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BYOD: BRING YOUR OWN DOC – EPISODE 3: BEST DOCUMENTARY FILMS OF 2011 WITH AJ SCHNACK

By Ondi Timoner and Vlad Radovanov | December 22, 2011

The end of the year is here! And for our last BYOD show of 2011 we have A.J. Schnack with us to review the best documentaries of 2011.  The next hour is a breakdown of the good, bad and ugly released over the past year.  AJ also talks about his experiences making his documentaries, Kurt Cobain: About a Son and Convention, the film festival he founded, Cinema Eye Honors, and his film blog All these wonderful things.

Watch new episodes of BYOD live each week on Tuesdays at noon on TheLip.TV, or tune in for the archived replay starting here on the following Thursday.

ABOUT BYOD:
BYOD is co-hosted by Ondi Timoner, director of “DIG!,” “JOIN US” and “WE LIVE IN PUBLIC,” and has the rare distinction of winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance twice, and Vladimir Radovanov, entertainment attorney, and executive producer of “WE LIVE IN PUBLIC.” Each week the show explores a different documentary filmmaker or aspect of filmmaking, with special guests and a live Q&A– diving deep into creative process and the business realities of producing and distributing films. Ondi and Vladimir share their insider views, opinions, and personal stories, welcoming audience participation. BYOD aims to entertain, inform, and elevate documentaries in general by bringing attention to films and film makers that deserve exposure.

GUEST BIO:
AJ Schnack is an independent filmmaker. He directed , which premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. His first feature film was a documentary about the Brooklyn-based band They Might Be Giants titled .

In late 2007, he founded the Cinema Eye Honors, an award for nonfiction filmmaking that was first presented at the IFC Center in New York City on March 18, 2008.

Schnack writes the film blog All these wonderful things, which focuses on news related to nonfiction or documentary filmmaking.

ADD’L LINKS:
http://edendale.typepad.com/
http://www.cinemaeyehonors.com/
http://buckthefilm.com/
http://www.project-nim.com/
http://www.justinbieberneversaynever.com/
http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/index.html#/documentaries/paradise-lost-3-purgatory
http://interrupters.kartemquin.com/
http://conventionfilm.com/

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
00:00 Intro
04:00 Politics and life in Iowa. AJ’s latest project.
10:40 When and why did you make ‘Kurt Cobain: About A Son’?
14:00 How AJ and Ondi met.
15:20 Clip of ‘Kurt Cobain: About A Son’.
18:05 Did you make your money back on this film?
18:50 Did you raise money for the film you’re making now?
19:15 Review of ‘Buck’
25:25 Review of ‘Project Nim’.
31:30 Review of ‘The Interruptors’.
37:27 What inspired you to start the blog ‘All These Wonderful Things’?
39:02 How did you get involved in film?
40:08 What do you think is the music doc of the year?
45:53 ‘Justin Bieber: Never Say Never’ Trailer.
48:20 Vlad the rapper.
48:49 Review of ‘Paradise Lost 3?.
52:30 A lot of different projects around this one subject.
56:46 Directors for Hire.
59:20 Recommended documentaries.
1:01:20 AJ’s predictions for this year’s Academy Nominees and some of the problems that Documentary films face when vying for nomination.
1:06:00 AJ’s Documentary film festival Cinema Eye Honors.
1:07:00 Wrap Up.

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