Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, September 29: THE HUMAN EXPERIMENT
Dana Nachman and Don Hardy’s warning of the dangers of everyday chemicals had its premiere at Mill Valley in 2013. Other fests have included IDFA, Big Sky, One World, Boulder, Cleveland, Nashville, Planete + Doc, and Washington DC’s Environmental fests, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc upon its initial release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, September 29: CARTEL LAND
Matthew Heineman’s immersive exploration into the response to Mexico’s cartel violence debuted at Sundance this year, winning two awards. Other fests have includes Nantucket, True/False, Martha’s Vineyard, Full Frame, Dallas, Sarasota, Tribeca, IFF Boston, Documenta, Docville, Seattle, Sydney, Human Rights Watch, AFI Docs, and Sheffield, among others.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction as the series’ Fall season opener tonight, Tuesday, September 29: WINTER ON FIRE: UKRAINE’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM
Evgeny Afineevsky’s immersive chronicle of a popular rebellion made its debut at Venice. It went on to screen at Telluride and Toronto, where it won an audience award.
Covering the same ground as the more formally rigorous MAIDAN, Afineevsky’s approach to the December 2013-February 2014 Ukrainian revolution is more in the vein of THE SQUARE, focusing on the masses gathered in Kiev’s Independence Square to protest Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s collusion with Russia to keep Ukraine out of the European Union. While providing a panoramic view of the three-month standoff, the film weaves in profiles a diverse group of individual protestors, highlighting their resilience in the face of brutal crackdowns by the government’s special police force, the Berkut, and violent hired thugs, the Titushky. Offering an intense, in the moment experience of the uprising, Afineevsky builds chronologically to its celebratory zenith in the ouster of Yanukovych, while closing cards provide a sobering reminder of the further turmoil that followed from the nation’s war with Russia.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 29: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS
Mark Hartley’s love letter to the Golan-Globus producing team had its world premiere at Melbourne last year. Other fests included Toronto, London, Haifa, Sitges, Mar del Plata, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Glasgow, Dublin, New Horizons, and Fantastic Fest, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Monday, September 28: SUNSHINE SUPERMAN
Marah Strauch’s look at the life of an adventure seeker made its world premiere at Toronto last year. It went on to the New York Film Festival, Martha’s Vineyard, Sarasota, Montclair, Cleveland, Vancouver, and Florida, among other events. Magnolia now makes the film available for VOD and digital download.
I previously wrote about the film here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 29: SOUL BOYS OF THE WESTERN WORLD
George Hencken’s history of Spandau Ballet had its world premiere at SXSW last year. Other fest slots included DOC NYC, Rome, Sheffield, CPH:DOX, BAFICI, and In-Edit.
I previously wrote about the film here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 29: A MURDER IN THE PARK
Shawn Rech and Brandon Kimber’s exposé of the truth behind a controversial murder case had its world premiere at DOC NYC last year. It went on to screen at Cleveland and to enjoy a limited theatrical release.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 25: SLEEPLESS IN NEW YORK
Christian Frei’s look at heartbreak debuted at Visions du Réel last year. Other fests included Hot Docs, DOK.fest Munich, Planete+ Doc, Docville, EDOC, Locarno, Dokufest, DocPoint, BAFICI, and ZagrebDox.
Wishing to explore the phenomenon of lovesickness, Frei solicits the recently lovelorn via street flyers, finding three people more than happy to share their obsession on camera: Alley, rejected just days ago by her boyfriend of several years; Michael, whose longtime live-in girlfriend dumped him two weeks ago; and Rosey, who’s finally realizing the one-night fling at the Mermaid Parade she had with an out-of-town lothario isn’t going to lead to anything. While the hopelessly hipster Rosey is perhaps the most insufferable of the three, all of them are awash in such rampant self-absorption that it’s difficult to watch. Certainly, we’ve all been there before, but few of us have broadcast it to the world quite so pointedly. Luckily, Frei mitigates this cringeworthiness to some extent by incorporating the views of the often insightful Professor Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist who has studied the impact of love – and its loss – on the brain, and who refers to it at one point as a “horrible addiction.”
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 25: BECOMING BULLETPROOF
Michael Barnett’s behind-the-scenes look at the making of a unique film made its debut at Vancouver last year. Its fest circuit has also included Heartland, Cleveland, Newport Beach, Martha’s Vineyard, and Vail, among others.
Once a year, the adult summer camp collective called Zeno Mountain Farm, which unites the disabled and non-disabled, creates a short film. Barnett’s inviting doc chronicles the production of their stab at a western, titled BULLETPROOF, which integrates actors with disabilities without being an explicitly cause-focused film. Similarly, while Barnett follows subjects like AJ, a man with cerebral palsy, on and off set, demonstrating at times the everyday challenges his condition presents, the film’s chief aim is to document organically Zeno’s process and its impact on its participants. Certainly the takeaway is that inclusive experiences like this are all-too-rare, and that they benefit all involved, transcending a sense of pity or awkward discomfort to open up genuine, creative, and social connections between disparate individuals.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres and VOD today, Friday, September 25: A BRAVE HEART: THE LIZZIE VELASQUEZ STORY
Sara Hirsch Bordo’s portrait of a bullying victim turned activist debuted at SXSW earlier this year, where it took home an audience award. It has since gone on to screen at Traverse City, Newport Beach, Rhode Island, Lower East Side, and Bentonville, among others.
Called the “Most Ugly Woman in the World” in a cruel YouTube clip that went viral, Lizzie Velasquez, a young woman suffering from a genetic disorder so rare, it took 25 years to diagnose, fought back. Long on the receiving end of insults and gawking due to her unusual appearance, brought on by an inability to put on weight, Velasquez channelled her sadness and anger into a mission to combat bullying, becoming a self-assured motivational speaker who regularly travels around the world giving speeches to audiences of thousands. Blessed with a supportive family, who, while protective, clearly see the impact and import of her work, Velasquez takes on the cause of an anti-bullying bill making its way through Congress. Bordo wisely places much of her focus on Velasquez herself to tell her own inspirational story, clearly recognizing her subject’s poise and charisma.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
what (not) to doc 