Angela Ismailos’ “Great Directors” is a celebration of film, starring ten of the world’s most acclaimed, provocative, and individualistic living directors. The documentary, which had its world premiere at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, is a personal and intimate look at the art of cinema and the artists who create it.
It features in-depth conversations with filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci, David Lynch, Stephen Frears, Agnes Varda, Ken Loach, Liliana Cavani, Todd Haynes, Catherine Breillat, Richard Linklater and John Sayles.
These interviews more than just chronicle Ismailos’ encounters with ten remarkable film artists. Illuminated by clips and historical archives from the subjects’ works, they also reveal the distinctive personalities who created the timeless images that have long inspired Ismailos-and all of us. Intercutting among the filmmakers in a freely associative way, Ismailos explores each director’s artistic evolution, the role of politics and history on their work, and so on.
The docu’s most interesting part deals with the filmmaker’s feelings about other great directors who had inspired them. Thus, Bertolucci pays homage to Pasolini, Breillat to Ingmar Bergman, Todd Haynes to Fassbinder.
It also depicts the agony and ecstasy of being an artist in a medium that’s heavily dominated by commercial and industrial factors.
Credits
Produced, Directed and Written by: Angela IsmailosStarring: Bernardo Bertolucci, David Lynch, Stephen Frears, Agnes Varda, Ken Loach, Liliana Cavani, Todd Haynes, Catherine Breillat, Richard Linklater and John Sayles.
Running Time: 86 Minutes
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