Ondi Timoner

Started by wilder, August 25, 2011, 10:14:59 AM

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wilder

"We Live in Public" Filmmaker's Next Project Is the World of Web Start-Ups

Ondi Timoner, the documentary filmmaker whose "We Live in Public" — about voluntarily handing over our privacy online — won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in 2009, is back to train her cameras on the world of technology again. Timoner is now filming a documentary about the world of social Internet start-ups, tentatively titled "<3 Startups."

The idea behind the project is to portray "if Facebook was filmed from day one," Timoner said (but this time, no screen time for the Winklevii!).

"I think more and more start-ups are looking at how can the online world really drive the physical world and improve our lives," Timoner told me yesterday outside the Y Combinator Demo Day start-up presentations, where she and her Interloper Films crew were capturing the festivities.

"The underlying question of the entire series we're making is: The Internet, will it free us or enslave us? Is it good or bad? And that depends on if people are good are bad," she said.

Timoner said some of the companies and people she has already captured include New York messaging start-up Fast Society; Localmind, a location-based Q&A outfit which just relocated to San Francisco from Montreal; Los Angeles entrepreneur and investor Paige Craig of BetterWorks; and hacker and security researcher Samy Kamkar.

Source - http://tinyurl.com/3gf6r9n

7 minute video interview after the link.

wilder

#1
Most of Ondi Timoner's movies center around megalomaniacs of some kind. With the recent talk in The Master thread I thought this would be a good opportunity to bring up her little-seen 2007 documentary Join Us.



Trailer here

"Join Us" follows four families as they leave a controlling and abusive church in South Carolina and come to realize that they have been members of a cult. The film documents them intimately as they enter the only accredited live-in cult treatment facility in the world. At Wellspring, they learn how they were brainwashed to give up control of their lives to the Pastor and his wife, allowing their children to undergo severe abuse to make heaven. As they emerge from the safety of the treatment facility, the ex-cult members return to their homes to bring the Pastor to justice and struggle to build normal lives. The film also gives voice to the cult leader and his wife, as they struggle to cope with the betrayal of their church family and rebuild their congregation.

The doc is definitely more straightforward than We Live In Public and Dig! It's available as a DVD, digital download, or streaming here. Also, a Q&A with Ondi after a screening of Join Us last August...

Part 1
Part 2

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And a trailer for her new short documentary Library of Dust, which has been screening at various festivals for the past year. Trailer here, list of screenings here.



Synopsis:

Thousands of corroded copper urns containing the cremated remains of unclaimed psychiatric patients are discovered in 2004. A tour of the Oregon State Hospital involving the local press and a State Senator was conducted to uncover the deplorable conditions of the hospital. What they didn't expect to find was a storeroom full of human ashes dating back to the late 1800's. Photos are taken of the mysterious corrosive effect on the canisters and several histories of these forgotten souls are revealed in this unique tale.


wilder

Ondi Timoner's "Mapplethorpe" Starring James Franco Tops Tribeca Institute's All Access Grants for 2012



The Tribeca Film Institute has awarded its annual grants of $15,000 to ten films through its Tribeca All Access program, most notably Ondi Timoner's "Mapplethorpe." Timoner, the only filmmaker to twice win Sundance's Grand Jury Prize for Documentary, will make the transition to narrative film with the project. James Franco has signed on to play the controversial gay photographer.

and a bit more info...

Mapplethorpe practically assaulted New York, in the Seventies, with his black and white portraits of nude people, dripping sexuality, controversy and boldness. His famous large, nude, sadomasochistic sex celebrity portraits caused huge controversy, so Mapplethorpe was as much celebrated for his art, as criticized for his subject matter. His death – caused by aids in 1989, at the young age of 42 – amplified his counter-cultural aura and made him a martyr and a scandal at the same time.

Ondi casted James Franco to be Mapplethorpe and the movie will be produced by Eliza Dushku, Nate Dushku and Miles Levy, with a script by John Logan (The Aviator).


wilder

New Charlie Rose-style web series BYOD (Bring Your Own Doc)

BYOD is co-hosted by Ondi Timoner, director of "DIG!," "JOIN US" and "WE LIVE IN PUBLIC,", 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.

wilder

ReThink Interview: Ondi Timoner -- On Tech Startups and the Documentary Renaissance
by Jonathan Kim
4/30/2012

Ondi Timoner knows a lot about documentaries, which you'd expect from the director of five award-winning documentaries, two of which earned her the distinction of being the only director to ever win the prestigious Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival twice. Having spent countless hours at festivals with her fellow documentarians at Q&A sessions, panels, award ceremonies, luncheons, and receptions, you'd be correct to assume that she's also good at talking to documentary filmmakers. Timoner's film We Live in Public captured an important, harrowing, insanity-inducing experiment that predicted and embodied today's debate over Internet privacy in the age of digital oversharing, so her interest in Internet pioneers and how their creations impact our lives should be a given.

Timoner's latest ventures, an interview show called BYOD (Bring Your Own Docs) and a YouTube channel called Live Public, use Timoner's interests in mind- and life-changing documentaries and technology to go behind the scenes of how both are made. I spoke with Timoner about her new projects, what she hopes they accomplish, and her thoughts on why documentaries seem to be experiencing a golden age.


Jonathan Kim: Is BYOD something you've wanted to do for a long time, or is there something going on in the world of documentaries that made you feel that now was a particularly good time to do it?

Ondi Timoner: For several years, I was developing a show called Ondimentary that we were trying to get started with the doc channel, but it never quite took off. But I do think BYOD came into being because there really is a golden age of documentaries happening right now where some of the most beautiful and important pieces of work are being made about real subjects with real footage, and the form of documentary is being pushed beyond the borders of what it was traditionally known to be. So it's a wonderful time to do a show about documentaries. It's also important, I think, to celebrate and elevate the form, and I think I as a filmmaker interviewing other filmmakers can do that.

It seems like docs have moved up to a new level recently. I'd attribute this to the amazing cinematic quality of the new small, lightweight HD DSLR cameras that can handle film lenses, as well as the availability of docs on Netflix Instant. Are these the causes of this renaissance, or is it something else?

I do think the HD format, and even digital before that, democratized the art form of documentary filmmaking because the cost is lower and they can record for long periods of time. The ability to record life as it's unfolding to create verité is greatly increased. The availability of docs on Netflix Instant is wonderful for the audience, and I've really enjoyed having We Live In Public on there, but I don't think that's the cause of the renaissance. I think it's wonderful that more people can see documentaries, but I think the editing software and the cameras have done more. I actually think reality TV, to some extent, opened the door for documentaries and showed the general public (and the buyers that follow) that real life can be really entertaining.

What will it take for documentaries to be shown in multiplexes alongside bigger studio movies? Will we ever get there? Should we?

I don't know that documentaries are headed that way. I think what it'll take to get theaters to stay alive is to follow more of the model of theaters like the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas where you can order from a unique and interesting menu of food and beverages in the theater, including alcohol, and be served in the theater, and adjacent is a really wonderful restaurant that you can go and enjoy a meal and drinks with friends and sort of have a full night out around a movie. I think that any kind of movie can play in a theater like that and do well, and I think there should be more of those. In fact, I want to open one in Los Angeles, or maybe Pasadena or Alta Dena. Probably the only thing that's going to get more docs to show in movie theaters is to create events around them or to somehow miraculously get bigger marketing budgets for documentaries so that people know that they are in the theater in the first place.

Tell me about Live Public. What is it? What's the format? How is it being made? What inspired you to do it? What will your involvement be?

I'm creating Live Public as a channel because I have many series in mind for it (I think it's seven at this point) with unique strings of content that deserve to be created. Originally, I got an email from Chris Lyman from Sendlove, which is a startup in Los Angeles, that was a really incredibly-written poetic email with pictures and everything about their incredible startup, their superhero names and all that, and I went down there with a camera and started filming them. They were fascinating from day one, but I realized they were just one startup, and that I was out of touch with where the tech world was since We Live In Public. I had created a pretty dark film with We Live In Public because that was the data I recorded, a warning shot about the Internet and our loss of privacy and loss of connection in the physical world as the virtual world took over, and that's really what WLIP was about.

I think it's really important for me to acknowledge and for me to spend my energy and whatever talent I have on the risktakers of today who have those big ideas who are creating the world that we live in, who are realizing the problems that we have and how we can solve them and have the guts to go out there and try to get it done. There's more and more all the time, and it's a totally inspiring activity.

Live Public has Startup Life which looks at a different startup every week. Elevator Pitches, which looks at startups pitching to venture capitalists and then getting feedback on their pitches, and there'll be a couple of those every day. Byte-Size which is 30- to 90-second bits of philosophy, history, and ideas about where we came from with the Internet, where we're going, how to succeed, what to do and what not to do from the masters of today. And then Sendlove, because we have hundreds upon hundreds of hours of footage of this extraordinary, charismatic group of people who are really trying to change the world in their own way. That's going to be an unfolding series where every week you'll get a new installment from and about these guys. So that's called Dream Team Complete. And then there's something going to be called The Wizards where you get to hear the biographies of some of these people who've really made it. It's going to be online, delivered to the online audience. There'll be My Life In Public, which will be another series where you'll be able to share your own stories of your cyber adventures or experiences online as well as suggestions to the startups or ideas of your own startups.

I guess what inspired me to do it was not only WLIP but also where the tech world is now. I mean, the economy is in the dumps but the tech world is booming. I grew up the daughter of an entrepreneur and celebrating entrepreneurism is something I think is a worthy pursuit because I believe all of us have some idea that we think will change the world and we just need to know how to do it, so I think I couldn't be engaging in something more inspiring for myself or other people.

Live Public Channel Preview



Source

wilder

Ondi Timoner and Kyle Parker talk about their film, Library of Dust



Pubrick

Wait a minute, Ondi Timoner is a chick? And white?

I just assumed it was some African dude.

Ok she's going on the surprise race list next to Duncan Jones and Steve McQueen.
under the paving stones.

socketlevel

Wow I didn't know she made a film about this. I'm going to watch it right away. She's the most talented documentarian alive today in my opinion, dig and we live in public are masterpieces.
the one last hit that spent you...

wilder

From her Reddit AMA

"I am still in development on Mapplethorpe and working on two other films which I am attached to direct that are really exciting - One is called "1st Rock Band Ever" - a time travel film that is really fun, and the other is actress Karen Black's beautiful screenplay set in Alabama in the 30's that tackles what love really is better than anything I have read or seen in a long time..."

wilder



For those unfamiliar...





wilder

Watch 'The Last Mile,' Ondi Timoner's SXSW Short Documentary on Prison Entrepreneurship
via IndieWire

"The Last Mile" chronicles a tech incubator founded inside San Quentin, California's oldest men's prison. As the synopsis continues, "The program teaches inmates entrepreneurship skills with the goal of having each participant found a company that addresses a social issue and includes a technology component — without any access to computers and the Internet. Many of these men have never used a laptop or smartphone, as they've been incarcerated for sometimes as long as two decades. Award-winning filmmaker, Ondi Timoner, follows their journey as they struggle to craft a business plan, pitch their ideas in front of a live audience of venture capitalists at Demo Day, and then reenter society."

Watch "The Last Mile" here