In recent years, documentary films have been leading the culture discussion - from spelling bees to politics. In Doc Talks, we get a sense of where the culture is headed next. Don't miss these in-depth discussions with directors whose films are making their world premieres at TIFF.

Tuesday, September 12th

12:30 - 1:30 PM at the 5th Elementt Restaurant (1033 Bay street via the side entrance on Irwin Avenue)

COVERING WAR & CONFLICT

Filmmakers Michael Tucker (The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair) and Asger Leth (Ghosts of Cite Soleil) discuss the unique challenges to making a documentary in a wartime environment. Moderated by Anthony Kaufman, contributor to Indiewire and Wall Street Journal On-line.

Guest Speakers:

Anthony Kaufman has written about films and the film industry for the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Village Voice. He is also a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal Online, Variety, indieWIRE.com, Filmmaker and Utne Magazines, as well as the editor of "Steven Soderbergh: Interviews."

Michael Tucker was born in Honolulu. He co-founded the Nomados production company, which focuses on humanitarian documentaries, with Epperlein. His first feature-length documentary, Gunner Palace (co-director, 04), screened at the Festival in 2004.

Asger Leth has made short films including Gala (96) and Again. Today (97) and worked as assistant director on Jørgen Leth’s documentary short New Scenes from America (02). He also worked as a writer and assistant director on Jørgen Leth and Lars von Trier’s feature documentary The Five Obstructions (03), which screened as part of the Festival’s Real to Reel programme. Ghosts of Cité Soleil (06) is his first feature.

2:30 – 3:30 PM at the 5th Elementt Restaurant (1033 Bay Street via the side entrance on Irwin Avenue)

COLLABORATION

Filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes) discusses her collaboration with Peter Mettler, who's work is the focus of a retrospective at TIFF this year. They will be joined by the subject of their film, master photographer Edward Burtynsky. Moderated by Jacques Bensimon of the NFB.

Guest Speakers:

Jennifer Baichwal was born in Montreal and grew up in Victoria, British Columbia. She attended McGill University and obtained a Master’s degree in religious studies. Her feature documentaries Let It Come Down: The Secret Life of Paul Bowles (98) and The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams’ Appalachia (02) both screened at the Festival. Baichwal’s other documentaries include The Holier It Gets (00) and Manufactured Landscapes (06).

Peter Mettler is known foremost for his award winning films but also as a photographer and groundbreaking live audio/visual mixing performer whose work bridges the gap between experimental, narrative, personal essay and documentary. He has been honored with retrospectives worldwide, and collaborated with an extensive range of international artists including Atom Egoyan, Fred Frith, Robert Lepage, and Jim O¹Rourke.

Jacques Bensimon, Jacques Bensimon began his career at the NFB as filmmaker. From 1986 to 2000 he headed TFO, the French network of TVOntario. From 2000 to 2001, he was Executive Vice-President and COO of the Banff Television Foundation. In 2001, Bensimon returned to the NFB as Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairman.

Edward Burtynsky is known as one of Canada's most respected photographers. His remarkable photographic depictions of global industrial landscapes are included in the collections of 15 major museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Bibliotèque Nationale in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Mr. Burtynsky's numerous distinctions include the TED Prize, The Outreach award at the Rencontres d'Arles, and Officer of the Order of Canada.

4:00 – 5:00 PM at the Sutton Place Hotel, Stop 33 (955 Bay Street)

CELEBRITY IN DOCUMENTARY

Filmmakers AJ Schnack (Kurt Cobain About a Son), Sophie Fiennes (The Pervert's Guide to Cinema) and John Scheinfeld (The U.S. vs. John Lennon) discuss the culture of celebrity with HBO's Sara Bernstein (supervising producer of Shot in the Dark).

Guest Speakers:

AJ Schnack was born in Edwardsville, Illinois. He is an independent filmmaker who made his feature directorial debut with Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) (02), a documentary about the rock band They Might Be Giants. In addition to feature documentaries, he has directed music videos and two short films: Might as Well Be Swing (00) and The Heir Apparent 05). Kurt Cobain About A Son (06) is his most recent film.

Sara Bernstein is Director of Documentary Programming for Home Box Office. She is involved with the development, production, and promotion of HBO Documentary Films. Recently, she served as supervising producer on the Emmy® Award winning documentary film, BAGHDAD ER. Her other credits include the Academy Award® nominated films: THE CHILDREN OF LENINGRADSKY, THE MUSHROOM CLUB, and THE DEATH OF KEVIN CARTER: CASUALTY OF THE BANG BANG CLUB; the Emmy® Award winning I HAVE TOURETTE’S, BUT TOURETTE’S DOESN’T HAVE ME; the Peabody and Emmy® Award winning BUS 174; and the Emmy® nominated BORN RICH. Before joining HBO’s Documentary division in 1999, Bernstein was part of HBO’s Limited Series division, which produced the Emmy® Award-winning series, THE CORNER. Prior to that she worked in independent feature film development and worked on various feature film productions in New York. She holds a Bachelor of the Arts degree from The University of Maryland.

John Scheinfeld was born in Milwaukee. He attended Oberlin College and Northwestern University. He is a prolific writer, director and producer of television documentaries, including The Unknown Peter Sellers (co-director, 00) and Ricky Nelson Sings (05) and the documentary feature Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him?) (06). The U.S. vs. John Lennon (co-director, 06) is his most recent film.

Sophie Fiennes was born in Suffolk, England and studied at the Chelsea College of Art and Design. She worked with Peter Greenaway for several years before directing the documentaries Lars From 1-10 (99), The Late Michael Clark (00), Because I Sing (01), Hoover Street Revival (03) and The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema (06).