Radiation exposure was at the forefront of cinematographer Simon Niblett’s mind as he spent time filming Otto Bell’s “The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima.” Bell, who was trying for a baby at the time, was also concerned – they carried radiation monitors.
Bell’s documentary Oscar contender, “The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima,” follows a group of local hunters who have been enlisted to dispose of radiated wild boars that now roam the abandoned streets and buildings of Fukushima, Japan after a 2011 earthquake caused a nuclear meltdown.
Below, Bell and Niblett spoke with Variety about filming and how drone technology helped them find and film the wild boars.
Tell me about your pre-production planning and any discussions you two had going into this shoot. What mood, styles and themes did you discuss capturing?
Bell: I kept Simon in the dark a bit in the run-up to the shoot. That’s not best practice,...
Bell’s documentary Oscar contender, “The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima,” follows a group of local hunters who have been enlisted to dispose of radiated wild boars that now roam the abandoned streets and buildings of Fukushima, Japan after a 2011 earthquake caused a nuclear meltdown.
Below, Bell and Niblett spoke with Variety about filming and how drone technology helped them find and film the wild boars.
Tell me about your pre-production planning and any discussions you two had going into this shoot. What mood, styles and themes did you discuss capturing?
Bell: I kept Simon in the dark a bit in the run-up to the shoot. That’s not best practice,...
- 1/31/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Valparaiso Pictures has wrapped shooting on documentary The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima, directed by BAFTA nominee Otto Bell (The Eagle Huntress), with Emmy winner Joe Bini (You Were Never Really Here) on board to edit.
The 40-minute doc charts the destruction wrought by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 which triggered a tsunami, nuclear meltdown and mass evacuations. Through the central metaphor of radiated wild boars that now roam the region, Bell and longtime collaborator, cinematographer Simon Niblett, follow the everyday lives of a handful of citizens still struggling to make a life in the much-changed landscape.
Above we can reveal the first-look image from the film.
Los Anglees-based production firm Valparaiso fully financed with David Carrico and Adam Paulsen for Valparaiso and Bell’s Kissaki Films producing. CAA Media Finance is handling sales.
The film was in part inspired by the photographs of Toru Hanai and Yuki Iwanami,...
The 40-minute doc charts the destruction wrought by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 which triggered a tsunami, nuclear meltdown and mass evacuations. Through the central metaphor of radiated wild boars that now roam the region, Bell and longtime collaborator, cinematographer Simon Niblett, follow the everyday lives of a handful of citizens still struggling to make a life in the much-changed landscape.
Above we can reveal the first-look image from the film.
Los Anglees-based production firm Valparaiso fully financed with David Carrico and Adam Paulsen for Valparaiso and Bell’s Kissaki Films producing. CAA Media Finance is handling sales.
The film was in part inspired by the photographs of Toru Hanai and Yuki Iwanami,...
- 11/16/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Awards season keeps ticking right along, but tonight’s Cinema Eye Honors promised at least a tiny respite from narrative-based filmmaking, as the New York City-set ceremony is all about honoring the best in the year’s documentary filmmaking.
Big winners included Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson,” which picked up Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, along with editing and cinematography wins. Right behind it was Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America,” which earned Edelman a directing win, along with a production win for Edelman and Caroline Waterlow. Best TV offering went to “Making a Murderer.”
Nominations were lead by Raoul Peck’s “I Am Not Your Negro” and “O.J.: Made in America,” which each pulled in five nominations apiece, though Johnson’s “Cameraperson” and Gianfranco Rosi’s “Fire at Sea” aren’t far behind, with four nominations each. Both Peck and Rosi’s features ultimately walked away without an award.
Big winners included Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson,” which picked up Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, along with editing and cinematography wins. Right behind it was Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America,” which earned Edelman a directing win, along with a production win for Edelman and Caroline Waterlow. Best TV offering went to “Making a Murderer.”
Nominations were lead by Raoul Peck’s “I Am Not Your Negro” and “O.J.: Made in America,” which each pulled in five nominations apiece, though Johnson’s “Cameraperson” and Gianfranco Rosi’s “Fire at Sea” aren’t far behind, with four nominations each. Both Peck and Rosi’s features ultimately walked away without an award.
- 1/12/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
If you look up the definition of “girl-power” in the dictionary, there will be a picture of this young woman: Aisholpan Nurgaiv- Eagle Huntress.
Sony Pictures Classics latest release, The Eagle Huntress, tells the amazing and powerful story of 13-year old Aisholpan and her family of traditional nomadic Kazakh people of the Altai Mountains, set against the magnificent and awe inspiring beauty of the Mongolian steppe.
For generations, Kazakhs have traditionally used eagles for hunting small game to feed and clothe their families. And part of that tradition is that eagle hunters are always men. But Aisholpan longs to join in this tradition after years of watching her father with his eagle. And lucky for her (and us), her father has no problem breaking tradition to help Aisholpan follow her heart.
Directed by Otto Bell, The Eagle Huntress is Bell’s first feature length documentary. Up until this, he...
Sony Pictures Classics latest release, The Eagle Huntress, tells the amazing and powerful story of 13-year old Aisholpan and her family of traditional nomadic Kazakh people of the Altai Mountains, set against the magnificent and awe inspiring beauty of the Mongolian steppe.
For generations, Kazakhs have traditionally used eagles for hunting small game to feed and clothe their families. And part of that tradition is that eagle hunters are always men. But Aisholpan longs to join in this tradition after years of watching her father with his eagle. And lucky for her (and us), her father has no problem breaking tradition to help Aisholpan follow her heart.
Directed by Otto Bell, The Eagle Huntress is Bell’s first feature length documentary. Up until this, he...
- 11/18/2016
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The nominees for the 10th annual Cinema Eye Honors have been announced, with “I Am Not Your Negro” and “Oj: Made in America” both receiving five each. They’re followed in short order by “Cameraperson” and “Fire at Sea,” which along with “Weiner” are all in contention for the top prize. A total of 37 features and five shorts will be in contention at the upcoming ceremony, which “Hoop Dreams” director Steve James will host from the Museum of the Moving Image on January 11. Here’s the full list of nominees:
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
“Cameraperson” (Kirsten Johnson)
“Fire at Sea” (Gianfranco Rosi)
“I Am Not Your Negro” (Raoul Peck)
“Oj: Made in America” (Ezra Edelman)
“Weiner” (Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg)
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Kirsten Johnson, “Cameraperson”
Gianfranco Rosi, “Fire at Sea”
Raoul Peck, “I Am Not Your Negro”
Robert Greene, “Kate Plays Christine”
Ezra Edelman, “Oj:...
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
“Cameraperson” (Kirsten Johnson)
“Fire at Sea” (Gianfranco Rosi)
“I Am Not Your Negro” (Raoul Peck)
“Oj: Made in America” (Ezra Edelman)
“Weiner” (Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg)
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Kirsten Johnson, “Cameraperson”
Gianfranco Rosi, “Fire at Sea”
Raoul Peck, “I Am Not Your Negro”
Robert Greene, “Kate Plays Christine”
Ezra Edelman, “Oj:...
- 11/2/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
There's a spirit that soars in German filmmaker Otto Bell's first feature documentary, The Eagle Huntress, which tells the story of 13-year-old Aisholpan Nurgaiv and her quest to break through a centuries-old gender barrier. Specifically, she wants to become the first girl in 12 generations of her family to hunt game in partnership with a wild eagle. Girl power is the theme and the driving force behind the film – it's narrated by the young Force Awakens discovery Daisy ("Rey") Ridley – as Aisholpan shows her nomadic Kazakh tribe that she has...
- 11/2/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Chances are strong that the vast majority of viewers who take in Otto Bell’s crowd-pleasing documentary “The Eagle Huntress” will approach the material with little, if any, knowledge of its subject: the time-honored Eurasian falconry tradition of eagle-hunting. That’s about to change in a big way. Featuring a story so readymade for the big screen — and, yes, Fox has already optioned the film for an animated version — that it feels almost unbelievable, Bell’s feature directorial debut is bolstered immeasurably by a captivating leading (little) lady and a story that transcends time and location. Aided by smart and simple narration from Daisy Ridley, the result is an all-ages outing about tradition, respect, family and, yes, the power of feminism to positively change lives.
Bell’s film follows 13-year-old Aisholpan, a Kazakh kid with one main aspiration — to be an eagle huntress. It may sound like a simple enough request,...
Bell’s film follows 13-year-old Aisholpan, a Kazakh kid with one main aspiration — to be an eagle huntress. It may sound like a simple enough request,...
- 11/1/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Sony Pictures Classics has released the poster for The Eagle Huntress which opens in NY and La October 28th and nationwide in the following weeks.
The Eagle Huntress follows Aisholopan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and rises to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been handed down from father to son for centuries.
Set against the breathtaking expanse of the Mongolian steppe, The Eagle Huntress features some of the most awe-inspiring cinematography ever captured in a documentary, giving this intimate tale of a young girl’s quest the dramatic force of an epic narrative film. While there are many old Kazakh eagle hunters who vehemently reject the idea of any female taking part in their ancient tradition, Aisholpan’s father Nurgaiv believes that a girl can do anything a boy can,...
The Eagle Huntress follows Aisholopan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and rises to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been handed down from father to son for centuries.
Set against the breathtaking expanse of the Mongolian steppe, The Eagle Huntress features some of the most awe-inspiring cinematography ever captured in a documentary, giving this intimate tale of a young girl’s quest the dramatic force of an epic narrative film. While there are many old Kazakh eagle hunters who vehemently reject the idea of any female taking part in their ancient tradition, Aisholpan’s father Nurgaiv believes that a girl can do anything a boy can,...
- 8/19/2016
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
For seven generations, the men of Nurgaiv’s family have mastered the art of eagle hunting, a tradition in western Mongolia that goes back some 2,000 years. For the Kazakh people of the Altai region, it is a practice that is not only crucial to their survival in the remote area, but also a badge of honor and expertise in the long-held tradition. Inspired by her father, Nurgaiv’s daughter Aisholpan has taken an avid interest in the craft with hopes of tearing down the boundaries of cultural sexism and becoming the titular, first-ever The Eagle Huntress. In capturing her passion, her family’s encouragement, and the societal roadblocks ahead of her to overcome, director Otto Bell has created an empowering, gorgeously shot documentary.
The 13-year-old Aisholpan leaves her secluded home five days a week to live at a dorm attending school, where she has dreams of becoming a doctor. When...
The 13-year-old Aisholpan leaves her secluded home five days a week to live at a dorm attending school, where she has dreams of becoming a doctor. When...
- 1/28/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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