Category Archives: Documentary

Streaming: TOM PETTY: SOMEWHERE YOU FEEL FREE

Coming to YouTube this Thursday, November 11:
TOM PETTY: SOMEWHERE YOU FEEL FREE

Director:
Mary Wharton

World Premiere:
SXSW 2021

Select Festivals:
Boulder, Melbourne

About:
An intimate view of a musical icon, drawn from a newly discovered archive of 16mm film showing Tom Petty at work on his acclaimed 1994 album WILDFLOWERS.

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On DVD: TINA

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 9:
TINA

Director:
Dan Lindsay, TJ Martin

World Premiere:
Berlin 2021

Select Festivals:
Glasgow

About:
On the life and career of iconic performer Tina Turner.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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DOC NYC 2021 Overview

Festival:
The 12th DOC NYC

Dates:
November 10-28

About:
America’s largest nonfiction event – and my former programming home – returns both in-person and online – with more than 125 new and recent feature documentaries, plus shorts and its wide-ranging industry program, DOC NYC PRO.

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On DVD: MUHAMMAD ALI

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 9:
MUHAMMAD ALI

Director:
Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon

World Premiere:
PBS broadcast (September 2021)

About:
A four-part docuseries providing an in-depth look at the life of the legendary boxer, activist, and philanthropist.

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On VOD: THE DILEMMA OF DESIRE

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 9:
THE DILEMMA OF DESIRE

Director:
Maria Finitzo

World Premiere:
SXSW 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hot Docs, AFI Docs, St Louis, Docs Against Gravity, Raindance, Woodstock, Doclands

About:
An exploration of the clash between the external power of gender politics and the equally powerful imperative of female sexual desire.

The film previously screened at DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
In this timely and radical film about female desire, gender politics, and sexuality, director Maria Finitzo invites us to share intimate conversations with women on a mission to reverse a patriarchal legacy that excludes female empowerment through omissions and distortions. Sophia Wallace’s artwork on “cliteracy” acts as a powerful framing device as the film explores such issues as the lack of clitoral details in anatomy books, the need for redesigning toys for female pleasure, and the use of one’s own body as an act of resistance.

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On TV: FERGUSON RISES

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens today, Monday, November 8:
FERGUSON RISES

Director:
Mobolaji Olambiwonnu

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2021

About:
Six years after the fatal shooting of an unarmed Michael Brown Jr by a white police officer, and the subsequent days of protest, a new portrait of the community of Ferguson.

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On TV: ATTICA

Coming to Showtime tomorrow, Saturday, November 6:
ATTICA

Director:
Stanley Nelson, Traci Curry

World Premiere:
Toronto 2021

Select Festivals:
Hot Springs Doc, Montclair

About:
An examination of the largest prison uprising in US history through dozens of new interviews with inmates, journalists, and other witnesses.

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Streaming: MOMENTS LIKE THIS NEVER LAST

Coming to MUBI tomorrow, Saturday, November 6:
MOMENTS LIKE THIS NEVER LAST

Director:
Cheryl Dunn

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2020

Select Festivals:
Docaviv, Melbourne

About:
A compelling, immersive portrait of the late artist Dash Snow.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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In Theatres: JULIA

Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 5:
JULIA

Director:
Julie Cohen, Betsy West

World Premiere:
Telluride 2021

Select Festivals:
Toronto, DOC NYC, Hamptons, Chicago, AFI Fest, Mill Valley, Philadelphia, Woodstock, Heartland

About:
A portrait of the trailblazing, exuberant chef who filled TV screens for decades. 

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In Theatres & Streaming: THE LAST FOREST

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, November 5 and to Netflix this Sunday, November 7:
THE LAST FOREST

Director:
Luiz Bolognesi

World Premiere:
Berlin 2021

Select Festivals:
It’s All True, Visions du Réel, Hot Docs, Chicago

About:
Alternating between documentary observation and staged sequences, a revealing look at the Indigenous community of the Yanomami, depicting their threatened natural environment in the Amazon rainforest.

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