Documentary Showcase UK: ‘If Women Had More Power, the World Would Be Safer’Hope and inspiration at the event for contending female filmmakers, featuring former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, producer Gigi Pritzker and moreA dispatch from the Documentary Showcase event in London on Dec. 1, co-presented by The Ankler and Pure Nonfiction.What began as a series of small, intimate gatherings at the home of filmmaker Sarah McCarthy has bloomed into Documentary Showcase, an exclusive, invite-only event for nonfiction filmmakers in the awards race. Founded and hosted by McCarthy, whose films have premiered at places like the Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and DOC NYC, the inaugural Showcase gathered a high-caliber lineup of Sundance breakouts, Oscar contenders and festival darlings on Dec. 1 at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly in London. Among the guests in attendance were Oscar-winning filmmaker Lisa Remington (The Only Girl in the Orchestra), Oscar- and BAFTA-winning producer Odessa Rae (Navalny) and acclaimed producer Gigi Pritzker, as well as the subject of Pritzker’s latest documentary, Prime Minister, Dame Jacinda Ardern, the former prime minister of New Zealand. McCarthy framed the day around a simple thesis: “If women had more power, the world would be a safer place,” she said. “I believe in the power of women coming together to lift one another, and our stories, up and the chance to showcase these films and their female creatives is an honor and a joy.” The joyous event — engineered for filmmakers, by filmmakers, with the intention of long-term community building — was sponsored by Surina Narula from Filmistan, Sawsan Asfari from Cocoon Films, Maria Logan and Shabnur Gayibova from New Generation Europe, Victoria Clay from Bentley and Skinner and Georgia Wallace and Georgia Cook from Molinare, in addition to The Ankler and Pure Nonfiction. “What began as a grassroots act of sisterhood now becomes an industry-facing event designed to lift up female voices,” McCarthy said. “Almost every opportunity in my own career has come from women; from Sheila Nevins, Sara Bernstein and Maria Logan financing my films to Julie Huntsinger selecting them for the Telluride and Annie Roney and Penny Wolf selling them to Netflix and HBO. I’ve had help from men too, most notably Thom Powers at Pure Nonfiction who has been a great partner on ‘Documentary Showcase’ and has previously programmed my films for TIFF and Doc NYC. I hope Documentary Showcase can pay some of that forward.” Films That Matter From Diverse VoicesThe event kicked off with co-director Sara Khaki, whose film Cutting Through Rocks — the IDFA-winning portrait of Iranian trailblazer Sara Shahverdi Khaki directed with Mohammadreza Eyni — has been on a world tour since Sundance in January, when it took the fest’s World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury prize. Co-Existence, My Ass, directed by Amber Fares, came next. The movie focuses on comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi, whose one-woman show tackles the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the struggle for equality by “confronting audiences with uncomfortable truths, even as her pursuit of coexistence starts to sound absurd.” In keeping with the premise, Fares fielded questions that were equal parts political and comedic, and her answers reminded the room that humor remains one of the last surviving tools of resistance when the geopolitical landscape is bleak enough to warrant its own trigger warning. Fighting back is also the focus of Mr Nobody Against Putin, the story of a Russian teacher (the film’s co-director and subject, Pasha Talankin) who secretly documents his school’s transformation from a place of learning into a war recruitment center during the Ukraine invasion. Talankin, alongside the film’s producer Helle Faber, mapped out the personal cost of dissent inside Russia’s education system. During a lunch break, guest speakers Rae and Pritzker spoke with guests about their upcoming projects. Rae’s latest, The Voice of Hind Rajab, is in the thick of the best international feature Oscar race (it won the Silver Lion for directing at this year’s Venice Film Festival for director Kaouther Ben Hania). Pritzker, meanwhile, is promoting the U.K. release of Prime Minister, which is also now streaming on HBO Max. During her keynote speech, Prime Minister subject Ardern discussed empathetic leadership as something we should expect from our politicians and from ourselves. The afternoon session opened with clips from Prime Minister, which follows Ardern as she leads her country through terrorist attacks, natural disasters and a global pandemic — all while breastfeeding her newborn. Director Lindsay Utz was also breastfeeding her second child while crafting the intimate portrait of a world leader. In the Q&A around The Dating Game, director Violet Du Feng treated everyone to a riotously funny and politically incisive exploration of gender imbalance in China. The laughter during the clips was uproarious, but beneath the humor lay a stunningly clear geopolitical analysis of what happens in a society where women are undervalued to an extreme. In China, there are 30 million surplus men because of the one-child policy and the fact that millions of girl babies were killed off or abandoned by their families because of their lack of future earning potential. The Dating Game tells the story of three such surplus bachelors putting their hearts on the line in a high-stakes, seven-day dating camp led by China’s top love guru. Finally, the Netflix short All the Empty Rooms brought an emotional close to the film portion of the Showcase. The film from director Joshua Seftel focuses on the work of broadcast journalist Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp, who spent seven years together documenting the empty bedrooms of children killed in school shootings in the U.S. In attendance to support the critical, heartbreaking movie was editor Erin Casper, who spoke with the kind of quiet clarity that seemingly could only come from editing material so heavy it lodges in the sternum. Documentary Showcase ended, however, with a celebration as Remington shared clips of her Oscar-winning 2023 short, The Only Girl in the Orchestra. The filmmaker also revealed exclusive excerpts of the upcoming The Bend in the River, directed by Robb Moss and produced by Remington, Joel Coen and Frances McDormand, among others. The movie is the conclusion of a trilogy of documentaries Moss directed about a group of friends navigating their way through life and was shot over 50 years. Remington’s reflections on long-game producing, creative purpose and the questionable economics of a 50-year production timeline were a refreshing antidote to awards season fever. Her closing question — “If we’re not asking the big questions through our films, what are we even doing?” — hit the room like a benediction. Got a tip or story pitch? Email tips@theankler.com ICYMI from The AnklerWORLD WAR WARNER BROS.! People like Netflix, writes Richard Rushfield. But they can’t have this (and neither can Paramount) ‘NOT GOOD’: Agents’ Alarm as Netflix-WBD Stokes Panic, Fears of a Market Pause Reps talk to Elaine Low about what they’re telling clients, mounting questions and even a bright side: ‘Where there’s chaos, there’s opportunity’ ‘It Can Be Stopped’: Fighting Back Against the ‘Bad Faith’ Netflix-Warner Bros. Deal Richard, monopoly expert Matt Stoller and former FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya break down what’s really driving the merger bid 5 Burning Qs: What The Netflix-Warners Bombshell Means for Creatives, Execs & Shows The deal would put showrunners, revered execs & piles of priceless IP under one roof. It’s going to be messy, Lesley Goldberg reports The WBD Deal Puts Hollywood, and Democracy, at Risk EXCLUSIVE: In a special op-ed, Jane Fonda writes that the proposed Warner Bros. sale should terrify anyone who cares about a free society AI Search and the New Hot Mess of Hollywood Discovery ‘What to watch’ is a minefield as Literate AI uncovers major biases around stars, Harry Potter and the MCU — and grim fallout for marketing, greenlights and talent Why 34 Million Tuned In: Secrets Behind NBC’s Thanksgiving Ratings Shocker EVP Jen Neal on “our entertainment Super Bowl” strategy. Plus: Lesley’s Showrunner Sessions with Diplomat creator Debora Cahn One Chart That Should Set Off Hollywood Alarms Richard’s decade of data, pulled film by film, reveals a dire trend hiding in plain sight: the world is watching less and less of what we make 5 Globes Takeaways: Wicked Woes, Neon Lights & Netflix Mysteries Katey Rich on the Golden Globe nominations; plus Nicholas Britell talks Jay Kelly 5 Trends from Award Season’s Busiest Week Yet One Battle rules, Train Dreams keeps chugging and who could still come from behind. Plus: Katey talks to Will Arnett & John Bishop about Is This Thing On? 🎬 Freddy’s 2 Leads Box Office to Record Heights — Hollywood is Fine! Special guest Roy Price joins Richard and Sean McNulty to talk the good (Freddy’s, Zootopia 2) and bad (everything else) as WBD hangs in the balance 🎬 Rushfield Lunch: Winnie Holzman’s Wish for a Less Wicked World The acclaimed film, TV and stage writer is ‘devastated’ that the hit musical’s depiction of a nation under despotism feels so ‘relevant’ to current headlines 🎬 Netflix-WBD Panic & Chaos in a Hollywood ‘Looking for Some Answers’ The dominant streamer’s $83B acquisition of Warner Bros. studio and streaming assets would heap new burdens on entertainment workers 🎬 How F1 Captured Brad Pitt Driving 200 MPH in a Formula 1 Racer Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda explains the challenges of shooting the Apple racing drama: ‘We had to make cameras’ 🎧 Wagner Moura Believes ‘Empathy’ Always Beats Tyranny The Secret Agent star, a top best actor contender, tells Katey about knocking away stereotypes and waiting out Brazil’s Bolsonaro More from Ankler MediaNew from Natalie Jarvey’s creator economy newsletter: Patreon’s CEO on Poaching Substack Stars — and Why Meta Feeds Are Headed for Full AI Netflix’s Pod Pitch Lands Flat; Fox Comes for YouTube; Yeezy Alum Drops New App Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks: Granny vs. Goliath, a Real-Life Reacher and Blade Runner for the VR Era |















