Category Archives: Documentary

May 6, 2019 · 12:01 PM

On TV: OUT OF STATE

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, May 6:
OUT OF STATE

Directors:
Ciara Lacy

Premiere:
Los Angeles 2017

Select Festivals:
Hawaii, Berlin, San Diego Asian, Hot Springs Doc, ImagineNative, Portland, Big Sky Doc, Thin Line Doc

About:
Hawaiian prisoners living in Arizona find an unlikely opportunity to learn about their heritage and themselves.

Due to lack of space on the islands of Hawai’i, many local prisoners are shipped off to Arizona to serve out their sentences in a private prison. In Ciara Lacy’s simple but at times poignant portrait, she focuses on three Hawaiian men who meet in Saguaro Correction Center: Kalani, who serves a life sentence; and David and Hale, who both have shorter terms. Kalani serves as a guide for both David and Hale, reconnecting them with native traditions through dance, songs, and history, and reawakening a sense of pride in their culture. Once both men are released and return to the islands, they struggle with the cyclical nature of the issues that found them behind bars in the first place. Taking on more of an intimate, personal approach than one that focuses on larger systemic issues of racial or class bias in criminal justice, the film may feel somewhat underdeveloped at times, but remains worthwhile for the cultural specificity it brings to issues around atonement and forgiveness.

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May 3, 2019 · 1:31 PM

In Theatres: DECADE OF FIRE

Coming to theatres today, Friday, May 3:
DECADE OF FIRE

Directors:
Vivian Vazquez and Gretchen Hildebran

Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018

Select Festivals:
Full Frame, Cleveland, Chicago Latino, Harlem, Maryland

About:
A Bronx native revisits the truth behind the boroughs rash of arson in the 1970s.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In the 1970s, the Bronx was on fire. Left unprotected by the city government, nearly a half-million people were displaced as their close-knit, multiethnic neighborhood burned, reducing the community to rubble. While insidious government policies caused the devastation, Black and Latino residents bore the blame. In this story of hope and resistance, Bronx native Vivian Vazquez exposes the truth about the borough’s sordid history and reveals how her embattled and maligned community chose to resist, remain, and rebuild.

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May 3, 2019 · 12:01 PM

In Theatres: MEETING GORBACHEV

Coming to theatres today, Friday, May 3:
MEETING GORBACHEV

Directors:
Werner Herzog and Andre Singer

Premiere:
Telluride 2018

Select Festivals:
Toronto, CPH:DOX, Tribeca, DocPoint, Dok Leipzig

About:
The German auteur has a meeting of the minds with the legendary final leader of the Soviet Union.

Over the course of six months, Werner Herzog sat down with Mikhail Gorbachev for three surprisingly affectionate meetings to discuss the politician’s history and pivotal role in bringing the Cold War to an end. As may be expected, their discussions are less formal and more idiosyncratic, but nevertheless cover the key points in the fraught relationship between the US and USSR, the struggles within the Soviet politburo, and Gorbachev’s pragmatic reformist approach during a time of geopolitical turmoil. Herzog displays a genuine, and infectious, fondness for the world leader and his diplomacy, particularly in these fractious times.

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May 2, 2019 · 1:31 PM

On VOD: IN SEARCH OF GREATNESS

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Friday, May 3:
IN SEARCH OF GREATNESS

Director:
Gabe Polsky

Premiere:
Chicago 2018

About:
An exploration of the qualities that lead to athletic excellence.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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May 2, 2019 · 12:01 PM

In Theatres: ASK DR RUTH

photo by David Paul Jacobson

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, May 3:
ASK DR RUTH

Director:
Ryan White

Premiere:
Sundance 2019

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Tribeca, San Francisco, Full Frame, Miami, IFF Boston, Miami Jewish

About:
A profile of the world-famous sex therapist and Holocaust survivor, Dr Ruth Westheimer.

My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.

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May 1, 2019 · 1:31 PM

Special Screening: FOSTER

Coming to NYC’s Pure Nonfiction at IFC Center tomorrow, Thursday, May 2:
FOSTER

Director:
Mark Jonathan Harris

Premiere:
AFI Docs 2018

About:
An inside look at America’s foster care system.

Los Angeles County, which has the largest child welfare agency in the US, is the focus of Oscar winning director Mark Jonathan Harris’ expansive exploration of the world of foster care. Among the sobering statistics revealed early in the film, there are 4 million reports of neglect or abuse of minors in the nation, representing 1 in 8 children, with more than 400,000 of them ending up within the foster care system. In addition to sharing the candid stories of current and former foster kids and foster parents, the film offers the perspectives of others who are part of the system, including social workers and legal advocates. While Harris takes on a bit too much, making the project feel somewhat choppy and overlong at times, he succeeds in offering a humanizing corrective to conventional, often negative, portrayals of the world of foster care.

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May 1, 2019 · 12:01 PM

On DVD: CHARLEY PRIDE: I’M JUST ME

New to DVD this week:
CHARLEY PRIDE: I’M JUST ME

Director:
Barbara Hall

Premiere:
Belmont University, Nashville (January 2019)

About:
The story of the Negro League baseball player turned pioneering country music star.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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April 30, 2019 · 1:31 PM

In Theatres & On VOD: KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE

Coming to theatres and to Netflix tomorrow, Wednesday, May 1:
KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE

Director:
Rachel Lears

Premiere:
Sundance 2019

Select Festivals:
SXSW, Hot Docs, True/False, Full Frame, Athena, Miami, San Francisco, Chicago Doc 10

About:
Four progressive political newcomers – including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – seek to unseat entrenched incumbents.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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April 30, 2019 · 12:01 PM

On DVD/VOD: THAT WAY MADNESS LIES…

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, April 30:
THAT WAY MADNESS LIES…

Director:
Sandra Luckow

Premiere:
Northwest Film Center (May 2017)

Select Festivals:
Hot Springs Women’s, Richmond

About:
The filmmaker is drawn into the financial, emotional, and legal mess of her brother’s mental health issues.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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April 29, 2019 · 1:31 PM

Special Screening: CHASING THE THUNDER

CHASING THE THUNDER

Coming to NYC’s Pure Nonfiction at IFC Center tomorrow, Tuesday, April 30:
CHASING THE THUNDER

Directors:
Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin

Premiere:
Washington DC Environmental 2018

Select Festivals:
Miami, Newport Beach, EarthxFilm

About:
Environmental activists doggedly pursue notorious poachers for 110 days at sea.

Originally presented as part of the six-part Animal Planet docuseries OCEAN WARRIORS, this feature-length recut focuses on the efforts of marine conservation activists from Sea Shepherd to stop the destructive, illegal fishing of the Thunder. Long plaguing marine life with illegal nets and overfishing, the Thunder is spotted by Sea Shepherd vessel the Bob Barker, setting off an epic chase over 10,000 miles, from the Antarctic to the South Atlantic, over 110 days. As the Bob Barker crew attempts to arrest the Thunder, and, most importantly, gather evidence of their wrongdoing, they face attacks and intimidation. Ultimately, the Thunder’s captain makes a shocking, desperate move that serves as an unbelievable end to this engaging eco-thriller doc.

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