Category Archives: Documentary

On VOD: 21 X NEW YORK

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, February 6:
21 X NEW YORK

Director:
Piotr Stasik

Premiere:
Krakow 2016

Select Festivals:
Docs Against Gravity, DocPoint, Docs Barcelona, Durban

About:
Stray thoughts from a diverse group of NYC subway riders.

Stasik’s portrait trails over the faces of various subway passengers, focusing on 21. Their thoughts on sex, relationship, dreams, and hopes serve as the soundtrack for their underground ride, and, to some extent their continuing journeys above ground. What emerges is a meditation on the universality of loneliness and the need for human connection. At the same time, the random, meandering aspect of the premise would seem to have better suited a shorter length; its feature treatment here does not feel cumulative but instead often disjunctive, without coming to any particularly revelatory moment.

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On TV/DVD: THE GILDED AGE

Coming to PBS’s American Experience and to DVD tonight, Tuesday, February 6:
THE GILDED AGE

Director:
Sarah Colt

Premiere:
American Experience (February 2018)

About:
An exploration of late 1800s America, its transformation into a global industrial powerhouse, and the economic disparity that resulted.

By the end of the 19th century, approximately 4000 American families owned as much as the remaining 11.5 million – the first instance of the economic inequality of the 1%. The extravagance and resources of families like the Carnegies, Morgans, and the Vanderbilts were emblematic of the titular Gilded Age, but, as pointed out by historian Nell Irvin Painter in Colt’s film, “gilded” denotes a shiny covering over something raw beneath – in this case an embrace of capitalism’s profits at the expense of the poor and working class. Following the conventional format of the PBS series, Colt profiles several of the major players of the period, such as Andrew Carnegie and JP Morgan, even-handedly demonstrating both the virtues and failings of these captains of industry, while also putting attention on some who would fight for the common citizen, notably Mary Elizabeth Lease and the Populist Party, socialist organizers, and unions. Ultimately – and sadly – more topical than ever, the project questions whether America’s embrace of the unrealistic, ever-increasing profit motive has resulted in our government protecting and serving capitalism and those it makes wealthy, or the ordinary people who often suffer at its cutthroat pursuit.

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On DVD: TAKE EVERY WAVE: THE LIFE OF LAIRD HAMILTON

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 6:
TAKE EVERY WAVE: THE LIFE OF LAIRD HAMILTON

Director:
Rory Kennedy

Premiere:
Sundance 2017

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Sarasota, San Sebastian, Newport Beach, Full Frame, SF DocFest

About:
A portrait of the iconoclastic athlete who revolutionized big wave surfing.

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

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Special Screening, In Theatres & On VOD: SEEING ALLRED

SEEING ALLRED | Courtesy of Sundance Insitute | photo by Alex Pollini

Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction series tomorrow, Tuesday, February 6 and to theatres and Netflix this Friday, February 9:
SEEING ALLRED

Directors:
Sophie Sartain and Roberta Grossman

Premiere:
Sundance 2018

About:
A candid portrait of controversial women’s rights advocate Gloria Allred.

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

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On TV: WINNIE

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens today, Monday, February 5:
WINNIE

Director:
Pascale Lamche

Premiere:
Sundance 2017

Select Festivals:
Encounters, Hot Docs, Sheffield, Doclisboa, Seattle, Sydney, Biografilm, Jerusalem, Melbourne, Vancouver, Warsaw

About:
A profile of polarizing South African political leader and activist Winnie Mandela.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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In Theatres & On VOD: THE CAGE FIGHTER

Coming to theatres and VOD today, Friday, February 2:
THE CAGE FIGHTER

Director:
Jeff Unay

Premiere:
True/False 2017

Select Festivals:
New Orleans, Sheffield, AFI Docs, Camden, San Francisco, Seattle, Palm Springs, Milwaukee, Sidewalk

About:
A man risks his family and safety to return to the mixed martial arts arena.

Using an appealing, strictly direct cinema approach, Unay draws the audience into the life of Joe Carman, a Washington state husband, father, and would-be MMA champion. Never particularly successful in the ring, and certainly not able to provide for his family through it, the working man is nevertheless inexorably pulled back to the cage time and time again, telling his family that it’s the only thing that makes him proud of himself. In the eyes of his concerned daughters and ill wife, he just can’t keep his promises to give up fighting, threatening the family’s happiness and stability. A film of quiet moments punctuated with brutal fight scenes, Unay’s portrait explores themes of masculinity, fatherhood, and the desire to make ones mark, accompanied by a remarkable degree of vulnerability.

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On VOD: INTENT TO DESTROY

New to VOD this week:
INTENT TO DESTROY

Director:
Joe Berlinger

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, IDFA, Krakow, Maryland, St Louis, IFF Boston, San Francisco Jewish, New Zealand, Haifa, Heartland, Denver

About:
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of a narrative feature about the 1915-1918 Armenian genocide.

Had Terry George’s THE PROMISE turned out to be a critical or box office success, this companion project by Joe Berlinger would be less of a misfit. As it stands, that would-be epic – starring Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, and Christian Bale – was little seen or admired, making this admirable but misjudged project feel like a DVD extra for an unlikely-to-be-released Criterion Collection version of an unwanted film. Saddled with the objective of filtering the controversial and long-denied ethnic cleansing through the lens of THE PROMISE, the doc never quite finds the right balance, with clips from George’s film and from the set too often serving as a distraction from the more interesting and provocative consideration of how denial has come into play over the past century, both in the historical record, and in past film projects, from the abandoned adaptation of THE FORTY DAYS OF MUSA DAGH to Atom Egoyan’s unsuccessful ARARAT – but, very strangely, nothing specific offered regarding efforts to stop THE PROMISE. Ultimately, Berlinger’s doc comes off as an overlong, too earnest promotional piece, despite its best intentions.

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On TV: THE TRADE

Coming to Showtime tomorrow, Friday, February 2:
THE TRADE

Director:
Matthew Heineman

Premiere:
Sundance 2018

About:
A gripping docuseries examining America’s opioid epidemic through multiple perspectives in the chain, from growers to users to law enforcement.

I profiled the series before Sundance here.

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SXSW 2018: Features Lineup Announced

SXSW announced their feature film line-up yesterday. 132 features will screen in total, which will include some future announcements of additional titles. Following is the list of documentary features so far, broken down by section:

Documentary Feature Competition:
Ten world premieres selected from 1050 submissions.

THE GOSPEL OF EUREKA

CHI-TOWN

Director: Nick Budabin

An underdog basketball player from Chicago goes on a meteoric rise to become one of the best college point guards in the nation. While he pursues dreams of the NBA, his success contrasts with the effects of gun violence on his friends back home.

GARRY WINOGRAND: ALL THINGS ARE PHOTOGRAPHABLE

Director: Sasha Waters Freyer

Artist. Iconoclast. Man of his time. A revealing documentary portrait of the life and work of the acclaimed photographer – an epic storyteller in pictures of America across three turbulent decades.

THE GOSPEL OF EUREKA

Directors: Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher

Faith, love, and civil rights collide on voting day in a small Southern town that hosts a famous performance of the last days of Christ and an infamous gospel drag show.

¡LAS SANDINISTAS!

Director: Jenny Murray

Uncovering the disappearing stories of women who shattered barriers to lead combat and social reform during Nicaragua’s 1979 Sandinista Revolution, and who continue to lead Nicaragua’s current struggle for democracy and equality.

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE

Director: Hao Wu

In China’s popular live-streaming showrooms, three millennials – a karaoke singer, a migrant worker, and a rags-to-riches comedian – seek fame, fortune, and human connection, ultimately finding the same promises and perils online as in their real lives.

SOCIAL ANIMALS

Director: Jonathan Green

A daredevil photographer, an aspiring swimsuit model, and a midwest girl next door are all looking for the same things from their Instagram accounts – a little love, acceptance, and, of course, fame – and they’ll do just about anything to get it.

THIS ONE’S FOR THE LADIES

Director: Gene Graham

An exploration of the sexual and social identity of contemporary black America through intimate, eye opening and often hilarious accounts from women and men who find love and community in the underground world of exotic dancing.

TRANSMILITARY

Directors: Gabriel Silverman, Fiona Dawson

At a time when transgender people are banned from serving in the US military, four of the thousands of transgender troops risking discharge fight to attain the freedom they so fiercely protect.

WEED THE PEOPLE

Director: Abby Epstein

Capturing the uplifting and heart-wrenching struggles of families who treat their cancer-stricken children with marijuana, some with astonishing results.

THE WORLD BEFORE YOUR FEET

Director: Jeremy Workman

For over six years, Matt Green, 37, has been walking every street in New York City – a total of more than 8000 miles. The story of one man’s unusual quest and the journey of discovery, humanity, and wonder that ensues.

Documentary Spotlight:
Non-competitive nonfiction section.

ALT-RIGHT: AGE OF RAGE


AGAVE: THE SPIRIT OF A NATION

Directors: Nicholas Kovacic, Matthew Riggieri

In Mexico, families have passed down the tradition of distilling agave for generations. Now, this once obscure Mexican drink is everywhere. Discover how one delicate plant has carried the weight of a nation and the people trying to protect it.

ALI & CAVETT: THE TALE OF THE TAPES

Director: Robert Bader

The life and times of Muhammed Ali shown through the lens of his numerous appearances on THE DICK CAVETT SHOW. The film features new interviews with Dick Cavett, Reverend Al Sharpton, and Larry Merchant, as well as archival material from the show.

ALT-RIGHT: AGE OF RAGE

Director: Adam Bhala Lough

In the first year of Trump’s presidency, Daryle Lamont Jenkins, an Antifa activist, combats the rise of the Alt-Right movement, while Richard Spencer, an Alt-Right leader, fights to gain ground, culminating in a tragic showdown in Charlottesville.

THE BILL MURRAY STORIES: LIFE LESSONS LEARNED FROM A MYTHICAL MAN

Director: Tommy Avallone

One man’s journey to find meaning in Bill Murray’s many unexpected adventures with everyday people, rare and never-before seen footage of the comedic icon participating in stories previously presumed to be urban legend.

BREWMASTER

Director: Douglas Tirola

Following a young, ambitious New York lawyer who struggles to chase his American dream of becoming a brewmaster and a Milwaukee-based professional beer educator as he attempts to become a Master Cicerone.

DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS CHEERLEADERS

Director: Dana Adam Shapiro

The never-before-told story of Suzanne Mitchell, the fiercely-loyal den mother of the original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

THE DAWN WALL

Directors: Josh Lowell, Peter Mortimer

Legendary free climber Tommy Caldwell tries to get over heartbreak by scaling 3000 feett of an impossible rock face: the Dawn Wall of El Capitan.

FROM ALL CORNERS

Director: Ryusuke Okajima

Fuyuki Shimazu, the cardboard picker and artist, creates wallets made from used cardboard which he picks up from 25 countries. His wallets travel around the world to advocate the concept of “upcycling” going beyond recycling or re-use.

GETTING OVER

Director: Jason Charnick

A man discovers a box of interviews with his father, a lifelong heroin addict who died of AIDS in 1997, uncovering generations of family secrets and forcing him to redefine his own past, doubt his present, and question his future.

NOSSA CHAPE

Directors: Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist

Tracking the rebuilding of the Chapecoense football club in Brazil after an airplane carrying the team crashed on November 28th, 2016, and left all but three of the players dead.

OPERATION ODESSA

Director: Tiller Russell

The stranger-than-fiction true story of a Russian mobster, a Miami playboy, and a Cuban spy who teamed up in the early 1990’s to sell a Soviet submarine to the Cali Cartel.

TAKE YOUR PILLS

Director: Alison Klayman

Every era gets the drug it deserves. In America today, where competition is ceaseless from school to the workforce and everyone wants a performance edge, Adderall and other prescription stimulants are the defining drugs of this generation.

TIME TRIAL

Director: Finlay Pretsell

Taking us into the final races of cyclist David Millar’s career, leading to his last encounter with the Tour de France, the film reveals how the human spirit is driven by forces deeper than success and glory.

Visions:
The festival’s risk-taking, innovative section.

MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN

MEOW WOLF: ORIGIN STORY

Directors: Morgan Capps, Jilann Spitzmiller

A group of artists, punks, and weirdos create a subversive DIY collective to disrupt the art establishment in Santa Fe, NM, which in the face of internal turmoil evolves into a cultural phenomenon on the path to becoming a global creative empire.

MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN

Directors: Tommy Pallotta, Femke Wolting

An exploration of what it means to live in the age of intelligent machines. During this quest, the filmmaker finds out how much of his creativity and human values are at stake as he builds his own robot to replace himself as a filmmaker.

RUKUS

Director: Brett Hanove
r
A hybrid of documentary and fiction, a queer coming-of-age story set in the liminal spaces of furry conventions, southern punk houses, and virtual worlds.

24 Beats Per Second:
The fest’s music focused strand.

MAKING THE GRADE

ELVIS PRESLEY THE SEARCHER

Director: Thom Zimny

A focus on Elvis Presley as a musical artist, exploring how he accumulated his influences, deconstructing why his sound and his style were so revolutionary, and examining the creative and personal struggles that preceded his death.

IF I LEAVE HERE TOMORROW: A FILM ABOUT LYNYRD SKYNYRD

Director: Stephen Kijak

The story of the greatest American rock band ever. Flying beyond “Free Bird” to celebrate the life and times of leader Ronnie Van Zant, from boogie-woogie beginnings in Jacksonville’s Shantytown to a tragic end in a Mississippi swamp.

MAKING THE GRADE

Director: Ken Wardrop

A feel-good musical journey of piano playing from absolute beginner through to accomplished pianist.

MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS

Director: Jake Meginsky, Co-Director: Neil Young

Weaving blistering performance footage from Europe, Japan, and the US with a sublimely restrained, intimate glimpse into a world-renowned jazz percussionist’s singular voice and complex cosmology.

THE POTENTIAL OF NOISE – CONNY PLANK

Directors: Stephan Plank, Reto Caduff
About the famous German music producer behind Kraftwerk, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Gianna Nannini, Ultravox, and the Eurythmics.

RAPTURE

Directors: Sacha Jenkins, Ben Selkow, Geeta Gandbhir, Steven Caple Jr, Marcus A Clarke, Gabriel Noble

Showcasing the definitive impact of hip hop on global culture. Episodes feature Nas, Dave East, TI, Rapsody, Logic, G-Eazy, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, 2 Chainz, and Just Blaze.

RUBEN BLADES IS NOT MY NAME

Director: Abner Benaim

Portraying one of Latin America´s most beloved singer-songwriters in a journey across his 50-year career. In an intimate way, the film gives us a chance to get to know the artist, his music, and the stories behind them.

A TUBA TO CUBA

Directors: TG Herrington, Danny Clinch

A son seeking to fulfill his late father’s dream takes his band from the storied city of New Orleans to the shores of Cuba, where – through the universal language of music – dark and ancient connections between their peoples reveal the roots of jazz.

Global:
An international showcase.

A LITTLE WISDOM

A LITTLE WISDOM
Director: Yuqi Kang

See the world through the eyes of five-year-old Tibetan novice monk Hopakuli and share in his joys and sorrows as he endures the rigors of monastic life.

RUSH HOUR

Director: Luciana Kaplan

An intimate approach to personal stories of three commuters who spend hours of their lives going from home to work and back, reflecting a common reality shared by billions of people.

TEAM HURRICANE

Director: Annika Berg

A punk chick flick that mixes documentary material with highly stylized fiction.

THEATRE OF WAR

Director: Lola Arias

An essay on how to represent war, performed by former enemies. British and Argentinian veterans of the Falklands War come together to discuss, rehearse, and re-enact their memories 35 years after the conflict.

Festival Favorites:
Standouts from other festivals.

CHEF FLYNN


CHEF FLYNN

Director: Cameron Yates

Capturing the coming of age of a prodigy chef, as he navigates a sea of sudden fame, bullying, and his mother’s camera.

CONSTRUCTING ALBERT

Directors: Laura Collado, Jim Loomis

In the world of haute cuisine, the name Adrià is synonymous with creativity. A portrait of younger brother Albert as he strives to establish his own reputation in the world of international haute cuisine after el Bulli.

GENERATION WEALTH

Director: Lauren Greenfield

Simultaneously personal journey and historical essay, Lauren Greenfield’s latest documentary bears witness to the global boom–bust economy, the corrupted American Dream, and the human costs of late stage capitalism, narcissism, and greed.

HALF THE PICTURE

Director: Amy Adrion

About the dismal number of women directors working in Hollywood, featuring top female directors sharing their experiences in the industry.

NARCISSISTER ORGAN PLAYER

Director: Narcissister

This hybrid performance/documentary explores how the artist’s complex family history, in particular her relationship with her mother, compelled her to create the masked, erotic performance character Narcissister.

ON HER SHOULDERS

Director: Alexandria Bombach

Nadia Murad is a 23-year-old Yazidi survivor of genocide and sexual slavery by ISIS. Repeating her horrific story to politicians, the media, and the United Nations, she must navigate bureaucracy, politics, and sudden fame to get the world to listen.

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

Director: Morgan Neville

A look at children’s television host Mr. Rogers’ hard-fought campaign to influence generations of kids and adults in the ways of kindness.

Special Events:
Unique one-off film events.

THE ATOMIC CAFÉ


THE ATOMIC CAFÉ

Directors: Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader, Pierce Rafferty

A 4K digital restoration of the cult classic 1982 documentary.

Episodic:
A focus on work for the small screen.

WARRIORS OF LIBERTY CITY


WARRIORS OF LIBERTY CITY

Directors: Evan Rosenfeld, Andrew Cohn

Following a season with the Liberty City Warriors, a youth football program founded by an unlikely mentor: Luther Campbell, better known as Uncle Luke from 2 Live Crew.

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Special Screening: PLOT 35

Coming to Maysles Documentary Center’s Uptown Flicks series tomorrow, Friday, February 1:
PLOT 35

Director:
Eric Caravaca

Premiere:
Cannes 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC

About:
The filmmaker seeks answers about the older sister he never knew.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
French actor-turned-director Eric Caravaca unearths personal family history in search of his sister Charlotte, who died as a toddler before he was born. His evocative investigation expertly threads the emotional mystery surrounding her death and the systematic erasure of her life by his parents, who rarely discussed Charlotte while Caravaca was growing up, and who harbor very different memories of their daughter.

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