DocumentaMadrid
XV Festival Internacional de Cine Documental
Description
McElwee depicts a microcosm of southern society: his brother, an aspiring medical student; his father, a surgeon; and the African Americans with whom they come into contact; the family cook, a beekeeper, and the staff of the local country club, who can scarcely contain their anger at the casual racism they confront every day. Also casting a shadow over the film are the deaths of McElwee’s mother and brother, traumas that his family would prefer to leave unexamined. (MoMA)
Awards and festivals
- Museum of Modern Art - Cineprobe Film Series
- Chicago Experimental Film Festival - First Prize
- Shreveport Film Festival - First Prize
- New England Film Festival - Outstanding Independent Film
- National Film Theater London
- Sundance Film Festival
Biography of the director
Ross McElwee
Ross McElwee received his BA from Brown University followed by an MS from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977. He freelanced for a few years, shooting for documentarians D.A. Pennebaker in Washington DC, and John Marshall in Namibia before beginning to direct his own documentaries.
Ross McElwee has made eleven feature-length documentaries as well as several shorter films. Sherman's March won numerous awards, including Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. Time Indefinite won Best Film Award in several festivals. Six O'Clock News won Best Documentary at the Hawaii International Film Festival. Bright Leaves premiered at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight. Photographic Memory premiered at the 2011 Venice Film Festival.
McElwee's films have been included in the major festivals of Berlin, London, Vienna, Rotterdam, Florence, Quito, Sydney, Seoul, and Wellington. Retrospectives include the Museum of Modern Art; Art Institute of Chicago; American Museum of the Moving Image, New York; and États généraux du film documentaire in Lussas, France.
Ross McElwee teaches filmmaking at Harvard University where he is a professor in the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies.
Image gallery
Finished
Sessions
May
Thursday 10
- 18:00 h
- Filmoteca Española. Cine Doré Sala 2
Data sheet
Director
Ross McElwee
Language
English - Subtitled in Spanish
Cinematography
Ross McElwee
Editing
Ross McElwee
Sound
Ross McElwee
