Author Archives: basiltsiokos

Coming to theatres this Friday, July 29: CAN WE TAKE A JOKE?

Ted Balaker’s look at the impact of outrage culture on comedy had its world premiere at DOC NYC last year. Screenings followed at Anthem, RiverRun, and Sarasota, among other events.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In the age of social media, outrage has become commonplace. While individuals have always found something to be offended by, their ability to organize a groundswell of opposition to – and public censure of – their offender has never been more powerful. Balaker’s timely film offers a thought-provoking and wry exploration of outrage culture through the lens of stand-up comedy, with notables like Gilbert Gottfried, Lisa Lampanelli, and Adam Carolla detailing its stifling impact on everyone’s free speech and the exchange of ideas.

Coming to NYC’s Film Forum tomorrow, Wednesday, July 27: HIERONYMUS BOSCH: TOUCHED BY THE DEVIL

Pieter van Huystee’s behind-the-scenes look at the preparations for a major art exhibition debuted at IDFA last Fall. Other fests have included Sydney, Moscow, DOK.fest Munich, Festival dei Popoli, and Docs Against Gravity.

In the lead up to 2016, the 500th anniversary of the death of Dutch medieval master Hieronymus Bosch, famously known for his macabre allegorical triptych, The Garden of Earthly Delights, the Noordbrabants Museum in Den Bosch plans for a special exhibition celebrating their native son. Van Huystee follows the institution’s art historians as they track down his two dozen surviving works in Madrid and Venice to attempt to negotiate their inclusion, study their potential secrets using modern technology that looks behind the surface of the paintings, and, vitally, try to ascertain whether certain pieces were, in fact, painted by Bosch rather than by one of his students or followers. Like other recent documentaries focused on the inner workings of museums, such as THE GREAT MUSEUM and THE NEW RIJKSMUSEUM, the director offers an intriguing look into the competing forces – and curatorial egos – at play in mounting such exhibitions, as well as the persistent questions of authenticity and attribution that haunt curators. At the same time, working with the distinctive, playful, and disturbing imagery of Bosch affords the film some additional color, as curators revel in the artist’s phantasmagorias, full of lovingly painted demons, owls, and other denizens of the night.

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, July 26: HELP US FIND SUNTIL TRIPATHI

Neal Broffman’s look at the consequences of social media groupthink premiered at Atlanta last year. Screenings followed at Hot Docs, New Orleans, DMZ Docs, Brooklyn, Boston Asian American, St Louis, Denver, and Oxford, among other events. FilmBuff now releases the film on VOD platforms.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, July 26: HARMONTOWN

Neil Berkeley’s look at the celebrated COMMUNITY showrunner made its debut at SXSW in 2014. It went on to screen at Los Angeles, deadCENTER, Hot Docs, and Napa Valley, among other events.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to DVD and VOD today, Friday, July 22: SONS OF BEN

Jeffrey C Bell’s chronicle of the ardent fans of a nonexistent sports team debuted at the Tokyo Intl Football Film Festival last year. The doc screened at several other sports fests, including Thinking Football, Off-Side, Kicking + Screening, Berlin’s Fussballfilmfestival, and CineFoot, as well as the Chesapeake film fest. It now comes to DVD and to VOD platforms including iTines, Amazon, and Google Play.

After a previous national soccer league failed, Major League Soccer was formed as a condition of the US’s hosting of the 1994 World Cup, with ten initial teams beginning in 1996. A Philadelphia-based team was not among them, which rankled the city’s passionate soccer fans. Bell’s film reveals the unorthodox steps they took to remedy that situation, as the titular supporters’ club was formed – for a team that did not yet exist. Named after Ben Franklin, and chosen for the appropriate acronym formed, the Sons of Ben began as a desperate, grassroots effort to demonstrate the fanbase for a division one professional soccer team to come to Philadelphia. Founders and early converts detail their promotional activity and unexpected success in paving the way for the Philadelphia Union to join the ranks of MLS. What seems initially likely to become a hopelessly padded, insider-focused talking heads fest ends up changing course to include the intriguing wrinkles of a plan for economic revitalization of the forgotten, largely African-American town of Chester PA as the host of the soccer stadium, and the eleventh-hour arrival of the Great Recession, which threatens to derail all plans. These elements help broaden the film’s appeal into an underdog story that should resonate beyond a small subset of sports fans.