when you look at the day how many screens can you count? we emerge from the hall of mirrors that was the full frame festival and it seems all that can be known right now is projection.

it also seems that we were overwhelmed.

overwhelmed by the number of stories (how to ever remember them all, to let each land), by the variety of styles and approaches, by the talent and intelligence of these filmmakers, by the camaraderie we witness as well as the competition, by conversations drunk with admiration or cut with jealousy that we hear and take part in, by the parties and the laughter(both forced and free), by the constantly flexing and flexible nature of opinion forming and positioning defending, by an endless spin cycle of subjects and subjectivity.

and being overwhelmed seems like a perfectly reasonable and even somewhat wonderful place to be… for now. the counterpart to projections is reflection, I suppose, and more of that will certainly come after everyone get’s some sleep.

The Op-Ed Panel discussion with folks from the New York Times, filmmaker Stefan Forbes (Boogie Man), and one of our very favorite filmmakers, Laura Poitras (My Country, My Country) proved to be an interesting session. There was talk about how to incorporate footage from feature-length docs into clips to use on, for example, the NYT Op-Ed page, accompanying written commentary on related subjects. Also interesting was the debate about creating emotional involvement on the internet and whether the viewer is still held to the small-screen theory that says that the size of the screen directly determines the impact of the film piece. The consensus seemed to be that most of us are so used to viewing content on computers these days that we no longer need larger images to foster the same involvement. As a sidenote, the NYT seems to have a fairly open proposal system for op-ed video pieces. The panel members encouraged everyone to submit ideas and sample footage to the video editor, so feel free to do the same.

The screening of Trouble the Water - the 2008 winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Documentary Prize - was an especially amazing part of the day. This film, directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, incorporates camcorder footage shot by Kimberly Roberts to tell the story of a Ninth Ward family and their ongoing experiences related to Huricane Katrina. Trapped in her house with family and neighbors, Kim’s handheld footage is at once harrowing and engaging. The film then follows them as they try to re-settle after the storm. Kim and her husband weren’t able to make it to the screening, but the directors were there for a great Q&A afterwards.

Flying on One Engine was a similarly gripping film, detailing the work of Dr. Dicksheet, a cancer-survivor and surgeon who has completed over 140,000 cleft lip surgeries for children in India. Complete with put-downs about Mother Teresa and godlike worship from the locals, the doctor is fascinating to watch and the film was lovely. For this screening it was paired with Be Like Others, an interesting look at transexuality in Iran.

At the Full Frame party in the evening, the day’s films once again provided great fodder for conversations about the political as well as the artistic aspects of documentary. Durham and the remarkable filmmaking community that has gathered for the festival this weekend continue to amaze.

Last night, Full Frame threw an opening night bash on the American Tobacco Campus. Complete with a live salsa band and loads of Southern hospitality, it was a great chance to get to meet a bunch of the filmmakers and other guests, all while practicing our smokin’ dance moves.

BKLYN-5:00am

Leaving Brooklyn on Thursday morning , a long weekend in Durham, NC seemed impossibly far away. But after hours of driving (Lila’s a pro!) we made it to the city “Where great things happen,” as it were. Despite the rain, the city is awash with energy over all the great films and filmmakers present.

We registered and got press creds, then set out to explore the festival. First up: Of Shadows and Men by Aurelien Foucault and Cedric Quennesson, followed by Albert Maysles and Kristen Nutile’s film, Sally Gross - The Pleasure of Stillness. The former was a short about the beautiful, but dying art of shadow puppetry in China. The latter, a feature about Sally Gross (avant-garde dancer and co-star of Robert Frank’s 1959 film Pull My Daisy). All of the directors were there after the screening for a Q&A.

Albert Maysles congratulated Aurelien on his first film, which was such a great moment! Albert went on to discuss ways to avoid influencing your subject as you document (don’t even try to just be a fly on the wall, instead try to generate trustworthiness and rapport with them). He advised against making a film about anything that you can’t personally connect with - the best films are made about subjects that you can relate to something in your past. Similarly, he spoke about the idea that patience and love are the main things that separate documentary filmmakers from propagandists. For more on Maysles, check out our upcoming podcast footage!

We’ve made it to the second day of the festival already and there’s so much more to see!