Weekly Portrait: Date Night, Doc Style
Plus Oscar contender codes, podcast finales, vineyard escapism, and farm dogs
Happy Party Season, friends, and cheers to the 40 people who’ve joined us by way of nominations since last week. Next week’s missive will be our last for 2022 — and we’d like to share something special back with you.
Two weeks ago, you voted — and you asked for “Spotify Wrapped but make it video” from your peers. Now we need your help to make it happen.
What’s the one thing we all should watch before the end of the year?
Your answer could be a film, a show, a crazy clip. It could be the best creative work you saw this year or the thing you must see every holiday. It can stretch the bounds of the verb “to watch” (what is a book, if not a movie in one’s mind?).
Whatever your answer, share it here. Or post it on Portrait. Or send it to us the old-fashioned way: email / text.
We’ll package up your responses and re-gift them to everyone here.
We can’t wait to hear from you!
Jean Ellen and Kasia,
Co-Founders, Portrait
Roll of Honor
Premieres, Awards, and Standout Member Work to Watch this Week
Celebrate our IDA Award nominees… by checking out their films.
Many Portrait members spent last Saturday at the International Documentary Association awards. What better way to honor them than by watching their films this holiday season?
Best Multi-Part Documentary Nominees
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey - Grace McNally, Director and Producer (Netflix)
Meltdown: Three Mile Island - Stuart Sender and Bill Wheeler, Producers (Netflix)
Katrina Babies - Kate Ferraguto, Archival Producer (HBO)
With its Oscar campaign underway, the film is streaming free here with code LWnsfLHByshW. And check yesterday’s awesome review in Deadline.
From the article:“We did a really tireless search in a very sensitive way with the community, and with [Edward’s] family and with the Katrina babies to find any fully original footage and things that most people haven’t seen to supplement some of the news footage,” [producer Audrey Rosenberg] says, crediting archival producer Kate Ferraguto with making careful choices about what news archive was used.
Best Feature Documentary Nominees
Mija - Isabel Castro, Director, and Ora DeKornfeld, Editor and Cinematographer (Disney+)
All The Beauty and the Bloodshed - Yoni Golijov, Producer
(In theaters. Coming soon to HBO)
Best Episodic Series Nominees
Origins of Hip Hop (Winner) Emma Francis Snyder, Archival producer (A&E)
Vice. So many of our Portrait members have contributed to Vice seasons past and present. Shout out to all who contributed to this season, including current Vice staff Jika Gonzalez (Producer and Cinematographer), Zach Caldwell (Director of Photography), and Roberto Daza (Senior Editorial Producer).
Streaming on Showtime.
Time for Closing Arguments: Final Episode Alert
Yesterday’s episode of NYT’s podcast The Argument was the last of its four-year run. From Portrait member Vishakha Darbha, the show’s producer:
The last episode encapsulates what the show was meant to be about — giving people the space and capacity to change their minds.
No time like a New Year for a mindset shift — check out the full archive wherever you get your podcasts.
Attacked Behind the Wheel: Streaming On Newsy
Attacked Behind the Wheel, an investigation into rising workplace violence against women in the trucking industry, launched this past Sunday from the Center for Public Integrity and Newsy’s In Real Life. Shout out to Portrait member Joe Van Eeckhout who travelled to Iowa to shoot the episode.
Commercial Work of the Week:
Purple Mountain Majesties Edition
To ease into the weekend, may we suggest a glass of wine and a side of rolling hills?Check our this new commercial from Portrait member Kesten Migdal.
Tasting notes: Mountain bike tire on the nose; the rounded tannins of a two-decade romance; weathered farm dog on the finish.
Window of Opportunity
Weekly Jobs, Grants, Labs, Gear, Festivals, and More
Coming Soon / Closing Soon: Grants + Intensives
Big Sky Works-In-Progress Pitch Program: Application deadline December 31st
Points North $100,000 Fellowship: Application deadline January 13th
Women in Film Financing Intensive, Application deadline February 13th
Jobs Roundup
Senior Weekend Editor, Today Digital (Reach out to Portrait member Tiara Chiaramonte to learn more about what it’s like to work at Today Digital!)
Multimedia Editor, The Marshall Project
Senior Documentary Editor and Producer, Worldview Films
Senior Producer, Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien
Lead producer, CNBC Digital Original Video
End Credits Scene of the Week
Here’s hoping your weekend is as epic as Bill and Kasia’s excellent adventure at the IDAs — their first night out since the arrival of their newborn six weeks ago!
For more epic good times: don’t forget to apply for the Portrait House in Sundance and share with friends — housing spots going fast but still available, and daytime programming for our lounge coming soon!
Until next week (with your year-end recs!),
JE + K
can't wait to check out some of these other films, and thank you Kasia and Jean Ellen for bringing this all together.