Documentary short shows the joy of being a "stuffmaker"

Documentary shorts never get the attention they deserve. There are, frankly, just too many of them out there that it's too hard to keep up with them all. But, every once in a while, it's important to highlight some interesting work.

Bas Berkout's short on the artist Mac Premo popped up on Huffington Post today, and while it's not necessarily life changing, it's certainly a worthy testament to quality film making. The movie is only three and a half minutes but introduces audiences to two cool artists: director Bas Berkout and "stuffmaker" Mac Premo.

If you're a budding documentarian, or just a lover of quality film production, trust me, you won't be disappointed by what you see.

Mac Premo from Bas Berkhout on Vimeo.

DOC NYC starts this weekend

It has been awhile so we'll try to ease back into this whole "daily news" thing. And what better way to begin then to preview DOC NYC. The festival begins this Thursday and runs for a full week and if you live in New York you should go celebrate this rising star in the film festival world.

It's only four years old but it's already the largest documentary festival in the US and is a Academy-qualifying festival. Per DOC NYC’s website:  "[The] winning short film will qualify for consideration in the Documentary Short Subject category of the Annual Academy Awards without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules."

Now if you're still not convinced that you should attend at least one of the 150+ screenings (or if you already purchased a pass but can't figure out what to see), The Huffington Post has created a quick guide of the 16 "must watch" documentaries to see at this year's festival. It's chock full of summaries, screen times and trailers so it's a handy guide for those unsure of what to see.

Of course, you could always branch out on your own and scan the schedule yourself- in which case, God speed.