Category Archives: Documentary

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 13:
ART AND HEART: THE WORLD OF ISAIAH SHEFFER

Director:
Catherine Tambini

Premiere:
New York Jewish Film Festival 2016

Select Festivals:
Berkshire, Hamptons Take 2 Doc, Jewish fests in San Francisco, Palm Beach, and New Jersey

About:
A tribute to a prominent NYC cultural figure, the founder and artistic director of performing arts organization/theatre, Symphony Space.

Tambini assembles a parade of admirers, collaborators, and family members – as well as interviews with Sheffer himself, who died in 2012 at the age of 76 – to reveal the Renaissance man’s many contributions to the arts and culture of the city. With a career encompassing the Yiddish theatre, public radio, and his decades of stewardship of Symphony Space and its eclectic, multidisciplinary programming, Sheffer affords the director a rich archive with which to work, and she ably conveys his achievements and his affable personality, even to viewers who may never have heard of him.

Coming to NatGeo this Sunday, June 11:
HELL ON EARTH: THE FALL OF SYRIA AND THE RISE OF ISIS

Directors:
Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Greenwich, Provincetown

About:
A comprehensive exploration of the conflict in Syria and the origins of the Islamic State.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to Showtime tonight, Friday, June 9:
BECOMING CARY GRANT

Director:
Mark Kidel

Premiere:
Cannes 2017

Select Festivals:
Edinburgh

About:
The story of how working-class Archie Leach became debonair actor Cary Grant.

Based on an unpublished memoir, and peppered with clips from his movie career as well as rare home movies, Kidel’s film traces Leach’s re-invention, while also exploring the lasting impact of his upbringing. Of particular note is his long-held belief that his mother abandoned him as a child – Grant later learned his father had her committed and the actor developed a relationship with her after his success. He linked this formative sense of betrayal to both his lifelong distrust of women and a string of unsuccessful marriages. Curiously, the film never entertains the question of Grant’s potential gay relationships, though his onscreen appeal to both men and women is noted by film historians. Much of the introspection that characterizes the memoir is born of Grant’s participation in extensive LSD psychotherapy in the late 1950s, here represented in not entirely effective re-enactments, but the film otherwise offers viewers with an engaging overview of the development of the charismatic performer’s life and career.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, June 9:
RAISING BERTIE

Director:
Margaret Byrne

Premiere:
Full Frame 2016

Select Festivals:
Sarasota, Bentonville, AFI Docs, Atlanta Docufest, Chicago, Citizen Jane, Cucalorus, Big Sky Doc

About:
An observational coming-of-age portrait of three African-American teenagers in rural North Carolina.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres this Friday, June 9:
NIGHT SCHOOL

Director:
Andrew Cohn

Premiere:
Tribeca 2016

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Heartland, SXSWedu, St Louis, BendFilm

About:
A profile of three adults seeking to better their lives through education.

I previously wrote about the doc for Nantucket’s program, saying:
Single father Greg dropped out of high school to sell drugs, but now wants to make a better life for his young daughter. After always caring for others, grandmother Melissa sets out to prove that she can accomplish a goal for herself. Shynika dreams of leaving her dead-end minimum-wage job to become a nurse. In this deeply affecting portrait set in urban Indianapolis – a city with one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the United States – they return to school to earn their high school diplomas and to end the cycle of poverty inextricably tied to educational opportunities.