Changes All Round Ahead of Documentary Edge 2012!

Media Release – 13th December 2011
For Immediate Release

Changes All Round Ahead of Documentary Edge 2012!

The Documentary New Zealand Trust presents
DOCUMENTARY EDGE FESTIVAL 2012
26th April – 3rd June 2012

It has been a very prominent year for the organizers of Documentary Edge, with the team having reflected on the inner workings of the festival - both past and for the future.

Some bold initiatives have emerged within the Documentary Edge offices; such as the Documentary Edge Campus, which allows doc-enthusiasts a chance to watch a wide range of films on demand via their own personal viewing stations.

2012 will see a change to the Documentary Edge Forum – retooled now as Screen Edge Forum; it will encompass all media platforms (including gaming and interactive – topics which have proved popular).

The Festival has commissioned for the first time an international artist to help with the “branding” of the 2012 festival. Artist Annora Spence has come on board for 2012 with artwork for the Festival and Forum covers. (http://annora-spence.com/)

Then of course, there is the programming for the 2012 festival – and with it, the first films announced for what looks to be an incredible line up of works once more. Highlights for next year include:

- Public Speaking, Oscar winner Martin Scorcese’s film regarding the life and times of Fran Lebowitz; one of America’s iconic literary figures. Having come through as an unknown scribe for Andy Warhol, Lebowitz made her indelible, eclectic and acerbic mark in the United States from columns she wrote for Interview magazine through to becoming the acclaimed author she is today.

-Yakel 3D is New Zealand's first 3D documentary; it explores the fragility of one of the last primitive cultures. Set in a remote Vanuatu tribal village and shot over a three year period, this is the remarkable story of 108-year-old Chief Kowia near the end of his long, eventful life. Survivor of tribal wars, colonization, epidemics & WW2 he's rejected the modern world in favour of a life free of material goods.

- Dolphin Boy is the remarkable, heart-wrenching tale of Morad – a teenage from an Arab village who has disconnected himself from humans following a violent attack. In a last ditch effort before being hospitalized in a Mental Institution, he is taken to be treated with Dolphins. After months of silence, Morad begins speaking again – however, he has erased his past and refuses to return home to his mother.

- The Interrupters is the subject of controversy because it was excluded from the Oscar shortlist after winning the special jury prize at Sheffield Doc/Fest and Miami Festival. From the director of Hoop Dreams Steve James and writer of There Are No Children Here Alex Kotlowitz, The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising story of three “violence interrupters” in Chicago who with bravado, humility and even humor try to protect their communities from the violence they once employed.

- When the life work of her late husband is destined for demolition, 96 year old Miriam Weissenstein never imagined she’d be facing a new chapter in her life. Life In Stills chronicles a special relationship Miriam forges with her grandson, Ben, as they join forces to save a photo shop… and the one million negatives documenting Israel’s defining moments.

- Erich and Louise Mendelsohn have wandered between continents, between world wars, between success and failure. The buildings that Erich built around the world, scattered as a trail of their journey, have changed the history of architecture. Incessant Visions is a cinematic meditation about the untold story of Erich Mendeloshn, whose life and career were as enigmatic and tragic as the path of the century.

Documentary Edge 2012 runs:
Auckland – 26th April – 13th May 2012, Event Cinemas, Newmarket
Wellington – 17th May – 3rd June, Angelika at Reading Cinemas, Courtney Place
Screen Edge Forum:
Auckland – 2nd – 4th May, Auckland University of Technology (AUT)

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