CDAS at DOC NYC 2012!

DAS returns to the DOC NYC Film Festival, (Thursday, November 8 through Thursday, November 15 at the IFC Center, and also at the SVA Theatre, please click links below for venue), once again representing a number of clients and their acclaimed films. CDAS is proud to co-sponsor this exciting festival again as it returns for its third year.

This year our attorneys will also be joining two panels, both held Wednesday, November 14 at the IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue, NYC:

The panel Protect Your Rights: Crowdfunding 2.0 at 2:00pm features CDAS partner Susan H. Bodine. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and RocketHub have been popular in recent years, connecting filmmakers with individuals willing to donate to projects for honorary credits or other incentives. The panel addresses what impact anticipated new SEC rules on crowdfunding can have for independent filmmakers. (Check out, share and like the event pics on our Facebook page).

And CDAS partner Andrea F. Cannistraci moderates the panel Protect Your Rights: Revenues & Royalties, at 3:45pm. Partner Marc H. Simon joins Ms. Cannistraci’s panel both as an attorney and a filmmaker (director/producer of Nursery University and Unraveled). DVD and broadcast are giving way to VOD and other streaming opportunities. This panel explores this changing landscape and what filmmakers need to know to maximize potential revenues and not lose out on revenues owed. (Check out, share and like the event pics on our Facebook page).

Three of our clients’ films, (the first three films below), have been selected for Doc NYC’s prestigious Short List series, “ten documentaries to watch in the lead-up to awards season”. (Please click titles for more information including showtimes):

The Imposter – “Mind-blowing”… “All the more astonishing because it actually happened,” writes The Hollywood Reporter in praise of The Imposter. This “fiendishly clever” true-crime documentary explores the mystery of a 13 year-old Texas boy who disappeared in 1994 — He returns home almost four years later to tell a shocking account, but his safe return is only the first piece of a far larger puzzle. For The Imposter, legal: Susan H. Bodine for A&E, the producer/financier.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry – This acclaimed documentary — winner of the Special Jury Prize at Sundance for its “Spirit of Defiance” — offers an unprecedented look at Ai Weiwei, China’s most famous international artist and its most outspoken domestic critic, named by the UK’s prestigious ArtReview as “the contemporary art world’s most powerful player” and runner-up to TIME Magazine’s 2011 Person of the Year. For Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, legal: Robert I. Freedman for producer MUSE Film/TV. Marc H. Simon represents producer Adam Schlesinger.

First Position — Ballet students, ages 9-19, travel to New York City from all over the world to compete for awards and scholarships in the Youth America Grand Prix. First-time director Bess Kargman follows six students from diverse backgrounds in the US, Italy, Colombia, and Sierra Leone as they strive to achieve their dreams. Marc H. Simon represents Bess Kargman and provided legal services for the financing and production of the film.

The festival also features these CDAS client films:

Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp — This documentary explores the life of legendary pimp/author Iceberg Slim (aka Robert Beck), whose gritty, poetic books helped launch the Street Lit movement. Slim’s debut novel — the provocative and raw Pimp — went on to sell over two million copies and influenced audiences that ranged from literary critics to street hustlers. Hinojosa weaves never-before-seen archival footage of Slim, interviews with his friends, family, and artists, along with pulp fiction iconography, to explore the contradictions, complexity and impact of Iceberg Slim and his work. Marc H. Simon represents director Jorge Hinojosa and the film’s producers ICE DNA LLC.

Birders: The Central Park Effect – This film reveals the extraordinary array of wild birds gracing Manhattan’s celebrated green and the equally colorful New Yorkers who schedule their lives around the rhythms of migration. The cast of characters includes acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen, a trombone technician, a fashion-averse teenager, and a bird-tour leader who’s recorded every sighting she’s made since the 1940s. Susan H. Bodine represents the director/producer Jeff Kimball.

Under African Skies – Director Joe Berlinger travels with Paul Simon back to South Africa on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his historic Graceland album. Paul Simon reunites with the original band to give a reunion concert and to explore the story of the turbulent birth of the album. Susan H. Bodine represents A&E Indie Films.

Shenandoah — World Premiere — Pulitzer Prize winner David Turnley directs this deeply felt portrait of Shenandoah, PA, a struggling working-class mining town “on trial” in the wake of the indictment of four of the town’s high-school football stars charged in the beating death of an undocumented Mexican immigrant. Nancy E. Wolff and Marc H. Simon represent Mr. Turnley.

The Lost Bird Project — A documentary about the stories of five birds driven to extinction in modern times and sculptor Todd McGrain’s project to memorialize them. The film follows the road-trip that McGrain and his brother-in-law, Andy, take as they search for the locations where the species were last seen in the wild and negotiate for permission to install McGrain’s large bronze sculptures there. Robert I. Freedman represents director Deborah Dickson.

The Children Next Door (Short) – On October 13, 2006, in the hills of Tennessee, Brad Waldroup brutally attacked his wife Penny and murdered her best friend, all in front of their four children. The film opens five-and-a-half-years later with the family still struggling to overcome the deep psychic wounds that both shaped and shattered their lives. Robert I. Freedman represents director Doug Block. (UPDATE: The Children Next Door shared Doc NYC’s Special Jury Prize with the short Julian, directed by Bao Nguyen).

We look forward to seeing you at DOC NYC!