STORY OF THE MONTH: 9/11 IN DOCUMENTARIES
That was the view from my Brooklyn study on 9/11/2021.
It’s the same window from which I saw the 9/11 attacks, certain that we had lost family, close friends and neighbors, but waiting to find out which ones.
For the 20th anniversary, the news media captured the shock and the grief that persist twenty years later.
Sadly, even today, the documentary landscape avoids interrogating the “Why’s?”:
- “Who attacked us?”
- “What motivated them?”
- “What could we have done differently, before and since?”
The 9/11 anniversary is the lead story in this month’s News Roundup, in partnership with Sunny Side of the Doc.
VACUOUS & CYNICAL
- Why Netflix’s Turning Point documentary is ‘big on caricature and short on context’ // Middle East Eye
- “Never Forget?” The sheer number of spiritually vacuous and cynical films about 9/11 is intimidating // Hyperallergic
- 9/11 docs trace the ramifications of the shocking attack // Variety
- 9/11 conspiracy doc: How a Viral Video Bent Reality // NYT
- VR documentary commemorates 9/11 // Le Point (FR)
- Questioning the 9/11 media // Hervé Brusini on Méta-Media (FR)
- How 9/11 gave birth to Google News // La revue des medias INA (FR)
- 9/11 Film Faceoff Producers vow not to cave to ‘censorship’ by museum // NY Daily News (Thx Steve Rosenbaum)
Program Snapshots
- “Cured” When homosexuality was considered a mental illness to be “cured,” LGBTQ+ activists fought back. A PBS Independent Lens documentary / Counterpunch
- HBO’s The Jinx helped convict millionaire Robert Durst for Murder // Washington Post
- How Anthony Fauci became a documentary superstar // Guardian
- The Rescue Wins TIFF People’s Choice Award for Documentary // POV Magazine
- CBS’ ‘The Activist’ retooled from competitive series into a doc special // Variety
- Netflix’s “Women and the Assassin” series breaks new ground in crime // GQ (FR)
- Center for Media & Social Impact report asks, Who’s Holding Documentary to Account? // Documentary
- Tubi unveils true crime docuseries “Meet, Marry, Murder” // Realscreen
- Paul Giamatti narrates PBS Nature version Season of the Osprey // WNET
- Netflix’s “Women and the Assassin” breaks new ground in crime // GQ (FR)
- Center for Media & Social Impact report asks, Who’s Holding Documentary to Account? // Documentary
- Tubi unveils true crime docuseries “Meet, Marry, Murder” // Realscreen
Chart of the Month
- Millennials use Netflix.
- They spread TV viewing across Live and Streamed
- Souirce: US Media Consumption Report 2021 // Attest Technologies
Producer Action!
- The Producer Rate Sheet is a tool for producers who are striving to build a sustainable career // Dear Producer (thx Amelia Hanibelz)
- Export record for French audiovisual programs // Les Echos (FR)
- Europe’s indie producers are fighting to retain IP and revenues amid streaming boom // Screen International
More…
Read more important stories as well as great reading about documentaries in the revolutonary Streaming Era here: https://conta.cc/2XXKHQs
