Next up in my doc-by-doc rundown of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival: HOLY HELL, a filmmaker’s reckoning with a long-time membership in an enigmatic cult. [Note: This profile has been updated now that the festival has disclosed the filmmaker’s identity.]
Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, December 29: LARRY KRAMER IN LOVE & ANGER
Jean Carlomusto’s profile of the controversial activist/author debuted at Sundance this year. Its festival circuit has included Frameline, Provincetown, QDoc, AFI Docs, Virginia, and Poland’s American film fest, among others.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
My focus on 2016 Sundance nonfiction continues: GLEASON, Clay Tweel’s portrait of a former professional athlete’s adaptation to a debilitating disease.
Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Wrapping up the first day of my 2016 Sundance doc profiles: THE BAD KIDS, Keith Fulton and Lou Pepe’s portrait of a high school for at-risk youth.
Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Next up in my Sundance preview: AUTHOR: THE JT LEROY STORY, Jeff Feuerzeig’s revisitation of the infamous literary sensation.
Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, December 28: HEROIN: CAPE COD, USA
Steven Okazaki’s candid profile of opiate addiction in a small community makes its debut on the cable network after preview community screenings in Boston and on the Cape.
A response to the alarming growth of cases of heroin overdose, addiction, and drug-related crimes in a community typically known as an idyllic summer vacation destination, Okazaki’s film takes an intimate look at several locals whose lives have been upended by the drug. Though the director dispenses some disturbing statistics and facts – such as the overprescription rates of opiate-based painkillers like oxycontin and their role as gateway drugs to cheaper, more easily available heroin – the strength of the film is in its frank profiling of users. These young people – reflecting the community, they are nearly all white, some seemingly fairly well-off, with supportive families – cycle through various rehab centers or sober houses on and off the Cape, struggle with recovery, and eventually relapse. Willing to appear on camera at their worst, they express frustration and pessimism as they speak openly about their inability to kick their addiction and the depths they’ve sunk to in order to support it. Occasionally during interviews, without warning, titles appear revealing updates to their stories: relapses, disappearances, and, in a few cases, deaths by overdose. While these shouldn’t be a surprise, they still pack a gutpunch, reflecting the empathy Okazaki is able to build over a relatively brief running time.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
My Sundance 2016 doc profiles begin with AUDRIE & DAISY, Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk’s exploration of the dangerous combination of juvenile sexual assault and social media shaming.
Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
The 32nd edition of the Sundance Film Festival will take place next month, running between January 21-31, with a lineup consisting of 133 features and 72 shorts. Since 2011, I’ve profiled the feature documentaries in the program in advance of the festival to provide information about the films and their filmmakers and to share my excitement for their upcoming premieres. I’ll begin with the first few titles in the US Documentary Competition this coming Monday, and continue film-by-film, section-by-section, to cover the approximately 50 nonfiction offerings before the festival opens.
As a Documentary Programming Associate for Sundance, please note that these profiles are not reviews – instead, they simply include select background, noting past Sundance projects where applicable, and reasons why readers should seek the films out, either in Park City during the festival or later in the year at other upcoming festivals, in theatres, TV/cable, or on DVD/VOD. For a sample, check out last year’s series, which began here.
I’ve also prepared a new Twitter list to give readers a look at the festival through the eyes of the Sundance filmmaking class of 2016.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to PBS this Sunday, December 27: ASTOR BARBER ALL-STARS
Karen Gehres’ ode to a NYC institution debuted at the San Francisco DocFest last year. It has also screened at the Manhattan and Rome Independent fests.
Astor Place Hairstylists has been in operation since 1939, and run by the Vezza family since 1947, expanding from a small barbershop to three bustling floors in its heyday, which witnessed lines of waiting customers directed around the store via a megaphone. While those days have passed, the mom-and-pop shop still boasts about fifty stations in its cavernous digs in a neighborhood that’s otherwise steadily been absorbed by NYU and chain stores. Known for its inexpensive haircuts, multilingual barbers, and occasional celebrity clientele, it’s an unassuming place filled with NYC history which Gehres makes an admirable attempt to cover, providing those who have frequented the place with a healthy dose of nostalgia. Incorporating low-grade video footage from the barbershop’s storied past with more recent interviews with the business’ owners, employees, and clients, the film is ultimately too rough-hewn and local to make a larger impression, but it certainly succeeds in conveying a love for the establishment and its endurance in the face of a rapidly-vanishing old-school New York.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres this Friday, December 25: TRANSFATTY LIVES
Patrick O’Brien’s personal exploration of ALS debuted at Tribeca, where it picked up an audience award. The film also screened at Hot Docs, MIlan, DOK Leipzig, and Poland’s American Film Festival.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
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