Coming to DVD and VOD today, Thursday, January 21:
WELCOME TO CHECHNYA
Director:
David France
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
Berlin, True/False, One World, Miami, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Thessaloniki Doc, Sheffield, Human Rights Watch
About:
An exposé of Chechnya’s state-sanctioned policy to rid Chechnya of LGBTQ+ individuals.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
IN THE SAME BREATH
Nanfu Wang investigates the dual forces of propaganda and patriotism in the response to the coronavirus outbreaks in both China and the US.
Festival Section:
Premieres (Day One film)
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
New to DVD this week:
THE DISRUPTED
Director:
Sarah Colt
Co-Director:
Josh Gleason
World Premiere:
DOK.fest Munich 2020
Select Festivals:
Mountainfilm, Woods Hole
About:
A portrait of three working class individuals facing disruption and change in their economic situations.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to DVD this week:
BORN TO BE
Director:
Tania Cypriano
World Premiere:
New York Film Festival 2019
Select Festivals:
Docaviv, Hamptons, Palm Springs, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Sarasota, Cleveland, Nashville, Cinequest, Seattle Asian American
About:
A portrait of a physician who specializes in gender transition surgery and his patients at Mt Sinai.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
BRING YOUR OWN BRIGADE
Lucy Walker offers a compelling and comprehensive essay exploring the history and causes of wildfires.
Festival Section:
Premieres
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to VOD this Friday, January 22:
HEALING FROM HATE: BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF A NATION
Director:
Peter Hutchison
World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2019
Select Festivals:
Martha’s Vineyard, Big Sky Doc
About:
Former hate group members help others attempting to leave behind radicalism.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
AMY TAN: UNINTENDED MEMOIR
The late James Redford profiles the life and career of the noted author.
Festival Section:
Premieres
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, January 19:
ASSASSINS
Director:
Ryan White
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Zurich, Warsaw, Stockholm, Full Frame, Double Exposure, Hot Docs, Brisbane, Hawai’i
About:
An investigation of the bizarre story behind the brazen assassination of the half-brother of Kim Jong-un.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to The WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed today, Tuesday, January 19:
THE AREA
Director:
David Schalliol
World Premiere:
Full Frame 2018
Select Festivals:
Black Harvest, SF IndieFest
About:
A longitudinal portrait of a historically Black South Side Chicago neighborhood as it faces destruction.
For generations, Englewood has been home for hundreds of Black families, part of a legacy that stretches back to the Great Migration. Notably, despite decades of inequities and racist policies that have historically limited the ability of many Black people to be homeowners, Englewood has beaten the odds, with half of its families owning their homes. David Schalliol’s film begins in 2012, when the Norfolk Southern railroad company has already begun to decimate Englewood, buying up property to expand its nearby rail yard. Working in concert with local politicians, all too eager to reframe the neighborhood as suffering from urban blight and to erase its long history, Norfolk Southern’s victory is sadly inevitable. Despite this, some local residents refuse to go quietly, demanding to be treated with respect and to be offered fair compensation for their homes. Schalliol follows their righteous, if Sisyphean, struggle – and the sad demise of Englewood – over five years in this sensitively observed profile.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
WRITING WITH FIRE
Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh chronicle the trailblazing work of India’s only news outlet run by Dalit women – once known as “untouchable.”
Festival Section:
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Country:
India
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
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