Festival:
The 48th Telluride Film Festival
Dates:
September 2-6
About:
More than 60% of the new feature offerings of this celebrated Colorado cinephile event are represented by nonfiction.
Category Archives: Documentary
Telluride 2021: Documentary Overview
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
On VOD: TURNING POINT: 9/11 AND THE WAR ON TERROR
Coming to Netflix today, Wednesday, September 1:
TURNING POINT: 9/11 AND THE WAR ON TERROR
Director:
Brian Knappenberger
World Premiere:
Netflix release (September 2021)
About:
A five-part series examining how the catastrophic events of September 11 changed the course of the United States.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
On DVD: LYDIA LUNCH: THE WAR IS NEVER OVER
New to DVD this week:
LYDIA LUNCH: THE WAR IS NEVER OVER
Director:
Beth B
World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2019
Select Festivals:
SXSW, Rotterdam, Jihlava, Doclisboa, Melbourne, Ashland, Revelation Perth
About:
A career-spanning exploration of the notable cultural figure.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Turning trauma into precise and angry feminist rock, American singer, writer, and actress Lydia Lunch helped birth the No Wave music scene in the late 1970s and early ’80s—and she’s still killing it today. Fellow No Wave pioneer Beth B constructs a lively portrait of this innovative performer, whose confrontational artistry resonates loudly in today’s feminist landscape. Critics, filmmakers, musicians, and friends discuss the relevance of Lydia’s brilliantly vitriolic world.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
On VOD: CRIMES AND PENALTIES
Coming to Netflix’s UNTOLD series today, Tuesday, August 31:
CRIMES AND PENALTIES
Director:
Chapman Way, Maclain Way
World Premiere:
Netflix (August 2021)
About:
They were the bad boys of hockey—a team bought by a man with mob ties, run by his 17-year-old son, and with a rep for being as violent as they were good.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Venice 2021: Documentary Overview
Festival:
The 78th Venice International Film Festival
Dates:
September 1-11
About:
The A list Italian festival returns with approximately 80 features, among them just 14 documentaries, while the autonomous sidebars present 17 docs among their 38 feature presentations, including the following.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
On TV: GENERATION 9/11
Coming to PBS tomorrow, Tuesday, August 31:
GENERATION 9/11
Director:
Liz Mermin
World Premiere:
PBS broadcast (August 2021)
About:
An exploration of the tragedy and legacy of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 through the stories of seven children whose fathers died that day.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
On TV: THE SONG OF THE BUTTERFLIES
Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, August 30:
THE SONG OF THE BUTTERFLIES
Director:
Nuria Frigola Torrent
World Premiere:
Hot Docs 2020
Select Festivals:
Seattle, Guadalajara, Havana, Lima
About:
Finding himself stumped for artistic inspiration, an Indigenous painter travels from Lima to his ancestral land in Amazonia, absorbing his family’s stories and finding the strength to confront the painful past of a people nearly extinguished.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Special Screening: SEARCHERS
Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films tomorrow, Saturday, August 28:
SEARCHERS
Director:
Pacho Velez
World Premiere:
Sundance 2021
Select Festivals:
Docaviv, Visions du Reel, Minneapolis-St Paul, AFI Docs
About:
An exploration of online dating apps and the need for human connection during a time of enforced isolation.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
In Theatres: UNAPOLOGETIC
Coming to theatres today, Friday, August 27:
UNAPOLOGETIC
Director:
Ashley O’Shay
World Premiere:
BlackStar 2020
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New Orleans, Black Harvest, St Louis, Cucalorus, Big Sky Doc, Athena, Cleveland, Human Rights Watch, Outfest Fusion
About:
Two fierce abolitionist leaders offer a deep look into the movement for Black Lives.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Fed up with misdeeds committed by Chicago law enforcement and a political system unwilling to hold anyone accountable, two millennial Black women take action. Spoken-word artist Bella and PhD candidate Janaé work tirelessly rallying the community and challenging a power structure that historically turns a deaf ear to young, Black, female voices. Over the course of a year, filmmaker Ashley O’Shay documents these courageous activists in their quest for political liberation and social justice.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
In Theatres & On VOD: LILY TOPPLES THE WORLD
Coming to Discovery+ today, Thursday, August 26, and to theatres tomorrow, Friday, August 27:
LILY TOPPLES THE WORLD
Director:
Jeremy Workman
World Premiere:
BlackStar 2020
Select Festivals:
Cleveland, Florida, Ashland, Minneapolis-St Paul, San Francisco, Maryland, RiverRun, Sarasota
About:
20-year-old Lily Hevesh—the world’s greatest domino toppler and the only woman in her field—in a coming-of-age story of artistry, passion, and unlikely triumph.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
what (not) to doc 