Feature Documentaries
NADIA Comăneci: THE GYMNAST AND THE DICTATOR
Stream the film on Amazon through this link
Spoken in Nadia’s own words, the film covers her remarkable life from childhood through her historic Perfect Tens at the Montreal 1976 Olympics. The story reveals her despair in 1980’s Romania, as the country falls into an abyss of debt and poverty, and follows Nadia through her dramatic defection to the US in 1989, just before the fall of Romanian dictators Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu.
56 minutes, color. Produced by Roche Productions, ARTE and TVR Romania. Commissioned by Arte-France, 2016
International Broadcasts
ARTE, Radio Television Suisse, RTBF & VRT Belgian TV, DR Denmark, SBS Australia, YLE Finland, RTP2 Portugal, RTVE Spain, Ceska Televize, S.H. Channel 8 Israel and RUV Iceland.
Prizes
Audience Award, Best Documentary and Best Editing, History Film Festival, Croatia 2018; Candido Cannavò Prize, FICTS Sports Film Festival, Milan; Special Jury Prize Barcelona Sports Film Festival 2017
Festivals
Denver International, Hamptons Take 2, San Luis Obispo, LA Femme Film Festival, Festival International de Films d’Histoire de Pessac
Watch the trailer
HAIR: LET THE SUN SHINE IN
HAIR authors Jim Rado, Gerome Ragni and composer Galt MacDermot
Documentary on the phenomenal counter-culture musical.
55 minutes, color. Produced by Ina, Blinding Light & Arte-France. 2007
Broadcasts
Sundance Channel, US; Arte/France & Germany; RTBF/ Belgium; purchased by Finland, Italy, Canada and others
Festivals
Amsterdam IDFA, Thessaloniki, Planet Doc Warsaw, Jerusalem, Mill Valley, Seattle, Sarasota, Perth and others
Without exception, it is the best HAIR film I have ever seen – Michael Butler, Producer of HAIR
Wonderful work- Milos Forman, Director of the feature film HAIR
4-minute video clip : over 2 million hits on Youtube
WRITER OF O
René and O on the way to the Château (Cyril Corral and Penelope Puymirat)
Documentary on the hidden author of the French erotic classic, Story of O.
80 minutes. Produced by INA, Blinding Light, Inc. and Arte/France. 2004
Audacious – L’HUMANITÉ
With virtuosity, it combines the filmmaker’s search, dramatizations of the book, and the quiet sweetness of Dominique Aury – LIBÉRATION
Remarkable intelligence… magnificent – LE MONDE
US Theatrical Premiere- Released by Zeitgeist Films
The Film Forum, New York, followed by US Domestic theatrical run
Prizes
Grand Prix, Best Documentary, URTI, Monte Carlo
Broadcast
Arte/France & Germany, RTBF/ Belgium, YLE/Finland, Sundance Channel/US
Festivals
Toronto Int’l Film Festival (world premiere) • Amsterdam IDFA • Jerusalem Int’l Film Festival • FIPA • INPUT Taiwan • Seattle • Denver • Newport • Wisconsin et al
Click here to watch the opening
family secret
“Hello. I am your brother, Pierre.”
Documentary on the reunion of the filmmaker with her long-lost Romanian brother, their father's "family secret".
58 minutes. Produced by Blinding Light, Inc., MORGANE PRODUCTIONS and Arte-France. 2000
This astonishing autobiographical document blends black & white with color, love, humor, bitterness and hope. - LE MONDE
Engrossing... offers a unique and intimate view of war, displacement and immigration as the 20th Century's great dividers. - VARIETY
Heartfelt... chronicles the filmmaker's search for family ties and the Romanian brother she never knew she had. - VILLAGE VOICE
Prizes
Best Documentary of the Year Grand Prix, Société Civile des Auteurs Multimédia
Broadcasts
WDR/Germany, Sundance Channel/US, Arte/France & Germany, Israel
Festivals
Rotterdam • Gothenburg • Hot Docs Toronto • Leipzig • Denver • Mill Valley • NY DOCFEST • Wisconsin • San Francisco, Toronto & Washington Jewish Film Festivals • Walker Art Center
Distribution
On-line distribution by Cinetic Rights Management
Click here to watch the opening
blind light
Documentary/ drama. Starring Emmy Award Winner Edie Falco and featuring Richard Hell.
58 minutes. Produced by Blinding Light, Inc. 1998
A young American photographer in search of commercial locations on the island of Capri finds more than she's looking for in this film-within-a-film, which blends autobiography with fiction in a search to re-capture a peak moment of pure happiness.
Beautifully shot and artfully composed...a haunting, lyrical, hypnotic work - Austin Chronicle
Magic... A wonderful achievement -Bo Smith, Curator, Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Prizes:
Lumiere Award, New Orleans Film Festival 2000
Broadcasts:
Arte/France & Germany, Independent Film Channel US, RAI/Italy, YLE/Finland
Festivals:
SxSW • Denver • Wisconsin • Gothenburg • Amsterdam Doc • Mill Valley • Walker Art Center
broken meat
Alan Granville worships at the alter of the Manhattan Bridge, to a disco beat. Featuring Robert Attanasio.
Documentary portrait of beat poet Alan Granville
50 min. b/w. Produced and Directed by Pola Rapaport. 1990. DP Wolfgang Held
Wonderful! - Kurt Vonnegut
Funky, excellent, neo-beatnik... A must see, especially for poets - Baltimore City Paper
A visual joy - Chicago New Paper
Perfect documentary - Park City Paper
Prizes
Award of the Press, Message to Man Leningrad Film Festival• Ivens Prize Nominee, IDFA Amsterdam • Best Cinematography, Oberhausen •
Best Documentary, New Orleans Film Festival • Special Mention, Hawaii Film Festival
Broadcasts
Sundance Channel, WNET/ Ch 13 Reel New York, SBS/Australia, ZDF/Germany
Festivals
Sundance Film Festival • Edinburgh • Pesaro • Cork • Munich Filmmuseum • Robert Flaherty Seminar
Click here to watch the film