Right now (could get pulled) there is a sample from Gary Hustwit’s documentary Objectified where they talked with Jonathan Ive about the design of Apple products. I have yet to see the film but this clip was very interesting and reminds me why we do what we do…

Stumbled upon Esther’s work a few weeks ago and was inspired by her commitment to serve others through her creative giftings. Esther Havens is a humanitarian documentary photographer who focuses on social-awareness campaigns with non-profits around the globe, capturing stories that transcend a person’s circumstance that reveal the strength of an individual regardless of the situation in which they find themselves. Esther has traveled extensively to over 40 countries and seeks to open hearts and minds to see the third world conditions in a way that might challenge them to make a difference. Her photographs have been displayed in various exhibits across the country. She currently resides in Austin, Texas and New York City and continues to travel on assignment.

Knowing very little of India, its history, its people, the culture, or the land, I set about to watch this 6 hour? (possibly more) documentary made in 1968/9 by Louis Malle this past week. You can really see the influence this film had on Wes Anderson’s “Darjeeling Limited”; the camera zooms from far distances and wide pans amongst other techniques and subject matter. The imagery, from the Bharatnatyam dancers to the circling of the Sadhu pilgrim on a road, is amazing and the narrative compelling throughout. If you’ve got some time to devote and you’re a patient person, I encourage watching this.

Punishment Park is a 1971 film written and directed by Peter Watkins. It is a pseudo documentary of a British and West German film crew following National Guard soldiers and police as they round up a group of members of the counterculture across the desert. Punishment Park was shot in 16mm with a skeleton crew of 8 people and only 1 Eclair camera. The set was extremely minimal, using only a tent enclosed within a larger tent for the interior scenes. The rest was shot on location at the El Mirage Dry Lake in California. It took only two and a half weeks to shoot. The “newsreel” quality of the film was enhanced by desaturating the color and removing the traditional hard edge of the image through the use of Harrison diffusion filters. The production budget was only $66,000, with an additional $25,000 when the film was converted to 35mm.

-Wikipedia

Above are two excerpts from the beginning of the film: