Author Archives: basiltsiokos

Coming to DVD next Tuesday, January 23:
NASSER’S REPUBLIC: THE MAKING OF MODERN EGYPT

Director:
Michal Goldman

Premiere:
Washington DC International Film Festival 2016

Select Festivals:
IFF Boston, Cairo, Pan-African, Luxor African, African Disaspora

About:
A profile of Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Nasser quickly rose to power in Egypt as one of the leaders of the 1952 revolution, a military coup to abolish the monarchy and end the British occupation. Following its success, and a later face-off with the Muslim Brotherhood, the charismatic Nasser became Egypt’s president and continued widespread reforms, including the nationalization of the Suez Canal and the formation of a nascent pan-Arab nation. As Goldman points out in her educational but workmanlike film, however, is that while Nasser brought many positive contributions to Egypt – and tried to accomplish much more that might very well have helped to stabilize the Middle East – he unfortunately failed to institute a true democracy. As a result, while hailed as Egypt’s great liberator, he also became the nation’s dictator until his death in 1970, setting the course for subsequent decades of authoritarian rule. In many ways, however, the Egypt that Nasser set out to transform shared much in common with today’s post-Arab Spring one, a country seeking to move beyond Mubarak and build a new, modern nation, making Goldman’s project timely for its historical contextualization and analysis.

Coming to DVD next Tuesday, January 23:
WHERE YOU’RE MEANT TO BE

Director:
Paul Fegan

Premiere:
Glasgow 2016

Select Festivals:
IDFA, CPH:DOX, Sheffield, Edinburgh, BAFICI, Docs Against Gravity, Chicago, Vancouver, Guth Gafa

About:
A Scots musician attempts to modernize and popularize outdated folk songs.

Fegan’s film follows Aidan Moffat, who was part of popular band Arab Strap, as he sets out to tour Scotland with his rewritten folk songs, borne out of an affection for the oral tradition of passing along the music and a desire to revitalize it. When Sheila Stewart, a 79-year-old traveller and folk singer hears his reworkings, however, she is not impressed – she believes the traditional songs are sacrosanct and that Moffat has missed the meaning. Despite this criticism, Moffat perseveres, in his own way helping to continue Stewarts work in keeping the music alive. While on the whole focused too much on the performances and not enough about Moffat, Stewart, or the music’s background, Fegan’s film has just enough charm and humor to keep a non-Scots audience engaged.

Coming to theatres this Friday, January 19:
KANGAROO

Directors:
Kate McIntyre Clere and Michael McIntyre

Premiere:
Santa Barbara 2017

Select Festivals:
NYC Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Rotterdam

About:
An exposé of the brutal treatment of kangaroos in Australia.

While synonymous with Australia, particularly in tourist-friendly images, the kangaroo has a more complicated relationship with the people of its home country than the international community might suspect. Some want to protect the animal, others wish to exploit it for meat, and some see it as vermin needing to be exterminated. Clere and McIntyre reveal these disparate viewpoints in their earnest but at times clunky film, but it becomes fairly clear that their sympathies rest with the conservationists – and it’s hard to imagine how any viewer would disagree, given the disturbing slaughter revealed here – making their film a would-be THE COVE for kangaroos. Unfortunately, the filmmakers incorporate some questionable storytelling techniques – from re-enactments to shock freeze frames and spot color effects – that have a cheapening effect. Despite this, they succeed in revealing the troubling treatment of the iconic Australian animal, as well as how it’s been combatted.

Coming to DVD this Friday, January 19:
EVERY 40 YEARS

Directors:
Eric Goldrich and Ben Friedberg

Premiere:
Santa Barbara 2017

About:
A folk rock trio that once achieved some success reunites after four decades.

Together with Friedberg, Goldrich profiles his father, Steve, and his bandmates in the group Gunhill Road, who are remembered as one-hit wonders for “Back When My Hair Was Short,” a Billboard charting song, but had a few other minor successes in the 1970s before they disbanded. They and past collaborators, family, and fans detail Gunhill Road’s emergence and what went wrong, including running afoul of bad record deals. An event that pays tribute to their former manager at the Bitter End gives an excuse for a reunion about 40 years after their heyday, shown in the final scenes here, and paves the way for a new album. While clearly a labor of love for the filmmakers, they struggle to find enough material to sustain even an hour-long doc, and what’s here is really only of interest to the band’s small fanbase.