Author Archives: basiltsiokos

Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed series on The WORLD Channel tonight, Tuesday, March 20:
THE INVISIBLE PATIENTS

Director:
Patrick O’Connor

Premiere:
Indy Film Fest 2016

Select Festivals:
Cucalorus, Heartland

About:
A profile of a nurse practitioner who cares for homebound patients.

O’Connor’s simple but effective film focuses on Jessica Macleod, PhD, who makes house calls to individuals in Indiana and Kentucky who otherwise would likely be without home care because of mobility issues and/or limited income. Over nearly a year, the straight-talking nurse practitioner is followed as she provides primary care services to four of her patients. These include elderly couple Wink and Patty, who have few options for care after being suspected of selling their pain pills; Ron, an artist confined to a wheelchair following a traumatic brain injury, who Jessica also worries might be being maltreated by his roommate brother; and Roger, a young man with Duchenne muscle dystrophy nearing the end of his life. In between providing compassionate care for these individuals, Jessica reflects on the state of health care in America, the need for more in-home providers, the personal sacrifices made for her job, and the lack of respect she often encounters because she is not a doctor. While not the most artful portrait, O’Connor’s film provides an empathetic look at the lives of isolated and often neglected patients and the efforts of professionals like Jessica to address their needs.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 20:
MISS KIET’S CHILDREN

Directors:
Peter Lataster and Petra Lataster-Czisch

Premiere:
IDFA 2016

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, True/False, DOXA, Munich Dok.Fest, Thessaloniki Doc, Melbourne Doc, Goteborg, St Louis

About:
A portrait of a Dutch grade school class made up of refugee children.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, March 19:
ARTHUR MILLER: WRITER

Director:
Rebecca Miller

Premiere:
Telluride 2017

Select Festivals:
New York Film Festival, Woodstock

About:
An intimate portrait of the filmmaker’s famed playwright father.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s Doc World on the WORLD Channel this Sunday, March 18:
ARMED WITH FAITH

Directors:
Geeta Gandbhir and Asad Faruqi

Premiere:
Sheffield 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Atlanta, Vancouver, Salem

About:
A profile of members of a bomb squad on the Afghan-Pakistani border.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
After 9/11, Pakistan, an American ally in the global war on terror, is plagued by both homegrown and international terrorism. The small yet heroic Pakistani Bomb Disposal Unit is on the frontline of defense, defusing bombs, navigating land mines, and grappling with suicide bombers, all while dealing with financial hardship and familial pressure. Harrowing and suspenseful, Geeta Gandbhir and Asad Faruqi’s compelling film takes us on the ground with this dedicated squad of men who risk their own lives every day for their country.