Category Archives: Documentary

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Saturday, November 4:
ONE MORE SHOT

Director:
Noah Moskin

Premiere:
The ART of Infertility (Seattle, April 2017)

About:
The filmmakers confront infertility as they attempt to become parents.

As revealed via director Noah Moskin’s chatty narration, his wife Maya (also the film’s producer) and he face unexpected trouble when they try to have a baby. Eventually the couple seeks medical assistance only to find that Maya has a diminished reserve of ovaries and thus a lower than average chance of getting pregnant by natural means. Facing this infertility issue, they set off on a long process of trying to get pregnant in various ways with the help of fertility specialists, including harvesting her remaining eggs and inseminating them in the lab for later implementation, soliciting an egg donation from Maya’s sister, and, finally, embryo adoption – essentially giving birth to one’s own adopted child. Through the long, difficult process, Maya and Noah face financial hurdles as well as emotional ones. Underscoring the challenges faced by others struggling with the same issue, Moskin also profiles several other families and reveals the different paths they took toward becoming parents. While the filmmaking is at times fairly rough, with a tendency toward using montages and goofy music, the viewer can’t help but empathize with Maya and Noah, given the intimate access they’re providing to what is too often a very personal ordeal.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, November 3:
NO DRESS CODE REQUIRED

Director:
Cristina Herrera Borquez

Premiere:
Havana 2016

Select Festivals:
Palm Springs, Human Rights Watch, Guanajuato, Kashish Mumbai LGBT, Ambulante, DocsMX, Outfest, Seattle, Warsaw

About:
A gay Mexican couple fights local government to get married.

After the Supreme Court of Mexico ruled that same sex marriage was legal, longtime couple Victor and Fernandez decide to wed. It ends up being far from easy, as their small-minded local government officials in Mexicali defy the federal ruling and set up a seemingly endless, and increasingly absurd, series of obstacles. From claims of discrepancies in paperwork to utterly unfounded accusations that the would-be grooms have dementia, wedding date after wedding date is postponed, straining the couple’s emotional and mental well-being, as well as that of their legal counsel. Herrera Borquez follows them over the two year ordeal as the men take a stand on their home turf, rather than marry in the more liberal Mexico City as other couples opt to do. Although a less familiar case than the US’s own Proposition 8, this oddly-titled documentary covers a well-trod topic, and, filmmaking-wise, is decidedly roughly constructed – its only saving grace is the strength of its appealing, genuine main subjects.

Coming to theatres tonight, Wednesday, November 1 and to VOD this Friday, November 3:
11/8/16

Curator:
Jeff Deutchman

Directors:
Duane Andersen, Don Argott, Yung Chang, Garth Donovan, Petra Epperlein, Vikram Gandhi, Raul Gasteazoro, Jamie Gonçalves, Andrew Beck Grace, Alma Har’el, Sheena M. Joyce, Daniel Junge, Alison Klayman, Ciara Lacy, Martha Shane, Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Bassam Tariq, and Michael Tucker

Premiere:
Hamptons 2017

About:
Election Day 2016, around the country.

A spiritual sequel to Deutchman’s 11/4/08, chronicling the historic election day which saw America elect its first African-American president, this new film similarly offers a mosaic of experiences of our most recent presidential election. Eighteen directors followed 16 subjects from morning through late night on that notorious date, with political opinions varying between staunch Clinton and Trump supporters, conflicted voters, apathetic abstainers, journalists covering the results, and even an Evan McMullin acolyte. As with any survey project, there’s the danger of presenting an individual as representative of a type – the rural coal miner, or the privileged university student – and the sheer number of subjects makes it hard to individuate them to any great extent. Still, taken as a whole, the doc does serve to humanize, no matter one’s political affiliations – though it remains a difficult watch for those who are in no hurry to revisit the outcome of that infamous night.