kurt kuenne Tagged Articles at Cinematical
'Dear Zachary' Reaction: A Message from Director Kurt Kuenne
Filed under: Documentary », Fandom », Exhibition », Home Entertainment »
I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed reading all your comments today following the television debut of Dear Zachary last night, and I'm happy to say someone else has been reading them too. Here now with a special message for Cinematical readers is Dear Zachary director Kurt Kuenne:
"Thank you SO much to everyone who took the time to watch "Dear Zachary" on MSNBC last night and for all the incredibly supportive, passionate comments they've been leaving on the site. The support means the world to us. And we encourage you to share your feelings about what happened with the government of Canada; if this movie affected you and you want to see things change to prevent a recurrence in the future, they're not going to know unless you tell them. That's the greatest thing anyone can do to honor Andrew & Zachary's memory. Information on who to write to can be found at www.dearzachary.com/bailreform. (I saw one viewer comment saying that they couldn't get on the website yesterday; it's working fine, we just had some overload with all the traffic from yesterday's show, but it should be fine now.) It shows again on MSNBC this Sunday, December 14th at 4 PM EST, and will likely be re-broadcast again on MSNBC very soon after, so please feel free to tell anyone you know. (Also feel free to tell MSNBC you'd like them to show it again. :) The DVD is being released on February 10th and can be pre-ordered on Amazon. Thank you so much to the Cinematical community for all your tremendous support during this entire year. I can't tell you how much it means to both myself and Andrew's parents."
'Dear Zachary' Airs on MSNBC Tonight!
Filed under: Documentary », Fandom », Home Entertainment », Trailers and Clips »
Ever since we began championing the fantastic documentary Dear Zachary earlier this year, several of you have written in wanting to know where and when you can see it for yourselves. Well, cancel plans for tonight because the flick will air on MSNBC later this evening at 9pm EST, and will be shown again at midnight EST. That time adjusts for the other time zones, so my advice is to look it up on your cable guide to get the exact time it's airing in your neck of the woods. Here's what some folks have said about Dear Zachary:
"One of the best documentaries I have ever seen in my entire life... a film that will rock you to your core. You will cry. You will hurt – and this film will sit with you for days, weeks, months. But you will come away believing in people. Believing that even where there is evil, there is also a tremendous amount of good." - Erik Davis, Cinematical.com
"Before all else, there's Dear Zachary, documentarian Kurt Kuenne's shockingly intimate account of his road trip a few years ago, after his childhood friend, Andrew Bagby, was shot under mysterious circumstances in 2001. Excuse the hyperbole, but Dear Zachary is one of the most alarmingly forceful documentaries in years." - Eric Kohn, IndieWire.com
"This documentary will rip out your heart and leave you in the snow without a sweater. But afterwards, all wounded and broken down, you will see the power of the human spirit even in the face of the darkest of souls." - Sarah Diamond, director of programming, Slamdance Film Festival
"...The talk of Slamdance... Dear Zachary is, above all, a virtuoso feat in editing, and Kuenne uses the material at his disposal to devastating effect... it's impossible not to feel emotionally exhausted." - Peter Debruge, Variety
Check out the trailer after the jump. MSNBC. Tonight. Watch it.
Fan Rant: What's Up, Doc Committee?
Filed under: Documentary », Independent », Awards », Distribution », Fan Rant »
There's a reason that us critics tend to hold certain films in excessive regard -- because after seeing hundreds and hundreds of them every year, to champion one or two or a dozen across those fifty-two weeks is a chance to bring attention to something that deserves it, something distinctly non-mediocre and perhaps unconventional.
Dear Zachary: a letter to a son about his father falls into that category. Erik praised it effusively from its Slamdance premiere and beyond; soon joining his ranks would be Monika; and it currently lingers second to only one on my own tentative top ten list for 2008. We get it. According to Rotten Tomatoes, 33 out of 34 critics get it. In fact, it seems like the only ones who don't get it just happen to make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Review: Dear Zachary: a letter to a son about his father
Filed under: Documentary », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews »
(With Dear Zachary arriving in theaters this weekend, we're rerunning our review from Slamdance)
By: Erik Davis
I don't know how to review this film. It's so personal, so emotional and so powerful that if I dedicate a paragraph to a few technical issues, it would completely take away from the fact that this was one of the best documentaries I have ever watched in my entire life. Following the Slamdance premiere of Dear Zachary, I asked my friend if the director had also submitted to Sundance. Apparently, he did. How or why Sundance did not accept this doc is beyond me. And here's a note to any programmer from any fest reading this review: Play this film. And here's a note to anyone looking to purchase a doc to distribute and whatnot: Buy this film. I don't work for a studio, thus I'm not keen on all the politics involved, but I guarantee if this doc was picked up by, say, HBO, it would change lives immediately. (Note: It has since been picked up by MSNBC Films and Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Matt Dentler made a good point over on his blog. While briefly talking about the film, he said, "I'm not going to link its Web site for a reason: this is a documentary you need to experience with as little advanced knowledge as possible. You just need to know it's worth seeing, and will probably grip you tight from the very beginning. But, like so many festival films, it hits you hardest when you go into it knowing very little." And I completely agree, which is why I won't go into too many details after the jump.
Must Watch: 'Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father' Trailer!
Filed under: Documentary », Trailers and Clips »
There are few films that not only impress you, but rip you out of complacency and compel you to speak out and help -- whether it's for a cause, or merely to encourage more buzz. But even most of those films eventually fall into the dusty halls of the past, seemingly forgotten as new films and motivations arise. That's definitely not so with Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. Erik and I have been talking about this film all year -- through our reviews, thoughts, continuing news, and the poster. And now you can view the trailer above.
Dear Zachary is a film that should be seen by everyone. The heart-wrenching story it relays is important, but also inspiring. Even in all of the devastation and tragedy there are beacons of positivity and strength that we can all learn from. But we've covered this before. Read up on the film through the links above and please -- go see it.
Update: Dear Zachary arrives in theaters on October 31st in New York and on November 7th in Los Angeles and Chicago, before expanding to other cities. Additionally, you'll be able to catch the entire doc when it airs on MSNBC this December 7th.
Exclusive: 'Dear Zachary' Poster Premiere
Filed under: Documentary », Fandom », Movie Marketing », Images », Posters »
Click image above to enlarge
Cinematical is very stoked to bring you this exclusive poster for Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, which is a documentary we here at Cinematical have been championing ever since the flick blew us away back at the Slamdance Film Festival earlier this year. Never have I experienced so many different emotions while watching a film, and when I left that tiny theater in Utah following the premiere, I vowed to spread this inspired piece of filmmaking as far and wide as I could. We praise and champion a lot of small films here at Cinematical (and hopefully turn you folks on to some great finds), but if I had to throw myself out there for one film this year, it would have to be Dear Zachary.
Since it's better to know as little as possible going into this particular doc, I've posted the synopsis after the jump (for those who want more details). Dear Zachary arrives in theaters on October 31st in New York and on November 7th in Los Angeles and Chicago, before expanding to other cities. Additionally, you'll be able to catch the entire doc when it airs on MSNBC this December 7th.
p.s. How cool is that poster?
News Bites: 'Revolutionary Road' Poster, 'Dear Zachary' Gets Its Deal, & More
Filed under: Comedy », Documentary », Drama », Casting », Deals », RumorMonger », Posters »
Their romance in Titanic was one for the record books. Now Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are getting to canoodle once again in Revolutionary Road. The above pic is part of the poster for the film, which has popped up over at USA Today. The guy died too quickly last time, and thus we never got to see what the future had in store for Jack and Rose. So now we get Frank and April -- a young, successful couple in the '50s, who move to France and watch things crumble. Man, it's so much more hopeful when they die young. Now this whole ordeal could be sending Winslet right into the world of Erica Jong and Fear of Flying.
Yay! After waiting months for that elusive deal to finalize, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Oscilloscope Pictures has picked up Kurt Kuenne's Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about His Father. The theatrical release will begin in New York on October 31. Go see it. Please. Don't read anything more. Just go.
In other Big Apple news, Yahoo has got a trailer up for Synecdoche, New York, which I'm dying to see. Besides growing up near Schenectady, where part of the film takes place, it's Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut. And it also has a mind-boggling, a-mazing cast.
Finally a little bit for the rumor hounds -- EW says that now Jude Law might play Dr. Watson in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. (Not Colin Farrell or Russell Crowe.) Robert Downey Jr. and Law -- interesting... What do you think?
Michelle Williams Supposedly Plans Heath Ledger Film
Filed under: RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy », Fandom », DIY/Filmmaking »
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Citing an unnamed source -- you know, one of those reliable anonymous types -- Showbiz Spy is reporting that Michelle Williams plans to make a movie about her late ex, Heath Ledger, in order to provide a record of him for the former couple's toddler, Matilda. No details have been released yet, which leaves a lot of questions up in the air. Is it going to be a straightforward documentary? A biopic? Some mixture of both? If this source is to be trusted, it seems unlikely that Williams simply wants to assemble family footage to screen privately for her daughter when she gets older. A Ledger film made for general audiences would probably reveal his unrealized career intentions and help solidify his posthumous James Dean-like reputation, but it's hard to say what approach Williams would want to take, since we don't even know what role she'll have in the production (producer? director? consultant?). Based on the skimpy information provided by Showbiz Spy, Williams' idea sounds somewhat similar to a recent documentary project that's been riding the festival to great acclaim in recent months: Kurt Kuenne's devastating Dear Zachary: A Letter to his Son About His Father, which begins with the documentarian planning to collect the memories of his murdered friend for the departed man's young child (the story takes a shocking turn after the first hour or so). Whatever the final product, surely Williams wants to avoid letting E! True Hollywood Story have the final say on Ledger's myth. Who can blame her?
MSNBC to Screen 'Dear Zachary'!
Filed under: Documentary », Independent », Deals », Distribution », Cinematical Indie »
"...this was one of the best documentaries I have ever watched in my entire life."The above is part of Erik's review of Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, a documentary we've been championing here ever since Slamdance in January. It is a stunning doc, one that everyone should see, and we've all been waiting to hear about the release date. Distribution has been in the works since Slamdance, and through my coverage of the film at Hot Docs, but all has been silent on the Zachary front until now.
MSNBC has picked up Dear Zachary. The company is launching a documentary division called MSNBC Films, which will support docs through their theatrical release before screening them on television, and the company is starting with Kurt Kuenne's triumph. Kurt says: "I'm honored and thrilled to be working with MSNBC and their new film division in presenting this film to the world. Their intelligent, socially conscious viewership is exactly the audience for whom I made this film -- the kind of people I hope will speak out for change if they are as outraged as I am by the events they see depicted in the film."
Kurt has also noted that while the theatrical release is still in negotiations, the film is set to air on MSNBC later this fall. And, in order to qualify for Academy Awards consideration, the documentary will screen in New York and Los Angeles at some point in August (we'll let you know when).
I couldn't think of a better documentary to launch a new division, and I cannot stress enough how important it is to see this film. It is challenging and sad, yet full of the kind of heart and strength we could all learn from.
Hot Docs Review: Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father
Filed under: Documentary », Independent », Theatrical Reviews », Other Festivals », Cinematical Indie »
We always champion the documentaries that do their best to separate emotion from filmmaking. While we recognize that a documentary can never be completely unbiased, we praise the films in which a hard-hitting subject can resonate without the director's emotions overtly influencing the portrayal. But I would argue that sometimes that skewed perspective is not only necessary, but required. With Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, Kurt Kuenne bares his heart and soul. He shows his biased and emotional viewpoint, and that pulls the film out of the realms of the normal documentary and into something infinitely more memorable and inspiring.
*Note: Readers have commented that IMDb has spoilers, so check it out at your own risk!
As Erik Davis noted in his review earlier this year from Slamdance, Dear Zachary is a film to go into with as little knowledge of the story as possible, so like him, I'm continuing the review after the jump. That being said, what follows definitely isn't a spoilerfest. I will remain tight-lipped on many of the twists and turns that the film takes, so if you don't mind learning the basic story, continue on.
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