Between 2007 and 2009 Longley was working on a film in Iran. The film was cut short during the time of the elections and ensuing protests in June, 2009. On Sunday, June 14, The New York Times Lede blog reported he "was arrested with his translator while interviewing people on a street in Tehran, near the Interior Ministry," and later interviewed him about his and his translator's experiences.[6] This film is currently on hold indefinitely.[7]
Following up on IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS, Longley produced and filmed the feature documentary ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT in Afghanistan. The film, following life in a school over three years, makes Afghan reality accessible by giving the audience a human-scale entry point - the world of a neighborhood school in Kabul - through which the larger context of Afghan society and history may be more clearly understood. Completed in 2018, the film accurately predicts the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Reviewing ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT in the Los Angeles Times in 2019, film critic Kenneth Turan wrote: “What is life like on the ground for ordinary people in another culture, another world? That’s been the bread and butter of observational documentaries for forever, but almost never is it done with the kind of beauty and grace filmmaker James Longley brings to his Afghanistan-set ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT. As his 2006 Oscar-nominated IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS demonstrated, MacArthur Fellow Longley, who serves as his own cinematographer as well as directs, has an almost magical ability to envelope us in other realities. He does it via the poetry of his imagery as well as a gift for focused illumination that creates empathetic portraits of people who are both ordinary and intensely involving."[8]
After a festival run starting at Telluride, TIFF and the New York Film Festival, ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT opened theatrically at Film Forum and was the New York Times’ Critic’s Pick.[9]
He is the founder of Daylight Factory, a production company committed to creating documentary films about international subjects with international appeal.
An interview with James Longley, the director of Iraq in Fragments 29 June 2006 with Joanne Laurier on the World Socialist Web Site
October 21, 2023
james, longley, filmmaker, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, . This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources James Longley filmmaker news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message James Bertrand Longley is an American filmmaker James LongleyBornJames Bertrand LongleyOccupation s Documentary filmmaker producer Years active2002 present Contents 1 Career 2 Personal life 3 Filmography 4 Honors and awards 11 5 References 6 External linksCareer EditHis work includes the documentary Gaza Strip released in 2002 His production Iraq in Fragments presents a view of Iraq and Iraqis during the first two years of Iraq War 1 It was awarded three jury awards at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature but lost to An Inconvenient Truth 2 3 His short film Sari s Mother premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Short but lost to Freeheld 4 In 2009 Longley was awarded a 500 000 MacArthur Fellowship Genius Grant 5 Between 2007 and 2009 Longley was working on a film in Iran The film was cut short during the time of the elections and ensuing protests in June 2009 On Sunday June 14 The New York Times Lede blog reported he was arrested with his translator while interviewing people on a street in Tehran near the Interior Ministry and later interviewed him about his and his translator s experiences 6 This film is currently on hold indefinitely 7 Following up on IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS Longley produced and filmed the feature documentary ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT in Afghanistan The film following life in a school over three years makes Afghan reality accessible by giving the audience a human scale entry point the world of a neighborhood school in Kabul through which the larger context of Afghan society and history may be more clearly understood Completed in 2018 the film accurately predicts the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan Reviewing ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT in the Los Angeles Times in 2019 film critic Kenneth Turan wrote What is life like on the ground for ordinary people in another culture another world That s been the bread and butter of observational documentaries for forever but almost never is it done with the kind of beauty and grace filmmaker James Longley brings to his Afghanistan set ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT As his 2006 Oscar nominated IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS demonstrated MacArthur Fellow Longley who serves as his own cinematographer as well as directs has an almost magical ability to envelope us in other realities He does it via the poetry of his imagery as well as a gift for focused illumination that creates empathetic portraits of people who are both ordinary and intensely involving 8 After a festival run starting at Telluride TIFF and the New York Film Festival ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT opened theatrically at Film Forum and was the New York Times Critic s Pick 9 He is the founder of Daylight Factory a production company committed to creating documentary films about international subjects with international appeal Personal life EditLongley s middle name is a tribute to philosopher Bertrand Russell He studied film and Russian at Wesleyan University and the All Russian Institute of Cinematography VGIK at Moscow 10 Longley is fluent in Russian citation needed Filmography EditFeaturesYear Title Notes2002 Gaza Strip2006 Iraq in Fragments Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature2007 2009 Untitled Iran Project On hold2018 Angels Are Made of LightShort FilmsYear Title Notes1994 Portrait of Boy with Dog2007 Sari s Mother Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject 2012 Ejaz s Story UNICEF PakistanHonors and awards 11 Edit2011 United States Artists Ford Fellow 12 2009 MacArthur Fellow 13 2008 Academy Award nomination Best Documentary Short Emmy Award nomination Best Cinematography 2007 Academy Award nomination Best Documentary Feature 2006 Award for Best Documentary Directing Sundance Film Festival 2006 Award for Best Documentary Editing Sundance Film Festival 2006 Award for Best Documentary Cinematography Sundance Film Festival 2006 Gotham Award Best Documentary Film Best Documentary Cleveland International Film Festival Gold Hugo Chicago Film Festival Best Documentary Grand Jury Award Full Frame Festival International Documentary Association Award Best Documentary Film International Federation of Film Critics Award Thessaloniki Nestor Almendros Award Human Rights Watch Film Festival 1994 Student Academy AwardReferences Edit Cole Williams November 2006 Iraq in Fragments James Longley in conversation with Williams Cole The Brooklyn Rail 2006 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners Wikipedia 79th Academy Award Nominees Wikipedia 80th Academy Award Nominees Wikipedia Maugh II Thomas H September 22 2009 Artist Mark Bradford USC s Elyn Saks win MacArthur grants Los Angeles Times Updates on Iran s Disputed Election Update 3 17 p m by Robert Mackey The New York Times Lede News Blog June 15 2009 Retrieved 6 15 09 Longley s Vimeo page Review Afghan school rises above country s tumult in Angels Are Made of Light Los Angeles Times 8 August 2019 Ebiri Bilge 23 July 2019 Angels Are Made of Light Review Despair Meets Hope in Kabul The New York Times MacArthur Fellows Program MacArthur Fellows James Longley MacArthur Foundation By Staff Published January 26 2009 Retrieved November 14 2012 James Longley Archived 2013 05 30 at the Wayback Machine Institute Artists By Staff Retrieved November 14 2012 James Longley USA Fellows Media 2011 Retrieved November 14 2012 James Longley www macfound org Retrieved 2023 02 26 External links EditDaylight Factory website James Longley at IMDb An interview with James Longley the director of Iraq in Fragments 29 June 2006 with Joanne Laurier on the World Socialist Web Site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title James Longley filmmaker amp oldid 1149414698, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
