From noted editor/producer Sam Pollard comes the next 2012 Sundance US Documentary Competition title: SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME, a searing exhumation of post-abolition institutionalized racism.
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2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES
Like fellow 2012 Sundance US Documentary Competition titles DETROPIA and WE’RE NOT BROKE, the next film also reflects on the Recession: Lauren Greenfield’s THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES offers a portrait of the very wealthy, forced to cope with the economic crisis.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE OTHER DREAM TEAM
Continuing my profiles of the 2012 Sundance US Documentary Competition: Marius Markevicius’ THE OTHER DREAM TEAM explores national identity and pride through sports.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
In the Works: DANLAND
A provocative look at the turbulent life and loves of an amateur porn producer/performer.
Although Dan Leal is not particularly attractive, in shape, or possessed of a Michael Fassbender-sized endowment, he finds himself enjoying popularity and financial success as “Porno Dan,” the head of Immoral Productions, his one-man amateur porn production company. Living out some people’s idea of a dream job, Dan performs in many of his low-budget productions. Having received peer recognition by being nominated for an AVN Award (the adult video Oscars), he’s ready to grow his business and stop appearing in his own films, hoping this can help him settle down in a stable relationship. Director Alexandra Berger, making her documentary feature debut, follows him through more than three years of challenges, both professional and personal, on his quest to reconcile his unconventional career with his more conventional aspirations for true love. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, In the Works
2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: ME @THE ZOO_
Like Marina Abramovic in her MoMA performance, the subject of the next title in the 2012 Sundance US Documentary Competition offers himself up for public scrutiny: Chris Moukarbel and Valerie Veatch’s ME @THE ZOO_ examines Internet celebrity through the perspective of Britney Spears’ biggest fan, Chris Crocker.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: MARINA ABRAMOVIC THE ARTIST IS PRESENT
Next up in the 2012 Sundance US Documentary Competition: MARINA ABRAMOVIC THE ARTIST IS PRESENT, Matthew Akers’ in-depth exploration of the acclaimed performance artist and her creative process.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: LOVE FREE OR DIE
Continuing my spotlight on the second half of titles in the 2012 Sundance US Documentary Competition: LOVE FREE OR DIE, Macky Alston’s portrait of gay Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Special Screening: ALL ME
Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema next Wednesday, January 11: ALL ME: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF WINFRED REMBERT
Vivian Ducat’s portrait of a remarkably talented folk artist had its world premiere at last year’s Hamptons International Film Festival. The doc also screened at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival, where it picked up an award.
What’s immediately clear in Ducat’s film is that Rembert is a born storyteller. His meticulously crafted leather artwork illustrates his past, growing up African-American during segregation in smalltown Georgia. Ducat, recognizing Rembert’s ability to connect to audiences in this way, places the endearing sixtysomething in the position of storyteller for her portrait. He explains his artwork, the characters who populate it, and the often painful history that inspired it, drawing the viewer into his painstaking process of transforming memories of Jim Crow into indelible objects of cultural preservation. Noting the popularity Rembert’s work has enjoyed among white collectors, and its recent “legitimization” through exhibitions at noted universities, the film presents a subtle commentary on the history and memory of American race relations of the last half century.
Note: Director Ducat and doc subject Rembert will both be present for a post-screening Q&A.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE INVISIBLE WAR
My look at the 2012 Sundance US Documentary Competition passes the halfway point with Kirby Dick’s powerful exposé of rape in the US military: THE INVISIBLE WAR
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE
David France’s revisiting of the grassroots efforts to find effective treatment for AIDS is the next film in my profiling of Sundance’s US Documentary Competition: HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
