At an IFTA/Screen Training Ireland Industry Masterclass on Tuesday, June 14th, Oscar winner Michael Moore (‘Bowling For Columbine’, ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’) spoke about his unique process which has made him one of the most influential and celebrated documentary filmmakers of all time in front of a packed house of Irish industry guests at the Irish Film Institute (IFI).
The event was run in association with Screen Training Ireland and was hosted by acclaimed Irish documentary filmmaker Ross Whitaker, who won an IFTA Award in 2013 for ‘When Ali Came To Ireland’ and also received nominations for ‘Saviours’ and ‘Unbreakable’.
Check out the trailer for Michael Moore’s ‘Where To Invade Next’ below:
The Masterclass was attended by Irish documentary denizens such as Rachel Lysaght, Emer Reynolds, Alex Fegan and Se Merry Doyle as well as high profile industry guests such as Shimmy Marcus and Rob and Ronan Burke.
Moore also participated in a screening of his latest film – the critically lauded ‘Where To Invade Next’ – at the IFI on Monday, June 13th, followed by a Q&A with Matt Cooper, which also attracted a full house of Irish industry professionals.
"Tired of seeing the same movies, cause they're made by the same old guys.We need women filmmakers.. to make fresh films"#michaelmoore#ifta
At the Masterclass, Moore spoke in his typical honest and humorous manner about how he researches and selects his topics, how he uses comedy to engage audiences, how to make complex subject matter accessible to audiences, how story can be refined in the editing room particularly with the use of voiceover and how changing technologies are impacting the production and distribution of his films.
He also spoke how his films are financed and produced, particularly how he plans his distribution of potentially controversial films in his homeland and internationally, something which he has excelled at in the past. His controversial film ‘Bowling For Columbine’ (probing gun culture in the US), in addition to winning an Oscar for Best Feature Documentary, made $58 million worldwide, a feat bested by his 2004 film ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ (Palme D’Or winner exploring US politics in the wake of 9/11), which made over $222 million worldwide and is still the highest grossing documentary film of all time.