Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 30:
COWBOYS
Director:
Bud Force, John Langmore
World Premiere:
Austin 2019
Select Festivals:
Sun Valley, Thin Line, Lone Star
About:
A portrait of modern-day cowboys over a year.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to The WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, March 30:
THE PLACE THAT MAKES US
Director:
Karla Murthy
World Premiere:
Woods Hole 2020
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Big Sky Doc, St Louis, River’s Edge
About:
Residents of a post-industrial town work to restore their community.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Youngstown, Ohio, once a booming steel and mining town, is now the epitome of post-industrial decline. Plunging population, derelict housing, and crime plague the city, but a new crop of industrious entrepreneurs and community activists refuse to accept defeat, nor will they abandon their beloved hometown. Together they rise up to restore homes, generate business, and ignite their community. Director Karla Murthy’s film is a powerful testament of their resiliency and ingenuity.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to HBO and to HBO Max tomorrow, Saturday, March 27:
TINA
Director:
Dan Lindsay, TJ Martin
World Premiere:
Berlin 2021
Select Festivals:
Glasgow
About:
On the life and career of iconic performer Tina Turner.
In 1981, Tina Turner first went public in the pages of People about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her partner, Ike Turner. In her view, she wanted to address the issue and then move on. Instead, the story in many ways grew to define her. She expanded on the tale in her 1986 autobiography – the basis for the Oscar-nominated WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT – again, with the hopes that, with her story out there, she would not have to revisit it again. As before, however, its importance only became greater, in many ways opening up a public dialogue about domestic violence on the largest possible stage. At the same time, even as Turner had persevered against all obstacles to become one of the most successful music acts in the world, she was constantly asked about this traumatic period in her past. It’s unavoidable, then, that her history with Ike takes up a significant portion of Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin’s expert portrait of the artist. Notably, however, the filmmakers move beyond the sensationalist interest of press junket interviewers to dig deeper, explicitly acknowledging and exploring the power of the story and its impact, positive and negative, on Tina Turner herself. It’s an essential part of the larger transformation of the artist from the Ike and Tina Turner Revue to the queen of rock ‘n’ roll, fulfilling her dream to be the first Black female rockstar to play to sold-out stadiums. From her home in Zurich at the age of 79, Turner speaks with refreshing candor, having retired from public life and in a fulfilling marriage – a rare happy ending that serves as a healing counterpoint to the suffering she experienced earlier in her life.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to virtual cinemas today, Friday, March 26 and to Discovery+ this Sunday, March 28:
FRANCESCO
Director:
Evgeny Afineevsky
World Premiere:
Rome 2020
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Savannah, Mar del Plata
About:
Pope Francis explores the challenges of the modern world.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky looks at the pressing challenges of the 21st century through the eyes of Pope Francis. Born in Argentina, Francis is the first leader of the Catholic Church to come from the Americas and the Jesuit order. His teachings bring a progressive take on issues like the climate crisis, immigration, LGBTQ support, economic equality, and religious tolerance. Afineevsky’s film showcases a voice of morality that serves as a powerful counterbalance to the rise of reactionary politics around the world.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s American Masters tomorrow, Friday, March 26:
TWYLA MOVES
Director:
Steven Cantor
World Premiere:
SXSW 2021
About:
A portrait of acclaimed choreographer and dancer Twyla Tharp.
With a career spanning nearly 60 years, Twyla Tharp has left an indelible mark on the world of dance. Filmmaker Steven Cantor provides a compelling retrospective of her pioneering work while, slightly less successfully, using a minor project created during the pandemic to demonstrate her process. The latter is a three-minute piece with four dancers, each in different time zones and in separate Zoom frames. While showcasing how Tharp resolves the imposed limitations of lockdown, and how she works with dancers, as a whole this thread feels too slight to serve as a backbone for the film. Far more engaging is the bulk of the film, tracing Tharp’s notable achievements, eclecticism and range, and championing of inclusion based on gender, race, and size. If she sometimes comes off as somewhat overly rehearsed when recounting her past, this too demonstrates the precision and exactness she displays in her wide-ranging work.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to NYC’s Quad Cinema this Friday, March 26:
MY OCTOPUS TEACHER
Director:
Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed
World Premiere:
Thessaloniki Doc 2020
Select Festivals:
Docs Against Gravity, EarthxFilm, Jackson Hole, Guangzhou Doc
Notable Recognition:
The doc has been nominated for the Academy Awards.
About:
A man bonds with a normally solitary cephalopod.
Seeking to reconnect with the natural world, filmmaker Craig Foster begins to freedive in the kelp forest off of South Africa’s Cape of Storms. In the process, he grows curious about an octopus he chances across, and slowly begins to develop an unusual cross-species friendship. Establishing that he is no threat to the young female, Foster is surprised to find the octopus seemingly as curious about him as he is about her, reaching out to explore his hand and swim with him. Over just under a year – the typical lifespan of an octopus – Foster returns daily, visiting with and observing his new friend as she hunts, cleverly disguises herself from nearby predators, and even plays with schools of fish, further demonstrating this solitary creature is not exactly antisocial, after all. While undeniably a crowdpleaser and critical darling, Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed’s film is, at its heart, a carefully constructed – one might say manipulative – project, leaning too much on anthropomorphism and sentimentality. While the transcendence it aims for feels unearned and manufactured, the doc nevertheless remains an appealing watch as a whole.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to Discovery+ tomorrow, Thursday, March 25:
MIRACLE FISHING: KIDNAPPED ABROAD
Director:
Miles Hargrove
Co-Director:
Christopher Birge
World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020 (unscreened)
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Nantucket, AFI Docs, Sidewalk, Dallas, Brisbane, Trinidad & Tobago
About:
A kidnapped man’s family and friends are forced to negotiate for his release.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
On September 23, 1994, a group of Colombian separatist guerillas went “miracle fishing,” abducting American journalist Tom Hargrove to hold for ransom. Finding no support from either the US government or the local corrupt authorities, Hargrove’s family were forced to negotiate directly for his release, working with a tight circle of friends—with Hargrove’s 20-year-old son Miles filming everything on Video8. Returning to this footage 25 years later, he constructs a riveting, immersive chronicle of this ordinary family’s extraordinary experience.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, March 23:
OLYMPIA
Director:
Harry Mavromichalis
World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018
Select Festivals:
Sidewalk, Lemesos Doc, Edmonton, Los Angeles and San Francisco Greek fests
About:
An intimate portrait of acclaimed actress Olympia Dukakis.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 23:
HOW IT FEELS TO BE FREE
Director:
Yoruba Richen
World Premiere:
American Masters (January 2020)
About:
An exploration of the political activism and impact of six legendary Black female actresses and musicians.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s American Masters and to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 23:
FLANNERY
Directors:
Elizabeth Coffman and Mark Bosco, SJ
World Premiere:
Hot Springs Doc 2019
Select Festivals:
New Orleans, Austin, Oxford
About:
A biography on the acclaimed Southern Gothic author Flannery O’Connor.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
what (not) to doc 