Author Archives: basiltsiokos

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, June 25: THE LAST WHITE KNIGHT

Paul Saltzman’s surprising re-encounter with a Klansman who assaulted him decades before made its debut at Toronto last year. Since then, it has screened at Cleveland, Vancouver, and at several Jewish film fests, including San Francisco, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Maine.

I included the doc in my Toronto coverage here.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 25, and to PBS’s America ReFramed on WORLD Channel this Sunday, June 30: FOLLOW THE LEADER

Jonathan Goodman Levitt’s coming-of-age portrait of three politically-engaged teenage boys had its debut at both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions this past year. It went on to screen as part of the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, the PaleyDocFest, and the recently completed Northside Film, where it picked up a jury award. Cinedigm will be releasing the film on iTunes and other platforms, while Tugg makes it available for theatrical screenings.

At the start of Levitt’s doc, sixteen-year-olds DJ, Nick, and Ben all self-identified, more or less, as conservatives, but over the course of the three-year project, their political leanings diverge from any monolithic conception of that term. All are involved in student government, and all have dreams of becoming President, in some cases attending political leadership camp or volunteering for local election campaigns. Displaying the qualities of typical teenage know-it-alls, supremely confident in and opinionated about their beliefs, part of the joy in the film is watching as the more open-minded of them – Nick and DJ – mature and acknowledge that they may not know all the answers, shifting their positions or refocusing their goals. For his part, DJ, already devout, leads with his faith rather than blindly supporting one political party or ideology, eventually leading him to pursue a different calling entirely. Nick, on the other hand, finds his idealism about the potential in bipartisanship challenged more than once. And then there’s Ben… He’s decidedly the most extreme, and intransigent, in his Republican conservatism, fully aware of the dirty side to politics, but seemingly so ambitious that he’s fine with it – likely making him, in some viewers’ eyes, a great villain of sorts who you can love to dislike (“hate” is too strong a word in this context). Levitt selected three distinctive and personable subjects to follow, and stuck with them long enough to witness their transformation in their key early college years, as each contends with the ramifications of the Obama/McCain election. The result is an absorbing and intriguing look at the next generation of political engagement in a time of intense partisanship.

Coming to TV this Wednesday, June 26: UNITED IN ANGER: A HISTORY OF ACT UP

Jim Hubbard’s chronicle of AIDS activism debuted at MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight last year. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Frameline, Outfest, Mix Brasil, and a host of LGBT fests around the world. It will screen on KCET Link TV this Wednesday, with repeats on Thursday and Saturday, available on the DISH Network channel 9410, DIRECT TV channel 375, and around the US here.

I included the doc in my Hot Docs coverage here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 25: KIND HEARTED WOMAN

David Sutherland’s intimate portrait of an Oglala Sioux single mother’s efforts to better her life debuted on PBS’s Independent Lens and Frontline this past Spring. It has also screened at the Salem Film Festival, and as part of community events, including several Native film series.

I previously wrote about the film prior to its broadcast premiere here.

Coming to PBS’s POV and to NYC’s Maysles Cinema next Monday, June 24: HOMEGOINGS

Christine Turner’s look at African American approaches to funerals and death made its debut at MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight this past Winter. It has gone on to screen at Full Frame and the American Black Film Festival before its broadcast and theatrical release next week.

Isaiah Owens has had a strange affinity for funerals since he was a child, holding make-believe funerals as a regular pastime. He turned this interest into his career, running the Owens Funeral Home in Harlem (and South Carolina) for more than four decades. Owens and his family cater to an African American clientele, providing Turner with the opportunity to explore the way death is often viewed in this community. Marking a passage back home, the funerals that Owens arranges for his clients represent both a vehicle through which to mourn as well as a celebration of their lives for family and friends. Turner demonstrates this by spotlighting several funerals through the course of the film, as well as the arrangements one woman makes for her own eventual passing. Archival photos and interviews with Owens reveal the rich tradition and history of African American undertakers and funeral directors, who filled a need in their communities in a time when segregation and racism meant that white practitioners refused to serve black families. Owens is a very appealing protagonist, a man in love with, and deeply respectful of, his often misunderstood profession, making for an insightful and intriguing film.