Today, Archives in Motion looks back at the 28th edition of Sunny Side of the Doc (19th-22nd June 2017). The documentary market takes place every year at the Espace Encan, close to the harbor of La Rochelle in France, and gathers media professionals during a four-day program that includes debates, master classes, unique screenings, and for this year’s edition, the latest productions featuring historical content. The 28th edition, which was celebrated under the theme ‘Historic!’, focused on history and innovation with an emphasis on the renewal of the historical documentary genre. (more…)
“Josephine Baker: An American in Paris” wins Archive Valley Prize at #SSD17
As this year’s edition of Sunny Side of the Doc came to a close, Archive Valley had the pleasure of presenting an award to one of the historical documentary projects pitched during the History Pitch Session.
The quality of the projects extremely high across the board, so we faced an extremely difficult choice. However, one project stuck out as we felt that not only did it approach its subject from a new angle, but the team is also undertaking extensive archive research that we felt was a great match to our community and the passion for archives we all share. (more…)
The Summer of Archives: An Update from Archive Valley
It’s been a busy few months at Archive Valley, and as we get ready to spend the next month hitting the road to meet producers, researchers and film archivists from around the world, here’s a bit of what we’ve been up to and a look at what’s ahead. (more…)
70th Anniversary: The Cannes Film Festival Celebrates its History
Restored Masterworks at Cannes Classics 2017
For its 70th anniversary, the Cannes Film Festival takes a look back at its history with a series of screenings of classic films and documentaries. The Cannes Classics selection aims to highlight the work of production companies, right-holders, cinematheques, and national archives around the world by projecting restored versions of sixteen films that both marked the history of cinema and of the festival. In total, twenty-four sessions will be scheduled, each featuring one short film and five documentaries from countries related to the festival’s history. Among those films, the iconic 1953 drama film The Earrings of Madame de … by Max Ophüls will be in the limelight. The chef d’oeuvre is highly anticipated as one of its lead figures, singer and actress Danielle Darrieux, turned one-hundred years-old on May 1st this year. The film’s restoration was ordered by the film studio Gaumont Pathé as a tribute to the eternal Danielle Darrieux. Its remastered version will be introduced by Dominique Besnehard, Pierre Murat, and Henri-Jean Servat. In addition, Servat will offer commentary on the latest filmed interview of the now one century-old French actress. (more…)
‘I Am Not Your Negro,’ Archive Footage and Race in America
A historical documentary with contemporary echoes
I Am Not Your Negro was conceived after Gloria Karefa-Smart (born Gloria Esther Baldwin) had handed a letter over to Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck. The letter from her brother, famous African-American writer James Baldwin, to his literary agent spoke of the manuscript he was working on entitled Remember This House. The text aimed to shed light on the Civil Rights era, one of the greatest struggles in American history and focused on three of its leaders and friends of Baldwin: Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. The thirty-page memoir remained unfinished as Baldwin passed away on December 1987. (more…)