Latest news with #Doc10
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘White With Fear' Documentary Sets June On-Demand Release Date (EXCLUSIVE)
Director Andrew Goldberg's political documentary 'White With Fear,' featuring interviews with Hillary Clinton, Steve Bannon and more has set an on-demand release date of June 3, Variety can exclusively reveal. Providing rare first-person access to notable figures like Clinton and former Fox News reporter Carl Cameron, the documentary explores the decades-long strategy employed by conservative politicians 'to amplify racial divisions and white victimization narratives for power and profit,' according to an official synopsis. The documentary also explores how these tactics aim to hurt immigrants and spread Islamophobia around the world. More from Variety Sheffield Doc/Fest Announces Full Lineup, Including Mstyslav Chernov's Frontline Doc '2000 Meters To Andriivka' At Chicago's Doc10, Filmmakers Say the Streaming Boom Is Over, and Governor Pritzker Talks Politics: 'We Are Seeing Autocrats Exploit Those Who Struggle to Make Ends Meet' Margaret Mead Film Festival Offers New Yorkers a Chance to See Acclaimed Docs Without Distribution Additional interviews feature former Trump campaign strategist Rick Gates, former Trump campaign CEO and chief strategist Bannon, The Lincoln Project co-founder Stuart Stevens, New York Times opinion writer Jean Guerrero, 'Dog Whistle Politics' author Ian Haney López and former Jeb Bush campaign communications director Tim Miller. Through this collection of voices, 'White With Fear' takes on the tradition of classic documentary exposés like 2010's 'Inside Job' and 2005's 'Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.' Goldberg is an Emmy Award-winning investigative producer who has directed long and short-form segments for 'CBS News Sunday Morning,' 'Live From Lincoln Center,' ABC News and NPR. The documentary is produced and edited by Diana Robinson and co-produced by Eric Ward. Archival producers include Natalie Shmuel, Jessica Dankers and Ray Segal. The film is being distributed by Area 23A, which recently released 'Common Ground' featuring Laura Dern, Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson and Jason Momoa. Other releases include 'Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me,' 'There Is Another Way,' 'Music for Mushrooms' and 'Anxious Nation.' Best of Variety Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
At Chicago's Doc10, Filmmakers Say the Streaming Boom Is Over, and Governor Pritzker Talks Politics: ‘We Are Seeing Autocrats Exploit Those Who Struggle to Make Ends Meet'
The documentary streaming boom is officially over, according to Academy Award-winning producer and Impact Partners co-founder Geralyn Dreyfous. 'The market for streamers is not coming back,' Dreyfous said during a panel discussion at Chicago's Doc10 film festival over the weekend. 'To go into these film festivals like Sundance and think that you are going to get a big sale is la la land (thinking). The numbers are just not there. One of 20 films is being bought out of Sundance. When we started Impact Partners, eight out of 10 of our films were being bought. That's gone. Gone! We have to create new distribution models.' More from Variety Margaret Mead Film Festival Offers New Yorkers a Chance to See Acclaimed Docs Without Distribution Film About Democracy Now! Journalist Amy Goodman To Open Third Annual DC/DOX Festival (EXCLUSIVE) Isabel Arrate Fernandez Named as IDFA's New Artistic Director Dreyfous, whose credits include 'The Invisible War,' 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?' and 'Navalny,' helped launch Jolt, an AI-driven, direct-to-consumer streaming platform, in 2024. Meant to give a literal jolt to indie docs that might have been a success at festivals across the world but have not found traditional distribution, Jolt was created as a result of the doc distribution crisis. Recent Jolt titles include 'Hollywoodgate,' 'Zurawsksi v Texas,' and 'The Bibi Files,' a documentary from Oscar-winners Alex Gibney and Alexis Bloom. Submarine co-president Josh Braun and Red Owl co-founder Alice Quinlan joined Dreyfous on the May 3 panel discussion titled '6 Radical Ideas: Disrupting the Documentary Landscape' to discuss the current state of the nonfiction marketplace. Braun admitted that sales are taking longer than expected to make. 'Submarine went to Sundance this year with eight films, and we left without selling a single film,' said Braun. 'That's the first time that that ever happened. Now we have sold four of the eight. If those four had sold in February, we would have felt really great. Now that they are selling, and it's May, and we are afraid to feel really great because it's sort of like, was that evidence of anything? We don't know.' In addition to creating a highly curated viable mechanism that will give audiences the docs they want to see, Dreyfous also suggested the creation of an Angel Studios for the left. The studio that often releases faith-based movies lets members of its Angel Guild choose which film and television projects the company will market and distribute. 'Why can't we have our own guild?' asked Greyfous. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Heidi Ewing, whose doc 'Folktales' screened at Doc10 and recently sold to Magnolia, commented on the state of the industry. 'From a filmmaker's perspective, going to these festivals is a lead-up tour to a theatrical,' Ewing said. 'They actually become your evangelists. People will see the movie (at Doc10) and will tell their friends to come see it when it opens (theatrically) in Chicago. I'm not being an optimistic, pie in the sky, naivete, but people are really lonely and they want to gather. We have to reach them directly. So, I do believe in the theatrical. There is a way to get people to come.' Ewing was one of several filmmakers with high-profile docs that attended the tenth edition of Doc10. Geeta Gandbhir ('The Perfect Neighbor'), David Osit ('Predators'), and Academy Award winner Mstyslav Chernov ('2000 Meters to Andriivka') were also in attendance. All three films debuted at Sundance 2025. Chernov's '20 Days in Mariupol' offered audiences a visceral view of the first days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its civilian toll. In '2000 Meters to Andriivka,' Chernov turns his lens toward Ukrainian soldiers — who they are, where they came from, and the impossible decisions they face in the trenches as they fight for every inch of land. During a Q&A with Doc10 head programmer Anthony Kaufman, the director explained why he made another film about Ukraine. 'When I'm going around the world, I keep hearing questions – 'What is going to happen next to Ukraine? How do the Ukrainians feel? How do they feel about the land?' Chernov said. 'I always want to give an answer, but I never know what to say, so I try to make a film about it. I really want those numbers of casualties, those kilometers that are just statistics, those names that are just names on the map to have meaning to them. That's why this film exists.' The five-day festival concluded on May 4 with a screening of Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz's 'Prime Minister.' The doc about former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won rave reviews after premiering at Sundance in January. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker introduced the film and the guest of honor, Jacinda Ardern. 'What you will see in this documentary is a thoughtful and compassionate person navigating the complexities of her private life while facing the tension and the pressure of public office,' Governor Pritzker said. 'It's the type of empathetic leadership that I truly admire, and we should demand it from all of our public servants. (Arden) should remind us of the enormous contrast between the hero of this tale and the politicians who choose to approach public service with cruelty and ignorance. Those elected officials go about their daily lives, facing the challenges that we all do. But instead of choosing empathy as a response, they decide to make those burdens heavier for other people.'He added, 'We are seeing autocrats exploit those who struggle to make ends meet. They think that showing strength means punching down on the most vulnerable. They are convinced that those who look or live or love differently from you don't experience the same joy or the same pain that you have. In this documentary and throughout (Arden's) premiership, we see that strong and effective leadership is founded upon empathy and kindness, especially in times of crisis. She shows us that strength comes from recognizing and acting on behalf of our shared humanity.'Doc10 fest was hosted by Chicago Media Project. Best of Variety Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Netflix in May 2025
Chicago Tribune
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Doc10's Anthony Kaufman on why documentary film are imperiled — and why they'll survive
The 10th edition of Doc10, Chicago's annual long weekend of nonfiction filmmaking from well, everywhere, opens with something from here: 'Move Ya Body: The Birth of House,' a Sundance Film Festival premiere earlier this year. It examines a dubious origin story with a delayed happy ending, about Comiskey Park's notorious, literally inflammatory Disco Demolition night in 1979 and how a Major League Baseball-sponsored joke turned into a riot — and lit the fuse for the global phenomenon of South Side Chicago house music. A 10-film showcase can do only so much, yet Doc10 does a lot each year, taking the pulse of our world as seen through the cameras of mavericks on a mission. In this year's crop, one film was shot under fire in Ukraine after the Russian invasion ('2000 Meters to Andriivka'), while another follows the nerve-wracking trail of a whistleblower targeted for assassination ('Antidote'). Closer to home, you'll find a cautionary tale of a Florida woman who's both perpetrator and, in her eyes, victim ('The Perfect Neighbor'). Doc10's home base remains the Davis Theater in Lincoln Square and, for two screenings on May 4, the Gene Siskel Film Center. Preceding the main lineup, several free community screenings pop up this week around Chicago. Doc10 is presented once again by the nonprofit documentary funding and producing organization Chicago Media Project. And head programmer Anthony Kaufman is responsible for what you'll be seeing. The New York City native is also a senior programmer at the Chicago International Film Festival; an adjunct professor at DePaul University specializing in documentary film; and a longtime film critic and journalist, focusing on nonfiction work. In recent years, Kaufman, 53, has written for Indiewire and other outlets about the stiff headwinds nonfiction filmmakers face. Netflix, Hulu and others now favor a fatty, low-protein diet of true crime and celebrity profile quickies. In the public sector, meantime, the Trump administration has targeted the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for elimination. 'It's hard, and maybe not sustainable,' Kaufman told me in our conversation the other day, on his back patio near Northwestern University. He's married to associate professor Ariel Rogers, who teaches in the Northwestern School of Communication's Radio/Television/Film department. On the other hand, Kaufman says: 'It's never been sustainable. Yet these filmmakers somehow find a way.' The following has been edited for clarity and length. Q: At a pretty bizarre time in American life and politics, and with stories of global conflicts with no endings in sight, what can the documentary genre give us? A: One thing documentaries can do, I think, especially documentaries about current crises, is give us the long view. Or the deep view, the one we're not getting from sound bites, or YouTube videos, or the administration's statements. When you see a film like '2000 Meters to Andriivka' that puts you on the front line, in Ukraine, you understand what's happening. You understand the stakes. You get a deeper, more substantive view that is not manipulate-able by propaganda. In this case, the filmmaker (Mstyslav Chernov, who will introduce the May 4 screening at the Siskel Film Center) was on the front lines with the soldiers, in the middle of firefights, risking his life. With Doc10, over the last decade, we've built an audience that's passionate about so many issues. And they're eager to hear the filmmakers come and talk about them. Q: Is it my imagination, or are we living in a moment when every single day, there's another five potential subjects for a full-length documentary, crying out to be made? A: That's how it feels, all right. There's a major event that happens, like the Luigi Mangione assassination of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and two weeks later, you see the documentary on Hulu. Maybe terrible and certainly sensational, but there it is. Q. Of the 10 documentaries you picked this year, who's working in more unconventional storytelling form? A: I'd say two, in different ways. One is 'Mistress Dispeller,' made by the Chinese American filmmaker Elizabeth Lo, who we're bringing in (for the May 4 screening). In the film, she goes to China and tells the story of these people who are hired to break up husbands cheating on their wives with their mistresses. Nothing is fiction, nothing is staged, but the film puts us in real time with the mistress dispeller, working with this husband and wife. She's been hired by the wife to bring her husband back, to convince him to end this affair. And she's also working on the mistress to convince her to leave this married man. So it feels like a drama, a fiction film. The other one is called 'Ghost Boy,' by the director of 'Room 237,' Rodney Ascher, who works with a really innovative use of reenactments. It's about a 12-year-old who fell into a coma for three years and woke up with 'locked-in syndrome.' He couldn't communicate with the outside world, but he was fully conscious. And with these surreal visual reenactments, the film puts you in his headspace during that time. It's using fictional storytelling techniques to tell this guy's story. Q: When a documentary hits a moment right, is it just lucky timing or something more? A: It can be both. You remember 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?', the Morgan Neville doc (from 2018, a huge hit) about Fred Rogers? That could've been made any time, or released any time, but it came out in the middle of the first Trump administration, at a point when America really needed the reminder that goodness and compassion were good things. Through sheer coincidence of timing, it was exactly the right moment. This year, it may be 'The Perfect Neighbor' (picked up for streaming rights by Netflix) that does something similar. It cuts to the bone of the current racial conflicts and questions, battles, really, over diversity, equity and inclusion, but in an indirect way. Q: What are documentary filmmakers up against now that they weren't a few years ago, in terms of getting their work out into the world? A: Filmmakers and documentary producers I've talked to started to worry about shifts a year or two ago. Before that shift, it was a kind of golden age, when a lot of streamers put a lot of money into documentaries. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon. It was a kind of golden age, right during COVID. Then the streaming companies realized what was doing well, according to their algorithms. True crime and celebrities. That's what got the eyeballs. And now, virtually all of the attention is on that. And everything else, they leave out. This has not helped documentary filmmakers who don't want to make a movie about Katy Perry in space. So that's been a struggle. And now we have the gutting of the NEA and the NEH, which a lot of filmmakers and funders relied on for making their work. The threat to public media, to PBS, is a threat to both the financing and the release of documentary filmmaking. It'll be catastrophic for independent documentaries and independent media, period, across the country. Q: As someone whose life's work is so tied to this art form, do you ever give up hope? A: The whole ecosystem is changing, and it's hard. And maybe not sustainable. But I take heart from two things. One is, it's never been sustainable (laughs). And the second thing is: Artists create, no matter what. Someone told me — maybe it's a famous quote, I'm not sure — that optimism is a political tool. (Futurist Alex Steffen said something like it: 'Choosing and voicing optimism is a powerful political action.') I think we need to take heart from that. It's disadvantageous for us to absorb defeatism. Think of all the great art, the great films, that came out of crisis and political oppression. Film and art find a way. And documentary filmmakers are not a privileged bunch. They've never needed much. Unlike the fiction film industry, which is far more capital intensive, documentary filmmakers are, by nature, scrappy and determined and not really pressured by the market. They tell stories because they feel like they have to. And as you said, every day, there's another incredible documentary subject, waiting for the right filmmaker. We'll see what we see, a year or two from now.
Chicago Tribune
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
This year's Doc10 film festival opens with the house music documentary ‘Move Ya Body'
A Chicago tale beginning with the infamous Comiskey Park Disco Demolition night and ending with the global rise of house music as sweet revenge opens the 10th edition of the nonfiction film festival Doc10 on April 30. 'Move Ya Body: The Birth of House Music' will be followed by 10 more documentaries, concluding on May 4, most screened at Lincoln Square's Davis Theater with two at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Programmed by film journalist, critic and Doc10 co-creator Anthony Kaufman (also a programmer with the Chicago International Film Festival), the boutique documentary showcase operates under the auspices of Chicago Media Project, a nonprofit organization focused on a wide array of social-impact projects. CMP's website leans into ideals and phrases such as 'under-represented' and 'multiple points of view' — in effect a rebuke to the current presidential administration. 'When American democratic norms, the rule of law and basic long-held facts are under attack,' Kaufman said in the festival announcement, Doc10 is 'a vital place for people to come together and experience people's true stories and actual struggles.' Five of the 11 films premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. Among them, in addition to 'Move Ya Body,' are 'Antidote' — a nerve-wracker about journalist Chirsto Grozev's life-or-death odyssey following reporting on Russian leader Vladimir Putin's so-called 'poison program' — and '2000 Meters To Andriivka,' highly regarded as an urgent account of a Ukrainian platoon's trek through a deadly patch of forest in order to liberate a key village under Russian siege. The full calendar of documentaries, including guest filmmakers, plus other festival events and ticket information, can be found at Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix Wants $11 Million Back From Director Carl Rinsch, Who Allegedly Spent Lavishly on Cars, Bedding and a $28,000 Sofa
Netflix wants its money back. Five years after wiring $11 million to director Carl Erik Rinsch for a sci-fi series that never got made, the streamer is asking for a return on those funds. More from Variety Chicago's Doc10 Lineup Includes Sundance Hits 'The Perfect Neighbor' and 'Predators' (EXCLUSIVE) 'Black Warrant' Team Unpacks Netflix Series Success at Cinevesture Film Festival 'The Residence' Team on Casting Kylie Minogue, Honoring the Late Andre Braugher and How 'Knives Out' Rescucitated the Whodunit Genre Rinsch, 47, was arrested last week on charges of fraud and money laundering for allegedly using the cash for lavish purchases, speculative investments and legal fees to sue Netflix. He is out on a $100,000 bond and due to be arraigned in federal court in New York on April 3. Later in April, Rinsch is due back in civil court in Los Angeles for a debtor's examination by Netflix's lawyers. The company has obtained an $11.8 million judgment and is attempting to locate assets it may be able to seize. In previous divorce proceedings, Rinsch has said that he is broke. Rinsch owes $420,000 in spousal support to his wife, Gabriela, according to a recent filing from her attorneys. In January 2024, Rinsch told the court is suffering 'severe financial distress.' 'Over the past four years, in lieu of a salary, I have been forced to use company funds for living expenses,' he wrote. He said that his company's revenue had dwindled to nothing, and that he had to liquidate assets and borrow $150,000 from his family to stay afloat. 'My monthly income is zero,' he wrote. 'I have been forced to focus all my efforts on being a 'professional litigant.'' Rinsch, who is from Los Angeles, was once an up-and-coming commercial director with backing from two powerful mentors. Under the tutelage of Ridley Scott, he made futuristic ads for Heineken, BMW and Mercedes. That led to a job directing '47 Ronin,' a samurai film starring Keanu Reeves. After creative turmoil, the film flopped, causing Universal to lose at least $120 million. But Rinsch picked up a key ally. Reeves would go on to invest in 'White Horse,' his short-form TV series about humanoid AI beings. According to a court filing, the project bounced around, starting at Annapurna, then attracting interest from director Rian Johnson, who was brought on to executive produce. Six episodes were shot, ranging from four to 10 minutes in length, with a plan for seven more. In early 2018, Netflix executives were invited to Reeves' house to review the script, and ultimately agreed to put $44 million into completing the project — renamed 'Conquest' — while buying out previous investors. Once production began in Brazil, Rinsch quickly went over budget, according to an arbitrator's ruling. The ruling states there were numerous other problems, including casting issues and allegations of harassment and abuse on set. After further filming in Uruguay and Hungary, production wrapped in December 2019. Prosecutors allege that Rinsch sought an additional $11 million to finish the first season, and then gambled the money on the stock market and on crypto. He is also accused of using the money to buy a fleet of Rolls Royces, luxury items and antique furniture. In late 2020, Netflix decided to write off the $55 million investment. When told that the streamer would no longer fund the project, Rinsch did not take it well, writing an email to a Netflix executive that began, 'Dear Coward,' according the arbitration ruling. 'Time to fess up,' he continued. Other such messages followed, leading some to conclude he had become mentally unstable, according to the ruling. At an arbitration hearing, Rinsch testified that this behavior was the result of his neurodiversity — specifically, autism spectrum disorder. 'Whatever's going on there, I can tell you it's not drug-induced,' he said. 'It's not mentally ill. It's exacerbating a different neurotype that most people might not be able to understand.' As of May 2021, Rinsch's crypto bets had left him with a balance of $26.7 million in his Kraken account, according to court filings. In September of that year, he bought a black Hästens Grand Vividus mattress — hand-made in Sweden, and reputedly the world's most expensive mattress — for $439,900. He also bought a white Hästens Vividus King for $210,400. Both were ordered in custom, extra-wide sizes, roughly seven feet square. Rinsch took delivery of one mattress, which he complained was too short. He then tried to cancel his order, asserting that he had become concerned about the 'provenance of horsehair materials' due to ethical concerns and allergies, according to a lawsuit he filed against the company. Hästens sought to charge him a $100,000 return fee. (Most of his suit was dismissed by a judge and the case was ultimately dropped.) In litigation with Netflix, Rinsch testified that he planned to use the mattresses in the second season of 'Conquest' — which Netflix had not ordered. The arbitrator noted that it is customary to rent props or find cheaper substitutes for luxury items. She added that the purchase was 'especially unnecessary' because in Rinsch's own storyboards for a 'palace scene,' the mattress would not have been visible. Around that time, Rinsch also bought $5.4 million worth of furniture, according to the arbitrator's ruling. In one instance, he agreed to buy 14 pieces by the Art Deco designer Jacques Adnet, including a $48,000 desk and cabinet, a $28,000 sofa, and some armchairs. After expressing interest in a larger purchase, he scaled back the order, citing 'financial setbacks.' 'While I could tell you of my woes and disappointment, in markets here and abroad, it makes no difference,' he wrote to the dealer in January 2022. He later sought the return of a $200,000 deposit, saying, 'Our production was the victim of a studio meltdown.' The dealer sued, and after a jury trial in Philadelphia in 2023, Rinsch was ordered to pay a balance of $68,200. Rinsch's Kraken account was down to $1.5 million to $1.8 million by April 2022, according to his testimony in the divorce case. At a hearing in May, a judge raised a concern: 'Did you say, sir, that the crypto you acquired was from production funds?' 'Yes, sir,' Rinsch said. The judge seemed alarmed. 'Hold on a minute,' he said. 'Hold up. Hold up. So in the real world, people in your line of work either have or create an LLC, a loan-out corporation, a close corporation, an entity for the production. All of the money goes into an account held by that entity. Business purposes and business spending is segregated from personal spending. You know, business.' Rinsch replied: 'That's correct.' Prosecutors allege that Rinsch had transferred Netflix's money to a personal account and was rapidly spending it. He spent $1.8 million on credit cards, $1 million on lawyers to sue Netflix and litigate his divorce case, and $652,000 on watches and clothing, according to the indictment. As of May 2023, he had $482,000 in a checking account. His Kraken balance was down to $68,000. He listed monthly expenses including $16,500 on rent and $3,500 on restaurants. The judge ordered him to pay $275,000 to cover his wife's legal fees and to pay for her forensic accountant. 'I don't have that money,' he told the court. 'What can I do? I have no representation here today. I am trying to survive here. I don't even know legally what I can do. Can I write something saying, 'I am sorry, here are my accounts?'' As the judge tried to explain that he couldn't give legal advice, Rinsch interjected: 'Nobody should laugh at me.' The judge noted that he had been paying significant legal expenses. 'You seem to be able to get it,' he said. 'There is no money,' Rinsch repeated. In January 2024, he asserted that the legal costs had left him virtually destitute. His only assets, he claimed, were some kitchen appliances, $5,000 in cash, $3,900 in a brokerage account, and a $110,000 pension through the Directors Guild of America that he is not yet eligible to receive. California had also hit him with tax liens totaling $68,000. His wife's attorneys noted that as of April 2024, he was living at the Laurel in West Hollywood, which is advertised as an 'ultra-luxury' apartment building, which they saw as evidence that he was maintaining his previous standard of living. Rinsch did not respond to a phone call and email seeking comment. Netflix declined to comment. Once Netflix obtained its $11.8 million judgment last August, the company's lawyers hired private investigators to try to track down any remaining assets. Netflix told a judge that it had to move quickly: 'Mr. Rinsch reportedly has a propensity to go on spending sprees.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
