Landfill Harmonic Documentary In Production

Landfill Harmonic is an upcoming feature-length documentary about a remarkable musical orchestra in Paraguay, where young musicians play instruments made from trash. Producers have released an inspiring short video about their film, which is going viral on Facebook and over the Internet. For more information about the film, please visit facebook.com/landfillharmonicmovie.

Landfill Harmonic film teaser from Landfill Harmonic on Vimeo.

Favio Chavez, director of the orchestra of recycled instruments on a Paraguayan landfill, and his luthier Nicolas Gomez have just posted a photo of their latest visit to the landfill site in Catuera, where little children aspire through music to rise from a life of danger and misery. The film they are making is touching millions of hearts. Watch a trailer here. It could make you rethink your life in music. (Arts Journal)

American Autumn : An Occudoc - NYTimes Movie Review

Occupy Wall Street: A Documentary Look From the Inside

From The New York Times :

A year after Occupy Wall Street protests began some pundits are quick to declare the movement dead or pointless, a venting of unfocused frustration that wasted its opportunities. Occupy members would beg to differ.

“The world needs to change,” Mr. Trainor says, calling his film “an invitation for you to participate.”

In “American Autumn: An Occudoc,” part survey course, part recruiting tool, Dennis Trainor Jr. offers a concise review of the protests that first encamped in Zuccotti Park then swept across the nation and around the world. While eventually embracing a host of progressive causes, Occupy fundamentally opposed undue corporate power and influence over the levers of government. And it pressed the issue of income inequality and its social costs, defining this election season’s dominant theme.

“American Autumn” has plenty of shots of confrontations with the police; of protesters and their trenchant slogans and signs; of “we are the 99 percent” chants and “mike checks”; of speakers at rallies including Cornel West, Naomi Klein and Michael Moore. It will probably not persuade many Occupy critics to change their opinions. But as manifestoes go it is calm and smart, offsetting its stridency with discussion, music, even humor, while issuing a call to arms. “The world needs to change,” Mr. Trainor says, calling his film “an invitation for you to participate.”

Opens on Friday in Manhattan. Directed by Dennis Trainor Jr. 1 hour 16 minutes; not rated. Tickets and Screenings.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012) Trailer

The film examines this complex intersection of artistic practice and social activism as seen through the life and art of China's preeminent contemporary artist. From 2008 to 2010, Beijing-based journalist and filmmaker Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to Ai Weiwei. Klayman documented Ai's artistic process in preparation for major museum exhibitions, his intimate exchanges with family members and his increasingly public clashes with the Chinese government. Klayman's detailed portrait of the artist provides a nuanced exploration of contemporary China and one of its most compelling public figures.