March 2003

Unless you are an anthropologist or an expert in the indigenous peoples of Southern Africa, interviewing filmmaker John Marshall is a bit like opening a window onto an extraordinary and complex new world. While the essential elements of documentary filmmaking rest at the core of Marshall’s work, understanding this filmmaker and the passion that drives his work requires one to learn about the unique people and culture that he documents. The Ju/’hoansi of Nyae Nyae are the subject of John Marshall’s latest film series, "A Kalahari read more...

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Wowing audiences at virtually every indie film fest, director Deborah Dickson’s documentary, "Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House," takes on HBO.

We can learn a lot from kids. Just ask Jamaica Plain filmmaker, Steve Maing. His short film, "Little Hearts," came about as a result of what he learned from his students in an after-school program. Maing went into the course thinking he would be teaching the children something about video production. They wound up teaching him about the power of honesty in storytelling.

Getting your message out in 60 seconds -- that’s the theme of the new One Minute Video Festival premiering March 7 at the Evos Arts Institute in Lowell, Mass. The festival, co-sponsored by the Revolving Museum, will showcase the latest ultra-short experimental and creative media.

The Same River Twice

Davis made her first films while living in Boston, including "GirlTalk," about three runaway girls. She then moved to New York City, where she lived for 15 years. Part of that time she spent producing documentary programming for A&E television. While working on a show about transgendered people, she met Robert Eads, a female-to-male transsexual from Georgia who became the subject of "Southern Comfort."

One of the most important elements in filmmaking -- unlike many of the other arts -- is that fact that making a film is a collaborative process that requires, above all else, large sums of money for production and distribution. Unfortunately this crucial aspect of the making of a film is often the one given the least amount of attention. After all, people don’t get into filmmaking to work on their financial resource skills, but to make films.