Category Archives: Documentary

Coming to theatres this Friday, January 19:
POW WOW

Director:
Robinson Devor

Premiere:
Locarno 2016

Select Festivals:
New Orleans, CPH:DOX, Art of the Real, Mar del Plata, Seattle

About:
Life in the Coachella Valley.

Described as an ethnographic study, Devor ambles around the Inland Empire Colorado Desert terrain best known for Palm Springs and the Coachella spring music festival, briefly training his camera on a wide range of inhabitants, from country club reveler to Las Vegas comedians, Native Americans to elderly transplants. Through this survey, a not altogether coherent thread runs, covering the contested history of the region and the story of Willie Boy, a Native boy who managed to outrun a mounted posse in 1908. While at times breathtakingly shot, the intriguing and thoughtful project never quite manages to come together in a wholly satisfying way, making it more of a strange curio than a fully successful film.

Coming to DVD this Friday, January 19:
ZUZANA: MUSIC IS LIFE

Directors:
Peter Getzels and Harriet Gordon Getzels

Premiere:
Full Frame 2017

Select Festivals:
DocUtah, Jewish fests in Los Angeles, London, and Washington DC

About:
A survivor of the Holocaust and Communist persecution becomes a pioneer in classical music.

In the Getzels’ portrait, the now-90-year-old Zuzana Ruzickova relates the story of her eventful life, and the central role music has played within it. Growing up Jewish in Czechoslovakia, she survived three concentration camps as a teenager only to return to her homeland under Communist rule, where antisemitism and persecution continued. Despite this, she found both a refuge and a way to excel through music – Ruzickova became the first person to record the complete works of Bach on focused on the harpsichord, re-popularizing he instrument in her country in the process. After the fall of Communism, she worked with her husband to expand musical education in the Czech Republic. While Ruzickova is an impressive figure, the film feels overlong, sometimes detailing elements that are overly familiar and losing its focus on its most distinguishing feature – her music.

Coming to DVD/VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 16:
WHAT LIES UPSTREAM

Director:
Cullen Hoback

Premiere:
Slamdance 2017

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Seattle, AFI Docs, Traverse City, Dallas, Sonoma, Ashland

About:
The filmmaker investigates the coverup behind drinking water contamination in West Virginia.

I previously wrote about the doc here.