Coming to PBS tonight, Monday, March 26:
INTO THE NIGHT: PORTRAITS OF LIFE AND DEATH
Director:
Helen Whitney
Premiere:
FilmColumbia 2017
Select Festivals:
Austin, Hamptons Take 2 Docs
About:
Nine diverse perspectives on dying, death, and the afterlife.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to NYC’s DCTV Presents series this coming Monday, March 26:
A BETTER MAN
Directors:
Attiya Khan and Lawrence Jackman
Premiere:
Hot Docs 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Atlantic, One World, Docville, Cleveland, St John’s Women’s, San Diego Asian, Big Sky Doc, Tempo Doc
About:
The filmmaker and her former partner confront the abuse she suffered in their relationship.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
While they were a couple, Steve exposed Attiya to terrifying daily verbal and physical abuse. Twenty years later, they revisit their relationship in an intimate, therapeutic context, walking through the physical – and emotional – spaces they once inhabited together. As Steve is put in a position to acknowledge and take responsibility for the abuse, will Attiya complete her long process of healing and be liberated from her demons? Her deeply intimate film explores the revelatory potential of involving the abuser in domestic violence prevention.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to PBS’s Reel South series on The WORLD Channel this coming Sunday, March 25:
FIRST LADY OF THE REVOLUTION
Director:
Andrea Kalin
Premiere:
Sidewalk 2016
Select Festivals:
Hot Springs Doc, Rocky Mountain Women’s, Oxford, Salem, Maryland, RiverRun, WorldFest Houston
About:
A profile of a Southern belle turned Central American political figure.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS WNET tomorrow, Saturday, March 24:
MANKILLER
Director:
Valerie Red-Horse Mohl
Premiere:
Los Angeles 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Athena, GlobeDocs, Palm Springs, Sedona, Rocky Mountain Women’s, American Indian, Austin, imagineNATIVE, United Nations Association, Mill Valley
About:
A portrait of a pioneering Native American leader.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Wilma Mankiller rose from poverty to become the first female chief of the Cherokee nation. After a forced relocation from her native Oklahoma at 10, Wilma developed her activist chops in turbulent 1960s San Francisco, fighting for land rights during the Alcatraz Occupation. Back with her people, she organized around issues of social and economic justice, advocating passionately for Native American self-determination even as she battled rampant sexism, political rivals, and significant health challenges. Valerie Red-Horse Mohl’s engaging film tells the story of this guardian of Cherokee heritage and unsung American heroine.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Saturday, March 24:
ESCAPES
Director:
Michael Almereyda
Premiere:
BAMcinemaFest 2016
Select Festivals:
Rotterdam, San Francisco (both as WIP)
About:
An unconventional biography of occasional actor and BLADE RUNNER screenwriter Hampton Fancher.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD via Hulu tomorrow, Friday, March 23:
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS 2: THE NEXT STEP
Director:
Luc Jacquet
Premiere:
French theatrical release (February 2017)
Select Festivals:
NY International Children’s, Sofia, Hong Kong, Zurich
About:
A follow up to the 2006 Academy Award-winning portrait of the emperor penguins of Antarctica.
More than a decade since the original film charmed audiences around the world, Luc Jacquet returns to the inhospitable polar breeding grounds of the titular figures for another beautifully lensed look at their lives. Much of what’s presented here is comfortably familiar, from the struggles of new penguin fathers to keep their soon-to-be-hatched offspring warm, to the pleasing resonance of Morgan Freeman’s narration – this English language version once again dispensing with the clunky conceit of anthropomorphic narration that characterized the 2005 French original. Where the sequel slightly differs is in more of a focus on the father penguins’ relationship with the hatchlings and their growth in the latter sections of the film, a consideration of the impact of climate change on their environment, and in taking advantage of advancements in camera technology to offer viewers a crisper view of the birds’ harsh habitat and, especially, their underwater escapades. While hardly reinventing the wheel, this new film serves as an easily watchable update of the story of the emperor penguins for a new generation.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Festival:
The 40th Cinéma du Reél
Dates:
March 23-April 1
About:
Approximately 50 new features screen at this long-running Paris nonfiction event, as well as a considerable retrospective programming slate. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
New to VOD this week:
100 YEARS: ONE WOMAN’S FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
Director:
Melinda Janko
Premiere:
LA theatrical release (September 2016)
Select Festivals:
Athena, Big Sky Doc, Washington DC Environmental, Red Nation, One Earth, American Indian, LA Femme
About:
An unlikely champion for the Blackfeet tribe stands up against the US government to demand justice after more than a century of exploitation.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
New to DVD this week:
THE WORK
Directors:
Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous
Premiere:
SXSW 2017
Select Festivals:
Seattle, Sheffield, BAMcinemaFest, Sarajevo, Melbourne
About:
Folsom State Prison hosts an intensive men’s group therapy workshop.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
New to VOD this week:
10 BILLION: WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE?
Director:
Valentin Thurn
Premiere:
German theatrical release (2015)
Select Festivals:
IDFA, CPH:DOX, Santa Barbara, Minneapolis-St Paul, EBS Doc, Docs Against Gravity, Vilnius, One World, Docville
About:
An exploration of the demands made on modern agriculture to feed an expanding population.
The film’s titular number is the expected population of the planet by the year 2050, an increase that seems likely to lead to food shortages and conflict over resources. In an attempt to make sense of what can be done to mitigate this potential global catastrophe, filmmaker Valentin Thurn – who also awkwardly narrates this project – conducts a survey of present day food production around the world, from the promises or pitfalls of GMOs, artificial fertilizers, and faux meat development to organic farming and community supported agriculture. Taking a methodical and informative approach, if not a particularly revelatory one, the well-meaning film addresses the familiar issues that come into play, including the need for sustainability, the importance of local farming, the harsh realities of land use conflict, and the dangers of corporate control of resources.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
what (not) to doc 