Festival:
The 19th AFI Docs
Dates:
June 22-27
About:
This Washington DC event showcases approximately 30 new feature and episodic documentaries, presented in a hybrid format.
AFI Docs 2021 Overview
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Overviews
On VOD: BE PRETTY AND SHUT UP!
Coming to MUBI today, Monday, June 21:
BE PRETTY AND SHUT UP!
Director:
Delphine Seyrig
World Premiere:
French theatrical release (March 1981)
About:
In 1975 Delphine Seyrig recorded interviews with twenty-four actresses in France and the US, including Maria Schneider, Jane Fonda, and Shirley MacLaine, about their experience across the industry, revealing the frustrations of working within the patriarchal studio system.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
On TV: JACK & YAYA
Coming to The WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, June 22:
JACK & YAYA
Director:
Jennifer Bagley
World Premiere:
qFlix Philadelphia 2019
Select Festivals:
Inside Out, Seattle Translations, Hell’s Half Mile, BFI Flare
About:
A portrait of two transgender friends who have known each other since they were toddlers.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
On TV: TWO GODS
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, June 21:
TWO GODS
Director:
Zeshawn Ali
World Premiere:
Full Frame 2020 (unscreened)
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, BlackStar, Montclair, Hot Docs, Camden
About:
A Black Muslim casket maker mentors two boys.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
In Theatres: THE SPARKS BROTHERS
Coming to theatres today, Friday, June 18:
THE SPARKS BROTHERS
Director:
Edgar Wright
World Premiere:
Sundance 2021
Select Festivals:
SXSW, Hot Docs, IFF Boston, San Francisco Doc
About:
A tribute to the influential but overlooked band Sparks.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
In Theatres: A CRIME ON THE BAYOU
Coming to theatres today, Friday, June 18:
A CRIME ON THE BAYOU
Director:
Nancy Buirski
World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2020
Select Festivals:
New Orleans, San Francisco Jewish, Big Sky Doc, Atlanta Jewish, Hamptons Docs
About:
An unjustly arrested Black man and his young Jewish attorney form a lifelong friendship.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Filmmaker Nancy Buirski tells the story of a lasting bond formed between an unjustly arrested Black man, Gary Duncan, and Richard Sobol, his young Jewish attorney. In 1966, 19-year-old Duncan faces the white supremacist court system in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, for daring to touch a white boy’s arm. Standing united, the pair takes Duncan’s case all the way to the US Supreme Court to fight for the rights of all Americans to a fair trial.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
In Theatres: LFG
Coming to theatres today, Friday, June 18:
LFG
Director:
Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine
World Premiere:
Tribeca 2021
About:
An inside look at the US women’s national soccer league and their continuing fight for equal pay in an effort to create real change in women’s sports.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
In Virtual Release: THE AMERICAN SECTOR
Coming to virtual cinemas today, Friday, June 18:
THE AMERICAN SECTOR
Director:
Courtney Stephens, Pacho Velez
World Premiere:
Berlin 2020
Select Festivals:
Art of the Real, Docaviv, Camden, AFI Fest, RIDM, Maryland
About:
A road trip tracking several of the remnants of the Berlin Wall now held by American collectors and institutions.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
In Virtual Release: THE FRENCH
Coming to the Metrograph’s virtual cinema tomorrow, Friday, June 18:
THE FRENCH
Director:
William Klein
World Premiere:
Perspectives du Cinéma Français 1982
About:
An unprecedented all-access, behind-the-scenes look at the 1981 French Open.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
In Theatres: RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, June 18:
RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT
Director:
Mariem Pérez Riera
World Premiere:
Sundance 2021
Select Festivals:
Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, Cleveland, Atlanta, Sarasota, Tribeca, Provincetown
About:
A profile of the pioneering, EGOT-winning star of stage and screen.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
