Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction tomorrow, Tuesday, January 29 and to theatres this Friday, February 1: KOCH
Neil Barsky’s portrait of the iconic and controversial New York City mayor had its world premiere at the Hamptons last Fall. Since then, its festival run has included Palm Springs and a number of Jewish fests, including Boston, New York, and Atlanta, among others.
Framed around the 2010 elections, Hizzoner is followed around, endorsing candidates, speaking publicly on TV and radio programs on various issues – including the so-called Ground Zero mosque, spending Jewish holidays with family members, and witnessing the dedication of a bridge in his name. Against this backdrop, Koch relates the story of his three contentious terms as mayor, aided by former staffers, supporters, and detractors, as well as copious archival material, expertly edited together. Rarely seen footage of Koch on the campaign trail shows him working his would-be constituents with the showmanship that helped make him an internationally recognized political figure. Barsky covers a lot of territory, from savvy political deals with allegedly shady figures, to missteps that cost the mayor the African-American community’s trust, and even gets Koch to discuss why he refuses to address the constant speculation about his sexuality – the result is an engaging, balanced, and well-constructed profile of a man and of his city, during some of the most turbulent times in its history.
what (not) to doc 