Silverdocs

Tonight Silverdocs-- an international fim festival at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Md. -- officially begins. The fest, now in its fifth year, will screen 100 documentary feature films and shorts from a variety of countries and filmmakers. Academy Award-nominated movies like "Jesus Camp" and "Murderball" have previosly screened at the event.

Patricia Finneran, director of Silverdocs, was online Tuesday, June 12 at 2 p.m. ET, to discuss this year's event and the state of documentary filmmaking.

Prior to assuming her current role, Finneran was artistic director of the IFP Market, a non-profit organization that provides resources for independent filmmakers throughout the country. She has also produced and written television shows for the International Monetary Fund, covered the independent film scene for iCast.com and previously served as president of Women in Film and Video in Washington, D.C.

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Chevy Chase, Md.: I heard a "goddess" is coming from Nepal? What does that even mean?

Patricia Finneran: The Kumari is a living goddess travelling here from Nepal. She is the featured character in "Living Goddess." She will be out in the Silver Plaze on Saturday afternoon to see the Double Dutch jump rope exhibtion, related to the film "Doubletime."

You can meet her at the screening on Saturday.

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Wheaton, Md.: Thanks for taking the time to do this chat. If someone had only time to see one show at this year's festival, what would you recommend they see? Thanks!

Patricia Finneran: We love all of them -- we chose only 100 films from 1,735 submissions. Come to the theatre, there will be four new documentaries screening at any given time and the stories are sure to surprise you.

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Washington, D.C.: I've never attended Silverdocs and hoped to this year. But I just went to your Web site and could not find a calendar listing the movies. Why is your Web site so hard to navigate?

Patricia Finneran: Hmmm. We just launched a new site and it does have a full calendar function. Click on FESTIVAL and search films by title or day.

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Potomac, Md.: I heard Reverand Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir! I am so excited there is a film about them!! Will they be at the festival?

Patricia Finneran: Yes -- Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir will be here on Sunday afternoon. The screening of "What Would Jesus Buy?"is at 3 p.m. -- do come!

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Washington, D.C.: I've got kids -- is there anything I could bring them to that we would both like?

Patricia Finneran: Yes we have a number of films that are family friendly. In fact, children play a leading role in a number of films this year: Chinese third-graders hold a democratic election in "Please Vote for Me"; former child soldiers prepare for a musical performance competition in "War/Dance"; jump rope champs from the Carolinas battle it out in "Double Time"; and a South African Children's Choir of "We Are Together." We even have baby polar bears and walruses battling loss of habitat in "Arctic Tale." These stories and more offer an alternative perspective on democracy, war, ace, and the environment.

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Arlington, Va.: Wow, it looks like there are a lot of great films. Should I just show up, or should I buy tickets in advance?

Patricia Finneran: You can do both -- you may buy tickets on line for screenings the following day. But for same day tickets, come to the AFI Silver box office.

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Rockville, Md.: I have heard interesting things about "Chicago 10," which screeened at Sundance, I believe. What can you tell me about that film?

Patricia Finneran: "Chicago Ten" is an innovative approach to the story of the young people who protested at the 1968 Democratic Convention; it used stop motion animation, with well-known actors providing voice-over combined with archival materials and a terrific contemporary musical score. Brett Morgen will be here to tell you more about the amazing process of creating this film. In fact, 95% of our feature filmmakers will be here and nearly 40 film subjects.

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Washington, D.C.: Who are some of the new documentary filmmakers whose careers we should watch? What makes SilverDocs different from other film festivals? Which films do you think will have an impact on the issues they are about?

Patricia Finneran: At Silverdocs, real people are the stars.

A few filmmakers that come to mind include: Michael Jacobs -- "Audience of One"; local filmmaker Glen Baker's new film "Stand Up: Muslim American Comics Come OF Age"; Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern of "The Devil Came on Horseback"; Doug Pray of "Big Rig"; Alex Gibney of "Taxi to the Darkside"; Jason Hutt of "Orthodox Stance"; Almudena Carracedo of "Made in L.A." ... and many more.

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Alexandria, Va.: Hi Patricia,

I'd love to see your films, but I've asked before and the AFI doesn't provide closed captioning for the hearing-impaired. So I can see foreign-captioned films, but not English language / U.S. films.

What can be done to provide this essential service at this festival and at the AFI in general? According to my understanding, that's a requirement of the ADA. As a screenwriter, I am really hampered by not being able to see the English-language films.

Patricia Finneran: The challenge here is that the AFI Silver has the capacity to display open captioning, but the captions must be provided by the film's producer. Regretably, smaller, independent films often don't have the budget to create the captions.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Will there be free outdoor screenings this year?

Patricia Finneran: Yes. We will screen "Stop Making Sense (1984)" and "Heart of Gold" free to the community on Thursday and Friday nights respectively. This year we honor Jonathan Demme at our annual Charles Guggenheim Symposium. His documentary work includes the Award-winning story of a Haitain journalist and human rights activist "The Agronomist" (2003); Storefront Hitchcock" (1998); "Cousin Bobby" (1992); and "Swimming to Cambodia" (1987). In addition to the Symposium, Demme will present his new film, "Home Movies: New Stories From the Lower 9th Ward," about several families post-Katrina.

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Alexandria, Va.: The film "Nomadak TX" sounds kind of cool. What is a Tsalaparta?? And how is that film?

Patricia Finneran: It is basically a Spanish / Basque Xylophoone, but not quite.

Come find out, as there will be a live performance following the screening on Wednesday evening.

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Silver Spring, Md.: What sets this festival apart from other film festivals? And how do you make it noteworthy among the major festivals such as Cannes, Sundance, etc.?

Patricia Finneran: Silverdocs is dedicated to documentary filmmaking.

This region is home to some of the most important real-world media companies in the world -- our partner, Discovery Communications as well as National Geographic and PBS. We have the four-day International Documentary Conference provides business and creative connections between filmmakers, broadcasters, distributors and funders at which includes over 60 panels and workshops and is attended by over 650 filmmakers and media professionals from around the world. We have representatives from every major documentary film outlet and guests from other festivals such as Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, HotDocs, Toronto, etc.

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Washington, D.C.: I am really interested in the Middle East, and particulary interested in issues about Israel. Are there any films that touch on that?

Patricia Finneran: You should check out "Hot House" -- an important new film about the Israeli prison system and how it supports a brotherhood of Palestinean politicians.

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Bethesda, Md.: I have recently gotten interested in Buddhism. I know there are a series of films on religion -- is there anything on Buddhism?

Patricia Finneran: "How to Cook Your Life" -- anyone interested in Buddhism MUST see this film. It combines a Zen approach to life with a Zen approach to cooking. Delicious, and balanced.

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Bethesda, Md.: Any numbers on what portion of films get picked up for cable or broadcast distribution as a result of exposure at Silverdocs?

I also keep hoping that documentary films will benefit from (the good parts of) the interest in reality television. Do you see signs of this?

Patricia Finneran: We've launched a number of films in the marketplace and we're particularly proud to have had 12 Academy Award nominations for Silverdocs films in just 4 years.

I really make a distinction between reality TV and documentary. In a way, great documentary -- well-crafted, made with an independent vision -- is an antidote to reality TV.

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Cabin John, Md.: I really want to come to Silverdocs, but I'm not sure I can afford to bring the whole family. Is there anything free going on?

Patricia Finneran: Yes -- come for our free lunch-time short film screenings.

And of course the two Jonathan Demme music documentaries on Thursday ("Stop Making Sense") and Friday evening ("Neil Young: Heart of Gold.")

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Washington, D.C.: Hello Patricia,

The festival this year looks awesome! Can you tell me more about the Green Initiative?

Patricia Finneran: Silverdocs has made a real effort to 'walk the walk' on the environment this year since we present so many films dealing with environmental issues. Our registration bags are recycled, our catalog is printed on partially re-cycled paper, even our T-shirts are low-impact. We've partnered with Clean Currents to go carbon neutral. Learn more at Silverdocs.com

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Washington, D.C.: I've been to Silverdocs for the past couple of years now and I am consistently impressed by the quality of the films. You mentioned earlier that only a small percentage of those submitted are chosen. How do you choose what films to screen?

Patricia Finneran: Silverdocs Director of Programming Sky Sitney oversees a year-round process that includes travelling to other festivals, and calling for / accepting hundreds of submissions. We have a large team of "screeners" who view the films, and the programming team gets together weekly to discus what's been seen. It is a very rigorous and intense process which we take very seriously.

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