Coming to HBO and HBO Max tonight, Wednesday, September 28:
HOSTAGES
Director:
Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre, Joshua Bennett, Abbas Motlagh, Sam Pollard
World Premiere:
HBO broadcast (September 2022)
About:
A four-part docuseries on the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, focusing on both the experiences of those involved, as well as an historical chronicle of the tangled web of US/Iran relations in the decades leading up to the Iranian Revolution.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to OVID today, Tuesday, September 27:
THE GREENAWAY ALPHABET
Director:
Saskia Boddeke
World Premiere:
IDFA 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, BAFICI, Thessaloniki Doc, Biografilm, Tirana
About:
A playful profile of British director Peter Greenaway.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Acclaimed filmmaker Peter Greenaway – perhaps best known for THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE, AND HER LOVER – is a lover of patterns and sequences, a motif that recurs throughout his work. In this playful portrait by his wife, multimedia artist Saskia Boddeke, Greenaway engages in an autobiographical alphabetic word association led by his perceptive 16-year-old daughter, Pip. As the father and daughter run through their ABCs, illustrated by scenes from his lavish body of work, a deeply personal, and surprisingly revealing, portrait of Greenaway emerges.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, September 27:
THE YOUTH GOVERNOR
Director:
Matt Halmy, Jaron Halmy
World Premiere:
Cleveland 2022
About:
In the halls of California’s Capitol, 4,000 teenagers run a fully functioning government complete
with legislators, party bosses, and elections, with three candidates emerging in the
race for the 72nd Youth Governor.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres in re-release today, Tuesday, September 27:
ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL
Director:
Sacha Gervasi
World Premiere:
Sundance 2008
Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Chicago, Bergen, Biografilm, Docville, Göteborg, Helsinki, San Francisco Jewish
About:
An influential but obscure Canadian 1980s metal band attempts to mount a comeback and finally get their long-deserved due.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Releases, Sundance
Coming to OVID tomorrow, Tuesday, September 27:
SEARCHING FOR INGMAR BERGMAN
Director:
Margarethe von Trotta
Premiere:
Cannes 2018
Select Festivals:
Toronto, New York, Karlovy Vary, Hong Kong, Reykjavik
About:
An appreciation of the legendary Swedish filmmaker.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to OVID today, Monday, September 26:
KARAMAY
Director:
Xu Xin
World Premiere:
Locarno 2010
Select Festivals:
Cinema du Reel, MoMA Doc Fortnight, Vancouver, AFI Fest, Hong Kong, Jeonju
About:
A revisitation of the December 8, 1994 theatre fire that took the lives of 323 people in Xinjiang Province, China.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, September 26:
DELIKADO
Director:
Karl Malakunas
World Premiere:
Hot Docs 2022
Select Festivals:
Sheffield, DMZ Docs, Los Angeles Asian Pacific, Sydney, Mountainfilm, Melbourne, Doc Edge, Human Rights Watch
About:
In the majestic tropical island of Palawan, three environmental crusaders confront murder, betrayal, and political corruption.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres and to Apple TV+ today, Friday, September 23:
SIDNEY
Director:
Reginald Hudlin
World Premiere:
Toronto 2022
About:
A sweeping portrait of the late, great Sidney Poitier surveys his films, life story, and litany of accomplishments as an artist and activist who forever changed what it means to be Black in America.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 23:
YOUNG PLATO
Director:
Neasa Ní Chianáin, Declan McGrath
World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2021
Select Festivals:
Dublin, Thessaloniki Doc, Biografilm, CPH:DOX
About:
A visionary headmaster at a Catholic primary school in Belfast teaches ancient Greek wisdom as an antidote for pessimism, violence and historical despair.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 23:
WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND
Director:
Iliana Sosa
World Premiere:
SXSW 2022
Select Festivals:
Full Frame, MoMI First Look, Guanajuato, Camden, RiverRun, Tallgrass, Thin Line, Milwaukee, Latinx fests in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Austin, and Silver Spring
About:
A gentle love letter to farmworkers, mutual caregivers, and transnational families through the filmmaker’s portrait of her grandfather.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
what (not) to doc 