11.17.05 - Re-Enacting Reality at the Academy

An interesting event recommended by the outstanding documentary filmmaker Arthur Dong. From the official announcement:

Re-Enacting Reality at the Academy

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present "Re-Enactments," a panel discussion and filmmaker's forum on the history, politics and ethics of "representing reality" in documentary filmmaking on Thursday, November 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

"Re-Enactments" will feature producers and directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato ("The Eyes of Tammy Faye," "Inside Deep Throat"), Robert Houston (“Mighty Times: The Children’s March”), Ross McElwee ("Sherman's March," "Bright Leaves"), Stacy Peralta ("Riding Giants," "Dogtown and Z-Boys"), Judy Richardson ("The Land of the Four Winds," "Malcolm X: Make it Plain") and Warner Herzog ("Grizzly Bear"). Penelope Spheeris serves as moderator.

The panel will analyze and discuss the political, aesthetic and ethical use of documentary re-enactments from a historic and contemporary viewpoint. From the "Execution of Czolgosz" (1901) to "Mighty Times: The Children's March," the 2004 Oscar winner for Documentary Short Subject, re-enactments have been a useful yet controversial tool for documentary filmmakers.

Accompanied by film clips illustrating the various uses and methods of re-enactment throughout film history, panel members will offer viewpoints and approaches to re-enactments and other methods currently employed, as documentaries continue to evolve in form and function.

The program is being presented under the banner of the Academy's John Huston Lecture on Documentary Films, which annually provides an opportunity for established documentarians to discuss their work and the field of documentary filmmaking. The lecture is named in honor of the director, screenwriter and actor whose fourteen Academy Award nominations in the three disciplines included wins for directing and writing of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre." Huston's documentary work during service in World War II produced three portraits, "Report from the Aleutians (1943), "The Battle of San Pietro" (1944, which included re-enactments) and "Let There Be Light" (1946).

Tickets to "Re-Enactments" are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Free parking is provided in the garages located at 8920 and 9025 Wilshire Boulevard. For more information, call 310-247-3000 ext 111.