Coming to DVD next Tuesday, October 16: THE AMBASSADOR
Mads Brügger’s provocative look at high level international governmental corruption made its world premiere at IDFA last November. Its festival circuit included Sundance, Thessaloniki Doc, New Directors/New Films, and Karlovy Vary, among others, before coming to VOD and theatres.
I profiled the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, October 12: FAME HIGH
Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s look at a year at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts made its world premiere at Tribeca earlier this year. It has also screened at Provincetown, Silverdocs and San Diego, among other fests.
I wrote about the film out of Tribeca here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, October 12: PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY
Ross McElwee’s rumination on time, photography, and father/son relationships premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year. It went on to screen at Full Frame, Sheffield, DocLisboa, Mar del Plata, and Silverdocs, among others.
I wrote about the film out of Silverdocs here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Already in select theatres in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago and expanding to more theatres this Friday, October 12: THE PROSECUTION OF AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT
Dave Hagen and David J Burke, capitalizing on the political season, brought the world premiere of their incendiary indictment of former President George W Bush to Hollywood’s ArcLight Theatre last week rather than begin on the festival circuit.
In the film, acclaimed author and prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, best known for prosecuting Charles Manson, sets forth his case for why Bush and members of his administration should be brought to trial for leading the US into war with Iraq under false pretenses. The contention Bugliosi cogently argues throughout the film, including to a a UCLA law class, is that if Bush deliberately misled Congress about the presence of weapons of mass destruction, then he is legally responsible for all of the American deaths that have resulted from that action, deaths that can be deemed murder. Philosophically, it’s a provocative charge many Bush detractors would no doubt welcome, so as a piece of speculative political theatre, Hagen and Burke’s film achieves some level of fascination. At the same time, the film essentially consists of an extended legal argument. While the reputable Bugliosi presents a convincing case – he can’t be criticized for being some out of touch conspiracy theorist – at its heart the film is a fairly straightforward one, making it feel a bit repetitive and overextended. Still, the doc serves as a timely reminder about the last administration’s misdeeds, and, perhaps, a cautionary tale about a potential future come Election Day.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to NYC’s IFC Center this Friday, October 12: THE IRAN JOB
Till Schauder’s story of an African-American basketball player in Iran had its world premiere this Summer at the Los Angeles Film Festival. While still on the festival circuit, the film has already opened theatrically in Los Angeles.
When Kevin Sheppard agrees to relocate from his home in the US Virgin Islands for a contract position on new Iranian basketball team, AC Shiraz, he leaves more than his girlfriend behind. As one of only two non-Iranians on the team, and the only African-American around, Sheppard sticks out, but he’s there to do a job, not serve as an ambassador for the freedoms of the West – or so he intends. When he meets Hilda, a physical therapist for AC Shiraz, and her friends Elaheh and Laleh, Sheppard forms an unexpectedly close friendship, one that demonstrates the social controls placed on women in the country. As the young women risk their reputations and potentially more to visit the apartment he shares with Serbian teammate Z and discuss taboo subjects, or show him around the city, Sheppard’s eyes open to the realities of the political situation in the region – something he witnesses as the Green Movement gains momentum in the lead up to the country’s contentious 2009 election. While basketball provides the narrative thrust, Schauder’s film transcends the typical sports film conventions to provide much more to think about than whether AC Shiraz will make it to the championships or not. As indicated by the title, Sheppard attempts to remain dispassionate about his presence in Iran, but beyond his outspoken friends, the gregarious young man is confronted with other characters who offer insight into Iranian society, such as his bemused non-English speaking super, Abdullah, or a merchant who expresses kinship with African Americans.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres this Friday, October 12: ETHEL
Rory Kennedy brought Sundance audiences the world premiere of her intimate biography of her mother earlier this year. It’s gone on to screen at San Francisco, RiverRun, Sarasota, Nantucket, Provincetown, Deauville, and Ashland, where it picked up an audience award.
My pre-Sundance profile of the film may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
The New Orleans Film Festival presents its 23rd edition beginning this Thursday, October 11 and running for the next eight days. The event is clearly on the rise, witnessing a dramatic increase in submissions, and drawing higher profile films, industry attendance, and sponsors. I’ve only attended once, bringing THE CANAL STREET MADAM there for a hometown screening in 2010, but I echo MovieMaker Magazine in recommending NOFF as a “festival worth the entry fee” for its fantastic staff and amazing setting. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Now available on DVD via Amazon: 11/4/08
Jeff Deutchman’s participatory doc on the historic 2008 US Presidential election made its world premiere at SXSW in 2010. It screened at Sarasota, Traverse City, Chicago, and at theatres across the country for a special one-night only event.
I previously wrote about the film here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
With the tagline “fiercely independent,” the Woodstock Film Festival annually draws from the countercultural spirit and storied musical and artistic history of Woodstock and the Hudson Valley region of upstate New York to present a cross-section of over one hundred films for local area residents and city dwellers looking for a getaway. This year’s event, which begins Wednesday and runs through Sunday, October 14, marks its 13th edition. Close to 60 feature length films will screen, as well as scores of shorts, panels, musical performances, and other special events.
Twenty-five feature docs are part of the lineup, including both the opening film, DEAR GOVERNOR CUOMO…, Jon Bowermaster’s documentation of a musical event/demonstration by New Yorkers against hydrofracking that took place this past May; and the closing night film, CASTING BY (pictured), Tom Donahue’s appreciation and exploration of the craft of the casting director.
Among the festival’s world premieres are a number of docs, including Marco Antonio Orsini’s DINNER AT THE NO-GOS (pictured), detailing what happens when the director and his Muslim producer host dinner parties to talk politics and religion in a number of countries on the US State Department’s Travel Advisory List; Barbara Kopple’s FIGHT TO LIVE, an exploration of the FDA’s drug approval process and the efforts of some to acquire non-FDA approved drugs to manage their incurable conditions; Dan Habib’s WHO CARES ABOUT KELSEY, following a troubled teen as she struggles to graduate from high school; and Rasmus Dinesen’s THE WORLD’S FINEST CHEF, a look at the preparation a renowned chef makes for one of the world’s most prestigious cooking competitions.
Other documentaries screening at Woodstock include Jamie Meltzer’s INFORMANT (pictured), a fascinating insider’s perspective on Katrina activist turned federal informant Brandon Darby; Anton Verstakov’s ROLAN MAKES MOVIES, a portrait of a zero-budget amateur filmmaker in Siberia; Walter Matteson’s PRETTY OLD, profiling the annual MS Senior Sweetheart Pageant and a number of its spry contestants; and Francis Hanly’s MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR REVISITED, about the circumstances behind the production and controversial reception of the Beatles’ film.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews
Coming to POV for an encore presentation this Thursday, October 11: IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT
Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman’s investigation into the radical environmental group ELF won the Best Documentary Editing jury prize at its world premiere at Sundance last year. Its extensive festival tour included Traverse City, Nashville, Dallas, Silverdocs, Full Frame, Sheffield, and Hot Docs, and it also was one of the docs shortlisted for the Oscar.
I profiled the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
