Author Archives: basiltsiokos

Coming to theatres today, Friday, April 6:
ACORN AND THE FIRESTORM

Directors:
Reuben Atlas and Sam Pollard

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
AFI Docs, Montclair, Traverse City, Indie Memphis, Cucalorus, St Louis, Milwaukee, Napa Valley

About:
An exploration of the manufactured controversy that led to the downfall of a powerful community-based advocacy group.

During the 2008 US Presidential election, John McCain called into question the activities of ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) and Barack Obama’s connection to the group, suggesting in hyperbolic terms that they were engaged in voter fraud. The next year, Hannah Giles and James O’Keefe, a pair of “concerned citizens” purported to catch ACORN employees on hidden camera abetting their plans involving tax evasion and human trafficking, supposedly while dressed as a stereotypical flashy pimp and prostitute. The media had a field day with their videos, the government raced to defund them, and private funders followed suit, leading to the dissolution of the organization by 2010. Atlas and Pollard’s enraging but not always fully focused film covers this scandal, revealing how quickly and unquestioningly O’Keefe and Giles’ dubious claims were accepted, and the reality of how the pair manipulated editing and flat out lied about the particulars of their sting operation – as well as the forty years of positive, effective change and empowerment that ACORN fostered. Importantly, they link the scandal to the emergence of what would become the alt right, but this is an area that could have received more attention.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, April 6:
THE HEART OF NUBA

Director:
Kenneth Carlson

Premiere:
Hot Springs Doc 2016

Select Festivals:
Human Rights Watch, Hollywood, Shanghai, Golden Apricot, Heartland

About:
A single Western doctor tries to care for the residents of the wartorn Nuba Mountains of Sudan.

Dr Tom Catena practices medicine in the Catholic Mother of Mercy Hospital, located in the middle of a warzone largely ignored by the rest of the world. Despite being condemned for war crimes in 2009, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has subjected the people of the Nuba Mountains region in the southern region of the country to regular bombardment. With the area marked as off-limits to outside aid, only Dr Catena remains to treat the victims of what has been called a genocide in progress. Carlson’s thoughtful if overly conventional film profiles Catena, nearing but not quite entering hagiographic white savior territory, as the compelling physician tends to his patients and tries to train the local people to help themselves.

New to DVD this week:
UNCLE GLORIA: ONE HELLUVA RIDE!

Director:
Robyn Symon

Premiere:
Miami/Ft Lauderdale LGBT 2016

Select Festivals:
DocUtah, Atlanta DocuFest, Southern Comfort, Chagrin Doc, Raindance, Outfest, NewFest, LGBT fests in Palm Springs, Seattle, Rochester, and Fresno

About:
A criminal finds her true gender after crossdressing to escape the law.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Courtesy of XLrator Media

Director:
David Yuzuk

Premiere:
Rome GA Film Festival 2017

About:
A police officer investigates the mysterious life of a homeless veteran.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, April 3:
BOSTON

Director:
Jon Dunham

Premiere:
Boston (April 2017)

About:
A love letter to and history of the Boston Marathon.

An officially authorized celebration, and, notably, a demonstration of resilience in the wake of the tragic 2013 terrorist bombing that targeted the race, Dunham’s film recounts highlights from the race’s 117-year history, culminating in the triumphant staging of the 2014 event, sans incident. While there’s quite a lot of material to fit in, the project still feels overlong, full of random anecdotes and characters who probably shouldn’t have made the final cut. Still, the good generally outweighs the bad, particularly as interview subjects reveal aspects of the race’s history that have larger significance, such as the fight women put up to be included, but also through intriguing scandals, like the debate over corporate sponsors and prizes, or the story of Rosie Ruiz, who was stripped of her win in 1980 after witnesses claimed she jumped into the race just a half-mile from the finish. These more colorful episodes help draw in viewers who otherwise might not be particular invested in the sport or who are resistant to its bombastic, manipulative score.