Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens today, Monday, March 22:
CODED BIAS
Director:
Shalini Kantayya
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
Human Rights Watch, Hot Docs, Full Frame, SXSW, San Francisco, Hamptons, Provincetown, New Zealand, Melbourne, DokuFest, BlackStar, Docaviv, Warsaw, Mill Valley, Denver
About:
An exploration of the disturbing gender and racial bias prevalent in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to virtual cinemas today, Friday, March 19:
WOJNAROWICZ
Director:
Chris McKim
World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020 (unscreened) / DOC NYC 2020
About:
A powerful elegy to the late New York artist, writer, and filmmaker.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Emerging as a distinctive voice in the East Village art scene of the 1980s, David Wojnarowicz combined a variety of disciplines, from painting and photography to music and writing, in his artistic practice. Fiercely and unapologetically embracing his queer identity, he rebelled against the growing conservatism of the times, epitomized by the establishment’s callous indifference to the AIDS epidemic, which would claim him in 1992 at the age of 37. Filmmaker Chris McKim has constructed a powerful elegy that recaptures the urgency and passion of Wojnarowicz’s life and art.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to Discovery+ this week:
GROOMED
Director:
Gwen van de Pas
World Premiere:
Discovery+ (March 2021)
About:
The filmmaker confronts the manipulation and sexual abuse she suffered from an older man.
In her youth in Holland, filmmaker Gwen van de Pas had a secret boyfriend who sent her letters, gave her gifts, and made her feel special. But she was a preteen, and he was an adult, and now, years later, van de Pas recognizes that she was a victim, and that this older man manipulated her into a sexual relationship. He also never faced any consequences – and, she realizes, who’s to say she was his only victim? Seeking to make sense of her past – and to expose his crimes – she sets out to explore how perpetrators carefully groom their victims, identifying and exploiting their vulnerabilities and making them co-conspirators and even apologists in their abuse. While disturbing and at times illuminating – particular an extended, candid interview with a convicted perpetrator, who functions as a proxy of sorts for her abuser – the project sometimes crosses the line into filmmaking-as-therapy, and suffers from some clunky storytelling and technical aspects, including an overly heavy score, that ultimately hamper its effectiveness.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
New to VOD this week:
MARTHA: A PICTURE STORY
Director:
Selina Miles
World Premiere:
Tribeca 2019
Select Festivals:
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Vancouver, Tallinn Black Nights, New Zealand, Savannah, Napa Valley
About:
A profile of Martha Cooper, who documented the emergence of graffiti and influenced its spread globally.
Martha Cooper pushed back against sexist attitudes to pursue work as a newspaper photographer in 1970s New York, developing an eye for atmospheric portraits of everyday people. This led to an interest in street culture, and led to her documentation of graffiti as artistic expression during a time of economic and cultural depression in the city. Eventually partnering with a fellow chronicler of street art, Henry Chalfant, they tried to publish a book on the subject but were unable to attract interest in the US, and finally released SUBWAY ART in 1984 via a German publisher. While not a commercial success, the book would end up highly influential, unbeknownst to Cooper, spreading around the world and helping to introduce others to street art and hip hop culture. When she learned of her work’s impact, Cooper jumped back into the scene and began to travel the world to continue its documentation. Filmmaker Selina Miles crafts an enjoyable project offering a unique perspective on the early days of graffiti and, by extension, hip hop culture, and, almost more importantly, the underground history of its dissemination.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to the IFC Center as part of its What’d We Miss? series today, Friday, March 19:
DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD
Director:
Kirsten Johnson
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
True/False, CPH:DOX, Doc10
Notable Recognition:
The doc was shortlisted for the Academy Awards.
About:
The filmmaker approaches her father’s mortality with inventiveness and dark humor.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s Quad Cinema tomorrow, Friday, March 19:
CRIP CAMP
Directors:
Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht
Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
Documentary Fortnight, True/False, San Francisco, Human Rights Watch London, ReelAbilities, Miami
Notable Recognition:
The doc has been nominated for the Academy Awards.
About:
A chronicle of the origins of America’s disability rights movement.
My pre-Sundance doc profile may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to the IFC Center as part of its What’d We Miss? series tomorrow, Friday, March 19:
BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS
Directors:
Bill Ross, Turner Ross
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
Berlin, CPH:DOX, True/False, Big Sky Doc, Calgary Underground
About:
A chronicle of the patrons and staff of a dive bar on what is meant to be its final day.
I profiled the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to VOD via MUBI tomorrow, Friday, March 19:
MAX RICHTER’S SLEEP
Director:
Natalie Johns
World Premiere:
IDFA 2019
Select Festivals:
Sundance, CPH:DOX, Docs Against Gravity, Gent, Brisbane
About:
An immersion into the making of an eight-hour piece to be experienced during sleep.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s Quad Cinema tomorrow, Friday, March 19:
THE MOLE AGENT
Director:
Maite Alberdi
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Nantucket, Hot Docs, Full Frame, True/False, San Sebastian, New Directors/NewFilms, Miami, Karlovy Vary, Cleveland
Notable Recognition:
The doc has been nominated for the Academy Awards.
About:
An 83-year-old man becomes an undercover spy in a Chilean retirement home.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to VOD via Crackle tomorrow, Thursday, March 18:
AFTER THE MURDER OF ALBERT LIMA
Director:
Aengus James
World Premiere:
Woodstock 2019
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Phoenix
About:
A man hires bounty hunters to bring his father’s killer to justice.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Paul Lima has spent over a decade seeking justice for his slain father, Albert. Though convicted, Albert’s murderer has remained free in Honduras. Frustrated with the failings of the legal system, Paul takes the unorthodox—and highly dangerous—step of hiring two bounty hunters to track down the killer and finally make him pay. This riveting and at times darkly comedic thriller explores both the importance of family and the myriad dangers of taking the law into your own hands.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
what (not) to doc 