Coming to theatres this Friday, September 14: STEP UP TO THE PLATE
Paul Lacoste’s profile of a father son pair of French chefs made its world premiere earlier this year at Berlin. It’s gone on to screen at Seattle, San Francisco, Silverdocs, and Planete Doc Review, among others. It opens in NYC this week, expanding through the rest of the month and into October.
I included the film in my Silverdocs roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
The true story of a 1970s soul music group that was founded and recorded albums behind bars.
Serving time in prison in 1968, teenager Reginald Haynes decided to start a singing group as a way to try to focus on the positive during his incarceration. By 1970, his group, The Escorts, were performing for inmates, staff, and visitors, unexpectedly gaining the attention of seasoned Motown producer, George Kerr, who proposed working with the group to record the first album behind prison walls. After years of red tape, they succeeded, and The Escorts hit the charts, eventually releasing two albums before Haynes’ story took an unexpected turn. Producer Christopher Black, a lover of classic soul, gathered director Corbett Jones and producers Anna Rau and Josiah Bultema to explore the past and the present of the group, now known as The Legendary Escorts, against the backdrop of late 20th century African American history – from civil rights to soul music, institutionalized racism to penal reform. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, In the Works
Coming to POV for an encore broadcast next Thursday, September 13: KINGS OF PASTRY
Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker’s look at the most important pastry competition in the world has screened extensively at festivals, including Berlin, Full Frame, Hot Docs, Dox Box, New Orleans, Philadelphia, RIDM, Big Sky, and Los Angeles, among others. It also enjoyed an extensive theatrical release.
I previously wrote about the film here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to theatres this Friday, September 7: BEAUTY IS EMBARRASSING
Neil Berkeley’s portrait of artist Wayne White premiered at SXSW earlier this year. It’s gone on to screen at Full Frame, Cleveland, Hot Docs, Boston, Nashville, and Silverdocs, among others.
I included the film in my Silverdocs roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to NYC’s IFC Center this Friday, September 7: DETROPIA
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s meditation on Detroit premiered in January at Sundance, picking up an award for best documentary editing. Its festival circuit has been extensive, screening at True/False, Cleveland, Boston, Hot Docs, DocAviv, Silverdocs, Nantucket, and Traverse City, among others. Ewing and Rachel’s DIY release expands from NYC next week and through November, with additional bookings found here.
I wrote about the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Hulu’s Documentaries page has recently been redesigned, presenting eye-catching sliding trays of films organized by themes. My latest curated selections for Indiewire offer up films focused on youth and education, in recognition that it’s back to school time. Watch these now for free!
For more information about the selections, see my Indiewire article.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Indiewire @ Hulu Docs
Coming back to POV for an encore presentation this Thursday, September 6: WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM
Heather Courtney’s profile of young veterans and their families premiered at last year’s SXSW. It’s gone out to screen at Full Frame, Los Angeles Philadelphia, Traverse City, Silverdocs, and Denver, among others, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release.
I wrote about the film out of SXSW here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to NYC’s IFC Center next Wednesday, September 5: GIRL MODEL
Ashley Sabin and David Redmon’s disturbing look at international modeling premiered at last year’s Toronto. Its extensive festival run has included Camden, Abu Dhabi, Rome, CPH: DOX, IDFA, SXSW, Cleveland, Full Frame, and Planete Doc Review, among others.
I wrote about the film out of SXSW here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
In one week, the 37th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival begins, drawing hundreds of thousands of attendees to what is, for many, the true start of awards season. Annually screening close to 300 features, the majority world or international premieres, TIFF provides attendees with an advance look at some of the most eagerly-anticipated titles of the Fall.
I’ll be at the festival for its first half, hoping to see some of the buzzed about fiction offerings, but TIFF’s bounty of non-fiction programming will no doubt dominate my schedule. There are significantly more feature-length docs in the program this year – last year saw just under 40, while this year’s count is closer to 50, not including a few hybrids and retro screenings. Of these, more than half are part of the fest’s dedicated non-fiction section, TIFF Docs (formerly Real to Reel), programmed by Thom Powers, with the remainder represented across a variety of other fest sections. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews
Yesterday marked the start of the 69th edition of the Venice International Film Festival, notable as the oldest film festival in the world. Running through September 8, the festival comes right before Toronto, and many titles appear in both events. Unlike TIFF, Venice is competitive, with eighteen titles in the main competition, and additional prizes awarded to films screening in the Orizzonti section.
Notably contained for a major international cinema event, the festival’s lineup includes just over 100 new features – 69 in the official selection, and an additional 39 presented in the autonomous sections selected by independent film associations. Retrospectives and shorts fill out the schedule, but it’s a far cry from the nearly 300 films presented in Toronto. Venice isn’t really known for its non-fiction programming, which is comprised of less than 30 new doc features. None appear in the official competition, special screenings, or the autonomous International Critics’ Week. The majority are included in the out of competition section, the retrospective Venice Classics, and in the autonomous Venice Days – and, frankly, most seem strictly of local interest. Still, I’d love to go to Venice at some point, and if I were there now, there are some docs I’d want to check out: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews
