for POV Magazine. Thanks, as always, to Marc Glassman and Patrick Mullen. Here we go: Post 1, Day 1: povmagazine.com/hot-docs-ind...

Frederick Wiseman was one of the greatest chroniclers of the human experience--its everyday tragedies & comedies, heartbreaks & joys, triumphs & failures. "Menus-Plaisirs--Les Trois Grois" was a wonderful valediction to an amazing canon. www.indiewire.com/news/obituar...

I "attended" Sundance online, and saw 14 docs and 3 Beyond Film talks in 5 days. My top 7 faves: 1) American Doctor 2) Soul Patrol 3) The Oldest Person in the World 4) One in a Million 5) Birds of War 6) Closure 7) Everybody to Kenmure Street

For those of us who have toiled in the nonprofit arts sector for most of our careers, this is a hefty rejoinder to the takeover/run/pillage/plunder-crazed regime. emilkang.substack.com/p/an-open-le...

This most dispiriting of years called for a double dose of righteous resistance and furious joy. And I am grateful for the artists who proclaimed their presence loudly and proudly and delivered a multitude of reasons to believe. And so I offer my 3rd annual Lists of My Favorite Things from 2025.

JFK: "I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft." Trump: “I’ve always felt that a lot of modern art is a con.” www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

Rob Reiner: “Silence in the face of authoritarianism is complicity. Speaking out is a patriotic act. Democracy doesn’t defend itself. It requires participation, vigilance, and courage from ordinary people."

Kudos to the Gotham Film Awards nominees, and a special shout out to the docs: 2000 Meters to Andriivka; BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions; My Undesirable Friends; The Perfect Neighbor; Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk : deadline.com/2025/10/2025...

A day late, I know, but kudos to all the @criticschoice.bsky.social doc nominees, including multiple honorees Orwell: 2+2=5 and The Perfect Neighbor, Pennebaker Award honorees Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady; and Impact Award honoree Ken Burns. www.criticschoice.com/2025/10/14/n...

Farewell, D'Angelo. Although "Sometimes It Snows in April" wasn't your song, you owned it here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeV7...

Congratulations to Garrett Bradley, Tommy Orange and the rest of the awesome crew of 2025 @macfound.org "Genius" Fellows. Amidst all the dispiritng dystopia, you have inspired us to stand, stomp, and stir up good trouble! Thank you for your gifts! www.macfound.org/programs/awa...

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our founder and friend Robert Redford.

A tough week for LA: Trump's performative provocation...losing Sly Stone...and now Brian Wilson is gone. What woke me up to his genius was this deconstruction of "Good Vibrations," part of NPR's 100 Songs series from 2000. "I don't know where, but she sends me there" www.npr.org/2000/06/19/1...

Amidst this ongoing American tragedy, we just lost one of the great geniuses of the past 60 years. Thank you for letting us be ourselves again, Sly. Thanks for taking us higher. We will stand in your honor. P.s. Much love to our friend in frequency, Novena Carmel. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/a...

Here's my report on the @hotdocs.bsky.social Industry Conference for @povmagazine.bsky.social. Thanks to @marcglassman.bsky.social and @patmullen.bsky.social for their editorial guidance. povmagazine.com/hot-docs-ind...

In my "Current" debut, I spoke to some of the key drivers behind ITVS’ groundbreaking study, The Filmmaker-Participant Relationship Unpacked. Thanks to Mike Janssen and Karen Everhart for their editorial rigor. current.org/2025/05/itvs...

Kudos to the @peabodyawards.bsky.social nominees! peabodyawards.com/stories/nomi...

This is democracy in action. Senator Cory Booker has been on fire against fascism for 19 hours. This is what it takes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSHV...

Rob Manfred pledged to keep MLB's values on diversity “unchanged" back in February. But now, MLB's careers home page has no reference to “diversity," with a league spokesman telling The Athletic they're "evaluating" the programs. More: www.nytimes.com/athletic/622...

Between its world premiere at @sundancefilm.bsky.social #sundancefest & its international premiere at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, I spoke with Jesse Short Bull & David France about their film "Free Leonard Peltier." Thanks to @deadline.com & Matt Carey. deadline.com/2025/03/free...

‘No Other Land,’ a film about Israeli displacement of a Palestinian community, won the documentary feature film Oscar, and its directors appealed to the world to help end the conflict and accused the United States of blocking a solution reut.rs/41oltqZ #Oscars2025

Kudos to the winners in the doc categories at Sundance 25! realscreen.com/2025/01/31/%...

Congrats to all the Oscar nominees in the doc categories! Onward! realscreen.com/2025/01/23/b...

I’m taking a break from my liminal, reflect-and-refract retreat in the desert to bring to you My Favorite Things from 2024.

"The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices." — Former President Jimmy Carter, Nobel Peace Prize address, 2002

Here's an article I wrote for @povmagazine.bsky.social about awards campaigns, with a focus on the long journey of "To Kill a Tiger," from its 2022 TIFF premiere to its 2024 Oscar nod. Thanks to @patmullen.bsky.social & @marcglassman.bsky.social. povmagazine.com/you-could-wi...

The Oscars short list is here! The road to the final fives (or tens) begins! Congrats to the 30 feature and short docs, and their respective teams, for making it this far! www.indiewire.com/awards/resul...

Thank you, Ustad Zakir Hussain, for your ever-transcendent beats of life! www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vGC...

Thank you, Nikki Giovanni, for your great gifts. And thanks to Michèle Stephenson & Joe Brewster for your great testament to Nikki, "Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project." www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyb3...

Kudos to @antkaufman.bsky.social for his top-notch reporting in @indiewireofficial.bsky.social on the fate of public media amid the angst-ridden countdown to January 20. www.indiewire.com/features/gen...

It's a cavalcade of kudos this week! From the National Board of Review: Best Doc: Sugarcane; Freedom of Expression Award: No Other Land" Top Five Docs: Black Box Diaries, Dahomey, Look into my Eyes, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, Will & Harper. nationalboardofreview.org/2024/12/nati...

Awards Season rolls on! Congrats to the @filmindependent.org Spirit Awards nominees! deadline.com/2024/12/spir...

Congrats also to the NY Film Critics Circle Award winners, including multi-winners "The Brutalist" & "Nickel Boys," as well as Gotham winners "All We Imagine as Light" & "No Other Land." www.nyfcc.com/awards/

Congrats to @thegotham.bsky.social Awards winners, including multi-winners "Nickel Boys" & "Sing Sing." www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

A few days late on this, but congrats to the Cinema Eye Honors nominees, including multi-nodders Sugarcane, Dahomey and No Man's Land. cinemaeyehonors.com/news/cinema-...

Here's my Filmmaker Magazine article about the Documentality study on mental health in the doc community, and the study's impact since its publication last May. Thanks to Scott Macaulay & Vadim Rizov. filmmakermagazine.com/127799-menta...

Hi, BlueSkyers! Just exited from X-hell!