Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 2:
ZAPPA
Director:
Alex Winter
World Premiere:
SXSW 2020 (unscreened)
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Camden, Montclair, Philadelphia
About:
The definitive portrait of musician Frank Zappa.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 2:
ON THIN ICE
Director:
Keli Price
World Premiere:
VOD release (Feb 2021)
About:
A look at athletes how have faced inequalities in competitive sports.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Festival:
The 71st Berlinale
Dates:
March 1-5 (industry)
About:
Germany’s world-class film event presents its scaled-down line-up of approximately 100 features – docs or hybrids making up a third – for industry online over the next few days, with in-person screenings of these selections planned for the public this June.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to VOD today, Friday, February 26:
‘TIL KINGDOM COME
Director:
Maya Zinshtein
World Premiere:
Docaviv 2020
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Chicago, Denver, Double Exposure
About:
An investigation of unlikely political bedfellows between America and Israel.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
In this provocative look at strange political bedfellows, Israeli filmmaker Maya Zinshtein investigates the political alliance between American evangelicals and Israel’s right wing, and their influence on the Trump administration’s foreign policy. Why do American church leaders encourage parishioners to make donations to Israel, even from poor communities? Because they believe Israel’s expansion will play a key role in end-times prophecy, when Christians will be saved and others—including Jews—will perish.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to virtual cinemas via Metrograph beginning tomorrow, Friday, February 26:
UNTITLED PIZZA MOVIE
Director:
David Shapiro
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
About:
The filmmaker revisits a long-unfinished project to make sense of the passing of his friend and collaborator.
My pre-Sundance profile of the docuseries may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to Discovery+ tomorrow, Friday, February 26:
SKI BUM: THE WARREN MILLER STORY
Director:
Patrick Creadon
World Premiere:
Slamdance 2019
Select Festivals:
Big Sky Doc, Seattle, Boulder, Calgary Underground, Breckenridge, BendFilm
About:
A portrait of the influential ski filmmaker.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to OVID.tv tomorrow, Thursday, February 25:
WINTER NOMADS
Director:
Manuel von Stürler
World Premiere:
Berlin 2012
Select Festivals:
IDFA, San Francisco, Thessaloniki Doc, ZagrebDox, Flahertiana, Reykjavik, Goteborg, Guth Gafa
About:
A grizzled veteran shepherd and a newcomer lead their flock all over the Swiss countryside to fatten them up before slaughter.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Releases
Coming to virtual cinemas today, Wednesday, February 24:
MY DARLING SUPERMARKET
Director:
Tali Yankelevich
World Premiere:
IDFA 2019
Select Festivals:
Thessaloniki Doc, Visions du Reel, Guadalajara, Doc Fortnight, DOXA, Big Sky Doc
About:
Profiles of the workers in a São Paulo supermarket.
Gliding through the aisles of Supermercado Veran, filmmaker Tali Yankelevich’s camera shows off a perfectly organized, well-stocked grocery store, her careful compositions making an almost hyper-real artscape out of the mundane space. But real people work here, and while shoppers might give them – or their counterparts in markets around the world – little thought, Yankelevich turns her attention to them in a series of playful and sometimes surprising observations and interviews. Amidst commentary about their jobs or relationships with co-workers, they’re more apt to discuss their extra-curricular interests and activities, from playing video games and cosplay to Orwell and quantum physics. The result is an unexpectedly charming glimpse at the interior lives of workers and how they view their time at work.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, February 23:
COLLECTIVE
Director:
Alexander Nanau
World Premiere:
Venice 2019
Select Festivals:
Sundance, DOC NYC, Toronto, IDFA, Zurich, Goteborg, Thessaloniki Doc, Docaviv, Docs Against Gravity, Docville, Moscow, Hamptons, Montclair
Notable Recognition:
The doc has been shortlisted for the Academy Awards.
About:
An investigation reveals disturbing corruption in Romanian state agencies following a fatal nightclub fire in Bucharest.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Available free to stream in the US via Vice’s Short List:
TWO GODS
Director:
Zeshawn Ali
World Premiere:
Full Frame 2020 (unscreened)
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, BlackStar, Montclair, Hot Docs, Camden
About:
A Black Muslim casket maker mentors two boys.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
In Newark, NJ, a mortician takes two troubled teenage boys under his tutelage. Teacher and students alike learn the meaning of tradition, hard work, and forgiveness through instruction in the ways of traditional Muslim burial. Shot in stark black and white, this beautiful look at a unique craft shows the importance of a bond forged through mentorship.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
