A doc concerned with the nature of film criticism: its values, its limits and its place in a changing media landscape.
Written by Anton Bitel and Dan Rodriguez
Directed by Dan Rodriguez
List of subjects:
Matthew Turner
Robbie Collin
Derek Malcolm
Dave Calhoun
Corrina Antrobus
Jonathan Romney
Roger Clarke
Amon Warmann
Rich Cline
Nikki Baugham
Charles McDonald
Karen Krizanovich
Roz Kaveney
Tom Seymour
Francine Stock
Kevin Maher
Angie Errigo
Alan Jones
Guy Lodge
MaryAnn Johanson
Philip Concannon
Clarisse Loughrey
Sophie Mayer
Leigh Singer
Tim Robey
Iain Smith
Joe Walsh
Simran Hans
David Jenkins and Sophie Monks Kaufman
Mike McCahill
Stuart Barr
Kim Newman
Peter Bradshaw
Ian Mantgani
Leslie Felperin
Charlie Lyne
Nick James
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh
Nigel Floyd
And Pauline Kael (archive footage)
In loving memory of Philip French and Derek Malcolm.
After going through over 50 hours of raw footage, we ended up with 40 really fascinating interviews with some of the biggest names in film criticism. We also took those interviews and turned them into a feature length doc that gets into the nitty gritty of film criticism - the art, the challenges, how it’s evolved over time.
Critics, in my eyes, have always been the ugly children of cinema. A documentary on this subject was long overdue. In 2015, our journey began with "The London Cinephile," guided by a curated set of questions. We connected with over 50 film critics, letting the documentary's soul emerge in the editing room. However, our film was left forgotten, abandoned in a producer's drawer and lost within a hard drive's abyss. Miraculously, it resurfaced two years ago. I've since released the full interviews here as they are quite unique. Now, the feature-length documentary is back from the shadows. It's aliveeeee... It's aliveeeee... Our retro aesthetic and meta approach dives deep into cinema's uncharted territories. This isn't merely a film-it's an audiovisual experience. :p
Critic Philip French was asked to contribute to this project. Sadly, he died just two days after. This documentary is sincerely dedicated to his memory.
#filmcriticism
#filmjournalism
#filmmaking
#filmcritics
#freedocumentary
#cinema
#movies
#moviereview
#moviecritic
#filmreview