Author Archives: basiltsiokos

Coming to DVD today, Friday, October 14: BAYOU MAHARAJAH

Lily Keber’s portrait of an unsung piano genius debuted at SXSW in 2013. Screenings followed at New Orleans, Melbourne, Krakow, Hawaii, Little Rock, and the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Sound + Vision, among other events.

Self-described as the “Black Liberace,” gay, black, one-eyed New Orleans piano player James Booker sold himself short by comparing himself to anyone, as Keber’s affectionate profile reveals. Described as a true genius by influential musician Allen Toussaint, Booker had his own unique musical style, and started playing professionally while still a teenager, working with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, and Fats Domino. He also struggled with alcohol and drug addiction and had mental health issues, resulting in a wild personality and a tendency towards self-destruction that undercut his talent and chances for larger success. While somewhat holding back on fully fleshing out her subject, Keber wisely incorporates a great deal of performance footage to let Booker’s music speak for him.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, October 14: SHADOW WORLD

Johan Grimonprez’s look at the influence of the global arms trade made its debut at Tribeca this Spring. Its fest circuit has also included Edinburgh, San Francisco, Encounters, Durban, Guanajuato, New Zealand, Dokufest Kosovo, and Vancouver.

Taking a big picture view of global politics, Grimonprez makes the audacious claim that politics is all about war, with the world’s superpowers financially invested in keeping us in perpetual conflict, regardless of the consequences. Adapted from the 2011 book of the same name by Andrew Feinstein, the film is grist for the conspiracy theory mill, but, despite some messiness and early missteps, not without chillingly convincing arguments. The starting point for this clarion call to constant war comes in the 1980s with – of course – hawkish Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher and the rise of Saudi Arabia’s influence on geopolitical affairs, but continues down the line through George W Bush’s Halliburton-benefitting war on terror and Obama’s embrace of drone strikes. It’s a dense and challenging project, and though overstating its case at times, Grimonprez’s film remains thought-provoking throughout.

Coming to Investigation Discovery this Saturday, October 15: SOUTHWEST OF SALEM: THE STORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO FOUR

Deborah S Esquenazi’s investigation into a miscarriage of justice premiered at Tribeca this Spring. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Sheffield, DocuWest, AFI Docs, Frameline, Outfest, and Inside Out, among other events.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, October 12: TOWER

Keith Maitland’s chronicle of America’s first mass school shooting debuted at SXSW this year, where it won both the documentary jury and audience awards. Its fest circuit also included Hot Docs, Seattle, Karlovy Vary, Jerusalem, Melbourne, Fantasia, the Hamptons, BFI London, Sitges, and Mill Valley, among other events.

Fifty years ago, on August 1, 1966, at the University of Texas at Austin, a man ascended to the top of the school’s clock tower and began shooting at those below, ultimately killing 14 and wounding 32 others before he was himself shot by police. Using rotoscopic animation to reconstruct the scene, Maitland immediately plunges the audience into the harrowing event, offering the perspectives of a number of eyewitnesses, including the first victim, who was pregnant and with her boyfriend when she was shot; a boy shot while on his newspaper delivery route; a civilian who helped police enter the tower; and two of the officers who took the sniper down. While re-enactments in documentary can often sink a project, here they are surprisingly effective, the unusual look of the rotoscope animation putting a slightly off-kilter lens on what might fall flat if the footage was simply unfiltered scenes of actors recreating the tragedy. The effect is so successful in its immersive ability, in fact, that when the film breaks from the animation for its final third to instead employ a more traditional talking heads approach with the actual survivors, it feels like an unfortunate disruption.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, October 11: BREAKING A MONSTER

Luke Meyer’s inside look at the promotion of a new band premiered at SXSW last year. Screenings followed at Hot Docs, Sheffield, BAMcinemaFest, Sydney, Traverse City, Melbourne, Camden, Mill Valley, CPH:DOX, RIDM, Big Sky Doc, IndieLisboa, and Durban.

I previously wrote about the doc here.