A Decade of Docos in Aotearoa

Media Release - For Immediate Release

The Documentary New Zealand Trust presents
A DECADE OF DOCOS IN AOTEAROA
THE DOCUMENTARY EDGE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2015

Celebrating an inspiring and ground-breaking decade of documentaries, preparations are well underway for the milestone that is the 10th anniversary year of the Documentary Edge Festival coming 20 May – 1 June to Q Theatre, Auckland and 3-14 June to The Roxy Cinema, Wellington. Mark the festival’s dates in your diary to make sure you don’t miss catching the best edgy documentaries from home and around the world. The full programme will be launched on April 8.

The Festival proudly announces the first three films for the 2015 programme:

Gracing our screens will be the latest work from the legendary Martin Scorsese and his co-director David Tedeschi; The 50 Year Argument. In celebration of New York Review of Books 50-year-anniversary, its impressive history gets explored by Scorsese and Tedeschi. Through rare archive footage, interviews and portraits, we learn how the Review shaped history in its own, peculiar way.

Ben Patterson’s Sweet Micky for President premieres in New Zealand. Winner of Audience Award for Best Documentary and Jury Award for Best Documentary (Slamdance 2014),Sweet Mickey for President follows Fugees founder Pras Michel fight a history of corrupt and ineffective government in his motherland country of Haiti, by mobilizing a successful presidential campaign for controversial Haitian pop star, Sweet Micky.

And last but not least, the critically acclaimed, chilling tale, Tales of the Grim Sleeper. After a killing spree that presumably lasted 25 years, Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested in 2010. Documentarian Nick Broomfield ventures into South Central Los Angeles, the crime scene. He investigates a disintegrated neighbourhood and speaks with both Franklin's (former) accomplices and survivors.

The Documentary Edge Festival once again returns to Auckland’s Q Theatre on Queen Street, turning the space into a documentarian’s one-stop hub with films, Q and A and special events. Debuting this year will be Documentary Edge’s new digital interactive technology screenings providing participants with cutting edge and immersive experiences, a taste of the future of filmmaking.

The Wellington season is the key attraction of the new Miramarvellous festival in Wellington. Together with the Miramar Festival Trust and the Miramar Business Innovation District, Documentary Edge returns to the glamorous 1930s deco venue, The Roxy. As part of the Miramarvellous Festival, The Screen Edge Forum will also be introduced in Wellington this year. Dates for the Forum are: Auckland - May 29 Wellington - June 4.

We’re thrilled to announce this year’s honoured guest as the acclaimed president of North America’s largest documentary festival, conference and market Hot Docs – Chris McDonald. McDonald is a major and inspiring visionary in the international documentary scene. He will speak at the Festival and Forum.

KEY DATES:
20th May – 1st June 2015 - Documentary Edge Festival: Auckland – Q Theatre, Auckland CBD
3rd – 14th June 2015 – Documentary Edge Festival: Wellington – The Roxy, Miramar
29th May – Screen Edge Forum – Auckland 4th June – Screen Edge Forum – Wellington

For more information and to keep up to speed with the latest news regarding the 2014 season, visit. www.documentaryedge.org.nz

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