Two New Docs To See This Weekend: OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY and THIS TIME

This weekend, I want to draw your attention to two new documentaries that are opening for limited runs in the Village. The first one is a project I worked on called OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY. It's about Cantor Fitzgerald, the company that had it's offices on the top floors of the World Trade Center and, on 9/11, they lost 658 employees, nearly nearly two-thirds of their workforce.  Their surviving CEO Howard Lutnick (left), who was taking his son to kindergarten that morning, drew a lot of media attention because of his loss but the film goes into the real story behind the headlines and how the company survived against all odds.

I've worked on this documentary for the last 6 years as an associate producer and my good friend Danielle Gardner is the film's director, bravely telling this incredibly personal story (her brother was a Cantor exec who did not survive). The film has its premiere tonight at the IFC Center as part of the annual IDA Docuweeks series and it will play there every day for the next week. For those on the west coast, the film will be out there starting next Friday August 17 as part of Docuweeks LA. Oh--and we got a great review in the NY DAILY NEWS today too!

The other film is a doc by my Victor Mignatti, a filmmaker I met way back when I was in film school. His film is called THIS TIME and follows the story of the stories of a number of singers in show business (including Cissy Houston), some looking for second chances and other for their big break. In an age of IDOL where there is so much hype surrounding recording artists, this doc keeps it real and shows you the hard work and the heartbreak that goes hand in hand with a career in the performing arts. I saw a nearly finished cut a couple years ago and found it moving, intense, emotional and, of course, very musical and inspiring as well. It opens today at the Quad Cinema on 13th Street.

So no whining about "ah, there's nothing to see out there"...all you have to do is look and you will find some indie treasures. Especially this weekend.