Category Archives: Documentary

On DVD: A NEW COLOR: THE ART OF BEING EDYTHE BOONE

a-new-color-the-art-of-being-edythe-boone-fbNew to DVD this week:
A NEW COLOR: THE ART OF BEING EDYTHE BOONE

Director:
Marlene “Mo” Morris

Premiere:
Mill Valley 2015

Select Festivals:
Pan African, Sebastopol Doc, Through Women’s Eyes, Oakland, IFF Boston, SF Jewish, Harlem, Sarasota, San Diego and Nashville Black film festivals

About:
A portrait of an African-American mural artist and activist.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On VOD: THE PROPOSAL

New to VOD this week:
THE PROPOSAL

Director:
Jill Magid

Premiere:
Tribeca 2018

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Sheffield, Rotterdam, Dokufest, New Orleans, Camden, Docaviv, Docs Against Gravity, Ambulante, Antenna, RIDM, Palm Springs, Hamptons, Vancouver, Göteborg, Portland, Salem, DocPoint

About:
The artist/filmmaker engages in a polite battle of wills over access to – and the legacy of – a celebrated Mexican architect’s work.

I previously wrote about the film hereL.

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Locarno 2019: Documentary Overview

Festival:
The 72nd Locarno Film Festival

Dates:
August 7-17

About:
This long-running Swiss A-list fest presents 30 documentaries among its line-up of approximately 90 new and recent features. Continue reading

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On DVD: HALSTON

photo by Berry Berenson Perkins

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, August 6:
HALSTON

Director:
Frédéric Tcheng

Premiere:
Sundance 2019

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Tribeca, Seattle, Montclair, Sarasota

About:
An exploration of the life and legacy of America’s first celebrity designer.

My pre-Sundance doc profile may be found here.

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On DVD/VOD: AMAZING GRACE

Coming DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, August 6:
AMAZING GRACE

Realized and Produced by:
Alan Elliott

Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018

Select Festivals:
Berlin, SXSW, True/False, AFI Fest, Full Frame, Pan African

About:
A landmark Aretha Franklin music concert film is released over forty years after it was filmed.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On TV/DVD: WOODSTOCK: THREE DAYS THAT DEFINED A GENERATION

Coming to PBS’s American Experience and to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, August 6:
WOODSTOCK: THREE DAYS THAT DEFINED A GENERATION

Director:
Barak Goodman

Premiere:
Tribeca 2019

Select Festivals:
Seattle, DocLands

About:
An immersive reflection on how organizers defied the odds to stage the seminal music event.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On TV: THE KLEPTOCRATS

Coming to Starz tonight, Monday, August 5:
THE KLEPTOCRATS

Directors:
Havana Marking and Sam Hobkinson

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018

Select Festival:
CPH:DOX, Docville, Sydney, Cleveland, Docs Against Gravity, Sonoma

About:
An investigation into an audacious financial scandal.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On TV: THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS

Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, August 5:
THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS

Director:
Simon Lereng Wilmont

Premiere:
IDFA 2017

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, San Francisco, Reyjkavik, Göteborg, Hong Kong, DOK.fest Munich, Docaviv, It’s All True, Docs Against Gravity, Docpoint, !f Istanbul, Vilnius

Notable Recognition:
The doc was shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

About:
A pre-teen boy lives near the border of the Ukraine/Russian war.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On VOD: FOR THE BIRDS

Coming to VOD today, Friday, August 2:
FOR THE BIRDS

Director:
Richard Miron

Premiere:
Sheffield 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New Orleans, Hamptons, Thessaloniki Doc, AFI Docs, DocPoint, Antenna Doc, Cork, Austin, Planet in Focus, Woodstock

About:
An obsessive bird lover struggles to properly care for her flock.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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DokuFest 2019 Overview

Festival:
The 18th DokuFest

Dates:
August 2-10

About:
Prizren, Kosovo hosts this respected nonfiction event, which annually showcases approximately 85 recent features in addition to several tributes and retrospectives.

CENTAR

As in the past, the fest curates a strong selection of international work that has debuted at other notable events, and also includes a number of projects highlighting nonfiction from the Balkans. Amng the latter is such work as: From Turkey, Rûken Tekeş’ AETHER, an exploration of an ancient conservation area abut to be submerged by a dam project, and Burak Çevik’s BELONGING, which looks back at a 15 year old murder case, and Aylin Kuryel’s HEADS AND TAILS, about the connection between Turkish hair providers and Israeli wig makers for Orthodox Jewish women; from Serbia and Germany, Ivan Marković’s CENTAR, an observational look at a building through its maintenance workers; from Greece, Ireland, and the United States, Paul Duane’s WHILE YOU LIVE, SHINE, about an American musicologist obsessed with the folk music of a Greek mountain region; from Romania, Nora Agapi’s TIMEBOX, in which the filmmaker’s portrait of her documentarian father goes in unanticipated directions; and, from Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia, Želimir Žilnik’s THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, which follows migrants navigating Austria’s bureaucracy to gain residence.

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