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Feature Article #1

LAFF: Loot

I loved Loot by Darius Marder, the documentary competition winner at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival. Marder was in the Spotlight on Documentary program the year I managed it (2006), so as you’ve read here before, I enjoy catching up with them and seeing how things have come together.

Agnes Varnum | July 3rd, 2008 | Continued

Feature Article #2

2-Year Anniversary: A New Sort of Meme

We bloggers tend to get a little pensive as the years roll by; in such an ephemeral medium, it surprises even us that we somehow manage to continue. My anniversary coincides with . I started writing/self-publishing after becoming inspired at the festival a little over two years ago. So, my 2-year post comes a bit late, as I was waiting for the spirit to send inspiration, and funny, it came in the form of the Indigo Girls. Interesting that the Girls also inspired my very first blog post.

Agnes Varnum | June 18th, 2008 | Continued

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Feature Article #3

Cine Las Americas: Septiembres

Carles Bosch, Oscar nominated director of Balseros, takes the stage after the premiere of Septiembres. To audience members who wonder where else the film might be seen, Bosch responds, there is no US distributor and he is not optimistic.

Agnes Varnum | April 17th, 2008 | Continued

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Feature Article #4

SXSW 08: In a Dream

I’m not sure I’ve ever had a day at a festival like I had yesterday. Truly amazing. I watched Margaret Brown’s excellent work, then In a Dream by Jeremiah Zagar, a beautiful new film that took home the Emerging Visions Audience Award here at .

Agnes Varnum | March 14th, 2008 | Continued

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Feature Article #5

SXSW 08: The Order of Myths

Margaret Brown’s The Order of Myths, is one of those rare docs that churned up my thoughts and emotions, really getting me thinking about all kinds of issues relating to race and the American cultural landscape. Besides the great cinematography and lavish soundtrack, the film never belies complexity and is all the better for its confusion.

Agnes Varnum | March 13th, 2008 | Continued

About this Site

doc it out began as the personal/professional of Agnes Varnum, a freelance writer and film programmer. The primary focus is documentary films, distribution of documentary and independent film and the intersection between new media tools and indie filmmaking, but also includes anything else that Agnes finds worthy of mention.

If you are interested in a review of your film or , want to suggest an article or wish to contribute to or advertise on this , please send pertinent information using the Contact page. All submissions become property of doc it out, and there will be no promise of inclusion on the site.

“Agnes Varnum provides a lighthearted yet highly informed approach to covering the documentary scene on her , and offers plenty of and resources for filmmakers to boot - from tips on getting distribution to making money online with your movies.”--Jonny Leahan, indieWIRE.com

More about Agnes:

av_thumb.jpgThe last few years have seen me working on a variety of projects, but the through-line is a passion for independent film, technology and finding ways to connect audiences with great work.

My latest incarnation is as the communications manager for the Austin Film Society in , TX. AFS is a membership organization that produces series and premiere screenings, and provides youth media education and artists’ services for Texas filmmakers, and my role is to get the word out about our great programs. I also contribute to a variety of publications including Renew Media’s Resources , indieWIRE and Documentary. Past positions include marketing and publicity associate for First Run/Icarus Films and associate director for the Center for Social Media at American University.

Other related projects include programming and managing Spotlight on Documentaries at the IFP Market (2006); outreach coordinator for the Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use, a project of AU’s Center for Social Media and the Program on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest (2005-2006); coordinating panels for the Newport International Film Festival (2006) as well as sitting on the programming committee in 2006 and 2007; keepin’ it real as an AFI Fest theater manager (2006); SILVERDOCS programming committee (2004, 2005).

This has taken up a lot of time but has resulted in a number of fabulous new friends which I wouldn’t have made otherwise, as well as giving me a reason to stay on top of things in this crazy field of work. I continue to do a variety of freelance writing and film programming jobs, which I will post about as they come up.

If I have spare time, I enjoy scuba diving, reading and travel. I have a few ‘fabric arts’ projects in various stages of completion - keep an eye out for pics of completed work, hopefully soon.

I want to know God’s thoughts, the rest are details.
A. Einstein

I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.
Fully Alive by
Dawna Markova

Other Recent Articles

Ingrid Betancourt Rescued

July 3rd, 2008 • Agnes Varnum • 0 comments • Related Posts • Tags

The subject of The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt by Victoria Bruce and Karin Hayes has been rescued after being held hostage by Colombian FARC soldiers for 6 years. Betancourt was kidnapped in the midst of a bid to become president of . She was rescued as part of an undercover sting that included a group of 15, including three American soldiers who were captured when their drug surveillance plane crashed. There are still an estimated 700 people being held hostage by FARC. More on the rescue from the CBC>>

Hunter S. Thompson’s Gonzo

June 30th, 2008 • Agnes Varnum • 1 comment • Related Posts • Tags

I read Hunter Thompson’s work in a course called “Creative Non-Fiction.” Our studies began with The New Journalism writers as it was they who broke the barriers of reportage to tell stories that included the look, feel and ambiance of the room and their subjects. The style is much emulated today but rarely executed with the freshness of Thompson, Capote and Wolfe’s heydays. I’ve been wanting to see Alex Gibney’s Gonzo: The Life & Times of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson in hopes that it might somehow help me connect with Thompson on the level of . Who is this man? How did he write like that? The film delivers a healthy , but not without a heaping dose of signature Thompson flare.

The first few minutes looked very cartoony with some wierd After Effects experiments, and I was thinking that I was in big trouble if the whole movie was going to be like that. In some sense, it was, but it really started to work as the movie went on. The best part of the film is the extensive archival material recorded by Thompson and his friends–both audio and film, in addition to copious amounts of photographs of the late writer. It’s interesting how people who are so famous within their own lives are so well documented. It really helps when the movie about their life is going to be made.

Link Round-Up: Lost in LA Edition

June 26th, 2008 • Agnes Varnum • 0 comments • Related Posts • Tags

The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality, and the Moving Image - Hirshorn Museum, June 19 to September 7I made a quick trip out to the Los Angeles Film Festival to root for the filmmakers premiering their work, Spencer Parsons’ I’LL COME RUNNING and TRINIDAD by PJ Raval and Jay Hodges. Best of luck to them both in their respective competitions as the fest gets closer to announcing the winners. In the meantime, lots of goodies in my inbox.

- Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars is now available for download on iTunes. If you haven’t caught the film and are inclined to watch on your computer or mobile device, I highly recommend the film. It is the story of a wonderful band of musicians sprung from a refugee camp. Their music is political, emotional and a heck of a lot of fun.

- held a King Corn video mash-up contest and the winner is… Kylee Darcy for her animated mash-up called Corn Takes Over the World. You can watch it and the runners up at IL’s Filmocracy.

- The wonderful POV maven Yance Ford alerted me to a new and first-ever gay film fest starting up in Russia. Side-by-Side will take place in October in St. Petersburg. I’m sure it would be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and if you have an appropriatly themed film, you just might help make history in that country! Deadline for submissions is coming up on July 2.

- And lastly, for my DC friends or those traveling to DC in the near future, the Hirshorn, a wonderful museum on the National Mall, has a new realist cinema , “The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality and the Moving Image.” It runs until September 7.

Train on the Brain

June 18th, 2008 • Agnes Varnum • 2 comments • Related Posts • Tags

I just watched a very wonderful film, Train on the Brain by Alison Murray. I have to admit to being in a bit of a viewing slump. I’ve been busy with my job and trying to get settled here in . I have a few films atop my TV that deserve my attention. To be honest, the thing that jolted me out of my slump was that I had told the distributor that I’d watch it and I felt like I needed to get back to him (take note: he’s a follow-upper and he’d already nudged me).

Ah, but the film was just what I needed! Murray finds herself drawn in some indomitable way to travel across the country on the train. Embracing the hobo life when she had no “rational” reason for doing so. But she takes to it so fully, while making a film about it, that the film stands as one of the few stories about true freedom. Freedom from bureaucracy, ties, material belongings but also artistic freedom. The friendships are fast and intense and end not abruptly but like a berg of ice broken into two that slowly drift apart.

Oddly nostalgic at times, but also whimsical and driving. Striking cinematography with amazing scenery, and music that moves your spirit along with the hobos and . The film is a true pleasure.

Hollywood Can Suck It is the name of Scott Beiben’s distribution effort. Scott, this is a totally awesome choice with which to launch this company. Hollywood Can Suck It.

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