The Traverse City Film Festival returns for its 11th edition today, Tuesday, July 28, and runs through Sunday, August 2. As in previous editions, Michael Moore’s annual celebration of cinema – under the slogan “1 Great Movie Can Change You” – showcases an eclectic lineup of festival favorites, including more than fifty recent feature documentaries. While the majority of these made their debut within the last year at notable larger film events like Sundance, SXSW, Toronto, and Tribeca, the festival also spotlights several lesser-seen works and a few premieres, noted below:
These include Rick Prelinger’s YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW IN DETROIT 5, the noted film archivist’s latest look at Detroit’s history through discovered home movies; Michael Matheson Miller’s POVERTY, INC, which explores the hampering of development due to the modern charity industry; Sabina Guzzanti’s THE STATE-MAFIA PACT, a provocative, satirical exploration of the collusion between the Italian government and the mafia; Sabine Gruffat’s SPECULATION NATION, a look at Spanish citizen activism in the wake of the 2007 financial crisis; and Michael Webber and Bailey Webber’s THE STUDENT BODY, which follows a young filmmaker’s investigation into state sanctioned measures to body shame youth; Kuo-Liang Chiang and Chen Singing’s MOUNTAIN SPIRITS, a portrait of a Taiwanese master craftsman; and, screening as a work-in-progress, Jen Senko’s THE BRAINWASHING OF MY DAD (pictured), which explores the appeal of conservative media to older audiences.
what (not) to doc 