Documentary Producers Alliance Launches Ethics Resource Library
As non-fiction filmmakers face challenging circumstances, the Documentary Producers Alliance has launched the Ethics Resource Library, an online tool meant to help filmmakers make 'ethical choices in all aspects of their work.'
The searchable database includes articles, video presentations, keynote addresses, guidelines, courses, and podcasts, among other sources on subjects that range from minimum wage laws to the filmmaker-participant relationship to on set safety.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
'Boy George & Culture Club' Review: An Affectionate Look at the '80s Band and Its Flamboyant Frontman That Entertains but Treads Too Carefully
Billy Joel Doc Makers Lament Ailing Subject Couldn't Make Tribeca Opening Night but Insist "He's Going to Be Fine"
Questlove Set Out to Answer One Question With the Documentary 'Sly Lives!': What Is Black Genius?
Thr resource, which is free and will continue to be updated with new information, was established by DPA members Charles Box Jr., Chantal Encalada, Simon Mendes, Dawn Mikkelson, Risé Sanders-Weir, Steffie van Rhee, and Sarah Rachael Wainio, and is based on real life experiences by established producers and content creators.
The library has been endorsed by DocuMentality, Film Fatales, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Columbia College Chicago, and Jewish Film Institute, among other organizations. The program will be announced at the Tribeca Festival on June 11th at Spring Studios.
The Documentary Producers Alliance is a nonprofit organization made up of 500 independent documentary producers. In the pats, the group has released guides and best practices — such as 'Guide to Best Practices in Documentary Crediting' and 'Negotiating Contracts for Independent Documentary Producers' — to assist filmmakers in all aspects of the changing non-fiction landscape.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts
Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT
'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘Andy Kaufman Is Me' Review: Solid but Unrevelatory Doc Uses Puppetry to Tackle the Iconic Comic
I've sat through enough duplicative documentaries over the years to know that there's very little harm, but also very little illumination, in viewing multiple projects about Fyre Festival or that ill-fated submarine or Woodstock '99. Just because I watched Alex Braverman's Thank You Very Much, which launched at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, doesn't mean that it's bad to rehash most of the same biographical plot points and pivotal TV appearances of the enigmatic Andy Kaufman in Clay Tweel's new documentary, Andy Kaufman Is Me, premiering at Tribeca. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Surviving Ohio State' Review: HBO's Sexual Abuse Doc Is Thorough and Persuasive, but Lacks a New Smoking Gun 'A Tree Fell in the Woods' Review: Josh Gad and Alexandra Daddario in an Uneven, Occasionally Insightful Relationship Dramedy Jim Sheridan's 'Re-creation' Puts One of Ireland's Most Troubling Murder Cases Back on Trial It happens that the two Andy Kaufman documentaries are nicely complementary texts, featuring basically no overlapping talking heads and landing on mostly different life events as pivotal to Kaufman's development, even if they exert a lot of effort in coming to the same self-evident conclusion: Because so much of Andy Kaufman's life was performance art, and because Andy Kaufman died in 1984, we may never know the real Andy Kaufman — but darned if we aren't going to attempt extremely rudimentary psychiatric analysis in our failed attempt to unravel the mystery. Andy Kaufman Is Me, which at least has a distinctive visual approach that Kaufman probably would have appreciated, is narrowly the better of the two fine documentaries. That said, I think we've hit a brick wall in this thesis on the highly influential, thoroughly unknowable icon. We can maybe wait a decade or two for our next Andy Kaufman documentary, at least until somebody has a fresher idea. Boasting the credit 'Produced in Consultation with The Estate of Andy Kaufman,' Andy Kaufman Is Me absolutely feels like the more 'authorized' documentary. Tweel — and producers including Dwayne Johnson, for whatever reason — is able to build his version of Kaufman's story around extensive interviews with siblings Michael and Carol; Kaufman's own audio journals; and a wide assortment of recorded conversations between biographer Bill Zehme and Kaufman's father Stanley as well as other key figures. The immediacy of these relations and connections contributes warmth and poignancy, but not necessarily deep insight into the man that Kaufman actually became. The Braverman documentary, with its interviews with Kaufman's longtime creative collaborator Bob Zmuda and longtime girlfriend Lynne Margulies, had much better representation from the individuals closest to Kaufman at the peak of his fame and infamy — hence my feeling that these two documentaries nestle nicely into each other, even if there's an inherent staleness to watching people attempt to solve the same riddle over and over again. It's as if Sherlock Holmes had failed to solve the crime in A Study in Scarlet and had spent the rest of his life explaining that he hadn't exactly been wrong, that it was just a really difficult case. Andy Kaufman Is Me doesn't offer much that counts as surprising, but how could it? This documentary has a better perspective, for example, on Kaufman's time at community college and how it shaped his goals, but once his career accelerates, even casual fans know the key beats. He exploded as perhaps the original alt-comedy star, with his off-putting sets that were, as several people observe, more theater than standup. He became a huge sensation thanks to Saturday Night Live and regular late-night appearances that left the various hosts as perplexed as they were amused. With Taxi, he became an even bigger deal, but not really the star he wanted to be, because he was ill-suited for scripted sitcom containment. He alienated friends and fans alike with his alter ego Tony Clifton and with his notorious incursions into the world of wrestling. Then he got cancer and either died or faked his own death, if your participation in the Andy Kaufman Memorial Complex hinges on that conspiratorial interpretation. Tweel's point of entry is Kaufman's semi-autobiographical novel The Huey Williams Story, seeds of which feature heavily in the 84 hours of personal tapes the director was able to acquire. The book was published as a work-in-progress by his brother in 1999, but Tweel treats it as a snapshot into Kaufman's brain, one that can only be captured through puppetry by the Bob Baker Marionette Theater. The use of dead-eyed versions of Kaufman and Clifton is suitably eerie and alienating, suggesting that the best way to learn the truth about Andy Kaufman might be to view him through another artificial and fictional remove. The puppetry is whimsical and creepy, connecting well with the ABC special in which Kaufman met Howdy Doody, a pure and beautiful moment that both recent documentaries correctly assess as a mid-career Rosetta Stone. It's a worthwhile aesthetic swing for Tweel to take, but I'm not sure the attempt to give Andy Kaufman Is Me a four-act structure that semi-mirrors the hero's journey in the book adds much, and it never becomes as confrontationally surreal as Kaufman's writing clearly aspired to be. It isn't like Tweel is fully committed to the puppetry and structure anyway. At some point, the documentary just pauses its forward momentum to let people like David Letterman (another executive producer here), Eric Andre and Tim Heidecker explain why Andy Kaufman was influential, which is both completely accurate and completely self-evident in this context. I will never object to spending 100 minutes remembering Kaufman's defining sketches and marveling at the ambitions that his death left unfulfilled. It's time, though, for documentarians to take a break from offering interpretations of Kaufman's life that claim to be unprecedented — at least until one truly is. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘Our Hero, Balthazar' Review: Asa Butterfield and Jaeden Martell in an Unnerving Dark Comedy About American Gun Culture
Social media identities, gun laws and the blue state/red state divide are but some of the issues touched on in Our Hero, Balthazar, the zeitgeist-tapping dark comedy receiving its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Alternately disturbing and brutally funny, and ending with the sort of capper that perfectly encapsulates its provocative ethos, this marks an auspicious directorial debut for Oscar Boyson. Not that it's particularly surprising, considering that the tyro director, who co-scripted with Ricky Camilleri, has previously produced such edgy films as Good Time and Uncut Gems. This effort, whose title is a sly riff on Robert Bresson's classic Au Hasard Balthazar, follows in the tradition of those Safdie brothers films that are designed to make you feel uncomfortable. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'State of Firsts' Review: Trans Congresswoman Sarah McBride Steps Into the Spotlight for a Doc That's More Than Your Average Political Puff Piece 'Andy Kaufman Is Me' Review: Solid but Unrevelatory Doc Uses Puppetry to Tackle the Iconic Comic 'Boy George & Culture Club' Review: An Affectionate Look at the '80s Band and Its Flamboyant Frontman That Entertains but Treads Too Carefully The title character, superbly played by Jaeden Martell (It, Knives Out), is the sort of rich Manhattan youngster with an indulgent mother (Jennifer Ehle), his own personal life coach (Noah Centineo), and a tony private school education. Social causes don't interest him, but a fellow classmate, Eleanor (Pippa Knowles), very much does. The two become friendly when they both play victims in a mass shooting simulation at their school, each covered in fake blood. Eleanor's pet cause is gun prevention, so to impress her, Balthazar, or Balthy for short, begins organizing protests and posting emotional videos on the subject online, his acting skills rising to the fore. But Eleanor quickly figures out that he's not really being sincere. 'Are you actually crying?' she asks him after watching one of his tearful videos. 'I think it's nice to be part of a community,' he says. Balthy's postings come to the attention of a young man in Texas, who taunts him and reveals his intention to commit a mass shooting at his school. In a daring stylistic move, the film then segues to introduce us to Balthy's online tormentor, Solomon, an aspiring 'supplement salesman' who doesn't even have any luck attempting to sell the guns his father gave him because they're lacking serial numbers. He's the sort of lost young man who angrily but unconvincingly denies that he's an incel. And he's brilliantly played by Asa Butterfield (Hugo, Sex Education), nearly unrecognizable with blond hair and goatee, in a revelatory performance. Convinced that Solomon will make good on his threat, Balthy impulsively travels to Texas and strikes up an IRL relationship with him, looking like a fish out of water. Despite their obvious differences, the two have a strange rapport, with Solomon teaching the urbanite how to shoot guns and telling him, 'You might be the first person I met who's weirder than me.' Balthy finds himself meeting Solomon's loving, invalid grandmother (the always good Becky Ann Baker) and abusive father (Chris Bauer). He also quickly figures out that Solomon is hardly the threat he claimed to be. 'I thought you were a school shooter!' he exclaims disgustedly. But things inevitably take a darker, violent turn that results in tragedy and a supremely ironic ending. Director Boyson expertly balances satirical social commentary with emotional truth and complex characterizations, infusing the proceedings with a Hal Ashby-style deadpan dark humor. Channeling the anxieties of a younger generation so infused by online culture that they have trouble separating fantasy and reality, Our Hero, Balthazar is very much a film of its moment. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘The Best You Can' Review: Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick Star in a Congenial but Unremarkable Dramedy About an Unlikely Friendship
Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick bring their vivid screen presence and expert timing to The Best You Can, elevating this low-key, Tribeca-premiering dramedy. With strong performances and a fresh premise about an unexpected friendship in middle age, but far too many creaky comic tropes, the uneven film is always watchable but never pops off the screen in a gripping way. It's the second feature written and directed by Michael J. Weithorn, a co-creator of The King of Queens and a veteran writer on other sitcoms. It's simply descriptive and not a disparagement to say that with its often strained plot and quick-hit sitcom timing, the film is most likely to appeal to an undemanding audience and an older demographic. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Our Hero, Balthazar' Review: Asa Butterfield and Jaeden Martell in an Unnerving Dark Comedy About American Gun Culture 'State of Firsts' Review: Trans Congresswoman Sarah McBride Steps Into the Spotlight for a Doc That's More Than Your Average Political Puff Piece 'Andy Kaufman Is Me' Review: Solid but Unrevelatory Doc Uses Puppetry to Tackle the Iconic Comic Sedgwick plays Cynthia, whose brilliant husband, Warren (Judd Hirsch, reliably on point), once on the staff of the Watergate committee, is now 83 and sliding into dementia. At the start she appears overly chatty and hyper, a character trying too hard for comic effect — especially when she first meets Stan, a security guard. Bacon slides easily into the role of Stan, but his character is also introduced as a comic cliché. In the most blatant of the sitcom-style tropes, Stan has a prostate problem and while patrolling neighborhoods at night uses shrubbery as a makeshift urinal. When the alarm in Cynthia's house goes off and calls him to the scene, he urgently asks to use her bathroom — and what a coincidence, she is the perfect person to treat his problem, as she announces with fluttery, over-the-top enthusiasm. The forced comedy calms down a bit when they also begin a friendship, often through text messages, which the actors deliver in voiceover. Cynthia tells Stan about grappling with her husband's situation, and he confides in her about his fraught relationship with his daughter, Sammi (Brittany O'Grady), a struggling singer-songwriter who lacks confidence. The text technique works more gracefully than in most films, but again lame stabs at humor intrude. As they get to know each other, Cynthia asks if Stan is in touch with his ex-wife, and he texts back, 'Only by voodoo doll.' Yikes. As the friendship between Stan and Cynthia develops, it has some touching moments. Sedgwick lets us see how much Cynthia still loves and is devoted to her husband, and also how lonely his condition has made her. And Bacon is so vibrant as the intelligent, sharp-witted Stan that he makes you wish Weithorn's screenplay had done more to fill in the character's backstory. How did this guy turn out to be such an underachiever and such an awkward father? Wisely, the film acknowledges but doesn't overplay the inevitable romantic overtones the friendship takes on. And Bacon and Sedgwick never let their status as a well-known married couple in real life intrude on their character's delicate, tentative relationship. Each gets a long, emotional monologue near the end that they deliver with smooth naturalism. It's easy to imagine how much more pedestrian the film would have been with lesser actors in those roles. Weithorn gets strong performances from the supporting cast, notably O'Grady, whose brief musical scenes as Sammi are solid additions to the film. The father-daughter relationship may be the film's most believable, as we see that Stan means well and tries to encourage her but says all the wrong things. Olivia Luccardi plays Stan's younger sometime-hookup, whose sexting with him is played for some effective laughs. Ray Romano appears in a brief cameo in a video call as a doctor friend of Cynthia's who advises her on Warren's condition. And Meera Rohit Kumbhani, as Warren's caregiver, has one of the film's stronger more unexpected twists when it turns out she has recorded the memories he is still able to recapture. If only the film had risen to that level of surprise and emotional poignancy more often, with more of the wistfulness that comes to infuse Cynthia and Stan's friendship and with humor that was less eye-rolling. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
