Chaos, hostility, and murder. The three items that Werner Herzog believes are the common denominators of the universe, according to the narration of his 2005 documentary, Grizzly Man. And the subject of his own obsession, expressed again and again in the choking jungles and obsessives heroes of his films. In Rescue Dawn, Herzog stabs at yet another heart of darkness, another soul driven to desperation in pursuit of a seemingly impossible goal. In this case,... more ›

We're going to be the first ones to call it: the SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival is all grows up. Yeah, you heard us. As of this year, it's a real-deal film festival, the kind of event any filmmaker who knows anything would be thrilled to participate in. And we're not just blowing smoke. The lineup of more than 100 films and special events between today and Sunday isn't just impressive, it's overwhelming. With all due respect to FilmFestDC, its programmers kinda dropped the ball this year, and despite their wider range, the documentary-only SILVERDOCS has grown to be so robust, it could take FilmFestDC in a street fight anyday. Granted, a good deal of it has to do with luck; It certainly doesn't hurt the festival's growing reputation that feature-length documentaries are about 1000 time more saleable than they were 4 years ago (hat tip, Michael Moore). When Werner Herzog showed up to SILVERDOCS in person last year with his film Grizzly Man, we knew something was up. But when Martin Scorsese and Jim Jarmusch come by just to shoot the shit, well, that my friends is what you call a destination film festival. Right here in our own back yard. Hallelujah. Amen. more ›

It would be incorrect, albeit tempting, to say that documentary film rode the wave of "reality" obsession to its current level of popularity. If anything, documentary has succeeded, as both a critics’ darling and a profitmaker, despite the reality television craze. People enjoy reality shows because their own voyeurism happily confirms that the narrative arcs of scripted television are present in "real" life, as well. The documentary’s success as a genre, though, thrives on its... more ›