After four years of existence, The DoubleTake Documentary Film Festival in Durham is the largest festival of its kind in the nation. But it has not grown at the expense of local talent.
Nancy Buirski, executive director of the festival, said that in creating DoubleTake, she "was looking to make a home for great documentaries and present them to an eager and curious audience."
Each year in the festival's history has seen a rise in the number of films submitted, though Buirski insists that great documentary films always have existed.
"The increase in demand has created an increase in the quantity of great films," she said. "This year, more than 530 films were submitted. That is up from the 400 submitted last year.
"The quality increases each year."
More than 100 of the 530 submitted films will be shown during the four-day festival at Durham's Carolina Theater beginning Friday. Among these films in competition, several were produced by area filmmakers. Bret Ingram, a UNC graduate, has entered his film, "Panic Attack," as has Cary resident Vivian Bowman Edwards with her film, "Searching."
One of the area-related films Buirski described as an anticipated highlight of the DoubleTake festival is "The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition," by 1967 UNC alumnus George Butler. The film follows the story of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 expedition to Antarctica.
"It's the greatest survival tale ever told," Butler said. "Shackleton and 27 men survived 630 days in the harshest conditions ... it blows CBS' 'Survivor' out of the water," Butler said.
In addition to the 92-minute version showing at the festival, Butler's "Endurance" has been adapted into two other film versions -- a 38-minute IMAX feature and a two-hour European version that was nominated for two British Academy Awards last year.
