Author Archives: basiltsiokos

The following past Sundance Film Festival documentaries are scheduled for release this month:

>July 1
Streaming: Criterion Channel

32 SOUNDS
Sundance 2022

Director:
Sam Green

About:
An immersive documentary and sensory film experience that explores the elemental phenomenon of sound and its power to bend time, cross borders, and profoundly shape our perception of the world around us. The film will be presented in its “live cinema” form, featuring live music and live narration.

>July 8
On TV: POV

IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?
Sundance 2023

Director:
Ella Glendining

About:
While navigating daily discrimination, a filmmaker who inhabits and loves her unusual body searches the world for another person like her, and explores what it takes to love oneself fiercely despite the pervasiveness of ableism.

>July 12
In Theatres/IMAX

SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY
Sundance 2024

Director:
Jeff Zimbalist

About:
To save their career and relationship, a daredevil couple journey across the globe to climb the world’s last super skyscraper and perform a bold acrobatic stunt on the spire.

>July 12
In Theatres

ENO
Sundance 2024

Director:
Gary Hustwit

About:
Visionary musician and artist Brian Eno — known for producing David Bowie, U2, Talking Heads, among many others; pioneering the genre of ambient music; and releasing over 40 solo and collaboration albums — reveals his creative processes in this groundbreaking generative documentary: a film that’s different every time it’s shown.

>July 12
On VOD

TWICE COLONIZED
Sundance 2023

Director:
Lin Alluna

About:
Renowned Inuit lawyer Aaju Peter has long fought for the rights of her people. When her son suddenly dies, Aaju embarks on a journey to reclaim her language and culture after a lifetime of whitewashing and forced assimilation. But can she both change the world and mend her own wounds?

>July 12
Streaming: Netflix

IT’S ONLY LIFE AFTER ALL
Sundance 2023

Director:
Alexandria Bombach

About:
Blending 40 years of home movies, film archives, and intimate present-day vérité, a poignant reflection from Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of iconic folk rock duo Indigo Girls. A timely look into the obstacles, activism, and life lessons of two queer friends who never expected to make it big.

>July 19
Streaming: Netflix

SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY
Sundance 2024

Director:
Jeff Zimbalist

About:
To save their career and relationship, a daredevil couple journey across the globe to climb the world’s last super skyscraper and perform a bold acrobatic stunt on the spire.

>July 19
Streaming: MUBI

A STILL SMALL VOICE
Sundance 2023

Director:
Luke Lorentzen

About:
An aspiring hospital chaplain begins a yearlong residency in spiritual care, only to discover that to successfully tend to her patients, she must look deep within herself.

>July 29
On TV: POV

AGAINST THE TIDE
Sundance 2023

Director:
Sarvnik Kaur

About:
Two friends, both Indigenous fishermen, are driven to desperation by a dying sea. Their friendship begins to fracture as they take very different paths to provide for their struggling families.

The following past Sundance Film Festival documentaries are scheduled for release this month:

>June
Streaming: YouTube

GIRL 27
Sundance 2007

Director:
David Stenn

About:
In 1937, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the world’s most prestigious and powerful movie studio, tricks 120 underage chorus girls into attending a stag party for its visiting salesmen. When dancer Patricia Douglas tries to flee, she is brutally raped. Instead of staying silent, Douglas sues the studio, so MGM launches the biggest cover-up in Hollywood history.

>June 13
Streaming: OVID

SOFTIE
Sundance 2020

Director:
Sam Soko

About:
A chronicle of the personal and professional challenges facing an idealistic Kenyan political activist as he decides to run for office.

>June 24
On TV: POV

KING COAL
Sundance 2023

Director:
Elaine McMillion Sheldon

About:
The cultural roots of coal continue to permeate the rituals of daily life in Appalachia even as its economic power wanes. The journey of a coal miner’s daughter exploring the region’s dreams and myths, untangling the pain and beauty, as her community sits on the brink of massive change.

The following past Sundance Film Festival documentaries are scheduled for release this month:

>May 7
On VOD

INDIGO GIRLS: IT’S ONLY LIFE AFTER ALL
Sundance 2023

Director:
Alexandria Bombach

About:
Blending 40 years of home movies, film archives, and intimate present-day vérité, a poignant reflection from Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of iconic folk rock duo Indigo Girls. A timely look into the obstacles, activism, and life lessons of two queer friends who never expected to make it big.

>May 7
On DVD

KIM’S VIDEO
Sundance 2023

Director:
David Redmon, Ashley Sabin

About:
Playing with the forms and tropes of various cinema genres, the filmmaker sets off on a quest to find a legendary lost video collection of 55,000 movies in Sicily.

>May 10
In Theatres

POWER
Sundance 2024

Director:
Yance Ford

About:
Driven to maintain social order, policing in the United States has exploded in scope and scale over hundreds of years. Now, American policing embodies one word: power.

>May 17
Streaming: On Netflix

POWER
Sundance 2024

Director:
Yance Ford

About:
Driven to maintain social order, policing in the United States has exploded in scope and scale over hundreds of years. Now, American policing embodies one word: power.

>May 20
On TV: Independent Lens

THE TUBA THIEVES
Sundance 2023

Director:
Alison O’Daniel

About:
From 2011 to 2013, tubas were stolen from Los Angeles high schools. This is not a story about thieves or missing tubas. Instead, it asks what it means to listen.

>May 21
Streaming: Paramount+

LOLLA: THE STORY OF LOLLAPALOOZA
Sundance 2024

Director:
Michael John Warren

About:
In the summer of ’91, the Lollapalooza music festival was born. What started as a farewell tour for the band Jane’s Addiction rose from the underground to launch a cultural movement and change music forever.

>May 28
On DVD

ALL THAT BREATHES
Sundance 2022

Director:
Shaunak Sen

About:
Against the darkening backdrop of Delhi’s apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protect one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the Black Kite.

>May 30
Streaming: On OVID

MIDNIGHT TRAVELER
Sundance 2019

Director:
Hassan Fazili

About:
The filmmaker, his wife, and their two daughters face an uncertain road to asylum when they are forced to flee Afghanistan.

The following past Sundance Film Festival documentaries are scheduled for release this month:

>April 1
Streaming: Max

THE SYNANON FIX
Sundance 2024

Director:
Rory Kennedy

About:
Exploring the rise and fall of the Synanon organization — through the eyes of the members who lived it — from its early days as a groundbreaking drug rehabilitation program to its later descent into what many consider a cult.

>April 2
On DVD

INFLUENCE
Sundance 2020

Director:
Diana Neille, Richard Poplak

About:
A deep dive into the rise and fall of disgraced PR/reputation management firm Bell Pottinger.

>April 5
In Theatres

KIM’S VIDEO
Sundance 2023

Director:
David Redmon, Ashley Sabin

About:
Playing with the forms and tropes of various cinema genres, the filmmaker sets off on a quest to find a legendary lost video collection of 55,000 movies in Sicily.

>April 5
Streaming: Apple TV+

GIRLS STATE
Sundance 2024

Director:
Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss

About:
Teenage girls from wildly different backgrounds across Missouri navigate a week-long immersive experiment in American democracy, build a government from the ground up, and reimagine what it means to govern.

>April 9
Streaming: OVID

SIRENS
Sundance 2022

Director:
Rita Baghdadi

About:
On the outskirts of Beirut, Lilas and Shery, co-founders and guitarists of the Middle East’s first all-female metal band, wrestle with friendship, sexuality, and destruction in their pursuit of becoming thrash metal rock stars.

>April 10
In Theatres

INDIGO GIRLS: IT’S ONLY LIFE AFTER ALL
Sundance 2023

Director:
Alexandria Bombach

About:
Blending 40 years of home movies, film archives, and intimate present-day vérité, a poignant reflection from Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of iconic folk rock duo Indigo Girls. A timely look into the obstacles, activism, and life lessons of two queer friends who never expected to make it big.

>April 12
On TV: Independent Lens

SPACE: THE LONGEST GOODBYE
Sundance 2023

Director:
Ido Mizrahy

About:
Social isolation affects millions of people, even Mars-bound astronauts. A savvy NASA psychologist is tasked with protecting these daring explorers.

The following past Sundance Film Festival documentaries are scheduled for release this month:

>March 8
In Theatres, On VOD, & Streaming

SPACE: THE LONGEST GOODBYE
Sundance 2023

Director:
Ido Mizrahy

About:
Social isolation affects millions of people, even Mars-bound astronauts. A savvy NASA psychologist is tasked with protecting these daring explorers.

>March 12
On DVD

SPACE: THE LONGEST GOODBYE
Sundance 2023

Director:
Ido Mizrahy

About:
Social isolation affects millions of people, even Mars-bound astronauts. A savvy NASA psychologist is tasked with protecting these daring explorers.

>March 14
Streaming: Amazon Prime Video

FRIDA
Sundance 2024

Director:
Carla Gutiérrez

About:
An intimately raw and magical journey through the life, mind, and heart of iconic artist Frida Kahlo. Told through her own words for the very first time — drawn from her diary, revealing letters, essays, and print interviews — and brought vividly to life by lyrical animation inspired by her unforgettable artwork.

>March 15
In Theatres

THE TUBA THIEVES
Sundance 2023

Director:
Alison O’Daniel

About:
From 2011 to 2013, tubas were stolen from Los Angeles high schools. This is not a story about thieves or missing tubas. Instead, it asks what it means to listen.

>March 29
On VOD

SUE BIRD: IN THE CLUTCH
Sundance 2024

Director:
Sarah Dowland

About:
In her 21-year professional career, WNBA basketball legend Sue Bird has won five Olympic gold medals and become the most successful point guard to ever play the game. Alongside her fiancée, US soccer star Megan Rapinoe, Sue confronts her next challenge: retiring from the only life she’s ever known.

The following past Sundance Film Festival documentaries are scheduled for release this month:

>February 2
On TV & Streaming: Paramount+ with Showtime

KOKOMO CITY
Sundance 2023

Director:
D Smith

About:
Four Black transgender sex workers explore the dichotomy between the Black community and themselves, while confronting issues long avoided.

>February 20
On VOD

I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE
Sundance 2022

Director:
Reid Davenport

About:
Spurred by the spectacle of a circus tent that goes up outside his Oakland apartment, a disabled filmmaker launches into an unflinching meditation on freakdom, (in)visibility, and the pursuit of individual agency.

>February 27
Streaming: Paramount+

AS WE SPEAK
Sundance 2024

Director:
JM Harper

About:
Bronx rap artist Kemba explores the growing weaponization of rap lyrics in the United States criminal justice system and abroad — revealing how law enforcement has quietly used artistic creation as evidence in criminal cases for decades.

>February 27
On TV: HBO

GOD SAVE TEXAS: HOMETOWN PRISON
Sundance 2024

Director:
Richard Linklater

About:
Three directors offer their unique and personal perspectives on their home state of Texas, creating vivid portraits of a state that mirrors the United States’ past, present, and future. Inspired by the book God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State by Lawrence Wright.

Huntsville, Texas sits at the heart of an expansive prison industrial complex. Yet, for many residents, these prisons exist in another realm, disconnected from their lives. Richard Linklater revisits his hometown to explore its diverse inhabitants, painting a vibrant portrait that encapsulates the criminal justice system of Texas.

>February 28
On TV: HBO

GOD SAVE TEXAS: LA FRONTERA
Sundance 2024

Director:
Iliana Sosa

About:
Three directors offer their unique and personal perspectives on their home state of Texas, creating vivid portraits of a state that mirrors the United States’ past, present, and future. Inspired by the book God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State by Lawrence Wright.

Iliana Sosa examines how “nepantla,” an embrace of in-betweenness, characterizes relations to both her Mexican heritage and her hometown of El Paso, Texas. An exploration revealing how the city’s humanity and unique hybridity catalyzed unity, nurturing healing in the aftermath of a devastating mass shooting in 2019.

>February 28
On TV: HBO

GOD SAVE TEXAS: THE PRICE OF OIL
Sundance 2024

Director:
Alex Stapleton

About:
Three directors offer their unique and personal perspectives on their home state of Texas, creating vivid portraits of a state that mirrors the United States’ past, present, and future. Inspired by the book God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State by Lawrence Wright.

As the world’s energy capital, Houston is a city that manufactures both its prominence and demise. Alex Stapleton explores the industry’s impact on her family, who arrived as enslaved people in the 1830s, built thriving communities, and now must cope with the human costs of Texas’ biggest money-maker.