In the years since Jeff Orlowski-Yang made Chasing Ice in 2012 the phrase “climate change” has largely been replaced by the words “climate crisis”. The world’s awareness of the issue has also risen sharply - helped no doubt by that film, which documented National Geographic photographer James Balog’s attempts to bring home the issue visually through time-lapse photography of glaciers across the world set up as part of his Extreme Ice Survey.
The project essentially became the life’s work of Balog but, as this companion film shows, he isn’t immune to the passage of time either, needing knee and hip surgery before receiving a cancer diagnosis. Orlowski-Yang follows Balog as he brings this chapter of his life to a close by removing the cameras he originally set up, although this is not the end of the story.
Drone shots are used to give a sense of the landscape of Iceland,...
The project essentially became the life’s work of Balog but, as this companion film shows, he isn’t immune to the passage of time either, needing knee and hip surgery before receiving a cancer diagnosis. Orlowski-Yang follows Balog as he brings this chapter of his life to a close by removing the cameras he originally set up, although this is not the end of the story.
Drone shots are used to give a sense of the landscape of Iceland,...
- 4/27/2024
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
"We depend on the stability of the fundamental forces of the world." The Orchard has released the first official trailer for The Human Element, a powerful new documentary about the climate change crisis. This premiered at the Boulder International Film Festival earlier this year, and will be released on VOD in January. We've seen a bunch of climate change docs over the last decade, but this one focuses on the impact on humanity, as seen through the eye (and lens) of a world renown photographer. With rare compassion and heart, The Human Element follows environmental photographer James Balog on his quest to highlight Americans on the front lines of climate change, inspiring us to re-evaluate our relationship with the natural world. There's some really striking, beautiful imagery in this trailer, and hopefully the film connects deeply with viewers and encourages us to challenge our ways in order to save the...
- 12/12/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
In today’s film news roundup, environmental documentary “The Human Element” and romancer “Frank and Ava” get release dates and NBA player Dwight Howard backs Christopher Walken’s “Percy.”
Release Dates
The Orchard has set a Jan. 29 digital release date for James Balog’s environmental documentary “The Human Element,” Variety has learned exclusively.
Balog uses his camera to reveal how environmental change is affecting the lives of everyday Americans. Following the four classical elements — air, earth, fire and water— to frame his journey, Balog explores wildfires, hurricanes, sea level rise, coal mining, and the changes in the air we breathe. “The Human Element” is aimed as providing inspiration for a more balanced relationship between humanity and nature.
Balog’s previous film “Chasing Ice” was awarded an Emmy for outstanding nature programming. “The Human Element” is produced by Earth Vision. Here’s the trailer:
****
8th House Entertainment is releasing “Frank and Ava,...
Release Dates
The Orchard has set a Jan. 29 digital release date for James Balog’s environmental documentary “The Human Element,” Variety has learned exclusively.
Balog uses his camera to reveal how environmental change is affecting the lives of everyday Americans. Following the four classical elements — air, earth, fire and water— to frame his journey, Balog explores wildfires, hurricanes, sea level rise, coal mining, and the changes in the air we breathe. “The Human Element” is aimed as providing inspiration for a more balanced relationship between humanity and nature.
Balog’s previous film “Chasing Ice” was awarded an Emmy for outstanding nature programming. “The Human Element” is produced by Earth Vision. Here’s the trailer:
****
8th House Entertainment is releasing “Frank and Ava,...
- 12/8/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Jeff Orlowski is chronicling change. In “Chasing Ice,” he followed National Geographic photographer James Balog as he set out to capture shifting glaciers. Orlowski’s latest, “Chasing Coral,” sees the director diving headfirst into another obsession: the vanishing act of the world’s coral reefs. Our entry point into the abyss is a team of motivated and knowledgeable divers, photographers and scientists. Collectively, they’ve decided to embark on a mission to understand why these reefs are disintegrating. It is, from the get-go, a somber pursuit. Many of the team members are fully aware of how our coral reefs got to this place,...
- 7/14/2017
- by Sam Fragoso
- The Wrap
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
Directed by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, Finding Vivian Maier documents Maloof’s journey to discover more about Vivian Maier after purchasing a box of her negatives in 2007. He began the search a few years later, after he realized the negatives consisted of some of the best undeveloped street photography of the 20th century. After some searching, it was revealed that Maier was a career-nanny who had died in 2009.
Since the documentary is in serious contention for a best documentary feature Oscar, we thought we’d check to see how many other photography-related films have managed to resonate with the Academy’s documentary branch and land a nomination in the same category. We found six.
The Naked Eye (1956)
Directed by two-time Oscar winner Louis Clyde Stoumen, this documentary celebrates photography through history by looking at pioneers in the field, such as Margaret Bourke-White. Though he covers works by multiple photographers,...
Managing Editor
Directed by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, Finding Vivian Maier documents Maloof’s journey to discover more about Vivian Maier after purchasing a box of her negatives in 2007. He began the search a few years later, after he realized the negatives consisted of some of the best undeveloped street photography of the 20th century. After some searching, it was revealed that Maier was a career-nanny who had died in 2009.
Since the documentary is in serious contention for a best documentary feature Oscar, we thought we’d check to see how many other photography-related films have managed to resonate with the Academy’s documentary branch and land a nomination in the same category. We found six.
The Naked Eye (1956)
Directed by two-time Oscar winner Louis Clyde Stoumen, this documentary celebrates photography through history by looking at pioneers in the field, such as Margaret Bourke-White. Though he covers works by multiple photographers,...
- 11/7/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week
"Star Trek Into Darkness"
What's It About? J.J. Abrams' second "Star Trek" installment follows the Enterprise crew when they're called back home and find an unstoppable force of terror within their own organization. Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) leads the Enterprise against a one man weapon of mass destruction. Why We're In: This sequel is exhilarating from start to finish with tons of spectacle and a solid narrative. Abarams' film perfectly mixes classic references that will excite any "Star Trek" fan, but won't make newbies feel left out. "Star Trek Into Darkness" was one of Moviefone's Best Movies of 2013 (So Far).
Watch: Get a behind-the-scenes look at the special effects of "Star Trek Into Darkness" (Video)
Rt & Follow to win a @StarTrekMovie #IntoDarkness Blu-ray & movie poster autographed by Jj Abrams and cast! Rules: http://t.co/8i1T01cxD0
- moviefone (@moviefone) September 10, 2013
Moviefone's...
"Star Trek Into Darkness"
What's It About? J.J. Abrams' second "Star Trek" installment follows the Enterprise crew when they're called back home and find an unstoppable force of terror within their own organization. Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) leads the Enterprise against a one man weapon of mass destruction. Why We're In: This sequel is exhilarating from start to finish with tons of spectacle and a solid narrative. Abarams' film perfectly mixes classic references that will excite any "Star Trek" fan, but won't make newbies feel left out. "Star Trek Into Darkness" was one of Moviefone's Best Movies of 2013 (So Far).
Watch: Get a behind-the-scenes look at the special effects of "Star Trek Into Darkness" (Video)
Rt & Follow to win a @StarTrekMovie #IntoDarkness Blu-ray & movie poster autographed by Jj Abrams and cast! Rules: http://t.co/8i1T01cxD0
- moviefone (@moviefone) September 10, 2013
Moviefone's...
- 9/10/2013
- by Erin Whitney
- Moviefone
Documentary distributor Dogwoof are busy gearing up for the home entertainment release of Jeff Orlowski's multi-award winning, breathtaking Chasing Ice. The film gained huge critical acclaim on its cinematic release, helping to convert even the most hardened climate change sceptics, and now it comes to DVD and on Blu-ray on 10 June so its amazing imagery can be seen in all its HD glory. To celebrate this release, we have Three Blu-ray copies of Chasing Ice to give away, courtesy of hardworking guys and girls at Dogwoof. This is an exclusive competition for our Facebook and Twitter fans, so if you haven't already, 'Like' us at facebook.com/CineVueUK or follow us @CineVue before answering the question below.
In the spring of 2005, National Geographic photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth's changing climate. That first...
In the spring of 2005, National Geographic photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth's changing climate. That first...
- 6/14/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
★★★★☆ James Balog is a photographer whose work has always revolved around the relationship between humanity and nature. After working on imagery that explored humanity's interaction with endangered animals, he went in search of providing a visual interpretation of the challenges facing the world with regards to climate change. This he did be finding a hook - an 'in' - and that was ice. Jeff Orlowski's award-winning documentary, Chasing Ice (2012), follows Balog's enormous undertaking as he aims to let his images do the talking in examining the effects of global warming and convincing remaining sceptics.
Much like his subject, Orlowski also allows his footage to do most of the talking as he traces Balog's tireless endeavour. In 2007, the photographer founded the Extreme Ice Survey (Eis) after the shock caused by the pace of receding glaciers he saw. The project was set up to record this using time-lapse photography and results are little short of harrowing.
Much like his subject, Orlowski also allows his footage to do most of the talking as he traces Balog's tireless endeavour. In 2007, the photographer founded the Extreme Ice Survey (Eis) after the shock caused by the pace of receding glaciers he saw. The project was set up to record this using time-lapse photography and results are little short of harrowing.
- 6/12/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Curious to know which movies and TV shows are coming to Netflix Watch Instantly over the next few weeks? Get a head start and mark your calendars using the list below, just released to us by Netflix. Film Avail Now Chasing Ice (2012) – Documentary Environmental photographer James Balog deploys time-lapse cameras to capture a record of the world's changing glaciers, compressing years into seconds to illustrate how these ice mountains are disappearing at a breathtaking rate. Avail 6/1 Art of Conflict (2012) – Documentary – Netflix Exclusive The murals of Northern Ireland are an expression of the region's violent troubles. Art of Conflict examines these murals through their painters and the people...
Read More...
Read More...
- 6/3/2013
- by Erik Davis
- Movies.com
From TakePart's Jon Bowermaster:
Eco-activist Craig Rosebraugh is the first to admit he took “a sizable gamble” by titling his first film so provocatively—Greedy Lying Bastards.
The hard-hitting documentary is a sophisticated, four-years-in-the-making look at the deviousness of climate change deniers using archival footage and new interviews. It was intended to be “a bit more in your face” than most docs, Rosebraugh admits.
Now showing across the country in more than 30 cities, it appears that despite the provocative title, audiences are ready for climate change films at cineplexes. (See also James Balog’s Chasing Ice, which continues to screen across the country thanks to phenomenal footage of glaciers in retreat and great word of mouth.)
Both filmmaker and his eco-audience have been encouraged by mainstream reviews. “A single-minded attack … may just be the feel-good documentary of the year,” wrote the New York Times. “Sober—and sobering,” according to the Washington Post.
Eco-activist Craig Rosebraugh is the first to admit he took “a sizable gamble” by titling his first film so provocatively—Greedy Lying Bastards.
The hard-hitting documentary is a sophisticated, four-years-in-the-making look at the deviousness of climate change deniers using archival footage and new interviews. It was intended to be “a bit more in your face” than most docs, Rosebraugh admits.
Now showing across the country in more than 30 cities, it appears that despite the provocative title, audiences are ready for climate change films at cineplexes. (See also James Balog’s Chasing Ice, which continues to screen across the country thanks to phenomenal footage of glaciers in retreat and great word of mouth.)
Both filmmaker and his eco-audience have been encouraged by mainstream reviews. “A single-minded attack … may just be the feel-good documentary of the year,” wrote the New York Times. “Sober—and sobering,” according to the Washington Post.
- 3/23/2013
- by Nick Visser
- Huffington Post
Composer J. Ralph admits to being awe-struck when Jeff Orlowski screened his documentary “Chasing Ice." “It was the most astounding, arresting, heartbreaking footage I’d ever seen. They had created the definitive proof of the robbery of the glaciers, and how it’s being completely destroyed at such an alarming rate. It’s the first ever visual proof of climate change.” Using time-lapse cameras, National Geographic’s James Balog captured this eye-opening look at the melting of our planet’s glaciers. So moved was Ralph by the film that he composed the score and wrote “Before My Time,” which is nominated for Best Song at the Oscars. (Take a look at the music video at the bottom of this post.) -Insertgroups:12- This marks only the third time that a song written for a documentary has contended for an Academy Award. In 1963, composers Riz Ortolani and Nino Oliviero and l.
- 2/17/2013
- Gold Derby
Scarlett Johansson didn't receive an Oscar nomination on Thursday morning, but the actress could be a part of the 85th annual Academy Awards anyway. Johansson sings the Oscar-nominated song "Before My Time" from the documentary "Chasing Ice." The music and lyrics are by J. Ralph, who gets credit for the Oscar nomination.
"Chasing Ice" was expected to earn a nomination for Best Documentary Feature, but it was left off that list. It did make the cut for Best Original Song, however, joining "Everybody Needs a Friend" from "Ted," "Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi," "Skyfall" from "Skyfall" and "Suddenly" from "Les Miserables."
"Before My Time" is a mournful track that ran over the credits for "Chasing Ice." According to IMDb, the film follows "National Geographic photographer James Balog across the Arctic as he deploys time-lapse cameras designed for one purpose: to capture a multi-year record of the world's changing glaciers.
"Chasing Ice" was expected to earn a nomination for Best Documentary Feature, but it was left off that list. It did make the cut for Best Original Song, however, joining "Everybody Needs a Friend" from "Ted," "Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi," "Skyfall" from "Skyfall" and "Suddenly" from "Les Miserables."
"Before My Time" is a mournful track that ran over the credits for "Chasing Ice." According to IMDb, the film follows "National Geographic photographer James Balog across the Arctic as he deploys time-lapse cameras designed for one purpose: to capture a multi-year record of the world's changing glaciers.
- 1/10/2013
- by Christopher Rosen
- Huffington Post
Vol. I Issue 3
Join us twice weekly. Send us links to your sizzle reels and film sites.
Chasing Ice directed by Jeff Orlowski
Chasing Ice is the story of James Balog’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Within months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers in tow, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers.
In a year where the Short Listed Academy documentary features deal with issues ranging from sexual harassment in the military to the Catholic Church’s cover-up of sexually molesting children, Chasing Ice deals with arguably the most important issue proving that the ice caps are melting and that the warming of the planet will have a catastrophic effect. But this is a year where the MPAA rating of a film about bullying school students has seemed to get the most press. That’s a shame. Chasing Ice needs to be seen. It is the most important short listed documentary film of the year. Like Davis Guggenheim’s Al Gore PowerPoint presentation, this film is scary. With never-before-seen time lapse photography we can dramatically see the ice caps and giant glaciers shrinking. A chunk of ice the size of lower Manhattan crashes into the sea. The ice flows like a river into the sea. We all know that when the ice melts, it releases its fresh water into the sea and that the water will rise. In time a few feet. Say good bye to land that several hundred million people live on.
So what’s the problem? They don’t have the press machine of Bob and Harvey Weinstein that makes a mountain out of an MPAA rating. Can the Oscar nomination go to the most important film? (could this paragraph go after next paragraph?)
But wait, there is more. This is a strikingly well made film. It has a compelling character, James Balog, who is giving his body to science and this cause. The cracks we hear are not chunks of ice but his knees disintegrating as he scales cliffs of rock and ice. The filmmakers really are risking their lives making the film, the ice takes no prisoners, the small planes and helicopters regularly crash. The film unfolds with precision; we are moved and awed by the characters and the stunning photography. The score is first rate as is the editing. This is a work that should be short listed but might be overlooked because it lacks the political coolness of some of the other films. This would be a shame.
The Filmmakers
Chasing Ice is directed by Jeff Orlowski, cinematographer for the Extreme Ice Survey, and an award-winning filmmaker. A Stanford University graduate, he has been working with Balog since 2007 and has shot over 300 hours of footage of Eis in the field. His work for Eis has screened on NBC, CNN, PBS, National Geographic, and hundreds of other venues around the world.
The film is produced by Paula DuPre’ Pesmen, the winner of the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary and 2010 Producers Guild of America ‘Producer of the Year’ for her role on The Cove. She has also served as producer on three Harry Potter films, Rent, and Mrs. Doubtfire. The film is also produced by Jerry Aronson, nominated for an Academy Award for the documentary The Divided Trail, and the director of The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg.
Credits:
Director/Producer: Jeff Orlowski
Producers: Paula DuPre’ Pesmen, Jerry Aronson
Executive Producers: David and Linda Cornfield
Writer: Mark Monroe
Cinematography: Jeff Orlowski
Music Composer: J. Ralph
Editor, Mark Monroe
Production: Diamond Docs (in association with)
Exposure Production, Exposure
Distributors (Us): Submarine Deluxe and National Geographic Channel
Maggie Simpson a short animated film by David Silverman
The Longest Daycare is a four-and-a-half-minute-long animated 3D short animated film based on the animated television series The Simpsons.
Directed by David Silverman The Longest Daycare is one of my favorite short animated films short listed for the Oscar this year. Silverman, credited with creating the look of the Simpsons, has directed numerous episodes of this hit series. Daycare has no dialogue. It is hilarious in part because of its silent film style. It is smart and fun. Maggie is a delight. This short film is really special. Between the 3D, the super clever writing and the stunning animation style, it is one of the very rare animations that can be enjoyed by any audience. Silverman’s work deserves an Oscar.
Scored by Hans Zimmer, best known for his work on Hollywood blockbusters, the score references numerous films scores and adds another layer of meaning to this magnificent (really?) work. Silverman attended the University of Maryland College Park and studied animation at UCLA.
Credits:
Directed by: David Silverman
Produced by: James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Richard Raynis, Richard Sakai
Written by: James L. Brooks, Joel H. Cohen, Matt Groening, Al Jean, David Mirkin, Michael Price
Music by: Hans Zimmer, James Dooley (addition music)
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Running time: 4:30
Academy announces 15 feature documentary films shortlisted for the Documentary Film Nomination
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced the short listed documentary features on December 3, 2012. Under the new documentary branch rules all of the branch members as well as documentary nominees and award winners from other Academy branches could vote for the short listed films. About 180 Academy members participated. Dropping the committee process where four committees would screen one quarter of the submitted films, Documentary Branch Governor Michael Moore pushed the branch to use a preferential voting system with all branch members and other qualified Academy members participating. As this writer expected, works with a lot of hype, such as Bully, were short listed. One can wonder how many members who voted for this film actually saw it. In addition to changing the short listing process, the branch demanded that films had to have been reviewed in either the New York Times or the Los Angeles Times. Voters received 126 DVDs in the mail.
A number of worthy films were omitted, as is always the case, including: The Central Park Five (directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon), West of Memphis (directed by Amy Berg), The Queen of Versailles, directed by Lauren Greenfield. I also really liked Bad 25 (directed by Spike Lee) and Love Marilyn (directed by Liz Garbus). Samsara (directed by Ron Fricke) is the year’s best documentary for its sheer poetry
The Academy can choose to nominate up to three people. However, only the director has a lock on the nomination. Individuals credited as “Producer” are vetted by the Producer’s Guild. Each must prove that they did a majority of the producer roles. This is the third year that this rule has been in force. Many of the films have multiple “producers” so it remains to be seen who will receive nominations. The decision of the Academy will be announced once the films are nominated. This has been somewhat contentious in the past.
AMPAS rules follow:
The nominee(s) should be the individual(s) most involved in the key creative aspects of the filmmaking process. A maximum of two persons may be designated as nominees, one of whom must be the credited director who exercised directorial control, and the other of whom must have a producer or director credit. If a producer is named, that individual must have performed a major portion of the producing functions, in accordance with Academy producer criteria. No more than two statuettes will normally be given in the Documentary Feature category. All individuals with a “Producer” or “Produced by” credit on films that reach the semifinal round will automatically be vetted. The Documentary Branch Executive Committee will determine which producers, if any, are eligible to receive an Oscar. In the unlikely event of a dispute, filmmakers may appeal the committee’s decision. In extremely rare circumstances, a third statuette may be awarded. Production companies or persons with the screen credit of executive producer, co-producer or any credit other than director or producer shall not be eligible as nominees for the motion picture.
The Short List:
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, directed by Alison Klayman
Bully, directed by Lee Hirsch
Chasing Ice, directed by Jeff Orlowski
Detropia, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
Ethel, directed by Rory Kennedy
5 Broken Cameras, directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
The Gatekeepers, directed by Dror Moreh
The House I Live In, directed by Eugene Jarecki
How to Survive a Plague, directed by David France
The Imposter, directed by Bart Layton
The Invisible War, directed by Kirby Dick
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, directed by Alex Gibney
Searching for Sugar Man, directed by Malik Bendjelloul
This Is Not a Film, directed by Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and Jafar Panahi
The Waiting Room, directed by Peter Nicks
The nominations for the 85th Academy Awards will be announced at 5:30 am (Pst) on Thursday, January 10, 2013. The awards will be handed out on Sunday, February 24, 2013.
Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).
Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.
______________________________________________________________________
©2012Mwb All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. All information and designs on the Sites are copyrighted material owned by Block. Reproduction, dissemination, or transmission of any part of the material here without the express written consent of the owner is strictly prohibited. All other product names and marks on Block Direct, whether trademarks, service marks, or other type, and whether registered or unregistered, is the property of Block.
Join us twice weekly. Send us links to your sizzle reels and film sites.
Chasing Ice directed by Jeff Orlowski
Chasing Ice is the story of James Balog’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Within months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers in tow, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers.
In a year where the Short Listed Academy documentary features deal with issues ranging from sexual harassment in the military to the Catholic Church’s cover-up of sexually molesting children, Chasing Ice deals with arguably the most important issue proving that the ice caps are melting and that the warming of the planet will have a catastrophic effect. But this is a year where the MPAA rating of a film about bullying school students has seemed to get the most press. That’s a shame. Chasing Ice needs to be seen. It is the most important short listed documentary film of the year. Like Davis Guggenheim’s Al Gore PowerPoint presentation, this film is scary. With never-before-seen time lapse photography we can dramatically see the ice caps and giant glaciers shrinking. A chunk of ice the size of lower Manhattan crashes into the sea. The ice flows like a river into the sea. We all know that when the ice melts, it releases its fresh water into the sea and that the water will rise. In time a few feet. Say good bye to land that several hundred million people live on.
So what’s the problem? They don’t have the press machine of Bob and Harvey Weinstein that makes a mountain out of an MPAA rating. Can the Oscar nomination go to the most important film? (could this paragraph go after next paragraph?)
But wait, there is more. This is a strikingly well made film. It has a compelling character, James Balog, who is giving his body to science and this cause. The cracks we hear are not chunks of ice but his knees disintegrating as he scales cliffs of rock and ice. The filmmakers really are risking their lives making the film, the ice takes no prisoners, the small planes and helicopters regularly crash. The film unfolds with precision; we are moved and awed by the characters and the stunning photography. The score is first rate as is the editing. This is a work that should be short listed but might be overlooked because it lacks the political coolness of some of the other films. This would be a shame.
The Filmmakers
Chasing Ice is directed by Jeff Orlowski, cinematographer for the Extreme Ice Survey, and an award-winning filmmaker. A Stanford University graduate, he has been working with Balog since 2007 and has shot over 300 hours of footage of Eis in the field. His work for Eis has screened on NBC, CNN, PBS, National Geographic, and hundreds of other venues around the world.
The film is produced by Paula DuPre’ Pesmen, the winner of the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary and 2010 Producers Guild of America ‘Producer of the Year’ for her role on The Cove. She has also served as producer on three Harry Potter films, Rent, and Mrs. Doubtfire. The film is also produced by Jerry Aronson, nominated for an Academy Award for the documentary The Divided Trail, and the director of The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg.
Credits:
Director/Producer: Jeff Orlowski
Producers: Paula DuPre’ Pesmen, Jerry Aronson
Executive Producers: David and Linda Cornfield
Writer: Mark Monroe
Cinematography: Jeff Orlowski
Music Composer: J. Ralph
Editor, Mark Monroe
Production: Diamond Docs (in association with)
Exposure Production, Exposure
Distributors (Us): Submarine Deluxe and National Geographic Channel
Maggie Simpson a short animated film by David Silverman
The Longest Daycare is a four-and-a-half-minute-long animated 3D short animated film based on the animated television series The Simpsons.
Directed by David Silverman The Longest Daycare is one of my favorite short animated films short listed for the Oscar this year. Silverman, credited with creating the look of the Simpsons, has directed numerous episodes of this hit series. Daycare has no dialogue. It is hilarious in part because of its silent film style. It is smart and fun. Maggie is a delight. This short film is really special. Between the 3D, the super clever writing and the stunning animation style, it is one of the very rare animations that can be enjoyed by any audience. Silverman’s work deserves an Oscar.
Scored by Hans Zimmer, best known for his work on Hollywood blockbusters, the score references numerous films scores and adds another layer of meaning to this magnificent (really?) work. Silverman attended the University of Maryland College Park and studied animation at UCLA.
Credits:
Directed by: David Silverman
Produced by: James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Richard Raynis, Richard Sakai
Written by: James L. Brooks, Joel H. Cohen, Matt Groening, Al Jean, David Mirkin, Michael Price
Music by: Hans Zimmer, James Dooley (addition music)
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Running time: 4:30
Academy announces 15 feature documentary films shortlisted for the Documentary Film Nomination
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced the short listed documentary features on December 3, 2012. Under the new documentary branch rules all of the branch members as well as documentary nominees and award winners from other Academy branches could vote for the short listed films. About 180 Academy members participated. Dropping the committee process where four committees would screen one quarter of the submitted films, Documentary Branch Governor Michael Moore pushed the branch to use a preferential voting system with all branch members and other qualified Academy members participating. As this writer expected, works with a lot of hype, such as Bully, were short listed. One can wonder how many members who voted for this film actually saw it. In addition to changing the short listing process, the branch demanded that films had to have been reviewed in either the New York Times or the Los Angeles Times. Voters received 126 DVDs in the mail.
A number of worthy films were omitted, as is always the case, including: The Central Park Five (directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon), West of Memphis (directed by Amy Berg), The Queen of Versailles, directed by Lauren Greenfield. I also really liked Bad 25 (directed by Spike Lee) and Love Marilyn (directed by Liz Garbus). Samsara (directed by Ron Fricke) is the year’s best documentary for its sheer poetry
The Academy can choose to nominate up to three people. However, only the director has a lock on the nomination. Individuals credited as “Producer” are vetted by the Producer’s Guild. Each must prove that they did a majority of the producer roles. This is the third year that this rule has been in force. Many of the films have multiple “producers” so it remains to be seen who will receive nominations. The decision of the Academy will be announced once the films are nominated. This has been somewhat contentious in the past.
AMPAS rules follow:
The nominee(s) should be the individual(s) most involved in the key creative aspects of the filmmaking process. A maximum of two persons may be designated as nominees, one of whom must be the credited director who exercised directorial control, and the other of whom must have a producer or director credit. If a producer is named, that individual must have performed a major portion of the producing functions, in accordance with Academy producer criteria. No more than two statuettes will normally be given in the Documentary Feature category. All individuals with a “Producer” or “Produced by” credit on films that reach the semifinal round will automatically be vetted. The Documentary Branch Executive Committee will determine which producers, if any, are eligible to receive an Oscar. In the unlikely event of a dispute, filmmakers may appeal the committee’s decision. In extremely rare circumstances, a third statuette may be awarded. Production companies or persons with the screen credit of executive producer, co-producer or any credit other than director or producer shall not be eligible as nominees for the motion picture.
The Short List:
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, directed by Alison Klayman
Bully, directed by Lee Hirsch
Chasing Ice, directed by Jeff Orlowski
Detropia, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
Ethel, directed by Rory Kennedy
5 Broken Cameras, directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
The Gatekeepers, directed by Dror Moreh
The House I Live In, directed by Eugene Jarecki
How to Survive a Plague, directed by David France
The Imposter, directed by Bart Layton
The Invisible War, directed by Kirby Dick
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, directed by Alex Gibney
Searching for Sugar Man, directed by Malik Bendjelloul
This Is Not a Film, directed by Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and Jafar Panahi
The Waiting Room, directed by Peter Nicks
The nominations for the 85th Academy Awards will be announced at 5:30 am (Pst) on Thursday, January 10, 2013. The awards will be handed out on Sunday, February 24, 2013.
Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).
Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.
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©2012Mwb All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. All information and designs on the Sites are copyrighted material owned by Block. Reproduction, dissemination, or transmission of any part of the material here without the express written consent of the owner is strictly prohibited. All other product names and marks on Block Direct, whether trademarks, service marks, or other type, and whether registered or unregistered, is the property of Block.
- 12/27/2012
- by Mitchell Block
- Sydney's Buzz
I don't typically see many documentaries every year, but since becoming a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) it has become far easier (and necessary) to see more of them over the last two years. One, I have to nominate and vote on the category for the Critics' Choice Awards and two, I get more screeners each year than I used to. This year I've watched 14 documentaries and have yet only seen seven of the 15 documentaries up for Best Documentary at the 2013 Oscars. Of those seven, only one makes my top five of 2012. Outside of the five I list below, virtually all of the documentaries I watched this year were quite great, but seeing how I only saw 14, it didn't make sense to do a top ten. So if you're looking for some additional docs to watch other than my top five, also consider Bad 25 (which would...
- 12/18/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Jeff Orlowski's first-rate documentary begins with complacently smug anti-global-warming clips from Fox News and from the owner of America's weather channel. It then introduces the persuasive environmentalist James Balog, a celebrated photographer working for National Geographic, who became fascinated with what glaciers can teach us about our changing planet. In 2007 he set up the Extreme Ice Survey (Eis), a well-funded project to monitor glaciers in Greenland, Iceland, Montana, the Alps, Canada and Bolivia, and the results – photographed using state-of-the-art time-lapse cameras – are sensational in their beauty, terror and the irrefutable evidence they provide of the rapidity with which age-old ice packs are melting away. It's like watching our world disappear.
DocumentaryGlaciersClimate changeFox NewsPhilip French
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
DocumentaryGlaciersClimate changeFox NewsPhilip French
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
- 12/16/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Smashed | Neil Young Journeys | Chasing Ice | Love Crime | Dead Europe | UFO | False Trail | Code Name: Geronimo | Tinkerbell And The Secret Of The Wings | Babette's Feast | Baraka | What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (12A)
(Peter Jackson, 2012, Us) Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis. 169 mins
So the three-movie idea is more likely down to financial demands than creative ones, and the now-notorious higher frame rate reduces cinematic spectacle to pin-sharp TV movie, but this is terrifically wrought escapism. Freeman is the perfect lead, too. But what could have, should have been a masterpiece ends up a fantasy epic with too much epic and not enough fantasy.
Smashed (15)
(James Ponsoldt, 2012, Us) Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul. 81 mins
Winstead shows impressive range as a young alcoholic teacher trying to get back on track. The familiar subject feels fresh applied to a new demographic.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (12A)
(Peter Jackson, 2012, Us) Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis. 169 mins
So the three-movie idea is more likely down to financial demands than creative ones, and the now-notorious higher frame rate reduces cinematic spectacle to pin-sharp TV movie, but this is terrifically wrought escapism. Freeman is the perfect lead, too. But what could have, should have been a masterpiece ends up a fantasy epic with too much epic and not enough fantasy.
Smashed (15)
(James Ponsoldt, 2012, Us) Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul. 81 mins
Winstead shows impressive range as a young alcoholic teacher trying to get back on track. The familiar subject feels fresh applied to a new demographic.
- 12/15/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
With both Skyfall and Twilight experiencing fairly hefty drop-offs for the second week running, 37 and 55% respectively, Rise of the Guardians sneaked past both with a solid second week to claim top spot with takings of around £1.6million at the UK Box Office this past weekend.
Dreamworks’ animated film will be benefitting not only from the lack of festive feel-good competition, but also the fact that school are starting to break up and more and more families will start going to see it as a result. Likewise Nativity 2, the only other major Christmas family film out in cinemas this month, had another strong week and remains in fifth spot in defiance of the legions of bad reviews it has received.
Seven Psychopaths had a pretty decent opening, going straight into third spot at the Box Office after taking in around £1.2million over the past weekend. A fair chunk of that number...
Dreamworks’ animated film will be benefitting not only from the lack of festive feel-good competition, but also the fact that school are starting to break up and more and more families will start going to see it as a result. Likewise Nativity 2, the only other major Christmas family film out in cinemas this month, had another strong week and remains in fifth spot in defiance of the legions of bad reviews it has received.
Seven Psychopaths had a pretty decent opening, going straight into third spot at the Box Office after taking in around £1.2million over the past weekend. A fair chunk of that number...
- 12/14/2012
- by Rob Keeling
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
This climate-change documentary's approach is conventional, but the extraordinary images of crumbling icesheets speak volumes
Jeff Orlowski's documentary begins as a straightforward biographical profile, before shifting up into something more urgent, impassioned and compelling. Its subject, James Balog, is a photographer who goes to extremes to prove the existence of global warming: his latest expedition involves descending Arctic cliff faces to fit time-lapse cameras with which to monitor glacial erosion. Orlowski's framing – interspersing field footage with talking heads – is somewhat conventional, but the images he and Balog have collated are consistently breathtaking, and accumulate real power. The cameras look on in vain as massive icesheets shear off, leaving once-mighty glaciers – characterised in the manner of the endangered species in Attenborough documentaries – to slump into the sea. Behind them, they leave nothing – save colossal insurance premiums for those areas subsequently flooded by displaced waters.
If any film can convert the climate-change sceptics,...
Jeff Orlowski's documentary begins as a straightforward biographical profile, before shifting up into something more urgent, impassioned and compelling. Its subject, James Balog, is a photographer who goes to extremes to prove the existence of global warming: his latest expedition involves descending Arctic cliff faces to fit time-lapse cameras with which to monitor glacial erosion. Orlowski's framing – interspersing field footage with talking heads – is somewhat conventional, but the images he and Balog have collated are consistently breathtaking, and accumulate real power. The cameras look on in vain as massive icesheets shear off, leaving once-mighty glaciers – characterised in the manner of the endangered species in Attenborough documentaries – to slump into the sea. Behind them, they leave nothing – save colossal insurance premiums for those areas subsequently flooded by displaced waters.
If any film can convert the climate-change sceptics,...
- 12/14/2012
- by Mike McCahill
- The Guardian - Film News
Could this be it? Could this be the thing that finally makes the doubters wake up and smell the global warming? I think it could be... but only if everyone sees Chasing Ice. Hear that? Everyone must see this movie. Even those who do not doubt. The film isn’t anything like “devastating proof” that the planet is warming -- we already have that, in piles and piles of scientific evidence. What we haven’t quite had is the devastating illustration of a reality that moves on scales our human-sized perception typically cannot see. Enter photographer James Balog, whose aim has been to make nature “seductive,” whose work has been celebrated by National Geographic and likened by experts to that of Ansel Adams. He set up the Extreme Ice Survey, invented new equipment for time-lapse photography in extreme environments, and set about documenting the retreat of glaciers in Greenland, Iceland,...
- 12/14/2012
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
★★★★☆ Capping off a standout year for appealing, thought-provoking documentaries, Jeff Orlowski's Sundance Film Festival hit Chasing Ice (2012) is arguably the pick of the bunch - visually at least. Following the pioneering exploits of photographer turned climate change activist James Balog (now on his fourth knee operation due to his penchant for hiking in sub-zero temperature), Orlowski thankfully doesn't feel the need to ram the issue of global warming down his viewers' throats. Instead, the director seems to share the same belief as his likeable main subject; that certain stories are best told through images.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 12/12/2012
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The Documentary Branch screened 126 films and will now watch the 15 contenders listed below again to determine the final five which will be revealed on Jan. 10, along with the rest of the Oscar nominations. -Insertgroups:8- In alphabetical order: "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry" Directed by Alison Klayman. Synopsis - Chronicling artist and activist Ai Weiwei as he prepares for a series of exhibitions and gets into an increasing number of clashes with the Chinese government. "Bully" Directed by Lee Hirsch. Synopsis - A documentary on peer-to-peer bullying in schools across America. "Chasing Ice" Directed by Jeff Orlowski. Synopsis - Follow National Geographic photographer James Balog across the Arctic as he deploys time-lapse cameras designed for one purpose: to capture a multi-year record of the world's changing glaciers. "Detropia" Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. Synopsis - A documentar...
- 12/4/2012
- Gold Derby
James Balog used to be something of a sceptic about global warming... until he saw for himself.
Now the celebrated photographer has made it his mission to record, beyond any doubt, the effects of warming on our planet, particularly the beautiful, bleak Arctic region we seldom get to see.
James Balog doesn't want to say there was nothing he didn't do...
To set up the Extreme Ice Survey, Balog and his team put 34 cameras across 16 glaciers, and left them in place to record, beyond all personal opinion and doubt, the changing landscape. This involved personal treks across glaciers, frozen ravines but, according to Balog, this wasn't the hard stuff...
"The financial stress is actually the biggest challenge. It's always been unrelenting, too close to the wolf," is how Balog explains it in rain-swept London. "The physical challenges - the weather, the logistics, the glaciers - would be challenging, but that's my happy zone.
Now the celebrated photographer has made it his mission to record, beyond any doubt, the effects of warming on our planet, particularly the beautiful, bleak Arctic region we seldom get to see.
James Balog doesn't want to say there was nothing he didn't do...
To set up the Extreme Ice Survey, Balog and his team put 34 cameras across 16 glaciers, and left them in place to record, beyond all personal opinion and doubt, the changing landscape. This involved personal treks across glaciers, frozen ravines but, according to Balog, this wasn't the hard stuff...
"The financial stress is actually the biggest challenge. It's always been unrelenting, too close to the wolf," is how Balog explains it in rain-swept London. "The physical challenges - the weather, the logistics, the glaciers - would be challenging, but that's my happy zone.
- 11/30/2012
- by The Huffington Post UK
- Huffington Post
The Earth is dying. Not in a metaphorical way and not dying over a geologic timescale of billions of years. But dying in a very real and observable way. Chasing Ice from director Jeff Orlowski offers striking evidence of a dying Earth in footage of events that have rarely ever been seen, much less recorded. Orlowski’s documentary profiles famed environmental photographer James Balog who, together with a small and dedicated team, has sought to capture on film the retreat of Earth’s glaciers using an army of time-lapse cameras positioned across the globe—from Alaska and Glacier National Park in Montana to...
- 11/26/2012
- Pastemagazine.com
Just in time for Thanksgiving tables where politics reluctantly come up, the Chasing Ice trailer provides some excellent visual proof for those in the world that still doubt that the world is getting warmer. Whether or not you can convince them that humans are at fault is another issue, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could at least agree that science is a better starting point than “how Uncle Melbert’s knee feels when it’s about to rain”? Sorry, Uncle Melbert, but you might want to check this out. This documentary is a life-and-camera-endangering exercise that follows nature photographer James Balog complete the arduous task of placing time-lapse equipment in some of the harshest environmental conditions on the planet. His goal? Capturing footage of melting glaciers. The resulting shots are nothing short of awe-inspiring. There is a massive raw power in these mammoths disappearing from the landscape, and...
- 11/20/2012
- by Cole Abaius
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
After years of shooting in extreme conditions, National Geographic photographer James Balog finally realized he could no longer ignore the slow disappearance of frozen landscapes he’d come to know and love. In Chasing Ice, director and cinematographer Jeff Orlowski documents Balog’s ambitious plan to install 25 separate time-lapse cameras across the globe in order to record receding glaciers and shifting ice, dire omens of a changing climate with no audience to bear witness. All the while Orlowski follows directly behind, shooting in dog sleds and ice crevasses, capturing the troubles that beset the most impassioned plans and what one man is …...
- 11/16/2012
- by Martha Early
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
After years of shooting in extreme conditions, National Geographic photographer James Balog finally realized he could no longer ignore the slow disappearance of frozen landscapes he’d come to know and love. In Chasing Ice, director and cinematographer Jeff Orlowski documents Balog’s ambitious plan to install 25 separate time-lapse cameras across the globe in order to record receding glaciers and shifting ice, dire omens of a changing climate with no audience to bear witness. All the while Orlowski follows directly behind, shooting in dog sleds and ice crevasses, capturing the troubles that beset the most impassioned plans and what one man is willing to risk for the perfect shot. Filmmaker spoke to Orlowski about the unique challenges of making the film.
Filmmaker: Balog’s documentation of receding glaciers across the globe is a multi-year endeavor in the film. What was the timeline of following his mission, and the making of Chasing Ice?...
Filmmaker: Balog’s documentation of receding glaciers across the globe is a multi-year endeavor in the film. What was the timeline of following his mission, and the making of Chasing Ice?...
- 11/16/2012
- by Martha Early
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
To crassly understate it, the weather on the Eastern Seaboard has been a bit unpleasant. Hurricane Sandy was a disaster the likes of which public transit in New York City has never seen, and the crises of electricity and gas all over the region may continue well into November. Always ready to lighten the mood and lift our spirits, The Onion ran the following story: “Nation Suddenly Realizes This Just Going to Be a Thing That Happens from Now On.” As if responding to the challenge, a Nor’easter promptly hit on the night of November 7th. The satirical newspaper’s droll acceptance of climate change, however, isn’t yet shared by everyone. Enter Chasing Ice, the most recent in a wave of documentaries dead set on changing the national perception of the weather. It’s an uphill battle. This most recent cycle of presidential debates was the first since 1988 without a single mention of climate change...
- 11/9/2012
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Warming Up to the Idea; Visually Recorded Hard Facts Closes the Climate Change Case for Good
The name James Balog should be quite familiar if you’re an avid reader of National Geographic. The highly regarded photographer has been a leading pictorial contributor for the monthly for years, and his cover story on melting glaciers became the best selling issue in recent memory. Against the elements, director Jeff Orlowski has documented the development and execution of Balog’s Extreme Ice Survey (Eis), a grandiose time lapse photography project that was set up across multiple continents in hopes of finding hard visual evidence of the impact of global warming on the accelerated melting of Earth’s largest glacial formations.
Despite thorough scientific research, global warming is still very much a bilateral debate because of the few remaining lobbyists. Skeptics refuse to see the facts through the data. Knowing this is true,...
The name James Balog should be quite familiar if you’re an avid reader of National Geographic. The highly regarded photographer has been a leading pictorial contributor for the monthly for years, and his cover story on melting glaciers became the best selling issue in recent memory. Against the elements, director Jeff Orlowski has documented the development and execution of Balog’s Extreme Ice Survey (Eis), a grandiose time lapse photography project that was set up across multiple continents in hopes of finding hard visual evidence of the impact of global warming on the accelerated melting of Earth’s largest glacial formations.
Despite thorough scientific research, global warming is still very much a bilateral debate because of the few remaining lobbyists. Skeptics refuse to see the facts through the data. Knowing this is true,...
- 11/9/2012
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
"Use your voice." Standing before the audience at the New York City premiere of "Chasing Ice" in October, photographer James Balog offered this encouragement to individuals wondering what they can do in the face of global climate change.
"Chasing Ice" follows the work of Balog and his Extreme Ice Survey project, a long-term photographic study of the impact of climate change on the world's glaciers. It focuses on the expeditions of the Eis team to install solar-powered cameras overlooking glaciers in some of the most remote regions. Time-lapse images from these cameras show the glaciers retreating at a stunning rate.
Both Balog and director-cinematographer Jeff Orlowski said they went into the project not knowing if the cameras would capture such remarkable change. Orlowski told The Huffington Post that he believed Balog and his team were undertaking an interesting project and found their mission "compelling" from the outset. But only after...
"Chasing Ice" follows the work of Balog and his Extreme Ice Survey project, a long-term photographic study of the impact of climate change on the world's glaciers. It focuses on the expeditions of the Eis team to install solar-powered cameras overlooking glaciers in some of the most remote regions. Time-lapse images from these cameras show the glaciers retreating at a stunning rate.
Both Balog and director-cinematographer Jeff Orlowski said they went into the project not knowing if the cameras would capture such remarkable change. Orlowski told The Huffington Post that he believed Balog and his team were undertaking an interesting project and found their mission "compelling" from the outset. But only after...
- 11/2/2012
- by James Gerken
- Huffington Post
What Wednesday night’s engaging, high-profile New York screening of “Chasing Ice” needed was more conflict. Yes, Jeff Orlowski’s debut documentary will have plenty of competition throughout awards season, especially as it battles its way toward the Oscar podium. But I mean real argument, debate, confrontation. Because a breathtaking feature-length display of the effects of global warming is ultimately designed to change minds, and the one thing you can be pretty sure is going to be in short supply at a high-profile New York City awards-season screening is climate-change deniers. So, as impressive as that insanely moving footage was to capture, the real challenge for the "Chasing Ice” filmmakers— Orlowski and his producers, National Geographic, Submarine Deluxe and the film’s main subject, photographer James Balog — is to get Fox fixture Sean Hannity, Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, the billionaire Koch Bros., and...
- 10/18/2012
- by Jay A. Fernandez
- Indiewire
"I never imagined that you could see glaciers this big, disappearing in such a short time. There's a powerful piece of history that's unfolding in these pictures," National Geographic photographer James Balog describes in the new "Chasing Ice" trailer.
"Chasing Ice" follows Balog's journey as he works to capture the fast-vanishing Arctic glaciers. Armed with 30 time-lapse cameras on three continents, Balog and his team compress years of video footage into seconds to reveal the disappearance of mountains of ice.
As director and founder of the Extreme Ice Survey (Eis), Balog's long-term photographic study of glaciers examines the effects of global climate change on landscapes. Through his work, he has witnessed the changing planet firsthand.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center recently reported that the extent of Arctic sea ice melted to record lows the summer. Data center scientist Ted Scambos told the Associated Press that global warming from man-made...
"Chasing Ice" follows Balog's journey as he works to capture the fast-vanishing Arctic glaciers. Armed with 30 time-lapse cameras on three continents, Balog and his team compress years of video footage into seconds to reveal the disappearance of mountains of ice.
As director and founder of the Extreme Ice Survey (Eis), Balog's long-term photographic study of glaciers examines the effects of global climate change on landscapes. Through his work, he has witnessed the changing planet firsthand.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center recently reported that the extent of Arctic sea ice melted to record lows the summer. Data center scientist Ted Scambos told the Associated Press that global warming from man-made...
- 9/4/2012
- by Joanna Zelman
- Huffington Post
The votes have been tallied and now Hot Docs has announced the final winners at this year's festival. Jeff Orlowski's "Chasing Ice" took the People's Choice Award and Bart Layton's "The Imposter" won the Filmmakers Award. "Chasing Ice" follows "National Geographic" photographer James Balog as he documents the world's changing glaciers, while "The Imposter" explores the mysterious return of a child three and a half year's after he was kidnapped. This year's festival is reported as the largest edition ever with an estimated audience of 165,000 over 11 days. "In these challenging times for Canadian doc-makers, our audience numbers have broken all previous records,” say Chris McDonald, Hot Docs executive director. “This country has a global reputation for outstanding documentary filmmaking, and Toronto audiences are quite possibly the best in the world. We need to...
- 5/7/2012
- by Devin Lee Fuller
- Indiewire
29th April saw the last day of the Sundance London Film and Music festival, which took place at the O2 Arena.
Sundance London was a highly-anticipated event. As the first Sundance festival to be hosted outside of its home in Utah, it was exciting to discover an event that was so successful in the Us was going to have its own UK counterpart.
For a first-time festival, it was a huge gamble – the last time a film-based event took place at the O2 (Empire Big Screen in August 2011), there were some issues with crowd control and general disinterest amongst film fans and O2 visitors. There were misgivings on how British filmgoers would take to the festival, seeing as independent cinema is at risk due to lack of Government funding and support. But my personal general impression of the festival is positive.
The film programme was diverse and generated a lot of interest.
Sundance London was a highly-anticipated event. As the first Sundance festival to be hosted outside of its home in Utah, it was exciting to discover an event that was so successful in the Us was going to have its own UK counterpart.
For a first-time festival, it was a huge gamble – the last time a film-based event took place at the O2 (Empire Big Screen in August 2011), there were some issues with crowd control and general disinterest amongst film fans and O2 visitors. There were misgivings on how British filmgoers would take to the festival, seeing as independent cinema is at risk due to lack of Government funding and support. But my personal general impression of the festival is positive.
The film programme was diverse and generated a lot of interest.
- 5/5/2012
- by Katie Wong
- SoundOnSight
Time-lapse photography of glaciers over several years providing tangible visual evidence of climate change.
Compiling the results of years of attempts by National Geographic photographer and researcher James Balog to capture the actual motion of climate change on screen, it is hard to argue that Chasing Ice isn't essential viewing (assuming you have no problem with the science of climate change). There is something inherently powerful about seeing on screen what has only been described in the abstract in academic studies and in the papers.
Balog is the mind behind the Extreme...
Compiling the results of years of attempts by National Geographic photographer and researcher James Balog to capture the actual motion of climate change on screen, it is hard to argue that Chasing Ice isn't essential viewing (assuming you have no problem with the science of climate change). There is something inherently powerful about seeing on screen what has only been described in the abstract in academic studies and in the papers.
Balog is the mind behind the Extreme...
- 4/30/2012
- by Owen Van Spall
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
★★★★★ One of the most highly anticipated films to feature in this year's inaugural Sundance London programme was the National Geographic-funded documentary Chasing Ice (2012). Director Jeff Orlowski has painstakingly created a fascinating and powerful movie about climate change by presenting the audience with the globally important work of photographer James Balog and his Extreme Ice Survey Project - a film so eye-opening and socially important that it demands to be seen.
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Read more »...
- 4/27/2012
- by CineVue
- CineVue
Making a star of photographer James Balog, Chasing Ice is the latest in a long run of documentaries about climate change. What marks this one out so clearly though is in its focus on the breathtaking photography of Balog and the visual impact that his unique approach can have.
Balog will be well known to anyone familiar with National Geographic, as even those unfamiliar with his name will have seen many of his extraordinary photographs that grace the pages of the magazine. His most recent and perhaps most ambitious project is one to document glacial changes in an effort to provide a clear visual aid in highlighting the drastic and deadly changes that are taking place on earth in the 21st century. Placing a number of cameras in Greenland, Iceland and Alaska, Balog has created time-lapse images of the receding glaciers, providing a beautiful but terrifying example of the effects of climate change.
Balog will be well known to anyone familiar with National Geographic, as even those unfamiliar with his name will have seen many of his extraordinary photographs that grace the pages of the magazine. His most recent and perhaps most ambitious project is one to document glacial changes in an effort to provide a clear visual aid in highlighting the drastic and deadly changes that are taking place on earth in the 21st century. Placing a number of cameras in Greenland, Iceland and Alaska, Balog has created time-lapse images of the receding glaciers, providing a beautiful but terrifying example of the effects of climate change.
- 4/27/2012
- by Craig Skinner
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
James Balog is an award-winning environmental photographer whose work is often seen on the cover of National Geographic magazine. In 2007, he began the Extreme Ice Survey (Eis), his passion project to place cameras around the world and use time-lapse photography to document the retreat of glaciers. Chasing Ice documents Balog’s work with Eis as he conceives and begins to implement the project.
As a documentary film, the message in Chasing Ice is diluted. It is focused as much on Balog personally as on the importance of his work, and it is that work that is the real star. Visually, it makes a much larger impression to show mountains of ice disappearing within the span of six months and then demonstrate to the audience how ten years have seen a glacier recede as much as the previous century. This photographic work elevates an inconvenient truth to a terrifying fact.
read...
As a documentary film, the message in Chasing Ice is diluted. It is focused as much on Balog personally as on the importance of his work, and it is that work that is the real star. Visually, it makes a much larger impression to show mountains of ice disappearing within the span of six months and then demonstrate to the audience how ten years have seen a glacier recede as much as the previous century. This photographic work elevates an inconvenient truth to a terrifying fact.
read...
- 3/11/2012
- by Mike Saulters
- Slackerwood
It’s probably a lot more interesting than it sounds. Variety reports that Oscilloscope Labs have obtained the U.S. rights to Chasing Ice, a documentary from Jeff Orlowski that premiered at Sundance and is currently being screened at SXSW. The documentary follows James Balog, a photographer/scientist who, in 2007, set up cameras in a host of icy regions (Greenland and Alaska, to name a couple) to document the melting of glaciers over a three-year period.
Chasing Ice chronicles both the glaciers and Balog, whose devotion to his three year mission ended up taking a physical toll. The film will see a theatrical release later in the year to qualify for 2013′s Academy Awards, followed up by the usual DVD/on-demand home release. National Geographic already has the TV rights, having purchased them back at Sundance, so you can catch it for free soon enough.
Being the knuckledragger that I am,...
Chasing Ice chronicles both the glaciers and Balog, whose devotion to his three year mission ended up taking a physical toll. The film will see a theatrical release later in the year to qualify for 2013′s Academy Awards, followed up by the usual DVD/on-demand home release. National Geographic already has the TV rights, having purchased them back at Sundance, so you can catch it for free soon enough.
Being the knuckledragger that I am,...
- 3/10/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Oscilloscope Laboratories, the distribution company founded by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, picked up two movies that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, Jeff Orlowski's documentary Chasing Ice and the Todd Louiso comedy Hello I Must Be Going . Orlowski's documentary, which premiered in competition at Sundance, follows photographer James Balog as he works on the Extreme Ice Survey, a photography project that used time-lapse cameras to capture evidence of Earth's melting ice. The television rights were picked up by the National Geographic Channel after its premiere. The doc is also playing at this week's SXSW Film Festival. Louiso's comedy, picked up earlier on Friday, stars Melanie Lynskey ( Win Win ) as a 35-year-old divorced woman forced to move home with her...
- 3/10/2012
- Comingsoon.net
Filmmaker Jeff Orlowski followed National Geographic photographer James Balog as he took part in the Extreme Ice Survey (Eis), a massive project across three continents to study the Earth’s melting ice for his documentary Chasing Ice. Orlowski dazzled audiences at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival where Chasing Ice debuted as part of the U.S. Documentary Competition section. Orlowski’s debut directing effort paid off with a post-festival acquisition deal. Variety confirmed yesterday that Oscilloscope acquired U.S. rights to the nature doc. Chasing Ice was the second Sundance feature to land with the New York-based Oscilloscope. Yesterday, the art-house distributor picked up Hello I Must Be Going, director Todd Louiso’s opening night selection at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival starring Melanie Lynskey as a thirty-something woman who moves back with her parents.
- 3/10/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Filmmaker Jeff Orlowski followed National Geographic photographer James Balog as he took part in the Extreme Ice Survey (Eis), a massive project across three continents to study the Earth’s melting ice for his documentary Chasing Ice. Orlowski dazzled audiences at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival where Chasing Ice debuted as part of the U.S. Documentary Competition section. Orlowski’s debut directing effort paid off with a post-festival acquisition deal. Variety confirmed yesterday that Oscilloscope acquired U.S. rights to the nature doc. Chasing Ice was the second Sundance feature to land with the New York-based Oscilloscope. Yesterday, the art-house distributor picked up Hello I Must Be Going, director Todd Louiso’s opening night selection at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival starring Melanie Lynskey as a thirty-something woman who moves back with her parents.
- 3/10/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Filmmaker Jeff Orlowski followed National Geographic photographer James Balog as he took part in the Extreme Ice Survey (Eis), a massive project across three continents to study the Earth’s melting ice for his documentary Chasing Ice. Orlowski dazzled audiences at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival where Chasing Ice debuted as part of the U.S. Documentary Competition section. Orlowski’s debut directing effort paid off with a post-festival acquisition deal. Variety confirmed yesterday that Oscilloscope acquired U.S. rights to the nature doc. Chasing Ice was the second Sundance feature to land with the New York-based Oscilloscope. Yesterday, the art-house distributor picked up Hello I Must Be Going, director Todd Louiso’s opening night selection at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival starring Melanie Lynskey as a thirty-something woman who moves back with her parents.
- 3/10/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The Sundance Institute and The O2 announced today the programme of 14 narrative and documentary feature films that will make their UK premieres at the inaugural Sundance London festival, taking place at The O2 from 26-29 April. These films premiered in January at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah – the premier independent film festival in the United States.
“I welcome the opportunity to see how people in the UK experience these films,” said Robert Redford, President and Founder of Sundance Institute. “While they are American productions they speak to universal experiences and global challenges.”
He went on to add, “Sundance London also is the perfect opportunity to continue our long-time commitment to growing a broader international community around new voices and new perspectives.”
John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “Sundance London grew out of our desire to help American independent filmmakers expand their reach, and we...
“I welcome the opportunity to see how people in the UK experience these films,” said Robert Redford, President and Founder of Sundance Institute. “While they are American productions they speak to universal experiences and global challenges.”
He went on to add, “Sundance London also is the perfect opportunity to continue our long-time commitment to growing a broader international community around new voices and new perspectives.”
John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “Sundance London grew out of our desire to help American independent filmmakers expand their reach, and we...
- 3/7/2012
- by John
- SoundOnSight
2012 will be the first year that Sundance comes to London and we here at HeyUGuys are very excited about it. It takes place 26th – 29th April and we’re hoping to be there to cover as much of the event as is possible.
Incase you’re not familiar with Sundance, it is a spin-off from the big Us event which takes place in Park City, Utah at the beginning of the year. In a nutshell, Sundance is a four-day festival that will include film screenings, live music performances, discussions, panels and other public cultural programming will be held 26 – 29 April, 2012 at The O2 in London. Robert Redford is due to open the festival with a discussion connecting film and music. ‘An Evening with Robert Redford and T Bone Burnett’ will be moderated by author and screenwriter Nick Hornby.
Today we get to see the full line-up of movies that will be...
Incase you’re not familiar with Sundance, it is a spin-off from the big Us event which takes place in Park City, Utah at the beginning of the year. In a nutshell, Sundance is a four-day festival that will include film screenings, live music performances, discussions, panels and other public cultural programming will be held 26 – 29 April, 2012 at The O2 in London. Robert Redford is due to open the festival with a discussion connecting film and music. ‘An Evening with Robert Redford and T Bone Burnett’ will be moderated by author and screenwriter Nick Hornby.
Today we get to see the full line-up of movies that will be...
- 3/7/2012
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
In less than a month the SXSW Film Festival will kick off (Friday, March 9, to be exact), and the line-up keeps getting better and better. The festival has announced some exciting additions to their already-stellar line-up including the Sundance hits Safety Not Guaranteed, Searching for Sugar Man, Chasing Ice, Shut Up and Play the Hits, Sleepwalk with Me along with the world premiere of Steve Taylor‘s Blue Like Jazz, and Todd Rohal‘s Nature Calls. They have also added the Oscar nominated Montreal film Monsieur Lazhar which we have championed since its World Premiere at Tiff.
You can find the lineup of today’s film announcements below, and check the entire schedule, complete with both screening and conference dates and times, at www.sxsw.com/film.
Narrative Spotlight
Blue Like Jazz
Director: Steve Taylor, Screenwriters: Donald Miller, Steve Taylor, Ben Pearson
A Texas college student flees the hypocrisy of...
You can find the lineup of today’s film announcements below, and check the entire schedule, complete with both screening and conference dates and times, at www.sxsw.com/film.
Narrative Spotlight
Blue Like Jazz
Director: Steve Taylor, Screenwriters: Donald Miller, Steve Taylor, Ben Pearson
A Texas college student flees the hypocrisy of...
- 2/16/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
After a few announcements, the 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival has firmed up their schedule, adding a number of notable films including a few we saw at Sundance. Among them include the LCD Soundsystem documentary Shut Up and Play the Hits (review here), Mike Birbiglia‘s Sleepwalk With Me (review here) and Safety Not Guaranteed (review here) starring Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass. Also jumping out as one of my most-anticipated is Todd Rohal‘s The Catechism Cataclysm follow-up Nature Calls, with Patton Oswalt, Johnny Knoxville and Rob Riggle. Check them all out below for the festival kicking off March 9th.
Narrative Spotlight
Blue Like Jazz
Director: Steve Taylor, Screenwriters: Donald Miller, Steve Taylor, Ben Pearson
A Texas college student flees the hypocrisy of his religious upbringing for life in the Pacific Northwest at ‘the most godless campus in America.’ Based on the New York Times bestseller by Donald Miller.
Narrative Spotlight
Blue Like Jazz
Director: Steve Taylor, Screenwriters: Donald Miller, Steve Taylor, Ben Pearson
A Texas college student flees the hypocrisy of his religious upbringing for life in the Pacific Northwest at ‘the most godless campus in America.’ Based on the New York Times bestseller by Donald Miller.
- 2/15/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Parker Posey was all set to host last night's awards ceremony, but fell ill — and so, as live-bloggers Eric Hynes and Claiborne Smith report, Sundance festival director John Cooper reluctantly took the helm, choking up a bit right at the top as he drove himself through a remembrance of Bingham Ray. Rebounding, he brought on director and actress Katie Aselton as co-host and it was on to the awards. You can actually watch all this here (select "2012 Sundance Film Festival"). An overview of what the critics are saying about the winners:
Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. The House I Live In, "a lucid, long-view unpacking of the War on Drugs from Eugene Jarecki, who ably dissected the lead-up to the Iraq War in Why We Fight." The Boston Globe's Ty Burr: "The movie marshals a wide selection of talking heads, from Oklahoma prison guards and Reagan-era appointees to street dealers and Jarecki's own nanny,...
Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. The House I Live In, "a lucid, long-view unpacking of the War on Drugs from Eugene Jarecki, who ably dissected the lead-up to the Iraq War in Why We Fight." The Boston Globe's Ty Burr: "The movie marshals a wide selection of talking heads, from Oklahoma prison guards and Reagan-era appointees to street dealers and Jarecki's own nanny,...
- 1/30/2012
- MUBI
Sundance is wrapping up once again this year and as with every year, quite a few films are generating quite the buzz. Among them is The House I Live In, The Law in These Parts and Violeta Went to Heaven who all earned Jury Prizes. The Sundance awards (while I rarely agree with the choices) are always interesting to follow each year, since the winners are sometimes entirely unexpected. This year there’s no surprise that the most talked about film – Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild, took home the top prize.
Here is the full list of winners from the press release, including the five Audience Award winners.
2012 Sundance Film Festival Jury Awards:
The Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by Benh Zeitlin — Waters gonna rise up, wild animals gonna rerun from the grave, and everything south of the levee is goin’ under,...
Here is the full list of winners from the press release, including the five Audience Award winners.
2012 Sundance Film Festival Jury Awards:
The Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by Benh Zeitlin — Waters gonna rise up, wild animals gonna rerun from the grave, and everything south of the levee is goin’ under,...
- 1/30/2012
- by Kyle Reese
- SoundOnSight
The 2012 Sundance Film Festival has come to an end, and the winners of the Jury, Audience, and Next <=> awards have been announced. There was a great selection of films this year at the festival, and I've seen more good than bad. I'm ultimately happy with the outcome. Beasts of the Southern Wild was this year's most buzzed about film and took home the top Grand Jury Prize. I didn't like it as much as everyone else, but it was still good, and it won. I think it was just way too over hyped for what I ended up seeing. Maybe I would have liked it more had I gone in with no expectations.
Here's the full breakdown of winners:
Sundance Institute this evening announced the Jury, Audience, Next <=> and other special awards of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival at the Festival’s Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah. An archived video...
Here's the full breakdown of winners:
Sundance Institute this evening announced the Jury, Audience, Next <=> and other special awards of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival at the Festival’s Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah. An archived video...
- 1/29/2012
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
The Sundance Film Festival prepared to come to a close for 2012 tonight as the festival held its some of its last screenings and mounted an awards ceremony to celebrate the best films of this year's festival. The biggest jury prizes went to Beasts of the Southern Wild (reviewed here [1]) and Eugene Jarecki's war on drugs documentary The House I Live In. The Surrogate (reviewed here [2]) took an Audience Award, as did the doc Searching for Sugar Man (reviewed here [3]) and the film Valley of Saints. The full list of awards is below. The 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards presented this evening were: The Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented by Charles Ferguson to: The House I Live In / U.S.A. (Director: Eugene Jarecki) — For over 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer and damaged poor communities at home and abroad.
- 1/29/2012
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
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