Best of Reviews, Awards and Selections

Los Angeles Times, Betsy Sharkey
Buck’ a documentary with plainspoken power
Sometimes a film comes along that answers a question that you didn’t realize you had. At the Sundance Film Festival this year, that movie is “Buck,” an exceptional slice of Americana about the charismatic real-life horse whisperer, an earthy, soft-spoken philosopher who can tame troubled souls, be they man or beast.
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New York Times, David Carr
You Can Also Lead a Horse to Nirvana. LAST Sunday evening, Buck Brannaman strolled the High Line, two stories above the streets of Manhattan and hundreds of miles from his native habitat, the ranch country where he runs clinics in enlightened horsemanship. The documentary “Buck,” which won a Sundance audience award this year and will open on Friday in New York and Los Angeles, details his shaman-like skills around horses and the people who ride them.
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Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan
Sundance gets real: More memorable documentaries come from this festival than anywhere else. This year’s group included “Buck,” “If a Tree Falls,” “The Interrupters,” “Project Nim,” “The Redemption of General Butt Naked,” “Senna” and “We Were Here.” Mention should also be made of non-Sundance docs “Circo” and “Nostalgia for the Light.”
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times – The best documentaries of 2011
One of the big documentary hits of the year. Buck Brannaman was the original “horse whisperer,” the character who Nicholas Evans based his novel on and Robert Redford used as the on-set consultant for his film. He has a way with horses, and Cindy Meehl’s documentary is moving as he shows them engaged in dances of understanding.
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Bloomberg, Rick Warner
Buck in Top 10 for 2011.  “Buck”: A touching documentary about Buck Brannaman, the inspiration for Robert Redford’s equine trainer in “The Horse Whisperer.” Brannaman overcame a Dickensian childhood to become a world-famous horse handler known for his uncanny ability to communicate with the animals.
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Wall Street Journal, Joe Morgenstern
Buck Makes Top 10.  “Buck”: Few of us city dwellers ever get to meet the sort of American portrayed in Cindy Meehl’s documentary—a middle-age cowboy who gives horse-training clinics. Even in his own territory, though, Buck Brannaman is one of a kind, a man who has learned to give horses the love he lacked as a child.
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BUCK awards

 

2011 Festival Location Award/Acknowledgement
Jan 29 Sundance Film Festival Park City, UT Audience Award
March 4 True/False Film Festival Columbia, MO Official Selection
March 13 SXSW Austin, TX Official Selection
April 1 Crossroads Film Festival Madison, MS Best Feature Documentary
April 15 Sarasota Film Festival Sarasota, FL Official Selection
April 15 Full Frame Doc Film Festival Durham NC Audience Award
April 17 Nashville Film Festival Nashville, TN Official Selection
May 1 Independent Film Festival Boston, MA Official Selection
May 2 HOT DOCS Toronto, ON
CANADA
Official Selection & Top Audience Favorite
June 3 Berkshires Film Festival Pittsfield, MA Official Selection
June 8 Seattle Int’l Film Festival Seattle, WA Official Selection
2nd runner up for Best Documentary
Golden Space Needle Award
June 16 Provincetown Int’l Film Festival Provincetown, MA HBO Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
June 21 SilverDocs Washington, DC Official Selection
June 22 Nantucket Film Festival Nantucket, MA Official Selection/Best of Fest
June 29 Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival Chilmark, MA Official Selection
July 1 Melbourne Int’l Film Festival Melbourne, Australia Official Selection
July 1 New Zealand Int’l Film Festival Official Selection
Sept 7 DocuWest Film Festival Golden, CO Best Feature Length Documentary
Sept 22 Zurich Int’l Film Festival Switzerland Best International Documentary Film
Sept 27 Reykjavik Int’l Film Festival Iceland Official Selection
Oct 6 Rio Film Festival Brazil Official Selection
Oct 7 Warsaw Film Festival Poland Documentary Feature Competition
Special Mention
Oct 13 Abu Dhabi Film Festival United Arab Emirates Official Selection
Oct 19 Bergen Int’l Film Festival Norway Best Documentary
Oct 21 Bermuda Docs Bermuda Official Selection
Nov 1 Canberra Film Festival Australia Audience Award
Best Documentary
Nov 1 Halls Gap Film Festival Halls Gap, Australia Official Selection
Nov 1 Rosebud Film Festival Official Selection
Nov 5 Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival Colorado Springs, CO Official Selection
Nov 9 Stockholm Sweden Official Selection
Nov 10 Rockport Film Festival Rockport, TX Best Documentary Feature
Nov 16 Int’l Doc Film Festival Amsterdam The Netherlands Official Selection
Nov 28 Gotham Independent Film Awards New York, New York Audience Award Nominee
Dec 2 National Board of Review New York, New York 2011 Top 5 Documentaries
Dec 2 True West Magazine Readers Choice Award
Editors Choice Award
2012 Festival Location Award/Acknowledgement
Jan 1, 2012 Perth Arts Festival Perth, Australia Official Selection
Jan Cinema Eye Honors 2012 New York, New York Audience Choice Award
Feb 3 Princeton Environmenal Film Festival Princeton, NJ Audience Favorite
March 22 Spur Award  Encampment, WY Documentary Script Category
March 23 EcoFocus Film Festival Athens, GA Official Selection
May 3 – 12 DocAviv Tel Aviv, Israel Official Selection
May 24 Christopher Awards New York, New York Feature Film Winner
August 22, SAMHSA Voice Awards Hollywood, CA Nominated for Voice Award
September 14  Humanitas Prize  Beverly Hills, CA  Humanitas Prize Finalist
About TLC

Part of Team BUCK