The Academy’s Contemporary Docs Return with EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP And CATFISH

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will kick off Part Two of its 30th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” screening series with the 2010 Oscar®-nominated feature “Exit through the Gift Shop” and “Catfish” on Wednesday, March 21, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission to all screenings in the series is free.

“Exit through the Gift Shop” follows a videographer named Thierry Guetta, who attempts to document the work of some of the world’s best-known guerrilla street artists. When the artist known only as Banksy questions Guetta’s intentions, however, and seizes control of the film, the roles of filmmaker and subject are reversed. Directed by Banksy and produced by Jaimie D’Cruz, “Exit through the Gift Shop” earned an Academy Award® nomination for Documentary Feature.

In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost began to film the life of Ariel’s brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project, “Catfish,” would lead to a labyrinth of online intrigue and the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives. Schulman and Joost also produced the film with Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling.

The 30th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series is a showcase for feature-length and short documentaries drawn from the 2010 Academy Award nominations, including the winners, as well as other important and innovative films considered by the Academy that year.

The screening schedule for Part Two, which runs through May 30, is as follows:

Wednesday, March 21
“Exit through the Gift Shop”
Directed by Banksy
Produced by Jaimie D’Cruz
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Feature
“Catfish”
Directed by Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost
Produced by Andrew Jarecki, Marc Smerling, Joost, Schulman

Wednesday, April 4
“Poster Girl”
Directed by Sara Nesson
Produced by Mitchell W. Block, Nesson
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Short Subject

“Killing in the Name”
Directed by Jed Rothstein
Produced by Liz Garbus, Rory Kennedy, Rothstein
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Short Subject

“Quest for Honor”
Directed by Mary Ann Smothers Bruni
Produced by Bruni, Lawrence Taub

Wednesday, April 18
“Living for 32”
Directed by Kevin Breslin
Produced by Maria Cuomo Cole

“One Thousand Pictures: RFK’s Last Journey”
Directed and produced by Jennifer Stoddart

“This Way of Life”
Directed by Thomas Burstyn
Produced by Barbara Sumner Burstyn

Wednesday, May 2
“The Warriors of Qiugang”
Directed by Ruby Yang
Produced by Thomas Lennon, Yang
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Short Subject

“Gasland”
Directed by Josh Fox
Produced by Trish Adlesic, Fox, Molly Gandour
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Feature

Wednesday, May 16
“Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould”
Directed by Michèle Hozer, Peter Raymont
Produced by Raymont

“William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe”
Directed by Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler
Produced by E. Kunstler, S. Kunstler, Jesse Moss, Susan Korda

Wednesday, May 30
“Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer”
Directed by Alex Gibney
Produced by Gibney, Jedd Wider, Todd Wider, Maiken Baird

“Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work”
Directed by Ricki Stern
Co-directed by Annie Sundberg
Produced by Stern, Seth Keal, Sundberg

All films will screen at the Linwood Dunn Theater at the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. All seating is unreserved. The filmmakers will be present at screenings whenever possible.

The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. Free parking is available through the entrance on Homewood Avenue (one block north of Fountain Avenue). For additional information, visit www.oscars.org or call (310) 247-3600.

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