Last year was a great year for film here at The Daily. We greatly expanded our coverage of international film festivals. We sent our Managing Editor Alexandra Heeney to cover the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, the Cannes Film Festival in France, and the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada. And we’ve had an unprecedented amount of coverage of documentary films, including reviews of films like “Life Itself” and “The Case Against 8,” as well as interviews with documentary and narrative filmmakers, as well as actors like Eddie Redmayne and Ellar Coltrane. Here’s a look at five of our best pieces of the year, from interviews to reviews to festival coverage.
1. Justin Simien talks “Dear White People,” his filmmaking process, and the performance of identity by Managing Editor Alexandra Heeney
When “Dear White People” — a film about an elite college where racial tensions run high — premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014, its writer-director Justin Simien went from a virtual unknown to a name to watch. The Daily scored an interview with Simien to talk about the film, the performance of identity, how he developed the aesthetic for the film and his influences. Simien has been extremely articulate when it comes to discussing racial issues and racism in the U.S., and in this interview, we also get a look at how articulate and thoughtful he is about his work as a whole.
2. Screenwriter Graham Moore and actor Allen Leach on “The Imitation Game” by Staff Film Writer Will Ferrer
The Alan Turing biopic, “The Imitation Game,” was one of several 2014 films about people in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), including “The Theory of Everything,” “Interstellar,” “Big Hero 6” and “I Origins.” The Daily sat down with the film’s screenwriter and one of its actors to discuss how important scientific accuracy is when making a film about someone in STEM, how to do period acting, and how Moore found Turing’s voice, since there are no recordings of him speaking. It’s one of the few interviews to address the science content in the film.
3. Top 5 Films at the Toronto International Film Festival that had critics buzzing by Managing Editor Alexandra Heeney
In this piece from her Toronto International Film Festival coverage, managing editor Alexandra Heeney talks about the films that critics loved most at the festival: “Clouds of Sils Maria,” “A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence,” “The Duke of Burgundy,” “Eden” and “Force Majeure.” Although these weren’t necessarily the most popular films among audiences, nor the ones with the biggest stars, by the end of the festival they’d generated a lot of word-of-mouth buzz. Heeney delves into whether they were really deserving of all the hype.
4. Wiseman’s new documentary “National Gallery” by Staff Film Writer Madelyne Xiao
In her review of Frederick Wiseman’s masterpiece, “National Gallery,” Madelyne Xiao explains why this film, about London’s world-class art museum, is informative, involving and thought-provoking. With it’s eschewance of talking heads, and its focus on what happens within the walls of this institution, Xiao explores how Wiseman challenges his audience and why the film is unlike anything else she’s ever seen. The film made it onto her list of the top five films of 2014.
5. “The Internet’s Own Boy” sketches profile of former Stanford student Aaron Schwartz by Gillie Collins
In her thoughtful review of Brian Knappenberger’s documentary, Gillie Collins explores how the film effectively tells the story of the remarkable intellectual-property and internet activist Aaron Schwartz, who committed suicide in January 2013 after an over-zealous prosecution by the U.S. government. She lauds the film for its portrayal of Schwartz’s impressive talents. She criticizes it for its over-simplification of the cause of Schwartz’s suicide — essentially blaming the prosecution even though it’s likely more complicated than that — and never exploring just how prevalent suicide is in the U.S.
Contact the Arts & Life editorial staff at arts ‘at’ stanforddaily.com