Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, May 10:
THROUGH THE NIGHT
Director:
Loira Limbal
World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020 (unscreened)
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New Orleans, Nantucket, AFI Docs, Double Exposure, Philadelphia Latino, Los Angeles Asian Pacific, Hawai’i, Hot Springs Doc
About:
A 24-hour childcare center proves indispensable for night-shift workers and single parents in this exploration of the personal cost of our modern economy.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Friday, May 7:
STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET
Director:
Marilyn Agrelo
World Premiere:
Sundance 2021
Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Seattle, San Francisco
About:
A look back at the origins of the pioneering children’s television powerhouse.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, May 7:
THE HUMAN FACTOR
Director:
Dror Moreh
World Premiere:
Telluride 2019
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hamptons, Chicago, AFI Fest, Philadelphia, Cork, Jerusalem, Woodstock, Savannah
About:
A look back at peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine in 2000 through the memories of American diplomats.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Filmmaker Dror Moreh proved himself an expert navigator of powerful figures in his Oscar-nominated film The Gatekeepers, about the leaders of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency. Now he employs his talents to probe the American-led negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians in 2000. The main insiders on camera are six top American diplomats who testify to the human factor—the personal contact between the lead politicians Ehud Barak, Yasser Arafat and Bill Clinton—for a revelatory look at a lost opportunity.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to DVD this week:
BLACK HOLES: THE EDGE OF ALL WE KNOW
Director:
Peter Galison
World Premiere:
CPH:DOX 2020
Select Festivals:
Bergen, Jackson Wild
About:
An international assemblage of scientists work together to capture the first image of a black hole.
In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope – a worldwide network of synchronized radio observatories – made history by revealing a photograph of a supermassive black hole in the M87 galaxy, 55 million light-years from Earth. Filmmaker Peter Galison goes behind the scenes to profile members of the team that made this groundbreaking event possible, individuals operating on the titular edge of human knowledge. Despite this, the film offers very clear explanations of basic scientific concepts at the core of their work, particularly how the EHT is set up to work as a de facto Earth-sized instrument, deftly using animation and graphics. Recognizing that the larger issues being addressed are both dry and far too advanced for the typical viewer, Galison wisely leans in on the human side of the equation, and if it’s not always riveting, the resulting project is a respectful and worthwhile attempt to acknowledge the importance of advanced scientific exploration.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Festival:
The 36th DOK.fest Munich
Dates:
May 5-23
About:
The latest edition of this respected German nonfiction event goes online with nearly 100 new and recent features among its lineup.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, May 4:
FTA
Director:
Francine Parker
World Premiere:
Theatrical release (July 1972)
About:
A chronicle of the controversial anti-Vietnam War political vaudeville tour of American military bases, fronted by Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, May 4:
MC ESCHER: JOURNEY TO INFINITY
Director:
Robin Lutz
World Premiere:
Dutch theatrical release (April 2018)
Select Festivals:
Vancouver, Architecture & Design, Nederlands, New Zealand
About:
A biographical celebration of the famed Dutch artist and would-be mathematician.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Festival:
The 18th True/False Film Fest
Dates:
May 5-9
About:
Sixteen new and recent nonfiction features screen in a hybrid format in this thoughtfully-curated Colombia MO-based event.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to The WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, May 4:
FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH
Director:
Larissa Lam
World Premiere:
Cinequest 2020
Select Festivals:
NY Asian American, CAAMFest, LA Asian Pacific, Philadelphia Asian American, Newport Beach, Rocky Mountain Women’s, Oxford, Women Texas, Southern Circuit
About:
A Chinese American family travels from San Francisco to Mississippi in search of their roots in the US.
In search of the grave of his father, KC Lou, Charles Chiu and his family travel from their home in San Francisco to Cleveland MS. Charles’ sons, Edwin and Baldwin, the latter this film’s producer, never took much interest in their family background before, but are surprised to learn of deep, generational connections to the American South, and how this story ties into exclusionary immigration laws that left a lasting mark on their father. While there are some affecting moments, and the shameful history of the Chinese Exclusion Act deserves further exploration, the film feels too personal and is unfortunately technically deficient to a distracting degree, with a sentimental, overly used score, amateur looking titled chapters, and an over-reliance on talking heads.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Currently in virtual cinemas:
IN SILICO
Director:
Noah Hutton
World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2020
Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX
About:
The filmmaker traces a project to build a brain simulation over a decade.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Director Noah Hutton embarks on a 10-year project following a visionary neuroscientist’s quest to build a computer simulation of a brain. With unprecedented access to the inner workings of a multimillion-dollar scientific project led by Henry Markram and a roster of characters that involves the who’s who of neuroscience, the audience is led on a journey that poses provocative philosophical, ethical, and scientific questions.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
what (not) to doc 