what (not) to doc

Coming to theatres and to Netflix today, Friday, October 18:
TELL ME WHO I AM

Director:
Ed Perkins

World Premiere:
Telluride 2019

Select Festivals:
London, Hamptons

About:
After a teenager loses his memory following a motorcycle accident, his twin brother selectively retells their past.

In 1982, 18-year-old Alex Lewis woke from his motorcycle crash with his memory wiped, only recognizing his identical twin, Marcus. He remembered nothing else – not his strange parents, girlfriend, or any details of the past. Returning to their unsettling, sprawling home, Alex depended on Marcus to fill in the blanks. Soon, Marcus realized this presented an opportunity to edit their shared history, to benefit them both. In Ed Perkins’ film – which follows a 2013 book by the same name – Alex and Marcus speak directly to the camera, separately for the first two sections, then together for the emotionally cathartic third, relating this singular situation. Very well constructed as a mystery, and in some ways mirroring Alex’s own experiences of having to reconstruct the past based on only partial information, the film contains extremely disturbing surprises that are best experienced with no foreknowledge.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, October 18:
SERENDIPITY

Director:
Prune Nourry

World Premiere:
Berlin 2019

Select Festivals:
Tribeca, Doc Fortnight, Mill Valley

About:
A personal reflection of the filmmaker/artist’s work after a breast cancer diagnosis.

Prune Nourry is a multidisciplinary French artist, based in NYC, whose work in sculpture, performance, and photography has focused on gender, women’s rights, reproduction, and their intersection with science. Her feature film debut is part of a multiplatform project that included a Paris solo show and book, and is informed by a breast cancer diagnosis. Before beginning chemotherapy, she has her eggs harvested and frozen for potential future use. This eerily echoes projects she has completed in the past following other women going through the same procedure, and serves as the lead-in to a meditation on other past work, as well as her artistic response in the present, going hand-in-hand with activities related to her treatment. It’s a precarious balance between artistic survey and personal chronicle of a life-threatening disease, and, to Nourry’s credit, she manage this for the most part.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, October 18:
THE CAVE

Director:
Feras Fayyad

World Premiere:
Toronto 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, London, Hamptons, Camden, Double Exposure, Mill Valley, Heartland, Tallgrass, Virginia

About:
A female doctor defies patriarchal expectations to lead an underground hospital in Syria.

The film screens as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
THE CAVE takes us to a subterranean landscape that feels akin to the post-apocalyptic world of MAD MAX. Warlords have made the earth’s surface uninhabitable in Syria, so medical workers led by Dr Amani Ballor, a female pediatrician, have created a hospital underground the city of Ghouta, near Damascus. Oscar®-nominated Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad spent two years capturing the resilience, dedication, and love that keeps them going.

Coming to Showtime tomorrow, Friday, October 18:
SID & JUDY

Director:
Stephen Kijak

World Premiere:
Frameline 2019

Select Festivals:
Outfest, London, LGBT fests in Seattle, Chicago, Austin

About:
A look at the legendary Judy Garland through the eyes of her husband and manager, Sid Luft.

Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Garland’s death, Stephen Kijak’s biopic is a well-paced look back at the beloved performer, focused largely on the comeback that cemented her as an icon. Based on Luft’s recently released memoir, the film traces Garland’s career after her split from MGM, which had controlled her career for her entire adult life, as he helped shepherd her through a remake of A STAR IS BORN, nabbing an Oscar nomination in the process, and a series of wildly popular concerts. While their marriage was not to last, Luft offers a unique perspective on Garland, bringing a deeply personal touch to this dramatic period in her life, and also offering commentary on how her demons claimed her after they parted ways.