Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, October 22: FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY
Brad Bernstein’s look at the renegade children’s book author had its world premiere at Toronto last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Seattle, Rome, Nashville, Florida, Warsaw, Deauville, Haifa, and RIDM, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc out of Toronto here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres this Friday, October 25: I AM DIVINE
Jeffrey Schwarz’s loving tribute to Harris Glenn Milstead AKA Divine made its world premiere at SXSW earlier this year. Its extensive festival run has included several LGBT fests (including London, Tampa, Miami, Boston, Inside Out, Tel Aviv, Frameline, and Outfest), New Orleans’ Film-O-Rama, Cleveland, Florida, Nashville, DOXA, Sheffield, Sydney, Provincetown, Durban, and Melbourne, among many others.
Divine was John Waters’ muse, described by the King of Bad Taste as “the most beautiful woman in the world, almost,” and starred in his films until the performer’s early death in 1988. Still notorious for the infamous last scene at the end of PINK FLAMINGOS, a film predicated on a contest to determine “the filthiest person alive,” Divine has maintained cult celebrity status more than two decades after his death. Schwarz, who has previously lauded other outsized personalities from film history, such as horror director William Castle in SPINE TINGLER!, pornstar Jack Wrangler in WRANGLER, and LGBT film historian and activist Vito Russo in VITO, tells the performer’s definitive story, revealing how a boy who was bullied as an overweight sissy in high school found a family of like-minded outsiders among Baltimore’s countercultural scene of the 1960s, including nascent filmmaker Waters, who gave him his famed Genet-inspired sobriquet, and launched the inimitable Divine into unlikely stardom. Featuring interviews with friends like Waters and co-stars Ricki Lake, Mink Stole, and Tab Hunter, Schwarz’s film goes beyond the shock tactics of Divine’s stage persona to reveal the man beneath the makeup.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, October 22: SHEPARD & DARK
Treva Wurmfeld’s look at a longstanding male friendship made its world premiere at Toronto last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Cannes, Cleveland, Big Sky, San Francisco, and Woodstock, among others, before enjoying a limited theatrical release.
I previously wrote about the film out of Toronto here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction series tomorrow, Tuesday, October 22: THE NEW PUBLIC
Jyllian Gunther’s in-depth look at the potential and challenges of an alternative high school debuted at the Hamptons last year. It has gone on to screen at Urbanworld, African Diaspora, deadCENTER, Hot Springs, Boulder, and the San Francisco Doc fests, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Note: Gunther will be present for a Q&A after the screening.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to Al Jazeera America Presents this Sunday, October 20: ALIAS RUBY BLADE
Alex Meillier’s look at love and espionage in East Timor had its world premiere at IDFA last year. It’s gone on to screen at Tribeca, Montclair, Planete+ Doc, Biografilm, and United Nations Association Film Festival, among others.
I included the doc in my IDFA coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to ESPN’s 30 for 30 series this coming Tuesday, October 22: BIG SHOT
Kevin Connolly’s revisitation of an infamous hockey scandal debuted at Tribeca this past Spring. It went on to screen at the Hamptons and Dallas’ USA Film Festival.
I previously wrote about the doc out of Tribeca here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens this coming Monday, October 21: THE WAITING ROOM
Peter Nicks’ intimate look at America’s health care system debuted at Full Frame last year, where it won an award. It has also screened at True/False, Hot Docs, Silverdocs, Ashland, and San Francisco, among others, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release.
I included the film in my Hot Docs coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
DOC NYC, NYC’s premier non-fiction event, has just announced the lineup for this year’s festival. The fourth edition of the festival is the largest yet, including 131 total films and panels over the eight days of the festival, which runs from Thursday, November 14 until Thursday, November 21, and includes a special evening of events as a preview the night before the fest’s official launch. Altogether, 72 new feature-length docs, 39 new shorts, and 20 panels will be presented, nearly all accompanied by Q&As with attending filmmakers.
As DOC NYC’s Senior Programmer, I’m excited to share this year’s selections with audiences. I’ll be profiling each section of the festival here in the weeks prior to our opening. For the time being, check out the links below for more information and to purchase tickets, which go on sale today. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
The 11th edition of Mexico’s Morelia International Film Festival / Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia begins tomorrow, Friday, October 18. The event is notable in its exclusive focus on Mexican film, including an annual section devoted to local Michoacán work. Nearly two dozen features and 66 shorts will screen before the event comes to a close on Sunday, October 27, of which ten are documentary features, noted below.
Several docs reveal fascinating lives, including: Santiago Esteinou’s THE YEARS OF FIERRO (LOS AÑOS DE FIERRO), on a Mexican man who’s been on death row in the US for over three decades; Edson Jair Caballero Trujillo’s ATEMPA, DREAMS ALONG THE RIVER (ATEMPA, SUEÑOS A ORILLAS DEL RÍO) (pictured), a portrait of a young queer Zapotec, or muxe; Gabriela Obregón’s THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK (EL HOMBRE DETRÁS DE LA MÁSCARA), a look at the legendary El Santo as his son takes to the wrestling ring for the first time; Pablo Tamez Sierra’s REMOTENESS (LEJANÍA), about family secrets in the wake of a tragedy; Roberto Fiesco’s QUEBRANTO, a profile of a trans former child performer and her relationship with her actor mother; Shula Erenberg’s ROSARY (ROSARIO), about a human rights activist whose son was disappeared nearly forty years ago; and Misael Alva Alva’s TOCHI/CONEJO, on a small family from the Sierra Negra and their fears for the future.
Finally, a number of the films are concerned with places as much as people, including: Nuria Ibáñez’s THE BARE ROOM (EL CUARTO DESNUDO), an intimate exploration of a pediatrician’s office in a Mexico City hospital; Adrián Ortiz Maciel’s ELEVATOR (ELEVADOR) (pictured), life as reflected in the microcosm of a residential building; and Alejandro Cárdenas’ OASIS, a portrait of a sanctuary for HIV+ indigenous people in the Yucatán.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to HBO for their Fall documentary series this Monday, October 21: LIFE ACCORDING TO SAM
Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine’s portrait of the effects of a rare disease on a family debuted at Sundance this year. The film has gone on to win awards at Nantucket, Mountainfilm, Woods Hole, Rhode Island, and Heartland, with additional screenings at Martha’s Vineyard, AFI Docs, and Boulder, among others.
I previously profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
