Author Archives: basiltsiokos

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19:
THE COMPETITION (LE CONCOURS)

Director:
Claire Simon

Premiere:
Venice 2016

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, True/False, CPH:DOX, Docaviv, Docs Against Gravity, London, Göteborg, Taipei

About:
An inside look at a French film school and its next generation of hopeful filmmakers.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19:
THE RAFT

Director:
Marcus Lindeen

World Premiere:
CPH:DOX 2018

Select Festivals:
IDFA, London, Melbourne, Chicago, Doclisboa, Sao Paulo, Bergen, Antenna Doc, Dokufest, Haifa, Zurich, Athens, RiverRun

About:
A look back at an unusual social experiment from 1973.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to VOD:
REPEAT ATTENDERS

Director:
Mark Dooley

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2017

Select Festivals:
DocEdge

About:
A look at the lives and obsessions of musical superfans.

The film previously screened at DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
In London, Sally has spent £40,000 watching LES MISERABLES every two weeks for much of her life. German Gudrun regularly cosplays as her favorite STARLIGHT EXPRESS character. In California, Christine has assembled the largest collection of CATS memorabilia in the world. For these superfans, musical theater is an obsession, a refuge, and a place where they belong. They’ve spent years in the audience, and now Mark Dooley’s affectionate profile finally puts them in the spotlight.

Coming to virtual theatrical today, Friday, May 15:
ANBESSA

Director:
Mo Scarpelli

World Premiere:
Berlin 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Hot Docs, Thessaloniki Doc, Durban, Mountainfilm, RiverRun, Maryland, Woods Hole, Cleveland, Cucalorus, Washington DC Enviro, San Francisco DocFest

About:
A young Ethiopian boy turns to his imagination to reckon with the urbanization of his home.

The film previously screened at DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Mo Scarpelli’s creative documentary focuses on a lonely, imaginative Ethiopian boy named Asalif. Displaced by condo developments, Asalif and his mother struggle to make ends meet. With sweeping camera work and light-filled frames, the film gently probes the young boy’s interior world as he processes isolation and displacement. Creating an alternative identity as a ferocious lion – the meaning of the film’s title – Asalif learns to survive. Pushing the boundaries of standard nonfiction form, Mo Scarpelli’s portrait is a testament to resiliency.

New to MUBI this week:
TRANSNISTRA

Director:
Anna Eborn

World Premiere:
Rotterdam 2019

Select Festivals:
London, Gotëborg, CPH:DOX, Docaviv, Jihlava, Docs Against Gravity, Visions du Réel, Tempo Doc, Reykjavik, Busan, Yamagata, Sarajevo, Guanajuato, Cork

About:
A portrait of youth living in the unrecognized nation of Transnistria.

Officially considered part of Moldova and located on the border of Ukraine, Transnistria has been a breakaway state since 1990, internationally unrecognized but functioning with its own constitution, government, law enforcement, and currency. Filmmaker Anna Eborn provides a glimpse into life here, following a group of teenage friends. At the center is the sole female, Tanya, with several boys vying for her attention or affection. As they are followed over the course of a year, languidly captured by Eborn in a strikingly cinematic manner, they behave much like teens anywhere in the world – but time and again, the film offers reminders of the setting, subtly highlighting how much of the Soviet era remains within Transnistrian society.

New to iTunes and Vudu this week:
VERY RALPH

Director:
Susan Lacy

World Premiere:
Rome 2019

About:
A biographical portrait of pioneering fashion designer Ralph Lauren.

I previous wrote about the doc here.

Coming to CNN this Sunday, May 17:
SCANDALOUS

Director:
Mark Landsman

World Premiere:
Hamptons 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Austin, Kansas, Denver

About:
An exploration of the influential tabloid, the National Enquirer.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to Netflix tonight, Monday, May 11:
HAVE A GOOD TRIP: ADVENTURES IN PSYCHEDELICS

Director:
Donick Cary

World Premiere:
SXSW 2020 (cancelled)

About:
Celebrities and other notables share their often funny experiences with mind-altering substances.

Despite promising therapeutic studies conducted in the 1950s and early 1960s involving psychedelic drugs like LSD, they were still classified by the federal government as illegal substances. That status, of course, hasn’t stopped people from taking them, or from talking about their trips. Assembling stories from a wide range of famous folks from Sting and Sarah Silverman to Deepak Chopra and Carrie Fisher, filmmaker Donick Cary takes a comedic look at the history, science, and potential of psychedelics, as well as how they have been (mis)represented in popular culture. The result is a light-hearted survey of often very funny celebrity storytelling, illustrated through fun animated sequences, re-enactments, and an extended AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL parody.