This post is a pointer to the fourth lineup announcement for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Additional selections in the Premieres, Midnight, Special Events, and From the Collection sections have just been announced and may be found here.
Previous lineup announcements include the US and World Cinema Documentary and Dramatic Competitions, NEXT, Documentary Premieres, Premieres, Midnight, Spotlight, and Kids; Indie Episodic, Special Events, and Shorts; and New Frontier.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations, Sundance
TAKE LIGHT
Director:
Shasha Nakhai
Premiere:
Cleveland 2018
Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Atlanta, Durban
About:
A ground-level look at Nigeria’s electricity crisis.
Despite its status as the largest producer of electricity in Africa, Nigeria struggles to provide power to more than half of its population, and, even for those with access, it’s severely limited and undependable. While the citizenry grows angry, blaming corruption and using illicit means to grab their share of energy at no cost, the government points to limitations in their infrastructure, making it impossible to keep up with the demand of the nation’s 200 million consumers. Nakhai capably if somewhat too cursorily explores this challenge of development and resources through several profiles of individuals connected to the issue, including an electrician who survived a dangerous electrocution, a bill collector faced with the unpleasant task of having to cut power to disgruntled customers who can’t or won’t pay their bills, and a pair of Youtubers known as Two Angry Men, who humorously complain about the state of affairs.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to DVD this week:
TRANSFORMER
Director:
Michael Del Monte
Premiere:
Austin 2017
Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Big Sky Doc, Hot Springs Doc
About:
A portrait of a champion powerlifter as she struggles with body image issues during her transition to female.
For most of her life, Janae Marie Kroczaleski lived as Matt Kroc, achieving fame within the bodybuilding world with a world record in powerlifting before being publicly outed as transgender. Having bulked up to a 250-lb hypermasculine ideal, however, has left Janae conflicted about her ability to meet society’s standards of what a woman should look like, and what space there is for her in the sport to which she has devoted so much of her time and energy. This ambivalence around Janae’s physical transition – together with the refreshingly open and supportive relationship she shares with her teenage sons – helps differentiate Del Monte’s likeable project from the numerous overly familiar stories of transition that have emerged over the past couple of decades.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to DVD this week:
MATANGI/MAYA/MIA
Director:
Stephen Loveridge
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
Berlin, True/False, CPH:DOX, New Directors/New Films, Docs Against Gravity, Biografilm, Sydney, New Zealand, Melbourne, Helsinki, Zurich, Seattle
About:
An insider perspective on the life and career of popular musician MIA.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to iTunes today, Tuesday, December 18:
MR. FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END
Director:
Pablo Bryant
Premiere:
Austin 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Hot Docs, Slamdance, Big Sky Doc, Salem, Ashland, Florida
About:
A radical political cartoonist faces the possibility that he must compromise his values to sustain his art.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Mr Fish is a talented political cartoonist known for his subversive and often controversial art. But what happens to an outspoken artist when his once-supportive editors, faced with a vanishing industry, are no longer able to provide a forum for his sardonic take on the world? With a family to support, will Mr. Fish be able to stay true to his principles, or will he be forced to sell himself out in order to sell his art?
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, December 18:
FAHRENHEIT 11/9
Director:
Michael Moore
Premiere:
Toronto 2018
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Busan, London, Tokyo, Docslisboa
About:
Provocateur Michael Moore takes the temperature of America’s polarized political landscape.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
“One of Moore’s best and most incisively funny films” (Rolling Stone) seeks to understand the rise of Donald Trump and the resistance against him. The filmmaker employs his trademark satire to span multiple topics including the Flint water crisis and a stinging critique of corruption among both Republicans and Democrats. He shines a light on insurgent politicians such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib along with the youthful activism stirred by Parkland students.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short Subject shortlists today. Congratulations to all the filmmakers – in particular all of the Sundance, DOC NYC, and Nantucket Film Festival alumni represented.
The official lists are below, with links to my previous coverage, where applicable. The final nominees will be announced on January 22.
Documentary Feature:
CHARM CITY
COMMUNION
CRIME + PUNISHMENT
DARK MONEY
THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS
FREE SOLO
HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING
MINDING THE GAP
OF FATHERS & SONS
ON HER SHOULDERS
RBG
SHIRKERS
THE SILENCE OF OTHERS
THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Documentary Short Subject:
’63 BOYCOTT
BLACK SHEEP
END GAME
LIFEBOAT
LOS COMANDOS
MY DEAD DAD’S PORNO TAPES
A NIGHT AT THE GARDEN
PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE.
WOMEN OF THE GULAG
ZION
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, December 17:
MAN ON FIRE
Director:
Joel Fendelman
Premiere:
Slamdance 2018
Select Festivals:
Big Sky Doc, Indie Grits, Atlanta, Newport Beach, Sidewalk, Hot Springs Doc, St Louis
About:
The self-immolation of a local pastor forces a small Texan town to reckon with its history of racism.
In 2014, Charles Moore, a minister born and raised in Grand Saline TX set himself on fire, leaving behind a letter calling for the community to repent for its long history of mistreatment of African Americans. The film presents the steps leading to this action in belabored, slo-mo re-enactments, with some context provided through interviews with family members, friends, and community members. Older members of the community seem to be in denial about any allegations of racism or of the clear self-segregation that has resulted in the town being virtually absent of black people, while some younger residents seem more conflicted, and African Americans living outside of Grand Saline share their feelings of not being welcome there. Clocking in at under an hour, Fendelman’s earnest project feels more like a padded short than a fully developed feature, with the re-enactments serving as an unfortunate ponderous crutch that prevents a deeper dive into the core issues.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to Starz tonight, Monday, December 17:
FAIL STATE
Director:
Alexander Shebanow
Premiere:
Austin 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Big Sky, SXSW EDU, Cleveland, Nashville, Brooklyn
About:
An exposé of predatory for-profit colleges.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, December 17:
BLEED OUT
Director:
Steve Burrows
Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018
About:
The filmmaker seeks justice for his mother, who suffers catastrophic complications after routine surgery.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US. Comedic director Steve Burrows’ mom is a victim of this sloppy medical system when a routine hip replacement surgery lands her in coma with permanent brain damage. Seeking justice, her son takes on the Goliath of corporate medicine in this legal drama meets medical mystery. The result is a cautionary tale about the future of our profit-driven healthcare system.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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