My latest curated selections for Hulu’s Documentaries page ties into the start of the baseball season. Watch these docs now for free!
For more information about the selections, see my Indiewire article.
Author Archives: basiltsiokos
Indiewire @ Hulu Docs: Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Filed under Documentary, Film, Indiewire @ Hulu Docs
On DVD: KNUCKLEBALL!
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, April 2: KNUCKLEBALL!
Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg premiered their ode to the unpredictable titular pitch at Tribeca last year. It’s gone on to a theatrical and VOD release in the months since.
I wrote about the film out of Tribeca here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Full Frame 2013 Overview
The 16th edition of Durham NC’s acclaimed non-fiction showcase, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, opens this Thursday, April 4, with Dawn Porter’s Sundance award-winning GIDEON’S ARMY, and continues through Sunday, April 6, presenting nearly a hundred programs of new and retrospective films, as well as panels and other events. Among the special series this year are a tribute to filmmaker Jessica Yu, which includes screenings of her past notable work, as well as the world premiere of her new short about sustainability in Mozambique, THE GUIDE; and “Stories About Stories,” a thematic sidebar of films exploring truth and storytelling in documentaries, including classics like Orson Welles’ F FOR FAKE, Amir Bar-Lev’s MY KID COULD PAINT THAT, and even Larry Charles’ BORAT, as well as Sarah Polley’s recent STORIES WE TELL.
Director of Programming Sadie Tillery and her team have curated a typically impressive lineup of recent non-fiction titles, many which I’ve covered out of other festivals like Toronto, IDFA, Sundance, and SXSW over the past several months. Beyond these films, Full Frame is presenting several docs which are making their debuts here, which I’ll spotlight below: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
On DVD: HITLER’S CHILDREN
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, April 2: HITLER’S CHILDREN
Chanoch Ze’evi’s exploration of the personal legacy of Nazism had its debut at IDFA in 2011. It went on to screen at DOK Munich, One World, Documentary Edge, Tallgrass, and Thessaloniki Doc, among others, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release last Winter.
I wrote about the film out of last year’s Thessaloniki Doc fest here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2013 in Brief, Part Three
This post wraps up my coverage of this year’s Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – previous postings may be found here (a pointer to my Indiewire coverage of several Greek titles and works-in-progress) and here (highlights from three fest sections). Below are thoughts on a number of the remaining sections, “Recordings of Memory,” “Habitat,” and “Human Rights.” Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, In Brief, Recommendations
On TV: KIND HEARTED WOMAN
Coming to PBS via Frontline and Independent Lens this coming Monday, April 1 and Tuesday, April 2: KIND HEARTED WOMAN
David Sutherland’s indepth portrait of a divorced Oglala Sioux single mother makes its debut as a special two-part co-presentation by two of PBS’s signature series.
Clocking in at about five hours, Sutherland’s film follows Robin Charboneau, a 32-year-old woman from North Dakota’s Spirit Lake Reservation, over three years, and is named after the English translation of her Sioux name. The survivor of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her foster father, siblings, and “uncles,” and, more recently, violence at the hands of boyfriends, Robin has struggled with alcoholism and depression. A messy divorce from her abusive husband has added further stress, but Robin shows determination to better her life, and that of her two children. As the film begins, she has spent some time in rehab and enrolls in college to better provide for her family, escape the pitfalls of poverty and addiction, and help other Native women who have had similar experiences. Due to complications regarding a lengthy and ongoing child custody case against her ex and his influential family, Robin’s education plans suffer a setback – merely one instance of the ups and downs she experiences during this epic, yet still refreshingly ordinary, film, from new jobs and a new relationship to painful revelations about further abuse in her family. Charboneau is eminently watchable, a woman who may not always know what the answers are to her problems, and may make mistakes, but is open to learning from them. The doc is heartfelt but tough, emotional but never maudlin, and filmed with a gritty authenticity that captures the realities of a woman, and family, at risk. It’s an immersive experience, down to the at times awkwardly too-close sound design, which captures its subjects frequent grunts and throat-clearings – a verite portrait that often approximates more of an indie narrative drama than a standard public television doc. That said, while engrossing for the better part of its extended running time, Sutherland’s pacing is not always quite right – there’s a frequent sense of repetition, which, while arguably echoing the seemingly neverending trials Robin must contend with, has a cumulative wearying effect on the viewer, suggesting the film could be tightened up at least a bit.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
In the Works: 2013 Wallabout Film Festival
For the past few years, the undergraduate course I teach at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute culminates in the Wallabout Film Festival, a one-day event that is completely organized by my students – from programming to party planning and everything in between. This year’s Wallabout, the 5th anniversary edition, will take place at indieScreen on Thursday, April 18, showcasing student short films from Pratt and around the world.
Earlier this week, my students launched a crowdfunding campaign on a new platform, Crowdtilt, to raise much-needed funds for Wallabout. With less than a month to go, they (and I) would welcome any contributions, and would appreciate it if w(n)td readers spread the word about the campaign via social media or email to anyone who might be interested in supporting student filmmakers and film festivals. And, of course, if readers are in Brooklyn on April 18, consider coming to Wallabout!
Filed under Film, Film Festivals, In the Works, Recommendations
Cleveland International Film Festival 2013: Documentary Overview
One of the country’s best-regarded regional film events, the Cleveland International Film Festival, opens next Wednesday, April 3 and runs through Sunday, April 14. I’ve only attended CIFF once, and was impressed by the dedication of its audience, who eschew parties to cram as many films as possible into their schedules. Showing remarkable audience growth over the past several years, this year’s edition, its 37th, has expanded its programming selections, offering nearly 180 feature length and more than 160 short films. Included among these are more than 70 feature length docs, appearing in various sidebars – from the LGBT-oriented “10% Cinema” to the femme focused “Women of the World” – and part of a number of competitions, highlighted below: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Special Screening & In Theatres: FREE ANGELA & ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS
Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction next Tuesday, April 2 and to select theatres next Friday, April 5: FREE ANGELA & ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS
Shola Lynch’s exploration of the iconic activist and academic had its world premiere last Fall at Toronto. Since then, it has screened at London, Pan African, Tempo Doc, Women’s International Film & Arts, and the upcoming Full Frame. It’s set for a limited theatrical release in NYC, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago, Oakland, Philadelphia, and Atlanta next week.
I included the doc in my Toronto coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
On DVD & via Digital: HANDS ON A HARD BODY
Already available for digital download and coming to DVD next Monday, April 1: HANDS ON A HARD BODY
SR Bindler’s cult classic about a Texan endurance competition screened extensively upon its debut in 1997, with festival berths at Dallas, Santa Barbara, Nashville, and Karlovy Vary, as well as various awards from Florida, Austin, Los Angeles, and Gen Art, among others. On the occasion of the opening of the stage musical adaptation earlier this month, the doc has been digitally remastered and made available for digital download, and will be re-released on DVD next week, the first time in a decade. The film has also enjoyed a recent series of special screenings via NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction, the Texas Independent Film Network, and elsewhere as a lead up to the re-release.
Set outside a Nissan auto dealership in Longview TX, Bindler’s engaging film chronicles the 1995 titular endurance competition, where nearly two dozen people attempt to outlast one another to claim a brand new pickup truck. All they have to do to win is be the last person standing who has kept his or her hands on the vehicle for as long as it takes, with only one five-minute break every hour, and one fifteen-minute break every six hours. As distraction and sleep-deprivation set in, the determined contestants – a range of types, from farmers to marines to the staunchly religious – start to lose it, struggling to keep their minds and bodies in sync to claim their prize. The film is an immensely likeable, gripping portrait of a peculiar publicity stunt and those who decide to take a shot at prize that’s literally within their reach. Pre-dating competition docs like SPELLBOUND and the peak of reality TV competition shows like SURVIVOR and BIG BROTHER by several years, Bindler shows immense restraint, observing his subjects and the strangeness of the contest without passing judgement, and instead finds their common humanity. He carefully constructs his story to highlight the tension as, one-by-one, the field narrows to the finalists, and a delirious winner emerges. The result is a true classic of the form, an evergreen documentary that celebrates both the quirks and the virtues of everyday people.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
