Facing Realities: Dialogues in Boston Documentary Film

Thursday, June 12, 06:30 pm

Tickets: $10 general admission; $7 members, students, and seniors

A co-production between the LEF Foundation and the ICA, this program pairs two major Boston filmmakers and two exciting films: Ross McElwee with his rarely screened "Backyard" (1984, 16mm, 40 min) and Nina Davenport with the Boston premiere of "Operation Filmmaker" (2007, HDCAM, 95 min) The evening will begin with "Backyard," an inspired, lyrical take on the South, family, black and white relations, and the documentary form itself. Following a discussion with McElwee about Backyard, the program continues with the Boston premiere of Davenport’s "Operation Filmmaker." Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Film Festival, Davenport’s film chronicles the journey of an Iraqi man featured on MTV following the bombardment of his film school. This screening will be followed by a dialogue with Davenport and McElwee as they discuss their works, the legacy of Boston documentary filmmaking, and the moral and artistic difficulties of filming “the other.”