During this year’s edition of the EnergaCAMERIMAGE Festival in Toruń (November 15-22), director and producer Liz Garbus - one of the most significant voices in contemporary documentary cinema - will be honored with the Award for Outstanding Achievements in Documentary Filmmaking. As part of this recognition, a retrospective of her work has also been prepared. Below we present the titles included in the screenings:
BECOMING COUSTEAU
Director: Liz Garbus
Produced by: Anomaly Content & Entertainment (ACE), National Geographic, National Geographic Documentary Films, Story Syndicate
Country and year: USA, 2021
In Becoming Cousteau, two-time Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus takes an inside look at Jacques-Yves Cousteau – his life, iconic films and inventions, and the experiences that made him the twentieth century’s most unique and renowned environmental voice and the man who inspired generations to protect the Earth.
BOBBY FISCHER AGAINST THE WORLD
Director: Liz Garbus
Cinematographer: Robert Chappell
Produced by: HBO Documentary Films, Moxie Firecracker Films
Country and year: USA, UK, 2011
This feature-length documentary explores the complex life of Bobby Fischer, the troubled genius whose charisma and talent spurred a worldwide fascination with chess, the ‘game of kings’. Fischer’s evolution from isolated child to chess prodigy, global superstar, angry recluse and finally a fugitive from the law is a spellbinding story of the making and unmaking of an American icon. Rare archival footage and insightful interviews with those closest to him expand this captivating story of a mastermind’s tumultuous rise and fall.
THE FARM: ANGOLA, USA
Directors: Liz Garbus, Wilbert Rideau, Jonathan Stack
Cinematographers: Samuel Henriques, Bob Perrin
Produced by: A+E Networks, Channel 4 Television, Gabriel Films, Kurtis Productions
Country and year: USA, 1998
There are three things Angola will do to a man. Number one: it will bring you to the crossroads of a turning point. Number two: it will harden you. Number three: it will kill you. So says ‘Bishop’ Eugene Tannehill, incarcerated at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. With six complexes across more than 18,000 acres and known as the Farm, it holds approximately 5,000 inmates, roughly 85% of whom will die there. Shot over the course of three years, prison life at Angola, as seen through the subtle revelations of six inhabitants, bears an uncanny resemblance to plantation life.
THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH AUNT DIANE
Director: Liz Garbus
Cinematographer: Michael Tucker
Produced by: Moxie Firecracker Films
Country and year: USA, 2011
This documentary explores the case of a seemingly ‘perfect mum’ whose wrong-way vehicle collision killed eight people – her daughter, her three nieces, three men in an oncoming car and herself. The only survivor is her young son. The film is a forensic unpeeling of the layers of this disturbing case, ultimately a reflection on trauma and secrets, addiction and perfectionism.
WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?
Director: Liz Garbus
Cinematographers: Igor Martinovic, Rachel Morrison
Produced by: Moxie Firecracker Films, Netflix, RadicalMedia
Country and year: USA, 2015
Classically trained pianist, dive-bar chanteuse, Black Power icon and legendary recording artist, Nina Simone lived a life of brutal honesty, musical genius and tortured melancholy. In this epic documentary, director Liz Garbus interweaves never-before-heard recordings and rare archival footage with Nina’s most memorable songs to create an unforgettable portrait of one of the least understood yet most beloved artists of our time.