The panel thought that Brokaw’s decision not to fact-check the candidates or challenge their spin was a problem: 83% of Obama supporters and 75% of McCain supporters wanted to see more challenging follow-up questions from the moderator. Read the press release>>

Following on the heels of that report, I received today another disconcerting tip of spin at work:

Evil Twin Booking, a West Philly-based talent agency, has been inundated with e-mails and phone calls related to its representation of former Weather Underground radical Bill Ayers. Gov. Sarah Palin has recently ramped up criticism of Sen. Barack Obama’s ties to Ayers, who, along with his wife, Bernardine Dohrn, and other members of the radical group bombed various government buildings in the ’70s. Read the entire post>>

My commentary: If we ever need a media literate nation, it is now.

The workshop takes place as part of the PaleyDocFest08, which has a great looking program, including one of the former winners of the pitch contest, Whatever It Takes by Christopher Wong (still from the film, upper right) as a work-in-progress. Good luck!

From first hand experience, the estates of both Hendrix and the Doors are some of the trickiest folks to work with in regards to music licensing. Stratospheric licensing fees are almost the secondary problem behind the strict editorial control both estates demand. This enforced hagiography, of course, serves no one: history, filmmakers, or even fans. Read the post>>

The doc is being produced in Canada where there is a current battle over copyright going on. From Copyright for Canadians about the recently re-written copyright bill:

After months of hesitation, Industry Minister Jim Prentice has finally revealed his re-write of Canada’s rules of copyright, Bill C-61. As expected, the bill contains major concessions to the American entertainment industry. Prentice’s bill forbids Canadians from engaging in ordinary practices such as ripping DVDs onto video iPods, unlocking digital phones for use with a competitor’s services, and paves the road for US-style consumer lawsuits for file-sharing. Tell your MP to represent you in the forthcoming copyright debate, and stop Prentice from steamrolling a bill that’s worse than America’s DMCA through Parliament without listening to Canadian voices.

It has been tried and success has been achieved in utilizing fair use for the kind of project that Cohen mentions, but it is only after years of work and high profile filmmakers and lawyers taking a stand using the Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use. It will be interesting to see if the Canadians now also will have to delve into this area.

Northwest Film Forum in Seattle seeks an Executive Director to pilot the thriving, growing non-profit film arts organization. The Executive Director takes the lead in shaping the vision of the organization, oversees all of Northwest Film Forum’s operations, spearheads development and fundraising efforts for the organization, and is the chief advocate of the organization’s mission to its members, its stakeholders, to the community at large, and to the cinema community world-wide.

Overview of Northwest Film Forum:
Northwest Film Forum is a Seattle-based non-profit organization operating innovative and award-winning film exhibition, production, and education programs year-round. Noted Seattle arts critic Regina Hackett has called Northwest Film Forum “the dominant one-stop shop for the city’s cultural life.”

Annually, Northwest Film Forum supports over 600 filmmakers, aids in the production of nearly 80 original works, exhibits more than 200 separate film programs, and offers more than 60 workshops. The organization’s facilities include two cinemas that are open 360 nights a year (120-seat and 50-seat, equipped for 35mm, 16mm, Super-8, and digital projection and live theatre), workshop space, editing rooms, and filmmaker offices. Northwest Film Forum’s operating budget has grown over 35% in the last three years and is currently over $600,000. The organization now operates with a staff of nine… More than 80 volunteers support almost every aspect of the organization. The organization currently has nearly 1000 members.

Read more about the job and NFF>>

Like the Documentary Filmmakers’ Fair Use document, this one has areas of general fair use. Some overlap those in the documentary area, but others are particular to the remix/mash-up culture. Here is an overview that is in no way a substitute for sitting your arse down and actually reading this short, insightful and beautifully written document. If you want to utilize fair use, you need to understand what it is and how it is applied. The general areas of fair use covered are:

1. Commenting on or critiquing copyrighted material
2. Using copyrighted material for illustration or example
3. Capturing copyrighted material accidentally or incidentally
4. Reproducing, reposting, or quoting in order to memorialize, preserve, or rescue an experience, an event, or a cultural phenomenon
5. Copying, reposting, and recirculating a work or part of a work for purposes of launching a discussion
6. Quoting in order to recombine elements to make a new work that depends for its meaning on (often unlikely) relationships between the elements

Read Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video>>

Another very cool resource is Adobe TV. The manufacturer of such industry staples as Photoshop, After Effects and Illustrator has created a wealth of video documentation from various experts to show you how to accomplish and optimize all sorts of work in their programs. They have them organized by your professional use (photographer, video professional, designer, etc.). If you find any that are particularly great, let us know.

The SPIN Academy is more than a media-skills training. It is an opportunity to learn the basics of crafting effective media messages and framing the terms of debate from experts in the field. It is also a unique chance to connect with peers across the country working as progressive communicators.

Application deadline is June 20. Apply online>>

Documentary Voices’ artistic director, Anisa Mehdi’s aim is to bring together documentary filmmakers at all stages of career development. She says, “Combining the know-how of established talent with the wit and audacity of newcomers will give everyone a creative boost–not to mention the benefits of nourishing relationships for future projects.” A veteran American journalist and documentary filmmaker, Mehdi has a track record in building bridges through reporting and interactive workshops among people of different cultures with similar concerns. Mehdi is a Muslim-American who devotes professional and personal time to projects that break stereotypes and amplify authentic voices from diverse communities. She is founder and president of Whetstone Productions, co-producer of Documentary Voices.

The initiative is endorsed by the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). It will showcase stories of the greater Gulf region and the filmmakers with the zeal to tell them. There will be films about music, politics, war, peace, and faith by men and women with the passion and vision for telling true stories. An international jury of experts in film, diplomacy and the arts selected the films, primarily from Arab countries, the US and Iran, to be screened for the public in July. Filmmakers will attend the screenings of their work and engage with audiences, many of them exhibiting for the first time. They will also participate in an intensive program of workshops, master classes and symposia, designed to hone skills, amplify effective communication and encourage networking across the globe.

Dubai’s leader, His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Maktoum, is eager to make his city a cultural hub of the Middle East. Documentary Voices complements that goal. Approximately 30 thought-provoking documentary films will be screened and discussed. The initiative will entertain and educate local audiences, while providing a much-needed platform for filmmakers from the region to learn about production, financing, distribution and creative development from experts in the field. Networking among professional filmmakers from both inside and outside the region will foster dialogue and continued partnerships.

The symposium is a co-production of Whetstone Productions, Anisa Mehdi, artistic director (US), and Caspian Events, Mahshid Zamani, Managing Director (Dubai). For more information, please visit www.documentaryvoices.com.

The screening showcased twelve shorts from across the globe from independent and young first-time filmmakers that will be shared with educators, the media arts community and social activists worldwide. It was a very strong group of films in terms of storytelling and quality of filmmaking, starting with the Jury Award-winning 10-minute Hammoudi, directed by Anwar Saab, about a boy in Lebanon that has experienced an enormous personal tragedy, yet lives with such gusto and joy, reveling in the nourishing support of his family and friends and his own indomitable spirit. Another stand-out for me was Perversion of Justice, a shocking exposé on the justice system. A young mother of three is sentenced to life in prison for a first time drug-related offense. Clocking in at just under eight minutes, it’s a powerfully told story of how law-making “by the books” can destroy innocent lives. This film won the Changemaker Award.

Every Third Bite, created by The Meerkat Media Collective, was delightful and beautifully shot. In the past few years, millions of bees have disappeared from their hives, never to return. This film shows how that directly impacts humankind (and every other ecosystem in existence) in entertaining and eye-opening ways. This collective of young social action filmmakers is something to watch.

A Nomad’s Life is part of a larger feature-length piece being shot in the mountains of Tibet by Lynn True, Nelson Walker, Tsering Perlo and Keefe Murren. Gorgeously photographed, the piece allows us to catch a glimpse of a disappearing world. A young Tibetan couple and their new-born baby girl still live a traditional nomadic existence, but it’s obvious that their survival is questionable against the rapidly modernizing world around them. I’m looking forward to seeing a longer version of this story.

The Countdown packs a wallop. This is a six-minute spoken word piece that won the Emerging Artist Award for Rene Dongo and Sofia Snow. Snow’s composition is one of the most powerful pieces on 9/11, the war in Iraq, hatred, bigotry, terrorism and identity that I’ve seen. Filmed on a rooftop overlooking the New York City skyline, she holds forth, bobbing and weaving as she hypnotically recites her ode to the destruction of something that will have lasting impacts for us all, not only in this generation, but in the ones to come. I was blown away and am trying to grab it for something I’m programming in the Gulf region. It should be broadcast over and over and over again–everywhere.

Click here or here to read more about this year’s festival, the talented group of filmmakers, and how you can get involved.

About the program
The UnionDocs Residency (UDR) combines an excellent and cooperative living situation with an opportunity for immersion in independent cultural production. It’s a structure for working together, for a curatorial and creative practice that engages social and political issues. It’s an environment meant to foster both critical discussion and strong community. Six carefully selected people live together in a historic building at a great location and collaborate to produce a festival-quality documentary series in the first floor screening room. Led by a founding UnionDocs member, they work directly with directors and producers, bringing new films, lectures, and workshops to local audiences, and publishing original content online.

More information, including duties and costs