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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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 | |